Eon 1

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.
14)

The Purpose and Plan
of the Eons

Volume 1

First edition: August 2007
Second edition: October 2007
Third edition: November 2007
Fourth edition: May 2008

by

Stuart H. Pouliot

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.14)

Dedicated to our beloved brethren in Ghana.

i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface iii

1. The Eons 1

2. After Six DaysOn The Seventh Day 35

3. The Kingdom of God the Father 55

4. That God May Be All In All 93

5. Restoring The Whole Creation 113

6. The EcclesiaOut-Called 149

7. The Secret Of His Will 169

8. Locks Up All Together In Stubbornness 191

9. The Gospel Of The Kingdom 227

10. God Is Love 261

Appendix 1 Significance of Numbers in Scripture 271

Appendix 2 Abbreviations of Scripture Versions 273

THE PURPOSE AND PLAN OF THE EONS

ii

To me, less than the least of all saints, was granted this grace: to bring
the evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ to the nations, and to
enlighten all as to what is the administration of the secret, which has
been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all, that now may
be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the
celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God,

in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in
Christ Jesus, our Lord;

in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence,
through His faith.

(Ephesians 3.8-12 CV)
PREFACE

The subject of this book is not commonly taught or preached throughout the
Christian world. If one were to take a survey of what interests the Lords people the
most, one would definitely discover that the purpose and plan of the eons is not on
the list of the top 20, or even the top 100 of the hottest subjects on the minds of
Christians, including those who teach or preach.

And yet, Gods purpose and the plan that He is carrying out in, through and by His
Son, who makes the eons, is one of the most vital matters to all mankind, not just
to believers.

It is a very sad commentary on the ecclesia of our day that so few understand this
vital subject, which speaks of the very heartbeat of Gods love for all mankind
created to be in the image of His Son. God is love, and His purpose and plan speak
volumes of His love.

Now, Volume 1 of The Purpose and Plan of the Eons presents a detailed overview
of Gods plan to restore and reconcile the whole creation, including every single
person ever born of Adams race, for God is the Savior of all mankind and
wi lls that all mankind be saved.

God has predestined all mankind to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth, to be conformed to the image of Gods Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; but not all
are predestined to come into glory at the same time, or in the same manner. Some
must wait until the consummation of the eons. However, regardless of the time
and manner, there is only one Way to come into glory, and that is through Jesus,
who is the only Way into the Kingdom of God today and in the oncoming eons,
which are called the eons of the eons.

Gods purpose is to become All in all in His entire creation. The fulfillment of the
plan to bring All to God has been entrusted to His Son, who is to head up all until
He has subjected all to Himself, and the last enemy, death, has been abolished. At
the consummation of the eons, when He is fully all and in all, Jesus, the Son of
God, will deliver the kingdom to the God and Father of All.

I pray that what is contained in this book will challenge you to reexamine your
doctrine and, perhaps, your understanding of Gods divine purpose and plan.
Challenge is good! We need to be challenged to see why we believe as we do. Are
we holding to the traditions of men that have veered off course, or are we holding
to the truth of Gods word? For those who have never considered or been taught on
this matter, or those who have sensed that there is far more to Gods purpose, or
even those who enjoy being challenged.

May the eyes of your heart be enlightened!
iii

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the
mystery of His will, according to His kind intention
which He purposed in Him with a view to an
administration suitable to the fullness of the times,
that is,

the summing up of all things in Christ,
things in the heavens and things on the earth.

(Ephesians 1.7-10 NASB)

iv
1. THE EONS

In accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. (Ephesians 3.11 CV)

The most encouraging truth revealed in Scripture is that God has a purpose, and a
plan to accomplish His purpose, and this is all being worked out in the eons
through His Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord. This purpose and plan extends to all
mankind, but it does not stop with mankind, for it embraces all Gods creation and
created beings, both visible and invisible, in the heavens and on the earth. The
word all best sums up the purpose of the eons, for out of Him and through Him
and for Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans 11.36 CV).

In order to understand Gods purpose of the eons according to Scripture, we are
presented with a challenge. The word eon does not appear in most English Bibles,
for most translations use words like eternal, everlasting, eternity, eternal, forever,
world and age.

So, to begin understanding the purpose of the eons we need to understand the
eons, and when we come into an understanding of the eons, we will see that the
eons are driving toward a glorious consummation, so that God may be All in all
throughout His creation.

Now, anyone with any curiosity over the meaning of words is presented with
another challenge. Looking at the Greek Scriptures (New Testament), if words
such as age, eternal, everlasting, eternity, eternal, forever and world are
translated from the same Greek word, which they are, then how can one Greek
word be translated as age, eternal and world when these English words have
different meanings? Age refers to a period of time that has a beginning and an end.
Eternal refers to endlessness or that which has no beginning and no end. World
refers to an orderly arrangement or system.

Eter nal and eter ni ty.

Today, many believers place great emphasis on the words eternal and eternity,
and the concept of endlessness, as if this is the emphasis of Scripture. But is this
truly what Scripture emphasizes? Among theologians, scholars and commentators
of Scripture that possess knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages, there are
those who claim it is the emphasis, and there are those who claim it is not.
According to the latter group, the Hebrew and Greek languages do not have any
words that mean eternal. The Hebrews looked out to the future and saw it as
something concealed or obscured. The Greeks thought in terms of long periods of
time with beginnings and ends and did not think in terms of endless.
1

Accordingly, the concept of eternity (eternal) is not a fundamental concept in the
original languages of the sacred
1
Scriptures, for everything is either obscured or is
bound within time and marked by a beginning and an end.

If one agrees with this latter thinking, then the challenge deepens because it
appears that many, if not most, English translations are based on the former
thinking; that is, the concept of eternity (eternal) is a fundamental and essential
tenet of Scripture. Is it possible that many translators have placed these words and
their meaning into the modern-day English Bibles based on tradition and what
could be called interpretative bias?
2
Perhaps! What if the fundamental tenet is
actually the concept of ages or eons? Wouldnt this change the way we view
Scripture and Gods purpose and plan, or at least add some dimension to it that
would otherwise be missed? I think so.

Olam.

In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), the words everlasting, eternal and
forever are usually derived from the Hebrew word olam, which means to hide,
keep secret, obscure. Olam relates to an age whose end is unknown and thus
whose end is obscure, but not endless. In other words, it refers to an indefinite
period of time, and not to the concept of eternal or eternity, that is, endlessness.
There are several examples in Hebrew Scripture to prove the point, but two will
suffice.

Jonah was in the bowels of a large fish for three days, but it is recorded in most
translations that the prophet cried out that the earth with its bars was around him
forever (Jonah 2.6 KJV, NASB). But how could Jonah be in the belly of the fish for
three days and nights and forever (eternally) at the same time? The answer
becomes apparent when we see that the word forever is translated from olam. The
more literal and accurate translations use the words eon (CV) or age-abiding (REB,
YLT) rather than the word forever.

The second example is discovered in Psalm 45.6 in which the chief musician
proclaims: Thy throne, O God is forever and ever (KJV, NASB, most other translations). In the
Hebrew, it reads olam va ad, which means the age and beyond, and proves
beyond any doubt that the Psalmist had to add va ad to olam to bring in the
concept of forever. The more literal and accurate renderings of this verse read the
eon and further (CV), the age and beyond (REB), and age-during and forever
(YLT).

1
As rendered in the Concordant Literal New Testament (2 Timothy 3.15 CV); rendered holy
writings and sacred letters in other translations.
2
Interpretative bias means that in translating Scripture from the original languages into another
language, the translators used words based on tradition and interpretation of what they believe to
be the meaning behind the words. The term is not meant to question the integrity or honesty of any
translators. It seems that a certain amount of interpretation is inevitable. Unfortunately, some of
the bias has resulted in incorrect understanding of Scripture and has fed what Paul called the
systematizing of the deception (Ephesians 4.14 CV).
2
THE EONS

Now, as we turn to the Greek Scriptures (New Testament), we will discover the
same concept of ages or eons. However, before looking at the Greek, we need to be
reminded that the writers of what we call the New Testament often quoted the Old
Testament and when they did they usually quoted the Septuagint, which is the
Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. Consequently, the
meaning of a Greek word is often dictated by the meaning of the original Hebrew
word used to translate into the Septuagint.

A classic example is discovered in Psalm 45.6, as just quoted. This verse is quoted
in Hebrews 1.8: Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of the eon (CV). The word eon
comes from the Greek word ain. Since ain must refer back to the Hebrew text, it
must also convey the same meaning as the Hebrew word olam. As shown in what
follows, ain refers to an age as well.

Ai n and ai ni on.

Now, turning to the Greek Scriptures, the word eon is an Anglicized
3
word of the
transliterated
4
Greek word ain, which means a long segment or period of time
that has a beginning and an end. There is also another Greek word, ainion, which
is the adjective
5
form of the noun ain. The English equivalent of ainion is
eonian.

Generally, Greek-English Lexicons acknowledge that ain [eon] is an indefinite,
long period of timean age. However, the theology of our day has stretched the
meaning of the word to make it mean forever, evermore, everlasting or eternal,
and in some cases, world or universe. Is this justified, or is it man injecting his
traditions or interpretative bias into Scripture, rather than consistently translating
the Greek words and allowing the reader to interpret the word under the guidance
of the spirit of God? Let us attempt an answer to this question.

In the Greek text, the word ain is used 128 times (singular [ain] and plural
[ainn] forms), and the word ainion is used 71 times.

Ain (and its forms) is translated in many English New Testaments nearly forty
different ways, including: age, ages, ago, age-lasting, age-long, duration, earliest
ages, last ages, latest ages, remote age, remotest age, always, ancient, any more,
beginning, does, end, eternal, eternity, ever, for ever, and ever, for evermore, first,

3
Anglicized means the item in question has been changed to an English idiom, pronunciation,
custom, manner, word, etc. Thus, eon is the Anglicized word for ain. Notice how the two words are
similar in spelling and pronunciation.
4
Transliterated means to write or spell words, etc. in the characters of another alphabet that
represents the same sound or sounds. Thus, ain is the transliterated word for the Greek word
, pronounced ahee-ohn.
5
An adjective is a word used to limit or qualify a noun. An adjective based on a noun (derived from
a noun) has the same essential meaning as its noun. Thus, eon and eonian refer to a long period of
time with a beginning and an end. When eonian appears with another noun, it limits or qualifies
that noun to a long segment or period of time. For example, eonian kingdom would refer to a
kingdom that extends for a long segment or period of time.
3

very first, Immortal, life, never, nevermore, never while the world lasts, never to
the end of my days, of old, permanently, time again, all time, old time, today,
universe, world, yonder world.

In the King James Version, the Greek words ain and ainion are translated using
the following English words (the number of times each word appears is noted):

ai n (eon) ai ni on (eoni an)

Ages 2 Never 7 Everlasting 25
Course 1 Evermore 4 Eternal 42
World 40 Eternal 2 World 3
Ever 72 Ever 1

These statistics, alone, should be a red flag to anyone who is diligently seeking for
the truth contained in Scripture. How can nearly forty English words for one Greek
word not produce confusion or, worse, downright error? As an example, we
discover that the word ain is translated both world and eternal. How can one
word have such divergent usage and maintain the true meaning of the Greek? If
the Greek word meant world, then why do the translators not use the word world
in all places for the word ain? The answer is that it would not make sense in all
cases. Conversely, the same argument is made with the English word eternal.

Isnt it far better to use the words eon (noun) or eonian (adjective) every place that
the Greek words ain and ainion appear in the original language, to define the
eons as a long segment or period of time that has a beginning and an end, and to
leave it to the seeker of truth to discern the meaning of the verses? Ah, some
theologians might say that the common reader of Scripture is too ignorant of all
the nuances of the Greek language to come to the proper conclusion. But this begs
for the question: Is the spirit of God ignorant?

[From this point forward, the words eon and eonian will be used exclusively with
the understanding that they are the English equivalents of the words ain and
ainion, respectively.]

Concor dant method.

Most who read the Bible daily do not have a working knowledge of Hebrew or
Greek. However, there is a way to study Scripture, and it is called the concordant
method, which takes a Hebrew or Greek word, finds all the places it is used in
Scripture, and then determines its usage, and thus its meaning based on all the
texts in which it is discovered. Anyone can do this with a concordance in hand,
such as Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, The Englishmans Greek Concordance
or Youngs Analytical Concordance, to name a few.

There is one translation of the sacred Scriptures that is based on the concordant
method; however, the editors applied a more rigorous standard to the method. An
4
THE EONS

investigation of each and every Hebrew or Greek word found in the ancient
manuscripts was conducted in order to find the single most exact English
equivalent for each and every word. For example, instead of having 44 English
words for one Greek word, they assigned only one English word for each Greek
word, and this English word is not used for any other Greek word. Further, the
English word was chosen based on the most accurate and consistent meaning as
presented every place the word appears in the available manuscripts. The result of
this work, which took many years to complete, is called the Concordant Literal
New Testament with Keyword Concordance (designated CV). [A similar work was
completed for the Hebrew Scriptures, but it has not been compiled into one book.]
The result is that when one reads an English word, no matter where it is
discovered in Scripture, the word presumably has the same meaning. This method
helps to reduce interpretative bias; however, it does not eliminate it entirely. After
all, the editors of all translations are but weak vessels, as we all are, especially
those of us who attempt to write exposition of Scripture.

The CV is not perfect, and undoubtedly, there is interpretative bias built into it, as
there are in all translations; nevertheless, it is quite helpful. Keep in kind that the
English Bibles of our day are translations of manuscripts written in Hebrew or
Greek that are copies of the original sacred text, which were lost long ago. To claim
that one English Bible is the inspired word of God over all other translations, as if
it were an exact replica of the original text, is dangerous, if not error. I find it
helpful to compare the several translations that attempt to remain as literal as
possible to the Hebrew or Greek.

Man-i nspi red translati ons or God-i nspi r ed wor ds?

Now, returning to this matter of studying Scripture and the word eon; when we
apply the concordant method, we discover that the Bible comes into sharper focus.
To prove the point, consider two verses from the King James Version in which
ain is translated as world.

So shall it be at the end of the world. (Matthew 13.49)
throughout all ages, world without end. (Ephesians 3.21)

If these two verses are allowed to stand unchallenged, then we have a clear
contradiction in the Scriptures, and we must agree with those detractors who
argue that Scripture is not consistent and thus not inspired (that is, the original
sacred text). The problem lies not with the inspired words of God but with the
man-inspired translations of Gods words.

Just in case you have missed the inconsistency in the King James Version, answer
this question: How can the world have an end and also have no end? In other
words, the King James clearly states that the world has both an end and is endless.
It just cannot be! The problem starts with the fact that the word world has no place
in these verses, for the Greek word is ain. The Greek word for world is kosmos;
however, this word is not in these verses in the original Greek.
5

Following the concordant approach, these verses literally should read:

Thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon.
For all the generations of the eon of the eons.

Note that the concordant rendering of these verses has no contradiction, even if
one has no understanding of the word eon. The eon in the first verse has a conclu-
sion, but there is no direct reference to an end of the eon of the eons in the second
verse. We need to see that the focus of these verses is on a period of time, an eon,
and not on the world. The world must either end or go on endlessly, but eons have
a beginning and an end. In considering verses dealing with eons, we need to un-
derstand which eon is in view, and when we do, there is no contradiction of
Scripture.

For ever and ever .

A fact that is lost in most English translations is that in some expressions in which
the word ain appears in the Greek text, it is in both the singular (ain) and plural
(ains) form. Using the Anglicized word eon or eons, we discover the phrases the
eons of the eons, the eon of the eons and the eon of the eon. These phrases
specifically refer to the last two eons; that is, the oncoming or impending eons that
follow our present wicked eon. These are discussed later. However, anyone reading
most English Bibles would never see this and would never be able to even question
its meaning, for these phrases generally appear as forever and ever (e.g., Romans
16.27; Galatians 1.5; Philippians 4.20; 1 Timothy 1.17; 2 Timothy 4.18; Hebrews
13.21; 1 Peter 4.11; all in the King James Version).

I have no understanding of the Greek language; however, those who do have such
understanding state that the Greek sometimes uses the plural and singular forms
differently than we do in the English language; that is, the plural can refer to the
singular. I must confess that I am not sure if this is the case with these words;
however, if the translators rendered forever and ever in the singular or plural
form, as in the Greek, the result would have been the phrases forevers and evers,
forever and evers and forever and ever. Perhaps, realizing the difficulty of such
renderings, most translators have chosen to ignore the plurality of the Greek.

By using the phrase forever and ever, the translators are trying to convey the idea
of eternal or eternity, a concept generally not conveyed in the Greek language.
However, again, just for the sake of argument, if the Greek does refer to the
concept of eternity, then why use the phrase forever and ever? Would not the
phrase forever be sufficient to convey the thought of eternal? It is an unneeded
redundancy to add the word ever. Some argue that it is used to add force to the
idea of being forever or eternal. If this alone were the issue, then there might be
some credence to such a notion; however, it is not the only issue, for I believe we
would still have to answer the question of why the Greek words are in the singular
or the plural.

6
THE EONS

Let us put aside the traditions of men for a moment and see if Scripture has
another answer for us. If we allow Scripture to stand on its own, we discover the
expressions the oncoming eons (Ephesians 2.7), from the eons (Ephesians 3.9;
Colossians 1.26), for the eons (Luke 1.33; Romans 1.25; 9.5; 11.36; 2 Corinthians
11.31; Hebrews 13.8), the eons (Ephesians 3.11; 1 Timothy 1.17; Hebrews 1.2; 11.3;
Jude 25), the conclusion of the eons (Hebrews 9.26), and the consummation of the
eons (1 Corinthians 10.11; see 1 Corinthians 15.24).

These Scriptures alone should resolve any doubt in ones mind as to the concept of
an eon, for they clearly reveal that there is more than one eon, there are eons to
come, and there is a conclusion or a consummation of the eons. All one needs is an
understanding of the meaning of the word eon, and these verses will make perfect
sense.

However, this is not the case if we were to substitute the words forever,
everlasting or eternal in these phrases because in the plural form they would read
the oncoming forevers or the oncoming eternals, or the consummation of the
forevers or the consummation of the everlastings. In these examples, what would
forevers or everlastings mean? It would imply that eternity consists of many
eternities. How can forever have a consummation? It would imply that forever
truly is not forever. Do you see the problems created by such translations of the
Greek words ain and ains?

There are a few points that need to be stressed before proceeding to a discussion of
the specific eons revealed in Scripture.

The Son makes the eons.

The first thing that we must see is that the eons and the Son of God are
inseparable. We must never lose sight of Gods Son in our understanding of the
eons or in our understanding of all Scripture, for that matter. It is essential that we
understand that through His Son, God makes the eons, and that the eons begin
and end in His Son. It is in Him that we see the purpose of the eons.

God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets, in the last of these days speaks
to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through
Whom He also makes the eons. (Hebrews 1.1-2 CV)
6

He [the Son] brightly reflects Gods glory and is the exact representation of
His being, and upholds the universe by His all-powerful word
(Hebrews 1.3 WNT).

6
Interpretative bias is clearly seen in this verse when we consider how it is rendered in the many
other translations that read through whom He made the world [ain] (NASB). Note that the Greek
word is ain (eon), not kosmos (world). Truly, the Son created the world, but He also created time
or the eons along with the world. We could say that He created the time-space continuum in which
we live today.
7

Remove the Son from the universe and there is no universe. It is like removing the
sun from our solar system. Remove the sun that shines upon our earth and human
life on earth will cease to exist. Likewise, remove the Son from Gods purpose and
there is no purpose of God. All creation is held by the powerful word of the Son of
God, who is the Word of God. The eons are nothing apart from the Son of God. He
is the Origin and the Consummation of the eons.

Let this one truth be indelibly engraved on our hearts and in our minds: God
established His purpose in His Son before He even brought forth the eons, and His
purpose for the eons has been, is being and will continue to be worked out in His
Son until the glorious consummation of the eons (1 Corinthians 1.10), and God is
All in all (1 Corinthians 15.24).

Before ti mes eoni an.

In light of this truth, the second thing we need to see is discovered in Pauls
epistles where he refers to before times eonian or before the eons. Gods purpose
and promises in Christ were set before times eonian. Another way of stating this is
that they were set before the eons were made by the Son. In fact, the eons are made
(past, present, future) to accomplish Gods purpose in Christ.

Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but
in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ
Jesus before times eonian. (2 Timothy 1.9 CV)

Paul, a slave of God, yet an apostle of Jesus Christ, in accord with the faith of
Gods chosen, and a realization of the truth, which accords with devoutness,
in expectation of life eonian, which God, Who does not lie, promises before
times eonian. (Titus 1.1-2 CV)

Yet wisdom are we speaking among the mature, yet a wisdom not of this eon,
neither of the chief men of this eon, who are being discarded, but we are
speaking Gods wisdom in a secret, wisdom which has been concealed, which
God designates beforebefore the eons, for our glory, which not one of the
chief men of this eon knows, for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord
of glory. (1 Corinthians 2.6-8 CV)

All the eons.

The third thing we need to see is that Scripture establishes that there are eons,
meaning that there is more than one eon. In concluding his epistle, Jude
referenced all the eons.

Now to Him Who is able to guard you from tripping, and to stand you
flawless in sight of His glory, in exultation, to the only God, our Saviour,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might and authority before
the entire eon, now, as well as for all the eons. Amen! (Jude 24-25 CV)
8
THE EONS

Notice how Jude also refers to the entire eon, which refers to our present eon.

Meani ng of eon.

The fourth thing we need to see is the meaning of the word eon. The Websters
Dictionary defines it as an extremely long, indefinite period of time, thousands
and thousands of years. Interestingly, this same dictionary defines eonian as
lasting forever; eternal. How can the noun form be a long period of time and
the adjective form be eternal, when the adjective derives its meaning from the
noun? The adjective cannot properly go beyond the meaning of the noun.

Fortunately, we do not have to rely on mans definitions, for Scripture has its
own definitions built into it. Some scholarly brethren who have carefully
investigated the use of the word eon in Scripture have concluded that it
usually refers to a period of time between two great physical and moral
cataclysmic judgments of the earth and its inhabitants.
7
Each of these long
periods of time has a beginning and is punctuated by an end.

Fi ve eons.

The fifth thing we need to see is that based on this definition, there are five
eons referred to in Scripture, which are separated by four great physical and
moral changes, punctuating the history of the human race and the earth,
namely, the disruption, the deluge, the wrath or indignation, and the
great white throne, bounded in the past by the beginning and in the future
by the consummation.

I have concluded that this offers a plausible view of the eons that can be seen in
Scripture, and that this provides a timeframe upon which to understand Gods
dealings with mankind in light of Scripture. Whether there are other eons that
preceded these, we are not given explicit instruction in the word of God. However,
I must also stress that this is not the only way that the times or ages can be viewed
or even should be viewed. As shown later, one commentator emphasizes three ages
based on the three feasts of Israel, something that warrants serious attention and
study. Also, in a subsequent chapter I present the scriptural concept of time based
on days, specifically six days followed by the seventh and eighth day.

The begi nni ng of the eons.

The sixth thing we need to see is when the eons began, at least as far as we can
discern from Scripture. This is discovered in knowing when the worlds began. The
word worlds is used because Scripture clearly speaks of more than one world. The
word world (Greek word kosmos) means an orderly arrangement or system,
which refers not to land but to an orderly arrangement of the inhabitants of the
land. It should be distinguished from the word earth, which refers to the land.

7
Gods Eonian Purpose by Adlai Loudy, Concordant Publishing Concern, 1929, 1991.
9

Scripture intimates that there are five world orders from the beginning to the
consummation of the eons. Actually, the world orders correspond with the eons.
There was a world before the disruption, an ancient world after the disruption
and a world after the deluge (great flood) called this world; then there will be a
regenerated (renascence) world in the day of the Lord and an entirely new world
of the highest moral order in the day of God.
8

The Hebrew Scriptures start with in the beginning God [Elohim] created the
heavens and the earth (Genesis 1.1 REB [TSS]). This establishes our starting point,
even though we are given no indication of when this occurred or what it looked
like. All we know is that at a certain point, God created. It is at this point that
perhaps the first eon began.

The fi rst eon.

We know little about the first eon. Peter called it the then world.

For they want to be oblivious of this, that there were heavens of old, and an
earth cohering out of water and through water, by the word of God; through
which the then world, being deluged by water, perished. (2 Peter 3.5-6 CV)

In His wisdom, God has not given us any explanation of this eon, so we are left to
conjecture about its character and demise, which many have attempted to do. I
offer no such conjecture at this point other than to state that this eon may hold the
key to unlock the secrets of the many fossil records, the extinction of huge animals
called dinosaurs and the unknown number of years (perhaps millions) that our
planet has been suspended in the vastness of Gods universe. Scripture seems to
indicate that about 6,000 years ago this earth was restored and Adam was created.
It appears that something catastrophic occurred to this planet before it was
restored in order to make it inhabitable for mankind.

The then wor ld ended wi th di sr upti on.

In Genesis 1.2, we discover that the earth was something other than an inhabitable
ordered world. In fact, it was a dark chaotic world. Yet the earth became a chaos
and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos (Genesis 1.2
CV). Another translation reads: The earth was formless and void, and darkness
was over the surface of the deep (NASB).

Did something happen to bring the earth into this condition after it was first
created? Some people believe that something did happen and yet others believe
this is simply how God created; that is, God sort of flung parts throughout the
universe and then went about organizing them. In other words, God made the
universe in a chaotic state and then made order out of it. Man might proceed on

8
In Scripture, there appear to be five eons, five world orders, three heavens and earths (old,
present, future), and three days (the day of Mankind, the day of the Lord and the day of God).
10
THE EONS

this ground, but God is not man. God speaks and whatever He desires comes
about. Besides, this theory seems to go against Scripture. Consider the view
presented in the book of Isaiah.

For thus says the LORD [Yahweh], who created the heavens (He is the God
[Elohim] who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not
create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited). (Isaiah 45.18 NASB
[REB/TSS])
9

The word states that He did not create it a waste place. According to Job, when
God created this earth, it was a magnificent sight to behold. The angels could not
withhold their shouts of joy as they saw the glory of the Lord shining forth in the
heavens and the earth (see Job 38.3-7). It was perfect order and beauty. It was a
place to be inhabited.

God is a God of order, not of chaos. God is light, and when He speaks forth, His
creative power brings forth life and order. Are we to believe that Elohim started
with chaos and created order? Perhaps not! Scientists try to prove that life started
in some primordial ooze that somehow grew from chaos into a highly specialized
order. This is mans reasoning. In the natural world, there seems to be a universal
principle that only God could have set forthchaos never leads to greater order.
Just consider a cultivated garden; once it is left on its own, what happens? It is
overtaken by weeds and loses all sense of order and beauty. A garden will never
grow on its own into a beautiful, cultivated garden. It takes man tilling the soil and
caring for the garden for it to thrive. If order goes to chaos or ruin if let untended,
then how can chaos or ruin ever be expected to produce order on its own?

In the beginning, God created, and part of His creative genius was the creation of
good and evil (Isaiah 45.7). He created an evil adversary, Satan, who sinned from
the beginning (1 John 3.8) and has been a murderer from the beginning (John
8.44). In other words, Satan was not created as a good messenger who fell in sin;
but rather, he was created as an evil one to be part of bringing about Gods purpose
and plan. It is possible that, through the great dragon, the ancient serpent called
Adversary and Satan (Revelation 12.9 CV), Gods beginning creation was brought
into ruin or waste. Gods creation was in ruin for a reason not made clear to us in
Scripture. However, given this thought, it is possible that this eon had something
to do with a battle between good and evil, which has continued unabated to our
present wicked eon. Although we are not given any indication of what transpired
during this time or the reason for its existence, we are given some indication of
how it ended to usher in the second eon.

If between Genesis 1.1 and 1.2a there is a period of time, an eon that ended in
disaster, then this could answer why the earth became a dark, vacant chaos of

9
The words Yahweh and Elohim are transliterations from the Hebrew language; considered by
some commentators to be the more accurate and appropriate words. Yahweh is the proper or
personal name of the Almighty. Elohim, which is in the plural form, means subjector(s) and refers
to God, as well as to lesser subjectors such as judges or false gods.
11

raging waters (Genesis 1.2), at some point after it had been created a beautiful,
inhabited planet.

Let us look at Genesis 1.1 and 1.2a in some detail.

Seven Hebrew words (ten English words; ten is the number of completion) are
recorded in the beginning of the prophetic word of God. In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth. Seven is the number of divine perfection and
refers to perfection of what is in view. In other words, when God created, He
created with divine perfection. It was a complete and perfect work. He created the
earth to be inhabited. It was not created to be a waste place.

However, Genesis 1.2a reveals something that seems entirely contrary to Gods
creative power: Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and darkness was on
the surface of the submerged chaos. Some (not all) scholars of the Hebrew
language state that and the earth was should be translated but the earth
became. Adding this thought to the meaning of the words which followformless,
void, darkness and deepgives a much different picture of the earth that in the
beginning was created in divine perfection as a place of habitation. In fact, Genesis
1.2a declares that the earth was just the opposite of a place to be inhabited.

To understand the condition of the earth as recorded in Genesis 1.2a, it is
necessary to look at the Hebrew meaning of formless (without form), void,
darkness and deep. The Hebrew word for formless is tohuw, which comes from
another word which means to lie waste; a worthless thing. Attached to this word
is the sense of confusion, vanity and wilderness. In other words, the earth was in a
vain, worthless condition. It was in chaos.

The Hebrew word for void is bohuw, which comes from another word which
means to be empty or an indistinguishable ruin. In other words, the earth was
an empty ruin. It was vacant.

The Hebrew word for darkness is choshek, which means the dark, or something
in misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness. The sun was no
longer giving light to the earth, and it was in misery. Thus, the earth was in misery
or wickedness because there was darkness; the sun had ceased to give its light.
Most likely, the heavens were disrupted as well.

The Hebrew word for deep is tehowm, which refers to an abyss, as a surging mass
of water. The waters on the face of the earth were not quiet and gentle but were
raging.

Thus, when all these words are studied together, a picture is presented of the earth
as a dark (without sunlight), worthless, wasted ruin with raging waters flowing
over its surface. Surely the sons of God did not rejoice over the earth in this
condition. The earth was in vanity and chaos.

12
THE EONS

Peter adds to our understanding of this matter, for in his second epistle he takes us
back to the very beginning, to the heavens and earth of old, which he called the
then world. In other words, there was an orderly arrangement or a world in
existence on this earth, but something must have happened to it for it to be
deluged by water.

For they want to be oblivious of this, that there were heavens of old, and
an earth cohering out of water and through water, by the word of
God; through which the then world, being deluged by water, perished. (2
Peter 3.5-6 CV)

These verses are often thought to refer to the flood of Noahs day; however, they
seem to refer to a time before man was created in which this world or earth went
through a major change called the disruption, which corresponds with Genesis
1.2a. The earth was covered by water due to a cataclysmic event or series of events
that brought the earth and the then world into chaos. It must have destroyed the
entire world order. We can only surmise that this chaos had something to do with
the adversary, the serpent of old.

So, there was a beginning and then there was a disruption, which means that
there was a world (the then world) that existed from the beginning until it was
brought into chaos, that is, disruption, for it was disrupted from its original,
pristine state.

The word disruption is a translation of the Greek word katabole, which means
down-casting. Most English Bibles translate this word as foundation, but the CV
uniformly uses the word disruption. Physiologically speaking, it refers to the
discharge of the seed from the womans ovaries (Hebrews 11.11 CV). The same
Greek word is used in reference to the Lamb who was slain from the disruption of
the world (Revelation 13.8 CV; also see Matthew 25.34; Luke 11.50; John 17.24;
Ephesians 1.4; Hebrews 9.26; 1 Peter 1.20; Revelation 17.8), which refers to a time
before sin entered the world. In the English language, disruption means a forcible
separation, a breach. Thus, it speaks of a time when something was discharged or
breached and before sin entered into mans kosmos (world).

For those who still might have doubts about what has been presented, consider
this prophetic word from Jeremiah.

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the
heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they
were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there
was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold,
the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were pulled
down before the LORD, before His fierce anger. (Jeremiah 4.23-26 NASB)

Of course, this language could be viewed as signifying something spiritual, and yet,
it also seems that Jeremiah was given a glimpse of a time ages ago that seems to fit
13

the description given to us in Genesis 1.2 of the earth as formless, void and dark
(no light). Obviously, there was no man at this time, for Adam came along in the
sixth day of restoration. If we accept that Jeremiah saw the disruption of the
ancient earth, then we have to accept that there was life during the first eon (or
prior eons) of this earth. There were even cities that ultimately were completely
destroyed. This leaves us wondering who or what lived on the earth at that time.
Perhaps, it was the angelic host or a precursor to man. We can only conjecture, but
for those of us with inquisitive minds, the thought of it is most intriguing.

Thus, the first eon (or perhaps a series of eons) ran from the beginning of creation
to the disruption of the heavens and the earth, and possibly the entire universe.
Obviously, we are not given any information about this eon other than it existed.
As stated already, it is possible that many of the mysteries about this earth, such as
the origin and extinction of dinosaurs and the multitude of fossils, are all hidden in
this eon. Perhaps, this eon and even the disruption lasted for millions of years.

I recognize that to some believers this last suggestion is most untenable, for they
see Genesis 1.2 as the beginning of the universe as well, and thus place the age of
the universe at about 6,000 years.
10
However, the evidence does not seem to sup-
port such a theory and Scripture does not declare it so. In His wisdom, God has not
revealed all the secrets of the universe or the many secrets hidden in our earth. The
more men seek to understand the universe in which our little planet resides, the
more men see the unfathomable extent of this universe and the vast number of se-
crets hidden within it. This should remind us of the unsearchable or unfathomable
riches of Christ, the One who upholds the entire universe.

The second eon.

The second eon began with the restoration of the ruined earth as the spirit of God
[Elohim] was brooding on the face of the waters (Genesis 1.2b REB [TSS]), after which
on the sixth day man was created to be in the image and likeness of Elohim and to
have dominion (Genesis 1.26 TSS). Peter called this age the ancient world that
extended from Adam to Noah and the great flood (2 Peter 2.4-5). Elohim created
man and restored this earth in six days and rested on the seventh, setting the
pattern for the restoration or salvation of mankind once Adam fell in sin and death
entered into the fiber of mankind.

10
The planets in our solar system, most likely, give us an indication of the condition of our earth
during the disruption. All the planets show signs of great upheaval and change. However, we do not
have to gaze into space to see such upheaval; all we need to do is look at our own home called earth.
It obviously has undergone great change since its beginning. Further, if we look at the planet
Saturn, we discover rings around it; it has several heavens rotating around it. Our earth was created
with heavens around it as well, not just one heaven. We know that in the ancient world, the earth
was watered from below and that there was an atmosphere of water covering the earth. This all
changed after the deluge and has continued to our day. However, it is interesting that Peter wrote
that at the end of the day of the Lord, which refers to the millennial kingdom of Christ, the heavens
shall dissolve along with this earth, and new heavens and a new earth will come into view in the day
of God (2 Peter 3.10-13). Perhaps there will be rings or a cloud of water vapor rotating the earth
once again, or perhaps God has something entirely new.
14
THE EONS

The restoration was a glorious garden, which soon turned into a plot of weeds as a
result of Gods ordained plan to allow the adversary to lead man to disobey his
Creator, which means that this was all in the plan of God in order to bring about
His purpose of the eons. The result was that death passed through into all
mankind, on which all sinned (Romans 5.12 CV). Mankind possessed knowledge of
good and evil and was thrust out of the garden. It is safe to state that rather than
choose good and live by it, ancient mankind chose evil instead.

The anci ent wor ld ended wi th a deluge.

The result was that after about one to two millennia,
11
the earth was corrupt in the
sight of God, the earth was filled with violence, and all flesh had corrupted their
way upon the earth (Genesis 6.11-12 NASB). God determined to destroy mankind
through the deluge, except for Noah and his immediate family.

For if God spares not sinning messengers, but thrusting them into the gloomy
caverns of Tartarus, gives them up to be kept for chastening judging; and
spares not the ancient world, but guards Noah, an eighth, a herald of
righteousness, bringing a deluge on the world of the irreverent. (2
Peter 2.4-5 CV)

Thus, the ancient world was destroyed through a great flood; all in accord with the
purpose of God, who works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1.11).

The thi r d eon.

After the water receded, a third eon commenced through Noah and his three sons.
In a very broad sense, this could be called the present wicked eon (Galatians 1.4
CV). As shown later, there most likely are other eons of shorter duration within this
eon, such as the Passover Age and the Pentecostal Age.

Clearly, the deluge that wiped out the ancient world was a major physical and
moral change for this earth. It most definitely was a moral change since all flesh
had corrupted their way upon the earth (Genesis 6.12). There has been no major
cataclysmic physical change of this earth since the deluge. We could say that we
live in the post-deluge eon. Consequently, the ordered world in which we live today
has continued unabated as an eon. Paul tells us that we are in the eon of this
world. Obviously, this world refers to the world order after the deluge.

And you, being dead to your offenses and sins, in which once you walked, in
accord with the eon of this world, in accord with the chief of the
jurisdiction of the air, the spirit now operating in the sons of stubbornness.

11
The word millennium refers to 1,000 years. There are differing views on how much time passed
between Adam and the flood1,307 years, 1,656 years or 2,262 years. Source: Halleys Bible
Handbook, Zondervan Publishing House, 1965. The most likely figure is 1,656 years.
15

According to the CV, there are many scriptural references to our current eon. Paul
called it the present wicked eon (Galatians 1.4) and the current eon (1 Timothy
6.17; 2 Timothy 4.10; Titus 2.12). In other places, it is called this eon (Matthew
12.32; 13.22; Mark 4.19; Luke 16.8; 20.34; Romans 12.2; 1 Corinthians 1.20; 2.6, 8;
3.18; 2 Corinthians 4.4; Ephesians 1.21; 2.2).

The day of Manki ndMans day.

The third eon is also called the day of Mankind or, more accurately, Mans day.

Now to me it is the least trifle that I may be being examined by you or by
mans day. (1 Corinthians 4.3 CV)

To me it is for a very little thing that by you I may be judged, or by mans
day, but not even myself do I judge. (1 Corinthians 4.3 YLT)

What is Mans day? An Expanded Translation by K.S. Wuest expresses this day in
a slightly different manner, which might add some light: But with me it is a very
small thing that I am being put on trial by you by the [judicial] day of manki nd
(1 Corinthians 4.3 WAET). In other words, it is a judicial day, and it relates to
mankind judging one another.

The context of Pauls epistle confirms that he used Mans day in this manner.

For of nothing am I conscious as to myself, but not by this am I justified. Now
He Who is examining me is the Lord. So that, be not judging anything before
the season, till the Lord should be coming, Who will also illuminate the
hidden things of darkness and manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then
applause will be coming to each one from God. (1 Corinthians 4.4-5 CV)

To Paul it meant nothing that he would be judged by man or judged in the context
of Mans day, for he was entrusting himself to the faithful Judge who will come
one day and set all things right. He refused to be examined by the Corinthians.
How could he agree to such a thing when they were challenging his motives and his
methods, even his God-given apostleship? Their standard of judgment was not
Gods and was filled with prejudice. Is this not a good description of Mans day?
Mans laws and judicial systems are weak and often failed attempts to keep order
among mankind. Mans justice is often based on fear and punishment of the indi-
vidual and seldom on forgiveness, restitution and restoration of the individual. In
other words, mans justice is penal in nature and not corrective in nature. Only
Gods law is righteous and just, for it is for correction, restitution and restoration,
based on love. It is never for destruction.

Essentially, Mans day is the period of time in the history of man in which man
rules over man and passes judgment on one another. Simply, it belongs to man
and reveals all his failures. But let us not think that Mans day is some aberration
or blot upon Gods plan, for it is not. Rather, it is by design, for it provides
16
THE EONS

mankind with the experience of good and evil, but even more than this, it will
prove that the self-sufficiency of mankind is a failure and that only Gods Son can
truly rule and administer Gods law in the earth. The theme that could be written
across Mans day is found in Pauls Romans epistle: For God has shut up all in
disobedience so that He may show mercy to all (Romans 11.32 NASB).

This leads to the question: When did Mans day start? There are only two points in
the history of mankind that could be considered for the starting point.

The first point in history could have been when death passed through into
mankind. Adam had chosen to live by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
and even the ground was cursed on account of his one transgression. Since Adam
lost the right to eat of the tree of life that would have given him Gods righteous
way to rule over the earth, Adam and all mankind were left to their own prejudices.
Essentially, there were no governments and laws of the land. Some say there was
anarchy. We get a glimpse of this as Cain and Abel were in the field, and Cain
became angry with his brother and killed him. However, it was not man that
passed judgment, but the Lord Himself who declared that Cain was cursed from
the ground. In response to Cains fear of being killed, the Lord pronounced that
sevenfold vengeance be taken on any who killed him (see Genesis 4.1-15).

Although this point in history is possible as the start of Mans day, the second
point in history seems just as plausible.

Mans day most likely began when men began making judgments about one
another, which clearly occurred after the great deluge of Noahs day when the Lord
gave a command or, we could say, the first law of this new era: Whoever sheds
mans blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made
man (Genesis 9.6 NASB). This is a very clear statement about mans rule over man
(by man), which is what Mans day is all about. At this time, capital punishment
was instituted, which has continued throughout our present eon. Consequently, it
appears that Mans day began immediately following the deluge.

During this eon, government was formed and man began to govern over man.
However, there were two types of governments that began to emerge, one with
man as the center (humanism, secularism
12
), and the other with God as the center
(theocracy).

The man-centered government followed the line of Noahs son, Ham, who caused a
curse to fall on his son Canaan (Genesis 9.20-25). Through Hams line came
Nimrod, a mighty one, who formed the first kingdom on earth in the land of
Shinar, the kingdom of Babel or Babylon. The Nimrods are known for attempting
to build a tower to heaven for their own name and glory, and disobeying Gods
command to fill the earth (Genesis 9.1; 10.6-10; 11.1-9). It apparently was a

12
All man-centered movements, whether governmental or religious in nature, are what could be
called ismse.g., capitalism, communism, humanism, liberalism, secularism, socialism,
spiritualism.
17

warring kingdom without God, and it is safe to state that many of the kingdoms
that have followed are patterned after this kingdom.
13
In fact, the spirit of Babylon
has remained active on this earth and has been operative in our day, but will be
judged and cast down at the consummation of our present wicked eon.

The God-centered government followed the line of Noahs son, Shem, and
progressed to Abraham, the Hebrew, until it broke forth through the sons of Israel
as Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt as a theocratic nation under the one, true
Goda kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Exodus 19.6), chosen to lead all the
nations of earth to God. Although there were times of glory for the Israelites, their
history is marked by failure as they turned from their God and became apostate
lovers [harlots (Hosea 1.2)] with the kingdoms of the world. They became the tail
instead of the head. In a sense, they joined with the Nimrods of the world, which
placed them under Canaan and against Gods word (see Genesis 9.25-26).

What is the purpose of this eon? There are two answers to this question.

First, the purpose is to prove that nothing has changed in the heart of man and
that man cannot rule over man or live without God and His Son. Everything that
man touches according to his own will leads to death, not life. Simply, mankind is
lost in sin. Throughout history, Babylon has ruled. As we near the end of this eon,
the world is in captivity under the spell of mystery Babylon, which will fall as
the kingdom of Christ begins to take hold of the kingdoms of this world.

Second, the purpose is discovered at Calvary. Truly, this present eon is filled with
failure; but there is one glorious event that is an absolute 100% success, all to the
glory of God and in full accord with the purpose of the eons.

The cri si s of the eons.

In the middle of the five eons or the midpoint of this present wicked eon is the one
great tragedy and triumph of the universe that we could call the crisis of the eons.
In the fullness of time, Gods Son came to this world to die on the cross of Calvary
for the sin of the world and to defeat and ultimately abolish death, the last enemy
of mankind. He came precisely at the midpoint of the eons and the midpoint of our
present wicked eon. It is as if the cross is lifted up over all the eons declaring that,
apart from Christ, the eons have no meaning and no value, but that Christ and the
cross are Gods answer to all the eons and their failures, and the transformation of
mankind into the image of Gods Son. We could say that the cross extends from the
beginning of the eons to the consummation of the eons, and that it was set in the
plan of God before eonian times, and that it will stand as an emblem of Gods love
after the consummation of the eons.

13
The ancient nation of Israel under God was a theocratic nation. Today, it is difficult to discern
nations of this caliber in the earth. However, some nations, particularly in the West, at times, could
be seen in a similar light as the Israel of our day as they have brought peace, security, order and, we
could say, civilized culture to parts of the world. The United States and Great Britain are
appropriate examples.
18
THE EONS

Let us be clear that the cross was not a fix to a problem that caught God off guard.
We could say that the cross is the apex of the eons and was according to the
preordained plan of God. In fact, it was the predetermined and deliberate purpose
of God to send His Son to this earth and pierce Him for the sin of the world (Acts
2.23). Gods Son is the Lambkin slain from the disruption of the world (Revelation
13.8 CV), which means that before sin even entered into mankind, the Son of God
was slain to the Father, even before the heinous act was carried out at the hand of
man. God has every detail planned out to fulfill His purpose, and He is executing
His plan accordingly and on schedule. Ultimately, God alone is responsible for the
salvation, reconciliation and restoration of all mankind.

The present eon of thi s world ends wi th the i ndi gnati on and glory!

Scripture clearly tells us that this present wicked eon has a conclusion. In fact,
Jesus Himself tells us so as He taught His disciples on the secrets of the kingdom
of the heavens, and the signs of His presence and the end of the eon.

Now the harvest is the conclusion of the eon. Now the reapers are
messengers. Even as the darnel, then, are being culled and burned up with
fire, thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon. . Thus shall it be in
the conclusion of the eon. The messengers will be coming out and they
will be severing the wicked from the midst of the just. (Matthew 13.39-40, 49
CV)

Now at His sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him
privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what is the sign of
Thy presence and of the conclusion of the eon? (Matthew 24.3 CV)

Given the words of Jesus and others, we know that there is a conclusion to our
present wicked [evil] eon [age] (Galatians 1.4 CV [NASB]), and it will occur with first
the removal of the darnel or tares followed by the harvests of the barley, wheat and
grapes. We could say that our present eon will end with two opposing events: the
wicked will be judged by the wrath of God (for chastening judging, which may
include physical death, but not eternal annihilation or torture), and the glorious
freedom of the children of God will begin to be revealed (Romans 8.21). It will be
life coming out of death, all to the glory of the God of the living.

However, it is appropriate to conclude that, apart from Calvary and a glimpse of
the glory to come in the oncoming eons, the key word to the first three eons is
failure.

The fourth eon.

The fourth eon will not be perfect in every sense, for death and sin will continue;
nonetheless, it is a glorious eon as the King of kings and Lord of lords ushers in the
kingdom of the heavens on earth and progressively heads up or sums up all things
in the heavens and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10).
19

Unlike all previous eons, this eon is given a very specific number of years.
Referring to the conquerors of the tribulation and the length of their reign, John
perceived: They will be reigning with Him the thousand year s. And whenever
the thousand years should be finished. (Revelation 20.6, 7 CV)

This glorious eon is mentioned numerous times throughout both the Hebrew and
Greek Scriptures. The Hebrew prophets spoke often of this eon. In Greek
Scripture, it is called the coming or impending eon, or the age to come, depending
on the translation (Mark 10.30; Luke 18.30; Hebrews 6.5). It can be described in a
number of ways, either in whole or in partthe millennial (1,000-year) kingdom,
the kingdom of His Christ, the Messianic kingdom, the kingdom of the heavens,
the day of the Lord, the Kingdom Age, and even the Renascence.

J ubi lee.

This eon is also a time of jubilee in which all debts are paid, and we could say,
mankind is set free from the bondage of the previous six days of 1,000-year days (2
Peter 3.8). During this time, the law of jubilee will no longer be ignored, for every
49 years all debts will be forgiven. Do you realize that worldwide the debt that is
owed among the nations of the world is staggering? It is measured in the trillions
of US dollars. The United States alone has accumulated nearly $9 trillion dollars in
public debt. American consumers have accumulated over $2.4 trillion of debt on
their own. Who says that we are not in the captivity of Babylon in our day? The
world needs a jubilee to cancel out all debt. In a search of the Internet for statistics
on debt, I discovered an article that was prophetic in that it proposed that a jubilee
needs to be called forth, a jubilee just like the one Israel practiced. As our world
system bulges at the seams with debt, it would appear that Babylon will soon fall,
and the world will be released from its monetary bondage.

It is difficult not to have a growing sense of the bondage that mankind is under in
our day due to the love of money and the power associated with it. This is nothing
new, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world (kosmos,
system that governs our world), that is passing away, and also its lusts (1 John
2.16-17 NASB). Our lives are in increasing bondage to an unrighteous system that is
none other than Babylon. See Habakkuk 2.6-7. Thank God; one day it will fall!

God has set six days of labor (the day of Mankind) and a seventh day of rest (the
day of the Lord). The next eon will usher in the seventh day or the seventh
millennium since the restoration of the earth. In type, we see the day of jubilee as
recorded in Leviticus 25; only the seventh millennium is on a much grander scale
than the jubilee celebrated by the ancient nation of Israel. This jubilee will engulf
the entire earth and begin the process of full redemption of all. However, it is not
the end but just the beginning of the process, for most assuredly there are other
jubilees to follow. The seventh day begins the progressive march toward the
redemption of mankind until all that was lost in Adam is regained, and all
mankind is fully reconciled to God.
20
THE EONS

In reference to those led out of Egypt by Moses, the writer to the Hebrews reminds
us of a certain fixed day; a day fixed by the Fathers authority (Acts 1.7).

For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: AND GOD
RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS; and again in
this passage, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST. Therefore, since it
remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news
preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a
certain day, Today, saying through David after so long a time just as has
been said before, TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN
YOUR HEARTS. (Hebrews 4.4-7 NASB)

God again fixes a certain day. Although many are being called into this day in our
present eon, it has not come, for yet in a little while He who is coming will come,
and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith (Hebrews 10.37-38
NASB). Until then, those of faith must hear and obey His voice while they wait
patiently for His presence.

The day of the Lord.

It might be helpful to briefly mention the day of the Lord, which is the term used
by the Hebrew prophets and repeated in Greek Scripture to describe the wrath of
God that occurs during our present eon and precedes the second coming of Christ
when He takes the scepter to reign over this earth after being gone for a long time
(e.g., Isaiah 13.6; Ezekiel 30.3; Joel 1.15; 2.1, 31; 3.14; Amos 5.18, 20; Obadiah 1.15;
Zephaniah 1.7, 8, 14, 18; 2.2, 3; Malachi 4.5; Acts 2.20; 1 Thessalonians 5.2; 2
Thessalonians 2.2). The prophets placed the emphasis on the indignation or wrath
of the Lamb as they saw the coming of the Lord in great power; however, they also
saw it as the day in which the glory of the Lord will fill the earth (Isaiah 6.3; 40.5;
60.1; Habakkuk 2.14). They saw beyond the indignation to what John saw in his
vision of the day of the Lord that will extend for 1,000 years. According to Peter,
the day of the Lord will come as a thief, and it will be a time when the second
heaven and the second earth will be purged or cleansed of all unrighteousness until
all is new in the last eon.

Now the day of the Lord will be arriving as a thief, in which the heavens
shall be passing by with a booming noise, yet the elements shall be dissolved
by combustion, and the earth and the works in it shall be found. (2 Peter 3.10
CV)

Interestingly, Peter wrote as if this day will end as soon as it starts. We are not
given a clear indication of what this will look like; however, it does not appear that
there will be a total destruction of the earth. It appears to be more like a purging
and cleansing of the countless wicked works that have been manifested on the
earth. We could say that the heavens and earth must go through their own lake of
fire of judgment according to Gods divine law. One thing for sure, according to
Scripture, we know that although it will come as a thief, it will last for 1,000 years,
21

and most likely, the cleansing (dissolution) will continue throughout the eon as
righteousness is taught and enforced (Isaiah 26.9). The glory of the Lord will fill
the earth, and glory is like a consuming fire (Exodus 24.17).

The fourth eon ends wi th the great whi te throne.

The conclusion of the fourth eon comes when the adversary is released from his jail
to deceive the nations of Gog and Magog, resulting in fire coming from God that
devours all the rebellious nations and the adversary being cast into the lake of fire
(Revelation 20.7-10). Then heaven and earth will flee away from the presence of
the great white throne that will be set to judge mankind not raised from the dead
in the first or former resurrection that will have occurred about 1,000 years prior.
Those whose names appear in the book of life will be saved, yet so as through fire
(1 Corinthians 3.15; Revelation 20.12). The works of the great and the small whose
names are not in the book of life will be judged in the spiritual fire of Gods
judgment, for God is spirit, He is a consuming fire (John 4.24; Hebrews 12.29;
Revelation 20.11-15), and His law (word) is spiritual and like fire, a fiery law
(Romans 7.14; Jeremiah 23.29; Deuteronomy 4.36; 33.2).

Thus, the fourth eon concludes with a major physical and moral change. All the
wicked or unjust are judged in the spiritual lake of fire outside the new Jerusalem
(but not tormented in a physical fire forever and ever).

The fi fth eon.

The fifth and last eon is unlike all the eons that precede it. This day begins when a
new heaven and a new earth come into view. Also, the holy city, new Jerusalem,
the spiritual Jerusalem, the corporate body-bride of Christ, will come down out of
heaven, having the glory of God. It is declared that the one sitting on the throne is
making all new. This day was foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 65.17), declared by Peter (2
Peter 3.11-13), and perceived by John (Revelation 20.1-22.5). God will possess this
day as He tabernacles with mankind. It is all new, and it is when righteousness
truly dwells as all mankind is taught righteousness.

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (Isaiah 65.17 KJV)

Since all these things are thus pre-destined to dissolution, what sort of men
ought you to be found to be in all holy living and godly conduct, eagerly
looking forward to the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the
heavens, all ablaze, will be destroyed, and the elements will melt in the fierce
heat? But in accordance with His promise we are expecting new heavens and
a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell. (2 Peter 3.11-13 WNT)

And I perceived a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven
and the former earth pass away, and the sea is no more. I perceived the holy
city, new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, made ready as a
22
THE EONS

bride adorned for her husband. And I hear a loud voice out of the throne
saying, Lo! the tabernacle of God is with mankind, and He will be
tabernacling with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will
be with them. And He will be brushing away every tear from their eyes. And
death will be no more, nor mourning, nor clamor, nor misery; they will be no
more, for the former things passed away. And He Who is sitting on the
throne said, Lo! New am I making all! And He is saying, Write, for
these sayings are faithful and true. And He said to me, I have become the
Alpha and the Omega, the Origin and the Consummation. To him who is
thirsting I shall be giving of the spring of the water of life gratuitously.
(Revelation 21.1-6 CV)

Truly, this is an entirely new world order. There is a new heaven and earth and a
new Jerusalem in which there is no more death.

The day of God.

As quoted from the second epistle of Peter, the fifth and last eon is also called the
day of God (Gods day in the CV). Why is this day called the day of God? Simply,
God will possesses this day as His own as His will, will be done on earth as it is in
heaven, without any further failure. His throne will be established on the new
earth from which will proceed the very source of life. During the day of the Lord,
Christ will sit upon the throne of David as the Son of Mankind, but in the day of
God He will sit upon the throne of God as the Son of God and the Lamb.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22.1 KJV)

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the
Lamb shall be in it. (Revelation 22.3 KJV)

We are not told how long this day will last. All we know is that this is the last eon
revealed in Scripture. What comes after this day is not ours to know, but we can be
assured that it will be glory beyond measure for all mankind, for this is in accord
with the purpose of God. What we do know is that death will be completely
abolished, which means that sin also will be completely removed because it can
only reign in death. Most of all, we know that all mankind will be restored, so that
God may be All in all throughout His entire creation.

The last eon ushers i n the consummati on of all.

Thankfully, this is not the end of the story. Christ has begun heading up or
summing up all things in the heavens and on the earth, and He will reign until He
has placed all His enemies under His feet and has nullified all sovereignty and all
authority and power, and even has abolished the last enemy death (see Ephesians
1.10, 22; 1 Corinthians 15.24-26). When He ascended back to heaven to sit at the
right hand of His Father, the Son of God ascended far above all. Today, He alone
23

has immortality (1 Timothy 6.16), and He alone has ascended into heaven (John
3.13). Consider what Scripture tells us about the exalted position of the risen,
glorified Christ.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power [spiritual and
physical] is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28.18 KJV
[writer])

Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and
authorities and powers being made subject unto him. (1 Peter 3.22
KJV)

Christ, rousing Him from among the dead and seating Him at His right hand
among the celestials, up over every sovereignty and authority and power and
lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that
which is impending: and subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as
Head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body, the complement of the One
completing the all in all. (Ephesians 1.20b-22 CV)

When the Son has subjected all things under His feet, including the last enemy
death, then He will give up the kingdom to His God and Father, so that God may
be All in all. When this glorious work is accomplished, the eons, as made known to
us in Scripture, will come to Gods intended conclusion, and His purpose will have
been accomplished.

For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the
resurrection of the dead. For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in
Christ, shall all be vivified. Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ;
thereupon those who are Christs in His presence; thereafter the consumma-
tion, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and
Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority
and power. For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His ene-
mies under His feet. The last enemy is being abolished: death. For He sub-
jects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is subject, it
is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him. Now, whenever
all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to
Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.) (1 Corinthians
15.21-28 CV)

These few verses are filled with some of the most profound truths in all Scripture.
Christ is the Firstfruit of all who are dead and remain so until the first or former
resurrection (CV rendering of Revelation 20.5). When He comes at the end of this
eon, He will raise to life all the anointed firstfruits (the saints of light, the
conquerors, the barley believers) that are destined to reign in the coming or
impending eon. At the end of the millennial kingdom, He will raise the rest of the
dead (all that missed out on the first resurrection, believers and unbelievers) that
must appear before the great white throne, either to be saved yet so as through fire,
24
THE EONS

or to be purified in the spiritual lake of fire, so that eventually they too may enter
the glory of God and know God is love for eternity (or more eons) that follow.
Thereafter, at the consummation of the eons, all mankind will be fully restored,
and death will be swallowed up in victory, the victory of the cross of Calvary. God
the Father will be All in all.

Thus, the eons have a beginning, and they have an end, and in between there have
been and yet will be major physical upheavals and moral change, until the purpose
of the eons is accomplished. That which started at the beginning must continue
until the consummation of all, so that God may be All in all. Praise God!

One final word on this matter needs to be stressed, and that is that although there
seems to be very definite breakpoints between each eon, it may not always seem
this way. It does seem that the Lord has transitions between the eons as He begins
to close down what He is doing in one period and opens up something entirely new
that he will do in the next period. These transitions may appear to be a time of
mixture. We see such a transition when Messiah came the first time that extended
from the beginning of His earthly ministry to His death on the cross in 33 AD, to
the total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. I believe that we are living in such a
time of transition as the spirit of God is preparing to introduce the sons of God to
the nations and to all that are among the celestials, and as the world is readied for
the second coming of Christ.

Now, there is another matter that needs to be addressed, and this deals with the
three phrases already mentioned: the eons of the eons, the eon of the eon and the
eon of the eons.

The eons of the eonsthe last two eons.

The phrase the eons of the eons is used twenty-one times in the Greek Scriptures
(Romans 16.27; Galatians 1.5; Philippians 4.20; 1 Timothy 1.17; 2 Timothy 4.18;
Hebrews 13.21; 1 Peter 4.11; 5.11; Revelation 1.6, 18; 4.9, 10; 5.13; 7.12; 10.6; 11.15;
14.11; 15.7; 19.3; 20.10; 22.5). The following are a few examples.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Who gives Himself for our sins, so that He might extricate us out of the
present wicked eon, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom
be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen! (Galatians 1.3-5 CV)

Paul referred to the present wicked eon and looked forward to what he called the
eons of the eons.

The Lord will be rescuing me from every wicked work and will be saving me
for His celestial kingdom: to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons.
Amen! (2 Timothy 4.18 CV)

Paul joined the celestial or heavenly kingdom with the eons of the eons.
25

Each, according as he obtained a gracious gift, be dispensing it among your-
selves, as ideal administrators of the varied grace of God; if anyone is speak-
ing, as the oracles of God; if anyone is dispensing, as out of the strength
which God is furnishing; that in all God may be glorified, through Jesus
Christ, to Whom is the glory and the might for the eons of the eons.
Amen! (1 Peter 4.10-11 CV)

Peter concluded these verses with the exact same phrase as Paul, and that these
eons are joined with glory.

And from Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and
the Suzerain of the kings of the earth. To Him Who is loving us and looses us
from our sins by His blood and makes us a kingdom and priests to His God
and Father, to Him be glory and might for the eons of the eons! Amen!
(Revelation 1.5-6 CV)

Finally, John opened The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which unveils Christ in the
Lords day, which speaks of the last two eons or the eons of the eons. So, it is clear
that all three of these mighty apostles referred to the eons of the eons.

The eons of the eons are to be viewed as the eons that stand out among all the eons.
When Paul referred to the purpose of the eons, I believe he was primarily referring
to the last two eons. In other words, he had these two eons in view when he wrote
of the purpose of God, for it is during these oncoming eons that the glory of God
will begin to shine brighter and brighter, until it is like the brightness of the
noonday sun. Why will these eons shine so brightly? They will shine because this is
when the reign of Gods Son is truly manifested, so that all will see and know who
rules in the affairs of mankind. It will be when the kingdom prayer is truly
answered: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
(Matthew 6.10).

We could say that the five eons are divided into two groupsthe first three eons
and the last two eons. The last two eons are referred to as the oncoming eons and
the eons of the eons because they are in relation to the preceding three eons.

The Lor ds day.

Before moving on, it might be helpful to look at the Lords day. As with Mans day,
the term Lords day is found only once in Scripture as used by John in reference to
his Patmos vision.

I might be alone when it comes to the meaning of the Lords day, but I perceive it
on two levels. First, it is foremost a spiritual day, for John was in spirit in this day.
Consequently, it must be understood by interpreting spiritual by spiritual (1
Corinthians 2.13 ALT). Second, it refers to all the events perceived from Pentecost to
the eons of the eons. After all, John was in spirit in the Lords day, which is
described in all twenty-two chapters of the Revelation. Consequently, the entire
26
THE EONS

Revelation encompasses our present eon and the last two eons, the eons of the
eons, and it is called the Lords day. These eons are possessed by the Lord as He
heads up all in the heavens and on the earth. Simply, the Lords day is a glorious
day that progresses from glory to glory, and it is a spiritual day that progresses
until all mankind is brought into the spiritual realm of God, into the presence of
God.

Now, to most believers, the Lords day is the first day of the week, Sunday, and
represents the day of worship. However, we worship in spirit and in truth (John
4.23). And yet, this does not negate the need for us to have a weekly sabbatical rest
according to Gods divine law. To further our understanding, the following
Scriptures are presented from the Concordant Version. Compare the following
verses to the version that you are currently reading. Most translations use the
phrase the first day of the week, or something similar.
14

And, very early in the morning on one of the sabbaths, they are coming to
the tomb at the rising of the sun. Now, rising in the morning in the first
sabbath, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out
seven demons. (Mark 16.2, 9 CV)

Now in the early depths of one of the sabbaths, they, and certain others
together with them, came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they make
ready. (Luke 24.1 CV)

Now, on one of the sabbaths, Miriam Magdalene is coming to the tomb in
the morning, there being still darkness, and is observing the stone taken
away from the door of the tomb. It being, then, the evening of that day,
one of the sabbaths, and the doors having been locked where the disciples
were gathered together, because of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in
the midst and is saying to them, Peace to you! (John 20.1, 19 CV)

Now on one of the sabbaths, at our having gathered to break bread, Paul
argued with them, being about to be off on the morrow. (Acts 20.7 CV)

On one of the sabbaths let each of you lay aside by himself in store that in
which he should be prospered, that no collections may be occurring then,
whenever I may come. (1 Corinthians 16.2 CV)

Is there anything in these verses to indicate the first day of the week? Of course
not, for all of them refer to sabbaths, which is the seventh day, not the first day of
the week. The term one of the sabbaths refers to one of the weekly sabbaths
between Wave Sheaf and Pentecost. The only way that these words can become the
first day of the week is if the words are intentionally changed to make them refer to
Sunday. Translators have taken the word for one and made it first and the word for
sabbaths and made it into the singular week (compare John 20.1 in the KJV).

14
The Youngs Literal Translation uses the word sabbaths as well.
27

This is a vital point in our understanding of the Lords day, for this bias is almost
exclusively carried over by commentators to the verse that uses this term in
reference to Johns Patmos vision. For continuity, the entire verse is presented.

I, John, your brother and joint participant in the affliction and kingdom and
endurance in Jesus Christ, came to be in the island called Patmos, because of
the word of God, and because of the testimony of Jesus Christ. I came to be,
in spirit, in the Lords day, and I hear behind me a voice, loud as a
trumpet, saying, What you are observing write into a scroll and send it to the
seven ecclesias: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira
and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. (Revelation 1.9-11 CV)

John came to be in the Lords day; that is, in spirit he found himself in the Lords
day. The term Lords day is used in most translations (24 out of 25 that were
checked). However, the difference among the versions is in the use of the
prepositions in or on. Most translations use the expression on the Lords day. The
Concordant Version and the Modern King James Version use the expression in the
Lords day. Interestingly, Greens Interlinear Greek-English New Testament
translates from the Greek using the word in but then uses the word on for its final
literal English translation.

The fact of the matter is that the word in comes from the Greek preposition and
is used in both phrases under discussion: in () spirit and in () the Lords day.
Why translate two different ways in the same sentence? Could the answer be
because of interpretative bias? Obviously, the use of on or in can change the
meaning of the sentence depending on ones bias. The use of on restricts the time
to a certain day of the week. The use of in removes the restriction of a fixed day
and opens up the possibility that it refers to a period of time.

What are we to conclude? Perhaps, Johns vision had nothing to do with a day of
the week, not even the sabbaths (or, even time or ages, for that matter), for John
was in spirit in a very specific day which belongs to the Lord. In this case, the word
day does not refer to a 24-hour period of time but to something greater. Simply, in
spirit, John saw the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, the title of Johns book is The
Revelation [Unveiling] of Jesus Christ, which means that at the heart of Johns
vision is the vision of Jesus Christ. This is what Johns vision is all about;
therefore, it only makes sense that the day that John saw be called the Lords day.
It is not Mans day; it is His day. The day belongs to Christ alone, and this
spiritual day extends from our eon to the eons of the eons and beyond. In His day,
mankind will progressively move into the spiritual, celestial realm of God, that is,
not all of mankind will come into this glory at the same time; each class will enter
into it in their own era.

28
THE EONS

The eon of the eon.

Now, moving on to the other eon phrases, the phrase the eon of the eon refers to
the relation of one eon to the preceding eon. It is used only in one place, and it
most likely refers to the last eon as presented in Scripture.

Yet to the Son: Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of the eon, and a scepter
of rectitude is the scepter of Thy kingdom. (Hebrews 1.8 CV)

Could this refer to the day of God when there is a new heaven and a new earth? We
could say that, during the Lords day, Christs throne progresses from the throne of
God to Davids throne to the throne of God and of the Lamb. During the day of the
Lord, Christ sits on the throne as the Son of Mankind and during the day of God
He sits on the throne as the Son of God. Of course, He has always been and always
will be the Son of God.

The eon of the eonsthe last eon.

The phrase the eon of the eons refers to an eon in relation to all the preceding eons.
In this case, it too refers to the last eon or the day of God. This makes perfect
sense, for of all the eons it is truly the eon of the eons. It is the highpoint of all the
eons and even stands out from the preceding eon or the Messianic era. It is just
like Jesus as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. There is no other like Him. In
relation to all other kings and lords, He alone is preeminent.

Now to Him Who is able to do superexcessively above all that we are
requesting or apprehending, according to the power that is operating in us, to
Him be glory in the ecclesia and in Christ Jesus for all the generations of the
eon of the eons! Amen! (Ephesians 3.20-21 CV)

Paul was given revelation that the ecclesia,
15
which is the body of Christ, is a new
creation i n Christ and, as such, is more closely related to the last eon when all
things are new (2 Corinthians 5.17; Galatians 6.15; Revelation 21.1). Those who are
called and chosen to be enjoyers of an allotment (inheritance) in the oncoming
eons will transcend time to spiritually enter where the chief priests were allowed to
enter only once a year, the most holy place, the holy of holies, which speaks of
being in the presence of God. Spiritually speaking, the new Jerusalem that comes
down out of heaven having the glory of God (Revelation 21.2, 10-11) is a picture of
the corporate body-bride of Christ that has been conformed into His image. The
city-bride is not so much a picture of a literal city as it is a picture of a literal people
that have received the full inheritance of the land, which refers to glorified bodies
like that of Jesus. The new Jerusalem is the holy temple in the Lord that has
been built together into a dwelling of God i n the spirit (Ephesians 2.19-22). It
is the one new man i n Christ (Ephesians 2.15). Praise God!

15
Many translations use the word church, which is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia,
meaning out-called. The English equivalent of ekklesia is ecclesia, which I prefer because the
word church has taken on a meaning far greater than what Scripture presents.
29

Paul testified that he was snatched to the third heaven, which, most likely, refers to
the third heaven in sequence, not a place in the far reaches of the universe.
16

The holi es of the holi es.

Actually, Scripture reveals a pattern for the eons, especially for the last two eons or
the eons of the eons, and this is discovered in the five divisions of the tabernacle
and the temple system.

Just as the tabernacle consisted of five physical divisions (spatial), so do the eons
consist of five divisions (time). However, although we are tempted to leave both
the tabernacle and the eons in the realm of space and time, they actually speak of a
spiritual reality and refer to the spiritual and the celestial realms, which are
something other than time and space, as we know it.

The tabernacle and the temple system were divided into outside the camp, within
the camp, the court, the holy place, and the holy of holies or the most holy place.
The first three divisions are far different from the last two divisions, which in
Scripture are called the holies of holies. It is unfortunate that most translations do
not render the Greek accurately, for they drop the s from the first holy, when, in
fact, it is rendered holies in the Greek.

Nor yet is it that He may be offering Himself often, even as the chief priest is
entering into the holies of holies year by year by the blood of others.
(Hebrews 9.25 CV)

As the chief priest was called and chosen to enter the holies of the holies and no
one else was allowed to enter, so today there are those who are being called and
chosen to enter the eons of the eons at the conclusion of our present wicked eon.
The rest will follow either at the great white throne or at the consummation of the
eons, but until then, only the called and chosen of God, the ones who more than
conquer through the One who loves us, will enter into this most glorious celestial
realm to be with the Lord.

As with the eons, the first three divisions are different from the last two, for the
holy place and the most holy place are parts of the tabernacle itself. This is what
the writer to the Hebrews referred to as the holies of the holies, just as the last two
eons are referred to as the eons of the eons. This alone should perk one up to see
that it just might be possible that the spirit of God designed it this way to reveal
Gods purpose of the eons to those with open minds.

16
In his Patmos vision, John perceived a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and
the former earth pass away (Revelation 21.1 CV); and it is most likely what Paul saw when he was
snatched away to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12.2 CV). Paul saw exactly what John perceived.
He was also snatched away to paradise, which would be the new creation as described in Revelation
21-22. John wrote about what he saw, but Paul heard ineffable declarations that he was not allowed
to speak.
30
THE EONS

There is an uncanny similarity between the tabernacle divisions and the eons that
is hard to pass off as mere coincidence. God does not work in coincidences but
with purpose and plan.

The first eon is likened to outsi de the camp. We are given very little
information about this eon. It was simply outside the view of mankind as outside
the camp was not under the jurisdiction of the tabernacle and temple system.

The second eon is likened to wi thi n the camp and represents when death and
sin entered into mankind and the world. Mankind was barred from the garden, but
God made provision for their nakedness by sacrificing an animal and covering
them with its skin, which pointed to a future provision for their sin. This is a
picture of the camp, which consisted of the sinners that had to rely on the
sacrificial system to deal with their sins and to approach God in the temple.

The third eon is likened to the cour t and represents man moving toward God,
although he is not there yet. Christ has made the way, but concerning the world at
large, many are still in the court. This is the present wicked eon, which is
highlighted by the fact that it was during this eon that the Son of God was
crucified, at which time He began the process of dragging all unto Himself
(Greek rendering of John 12.32).

The fourth eon is likened to the holy place and represents the Messianic
kingdom when the true Israelites are a kingdom and priests; when the conquering
saints enter their respective places in the kingdom. The holy place and all its
furniture are a type of Christ and speak of the day of the Lord. The revealed sons of
God will manifest the magnificence and glory of Christ to the nations on earth, and
they will teach them righteousness and administer justice. Further, the sons are
the ecclesia, which is His body, the complement of the One completing the all in
all, that join Christ as He continues to gather up all things, both that in the heavens
and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10, 23).

Finally, the fifth eon is likened to the holy of holi es or the most holy place,
and represents the last eon or the day of God when there will be no need for the
temple, for mankind will be brought into the presence of God.

And I hear a loud voice out of the throne saying, Lo! the tabernacle of God is
with mankind, and He will be tabernacling with them, and they will be His
peoples, and God Himself will be with them. And He will be brushing away
every tear from their eyes. And death will be no more, nor mourning, nor
clamor, nor misery; they will be no more, for the former things passed away.
And a temple I did not perceive in it, for the Lord God Almighty is its
temple, and the Lambkin. (Revelation 21.3-4, 22 CV)

Thus, the last two eons are typified by the holies of the holies.

31

entering into the holies of holies year by year by the blood of others, since
then He must often be suffering from the disruption of the world, yet now,
once, at the conclusion of the eons, for the repudiation of sin through His
sacrifice, is He manifest. (Hebrews 9.25-26 CV)

The chief priest entered into the holies of the holies, the last two and most sacred
divisions of the temple. In like fashion, mankind, according to their own class, will
begin to enter into the last two and most sacred divisions of time, the eons of the
eons. But let us not become fixated on this entrance as if the emphasis is in space
and time. This is a spiritual matter. It is entering into the very realm in which God
operates. It is entering into the very presence of God where there is no need for a
temple, for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lambkin (Revelation
21.22 CV). God is Spirit (John 4.24) and God is Love (1 John 4.8, 16), and He dwells
among the celestials. It is entering the spiritual and celestial realm of God that
operates on the principle of His love.

Today, there are a people, the body of Christ, seated together among the celestials,
in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2.6 CV). The body of Christ is blessed with every spiri-
tual blessing among the celestials, in Christ (Ephesians 1.3 CV). These are spiritual
realities for all who are called and chosen in this eon to be in Christ. Those who are
called and chosen have a foretaste of what it will be like when the eons of the eons
commence, for they will be the first to enter the holies of the holies, even the most
holy place, in spirit and among the celestials.

Oh, the wonderful symmetry of Scripture! It is no coincidence that Scripture
speaks of the holies of the holies and the eons of the eons. One is in space and the
other is in time. Both speak of a spiritual and celestial reality for the called and
chosen and ultimately for all mankind. When we see the beauty of this symmetry,
we begin to see the beauty of Gods purpose of the eons. The longing of mankind
should be to enter into the presence of God.

The three feasts of I sraelthree ages [eons].

Now, before concluding this chapter, there is one more matter that needs to be
addressed that was mentioned earlier and that pertains to the three main feasts of
IsraelPassover [Feast of Unleavened Bread], Pentecost [Feast of Harvest] and
Tabernacles [Feast of Ingathering] (see Exodus 23.14-17; Leviticus 23).

One commentator
17
has shown quite convincingly that these three feasts are pro-
phetic in that they speak of three stages of development in the kingdom of God
upon the earth as the spirit of God is manifested in greater measure or empower-
ment. They are described as the three stages of kingdom development and begin
with the Passover when the nation of Israel was called forth from Egypt. Thus,
from Moses to Christ is the Passover Age in which the kingdom was brought to

17
Creations Jubilee by Dr. Stephen E. Jones, M.A., ThD., Gods Kingdom Ministries, 1991.
32
THE EONS

earth but in a relatively small scale of empowerment of the spirit. The day of
Pentecost (Acts 2) began the Pentecostal Age in which the spirit of God was given
in much greater measure, not in fullness, but rather as an earnest of a future
empowerment. It is the next age or the Tabernacles Age in which the spirit will be-
gin to be poured out in fullness and the kingdom will be established on the earth in
increasing measure. The Tabernacles Age corresponds to the oncoming eons, as
well as to the harvests that will occur at the end of our present eon.

This progression perfectly matches the secret of His will in Christ as revealed to
Paul. God has purposed in His Son to sum up (gather up, head up) all in the heav-
ens and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10). By His spirit, Christ has been progressively
summing up all on two levels; a national level and an individual level.

On the national level, we see this starting with Moses and the ecclesia in the wil-
derness and then we see a much greater measure with the pouring out of the spirit
on the ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. However, this will not begin to be
manifested on earth in its greatest measure until we approach the oncoming eons
or ages when the firstfruits, the conquerors of Christs body, enter into the celestial
realm, glorified as Christ is glorified, and the kingdoms of this world become the
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11.15). Only then will the
kingdom increase in much greater measure and intensity until all has been
subjected to the Son, bringing about the restoration and reconciliation of all and
the consummation of the eons.

On the individual level, we see a similar progression for all who believe in this eon
and are overwhelmingly conquering through Christ who loves us (Romans 8.37).
Passover represents justification by His blood (Romans 5.9); Pentecost
represents sanctification through the infilling of the Holy Spirit (2 Thes-
salonians 2.13); Tabernacles represents glorification as one is conformed to
the image of the Son of God, conformed to the body of His glory (Romans
8.29; Philippians 3.21).

Concluding, the glory of God will begin to shine ever so brightly in the eons of the
eons until all creation is brought into the realm of God. Then all creation will be
bathed in His love and glory, and all will enter the most holy place to the glory of
God and His Son. Praise God for this glimpse of His purpose!
33

[The following charts summarize the eons.]

34
2. AFTER SIX DAYSON THE SEVENTH DAY

God makes the eons through His Son, and His purpose and plan is being fulfilled
through the eons. In Scripture, we discover at least five eons which, we could say,
are wedged between book ends with before times eonian (1 Corinthians 2.6-8; 2
Timothy 1.9; Titus 1.1-2 CV) in the beginning and the consummation of the eons (1
Corinthians 10.11; 15.24) at the end. The five eons added to the before times
eonian and the consummation of the eons yields the number seven, which refers to
spiritual perfection. Thus, the purpose of the eons reveals the perfection of God in
dealing with mankind and all creation.

There is another way to view Gods purpose, and that is through the days1,000-
year days. Peter cautions: But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
that wi th the Lord one day i s li ke a thousand years, and a thousand
years li ke one day (2 Peter 3.8 NASB). Moses declared: For a thousand years
i n Your si ght are li ke yester day when it passes by, or as a watch in the night
(Psalm 90.4 NASB). To the Lord, a day is like a thousand years.

Scripture indicates that there are seven 1,000-year days set for our present earth
until God makes all new by ushering in a new day with a new heaven and a new
earth. This final day is Gods day, and it is an eighth day, a new beginning, which
could be likened to the eighth day of the seven day Feast of the Tabernacles
(Leviticus 23.33-36).

The ki ngdom of Chri st.

As we begin, it is worthwhile to offer a few comments about the kingdom of Christ,
which encompasses both the seventh and the eighth day. We could say that the
unfolding of the kingdom of the glory of God progresses in two phases or, more
accurately, two eons, the eons of the eons.

It is of some interest to study the past eons, for they give us a framework for
understanding Gods purpose and plan. However, I believe that the purpose of the
eons as referred to by Paul (Ephesians 2.11 CV) refers to the last two eons and not
so much to the ones that precede it. The seventh day is a sabbatical rest in accord
with Gods principle laid down in the beginning of the restoration of the earth, for
God has declared the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46.10).

The seventh day is a day of renascence, a revival. In the Concordant Version, the
word renascence is used when Jesus promised thrones to His disciples.

Yet Jesus said to them, Verily, I am saying to you, that you who follow Me, in
the renascence whenever the Son of Mankind should be seated on the
throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19.28 CV)
35

In other words, the earth that has existed since the restoration in Adams day will
be revived. If we count the earth that existed before the disruption as the first
earth, then the earth restored for Adams race is the second earth. This does not
mean that it is an entirely new earth (i.e., new form, size, composition); but rather,
it is a restored or revived earth. In a sense, the old is revitalized into something
beautiful. I liken it to taking an antique car or furniture and restoring it to its
original beauty. This is what the renascence does. It is not the coming forth of
something that is entirely new. According to what was revealed to John, this is
reserved for the eighth day, which is when God begins to make all things new
(Revelation 21.50). It is a new beginning and a new creation. The conquering
believers of this present eon are forerunners of this new creation (2 Corinthians
5.17; Galatians 6.16).

The renascence will not only be about the earth but also about the people of the
earth, for in that day the greatest harvest of people into the kingdom of God will
occur as the conquerors of Christ take the gospel of the kingdom to all the nations
to disciple them in fulfillment of the word of the Lord (Matthew 24.14; 28.18-20).
This harvest will continue throughout the seventh and eighth day.

Now, to add to our understanding of how God is bringing about His purpose, this
chapter is devoted to the concept of after six days there will be a seventh day, all in
accord with Scripture. It is only part of the picture but an important part.

Few people in our day seem to teach or stress six days and then the seventh day,
but this does not mean that it is not a truth of Scripture. I believe it is a truth that
was lost early in the history of the ecclesia that the spirit of God has recovered in
some measure in these last days. At the end of the chapter, references are provided
of some who held this view early on, including Barnabas who worked with Paul.

The cli max of the present eon.

The cross is the crisis and the victory of the eons, and the death and resurrection of
the Son of God occurred at the midpoint of our present eon, as well as at the
midpoint of all the eons. This was the first advent of Christ that led to the
Pentecostal Age. The world now awaits the second advent of Gods Son to take the
scepter of the kingdom of this earth, which will usher in the Tabernacles Age.

I wonder how many of the Lords people are truly waiting for the presence of the
Lord or have an expectant hope, desire, longing, even a hunger to be in the
presence of the love of their life. Thank God; there is some heightened awareness
of His return in our generation. As God opens our eyes to see more clearly, may the
presence of the Lord be expected, not just accepted; may it be preached with
passion, not just mentioned in passing; may it be the very foundation of hope, not
just many things hoped for; may it be the blessed hope, not just a faint hope; may
it be relational, not just theological; may it be of the heart, not just of the mind;
may it be Oh Lord, come today!, not just Yes, He will come one day.
36
AFTER SIX DAYSON THE SEVENTH DAY

May the spirit of God put in your heart a love of the appearing of the Lord! After
all, Paul has left a word for those who love His appearing.

From this time onward there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not
only to me, but also to all who love the thought of His Appearing. (2
Timothy 4.8 WNT)

The entire history of this world and man has been and continues to move toward
this one event. Some people believe that history has been molded entirely by the
human race. It is as if man is the driving force of history. Some people look at past
history in the light of today and believe the world has become a technological
marvel of what man can achieve. Some people believe that there is no limit to what
man can accomplish in the years ahead. Some people believe that the world is
heading toward destruction. Still others believe it is heading toward a utopia where
all the worlds problems will be solved. To some degree, each thought has an
element of truth; but none is the correct view of world history.

Man might believe that he is in control of the destiny of this world, but he is not;
God is. God alone is the true driving force of all history, both of good and evil.
During some periods of world history, it might have seemed that God was an
absent ruler. But even in the darkest of times, God has ruled in the kingdom of
men because He has been moving toward one mighty climax of the eons (ages). In
His longsuffering, He has been pressing on toward the goal of the restoration of all,
which is centered on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God,
and His return to this earth to reign over the nations.

According to the Fathers appointed time, His Son will return to this earth one day
to take the scepter of the kingdom of the heavens to reign over this earth. His
kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness and peace. Righteousness and justice are
the foundation of His throne (Psalm 97.2), and He will rule with a rod of iron
(Revelation 19.15), based on Gods divine law. All the enemies of God will begin to
be subjected to Gods King, for He must rule until all His enemies have been put
under His feet, until the last enemy, death, is abolished (1 Corinthians 15.25-26).
He will head up or sum up all in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1.10). All things
will be gathered together in Him and He will fill all things with His life. Christ will
be all and in all (Colossians 3.11). In that day, the Lord shall be King over all the
earth; it shall beThe Lord is one, and His name one (Zechariah 14.9).

God has been at work for nearly 6,000 years of world history with this in view.
Gods Son will sum up the history of the nations and of man. When He comes to
reign over this earth, He will take this earth from chaos to order, from war to
peace, from lawlessness to law, from unrighteousness to righteousness, from
injustice to justice. At the end of His millennial reign, a new heaven and a new
earth will be brought forth as He ushers in the day of God, the eon of the eons, the
beginning of an eighth day (1 Corinthians 15.27-28; 2 Peter 3.12).
37

Before this glorious day arrives, there is one more eon that must come, which is
the millennial reign of Christ. It is the seventh day of world history that brings to a
close the six days or 6,000 years of man. It is when the reign of the heavens begins
to truly take root on the earth. It is the day of sabbatical rest for the earth, and in
this rest, people will be free to learn the ways of God in a way they have never
known. God will put His laws into their minds and write them on their hearts
(Hebrews 8.10; 10.16).

What has God been doing in history? He has been working to restore ruined man
and this earth which is in the bondage of corruption (Romans 8.21) in order to
usher in the day of His Son and bring many sons unto glory (Hebrews 2.10), until
all mankind and creation are brought in. He has been working to restore man to
the very purpose for which He created manto be in His image and to have
dominion (Genesis 1.26).

According to Gods word, He is coming and He will not delay (Hebrews 10.37).
How long will it be until God sends His Son back to this earth to rule? God has
appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man
whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him
from the dead (Acts 17.31).

We may not know exactly when our beloved Lord will return, but we can stand on
Gods word that He will come, for the Father has assured all by raising His Son
from the dead. Because He was raised from the dead, we can be absolutely 100%
sure that the Righteous One is coming back to judge and rule the world in
righteousness. A day has been appointed.

God i s pr eci se.

Gods timing is perfect. He does not delay. In fact, God is very precise in what He
does (see Revelation 9.15). Unfortunately, when we study Scripture, we read with
our own understanding and begin to believe that God works in ways similar to
fallen man. The result is that we fail to see that God works in a very fixed, precise,
accurate and deliberate fashion.

Gods ways are so precise that Scripture is like a mathematical formula based on
Gods divine numbers. His word is so arithmetically accurate that if we want to
know His ways we need to know His numbers. The more one searches for clues of
His ways based on numbers, the more one is left in amazement and awe of God.
Some who have studied this matter in depth have come to the conclusion that the
Bible is so precise mathematically that it proves that only God could have written
it. It is probably safe to state that we have only touched the tip of the iceberg in
understanding and unraveling the mystery of Gods mathematical formula.

Nevertheless, there are many numbers we do understand in light of how God is
working in history to bring about His purpose. Some specific numbers are
repeated often to reveal Gods principles in dealing with man. For example, one
38

refers to unity or oneness; two refers to witness; three refers to resurrection,
divine perfection or completeness; five refers to human weakness and grace; six
refers to the weakness of man, manifestation of sin and incompleteness; seven
refers to the spiritual perfection or completeness of that which is in view; eight
refers to a new birth, a new creation, a new beginning, the beginning of a new
series; ten refers to ordinal (an order or series of numbers) perfection or
completion of that which is under discussion, and testimony; twelve refers to gov-
ernmental perfection or completeness; forty refers to a period of trial, testing,
probation or chastisement.
1
[A list of the meaning of numbers is included as
Appendix 1 of this book.]

Understanding Gods meaning to numbers in Scripture is a key that will unlock
many truths. This is a particularly important matter in understanding Gods timing
and the completion of the work that He is doing to bring all things under
subjection to His Son (Hebrews 1.13), and to bring in His kingdom (Matthew
16.27-17.1) and His appointed times (Leviticus 23.2).

To further understand Gods purpose and plan, it is helpful to understand the
principle laid down in the very beginning of Gods word. Numbers are critical in
understanding Gods restoration work and in them we discover His principle of
restoration. One number in particular, the number seven, is the key to Scripture.
The study of Scripture based on the number seven is called the septenary
arrangement of Scripture.
2

The hi stor y of the heavens and the earth.

In the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, it is recorded that God took this
earth, which was in ruin and chaos because of the disruption and restored it in six
days. The spirit of God hovered over the raging waters and breathed life into
something that was in death and darkness. God spoke light into the earth and
began a work of restoration. On the sixth day, He formed man, Adam, from the soil
of the earth; He commanded man to have dominion over the earth. Man was
created in the image and likeness of God to rule over Gods earth under Gods
sovereignty (Genesis 1.26). When He finished the work of restoring this earth and
creating man, God declared that it was very good (Genesis 1.31). God was very
pleased, and He rested on the seventh day.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And
on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His
work which God had created and made. This is the history of the heavens and
the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the
earth and the heavens. (Genesis 2.1-4 NKJ)

1
Number in Scriptures by E.W. Bullinger, Kregel Publications, 1967; Biblical Mathematics, Keys to
Scripture Numerics by Ed. F. Vallowe, The Olive Press, 1998.
2
The Study of Scripture by Arlen L. Chitwood, The Lamp Broadcast, Inc., 2005.
39

This is the history of the heavens and the earth. God set the principle of restoration
in the very beginning when He restored the earth the first time. He firmly
established the pattern for the entire history of the earth, from the beginning to the
end of its restoration. God restored a ruined earth, brought on by the disruption, in
six 24-hour days. On the seventh day, God rested. He set apart the seventh day and
blessed it.

Thus, in Gods original restoration of this earth, we discover His unchanging
principle in the history of this earth, both then and now. He restores in six days
and He rests on the seventh.

Mans day.

Adam, as the federal head of the new creation, man, was to take dominion over the
earth. He was created to be in the image and likeness of God and was set in the
garden to establish Gods kingdom on earth. However, God did not intend for
Adam or his descendants to take the full reign over the earth in that day. In fact, it
was not Gods intention for man to take the reign of His kingdom on the earth in
the first six 1000-year days set for mankind. In this respect, we could call these six
days Mans day,
3
for together they stand for the day of mans weakness due to
death and sin that came in when Adam partook of the forbidden fruit of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil when he was probably 33 years of age.
4

To me it is for a very little thing that by you I may be judged, or by MANS
DAY, but not even myself do I judge. (1 Corinthians 4.3 YLT)

Mans day is not an accident; it is in the perfect will of God who works all things
after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1.11 NASB). Before eonian times, God
purposed that man would fail and be given 6,000 years or six days to attempt to
rule on earth under the weakness of sin. This explains why the serpent of old was
allowed in the garden and why God Himself planted the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil in the midst of the garden. It surely appears to be a formula for
failure. It was! God intended for Adam to take of the fruit of the tree, so that there
would be a need for a second Man, the last Adam, to bring in the seventh day. Only
Gods Son can bring creation into rest. Consequently.

Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and thus
death passed through into all mankind, on which all sinned.
(Romans 5.12 CV)

3
The point is made elsewhere that Mans day could have started with either Adam or with Noah.
For this discussion, the position is taken that it started with Adam. We could say that whenever
man reigns in sin it is his day.
4
The first Adam was a type of the second Adam, Christ (Romans 5.14). Since Jesus shed His blood
for the sin of the world at age 33, which undid what was brought on by Adams one transgression,
then it follows that Adam must have sinned at age 33.
40

In Adam [first Adam], all are dying, thus also, in Christ [last Adam],
shall all be vivified [made alive]. (1 Corinthians 15.22 CV [added by writer])

Death entered into the picture, and God established one unchangeable principle:
death must precede life, or life comes out of death!

When Adam sinned and lost the glory of God (Adam became naked) to rule over
the earth, he could not have dominion as God had intended. He was sent forth
from the garden to till the land.

A good example of this loss of power to rule is given to us through the animals.
Adam named every animal that God brought before him. There was no fear on the
part of the animals or of Adam. They were at peace together because they had been
given to Adam to rule over. After death entered into Adam and his race, this all
changed with Noah and the flood. When he came out of the ark, Noah was given
every moving thing as food, but the Lord put fear of man into every moving thing
(Genesis 9.2). Man was no longer at peace with his world. He could no longer
command or rule because he was not in dominion. Instead, he had to till the land
and hunt for his food. Consider how the animals of the wild respond to man today;
except for some domesticated animals, the creatures in the wild (the bush) do not
obey man, but at best, they act fearful toward man, and at worst, they would just as
soon devour man.

All man can do is try to subdue according to his own strength and knowledge (of
good and evil) in a world that he has been disqualified from subduing. Since the
flood, all that man can do is be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis
9.1). Man cannot effectively rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth (Genesis 1.26 NASB). Man tries to rule but overall it is failure.

With Adams transgression, death took hold and the entire human race began its
decline into ruin. Since man was created to have dominion over the earth, the
earth also went into corruption. Paul describes it as the bondage of corruption or
slavery to corruption. In fact, creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but
because of Hi m who subj ected i t, in hope that the creation itself also will be
set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children
of God (Romans 8.20-21 NASB). The whole creation groans in travail, awaiting the
day that the sons of God are revealed and brought into glory. What a day that will
be!

Thank God; He did not destroy man and start over with a new created being. Oh,
there were times that God wanted to start over, particularly in the days of Noah.

And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was
grieved in His heart. And the LORD said, I will blot out man whom I
have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping
41

things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.
(Genesis 6.6-7 NASB)

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and mankind was not completely blotted
out, for eight people were saved during the time of judgment of the earth through
the flood. Eight is the number of a new birth, a new creation, a new beginning. God
made a promise: Never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh
(Genesis 9.15). God used the water first to judge the pre-Adamic world (disrup-
tion) and then man. The final judgment of the devil, mankind and the earth and
the heavens associated with this earth will be by fire, both physical and spiritual (2
Peter 3.10-13; Revelation 20.10, 14, 15; 21.1).

One day is as a thousand year s.

Gods purpose and plan cannot and will not fail. Following Adams fall, God began
a new work of restoration centered on man and brought about through the Man,
the Son of God, the last Adam. Gods plan of restoration is based on His principle
of restorationsix days followed by a seventh day, that is, six days of restoration
work and a seventh day of rest. However, Gods day is no longer a 24-hour day.

In reference to the history of this earth, the Bible tells us that one day is as a
thousand years and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3.8). The order of the
words in this verse is important because they refer to Gods restoration work in the
beginning before the fall of man and then after the fall. Gods restoration started
with a 24-hour day before the fall that became a 1,000-year day after the fall. In
other words, God restored an earth in ruin and darkness in six 24-hour days; but
when Adam fell in disobedience, God began a new work of restoration that will last
six 1,000-year days. He restored the earth and brought forth man in six 24-hour
days. Now, in six 1,000-year days, He is restoring man and the earth brought into
corruption by man. God has set 6,000 years to do this work. This is Mans day, for
six is the number of man.

In the very beginning, God left another proof of this principle of one day. When
Adam was commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he
was told, for in the day you eat from it, to di e shall you be dyi ng. (Genesis
2.17 CV). When Adam ate of the tree, death took root and the process of physical
death began. In addition, his spiritual communion with God was broken, and he
was no longer clothed in the glory of God. He became naked. No man since Adam
except the Man, Jesus, has ever walked in uninterrupted glory. But a fact that is
often overlooked is that Methuselah lived 969 years (Genesis 5.27); the most years
that any man has ever lived on the earth. Man has never lived a full day, a full
1,000-year day. If Adam had not sinned, man would have come into uninterrupted
glory in the full day. One day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one
day. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23).

However, let us be reminded that it was not in Gods plan for man to live a
complete 1,000 years in the beginning.
42

Praise God; there is a day coming when a glorified people will live the full 1,000-
year day during the millennial reign of Christ. This day is the Eon (Age) of the
Kingdom and Glorythe seventh day.

The fourth commandment and the j ubi lee.

The seventh day is of such importance that when the Lord gave the Ten Com-
mandments to Moses, the fourth one specifically calls to remembrance the history
of the heavens and the earth and the sabbatical rest of the seventh day. It seems
clear that the Lord wants to ensure that we do not lose sight of the purpose of the
eons and, in particular, the seventh day in which righteousness and justice will
begin to rule.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the
LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your
daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner
who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh
day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus
20.9-11 NASB)

However, there is more to the seventh day, for the Lord also instituted the jubilee,
based on seven times seven or 49 years, which leads to the 50
th
year of jubilee.

You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the
seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of
your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat.
You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. (Exodus
23.10-11 NASB)

Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land
which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD.
Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your
vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land
shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow
your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvests aftergrowth you shall not
reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall
have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land
for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and
your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and
the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat. You are also to
count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so
that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-
nine years. You shall then sound a rams horn abroad on the tenth day of
the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all
through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim
43

a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you,
and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return
to his family. You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not
sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. For it
is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field. On
this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property. (Leviticus
25.2-13 NASB)

There is a great deal to be learned from these verses; however, for the time being,
let us take note that the jubilee points to the consummation of the eons and the
fulfillment of the purpose and plan of the eons. In fact, a grand jubilee will come
that will end Gods day and consummate the eons.

What we need to see at this point is the significance of the number seven in
reference to the seventh day that is nearly upon us.

The seventh daythe rei gn of Chri st.

A seventh day is coming, the millennial kingdom age, when Christ will take the
scepter of the kingdom of the heavens and sit upon the throne of this earth. About
2,000 years ago or 4,000 years from the time of Adam, God sent His Son to this
earth; He took on the form of man and died for the sin of the world to redeem and
reconcile man back to God. Through Him, God reconciled all to Himself, having
made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on
earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1.20 NASB).

At Calvary, Gods Son conquered all powers and principalities, including death,
and He will inherit the nations and possess the earth. He is Gods King.

But as for me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.
I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, Thou art My Son,
today I have begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations
as Thine inheritance, and the {very} ends of the earth as Thy
possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter
them like earthenware. (Psalm 2.6-9 NASB)

When Christ appears the second time, His presence will bring in the seventh day or
the last 1,000 years of world history for the second earth. This day is the millennial
reign of Christ.

All down through history, God has been working to culminate all things in the
triumphant return of Messiah, Jesus, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The One who was despised, rejected, spit upon, marred as no man has been
marred; who had a crown of thorns thrust upon His head, was then hung on a
cross and crucified, and finally was raised from the dead to ascend to the throne of
God is coming back a second time. This time He is coming in glory and power. He
will be wearing many diadems or crowns (Revelation 19.12). He is the ruler of all in
44

heaven and on earth. In that day, He will end Mans day and bring in His day, the
day when He rules in righteousness, justice, peace and lovingkindness.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that He has spoken in a certain place of the
seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His
works (Hebrews 4.4 NASB). There is a seventh day coming, for there remains a rest
for the people of God (Hebrews 4.9). Gods word is true, and it shall come to pass
whether man knows it or not, even if some of His people believe it or not.

Again, God has given us His unchangeable principles through Hebrew Scripture as
seen through the establishment of the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments as
given through Moses to the sons of Israel. It was given as a sign.

But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, You shall surely observe
My sabbaths; for {this} is a sign between Me and you throughout your
generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
(Exodus 31.13 NASB)

It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased {from
labor,} and was refreshed. (Exodus 31.17 NASB)

The sabbath that was set as a sign between God and the sons of Israel is a type of
what is to come for all the earth and its nations. God has set a continual reminder
that a day of rest is coming. God was refreshed on the seventh day, and He will be
refreshed again when His Son ushers in the seventh day.

Another sign that we see everyday is contained in the calendar. Time is based on
seven days. This is no coincidence.

It is interesting that the Lord Jesus said, Do not think that I came to abolish the
Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill (Matthew 5.17). He is
the fulfillment of all the Law, including the Commandments. When He comes, He
will end the sixth day and bring in the seventh day. He will fulfill all the days
determined by the Father.

The cloud cover ed i t si x days, and on the seventh day.

In Scripture, we discover that the type of the coming seventh day was revealed
when Moses went up on the mountain, which refers to a kingdom, to meet the
Lord and after six days Gods glory appeared. The antitype is found in the account
of the Lord Jesus going up on a mountain and being transfigured in the presence
of Moses, Elijah and three disciples. The antitype reveals that after six days the
Lord of glory Himself will appear in His kingdom and glory.

When Moses was commanded to go up to the mountain, it is recorded: Then Moses
went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. Now the glory of
45

the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it si x days. And on the
seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the
glory of the LORD was li ke a consumi ng fi re on the top of the mountain in
the eyes of the children of Israel (Exodus 24.15-17 NKJ).

After six days, on the seventh day, the glory of the Lord appeared to Moses, and he
received instruction for Israel to be a kingdom of priests unto God. The blood of
the lamb had been applied; they were delivered from Egypt and were on the brink
of becoming Gods chosen nation on earth to lead all the other nations (Deuteron-
omy 28.1, 13). In other words, the kingdom of the heavens was to be manifested on
earth through Israel. However, as with Adam, the ancient nation of Israel failed in
their calling, never reaching the heights that God commanded through Moses.
Moses is a type of Christ, the Deliverer. Moses brought Israel out of bondage in
Egypt (world, death). When Christ comes, He will come to deliver mankind out of
bondage to the world system and death.

After si x days.

Matthews gospel reveals the antitype of the kingdom and glory when it comes in
the seventh day. When He walked this earth, the Lord Jesus took three of His
disciples up on a high mountain and appeared to them as the Son of Man coming
in glory and in His Kingdom.

Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste
death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Now after six
days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high
mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His
face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the
light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if
You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshad-
owed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him! (Matthew 16.28; 17.1-5
NKJ)

After six days, on the seventh day, what did the disciples see?
5
They saw the King
standing, transfigured in glory. They saw the Son of Man coming in glory on the
seventh day. Gods voice boomed out: This is My Son! It is Gods Son who is
coming to take the scepter of His kingdom of glory. When He comes, Christ will be
like a consuming fire, just like when the glory of the Lord appeared as a consuming
fire on the mountain with Moses. Christ will judge His people and the nations. All
that is not of His life, which has not borne fruit for His kingdom, will be consumed
in the judgment of Gods fiery law (but not a judgment of torture!).

5
Since in type glory appeared on the seventh day, in antitype we can assume that Christ was
transfigured on the mountain on the seventh day as well, even though the account does not
specifically reference it as such. It follows that after the sixth day was the seventh day.
46

As an aside, Luke records the days differently from Matthew, which could lead one
to discount the seventh day, but Scripture never contradicts itself. Instead it
presents a fuller picture of the truth. Luke records that some eight days after these
sayings (Luke 9.28). The key to understanding the difference in the six days
verses the eight days is the time period to which each writer referred. Luke counted
his days from the time of these sayings, which started in Luke 9.18. Matthew
counted his days starting at the end of these sayings. In other words, Jesus taught
His disciples over a two-day period (Matthew 16.13-28; Luke 9.18-27). Matthew
simply counted his days following these sayings, and Luke counted his days at the
beginning of these sayings. Three is a very important number; in the prophetic
Scriptures, relative to the coming of the Lord, the third day and the seventh day
are one and the same. Thus, if we take Lukes account of two days for the sayings
and consider what these sayings actually reveal, we will see that they all referred to
the Christ going to the cross, building His ecclesia and finally coming as the Son of
Man in the glory of His Father, ushering in the Renascence or the seventh day.
Prophetically speaking, God has set aside two days or 2,000 years from the cross
to glory. Using Lukes account of the days, we arrive at the same conclusion as
Matthewafter two days, on the third day, the kingdom comes.

This is the history of the heavens and the earth. Seven thousand years will
complete the history of the second heavens and the second earth. Following these
days, a new, glorious eighth day begins. It is Gods day when all is new.

Before moving on, there are other interesting indications in Scripture that point to
Gods appointed time of six days, then the seventh day.

2,000 cubi ts, perhaps 2,000 years.

Consider the dimensions of Moses tabernacle. The Holy Place was 2,000 cubits,
and the Most Holy Place was 1,000 cubits. Perhaps cubits refer to years. The 2,000
cubits refer to the 2,000 years since Pentecost during which the body of Christ has
been called out of the world and drawn near to the presence of the Lord with an
earnest (pledge, promise, guarantee) of the spirit (2 Corinthians 5.5; Ephesians
1.14). The 1,000 cubits refer to the 1,000-year reign of Christ, when the same ones
see Jesus (the Most Holy Place), and receive glorified bodies and the full anointing
of the spirit, as typified in the Feast of the Tabernacles (see John 7.37-39).

Another indication of 2,000 years is given through the account of Joshua taking
the sons of Israel into the land of promise after their long wilderness journey.

At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and
they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant
of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set
out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and
it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that
you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this
way before. (Joshua 3.2-4 NASB)
47

In other words, there is a distance of 2 days (1,000-year days) or 2,000 years
before the Lords people will enter into the celestial land, which refers to receiving
the inheritance of glorified, immortal bodies in the likeness of the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ (Philippians 3.20-21). This is the time during which God is taking
from among the nations (gentiles) a people for His name (Acts 15.14 NASB). It truly
has been a long journey through the wilderness for Gods people. May it come to
an end soon to the glory of God!

Seventh month, seventh day.

We are given another glimpse of the seventh day as revealed through the Lords
appointed times given through Moses to the sons of Israel (Leviticus 23.1-2). It is
noteworthy that, before the times were given, the sons of Israel were reminded of
the six days followed by a sabbath rest or the seventh day.

For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a
sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any
work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings. These are the ap-
pointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall
proclaim at the times appointed for them. (Leviticus 23.3-4 NASB)

Spiritually speaking, the Lord reminds all His people that true rest can be found
only in Him. The seventh day truly represents that Christ is our rest. Come to
Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest
(Matthew 11.28 NASB). Today, we are wearied by the wandering in the wilderness as
we wait for the promise of glorified and immortal bodies in the image of the Son of
God. But the good news is that the seventh day is coming; it is the day of rest in the
Lord.

For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: AND GOD
RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS. (Hebrews 4.4
NASB)

It seems clear that the Lord stresses over and over again that He has set six days or
6,000 years for man and a seventh day, a 1,000-year day, for the Lord and for His
creation. We are given glimpses of the Lords heart through the words spoken
through Moses to the sons of Israel.

They were given seven appointed times, holy convocations which they were to pro-
claim at the times appointed for them. The appointed times were the Lords
Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Wave of the Sheaf Offer-
ing, the New Grain Offering (Leavened Bread, Pentecost), the Blowing of
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of the Booths or Taber-
nacles. You might recall that Israel was called to celebrate three feasts to the
Lord: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of the Harvest of the
Firstfruits, and the Feast of the Ingathering (Exodus 23.14-17).

48

Now, the fifth appointed time by the Lord was the blowing of trumpets.

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying,
In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a
rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You
shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to
the LORD. (Leviticus 23.23-25 NASB)

On the first of the seventh month, which according to the Jewish calendar is the
month of Tishri (September-October on our calendar), the Israelites were to blow
trumpets, not only to announce the beginning of a new month but to prepare the
people for the Day of Atonement, which occurred ten days later. However, the
blowing of trumpets also signified the beginning of the last of the Lords dealings
with His people for the year that ended with the Feast of the Tabernacles, which
commenced on the fifteenth day of the month of Tishri.

Notice that this was to be done in the seventh month, which given the meaning of
the number seven, gives us an indication of the timing of Gods dealings with His
people. Perhaps seven months prophetically speaks of seven days of 1,000-year
days. This would indicate that the blowing of trumpets commences the seventh
day, that is, the millennial kingdom of Christ.

In Scripture, trumpets were blown to assemble the people to worship, to order the
people to break camp to move out and to give alarm in preparation for battle. The
best example of trumpets used in warfare is the history of Joshua and the sons of
Israel marched once around Jericho on each of six days as the trumpets were
blown, and then on the seventh day they marched around seven times, again with
the trumpets blowing. At the end of the seventh march, they all shouted and the
walls of Jericho fell, and they seized the city (see Joshua 6). Prophetically, this
speaks of the day when Babylon falls, and the kingdom of the world becomes the
kingdom of Christ, for this occurs with the blowing of seven trumpets as well (see
Revelation 8.1-11.18).

Prophetically speaking, the blowing of trumpets announces not only the beginning
of the day of the Lord, the seventh day of 1,000 years, but it also announces the
first resurrection (Revelation 20.4-6; also see Matthew 22.29-32; Mark 9.10; Luke
20.34-38; Philippians 3.11; Hebrews 11.35) of the blessed and holy saints of God,
the conquerors of Christ. Paul tells us that the resurrection of the saints will occur
with the trumpet of God (1 Thessalonians 4.16-17), even the last trumpet (1
Corinthians 15.51-57). The dead in Christ will be the first to rise from among the
dead. This event will not only be a shock to the world but also to the ecclesia of
God that are alive and remain on earth. This will lead to a time of repentance ten
days later, which is the Day of Atonement. The entire ecclesia will repent for
having been so spiritually weak and for so much failure and error. Then, fifteen
days into the seventh day will come the Tabernacles, which is when all the
conquering saints will be glorified as Christ is glorified. They will be snatched away
to meet the Lord in the air and begin their ministry to the nations and among the
49

celestials. During this time, the King Himself will be manifest on the earth. Thus,
we have six days for mans labor followed by the seventh day of rest.

I recognize that this scenario is not how most Christians view end-time events,
especially those who are waiting to escape this world through the rapture. After
all, many see the fulfillment of the fall feasts as pertaining entirely to the ancient
nation of Israel according to the flesh and not to the ecclesia of God according
to the spirit of our present era. However, consider this fact: Jesus precisely
fulfilled the spring feasts that birthed the ecclesia, which is the body of Christ.
Regardless of how one views Israel, does this view preclude the possibility that the
fall feasts also will be precisely fulfilled in relation to the ecclesia of God in
bringing forth a glorified body for the Son of God? Something to consider!

Testi mony of others.

Now, it is helpful to know that others have seen and held to this matter of six days
followed by the seventh day of rest, that is, we could say, the septenary structure of
Scripture. It is instructive that Barnabas, who traveled with Paul, wrote an epistle
in which he explained the 1,000-year day. Thus, we have an indication that the
early Pentecostal ecclesia held to this view. An expositor of Scripture has compiled
a list of men who have held this view.
6
An excerpt of this list is presented for your
consideration as you are encouraged to search Scripture and discern under the
leading of the Holy Spirit.

1. Barnabas, the companion of Paul in his travels. In the 13th chapter of
the epistle ascribed to him, we find the following passage: God made in
six days the works of His hands and He finished them the seventh day;
and He rested the seventh day and hallowed it. The meaning of it is this:
that in six thousand years the Lord will bring all things to an end, for
with Him one day is as a thousand years, as Himself testifieth; therefore
in six daysthat is in six thousand years shall all things be accom-
plished. And what is this He saithHe rested the seventh day? He
meaneth this, that when His Son shall come and abolish the season of
the wicked one, and shall judge the ungodly, and change sun, moon,
and stars, then He shall gloriously rest on that seventh day.

Now, to what does this witness testify? a) That at the end of six thou-
sand years from the creation of the world, the glorious or Millennial rest
will begin. b) That to inaugurate this period, Christ will come. c) That
the wicked will be in the ascendant, possessing the dominion till Christ
does come. d) That at His coming He will judge the ungodly, dethrone
evil, and give the dominion to the saints. e) That the seven thousandth
year of the world will be the beginning of the Millennium of rest.

6
Selected Writings of A. Edwin Wilson, Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc., 1996.
50

2. Papias, our second witness, was a disciple of John, and the compan-
ion of Polycarp. His works have perished, but an extract from them,
given by Eusebius, contains the following: There will be a certain thou-
sand years after the resurrection of the dead when Christ will reign cor-
porally [personally] upon the earth; and he says, that what he relates
are the very words of the elders Andrew, Peter, Philip, Thomas, James,
John, Matthew, Aristio, and John the Presbyter, as related by them to
those of whom he constantly made the enquiry; and he pledges himself
to the truth and fidelity of what he reports.

3. Justin Martyr, born ten years before the death of the apostle John,
says, in his dialogue with Tyrpho, I, and all that are orthodox Chris-
tians, are acquainted with the resurrection of the body, and the thou-
sand years in Jerusalemrebuilt, adorned, and enlarged, as the proph-
ets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and others do declare. Moreover, John, one of the
apostles of Christ, did prophesy that the faithful believers in Christ shall
live a thousand years in Jerusalem, and after that, the general and ev-
erlasting resurrection and last judgment of all together.

4. Irenaeus was the disciple of Polycarp, the pupil of John. He wrote,
among other things, five books upon the heresies of his time. Moshiem
says that his writings are the most precious monuments of ancient
erudition. He says: In whatever number of days the world was cre-
ated, in the same number of thousands of years it will come to its con-
summation. God on the sixth day finished His work and rested on the
seventh. This is a history of the pastand a prophecy of the futurefor
the day of the Lord is as a thousand years. Irenaeus sealed his testimony
with his blood, being beheaded under Severus, A. D. 202.

5. Cyprian says, In the divine arrangement of the world, seven days
were first employed, and in them seven thousand years are included.

6. Clement of Alexandra, who wrote between A.D. 193 and 218, says
that both Greeks and Hebrews accounted the seventh day sacred
because it pointed to the renovation of all things.

7. Lactantius, A.D. 310, the Christian Cicero, and reckoned one of the
most learned of the fathers, says: He [God] shall restore the just that
have been from the beginning unto life, and He shall converse among
men a thousand years, and rule them with a most righteous govern-
ment.

8. Gibbon, the infidel historian, speaking of this doctrine of the
Millennium says: The ancient and popular doctrine of the Millennium
was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ. As the
works of the creation had been finished in six days, their duration in
their present state, according to tradition, which was attributed to the
51

prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years. By the same analogy it
was inferred that this long period of labor and contention would be
succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years, and that Christ, with
the triumphant band of His saints and the elect who had escaped death
or who had been miraculously revived, would reign upon the earth.

9. The celebrated Chillingworth says, This doctrine was by the Church
of the next age after the Apostles held to be true, and by none of that age
opposed or condemned. And now let the reader note well, when and
under what circumstances this Apostolic and primitive mode of
receiving and interpreting Scripture began. During these centuries of
persecution, this doctrine of the pre-millennial Advent of the Lord
Jesus Christ had been the churchs fondest hope. This had lit up the
darkness of the dungeon, fired the zeal of the martyrs, and blunted the
edge of the persecutors sword. The heathen persecutors recognized this
at last, and said, It is no use persecuting these men and putting them to
death, for they say they shall rise again from the dead and live and reign
with Him they call Christ, a thousand years upon the earth.

10. Luther. He believed that The great purposes of Gods mercy would
reach their consummation at the end of six thousand years from the
creation, and that the day of judgment was not much more than three
hundred years removed from his time.

11. Malanethon affirmed that the Mohametan Empire and the Papacy
would be destroyed about the same time, not long before the first
resurrection; that the world would endure six thousands in its present
state, and then enter upon a Sabbatic Millennium of rest.

12. Latimer says, The world was ordained to last six thousand years.

13. The Rabbi Ketina, as cited in Gemara, or gloss of their Talmud, says,
The world endures six thousand years, and one thousand it shall be
laid waste (that is the enemies of God shall be destroyed), whereof it is
said, the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

14. The Jewish Cabbalists taught the same. The first letter of the
Hebrew Alphabet (Aleph) occurs six times in the first verse of the first
chapter of Genesis; and as a numeral in Jewish arithmetic it stands for
1,000, which being six times repeated in the same verse, they regard as
prophetic, or typical of the six thousand years of secular history as well
as the six days of creation.

From these quotations one cannot help but be impressed with the fact that some
living nearest the Lord and His apostles believed beyond any shadow of a doubt
that history is divided into the two periods of six days of work and a day of rest.
Because the word tells us that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, the
52

true significance of the days means that God is working with the world six 1,000-
year days, which leads to the seventh day, the day of rest.

Knowi ng the si gns of the ti mes

The question arises as to when the six days of man will conclude. The simple
answer is that we do not know.

Obviously, down through the centuries men have held many views on when the
Lord will come and take the scepter of the kingdom over this earth. Just as many
truly thought the Lord was coming in their day. Starting in the 20
th
century, there
have been many who have set dates, convinced in their minds that they were
absolutely correct in their conclusion. All of these dates and expectations have
come and gone, and many men have been left embarrassed, with an untold
number of brethren left discouraged.

It is possible to calculate with some reasonableness the years from Adam to our
present day. Scripture, along with the worlds historical record, gives us a close
proximity to how long it has been since Adam. For example, we know that roughly
from Adam to Abraham was 2,000 years (more like 2,008), and from Abraham to
Christ was 2,000 years. We also know that from Calvary to our present day has
been about another 2,000 years. By the way, these years are based on a 30-day
month, which is the way Scripture often presents time (see Revelation 11.2-3).
Given even these rough approximations, the sixth day should have ended by now.
If so, then where is the seventh day? I have two answers to this question, which are
not mutually exclusive, for aspects of both could apply.

First, perhaps we have misunderstood Scripture regarding how the day will unfold,
and in fact, it has come, and we are in it right now. Is it possible that we have been
misled as to how the seventh day unfolds? What if the last seven years of Daniels
490 years that so many are looking for was fulfilled at Calvary? Perhaps we are
looking at end-time events through the wrong lens. This is something to seek the
Lord about as we search Scripture.

Second, perhaps it has not come because we are in a time of transition. Simply, the
Lord has built in transitions between the eons and possibly other times in history.
Accordingly, we have reached the conclusion of the six days as far as the actual
years of world history, as we know them. However, what we do not know is how
God views these years and how many transitions have been built into the six days.
We need to keep in mind that although the Lord works with man in time, He also
sees outside of time. Although He has set six days, He sees those days from His
perspective, not ours. I believe that we are presently in a transition. When this
transition is up, perhaps the seventh day will come. May it be so!

What are we to do? Keep seeking and searching for the truth! I believe that God is
pleased with seekers of His truth that is yet hidden in His word, and that He will
reveal the season to His servants who are diligently searching and inquiring. After
53

all, Jesus was critical of the religious elite of Israel that should have known the
signs of the times (Matthew 16.2-3) as He stood in their midst. Jesus stands in our
midst today.

Today, we are often warned by many commentators that we cannot know the times
and the seasons, based on a few Scriptures. One of the most-often quoted verses is:
It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which God has put in His own
power (Acts 1.7 CV). The understanding of Jesus words rests on the latter half of
the verse, which states that we cannot know those things that God in His
sovereignty has chosen not to reveal to anyone. This does not state that He never
reveals His secrets, even secrets about His appointed times and seasons. It is
simply Gods prerogative what secrets He will reveal and when and to whom He
will reveal them. Consider the word of the Lord through Amos.

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel
to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3.7 NASB)

Further, consider the brethren in Thessalonica to whom Paul wrote: Now
concerning the ti mes and the eras, brethren, you have no need to be written to
you, for you yourselves are accurately aware that the day of the Lord is as a thief
in the nightthus is it coming! (1 Thessalonians 5.1-2 CV). The Thessalonian
brethren needed encouragement regarding the times and the eras because of the
trial that they were experiencing. They needed to know something about the times
and the eras, so that they could discern the season they were in and be encouraged
to go on in the faith.

Consequently, it seems apparent that for the benefit of His people, God conceals
His secrets from some in certain eras only to reveal them to others in later eras.
For example, it was not Gods will to reveal to Jesus disciples when the kingdom
would be restored to Israel (Acts 1.6). Can you imagine what it would have done to
the building of their faith and expectation, if they were told that it would not come
for many millennia? Personally, I would have been very discouraged. And yet,
think of the encouragement that would come to the hearts of those many centuries
later that begin to wonder if the whole thing is just a dream that will never come
true? God knows when and how to encourage His people and this involves reveal-
ing His secrets at the proper time. Sometimes, I think He purposefully opens the
curtain just enough to give us a peak and wet our appetite, without giving it all
away. This gives us hunger for more and leads us to be seekers.

So, to say that His secrets always remain secrets is not according to Scripture. All
one has to do is consider Paul the apostle who was given much revelation from the
Lord, which he referred to as the secrets of God. As we press on toward the goal, let
us be seekers of the truth, including knowing the appointed times and seasons,
perhaps God will reveal them to our hearts.

May we have spiritual sight as we wait for the presence of the Lord, which is in
accord with the purpose and plan of the eons!
54
3. THE KINGDOM OF GOD THE FATHER

Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the
kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14.16-17 NASB)

For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. (1
Corinthians 4.20 NASB)

And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world did become those of our
Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!
(Revelation 11.15 YLT)

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. (1 Corinthians 15.24-25 KJV)

To understand the purpose of the eons, one must understand the concept of
kingdoms as presented in Scripture, for the plan of God is worked out through
kingdoms and is consummated in His kingdom when the Son delivers up the
kingdom to God the Father so that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15.23-28).

The word kingdom appears many times throughout both Hebrew and Greek
Scripture and is without doubt a major tenet of Scripture. Depending on the
translation, kingdom, in its singular and plural form, appears in the Bible over 400
times. Instead of the word kingdom, the Youngs Literal Translation most often
uses the word reign, which appears 300 times.

The word kingdom, as translated from the Greek word basileia, means reign. It
most often refers to the reign of a king, or the realm ruled by a king or the
territory, people, or sovereign power pertaining to it. By dividing the word into its
two components, we see that it is made up of king and dom, which is the
abbreviation for dominion, which means rule or power to rule; sovereign
authority; sovereignty. Thus, the word kingdom means that a king rules over a
realm. There can be no kingdom without a king. Years ago there were many
kingdoms on earth but many have been replaced with other forms of sovereignties
in which the people rule through elections and set their own laws, rather than
through a king who is sovereign and without equal in his realm. Generally, in a
kingdom the king is the law.

Throughout Scripture, there are many types of kingdoms. For example, there is the
kingdom of Nimrod [Babylon] (Genesis 1.10), a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19.6),
the kingdom of Israel (1 Samuel 13.13; 15.28; 24.20), the throne of his (Davids)
55

kingdom (2 Samuel 7.13), the throne of the kingdom of the LORD (1 Chronicles
28.5; also Psalm 22.28), the kingdom of the house of Israel (Hosea 1.4), the
kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem (Micah 4.8), the kingdom of the heavens
(Matthew 3.2; 4.17; 32 times in Matthew), the kingdom of God (Matthew 12.28; 66
times in the New Testament), the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13.43), the
kingdom of the Son of Man (Matthew 16.28), My Fathers kingdom (Matthew
26.29), His (Christs) kingdom (Luke 1.33; Hebrews 1.8), Satans kingdom (Luke
11.18), My (Christs) kingdom (Luke 22.30; John 18.36), the kingdom of Christ and
God (Ephesians 5.5), the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1.13), His
(Gods) own kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2.12), the celestial (heavenly)
kingdom (2 Timothy 4.18), the eonian kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ (2 Peter 1.11), a kingdom and priests to our God (Revelation 5.10), the
kingdom of the world (Revelation 11.15), the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ
(Revelation 11.15), the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ
(Revelation 12.10), and the kingdom of the beast (Revelation 16.10).

We must be careful that we do not lump all these kingdoms into one as if they are
the same, particularly the ones that refer to God, the Son and the heavens. They
are related but there are differences that once understood will bring Gods purpose
and plan into sharper focus. For example, kingdoms can be spiritual or political,
eternal or temporal, moral or wicked, inclusive or exclusive, universal or earthly,
invisible or visible, angelic or human, and in heaven or on the earth. For this
reason, we need to discern the context of each expression that refers to a kingdom.

In addition, in the New Testament we discover seven expressions of the kingdom:
sons of the kingdom (Matthew 8.12; 13.38), the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew
4.23; 9.35; 24.14; Luke 16.16), the word of the kingdom (Matthew 13.19),
mysteries of the kingdom (Matthew 13.11; Mark 4.11; Luke 8.10), a disciple of
the kingdom (Matthew 13.52), the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 16.19), and
heirs of the kingdom (James 2.5; also Matthew 25.34). Although not expressed
exactly in this form, one could add children (Matthew 18.3; 19.14; Mark 10.14,
24; Luke 8.16, 29) and parables of the kingdom (Matthew 13.3; Mark 4.11; Luke
8.10).

The subject of kingdoms is such a major tenet of Scripture that one chapter is not
enough to do it justice. However, what follows is presented as a framework by
which to understand how Gods kingdom is progressively manifested on earth in
light of the purpose and plan of the eons. Gods plan to achieve His purpose is a
progressive plan that begins, continues, and is consummated in His Son when He
takes possession of all things in creation by subjecting all to Himself and
abolishing death. We see the principle set forth when ancient Israel was called to
enter the land. The Lord declared that He would drive out the enemies li ttle by
li ttle, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land (Exodus 23.30).

Gods plan has progressed through the eons and will continue to progress through
the oncoming eons until all things in the heavens and on the earth are subjected to
the Son of God, so that He alone is the King and the Sovereign of the entire
56
THE KINGDOM OF GOD THE FATHER

creation of God. The Sons mission is to see that Gods will is not only done on
earth but that it is done throughout all Gods creation. Everything is working
toward this one purpose when Christ will head up all in the heavens and on the
earth that will lead to the abolishment of death and the reconciliation of all to God,
whether in the heavens or on the earth. It is only when all has been subjected to
Christ and all sovereignty and all authority and power have been nullified that the
Son will subject Himself to His Father, so that God may be All in all. See 1
Corinthians 15.20-28; Ephesians 1.10; Colossians 1.20. This is when the Son will
give up the kingdom to His God and Father, and His will will reign supreme. This
is the kingdom of God the Father, for He will be in relationship with all creation as
a father is to his family.

Beyond the eons, the kingdom of the Father is a united kingdom of love that is
unlike any kingdom that mankind has ever seen or experienced. It will be a
kingdom of familial relationship. It will be a paternal kingdom, for God will be the
paterfamilias, the Father of a glorious family. I believe Paul saw this verity as he
wrote: For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole [every] family in heaven and earth is named
(Ephesians 3.14-15 KJV [ALT, ASV, DNT, LITV, NASB]). This speaks of familial relationship.

Men will never again rule over men, for all creation will be subjected to God and
will be in the perfect will of God. Sin and death will reign no more. The weight of
sin will be cast off for the weight of glory. The laws of God will be written on the
hearts and minds of all mankind. Everyone will know exactly what to do; how to
live righteously and to love fully. Can any of us imagine what it will be like to be
bathed in the love of God and to be doing the will of God naturally and joyously,
never living in fear and doubt again?

We need to keep in mind that most of Scripture pertains to Gods purpose and plan
in relation to mankind and the earth as worked out during the eons that He makes
through His Son (Hebrews 1.2 CV). Today, so many Christians stress going to
heaven as if this is Gods purpose for them; however, God, through His Son, our
Lord Jesus, is working to bring heaven to earth and to establish His rule in the
heart of all mankind, so that ultimately, He (God the Father) may be all in all
throughout His entire creation. To do this, today, the Father is calling out a special
company of people, a body, which is the ecclesia that is joined to Christ the Head,
and it is through this body that He will sum up or head up all things in the heavens
and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10). The body of Christ is the complement or
fullness of the One who fills all in all (Ephesians 1.23) so that the Father may be all
in all. The body of Christ is destined to be a spiritual and celestial body that
transcends both the physical and the spiritual or celestial realms. So, going to
heaven is not our goal if we belong to Christ; our goal is to be like Christ in glory
(Philippians 3.21; 1 John 3.2), conformed to His image (Romans 8.29) as His
complement, so that we can be that vessel through which He will sum up, gather
up or head up all things in the heavens and on the earth.

It is hard to imagine what this will be like, but we know that it will be glory.
57

Now, let us consider the kingdom of God.

The uni versal ki ngdom of God.

According to Appendix 114 of The Companion Bible compiled by E.W. Bullinger,
there are eight essential characteristics of the kingdom of God.

1. It has God for its Ruler.
2. It is in heaven over the earth.
3. It is unlimited in scope.
4. It is moral and spiritual in its sphere.
5. It is inclusive in its character (embracing the natural and spiritual seed
of Abraham, the heavenly calling, and the Church of the Mystery).
6. It is universal in its aspect.
7. It is (in its wider aspect) the subject of New Testament revelation.
8. And will be eternal in its duration.

I would add to number 6 that today it is also individual in its aspect, as opposed
to national.

Although Scripture refers to many kingdoms, we need to be clear that when it
comes to God, there is really only one kingdom; it is the universal kingdom of God,
for God alone is the Supreme over all His creation. He reigns over all. It matters
not if some of Gods creatures do not bow the knee to Him. Even the most
rebellious of His creatures are under His reign. He operates all in accord with the
counsel of His will (Ephesians 1.11 CV), for out of Him and through Him and for
Him is all (Romans 11.36 CV). There is one God, the Father, out of Whom all is, and
we for Him (1 Corinthians 8.6 CV). All that has occurred and will yet occur is in the
counsel of Gods will.

In a pure sense, the kingdom of God refers to the absolute rule of God throughout
His entire creation, whether on earth, among the celestials or anyplace in the
vastness of His universe. His kingdom extends throughout the eons but is not
restricted to the eons as we know them, for it is without end. Everything in Gods
creation is in His kingdom, and He reigns over His creation. As David wrote: Thou
art my King, O God (Psalm 44.4).

There is no one higher than God and no one who rules beyond God, for He is
Supreme. For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; you are exalted far
above all gods (Psalm 97.9 NKJV). All power and dominion belong to God alone.
God rules over all and absolutely nothing happens in His creation apart from His
rule. There is no place in this vast universe that is outside His realm. He knows all
that is going on in His universe and He is Supreme over all that is going on. Most
importantly, He is working all things in His universe according to His purpose and
plan.

58

The ki ngdom of our Father.

The kingdom of God has no end; it is eternal. However, the kingdom of God will
progress into the kingdom of our Father. Today, the kingdom of God speaks of a
spiritual and moral kingdom, but in the consummation of the eons it will also
become a familial kingdom, that is, a kingdom with one Father over one family.

The eons were and are made by the Son to lead all creation into the adoration,
love, worship and will of God, not through coercion or force but by Gods law and
grace. Even the most hardened and unrighteous heart will, one day, willingly bend
the knee, all to the glory of God (Isaiah 45.23; Philippians 2.10-11). When this is
fully accomplished and the kingdom of Christ is delivered to the Father, it will not
only be the kingdom of God, but it will be the kingdom of the Father.

What does the kingdom of the Father represent? The unchallenged will of God in
all! It is the all of God! The kingdom that will be manifested at the consummation
of the eons means that God is All! He will be all to His family. It will be ever
expanding in the will and love of God, even as the celestial (heavenly) and the
earthly (physical) realms become one.

In the kingdom of the Father, the eight characteristics noted above take on a
slightly different set of characteristics from the kingdom of God. [These are not
found in The Companion Bible; they have been modified by the writer.]

1. It has God as the Father of all.
2. It is heaven fills the earth, the celestial and the physical realms
are no longer separated.
3. It is unlimited in scope.
4. It is moral, spiritual, and love in its sphere.
5. It is inclusive and relational in its character (embracing all in the
heavens and on the earth; all mankind)
6. It is universal and individual in its aspect.
7. It is the revelation of the entire Bible, especially Genesis 1-2
and Revelation 21-22.
8. And will be eternal in its duration.

Thr onea canopy or cover i ng.

Another way to express the thought of a kingdom is through the word throne.
David declared: The Lord has established His throne in the heavens and His
sovereignty (kingdom) rules over all (Psalm 103.19 NASB). A throne is the seat of
authority. It is the place from which the rule comes forth. In the Hebrew language,
throne conveys the thought of a canopy or a covering, implying protection. Thus,
from the throne comes the rule over a realm, and it is this rule that provides
protection to the realm over which it presides.

59

God alone is the one who rules over the universe in which our earth is located. It is
His throne, His realm, His kingdom; and His throne is the canopy or protection
over His entire realm. All rule comes from His throne, which is in heaven.

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the
majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; yours is the
kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches
and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power
and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. (1
Chronicles 29.11-12 NKJV)

O LORD, the God of our fathers, art Thou not God in the heavens? And art
Thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and
might are in Thy hand so that no one can stand against Thee. (2 Chronicles
20.6 NASB)
1

So, when our hearts might begin to falter as we see upheaval, uncertainty and
storm clouds forming upon the earth or in our personal lives, let us not be dis-
mayed, discouraged or disheartened. God is in control, and all is being worked out
according to His purpose and plan. His throne is everlasting and indestructible,
and His canopy is over all!

Let it be set in our hearts that in Gods creation there really is only one kingdom.
All other kingdoms and those who rule in them are subordinates in the kingdom of
God. All kingdoms exist at the discretion of God alone. Although the character of
the kingdom of God never changes and is endless, the kingdoms within His
kingdom do change, as well as the administrators or rulers of these kingdoms. We
see this in the history of the kingdoms of our world; kingdoms rise and fall. The
Lord Himself declares that He uproots and plants kingdoms. All kingdoms have a
life cycle; simply, they come and go as God wills; all in accord with His precise
timing and His purpose and plan.

At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a
kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation
against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the
calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak
concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to
plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think
better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. (Jeremiah 18.7-10
NASB)

Even the kingdom of Christ has limits since it will end at the consummation when
Christ gives up the kingdom to God the Father, so that God may be All in all.
However, there is a vast difference between Christs kingdom and all other

1
For other Scriptures, see Deuteronomy 10.14; 32.39; Jeremiah 27.5, 6; Daniel 4.17.
60

kingdoms. Christs kingdom is not a failure. It is a kingdom of righteousness and
justice, for He loves righteousness and justice (Psalm 33.5; 89.14).

When the Son gives up the kingdom to His God and Father it is for one reason
alone. The Son will have done all the Father has asked in heading up all in the
heavens and on the earth. When He has accomplished His mission, He must give
up the kingdom to God, for this is in accord with the purpose of the eons. In no
way does this diminish the Sons place in Gods creation. Do not even entertain
such a thought! He is forever the Son of God, the Head of the new creation. Giving
up the kingdom gloriously means that He will have accomplished all the work the
Father gave Him to do. When all is subjected to the Son, then the Son will subject
all to the Father. Further, the administration or governing of Gods kingdom will
change from a hierarchical, command type form of governing to a familial,
paternal form of governing, like a fathers relationship to his children. Again, all
will know what to do; they will know the heart of God, for His laws will be upon
their hearts and written in their minds (Hebrews 10.16). God the Father will lead
His family of love. Praise God!

I n all places of Hi s domi ni on.

Now, David, as the Psalmist, adds to the comprehensiveness of Gods kingdom as
he declared: Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion (Psalm
103.22 NKJV).

In making this declaration, it seems that David did not restrict himself to the earth,
for he looked out beyond the sky of our earth and included all the works of God in
all places of His dominion, which must include all Gods creation.

From our vantage point on earth, we might think that we are the only beings in
Gods vast universe apart from His angels (messengers) and other celestial beings.
Truly, God has undertaken a mighty work on this earth through the creation of
mankind, but are we to assume that this earth is the sum total of all the action in
Gods vast universe? Do we live on the only planet in Gods vast universe that has
created beings in residence? If earth is the only inhabited place, then the extent of
Gods actual rule is restricted to one minuscule planet floating in an immensely
huge universe. Earth is so small that it does not even measure up to one speck of
dust.

Is earth all there is? According to David, it is not!

Considering the dimensions of the universe, God must have countless places of His
dominion. Although man has long studied the universe and through recent
advances in technology has begun to scan the vastness of the universe, he still does
not know the full dimensions of Gods creation. How many places of His dominion
are there? We do not know, and we are not told. However, one of the oldest books
of the Bible, Job, does give an indication that there are other inhabited places of
His dominion in the universe.
61

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to
Satan, From where do you come? So Satan answered the LORD and
said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth
on it. (Job 1.6-7 NKJV)

Gods question to Satan, From where do you come? implies that the sons of God
came from various places in the universe. What are we to conclude from this
question?

In Scripture, sonship refers to rulership. The sons of God represent rulers in Gods
kingdom, which is the reason for them appearing before the throne. Consequently,
within the kingdom of God, there most likely are kingdoms ruled by rulers
(messengers, angels) appointed by God. These are kingdoms within Gods
kingdom, which could be called provinces or places of dominion. It is very similar
to what we see in countries throughout the world. Most countries are divided in
some manner, whether the division is called a province, state, region or some other
designation. In each division, there are authorities who report to higher authorities
in the country. Gods kingdom most likely is divided in a similar fashion, and the
earth is within one of these divisions or provinces. Actually, the Son of God is the
one who created all authority, so it only makes sense that what we see on earth
today, although it has been corrupted by Satan and fallen mankind, is in some
measure a reflection of Gods creative genius. Speaking of the Son, the word tells
us: For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall
things have been created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1.16 NASB).

Another proof that there are many places of His dominion is the fact that Christ is
going to head up all in the heavens and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10). If there are
no other dominions, then there is nothing for Him to head up outside the earth.
Since there are other places of His dominion, we are left to wonder how Christ is
going to head up all in the heavens. As we search Scripture, we do not have to
wonder very long, for Paul has revealed to us that the body of Christ is seated
together among the celestials, in Christ, and is being saved for His celestial
kingdom (Ephesians 2.6; 2 Timothy 4.18).

Today, the body is among the celestials in spirit, to be manifested literally in the
next eon. The body of Christ is the complement of the One completing the all in all
(Ephesians 1.23 CV), and the body has been brought forth as the vessel to carry the
evangel of Christ throughout the universe, that is, among the celestials and on the
earth. Those who belong to the Lord are to be the complement or the fullness of
Christ, and as the complement they will be part of Christs work to complete the all
in all. What a glorious destiny!

Now, with these foundational but essential truths, let us trace some aspects of the
kingdom as revealed in Scripture, beginning with Satans kingdom and progressing
to the kingdoms of the earth. In doing so, we need to keep two thoughts in mind.
62

First, the kingdom of God is progressively manifested on the earth. In other words,
it comes in phases, and it builds until the glory of God fills all the earth.
Throughout the eons, the glory of the kingdom is mostly veiled from the sight and
experience of mankind. However, the kingdom begins to shine brighter and
brighter in the oncoming eons as the conquerors of Christ are revealed and then
Christ Himself is revealed to the nations of the earth. It does not come about all at
once but in phases as the veil is gradually pulled back and mankind begins to enter
the holies of the holies, that is, into the presence of God.

As mentioned previously, one way to look at it is along the lines of the feasts that
the Israelites were called to celebrate, particularly the fall feasts of the Trumpets
and the Tabernacles. According to this thought, there was the Passover Age from
Moses to Christs crucifixion, the Pentecostal Age from Pentecost to the presence
(parousia) of Christ and the Tabernacles Age, which is when heaven comes to
earth. God has been steadily and precisely moving toward His purpose of the eons,
all in accord with His perfect plan.

Second, although there is only one true kingdom, individuals must enter into this
kingdom to come under its reign. In other words, we must enter the kingdom of
God, which means we must become willing subjects of the King and submit to His
will. We must be born of water and spirit to see and enter the kingdom of God
(John 3.3, 5), and through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God
(Acts 14.22). Entering the kingdom is both an initial entrance when we believe on
Jesus and receive the spirit of God, and a future entrance through resurrection and
transfiguration when we receive a glorified spiritual body at the commencement of
the oncoming eon.

All mankind will eventually enter in but not all at the same time. There are some
who are chosen and predestined to enter as firstfruits to God who, in turn, will lead
others into the kingdom in the eons of the eons.

The pri nce of the power of the ai r.

Now, in order to understand something of the history of the kingdoms of this
earth, we need to be clear that the instigator behind the kingdoms of men is the
adversary, Satan, the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2.2) who has a
kingdom that influences, if not directs the kingdoms of men. Jesus said: If Satan
casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom
stand? (Matthew 12.26 NASB). Thus, according to one who knows all truth, Satan,
the adversary, has a kingdom. Without contradiction, we could say that Satans
kingdom is the antithesis of Gods kingdom and was brought into being for that
very purpose. Like Gods kingdom, it too is a spiritual kingdom but not a moral or
righteous one, but one of darkness, wickedness, and unrighteousness. Paul
revealed that the body of Christ is in spiritual warfare with this kingdom of dark
forces.

63

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6.12 KJV)

Also, according to Daniel there are princes of darkness that rule over kingdoms
associated with geographical areas on earth or, we could say, the kingdoms of men
on earth (Daniel 10.13).

Under Satans jurisdiction, the kingdoms of the earth can be best characterized by
hatred that has led to war and killing of the masses. The adversary is the instigator
of war among men, for when he is bound for a thousand years, war will cease; but
when he is released from prison, he will deceive the nations to gather for one final
battle, which God will promptly end by pouring fire (i.e., His judgment) upon the
deceived nations (Revelation 20.1-3, 7-9).

We discover further proof of the adversarys jurisdiction over the earth with
Satans failed attempt to tempt Jesus by offering Him the kingdoms of the earth.

And, leading Him up into a high mountain, the Adversary shows Him all
the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in a second of time. And the
Adversary said to Him, To you shall I be giving all this authority and the
glory of them, for it has been given up to me, and to whomsoever I may will, I
am giving it. If you, then, should ever be worshiping before me, it will all be
yours. (Luke 4.5-7 CV)

Satan is good at taking a portion of truth and twisting it to his advantage. In this
case, it is true that the kingdoms of the inhabited earth were given up to him, but it
was not a willing gesture on the part of man, for it was taken by deceit, not by
honest gain. It appears that the adversary revealed all the kingdoms of time to
Jesus, indicating that he is a force behind all the kingdoms throughout the history
of mankind. Thank God; Jesus saw through the deceit of the adversary and
dismissed him, and soon He will conquer the kingdoms of this world when, as the
King of kings and the Lord of lords, He will slay the lawless with the breath of His
mouth and remove all the tares from His kingdom (Matthew 13.36-43; 2
Thessalonians 2.8).

In the Revelation, we discover that a day is coming when all heaven will proclaim
with a loud voice: The ki ngdom of thi s wor ld became our Lor ds and Hi s
Chri sts, and He shall be rei gni ng for the eons of the eons! Amen!
(Revelation 11.15 CV). Praise God!

At times, it might appear that the adversary has had the upper hand in the
kingdoms of men, but whatever the appearance might be, we need to be assured
that all that has occurred and will yet occur in the history of mankind is in accord
with Gods purpose of the eons.

There are two truths that we should keep in mind.
64

The first is that Christ is the mighty victor over the works of the adversary. The
victory of the cross of Calvary is an absolute, 100% success. There is no defeat
whatsoever in the finished work of the cross (see Matthew 16.8, Hebrews 2.14; 1
John 3.8).

The second is that Satan, as the adversary, is one of Gods greatest means by which
to bring about His purpose and plan. Although Satan might be the chief of the
jurisdiction of the air (Ephesians 2.2 CV) over this earth, he rules only by the will of
God. Let us not forget that he is a subject in Gods kingdom. Do we think for a
moment that if God did not want Satan to be in a place of rulership that he would
be in that place today? Of course not; with one stroke God could remove Satan
from ruling. In His wisdom and according to His purpose and plan, God has not
only chosen not to remove him, but He has intended it to be this way from before
the disruption of the world. In fact, Satan was created to be the adversary, so that
God could accomplish all that He has purposed.

The ser pent.

This point is so important to our understanding of Gods purpose that we need to
consider the origin and created nature of Satan.

It is a sure thing that most of us have been taught that Satan was created a perfect,
beautiful angel, but his pride got the best of him, and he fell into sin when he
sought to rise above the throne he was given, even to rise to the level of God. This
teaching is based on Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. However, a careful study of these
texts presents some difficulties that cannot be resolved if they are left to apply to
Satan.

Ezekiel 28 is about the king of Tyre, a human being and not an angel. The Lord
God stated: Will you still say, I am a god, in the presence of your slayer, though
you are a man and not God, in the hands of those who wound you? You will die
the death of the uncircumcised (Ezekiel 28.9-10a NASB). Scripture clearly states
that he is a man who was created and is subject to death, something to which
angels are not subject. The king of Tyre has gone the way of all mankind. Further,
an argument could be made that this describes Adam who, before his fall, was
perfect in beauty walking in the garden of Eden. He was a covering cherub because
he possessed the throne (canopy) over the earth at that time.

Isaiah 14.12 is often incorrectly translated as referring to Lucifer, son of the
morning, which most people believe speaks of Satan before his supposed fall.
However, the word Lucifer is not the proper translation from the original Hebrew.
The word should be rendered howl: Howl, son of the dawn!

On careful examination of Isaiah 14.9-17, it should become apparent that this does
not refer to Satan and some fall in the past but most likely refers to the lawlessness
of man that has gone forth in an attempt to conquer the world (Revelation 13.1-6).
Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the
65

world like a wilderness and overthrew its cities, who did not allow his prisoners
to go home (Isaiah 14.16-17 NASB)? This is not a description of Satan but of lawless
mankind energized by Satans power. This is the man of sin, the man of lawless-
ness, the son of stubbornness.

And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a
bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his
power and his throne and great authority. (Revelation 13.2 NASB)

Today, Satan is the prince of the air associated with this earth. As such, he is still in
the heavenly places (not in a fictitious hell) as the accuser of the brethren
(Revelation 12.10). In The Revelation of Jesus Christ, John perceived a battle
between the dark angelic forces in heaven and the Lords angelic hosts. John saw
this battle fought in heaven and Satan and his host not prevailing but being cast
down to earth.

And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent called Adversary
and Satan, who is deceiving the whole inhabited earth. It was cast into the
earth, and its messengers were cast with it. (Revelation 12.9 CV)

In this description of Satan, we discover the key to his origin. He is called the
ancient serpent. In Job, considered one of the oldest writings of Hebrew Scripture,
there is a reference to the serpent. Three translations of the same verse are
presented.

His Spirite hath garnished the heauens, and his hand hath formed the
crooked serpent. (Job 26.13 GB)

By his spirit hath He arched the heavens, His hand hath pierced the fleeing
serpent. (Job 26.13 REB)

By His spirit He makes the heavens seemly, His hand travails with the
fugitive serpent. (Job 26.13 CV)

Through Job we are given a contrast of God creating two things.

First, by His spirit, God made the heavens. There were no hands involved and no
effort on His part. We are given the impression of something that occurred with
ease. The word seemly means pleasing in appearance, suitable, proper, or fitting.
This is how the heavens were created, and we could say that it was a pleasing sight.

Second, by His hand, God made or formed the crooked, fleeing serpent or fugitive.
It was not done by His spirit but by His hands, which implies an effort on the part
of God. We labor with our hands and when we do, the object of labor is at a slight
distance from our body. In like fashion, God labored over the serpent, keeping it at
a distance. In other words, God travailed in forming the serpent. The forming of
this creature was not suitable or seemly; it was, we could say, dirty work.
66

Why would God travail over the making of the serpent? There is only one answer
that makes any sense; the serpent was not something pleasant. In the garden of
Eden, we could say that the ancient serpent was odious, something unpleasant.
John the apostle gives us the answer.

He who is habitually guilty of sin is a child of the Devil, because the Devil
has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared
for the purpose of undoing the work of the Devil. (1 John 3.8 WNT)

He who is doing the sin, of the devil he is, because from the beginning the
devil doth sin; for this was the Son of God manifested, that he may break
up the works of the devil. (1 John 3.8 YLT)

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the
beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy
the works of the devil. (1 John 3.8 HNV)

In this one verse, as presented in three translations, there is little doubt that the
devil, who is the ancient serpent, was a sinner from the very beginning. But there is
more.

You are of your father, the Adversary, and the desires of your father you are
wanting to do. He was a man-killer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth, for truth is not in him. Whenever he may be
speaking a lie, he is speaking of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it.
(John 8.44 CV)

In other words, the ancient serpent was created a sinner, and this is why God had
to form him from a distance with His hands and why it was such travail to God.
Satan was created a sinner and a man-killer to be the adversary of God and of
mankind.

Jehovah declared to Isaiah: I have created the waster to destroy (Isaiah 54.16 ASV;
also CV/KJV/JPS/ LITV/MKJV); and I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace,
and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things (Isaiah 45.7 ASV; also
DNT/GB/HNV/LITV/MKJV).
2

With these verses, there should be little doubt that God created evil itself and
created the serpent to be the administrator of evil.

In the day of the Lord, the Lord will come and deal with the man-killer, the ancient
serpent, the dragon (monster). Isaiah was given a prophecy of that day.

2
For other Scriptures, see Judges 9.23; 1 Samuel 16.14, 15, 23; 18.10; 19.9; 2 Samuel 12.11, 12; 1
Kings 14.10; 21.29; 2 Kings 21.12; 2 Chronicles 34.24, 28; Proverbs 16.4; Isaiah 31.2; Jeremiah
11.11; 14.16; 18.11; 19.3, 15; 23.12; 26.3, 13; 32.42; 35.17; 36.3, 31; 40.2; 42.10, 17; 44.2; 45.5; 49.37;
51.64; Lamentations 3.38; Ezekiel 6.10; Amos 3.6; Micah 1.12; 2.3.
67

For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; and the earth will reveal her
bloodshed, and will no longer cover her slain. In that day the LORD will
punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, with His fierce and great and mighty
sword, even Leviathan the twisted serpent; and He will kill the dragon
who lives in the sea. (Isaiah 26.21-27.1 NASB)
3

In that day the Lord with his sore and great and mightie sword shall visite
Liuiathan, that pearcing serpent, euen Liuiathan, that crooked serpent,
and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. (Isaiah 27.1 GB)

When all these Scriptures are looked at together, it becomes apparent that they
refer to one and the same being: And the great dragon was cast out, the
anci ent serpent called Adversary and Satan, who is deceiving the whole
inhabited earth (Revelation 12.9 CV). If he was created by God to be evil and a
sinning adversary from the beginning, then his creation is in accord with the
purpose of the eons. Thus, Satans rulership of his kingdom of wickedness, which
by the way is within the universal kingdom of God, has purpose, and that purpose
is to provide the perfect contrast to God and His nature.

At this point, one might wonder how a kingdom of wickedness could be in the
universal kingdom of God that is moral and spiritual. My opinion on the matter is
this: First, if God is to be the King over His entire creation, then all kingdoms must
be within His kingdom regardless of their character. Second, whether a kingdom
within Gods rule is moral or wicked does not change the character of God. Third,
God is the Creator of evil, and He has allowed a kingdom of wickedness to contrast
His very character to bring about His purpose. Oh, the wisdom of God!

It is clear that God uses Satan to bring about His purpose and plan. One example is
Paul, the apostle who was given abundant revelations from God. Most likely, to
keep Paul from exalting himself and creating a ministry centered on himself, God
sent a messenger (an angel) of Satan to buffet Paul the rest of his life (2
Corinthians 12.7). Paul asked for the messenger to be taken out of the way, but the
Lord answered: My grace is sufficient for you, for power (My power) is perfected
in weakness (2 Corinthians 12.9 NASB). Thus, God used Satan to keep Paul from
relying on himself.

In Jobs life, we also see the same principle at work. In both cases, it is important
to note that Satan was limited in what he could do. In Jobs case, God first told
Satan he could not touch Jobs body, and then He gave him permission to touch
his body but not to kill him (Job 1.12; 2.6). In the end, God received the glory from
Jobs life. I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees
Thee; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes (Job 42.5-6 NASB).

3
In Scripture, the word sea can refer to nations. In these verses, sea most likely refers to the
nations of the earth, over which Satan has exercised jurisdiction.
68

We must keep a proper perspective. Satan cannot work outside the will of God and
is used by God to bring about His purpose. However, let us not make the mistake
of giving credit to Satan for everything bad or evil. We must not forget that man
partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man can create his own
mischief without the aid of Satan and the demonic host.

I trust that this provides some clarity regarding the adversary. I also realize that
this might challenge some, for what has been presented goes against the grain of
the theology of our day.

The Most Hi gh rules i n the ki ngdom of men.

As a reminder, regardless of Satans authority, or regardless what a kingdom looks
like here on earth, or regardless what created being is in charge, one principle does
not change: God rules in the kingdom of men, for the heavens do rule. This
principle of Gods rule is most clearly demonstrated in Daniels account of the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar was given dreams and Daniel was
called upon to interpret them because in him was the Spirit of the Holy God
(Daniel 4.8). In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar was told that the Most High rules in
the kingdom of men.

The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of
the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and
setteth up over it the lowest of men. (Daniel 4.17 ASV)

Then, Daniel was called upon to interpret the dream, at which time he revealed the
second part of this great principlethe heavens do rule.

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy
kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the
heavens do rule. (Daniel 4.26 ASV)

God has not relinquished His rule over any part of His creation, most of all over
earth and mankind. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, for the heavens
do rule, was the lesson learned by Nebuchadnezzar, but it is a lesson that seems to
have been lost down through the history of mankinds rulers. However, the
principle is very simple and straightforward. God is in the heavens and He rules;
thus, the heavens do rule, and He extends this rule into the kingdom of men. The
Psalmists confirm this fact.

Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom
ruleth over all (Psalm 103.19 ASV). But our God is in the heavens: He hath
done whatsoever he pleased (Psalm 115.3 ASV).

69

Through this dream, Nebuchadnezzar was warned to break off his sins by being
righteous and his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor (Daniel 4.27). If he did
not turn from his ways, his kingdom would be cut off from him for a season until
he realized that the heavens do rule. Instead of heeding the warning, the king
glorified himself, giving himself honor. When he exalted himself above God
(denying Gods rule over his kingdom), his kingdom was taken from him. Seven
periods of time passed over him until he knew that the Most High rules in the
kingdom of men.

Seven is Gods number of perfection. It is the perfect completion of that which is in
view. In this case, it was the completion of Nebuchadnezzars chastisement, which
is an encouragement that Gods chastisement has limits and is not eternal or
without end. It is also prophetic of the coming of Gods Son to rule over this earth
in the seventh day, the sabbatical rest day of 1,000 years.

When Nebuchadnezzar returned to his senses, he declared: And at the end of
the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine
understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I
praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to
generation; and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and
he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What
doest thou? (Daniel 4.34-35 ASV).

Another compelling proof of this principle is brought to light through Jesus own
words when He was in the custody of Pilate and about t0 face the cross.

Pilate therefore said to Him, You do not speak to me? Do You not know that
I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You? Jesus
answered, You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been
given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has
{the} greater sin. (John 19.10-11 NASB)

Consequently, all authority on earth comes from the throne of God. Paul later
confirmed this same principle to the Romans.

Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is
no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by
God. (Romans 13.1 NASB)

In other words, no individual in a place of governmental authority in the heavens
or on the earth holds a ruling position apart from the sovereign will of God. This
may be difficult for us to understand; but whether the ruler believes in God or does
not believe, is righteous or unrighteous, is good or evil, is just or unjust, that ruler
exists because of God. If this were not true, then God would not truly be the
70

Supreme of His kingdom. After all, all authority, visible or invisible, heavenly or
earthly, is created by Gods Son.
4

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authoritiesall things have been created by Him and for Him. (Colossian
1.16 NASB)

Let us not forget that our Lord Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven
and on earth (Matthew 28.18). On the cross He disarmed principalities and powers
(Colossians 2.15). He is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2.10).
God raised His Son from among the dead and seated Him at His right hand among
the celestials far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come
(Ephesians 1.20-21). Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on
Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father (Philippians 2.9-11 NASB).

We do not see His authority fully manifested over this earth at this time except, in
some measure, in the ecclesia, which is His body. Praise God; the day is coming
soon when He will rule through His conquerors and then in person, no longer
hidden from mans view. Gods King, along with the sons of the kingdom, is
coming!

Have domi ni on.

Now, let us look at the kingdom of men, that is, the kingdoms of the earth. In
Scripture, the first mention of the concept of kingdom or rule in relation to
mankind is what was spoken by God as He created man.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
heavens, and over the cattle, and over the whole earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. (Genesis 1.26 DNT)

Some translations use the word rule and another simply uses the word over
instead of dominion. The point is that man was brought forth to rule over, to have
dominion over or to be over the creatures of Gods earth. Some call this the
dominion mandate. This is a very important point, for it lays down an unchanging
principle that is foundational to Gods purpose of the eons; that is, through Gods

4
Power and authority are two different matters. One who has power delegates authority. The one
who has power is in control, simply because there is no one beyond the person with power. In like
fashion, God is the Supreme, the ultimate power of the universe. He does not need authority, for He
has the power. Consequently, He alone dispenses or delegates authority in His universe.
71

Son mankind is destined to reign, not only over this earth and the future earth, but
also among the celestials.

Of course, we know that the perfect order that was restored in six days was brought
into ruin through the one transgression of Adam, which gave Satan, the usurper,
jurisdiction over the world. The whole creation has groaned and suffered ever
since that fateful day (Romans 8.22) as it waits for the seventh day of rest.

The ki ngdoms of the earth.

It wasnt until after the deluge of Noahs day that Scripture records the first
kingdom or form of government to appear on earth, and it came through the three
sons of Noah.

When the flood had subsided, Noah drank of the wine and uncovered himself
inside his tent. His son, Ham, saw his nakedness, and on account of this sin, his
son Canaan was cursed to be the servant of his brothers.

He also said, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be
his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant. (Genesis 9.26-27 NASB)

Because of this blessing and curse, two forms of government or, we could say,
kingdoms formed on the earth. One was man-centered and the other was God-
centered.

The first recorded man-centered kingdom on earth came through Nimrod, a
descendant of Ham.

And Cush begot Nimrod: he began to be mighty on the earth. He was a
mighty hunter before Jehovah; therefore it is said, As Nimrod, the mighty
hunter before Jehovah! And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and
Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10.8-10 DNT)

Nimrod and his people became mighty and fierce conquerors that settled in the
land of Shinar instead of heeding Gods command to multiply and fill the earth.
Nimrods kingdom was the kingdom of Babel, which was also called Babylon.
Babel means confusion, which is what occurred when God confused their
language, so that they stopped building and were scattered across the face of the
earth (Genesis 11.1-9).

Babylon has continued in some form or fashion throughout the long history of
mankind. In fact, God used the descendants of Nimrod to chastise His called-out
nation, Israel, by allowing them to be exiled to Babylon. This same chastisement
has occurred again in our day as Gods people and the nations are in Babylonian
captivity, awaiting deliverance by the coming of the kingdom of Christ.

72

Just as confusion came upon the land of Shinar, so has confusion come upon the
nations of the earth as our present eon is being brought to its rightful end.

The rei gn [ki ngdom] of the heavens.

The God-centered government followed the line of Noahs son, Shem, and
progressed from Peleg to Terah and then to Abraham, the Hebrew, until it broke
forth through the sons of Israel as Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt as a
theocratic nation under the one, true Goda kingdom of priests, a holy nation
(Exodus 19.6), chosen to lead all the nations of earth to God. The reign of the
heavens was to be manifested through the nation of Israel. Thus, we begin to see a
progression of the kingdom in the history of the nations, starting with the
descendants of Shem.

However, this progression was halted through the failure of Gods chosen people
that resulted in the glory of God being removed from the nation. Although there
were times of glory for the Israelites, their history is marked by much failure as
they turned from their God and became apostate lovers, harlots (Hosea 1.2), with
the kingdoms of the world. They became the tail instead of the head (Deuteronomy
28.13). In a sense, they joined with the Nimrods of the world, which placed them
under Canaan and opposed to Gods divine law (see Genesis 9.25-26).

A 400-year period starting with the time of Malachi fell upon the Israelites in
which there was no word from the Lord through His prophets. The Jews that
returned to Jerusalem were the tail under the head, which was the rule of Rome. In
the fullness of these times, the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, appeared on the
earth proclaiming the reign of the heavens.

From that time began Jesus to proclaim and to say, Reform ye, for come nigh
hath the reign of the heavens. (Matthew 4.17 YLT)

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
(Matthew 10.7 KJV)

So answering, He said to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets
[or, mysteries] of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those [ones] it has
not been given. (Matthew 13.11 ALT)

The New Testament (Greek Scripture) begins with the book of Matthew, which
uniquely contains the phrase the reign of the heavens or the kingdom of the
heavens,
5
which occurs thirty-two times, and was the message of John the baptist,
Jesus and His first disciples. Their message was directed exclusively to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel, not to the unbelieving nations.

5
In the Greek, heaven is in the plural and should read heavens. Unfortunately, most English
translations do not use the plural form.
73

Personally, I like the phrase the reign of the heavens, for it speaks of the action,
which is reigning or ruling, and from whence the action emanates, which is the
heavens. The heavens do rule!

Before proceeding, it is important to understand what the kingdom of the heavens
represents. As with the kingdom of God, Appendix 114 of The Companion Bible
compiled by E.W. Bullinger, lists eight characteristics of the kingdom of the
heavens.

1. It has Messiah for its King.
2. It is from heaven; and under the heavens upon the earth.
3. It is limited in scope.
4. It is political in sphere.
5. It is Jewish and exclusive in character.
6. It is national in its aspect.
7. It is the special subject of the Old Testament prophecy.
8. And, it is dispensational in its duration.

By comparing the eight characteristics of the kingdom of God with the previously
cited characteristics of the kingdom of the heavens, it is easy to see that the latter
kingdom is a political and national kingdom that will rule over the earth as heaven
rules on earth.

When the Son of God came to this earth over 2,000 years ago, He came seeking the
lost sheep of the house of Israel and proclaiming that the kingdom of the heavens
was at hand, which meant that it was drawing near or approaching. The very
kingdom that the prophets had spoken of was about to come upon the earth, but
there had to be national repentance for it to be manifested. Instead, the Jews
rejected their Messiah and His message, and demanded His death. As a nation,
they became a withered fig tree that bore no fruit, even a cursed fig tree that will
not bear fruit, only leaves (Matthew 21.18-19; 24.32). With their rejection, the very
kingdom that they longed for was withdrawn from them and has gone into
abeyance for the last 2,000 years, awaiting the return of Messiah. The Israel we see
in the Middle East today has only leaves; it has borne no fruit, nor will this
apostate Israel ever bear fruit, although all Israel shall be saved (Romans 11.26).

Consequently, Jesus declared: Therefore I say to you, the ki ngdom of God
wi ll be taken away fr om you and gi ven to a people, pr oducing the
frui t of i t (Matthew 21.43 NASB). The promise of the kingdom moved to the
nations of the earth and a people called out from among the nations, along with a
believing remnant from the commonwealth of Israel, that are called to bear fruit to
the glory of God. However, this offer of the kingdom is not the political kingdom of
the heavens that is in abeyance and that will come in the next eon. It is the
spiritual kingdom that is for all who believe in Jesus in this eon. These are the ones
who sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts (1 Peter 3.15).

74

The key to understanding the kingdom of the heavens is found through Daniel the
prophet as he unfolded the revelation of four earthly kingdoms, followed by Gods
kingdom that will crush all the previous ones and rise for the eons, as well as
through references to the throne of David and the Son of Mankind coming in His
kingdom.

In the days of those kings the God of the heavens is setting up a kingdom
which shall not be pawned for the eon. And the kingdom shall not be left to
another people. It is crushing and terminating all these kingdoms,
and it shall rise for the eons. (Daniel 2.44 CV)

In Daniel 7.13-14, we are given a glorious picture of Christ as the Son of Mankind
standing before the Transferrer (Ancient) of Days and receiving jurisdiction
(dominion), esteem (glory) and a kingdom with eonian jurisdiction that will not
pass away, and His kingdom shall not be confined. In Lukes account, we are given
further reinforcement of this fact.

He shall be great, and Son of the Most High shall He be called. And the Lord
God shall be giving Him the throne of David, His father, and He shall
reign over the house of Jacob for the eons. And of His kingdom there
shall be no consummation. (Luke 1.32-33 CV)

Notice that this kingdom is in direct relation to the promise to David to have a son
sitting on his throne, which reveals the progression of the kingdom that will come
upon this earth. Daniels view was limited in some respects, for he only saw his
people, the Hebrews, coming into this kingdom. In his mind, what was revealed to
him referred to his people only (Daniel 9.24; 10.14; 11.14; 12.1), but we know that it
refers to the true sons of Israel, the ones who have circumcised hearts, who were
born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God
(John 1.13 NASB).

A careful study of Daniel 7 will reveal that the kingdom in question is an earthly
kingdom, for it is a kingdom that has jurisdiction under the entire heavens (not in
it or throughout it) (Daniel 7.27). In other words, it has jurisdiction over the entire
earth. Further, this kingdom will be given to the saints, which, again, to Daniel
referred to his people.

The Israelites expected the God of the heavens to bring His rule down to earth, and
this is the primary meaning of the reign of the heavens. This was their expectation,
and it will be fulfilled when Jesus as the Messiah sets up His kingdom over this
earth.

Most notably is the fact that the twelve apostles of Christ were seeking and
expecting the kingdom to be restored to Israel as well. After speaking to His
disciples about the seven parables of the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens,
Jesus asked them if they had understood them, to which they responded that they
had. Since, at this point in their walk with the Lord, they knew nothing of the body
75

of Christ seated among the celestials that was revealed to Paul at a later point, their
understanding had to be in line with the Hebrew prophets and the expectation of
the Israelites for Messiah to come and set up His kingdom on earth.

When Simon Peters brother Andrew first discovered that Jesus was the Messiah,
he ran to his brother Simon and declared: We have found the Messiah (John
1.41). This is what they were looking for, and it was based entirely on what the
Hebrew prophets had foretold.

After His resurrection, Jesus walked among His disciples and for forty days spoke
to them that which concerns the kingdom of God (Acts 1.3 CV). Just before He was
taken up in a cloud to ascend back to His Father in heaven, Jesus was questioned
by His disciples: Lord, art Thou at this time restoring the kingdom to Israel? Yet
He said to them, Not yours is it to know times or eras which the Father placed in
His own jurisdiction (Acts 1.6-7 CV).

At His first advent, Jesus came to preach the kingdom of the heavens to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10.6; 15.24) and His parting words to His
disciples confirm this fact. What was the perspective of the out-called (ecclesia) of
Israel? Their expectation was for Messiah to appear on the earth and bring the rule
of the heavens to the earth. They had no aspiration of going to heaven. For them,
the heavens do rule meant that the sovereign rule of God will finally come to the
earth when Messiah is seated on the throne of David, executing the will of God on
earth. This is why Jesus told His twelve disciples to pray: Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6.10).

This all refers to the kingdom of the Son of Mankind that will come upon this earth
in fulfillment of Jesus own words.

For the Son of Man [Mankind] is going to come in the glory of His
Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING
TO HIS DEEDS. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing
here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man [Mankind]
coming in His kingdom. (Matthew 16.27-28 NASB [CV])

But when the Son of Man [Mankind] comes in His glory, and all the
angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (Matthew 25.31
NASB [CV])

Thus, when the reign of the heavens comes upon this earth, it will be the
manifestation of the kingdom of David and the kingdom of the Son of Mankind.

Now, through the interpretation of a dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel
prophesied of the eonian kingdom of Christ.

And in the days of these kings raise up doth the God of the heavens a
kingdom that is not destroyedto the age, and its kingdom to another people
76

is not left: it beateth small and endeth all these kingdoms, and it standeth to
the age [confirmed for the eons]. (Daniel 2.44 YLT [CV])

At the end of our present age or eon, the God of the heavens will raise up a
kingdom on earth that will not be destroyed but will last to the end of the eons. All
other earthly kingdoms will not stand in the day of this kingdom, for this will be
the day in which the heavens do rule on earth.
6

A ki ngdom of ri ghteousness, j usti ce, peace, and lovi ngki ndness.

When the heavens do rule on earth, the inhabitants of this earth will finally
experience that for which their hearts have longed. The foundation of the kingdom
over the earth will be righteousness and justice, which will usher in peace and
lovingkindness throughout the earth. When He comes to establish His kingdom
over this earth, Christ will judge in righteousness. Under His reign there will be no
end to peace. He will uphold His kingdom with justice and righteousness. He will
act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. His lovingkindness will fill
the earth. The very foundation of His throne is righteousness and justice, for He
loves righteousness and justice.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages
war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems;
and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He
is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of
God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp
sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule
them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath
of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19.11-
16 NASB)

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, When I will raise up for
David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and
do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be
saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be
called, The LORD our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23.5-6 NASB)

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government
will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will
be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the
throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with

6
In the history of the nations on the second earth, the average life span of the great civilizations
that have arisen to date has been about 200 years.
77

justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore [lit. henceforth
and age-abiding, or eonian]. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish
this. (Isaiah 9.6-7 NASB [REB/CV])

In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David
to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the
earth. (Jeremiah 33.15 NASB)

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-
kindness of the LORD. (Psalm 33.5 NASB)

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lov-
ingkindness and truth go before You. How blessed are the people who
know the joyful sound! O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all the day, and by Your righteousness they are ex-
alted. For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is
exalted. (Psalm 89.14-17 NASB)

A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, and a judge will sit on
it in faithfulness in the tent of David; moreover, he will seek justice and
be prompt in righteousness. (Isaiah 16.5 NASB)

War will cease and the Lord will judge the nations and settle all disputes according
to Gods law. The nations will even desire to learn the ways of the Lord. This is in
full keeping with another word from Isaiah: For when the earth experiences Your
judgments, the i nhabi tants of the world learn ri ghteousness (Isaiah 26.9
NASB).

This kingdom will last for 1,000 years and will end with the onset of a new heaven
and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3.13; Revelation 21.1).
Much could be written about the millennial reign of Christ, but this is beyond the
scope of this chapter.

At this point, I must change gears, so to speak, and return to the spiritual kingdom
of God in relation to Christians (believers in Jesus) of our present eon. At the end
of the chapter, I will bring it all together under the kingdom of Christ.

The spi ri tual ki ngdom of God.

God is spirit (John 4.24), and as such, Gods kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. Of
course, our world system or kosmos [orderly arrangement] does not recognize the
spiritual nature of Gods rule, for the kingdoms of men are mainly built upon the
temporal and the physical, that is, what is transitory and what can be seen and felt.

Israels failure as a nation was due to its lack of faith (Hebrews 4.2), which
ultimately comes from the lack of knowing that Gods kingdom is a spiritual
78

kingdom. They viewed the whole matter of earthly kingdoms as the rest of the
world does, which is clearly seen in the encounter Nicodemus had with Jesus.

Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may
not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God. (John
3.3 YLT)

How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born? (John 3.4 KJV)

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born of
water, and the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the reign of
God. (John 3.5 YLT)

To this day, the attitude as evidenced by Nicodemus remains unchanged among
those that call themselves Jews. However, in the next eon, the true Israel of God,
the ones with a new heart and spirit, will be revealed to the nations, and the world
is led into the renascence.
7

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you;
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a
heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do
them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall
be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36.26-28 ASV; also Hebrews
8.7-12)

But the good news is that those who have believed in Jesus and His finished work
on the cross in this eon have been born of water and spirit, and have already
received an earnest of the spirit of God, and their uncircumcised hearts are being
circumcised. They are coming into the renascence, or we might say that they taste
the true renascence to come. They have not received the full anointing of the spirit
of God, which will be manifested in spiritual bodies, and Gods laws have not been
fully put upon their hearts and written in their minds, so that they are as natural to
them as breathing. But praise God; Christs body is being built as a temple of God;
each believer is a temple of the spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit
who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in
those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
(1 Corinthians 2.12-13 NASB)

7
Yet Jesus said to them, Verily, I am saying to you, that you who follow Me, in the renascence
whenever the Son of Mankind should be seated on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19.28 CV)
79

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3.16 NASB)

Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is
God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our
hearts. (2 Corinthians 1.21-22 KJV; [earnest in ASV, CV, DNT, GB, LITV, WEB, YLT])

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath
given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 5.5 KJV; [earnest in ASV,
CV, DNT, GB, LITV, WEB, YLT])

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvationhaving also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy
Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge [earnest] of our inheritance,
with a view to the redemption of Gods own possession, to the praise of His
glory. (Ephesians 1.13-14 NASB [earnest in ASV, CV, DNT, GB, KJV, LITV, WEB, YLT])

Notice that for us who believe in this eon we receive the spirit of God as an earnest
or a pledge of what is to come, which points to the promise of eonian life in the
eons to come, as well as immortality. Paul revealed the true nature of the body of
Christ as an entirely new creation, not merely a regenerated man, but a transfig-
ured, spiritual man (body) that is destined to be constituted to reign among the
celestials (1 Corinthians 15.44-57; 2 Corinthians 5.17) for the eons of the eons.

Writing to believers from among the nations, Paul encouraged their hearts that
they are growing into a holy temple in the Lord.

So, consequently, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-
citizens with the holy ones and [members] of the household of God, having
been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being [the] cornerstone, in whom [the] entire building having been
joined together is growing into a holy temple in [the] Lord, in whom also
you [plural] are being built together into a habitation for God i n the
Spirit. (Ephesians 2.19-22 ALT)

Is there anything greater than being built together into a habitation for God in the
spirit? This speaks of the spiritual nature of the kingdom of God that is in accord
with the purpose of the eons.

A spi r i tual house.

The spiritual kingdom is a spiritual house of living stones.

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men,
but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones,
are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer
80

up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2.4-5
NASB)

Kings of old lived in stone castles that were often cold and dark. The castles had
no life, for they were made of inanimate stones. But Gods King is a living stone,
and His kingdom is made up of living stones that are being built together in Christ
into a spiritual house. The living stones are to become a holy priesthood in the age
to come. Those found worthy to attain to the first resurrection will be priests unto
God.

Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrec-
tion; over these the second death has no power, but they will be
priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thou-
sand years. (Revelation 20.6 NASB)

Who are the ones that will become a royal priesthood? They are the ones that know
and unashamedly declare who Jesus, the Son of Mankind, is.

Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God. (Matthew 16.16 NASB)

This is the Rock upon which this spiritual house is being built to the glory of God.
Jesus is the Son of the living God who is building a living house of living stones.
There is no death in this house, for its living stones are destined for the first
resurrection, immortality and eonian life.

Those who conquer through the love of Christ, walking in a manner worthy of the
kingdom, not defiling themselves with the things of this world, will enter into the
coming kingdom as priests of the order of Melchizedek. They are like the sons of
Zadok who will minister both in the sanctuary to the Lord (celestial realm) and in
the outer court (physical realm) to the mortals (see Ezekiel 44).

Christ will be the King-Priest on the order of Melchizedek. His priesthood is not of
the order of Aaron.

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He
who said to Him, YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU;
just as He says also in another passage, YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK. (Hebrews 5.5-6
NASB; see Hebrews 5.6, 10; 6.20; chapter 7)

Melchizedek of old who met Abraham is a type of Christ the King-Priest.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and
blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils,
81

was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and
then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. (Hebrews 7.1-2 NASB)

When He comes to this earth, Christ will come as the King of Righteousness and
the King of Peace, and His kingdom of king-priests will administer righteousness
and peace throughout His kingdom. In their glorified, spiritual bodies, they will be
able to move freely between the celestial and the earthly (physical) realms.

The celesti al ki ngdom.

For those who believe in Jesus in this eon, that is, the ones who are members of
the body of Christ, the celestial kingdom awaits them.

According to Paul, we could say that the message of the kingdom encompasses far
more than just the earth or the physical realm. It also encompasses the celestial
realm, or what is called the celestial kingdom or celestial reign. Paul is the one
through whom the secret of the celestials was revealed, and this secret refers to the
ecclesia, which is the body of Christ.

Spiritually speaking, today, the predestined are blessed with every spiritual
blessing among the celestials, in Christ, and are seated together among the
celestials, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1.3; 2.6 CV). This is a present spiritual reality
pointing toward a future manifestation when the conquerors of Christ will enter
the celestial and spiritual realm. The day will come, and we pray soon, that the
anointed firstfruits will enter the celestial kingdom and reign with Christ as He
heads up all, both in the heavens and on the earth (Ephesians 1.10).

At the end of his life, Paul joined the celestial kingdom with the oncoming eons.

Yet the Lord stood beside me, and He invigorates me, that through me the
heralding may be fully discharged, and all the nations should hear; and I am
rescued out of the mouth of the lion. The Lord will be rescuing me from every
wicked work and will be saving me for His celestial kingdom: to Whom be
glory for the eons of the eons. Amen! (2 Timothy 4.17-18 CV)

In the spiritual sense, Paul saw himself already among the celestials, but he also
saw the coming eon in which he, along with all who attain to the out-resurrection
(Philippians 3.11), will enter the celestial kingdom as a new creation in Christ with
a spiritual body.

There are bodies celestial as well as bodies terrestrial. But a different
glory, indeed, is that of the celestial, yet a different that of the terrestrial,
another glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of
the stars, for star is excelling star in glory. Thus also is the resurrection of
the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is roused in incorruption. It is sown in
dishonor; it is roused in glory. It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. It
is sown a soulish body; it is roused a spiritual body. If there is a soulish
82

body, there is a spiritual also. Thus it is written also, The first man, Adam,
became a living soul: the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. But not first the
spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual. The first man was out of
the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. Such as
the soilish one is, such are those also who are soilish, and such as the
Celestial One, such are those also who are celestials. And according as we
wear the image of the soilish, we should be wearing the image also of the
Celestial. Now this I am averring, brethren, that flesh and blood is not able
to enjoy an allotment in the kingdom of God, neither is corruption enjoying
the allotment of incorruption. (1 Corinthians 15.40-50 CV)

This celestial kingdom comes into full view for all the saints at the presence of the
Lord when He comes to resurrect those who have believed and trusted in Him,
obeyed His word (law), and conquered through His love. In that glorious day, the
saints will be wearing the image of the Celestial and enjoy an allotment in the
kingdom of God, which is also the celestial kingdom for which Paul longed, and for
which we are waiting.

Until that day, the body of Christ is in spiritual warfare with the dark forces among
the celestials. Paul pealed back the curtain on this warfare and the way to fight the
battle.

Put on the panoply of God, to enable you to stand up to the stratagems of the
Adversary, for it is not ours to wrestle with blood and flesh, but with the
sovereignties, with the authorities, with the world-mights of this darkness,
with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials. Therefore
take up the panoply of God that you may be enabled to withstand in the
wicked day, and having effected all, to stand. (Ephesians 6.11-13 CV)

Why is there so much conflict between the body of Christ and these unseen, dark
powers? There is only one possible explanation, and that pertains to who will reign
among the celestials. Today, these dark, celestial forces have jurisdiction over this
earth, influencing the nations and kingdoms of the world. But the day is coming
when they will be cast out and replaced with a people, namely, the body of Christ,
whose reign under the Headship of Christ will extend throughout the universe.
They will rise in rank above the angels in the kingdom of God, and they will be
charged with setting things right (judging) with the angels. This is the multifarious
wisdom of God that is being made known to the sovereignties and the authorities
among the celestials, in accord with the purpose of the eons (Ephesians 3.10-11 CV).

Beloved in Christ, entering the celestial kingdom of Christ and being joined with
Christ as He heads up all in the heavens and on the earth is to be our fondest hope
or expectation (Ephesians 1.10). It is what we are to be striving to enter. Our hope
is not about rising in the air as so many preachers stress in our day. Do not put
your hope in what many call the rapture. Our hope is to be transfigured into the
body of His glory and to always be with our Lord, which is intimately connected
with the celestials and the work to be done on earth in the oncoming eons.
83

Are you looking to go to heaven, or are you waiting for the Son of God to come
out OF heaven, so that you can meet Him and escort him back to this earth, so that
He can begin to reign over the kingdom of this earth? Where will Christ be
reigning during the oncoming eon? He will reign over the earth. Where will His
body-bride be while He reigns? Paul tells us to comfort ourselves that we shall
always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4.17). Where He is, we will be. We will be
forever in His presence once we come into His presence at the end of this eon,
whether He is heading up all on the earth or in the heavens. We will be engaged in
His business, which is in both the physical and the celestial, spiritual realm. This
includes ministering to God.

Our hope is to reign over the earth and among the celestials, which is a realm
beyond our expectations. This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Although
the word celestial means on-heavens or that part of the universe which is higher
than all the heavens, perhaps it is best to think of the celestials as another
dimension rather than a specific place. What if the throne of God is not billions of
miles away but in our midst, hidden by the limits of our physical dimension?
Something to think about!

The ki ngdom of the Son of Hi s love.

Today, the only ones who have entered the spiritual kingdom of God, the spiritual
house of God, and are in varying degrees under the reign of this kingdom as they
sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts, are the members of the ecclesia, which is the
body of Christ. Paul adds to this glory by declaring that God transports us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, which speaks of a relational kingdom, just as the
kingdom of the Father is a relational kingdom.

Therefore we also, from the day on which we hear, do not cease praying for
you and requesting that you may be filled full with the realization of His will,
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, you to walk worthily of the Lord
for all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the
realization of God; being endued with all power, in accord with the might of
His glory, for all endurance and patience with joy; at the same time giving
thanks to the Father, Who makes you competent for a part of the allotment of
the saints, in light, Who rescues us out of the jurisdiction of Darkness, and
transports us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we
are having deliverance, the pardon of sins. (Colossians 1.9-14 CV)

We have been brought into the very love of God in His Son and given to us through
the Holy Spirit.

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(Romans 5.5 NASB)

84

We cannot see with our natural eyes the kingdom of the Son of His love any more
than we can see the jurisdiction of darkness. But we know it in our spiritual heart.
We know they exist because we have been given the spirit of God that allows us to
discern that which is spiritual and to love all around us, including our enemies.
The kingdom of God is a present spiritual power that operates in our lives. It is
within us.

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for,
behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17.20-21 KJV)

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14.17 NASB)

For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. (1

What is the source of this power? Is it not the grace of God, which is the
overwhelming power that takes the ugly and transforms it into the joyously
beautiful, and the love of God? In his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote: Yet the
grace of our Lord overwhelms, with faith and love in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1.14
CV). The power of grace overwhelms us with the faith and love of Christ. It is not
our faith and love any more than it is our grace. It is all of God. But what is the
greatest of these? Is it not love (1 Corinthians 13.13)? The power of God is the
power of love. This is why Jesus emphasized love while He walked on this earth at
His first advent and why the apostles stress love in their epistles.

We who have believed are experiencing a foretaste of the kingdom of the Son of
His love. It is Gods love for His Son that has made it possible for us to enter the
kingdom of God, which is not only a spiritual kingdom but also a kingdom of love.
It is the love of Christ into which we have been transported.

Today, Christ walks among His body on earth dispensing His blessings of love and
manifesting the kingdom as a present spiritual power driven by grace, which
overwhelms with faith and love. Our Beloved Lord is not trillions of light years
from us, for the word is Christ among (in) the nations, the expectation of glory! By
faith and with great expectation we wait for the presence of the Lord when He will
peal back the veil to welcome us into His celestial kingdom of glory.

Paul never lost sight of the coming celestial kingdom and pressed on toward it.
Until the glory of that day, let us be like Paul.

Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do,
forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things
which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13-14 ASV)
85

What is the goal unto the prize? It is entering the coming kingdom and glory
through the out-resurrection (Philippians 3.11 WAET) or first resurrection reserved
for those who walk worthy of the God who calls into His own kingdom and glory. It
is not mans kingdom; it is Gods kingdom. It is not mans glory; it is Gods glory.

The ki ngdom and glor y.

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting
and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own
children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who
calls you into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2.10-12
NASB)

Paul saw the goal set, not only before him, but before all the brethren in Christ,
and he encouraged the brethren in Thessalonica to walk in a manner worthy of the
God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. This is the same thing as
pressing on toward the goal for the prize. The call is an invitation to enter Gods
kingdom and glory in the next eon and to be part of the work of Christ in heading
up all until all is filled with His glory.

The Psalmist expressed the desire of his heart as one who saw the day when the
whole earth would be filled with His glory.

And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be
filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. (Psalm 72.19 NASB)

However, glory will not be manifested all at once as if the whole earth will explode
with glory. No; the kingdom and glory will take root in the earth and be
progressively manifested until not only the earth, but the entire creation of God is
filled with the glory of God.

Today, the glory of God can be seen in some measure in the creation around us,
some of which is breathtaking in its beauty and magnificence. This form of glory is
in the physical realm, but there is a glory in the spiritual realm that is veiled in our
day. It is the glory of Christ that is being formed in the called-out vessel, the
ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians
1.27)!

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to
glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3.18 NASB)

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing
greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. (2

86

The glory of the Lord will come in a people before it is manifested in the earth. In
fact, the glory of the Lord will be manifested to the nations of the earth in His
people. Today, it is hidden in earthen vessels, waiting to be manifested in spiritual,
celestial bodies.

Habakkuk the prophet stood on his guard post to keep watch to see what the Lord
would speak to him. The Lord answered by telling him to record the vision, for the
vision yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay
(Habakkuk 2.1-3 NASB). The Lord continued to speak to Habakkuk five specific
woes. In the third woe, the Lord declared that He makes the nations grow weary
for nothing, For the earth wi ll be fi lled wi th the knowledge of the glory
of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2.14 NASB; also Isaiah
11.9).

All of mans fading glory must be brought to naught, so that the glory of the Lord
will go forth.

The writer of the Hebrews epistle brought this prophecy to light as pertaining to
the coming of the Lord, for yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come,
and will not delay (Hebrews 10.37 NASB). The world to come is the subject of the
Hebrews epistle (Hebrews 2.5), and within this context is the promise of bringing
many sons to glory through the One who is now crowned with glory and honor
(Hebrews 2.9-10).

When Christ, the Son of Man, comes to reign over this earth in the next eon, He
will come in His glory and sit upon the throne of His glory.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. (Matthew 25.31 KJV)

As he beheld the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His
robe filling the temple, Isaiah the prophet heard the seraphim calling out to one
another (Isaiah 6.1-2 NASB).

And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of
hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory. (Isaiah 6.3 NASB)

When the Lord sits on His throne of glory, the whole earth will be filled with His
glory. But take note that when He does come to sit upon His throne over this earth,
He will be glorified in His saints on that day.

These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified
in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have
believedfor our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1.9-10
NASB)
87

This is the beginning of the glory of the Lord being manifested in the earth and
through a people that will progress until it has filled the whole earth, which will
occur during the Kingdom or Tabernacles Age, the next eon (Numbers 14.20).
However, as glorious as this eon will be, I do not believe that it will be the
culmination of glory. It is not until the earth upon which we live enters its own lake
of fire to be purged of all wickedness that glory will truly fill the earth upon which
mankind lives. This does not occur until the last eon, the eon of the eons, Gods
day, the eighth day, in which all is new and the glory of God comes down out of
heaven as the city-bride, a people conformed to the image of the Son, envelopes
the entire earth. This is Gods purpose and plan!

We could also say that glory does not fill all until God the Father is All in all. When
He is all there is only one word to describe it, and that word is glory. The glory of
God will shine brighter and brighter until it bursts forth out of heaven to fully
envelope the new earth.

A br i de havi ng the glor y of God.

John, the apostle who received the Patmos vision, The Unveiling of Jesus Christ,
saw a new heaven and a new earth and the glory coming down out of heaven.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the
first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made
ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men,
and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself will be among them. (Revelation 21.1-3 NASB)

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly
stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. (Revelation 21.10-11 NASB)

And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the
glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Revelation
21.23 NASB)

The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring
their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates
will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the
nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices
abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names
are written in the Lambs book of life. (Revelation 21.24-27 NASB)

Today, there is much talk about the Jerusalem that now sits on the land in what is
presently the state of Israel, as if this is where the Lord and His people will reside
88

in the oncoming eons. However, this Jerusalem has been judged and is mystically
called Sodom and Egypt, where also the Lord was crucified (Jeremiah 19.10-13;
Revelation 11.8 NASB).

Paul, the apostle of the nations, sheds light on the matter in his epistle to the
Galatians.

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one
by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the
flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegori-
cally speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from
Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this
Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Je-
rusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem
above is free; she is our mother. For it is written, REJOICE, BARREN
WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU
WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHIL-
DREN OF THE DESOLATE THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND.
And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he
who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according
to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? CAST OUT
THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE
BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE
FREE WOMAN. So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman,
but of the free woman. (Galatians 4.22-31 NASB)

Carefully follow Pauls thought. The Jerusalem on earth corresponds with the old
covenant and Hagar, which means the city we see on earth called Jerusalem is not
our city. We are not children of the bondwoman and her son; they must be cast
out. In other words, the Jerusalem of our day must be rejected. We are to be sons
of the free woman. Paul declares that the Jerusalem above is our mother. We have
no Jerusalem on earth in our present eon or in the one to come. We are born from
above!

We are to be heirs of the Jerusalem that is above, New Jerusalem that will come
down out of heaven having the glory of God. This is the bride of the Lamb, a city-
temple of glorified people in spirit, all in the image of the Son of Glory. But take
note that the glory of the city will illuminate the earth and the kings of the nations
will bring their glory into the city. What is the source of the nations glory? It is the
city of God!

The celestial and the physical realm will become one, and the new earth will be the
center of the affairs of Gods vast creation and universe as all mankind will
continue to be brought into the holy of holies.

89

The ki ngdom of Chri st.

Now, there is one more expression of the kingdom and that is the ki ngdom of
Chri st, which, in the coming eons, is expressed as the kingdom of the heavens, the
kingdom of the Son of His love, the kingdom of our Lord, His kingdom, the
celestial kingdom, the eonian kingdom of our Lord and Savior, and the kingdom of
our God and the authority of His Christ. Essentially, all the expressions of the
kingdom related to God will be brought together in Christ. The kingdom of Christ
speaks of when Christ rules, not only in the heavens but on the earth, not only in
the spiritual realm but in the physical realm, not only in hearts but in nations, and
not only in love but in righteousness.

The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of the eons of the eons. The kingdom of God
is endless; however, the kingdom of Christ is of the eons (eonian). A day will come
when loud voices in heaven will declare that the ki ngdom of thi s world
became our Lor ds and Hi s Chr i sts, and He shall be r ei gni ng for the
eons of the eons (Revelation 11.15 CV). The absolute reign of Christ that extends
from the earth to the far reaches of the universe encompasses the oncoming eons.

The kingdom of Christ will be consummated with the kingdom of God the Father.
The purpose of the eons is for Gods Son to head up all, and when He has
accomplished this work, the Son will deliver the kingdom to God the Father, so
that He may be All in all. [I realize that I am repeating this point, but I want to
make sure that you dont miss it, for if you do miss it, then you miss the purpose of
God.] The kingdom does not end at this point, but its character does change. All
sovereignty, all authority and power will be nullified, and death will be abolished
(see 1 Corinthians 15.20-28). Government as we know it will change as all creation
becomes one family with one Father. The kingdom of Christ will become the
kingdom of God the Father.

It appears that this truth is lost in a sea of confusion among the innumerable
sermons preached throughout Christendom. We might be tempted to think that
Christs abdication of the throne of the kingdom is something of a defeat, disgrace
or abasement to Christ. Quite the contrary; it is the height of victory and for the
greatest glory of God. If Christ does not give up the kingdom to God the Father,
then His reign will not be a success, and He will have failed in His mission.

The purpose of the eons is for God to be All in all, and the accomplishment of this
purpose has been given to the Son of God. His primary work is to head up all, so
that God may be all. If the Son does not subject Himself to the Father, then He will
not have accomplished the work that He has been given to do. The Sons desire is
to do the will of His Father. Scripture is filled with the proof of this desire.

But He answered them, My Father is working until now, and I Myself am
working. But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for
the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I
do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. (John 5.17, 36 NASB)
90

Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do
in My Fathers name, these bear witness of Me. If I do not do the works
of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe
Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is
in Me, and I in the Father. (John 10.25, 37-38 NASB)

Father, glorify Thy name. There came therefore a voice out of heaven: I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. (John 12.28 NASB)

Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but
Thine be done. (Luke 22.42 NASB)

When He was on earth, Jesus finished the work His Father gave Him to do (John
17.4). He was obedient to the point of death on a cross. The finished work of the
cross was and is an absolute success. When He finished this work, there was
nothing more to do to bring salvation to all mankind. Consequently, when the
work of heading up all for God is finished, there is nothing else to do. He cannot
proceed beyond this work and be obedient to the will of God. When all is subjected
to Him and death is abolished, then the work is finished, and He must deliver the
kingdom to His Father. In that glorious day, all mankind will be reconciled to God
as well. Can you imagine anything more glorious than Jesus bringing salvation and
reconciliation to all mankind, so that God may be All in all?

Dear brethren, may the eyes of your heart be enlightened to see the glory of the
work given to the Son and to come into the realization that all the saints of all eras
will one day join Christ as He heads up all in the heavens and on the earth. When
Christ has accomplished His work, the reign of all the saints who will have reigned
with Christ will end as well.

They shall be reigning for the eons of the eons. (Revelation 22.5 CV)

Let us not fear that all will end and we will cease when all is headed up in Christ.
And of Hi s ki ngdom there shall be no consummati on (Luke 1.33 CV).
Believers are on the leading edge of the greatest kingdom that mankind and all
Gods creation have ever known, beginning with the eons of the eons and moving
beyond the consummation of these eons into the magnificent, endless glory of
God. God has great things planned for those who love Him in our present eon, and
in the consummation of the eons, all will love Him, not out of coercion or force but
out of true heart-felt love for the Father of all. Can you imagine anything greater
than being bathed in the love of God and never again having to deal with sin and
death? This is glory!

But there is great news for those who believe in this day; as new creations in
Christ, the conquering believers of Christ will enter the kingdom of Christ in the
next eon and experience that which all mankind will eventually experience. Today,
we can only taste it, but then we will live it! Hallelujah!

91

The word of the ki ngdom.

In conclusion, as He walked among the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Jesus
proclaimed the reign of the heavens, but He also spoke of the secrets of the
kingdom of the heavens through parables, so that only His closest disciples
understood. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, most of the Jews did not
understand them, for their hearts had become dull to the things of God. In the
context of the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 13.11, 13), Jesus
referred to the going forth of the word of the kingdom as a message to be sown in
the heart of the hearer.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom [reign], and
understandeth it not. (Matthew 13.19 KJV [YLT])

In the strictest sense, the word of the kingdom (reign) refers to the political
kingdom of the heavens that will overtake the nations of the earth; however, it is
actually much bigger than this. The word of the kingdom encompasses the
vastness of the kingdom of Christ that is to come not only on earth, but also in the
heavens in the oncoming eons as Christ heads up all. Not only will all kingdoms be
gathered up, summed up and headed up in Christ, but everything in the heavens
and on the earth will be gathered together in Christ. This was the secret of Gods
will revealed to Paul.

Having disclosed to us the secret [or, mystery] of His will, according to His
good pleasure which He Himself purposed [or, planned] in Him, with
respect to the administration of the fullness [or, completion] of the
times, to gather together [or, to unify] all [things] in Christ, the [things] in
the heavens and the things on the earth. (Ephesians 1.9-10 ALT)

During the coming eons (the eons of the eons), Christ will head up all in the
heavens and on the earth until He has subjected all to Himself, and He fills all in
all. The most amazing truth is that He will do this through the ecclesia, which is
the body of Christ; His complement that is seated among the celestials in what
Paul called the celestial kingdom. His body is the complement (fullness) of
the One completing the all in all (Ephesians 1.23 CV). If you belong to Jesus,
then do not let this glorious truth pass you by; meditate on it until it floods your
heart with joy. You have been chosen to bring about the purpose of God in Christ.

God the Father has purposed that when the times have been completed, which
refers to the consummation of the eons, the work of Christ will have been done.
When He has accomplished the mission given to Him by His Father, then He will
deliver up the kingdom to His Father, so that God may be All in all. At the
consummation of the eons, all mankind, without exception, will enter the
kingdom of God the Father to be enjoyers of Gods love. This is the all-
encompassing word of the kingdom.

Praise God!
92
4. THAT GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL

Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall
be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.
(1 Corinthians 15.28 CV)

All.

The eons are made to bring about the purpose of God that is summed up in one
wordALL. Gods purpose is to become All in His entire creation. He has
purposed to become All in all.

The Greek word for all is pas, which means all, any, every, the whole. In other
words, when pas appears in the Greek and is translated as the word all, it is a very
comprehensive word that encompasses the whole or everything. Nothing is left out
with the meaning of all. It is not all with exceptions, omissions or deletions.

Obviously, the expression All in all is comprised of two alls, which in itself makes
this expression very comprehensive. The second all refers to the whole or to eve-
rything, which has to refer to all that God has created through His Son (Colossians
1.16), both the visible and the invisible. Simply, the all is the whole of Gods crea-
tion. The first all refers to God the Father in relation to all or to the whole. He is to
become All; that is, He is to fill everything in the whole of creation with His life.

This can mean only one thing; God has purposed that His very life, the essence of
who He is, is to fill His whole creation. He is the God of the living (Mark 12.27;
Luke 20.38), and His life will fill the whole creation. God is love (1 John 4.8,
16), and His love will fill the whole creation. God is light (1 John 1.5), and His
light will fill the whole creation. God is spirit (John 4.24), and His spirit will
fill the whole creation. Not only will His very essence fill all but also everything
associated with His essence as well (i.e., His attributes). His glory will fill all. His
truth will fill all. His grace and mercy will fill all. His holiness will fill all. His
faithfulness will fill all. And ultimately, the very will of God will fill all. In other
words, creation will no longer have to wonder what to do or how to live or how to
love, for God will so fill His creation that His life manifested throughout creation
will be as natural as breathing is for us humans today. His very essence will
become the very breath of His creation. His glory will fill all creation. This is the
perfection of God manifested in His creation.

When Gods plan that is worked out in the eons comes to its rightful conclusion,
then the eons will end and God will be All in all. With the consummation of the
eons, all will be new and all creation will be filled with the glory of God. God the
Father will be the Happy God! This is the purpose of the eons.

93

Can you imagine anything greater than God becoming All in all? Lets make this a
very personal question: Can you imagine anything greater than God the Father
becoming All in you? Can you imagine being filled with His love, so that love is so
much a part of you that you can do nothing but love? Can you imagine knowing
and doing His perfect will without any hesitation, without any failure or doubt?
Can you imagine walking in glory forever and ever? Can you imagine never coming
short of the glory of God and never being tainted by sin and death ever again? For
ones living in bodies of death, who at best are unprofitable servants, it is almost
beyond comprehension.

Dear brethren, this is the purpose of God for His creation, especially for all man-
kind that He created from the soil of the earth.

Meani ng of pur pose and plan.

In the Greek, the word purpose is translated from the word prothesis, which
means before-placing and the word protithemi, which means before-place. The
thought conveyed is of a goal set before the mind. In other words, a purpose or
goal is established before something is done or planned. These words are respec-
tively found in Matthew 12.4; Mark 2.26; Luke 6.4; Acts 11.23; 27.13; Romans
8.28; 9.11; Ephesians 3.11; 2 Timothy 1.9; 3.10; Hebrews 9.2 [prothesis], and in
Romans 1.13; 3.25; Ephesians 1.9 [protithemi]. Interestingly, the references in
Matthew, Mark, Luke and Hebrews literally apply to the cakes of bread in the holy
place, the showbread, which points to Christ.

Once a goal is set before the mind, a plan must be established to bring about the
goal. A purpose without a plan merely remains in the mind, but a purpose with a
plan goes beyond the mind into the realm of action. Another way of stating this is
that a purpose is the endpoint of that which has been in view since the inception of
a plan. When all is said and done, the purpose remains, for this is what the
originator had in mind to bring about. A plan is simply all the details that have to
be put into play and worked out to reach the goal or purpose. Once the purpose is
achieved, we could say that the plan is history, while the purpose remains.

Generally speaking, a purpose is very simple or straightforward, while a plan is
much more involved, with many facets. Gods purpose and plan follow the same
course. The fact of the matter is that many believers down through the centuries,
including many in our day, have gotten caught up in debating and dividing over
the details of Gods plan and have lost sight of Gods purpose.

Although I present a lot of detail to explain what I see in Scripture, my heart is that
the Lords people would grasp the greatness of Gods purpose, especially as it
relates to the reconciliation or, as some call it, the restoration of all mankind,
without exception. Without all mankind coming into Gods all, Gods purpose of
becoming All in all cannot be achieved.

94
THAT GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL

Eternal or of the eons?

The good news is that God has established the eons in order to bring about His
purpose. The eons or ages are not an aberration as if to correct what happened in
the garden nearly 6,000 years ago. No; the eons are made to carry out Gods plan
to bring about His purpose for all in the heavens and on the earth. In other words,
there is a divine purpose to the making of the eons, and that purpose deals with
Gods ultimate purpose of becoming All in all.

Paul has given us the expression the purpose of the eons.

In accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. (Ephesians 3.11 CV)

The phrase the purpose of the eons may not be familiar to many people because
many of the English translations of Scripture express it differently, and it appears
that only one uses the word eon. Several translations use the word age, which is
comparable to an eon.

Surveying several English Bible translations reveals that Ephesians 3.11 is worded
in several ways: the purpose of the eons (CV), the purpose of the ages (ALT, DNT, YLT,
REB), the purpose which runs through all the ages (TCNT), the age-old purpose (CJB),
the timeless purpose (JBP), and the eternal purpose (ASV, GB, HNV, KJV, LITV, MKJV, NASB,
NIV, WAET, WNT).

These variations should be an immediate red flag to all truth seekers, for we
discover the use of the words eons, ages, timeless and eternal. We know that an
eon is not endless, and that eternity is not an age. So which is correct?

The answer lies in the Greek word from which the translators derive the words
eons, ages, timeless and eternal. The Greek word is actually ain, which means a
long segment or period of time that has a beginning and an end. This fact alone
disqualifies the words timeless and eternal.

The Greek word ain is a noun; however, many translators have made it an
adjective by translating it as eternal, which places the emphasis on the eternal
aspect of the purpose.
1
It is true that God becoming All in all is an eternal verity,
and as such, one could say there is an eternal purpose. However, this is not the
import of the expression as given to us by Paul. His emphasis is on the eons and
Gods purpose being worked out in the eons, especially the last two eons and
especially through the ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. The context of
Ephesians 3.11 is on the multifarious wisdom of God being manifested through the
ecclesia but notice that this is in accord with the purpose of the eons; it is not the
entire purpose of the eons. Paul brought the church (as commonly called today)

1
Eternal, or everlasting, as generally understood, is an improper translation of aioonios; in fact,
we have no proper equivalent in the English language. Being an adjective and derived from the
noun, aioon, age, it cannot properly go beyond its meaning. Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson, 1942.
95

into the picture to emphasize that it was brought forth in accord with Gods
purpose, but according to Pauls teaching elsewhere, Gods purpose extends
beyond the church to all mankind.

Now, of the three other phrasesthe purpose of the eons, the purpose of the ages,
the purpose which runs through all the agesthe purpose of the eons seems to be
the most accurate and concordantly precise. The word eon
2
is the English
equivalent for the Greek word ain. Although the word age is close in meaning, it
nevertheless carries some baggage since to some people, and by definition, it can
mean a period of time of short duration. The purpose which runs through all the
ages makes it sound like the ages have little meaning to the purpose.

The phrase the purpose of the eons places the emphasis on the eons and the char-
acter of these eons, which means that God has a purpose in creating the eons. An-
other way of stating this is that God created the eons to work out His purpose
through His plan, and each eon, no matter how much failure might occur within it,
is according to God who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His
will (Ephesians 1.11 CV), for out of Him and through Him and for Him is all
(Romans 11.36 CV). The eons were not some afterthought of God that had to be
hastily put into play to remedy the tragedy of sin and death that entered into man-
kind. No; they were and are in the predetermined will of God.

Thus, the purpose of the eons is to work out the purpose of God. It is through the
eons that the plan of God is implemented.

The planto gather together all i n Chri st.

Now, first and foremost, Gods plan to achieve His purpose is found in His Son.
Actually, the purpose of the eons is two-fold, for it is the Fathers purpose that His
Son be all in all as well. In fact, the only way for the Father to be All in all is for the
Son to be all by gathering all things in heaven and on earth to Himself. Paul, the
beloved apostle of the nations, called it the secret of His will.

Having disclosed to us the secret [or, mystery, and throughout book] of His
will, according to His good pleasure which He Himself purposed
[protithemi] [or, planned] in Him with respect to the administration of
the fullness [or, completion] of the times, to gather together [or, to unify]
all [things] in Christ, the [things] in the heavens and the things on the
earth. (Ephesians 1.9-10 ALT)

God purposed in His Son to gather together all in Him, all in the heavens and all
on the earth. Instead of the expression gather together all, other translations use
the expressions head up all, sum up all, bring together everything, bring together
all things, and unite all things. There is no doubt that all the translators are in

2
According to Websters Dictionary, eon is an extremely long, indefinite period of time; thousands
and thousands of years.
96

agreement with the fact that all encompasses all in the heavens and on the earth;
there is nothing excluded in Gods plan to gather together, sum up or head up all in
Christ.

Paul tells us that Christ is the One who will complete the all in all. In other words,
the mission of the Son of God is to bring in the all in all for God the Father.

Jesus is The One completing the all in all (Ephesians 1.23 CV).

There are so many aspects of Gods plan worked out in, through and by His Son
that volumes could be written on the subject and, even then, such an effort would
be incomplete. After all, we know so little about gathering together all in Christ in
the heavens. Nevertheless, as I considered Gods plan worked out in the eons, I
came up with sixteen points that provide a very broad overview of Gods plan.

The Son creates all.

First, the Son, the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1.15), is the Crea-
tor of all things, He holds all things together, and He is to have the preeminence in
all things. We could say that He is the plan, for nothing exists apart from the Son
of God. He is to be first and foremost in all things.

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authoritiesall things have been created through Him and for
Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
(Colossians 1.16-17 NASB)

For even if they are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (just as there
are gods many and lords many), but to us [there is] one God, the Father, of
whom [are] all [things], and we [exist] for Him; and one Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom [are] all [things], and we [exist] through Him. (1
Corinthians 8.5-6 ALT)

In all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1.18 KJV)

In other words, according to the plan of God, His Son is the Creator of all things,
and He is to have the preeminence in all these things. This is the starting point of
the purpose and plan of God. Remove the Son and there is no purpose and
plan!

The Lord creates evi l.

Second, the Lord creates evil.

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the
LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45.7 KJV)
97

I realize that it might seem strange to include evil so early in the plan of God;
however, it is essential to our proper understanding of how God plans to achieve
His purpose. Many people see evil as something that came into creation through
Satan and then Adam. This cannot be so since the Lord is the creator of evil as well
as good. We may not like such a thought, for it goes against the traditions of men,
but it is the truth according to Scripture. The plan of God requires that His
creation experience the contrast of good and evil. It might not even make sense to
us at times, but we need to be reminded of Pauls word to the Romans.

On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?
The thing molded will not say to the molder, Why did you make
me like this, will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the
clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use
and another for common use? (Romans 9.20-21 NASB)

Are we wiser than God? Were we with Him when His purpose and plan were being
established? We might wonder why He has chosen to do things a certain way; but
can we truly match our wisdom with His wisdom? The foolishness of God is wiser
than men (1 Corinthians 1.25)!

The Son makes the eons.

Third, the Son makes the eons in order to carry out the plan of God.

In the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of
the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the eons.
(Hebrews 1.2 CV)

The eons represent the appointed times set by the Father to carry out His plan in
the history of the heavens and the earth in relation to mankind.

The earth i s restor ed.

Fourth, the plan required that the heavens and the earth that were in ruin and
waste be restored in six days followed by a seventh day of rest, which sets the pat-
tern for the eons to follow. After 6,000 years, or six 1,000-year days, the kingdom
of God will come to reign over the earth.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the
seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on
the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His
work which God had created and made. This is the account of the
heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the
LORD God made earth and heaven. (Genesis 2.1-4 NASB)

98

How the heavens and the earth fell into ruin in the first place is not clearly
explained in Scripture, so we can only surmise that it had to do with the serpent of
old that was created an evil adversary not only to challenge Gods purpose and
plan, but also to be an integral part of His plan.

I n our i mage, i n our li keness.

Fifth, during the restoration of the heavens and the earth, on the sixth day, Elohim
3
created man from the soil of the earth, making him in the image of Elohim and
giving him dominion.

And Elohim said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion. (Genesis 1.26 TSS)

Man was created to be in the image of God, to be like Him in character, to be a true
son of God, to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8.29). The
words image and likeness refer to resemblance; that is, these words refer to man
resembling God. It does not mean that man becomes God but that he resembles
God as a son resembles his father. When we see a son who is just like his father,
not only in appearance but mostly in mannerisms, we say that the son is a chip off
the old block. This is similar to what it means to be in the image of God.

When he was created, Adam was called the son of God (Luke 3.38). In order for
Christ to become All in all, God the Father must have a people in His image where
they are truly His sons in the image of His Son. The plan of the Father and the Son
is to have a family of many sons who are brought unto glory (Hebrews 2.10).

A helpmate.

Sixth, in order for Adam to have dominion over the earth he needed a helpmate, so
God put Adam to sleep and took a rib from his side to form the first woman, bone
of his bones and flesh of his flesh.

Then the LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will
make him a helper suitable for him. (Genesis 2.18 NASB)

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept;
then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD
God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and
brought her to the man. The man said, This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his
mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis
2.21-24 NASB)

3
The word Elohim is a transliteration from the Hebrew language; considered by some commenta-
tors to be the more accurate and appropriate word. Elohim, which is in the plural form, means
subjector(s) and refers to God as well as to lesser subjectors such as judges or false gods.
99

The woman fashioned from Adam points to Gods plan to have a helpmate for His
Son for when He reigns over the earth in the eons of the eons. The Lamb of God
will have a bride when He comes to take the scepter of the kingdom over the earth.

Death, si n and cor r upti on.

Seventh, the first man Adam was placed in the garden of Eden and in the midst of
the garden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He was given one
command in regard to this tree.

The LORD God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the
garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it
you will surely die. (Genesis 2.16-17 NASB)

However, Adams helpmate, Eve, was tempted and she took of the forbidden tree
and Adam followed because the two were one and love demanded that he redeem
his wife. This too is in the plan of God, for it pointed to a day 4,000 years later
when the Son of God came to this earth to redeem His bride.

We need to realize that Adams disobedience was part of the plan of God. God
intended for Adam to follow his wife. If he had not done so, then he would have
broken the much higher law of love. Paul called this a mystery.

So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ
also does the church, because we are members of His body. FOR
THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND
MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO
SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am
speaking with reference to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5.28-32
NASB)

Adams one act of disobedience was all in the preordained plan of God. It had to be
this way, so that Gods Son could come to this earth to reveal the love of God to all
mankind and to receive those predestined for the eons of the eons to be His body,
which is the ecclesia (church). How else is mankind to know the love of God
unless His Son manifested it in such a way that it is unquestioned? We know love
by this, that He laid down His life for us (1 John 3.16 NASB). The Son had to lay
down His life for all mankind to reveal the true depths of the love of God.

Adams one transgression, brought death and sin to his race.

Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world,
and through sin death, and thus death passed through into all
mankind, on which all sinned. (Romans 5.12 CV)
100

This too is in the preordained plan of God. It was not an aberration that required
God to change His plan. It was in the plan from the beginning. Not only this, but it
was Gods intent to bring His entire creation into bondage as well.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but
because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will
be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. (Romans 8.20-21 NASB)

Notice that the Lord Himself subjected the creation to futility, even against its will.
This alone tells us that God planned to bring His creation into futility, which is also
translated as vanity, which means emptiness or worthlessness. The creation
cannot have any value apart from mankind being in the place of dominion and in
the image of God. Thus, creation is a slave to corruption, which is decay and ruin,
until the manifestation of the children of God. Creation and mankind are inti-
mately related, just as mankind and the Son of God are intimately related.

I srael and the law.

Eighth, following the great flood of Noahs day, God began a new work through
one of Noahs sons and his descendants. Through his son Shem came forth the
Hebrews and Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations. Through Abrahams
grandchild Jacob, the Lord raised up the nation of Israel in order to introduce the
world to His divine law, which is Gods righteous standard that defines sin, and to
pave the way for the Son of God, who is the Savior of all mankind and the King of
all kings.

The nation of Israel was called out of Egypt. The Lord declared to Pharaoh:
Israel is My son, My firstborn (Exodus 4.22). Again, we see the desire of
God to have sons. They were then brought to the Lord at Mount Sinai to receive
His Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

This event pointed to the future when after six days (6,000 years), and on the
seventh day (the seventh 1,000-year day) the Lord will appear on this earth again
to usher in the sabbatical rest for the earth.

Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud
covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses
from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the
appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on
the mountain top. (Exodus 24.15-17 NASB)

When the Son of Mankind comes to this earth, He will rule in righteousness and
justice according to the fiery law of God, which is like a consuming fire. Gods glory
is like a refiners fire, for it consumes all the dross and carnal nature of mankind
101

(Exodus 24.17; Deuteronomy 4.24, 36; 33.2-3; Jeremiah 23.29; Psalm 18.7-8; 29.7;
Malachi 3.2; Hebrews 12.29).

The Lamb of God takes away the si n of the world.

Ninth, the Son of God came to this earth over 2,000 years ago, born of a virgin,
and lived a perfect life without sin in all His ways (2 Corinthians 5.21; 1 Peter
2.22). He came to die for the sin of the world and to conquer sin, death and the
devil. His death, resurrection, ascension and glorification are the apex of all the
eons and the means for the redemption of all mankind. He is the Lamb of God and
the last Adam who came to redeem all mankind and to restore all things to God.

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1.29 NASB)

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He
was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to
the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the
twelve. (1 Corinthians 15.3-5 NASB)

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of
the devil. (1 John 3.8 NASB)

Calli ng a people for Hi s name.

Tenth, following Pentecost, God continued to call a chosen people out from among
the nations in like fashion to when He called the ancient Hebrews out of Egypt. For
the last 2,000 years, He has been calling a people chosen and predestined to
become part of the ecclesia, the body of Christ, just as Eve was fashioned out of the
body of Adam. Christ is the Head of His body.

God first visits the nations, to obtain out of them a people for His
name. (Acts 15.14 CV)

[God] gives Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body,
the complement of the One completing the all in all. (Ephesians 1.23
CV)

Notice that the body of Christ is intimately joined with the One who will complete
the all in all for God the Father. Eve was brought forth as a helpmate in order for
Adam and, ultimately, all mankind to have dominion over the earth. This is called
the Dominion Mandate. In other words, he could not have dominion without a
helpmate. In like fashion, the body of Christ, the last Adams Eve, will be brought
forth to be His complement and His helpmate in completing the all in all in the
oncoming eons. He cannot reign over the earth and the heavens without a
helpmate, for this is in accord with the purpose of the eons.

102

The ki ngdom of our Lor d.

Eleventh, at the end of our present eon, it is in the plan of God for His Son to
return to this earth as the King of kings and Lord of lords and to take the scepter of
the kingdom of the heavens. A day is coming when loud voices in heaven will
declare: The kingdom of this world became our Lords and His Christs,
and He shall be reigning for the eons of the eons (Revelation 11.15 CV).

This glorious event will bring in the eons of the eons in which mankind will
progressively move from the court to the holies of the holies, into the very glory of
God. The oncoming eon is called the millennial reign of Christ because it will last
for 1,000 years. But this is not the end of the plan of God.

The j udgment seat of God.

Twelfth, all mankind must appear before the judgment seat of Christ (God). Some
will appear at the beginning of the millennial kingdom, the seventh day, but the
vast majority of mankind will appear at the end of the millennial kingdom, before
the eighth day; they will appear before the great white throne.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that
each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according
to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5.10 NASB)

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. (Romans 14.10
NASB)

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose
presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I
saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books
were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and
the dead were judged from the things which were written in the
books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and
they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
(Revelation 20.11-13 NASB)

It is in Gods plan to recompense each and every person that has lived on earth.
The reward is with His Son.

Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to
render to every man according to what he has done. (Revelation
22.12 NASB)

103

All new.

Thirteenth, following the great white throne there will be a new heaven, a new
earth and a new Jerusalem.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and
the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a
loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is
among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no
longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed
away. And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all
things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true.
(Revelation 21.1-5 NASB)

This is Gods day in which the Son of God will be making all new. This is not
eternity; it is the eighth day of God, the eon of the eons, the last and greatest of the
eons. Those who are found worthy to enter into and become part of the city-bride
of God will no longer experience death. They will enter the holy of holies.

The consummati on of the eons.

Fourteenth, a time will come when the eighth day will end and the consummation
of the eons will come (1 Corinthians 10.11 CV). In that day there will be no more
death for all mankind, not just for those who will enter the joy of the city-bride, the
new Jerusalem.

Paul explains that the consummation or the end of the eons will come when the
Son of God has subjected all His enemies under His feet and has abolished the last
enemy, which is death. This is when it will be declared that He has gathered
together all in Himself, all in the heavens and on the earth. The eons as we see
them in Scripture must end at this point, for the Son of God will have completed
the work that His Father has given Him to do.

Thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the
kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all
sovereignty and all authority and power. For He must be reigning until He
should be placing all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy is being
abolished: death. For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He
may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who
subjects all to Him. Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son
Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God
may be All in all. (1 Corinthians 15.24-28 CV)

104

When Christ has subjected and gathered all to Himself, then He will subject
Himself to His God and Father, so that God may be All in all. In that day, He will
give up or deliver up the kingdom to the Father, the kingdom that has no end. In
these few verses, we can clearly see how Gods purpose will ultimately be brought
to fruition in His Son.

This is the consummation of Gods plan; however, two vital points remain that I
have purposely kept for last because they are springboards for understanding the
reconciliation and restoration of all things.

The reconci li ati on of all.

Fifteenth, the blood of His cross is Gods plan for the reconciliation of all on the
earth and in the heavens.

And through Him to reconcile all [things] to Himself, having made
peace through the blood of His cross, through Him, whether the
[things] on the earth or the [things] in the heavens. (Colossians 1.20 ALT)

This is a profound truth that seems to be lost in our day. It is generally taught that
this excludes all unbelievers, ones that have not accepted and trusted Christ as
their Savior in this age. According to this thinking, reconciliation is potentially for
all, but to come into this peace one must believe in this age only and most will not
believe. However, this is not what this means, nor is it what it states.

As we began with the word all and its all-encompassing nature, so we must remain
with the word all. All on the earth and in the heavens are being reconciled to Christ
because peace has been made through the blood of His cross. In other words, the
blood of Christ has made peace between all creation and God, which has to include
all mankind. If not, then we must redefine the word all to be something other than
the whole.

Now, it is true that not all have accepted this peace with God, even though God is
now at peace with all mankind. Paul tells us so.

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving
us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, con-
ciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to
them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation. (2 Corinthians 5.18-19
CV)

But are we to conclude that, through His Son, God is not able to bring all mankind
into being reconciled when the word of God declares that all on earth and in the
heavens are in the process of being reconciled? Who of us dare to exclude one
single person, created to be in the image of the Son of God, from this all? The Lord
is not tardy as to the promise, but is patient because of you, not intending for any
to perish, but all to make room for repentance (see 2 Peter 3.8 CV).
105

It is the mercy of God that He has set aside 2,000 years to call out a people unto
Himself, after which He will set aside another 1,000 years to call out the nations
unto Himself, after which He will set aside yet another age to purify the rest of
mankind in the lake of fire, so that eventually all will bow the knee to Jesus.

This leads to the last and sixteenth point of this series. Many more points could be
added, but I will stop at the number sixteen since in Gods word it stands for love,
which is the very heart of the purpose of God.

Chr i st, all and i n all.

Sixteenth, in relation to mankind, in the Son there is no distinction of class or
fleshly advantage, for Christ is all and in all.

And having put on the new [person], the [one] being renewed in full [or, true]
knowledge according to [the] image of the One having created him, where
there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner,
Scythian, slave, free person, but Christ [is] all [things] and in all [things].
(Colossians 3.10-11 ALT)

The key to understanding this verse is discovered in the words image of the One
having created him. This leads to Genesis.

As presented earlier, during the restoration of the heavens and the earth, on the
sixth day, Elohim created man from the soil of the earth, making him in the image
of Elohim and giving him dominion (Genesis 1.26 TSS).

Man was created to be in the image of God, to be like Him in character, to be a true
son of God. Man was brought forth to be in the image of the Creator, the Son of
God. We were created to be in the image of the One, Christ, who created us. One
day, all creation will see the likeness of the Son of God in man.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we
will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we
will see Him just as He is. (1 John 3.2 NASB)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble
state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the
power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3.20-21
NASB)

Now, I realize that some might say that Colossians 3.10-11 refers to only those who
have believed and trusted in Christ in this age, for Paul refers to putting on the new
person or the new man. This is true but does this mean that it ends here; that is,
does it mean that the rest of mankind is excluded? I contend that according to
Scripture it does not.
106

This leads back to Pauls defense of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.

Each i n hi s own class.

This discussion started by looking at the last verse of this section of the following
Scripture, but now it is time to put it all together by looking at Pauls full thought.

If we are having an expectation in Christ in this life only, more forlorn than
all men are we. (Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the
Firstfruit of those who are reposing. For since, in fact, through a man came
death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. For even as,
in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified. Yet
each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ [lit. a first fruit
anointed]; thereupon those who are Christs in His presence; thereaf-
ter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His
God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all
authority and power. For He must be reigning until He should be placing all
His enemies under His feet. The last enemy is being abolished: death.
For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is
subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him. Now,
whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be
subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.) (1
Corinthians 15.19-28 CV)

And each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who
are the Christs, in his presence, thenthe end, when he may deliver up the
reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and
all authority and power. (1 Corinthians 15.23-24 YLT)

But each in his own rank:A firstfruit Christ, after that they who are the
Christs in his Presence,afterwards the end (1 Corinthians 15.23-24 REB)

1 Corinthians 15 is one of the greatest chapters in all Scripture, for it is here that
Paul defends the resurrection of Christ and, ultimately, the resurrection into life of
all mankind. In the Concordant Version, it is referred to as the vivification (being
made alive) of mankind.

Paul starts with Christ as the Firstfruit of all the dead. Christ was raised from
among the dead and is now immortal, for death has no more power over Him. As
the firstborn from among the dead (Colossians 1.18), Christ is in a class all by
Himself.

Then, Paul states that in Adam all are dying. Again, here is the word all. Can
anyone dispute that all born of Adams race, whether we believe in Christ or not,
will one day die, unless we happen to be in the company of believers alive on earth
when He comes the second time? All are dying in Adam! Paul makes no exceptions
to this death sentence.
107

Next, Paul states that in Christ shall all be vivified or made alive. Again, here
is the word all. Who are we to exclude from this all? Paul makes no distinction that
one is a believer or an unbeliever. There are no exclusions in this all. If all are in
Adam, does it not follow that all must be in Christ as well? Of course, logic dictates
that it follows. This is Gods life sentence for all!

But Paul continues by making an important distinction; not all will be made alive
at the same time but each in their own order or class.

In the Greek, the word for proper order is tagma, which refers to something
orderly in arrangement (a troop), that is, (figuratively) a series or succession:-
order.

Now, most commentators see the Firstfruit, Christ in one of two ways. Some see
this as referring to those who were resurrected after Jesus rose from the dead.
However, neither Scripture nor the historical record offers proof that this group
was raised to mortal life; thus, they died again and did not enter immortal life.
Some see this as referring to Christ Himself. However, if we follow Pauls logic, we
discover that each in his own order refers back to in Christ shall all be made alive.
In other words, it refers to all mankind that die, not to Christ Himself.

Anoi nted fi r stfr ui ts.

It only follows that if Christ Himself is a firstfruit, then there are other firstfruits to
follow. During harvest time a farmer picks a crop of several pieces of fruit and
declares it to be his firstfruits.

According to the English Sublinear of the Concordant Greek Text, the first group
that Paul lists is simply firstfruit anointed. The word Christ can also be
translated as the word anointed. Thus, the first group could be called anointed
firstfruits. We could say that the cream of the crop is resurrected first from among
mankind. There will be a group of believers that will be counted worthy to attain to
the oncoming eon to reign with Christ; they are sons of the resurrection (Luke
20.34-36).

This is the out-resurrection to which Paul sought to attain (Philippians 3.11), the
first or former resurrection that John saw in his Patmos vision (Revelation 20.5-
6), and the better resurrection that is accounted to the ones who gained approval
through their faith but did not receive what was promised (Hebrews 11.39).

The ones who will be considered worthy of the first or better resurrection, the out-
resurrection, are ones who will have conquered while they lived in their bodies of
death. How will they have conquered? They will have conquered through grace,
faith and love. Hebrews 11 lists the many that walked by faith and conquered in
their day. Paul declared: We are more than conquering through Him Who loves us
(Romans 8.37 CV). How do we conquer? We do it through lovelove for our God
and Savior, love for one another, and love for our enemies. If we love, we also
108

forgive, including our enemies that do us much harm, for this is what we are
commanded to do (Matthew 5.44; 6.14). If we want to be in the out-resurrection
we must love, obey and forgive, and this is done by laying down our lives even unto
death if necessary.

They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of
death. (Revelation 12.11 HCSB)

These are the ones who overwhelmingly conquer through the One Who loves us
and who will be priests of God and of Christ that will reign with Christ for 1,000
years.

God declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46.10), and we see that as Adam
was a son of God, so will all mankind be sons of God, not all at the same time but
all eventually. We see the firstfruits of sonship in The Unveiling of Jesus Christ.
The conquerors will be firstfruits of our present eon that will become Gods sons in
the eons of the eons. They are the first called according to the purpose of God to be
conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8.29).

He who overcomes [conquers] will inherit these things, and I will be
his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21.7 NASB [CV])

Those who are found worthy to attain to the first resurrection (Revelation 20.5-6)
and the eon [age] to come (Matthew 20.34-38) will be the first to be called sons of
God, even sons of the kingdom (Matthew 13.38).

The second group to be resurrected is the rest of mankind that must appear in the
presence of Christ. If the firstfruits resurrection is the first resurrection, and this
occurs at the end of our present eon, then there must be a second resurrection that
occurs 1,000 years later; a resurrection of the just and the unjust when most of
mankind must stand in the presence of the Judge. In other words, this group
includes believers (the just) that were not included in the first resurrection or out-
resurrection. The just will have believed in Jesus but did not conquer through His
life; thus, they were not anointed firstfruits. They will be saved, yet so as through
fire (1 Corinthians 3.15), and they will enter into immortality. The unbelievers (the
unjust) will be cast in the lake of fire and will not enter immortality at this time.
They will be brought in at the end or perhaps before.

Those i n Hi s presencethe shewbread.

Now, there is something special regarding all appearing in the presence of Christ.
As previously presented, in the Greek, the word purpose is translated from the
word prothesis, which means before-placing. Also, it has been noted that this
word applies to the showbread, the cakes of bread, the hallowed bread that sat on a
table across from the golden candlestick in the holy place. The shewbread was a
109

type of Christ who is the manna that came down out of heaven, the Bread of Life
(John 6.33, 35, 48, 51).

But He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he became
hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they
ate the consecrated [prothesis] bread, which was not lawful for him to eat
nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? (Matthew 12.3-4 NASB)

For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the
lampstand and the table and the sacred [prothesis] bread; this is called the
holy place. (Hebrews 9.2 NASB)

Some translations refer to the sacred bread as the bread of the Presence (ESV,
GW, ISV, JMNT, YLT), an expression found in Hebrew Scripture.

So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but
the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD. (1
Samuel 21.6 NASB)

The Hebrew word for presence is paniyim, which can refer to the face (as the part
that turns). It also refers to being purposed by. Thus, the shewbread is more
than a figure of Christ as the Bread of Life; it signifies that the purpose of God for
all mankind is to appear before the face of the One who is the very Bread of Life,
the One who all will feed upon to receive life. Mankind will progressively move into
the Tabernacles Age, from the court to the Holies of the Holies, to behold the
face of Jesus. The first objects that the priest beheld as he entered the Tabernacle
(Holy Place) were the Table of Shewbread, which represents Christ as the Bread of
Life, and the Golden Candlestick, which represents Christ as the Light of the
World. The Son of God is the way into the Most Holy Place, the very presence of
God, which is Gods purpose for mankind. Eventually, all will appear before the
bread of the Presence, the One who holds the key to life, and who is the Light of the
world. All must pass by and through Him, for He alone is the Way to God the
Father.

Ther eafter the ones subj ected.

Paul declared then comes the end; literally, thereafter the consummation. In other
words, at the consummation of the eons, the rest of mankind that did not receive
the benefit of immortality from the second resurrection must be transfigured into
immortal life when death is abolished. I do not see these ones going through a
third bodily resurrection since they were resurrected to appear at the great white
throne judgment. What they require is immortality, but to receive this they must
be chastened and purified in the lake of fire, which represents Gods divine law, the
standard by which their works will be judged. They enter into a second type of
death (not physical and definitely not for torture) that is designed to purify them,
so that one day they too can enter into immortality. If they are not brought out of
this second death, then it cannot be declared that death is abolished. Further,
110

Christ will not have accomplished the work given to Him by His Father. Thus, His
work of the cross will have been a failure.

But how do we know that the unjust one day will be brought into immortal life?
We know it because Paul declared that Christ must reign until He has subjected all
things to Himself. The ones being subjected to Christ are the unjust or the wicked.

For HE HAS PUT ALL THI NGS I N SUBJ ECTI ON UNDER HI S
FEET. But when He says, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that
He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are
subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who
subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians
15.27-28 NASB)

In other words, His purpose of reigning is to subject all things in heaven and on
earth to Himself, so that He can then subject all things, including Himself, to His
Father, so that God may be All in all. Notice that the mission of the Son of God is
not to destroy all things but to subject all things, for the Son of Man did not come
to destroy mens lives, but to save them (Luke 9.56 NASB). It is not His purpose to
destroy or annihilate the unjust but to subject them, so that the word of God,
which does not return void, is fulfilled.

All wi thout excepti ons.

Now, I realize that the thought of all mankind being saved, not all at the same
time, but all eventually, is repugnant and difficult to accept by many in our day.
Perhaps it is time to discard the traditions of men that say otherwise.

We know that God is after sons in the image of His Son (Galatians 3.26; Hebrews
2.10; Revelation 21.7). Does this mean that Gods purpose is to bring all mankind
into sonship through faith in His Son? Scripture does not state so directly; but
perhaps it is so. However, I am convinced that the restoration and reconciliation of
all will be fully accomplished at the consummation of the eons; thus the All of
God includes all mankind, without exception. So that you do not lose the
import of what you just read, I will state it more emphatically. Every single person
of Adams race that has lived and died on this earth for the last 6,000 years, and
that will live and die until the end of the eons, will one day be included in the All
in all. Simply, God has purposed to bring all mankind without exception into His
All. Every sinner that has fallen short of the glory of God, which includes 100% of
mankind, will one day [not all in the same day] be included in the All in all of
God, for in Adam all are dying but in Christ shall all be made alive (1
Corinthians 15.22 CV).

Every knee wi ll bow, every tongue wi ll confess.

One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
111

And so God highly exalted Him [or, put Him in the most important position]
and gave to Him a Name, the [Name] above every name, so that at the
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of heavenly [ones] and of
earthly [ones] and of [ones] under the earth, and every tongue [fig.,
person] shall confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord to [the] glory of God
[the] Father! [cp. Isaiah 45.23] (Philippians 2.9-11 ALT)

This will not be done through brute force, as if to force even the most hardened
heart to bow and confess. No; it will be done willingly as hearts will be won by the
love of God and through faith in His Son. No one can say Lord apart from the Holy
Spirit, and all who confess with their mouth Jesus as Lord will be saved.

No one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. (1

Further, the word bow implies that the one doing the bowing is doing it willingly
as a sign of honor. In the Greek, the word confess is exomologeomai, which means
to agree fully. It is used eleven times in Scripture and in no case does it imply
that one must be forced to confess (Matthew 3.6; 11.25; Mark 1.5; Luke 10.21; 22.6;
Acts 19.18; Romans 14.11; 15.9; Philippians 2.11; James 5.16; Revelation 3.5). It is a
confession of the heart and is often used in reference to praising God.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the
heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10.9-10 NASB)

As emphasized many times, the above verses declare that Gods purpose to be All
in all will be achieved through His beloved Son. Gods purpose is worked out in,
through and by His Son. Another way of stating this fact is that God has a plan to
achieve His purpose, and the plan is found in His Son. There is no other way!

The purpose of God is ALL, and it is through the purpose of the eons that all in the
heavens and on the earth will be gathered together, summed up or headed up in
Christ, to the glory of God the Father. It is the secret of His will that has been
revealed to us in these last days.

In closing, consider this rendering of Pauls word on the heading up of all in Christ.
Gods purpose of ALL is the restoring of the whole creation to the one Head,
Christ.

He made known to us the secret of His will. And this is in harmony with
Gods merciful purpose for the government of the world when the times
are ripe for itthe purpose which He has cherished in His own mind
of restoring the whole creation to find its one Head in Christ; yes,
things in Heaven and things on earth, to find their one Head in
Him. (Ephesians 1.9-10 WNT)
112
5. RESTORING THE WHOLE CREATION

The last chapter ended with this rendering of Pauls vision of the secret of His will.

He made known to us the secret of His will. And this is in harmony with
Gods merciful purpose for the government of the world when the times
are ripe for itthe purpose which He has cherished in His own mind
of restoring the whole creation to find its one Head in Christ; yes,
things in Heaven and things on earth, to find their one Head in
Him. (Ephesians 1.9-10 WNT)

This is a paraphrase of the Greek text, but it seems to capture the very heart of the
purpose and plan of God to head up all in His Son, all in the heavens and all on the
earth, so that God the Father may be All in all. Knowing that God has cherished in
His own mind to restore the whole creation to its Head is a glorious thought. Can
you imagine how wonderful it will be when the whole creation will find itself under
one Head? Is this not the meaning of all things in the heavens and on the earth?
Whole means all!

Who and what is to be excluded in the whole creation or all things in the heavens
and on the earth? We must conclude that nothing will be excluded in all creation,
both the animate and the inanimate, and the visible and the invisible. Paul even
tells us that we know that the whole creati on groans and suffers the pains of
childbirth together until now (Romans 8.22 NASB).

I want to be clear what I mean by stating that the whole animate creation will be
restored, for I realize that when it comes to mankind many people do not accept
the thought that the so-called lost or unrighteous one day will be restored as well.
The traditions of men are like hardened cement, for they are a mighty hard thing
to break up.

If it is Gods purpose to restore the whole, then does it not follow that the whole
includes all mankind even if the process of restoration takes eons to complete? Are
we to exclude the lost or the ones who have never heard of Jesus? Are we to
condemn ones created to be in the image of God to an eternal torment in a place
called hell? How can this possibly be so if all things are restored in Christ? Are we
to condemn those who God has told us that He hardened their hearts to bring
about His purpose? Where is the justice in this?

For me, the answer is rather simple. Heading up all in the heavens and on the
earth covers the whole of Gods creation. In His Son, God will restore the whole
creation, including every single person into which God breathes the spirit of life
from the beginning to the consummation of the eons. I believe that Scripture
reveals this is Gods truth.
113

Now, the purpose of this writing is to present the evidence that I see in Scripture
for the restoration, reconciliation and salvation of all mankind. Let it be known
right from the start that what follows is presented to prove that, through His
Son, God will eventually save every single human of Adams race that ever lived or
will live on this earth, and this is in accord with the purpose of God that He may
become All in all.

I strongly emphasize that Gods plan is only through His Son; there is no other
way, for Jesus is the only WAY!

So, please do not confuse what follows with universalism or any other teaching
that says that there are many ways to God. There is only one way and His name is
Jesus! By the same token, please do understand that I am stating that, because of
the death and resurrection of Gods Son, all mankind will be included in the All of
God, not all at the same time, or in the same eon, or even in the same manner, but
all will finally come in at the consummation of the eons in accord with the work of
His Son to subject all things unto Himself, so that the God and Father may be All
in all.

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last
enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN
SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, All things are put
in subjection, it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in
subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the
Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all
things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15.25-28
NASB)

Now, this chapter is divided into two sections. The first section takes up the topics
of restoration, renascence, reconciliation, free will, predestination, love and the
cross. The second section takes up many Scriptures that support the ultimate
salvation of all mankind. Putting the two sections together should give enough
material in order to make an informed judgment on this vital matter.

Before proceeding, I have one confession. Much of what follows is presented
throughout other chapters of this book, even verbatim, and some of the same
Scriptures are repeated many times. This is by design. After all, as Paul said: To
write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard to
you (Philippians 3.1 NASB).

To begin, some commentators refer to the restoration of all and others refer to the
reconciliation of all. At times, I might use the two terms as if they are one and the
same, but they are not exactly the same. There is a difference between the two
phrases, for restoration deals with bringing things back to a certain state and
reconciliation deals with bringing things into peace with God. However, each
compliments the other, as both speak of the glory that will come when the Son
subjects all to His Father at the consummation of the eons.
114
RESTORING THE WHOLE CREATION

Restorati on.

Restorati on means bringing back into a former, normal, or unimpaired state.
The last part of this definition seems to be the most appropriate meaning, for the
whole creation as we know it today is obviously not operating in what we could call
an unimpaired state. Today, the whole creation groans under the weight of the sin
and corruption of the world. Gods plan is to restore His creation to the glory it had
in the beginning when He created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1.1), except
perhaps it may be even more glorious than at first. We know that in Gods day all
things will be made new.

And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things
new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true.
(Revelation 21.5 NASB)

The first mention of the restoration in the New Testament refers to what will come
in the next eon.

In speaking to the men of Israel, Peter spoke of the period or times of restoration
of all (presented in two translations).

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven
must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which
God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. (Acts 3.19-
21 NASB)

Yet what God announces before through the mouth of all the prophetsthe
suffering of His ChristHe thus fulfills. Repent, then, and turn about for the
erasure of your sins, so that seasons of refreshing should be coming
from the face of the Lord, and He should dispatch the One fixed upon
before for you, Christ Jesus, Whom heaven must indeed receive until the
times of restoration of all which God speaks through the mouth of
His holy prophets who are from the eon. (Acts 3.18-21 CV)

This was a very specific word to the men of Israel in the early days of the
Pentecostal ecclesia. As Gods people, they had demanded the death of Messiah,
and they needed to repent if they were to enter the coming kingdom of Christ. But
notice that there is also a general message in these verses. Through the prophets,
we are told that seasons or times of refreshing are coming in the presence or face
of the Lord. Christ has been received by heaven and is waiting for the times of
restoration, which is an appointed time for Him to meet His people. Notice that it
is times in the plural, which implies that the restoration does not come all at one
time. It will be unfolded during a period of time that will begin with the next eon
and proceed to the last eon, the eon of the eons.

115

According to Paul, it appears that the times of restoration begin with the revealing
of the children of God, which comes at the end of our present eon as the earth
enters the Tabernacles Age. Today, creation is impaired; it cannot operate in the
fullness as intended by God and neither can mankind. We could say that creation
itself is being held back from the glory of God because the glory of the sons of God
has not been revealed. This makes perfect sense because man was created to have
dominion over the earth, and since man lost this privilege in the garden, the
creation itself has lost the benefit of mans dominion. In other words, man and
creation are intimately joined. When one suffers, the other suffers. When one is
impaired, the other is impaired. When one is in glory, the other is in glory. This is
the wisdom of God.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the
anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of
the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not
willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the
creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption
into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know
that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth
together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our
body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for
who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see,
with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (Romans 8.18-25 NASB)

God Himself has subjected His creation to futility or vanity. Another translation
states: For the Creation fell into subjection to failure and unreality (not
of its own choice, but by the will of Him who so subjected it) (Romans
8.20 WNT). In other words, creation had no choice in the matter, for it was
subjected to failure, just as all mankind has been subjected to failure, for God locks
up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all (Romans 11.32
CV).

Note that creation is not only groaning but so are those who have been given the
firstfruits of the spirit, which means that they have received an earnest of the spirit
of God and are waiting for the time of restoration when they will receive the full
anointing of the spirit. When they receive this anointing, they will enter the coming
Tabernacles Age as the anointed firstfruits of Christ, conformed to the body of His
glory (Philippians 3.21 CV). However, do not lose sight of the fact that the term
firstfruits implies that there is other fruit to be harvested at some later time.

The good news is that a new day is coming, and when it does come, one of the
things that will set creation free from its bondage will be the revealing of the sons
of God, the anointed firstfruits. Can you imagine that creation is waiting for the
glory to come that will be manifested in the sons of God, the first ones to be
116

conformed to the image of the Son of God? It may be difficult for some to grasp,
but it is true.

Consider the way the Weymouth New Testament reads.

Yet there was always the hope that at last the Creation itself would also be set
free from the thraldom of decay so as to enjoy the liberty that will attend the
glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole of Creation is
groaning together in the pains of childbirth until this hour. And more than
that, we ourselves, though we possess the Spirit as a foretaste and
pledge of the glorious future, yet we ourselves inwardly sigh, as we
wait and long for open recognition as sons through the deliver-
ance of our bodies. (Romans 8.21-23 WNT)

Believers of the Pentecostal Age have received the earnest of the spirit of God (2
Corinthians 1.22; Ephesians 1.13) as a foretaste of the future inheritance of glori-
fied bodies, and for this reason they groan within knowing and waiting for the day
of deliverance from their bodies of death.

For all who believe on Jesus and have put their trust in Him, conquering in His
love, this is their hope. I believe that the sign of one who is a conqueror destined
for glory in the oncoming eons is one who is groaning within, groaning along with
creation to be set free from all the bondage of this present eon.

Have you had days when you have had deep groanings within that you cannot
explain? Well, take heart; it is the spirit of God within you that is interceding on
your behalf.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how
to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows
what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according
to the will of God. (Romans 8.26-27 NASB)

The restoration of all things is coming, but it first starts with a people called out to
be the anointed firstfruits of God, the sons of God.

Renascence.

The next word to consider is renascence, which means new birth; rebirth,
revival; regeneration. Applying the concordant method, this word is discovered in
two places.

In speaking to His disciples about the coming of His kingdom, Jesus told them that
they will follow Him in the renascence, which He clearly identified as when He will
sit upon the throne of His glory.

117

Yet Jesus said to them, Verily, I am saying to you, that you who follow Me, in
the renascence whenever the Son of Mankind should be seated on
the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19.28 CV)

Thus, Jesus was pointing to the day when He takes the scepter of the kingdom to
rule and reign over this earth. In that day, the earth will enter a new birth or a
rebirth. This is similar to the restoration of the whole creation when it will be
brought into an unimpaired state. It will be revived, which means that it will most
likely be like the restored or revived earth before Adam fell in disobedience and the
whole earth began to come into slavery to corruption.

The next reference to renascence is found in one of Pauls epistles.

Yet when the kindness and fondness for humanity of our Saviour, God, made
its advent, not for works which are wrought in righteousness which we do,
but according to His mercy, He saves us, through the bath of
renascence and renewal of holy spirit, which He pours out on us
richly through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that, being justified in
that Ones grace, we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of
the allotment of life eonian. (Titus 3.4-7 CV)

In this case, the renascence refers to salvation and being justified in grace in order
to enter life in the oncoming eons. We need a rebirth to be saved and go from
corruption to incorruption, just as creation needs a rebirth to go from corruption
to the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Both mankind and all creation need a renascence. The restoration and the renas-
cence commence when the sons of God are revealed and the Son of God is seated
on His throne of glory in His kingdom.

Reconci li ati on.

Now, reconciliation is the third word in this series, and its meaning is more
expansive than both restoration and renascence, for it has application in our
present eon and extends throughout the eons of the eons to the consummation of
the eons.

Reconci li ati on means to make friendly again or win over to a friendly attitude;
to bring two parties into harmony or peace with each other.

Today, it is common to hear people talk about being reconciled to one another, but
seldom do we hear that God is conciliating the world to Himself, and that through
Christ, He intends to reconcile all to Himself.

To understand how conciliation and reconciliation are presented in Scripture, we
need to consider three Greek words.
118

Katallass is translated into the verb conciliate; katallag is translated into the
noun conciliation; apokatallass is translated into the verb reconcile.

The editor of the Concordant Version has pointed out that there is a difference in
these Greek words, and as such, they should not be translated uniformly as
reconcile or reconciliation as done in most all English versions.

Unfortunately, the words conciliate and conciliation are probably foreign to most
people. Seldom do we hear them used in common conversation, but they are vital
words in understanding what God has done through His Son.

Conci li ate means to win over; soothe the anger of; make friendly; placate and
to gain by friendly acts.

When two parties are at war with each other they are enemies. If one party makes
peace with the other, then that party conciliates with the other, and there is
conciliation. Thus, conciliation refers to one side of a peace deal; that is, one party
is at peace with another, but it does not follow that the other party has made peace
with the one that has made peace. There is still enmity coming forth from one
party. It is as if one waves the white flag of truce, but the other continues shooting.

For a peace deal to be of any value, it takes both parties to be at peace with each
other. When both parties have entered into peace with each other, it is called
reconciliation. Thus, the word reconciliation means that both parties are in
harmony and at peace with one another. It is a mutual peace agreement. Each
party has to make peace (to be conciliated) with the other to come into a mutual
peace (to be reconciled).

These might appear to be minor or subtle differences to some, but they are more
than that, for they add clarity to what transpired at the cross and to the message
that believers are to have written on their hearts.

To explain this, let us consider mankinds condition in relation to God and His
Sons death on the cross.

There are many references in Scripture about God having enemies. We know that
the Son is sitting at the right hand of His Father as God puts all His enemies under
His feet (e.g., Matthew 22.44). But we also know that, according to Paul, we all
were enemies of God: For i f whi le we were enemi es (Romans 5.10 NASB), and
that there are many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ (Philippians
3.18 NASB).

The good news is that the conciliation starts with God, not with us. Can you
imagine what it would be like if mankind wanted to be at peace with God, but He
did not want to be at peace with mankind? It is a sad commentary on our day that
many seem to project our Heavenly Father as one who refuses to be at peace with
most of mankind. God is love and He demonstrates His love, for He first loved us!
119

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8 NASB)

For if, being enemies, we were conciliated to God through the death
of His Son, much rather, being conciliated, we shall be saved in His life.
(Romans 5.10 CV)

These two verses confirm that in the death of His Son, we, that is, all mankind,
were conciliated to God. There was enmity between God and mankind, but God
has made peace with mankind at the cross of Calvary. In other words, man is no
longer Gods enemy because enmity has been removed through His Sons death on
the cross. It is as if God Himself waved the white flag of peace. Through Christ, the
entire world, which means all mankind, has been conciliated to God, and God is
not counting their offenses against them. Do you grasp the greatness of these
words? He is not counting your offenses against you!

Now, some might protest and declare that this cannot be true because God is only
at peace with those who believe. After all, God refuses to be at peace with the
unsaved because they have rejected His Son. If you believe this, then it is time for
your eyes to be opened to the truth.

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is
giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in
Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their
offenses to them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation. For
Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are
beseeching for Christs sake, Be conciliated to God! For the One not
knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be
becoming Gods righteousness in Him. (2 Corinthians 5.18-21 CV)

Notice that in Christ, God was conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning
their offenses to them. A paraphrased version reads: That i s, that God was i n
Chri st maki ng peace between the world and hi mself, not putti ng thei r
si ns to thei r account, and havi ng gi ven to us the preachi ng of thi s
news of peace (2 Corinthians 5.19 BBE). Here we discover the very heart of
conciliation, making peace, and this is the message that we, as believers, are to be
proclaiming to the world that remains an enemy of the cross. God has made peace
with the world because of His Son; because of JESUS!

Let us not think that God has given up or that conciliation is a thing of the past, for
it is an ever-present peace agreement that will continue until the consummation of
the eons. In fact, it is Gods plan not only to conciliate the world to Himself, but to
reconcile all in the heavens and on the earth to Himself. Ultimately, there will be a
mutual peace with all in the heavens and on the earth. In other words, God fully
intends to be reconciled to all mankind. How do we know? Paul tells us so.

120

And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn
from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first, for in Him the
entire complement delights to dwell, and through Him to reconcile all to
Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him,
whether those on the earth or those in the heavens. (Colossians 1.18-
20 CV)

The blood of His cross will be absolutely, 100% successful in reconciling all to God
because peace has been made through the blood of His cross. It doesnt matter
where one resides, whether in the heavens or on the earth, for the blood of His
cross reaches to every corner of Gods creation and to every creature in His
creation. This is the greatest and the grandest peace deal that the world has ever
known and will ever know. It is in Christ Jesus, the One who is preeminent in all
things.

Do you honestly believe that peace through the blood of His cross will not reach
out until it has won the heart of every single human that has ever stepped foot on
this earth, none excepted. The word does not state that some are reconciled, or
that all with exceptions are reconciled, or that only those who believe in this day
are reconciled. It simply states that it is Gods delight through Him to reconcile all
to Him. We must not redefine all as if it were not the whole. All has no exclusions.

Today, God continues to reach out to mankind with a peace offer, as if to say:
Believe in My Son, be saved by grace and then accept the peace that I offer and
come into peace with Me.

The only way to come into reconciliation with God is through His Son. According
to Scripture, it is clear that all will not believe in Jesus in this eon, but as is shown
through other Scripture, all eventually will bow the knee to the Lord Jesus and be
reconciled to God.

Unfortunately, even today, one can believe in Jesus but not be at peace with God.
Are you at peace with God? He is a loving Father and He beckons all to be at peace
with Him. Be conci li ated to God! Do not delay!

Yet not only so, but we are glorying also in God, through our Lord, Jesus
Christ, through Whom we now obtained the conciliation. (Romans
5.11 CV)

And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by
wicked acts, yet now He reconciles by His body of flesh, through
His death, to present you holy and flawless and unimpeachable in
His sight, since surely you are persisting in the faith, grounded and settled
and are not being removed from the expectation of the evangel which you
hear which is being heralded in the entire creation which is under heaven of
which I, Paul, became the dispenser. (Colossians 1.21-23 CV)

121

This is truly good news for all. We are saved by grace, not by works, and we are
brought into a relationship of peace with God. We are no longer separated from
God and are no longer enemies of God. Those who believe in this day can glory in
the reconciliation of God knowing that one day all in the heavens and on the earth
will enter into the same peace in the eons to come.

Those who are reconciled will be enjoyers of the restoration and the renascence of
the coming eon when Christ sits on His throne of glory.

Before moving on, there are two more conciliation references in Scripture.

For if their casting away is the conciliation of the world, what will the
taking back be if not life from among the dead? (Romans 11.15 CV)

This refers to the nation Israel that was set aside due to unbelief.

A wife is not to be separated from her husband. Yet if she should be separated
also, let her remain unmarried or be conciliated to her husband (1 Corin-
thians 7.11 CV).

This refers to a woman separated from her husband. Even if the husband is not
willing to be at peace, the woman is to be at peace with her husband. In any
relationship, it always takes one to start the peace process, in hopes of winning the
heart of an enemy. After all, Jesus gave us the command to love our enemies
(Matthew 5.44). Only in love is a heart truly won. But God demonstrates His
own love toward us! Surely, we must follow His example.

So, let us not forget that God is not reckoning mankinds offenses to them. He has
conciliated the world to Himself. Is the world only made up of believers? Of course
not! God is not mad nor is He angry. He has made peace with all mankind and
beckons all to come into His peace because God so loves the world.

Now, it is time to change gears a little and to tread on ground that is not for the
faint of heart. There are two major challenges for many in accepting the truth that
God will eventually reconcile all to Himself. These challenges come through what
is called free will and predestination. Both terms go hand-in-hand. Free will is the
counter argument to predestination. The argument is made that man has free will;
therefore, he is not predestined.

I realize that free will and predestination have been argued and divided over down
through the centuries. In fact, it is one of the most divisive issues among
Christians, even today. In the end, each of us has to be convinced of the truth by
the spirit of God. I dont desire to engage others in the controversy, but I do desire
to present the proof that I see in Scripture that has settled the matter in my heart.

I realize that philosophers and theologians would most likely pick apart some of
what follows as fodder to prove the ignorance of the uninformed, but then again
122

the Lord can speak through a donkey. Besides, the chosen disciples of Christ were
considered uneducated by the religious establishment, and yet, these men turned
the world upside down. By the way, they did it by the will of the One who called
them, not by their will.

Free wi ll.

What is free will? To me, it is a strange term. Does it mean that our will comes
freely? Or, does it mean that man can make his own choices; he does whatever he
wills? I am sure there are different definitions of free will, but it seems that it
means that man is capable of freely choosing to do what he wants, that is, of
exercising his own will (volition). Some add to the definition that free will requires
that man exercise his will without any external influence. In other words, man is
like a free agent that is capable of making whatever choice he wants without any
influence from outside himself. He is even free from any influence from his
Creator. It is his right to reject the will of the Creator.

Before proceeding further, let it be understood that in what follows I use the word
will in a very comprehensive sense to refer to all the decisions and choices we
make all day long, big and small. I realize that some make a distinction between
will and choice, but I am not doing that, for I dont see it really changing the
argument that I am making.

I contend that if mans will is truly free, that is, free from any and all external in-
fluence, then mans will must be absolute. Just in case one is not sure of the defi-
nition of absolute, it means perfect, pure, not limited, not conditional, unre-
stricted, not dependent on anything, considered without reference to anything
else. This last part of the definition seems to capture the heart of this definition of
free will. It is a will not dependent on anything and has no reference to anything
else.

But what is the will? In the case of free will, it must be the power of self-direction
or self-control. Putting these thoughts together we come up with a concept of free
will that says man is a free agent to self-direct all his decisions and choices
independent of everything and without any external reference point.

I will add one more thought to this definition. Free will means that whatever we
choose for ourselves it is the right and perfect choice for us. How could it be
anything other than this since there are no external reference points by which to
judge our exercise of free will? The concept of good or evil would not enter into the
picture, for what matters is what is right for us. In other words, there is nothing
outside of us that makes a difference. You could say that we are on the top of the
mountain, and everything else is below us. We are the king of the mountain.

Interestingly, I just read the following in our local newspaper in response to an
article someone had written: My wife and children are my world, and other family
members are simply satellites around that world. If they refuse to recognize my
123

world, then to me, theyre just insignificant comets flying through my universe.
This persons worldview is obviously centered on self, and I would imagine that
this one believes in free will as well.

If man has a free will as defined above, then I contend that man is God. Why?
Because only a god can make a choice apart from any external influence! Only a
god exercises his will according to what is right for him. Only a god has no one
higher than himself.

The fact of the matter is that mankind, in general, seems to act and think this way.
Sadly, even Christians who hold so strongly to the concept of free will have
unwittingly bought into this lie as well.

This whole notion of free will comes from the seed sown in the heart of man in the
day that Adam partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The seed
sown came from the serpent of old, and it has led to multitudes believing a big lie
and falling into a systematized scheme of deception based on a lie.

The serpent said to the woman, You surely will not die! For God
knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3.4-5 NASB)

Man believes the lie that he will be like God and that he will never die, even though
he will return to the soil of the earth. If we believe that we are like God, then we
believe we can make decisions in the same manner as God, that is, make decisions
independent of any influence. We can even make decisions over life and death.
Consequently, many believe that no one really dies but that they go into another
place in death, whether heaven or hell. Unfortunately, this thinking is prevalent
amongst Christians. Further, billions of people who fear death, even hate it and
desire above all else to live forever, choose to die rather than to accept Gods offer
to live one day in immortality. I find something very strange in this line of
thinking. This is why I say that it comes from a seed of deception sown in the heart
of man that goes back 6,000 years.

Let us get to the very heart of the matter. Do we really make any decisions inde-
pendent of any external reference point? Do we really and truly make decisions as
if we are gods unto ourselves? The answer to both questions is no we do not. Eve-
rything we do or dont do is based on some influence in our lives. In fact, our lives
are directed every which way we go or turn. Governments of today expend a great
deal of energy and money controlling the lives of its people. For example, I cannot
drive a car legally unless I am of age and have a drivers license. I cannot own a car
and drive it legally unless I have insurance, pay taxes and have it inspected once a
year. I might choose not to do any of these things, but then I would be a law
breaker and eventually my actions would lead to trouble.

I can hear some at this point proclaiming that I am proving that man has free will
in regard to his salvation, for my example is proof positive. After all, one who
124

refuses to believe on Jesus is exercising free will and this will lead to big trouble.
But this misses the point that there are external influences that direct our wills or
choices every single day and every single second of the day. None of us make
decisions independent of some external influence. There is always something that
comes to bear in the exercise of our will.

The news article referenced above makes the point. The one who wrote the article
thinks that he reigns in his own world or universe, but as much as many would like
to think it so, it is a big lie. We are dictated to all day long by innumerable influ-
ences on our lives. So the concept of free will as presented is just not valid.

For me, the question is not whether we exercise our will in making choices every
day, for we most certainly do make choices all day long.

The question, which I hear few asking, is whether Gods will trumps our will when
it comes to believing in His Son. Another way of asking the question is this: Does
Gods will come to bear on our will to save us, or is salvation totally up to our will?

Some will say that God does not want robots, so He will not interfere with our will
in the matter of salvation. And yet, our wills are influenced all day long by our
spouses, our children, our parents, society and, most of all, by our government and
its laws under which we live. None of us live in some protected bubble free of
external influence. So why is it that so many believe that our very Creator has no
direct influence on us? Why is it that so many seem to hold that Gods love cannot
and does not woo our hearts to His Son? Of course, love is another matter entirely;
but isnt love a powerful external influence?

For a moment let us consider Jesus will when He walked on this earth 2,000 years
ago. In regards to the purpose of God, Jesus executed Gods will perfectly, never
executing His own will. While on earth, He was under the will of an external
source, the will of His Father in heaven.

The Son of God did not come to this earth to exercise His will. He came to do the
will of the Father. He had no intention of coming to do what He wanted to do.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but
the will of Him who sent Me. (John 6.38 NASB; also Matthew 26.39;
John 8.28)

It was designated beforehand that the Son would come to this earth in the form of
man, not to exercise His own will but to do the will of His Father in going to the
cross to die for all mankind. Even His second coming is in the will of His Father.

Now, concerning that day and hour no one is aware, neither the messengers
of the heavens, nor the Son; except the Father only. (Matthew 24.36 CV)

125

The Son cannot decide on His own that He is tired of waiting, so He is going to
return to earth and seize His kingdom. The Father and the Son know the day and
the hour, but the Son cannot change the appointed time fixed by His Fathers
authority (Acts 1.7).

Consider Paul the apostle. I use him often as an example of one who was appre-
hended by Christ (Philippians 3.12). On the road to Damascus, Paul had no inten-
tion or desire to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. In fact, he considered those who
did believe in Jesus, the Way, to be his enemy and the enemy of God that needed
to be wiped out. Pauls testimony is mighty powerful proof that his will was so set
against the Lord and His people that a power beyond him had to blast him out of
his ignorance and unbelief.

Grateful am I to Him Who invigorates me, Christ Jesus, our Lord, for He
deems me faithful, assigning me a service, I, who formerly was a calumniator
and a persecutor and an outrager: but I was shown mercy, seeing that I do
it being ignorant, in unbelief. Yet the grace of our Lord over-
whelms, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying, and
worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, foremost of whom am I. But therefore was I shown mercy, that
in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ should be displaying all His patience, for a
pattern of those who are about to be believing on Him for life eonian. (1
Timothy 1.12-16 CV)

By his own admission, Paul was in ignorance and unbelief. It was like a great
mountain in his life that was immovable. Nothing could blast this huge stumbling
block from his life. Even worse, Paul never knew that it was a stumbling block until
the Lord Jesus met him and blinded him on that dusty road. But what overcame
Pauls ignorance and unbelief? Was it Pauls will that all of a sudden decided to
accept Christ apart from any external influence? Hardly! A light blinding him out
of heaven is a mighty powerful influence on one in unbelief. So what changed
Pauls mind in that split second when Jesus spoke out of heaven? Paul tells us what
did it. Yet the grace of our Lord overwhelms, with faith and love in
Christ Jesus.

It was the grace of our Lord that met him on that road and overwhelmed his
ignorance and unbelief with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Dont miss the truth
that Paul has left us. It was grace that overwhelmed him with faith and love. It was
not Pauls grace; it was not Pauls faith; and it was not Pauls love. It was all from
the Lord Jesus. When he wrote his epistle to the Galatians, Paul declared that it
was not his faith; it was the faith of the Son of God.

With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me
is Christ. Now that which I am now living in flesh, I am living in faith that
is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me.
(Galatians 2.20 CV)

126

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2.20 KJV)

I can testify that it was neither my will nor my faith that led me to believe in Jesus.
One day as I was in unbelief and ignorance, Jesus broke into my life, and by His
grace gave me the faith to believe, and He saved me. My boast is in Him alone, for I
did nothing to save myself; I had no faith of my own to believe; and my will was
overwhelmed with the grace of God, so that I bowed the knee to Jesus. Was my will
exercised when Jesus met me? It most certainly was. But did I make a choice
independent of any external influence? Absolutely not! Then what happened to my
will? God came in and trumped my will with faith and love and brought my will
into conformance with His will.

Does this make me or anyone else who believes in Jesus into robots for God? Ab-
solutely not! We continue to make choices all day long, but now we are free to
make right choices for God and His kingdom under the influence and guid-
ance of the spirit of God.

This leads to one other point regarding mans will.

As You wi ll.

When people are first saved we tell them that they must obey the Lord and this
comes by reading His word, knowing His will for us and obeying what He speaks to
our hearts to do. We might even teach new believers that in the garden of
Gethsemane Jesus cried out to His Father: Yet not as I will, but as You will
(Matthew 26.39), and that this is to be their prayer as well. For those of us who
have gone on with the Lord for a few years, we can testify that knowing and doing
the will of God is not as easy as it seems. After all, even Jesus was in distress as He
contemplated the sin that He was to bear and the cross that He faced as He prayed
to His Father. Doing the will of God is often taking up our cross (Matthew 16.24),
and this is not an easy thing to do, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak
(Mark 14.38).

Now, this poses a question: If for believers, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak, then how does an unbeliever, whose spirit is dead to God and whose flesh is
in control, exert his or her will to believe in Jesus? Stated another way: If believers
face challenges to do the will of God, and they have an earnest of the spirit of God,
then how do unbelievers break through these same barriers on their own without
the spirit of God? The answer is that unbelievers cannot break through, for they
have no means within them to do so; their flesh is in control and the flesh profits
nothing (John 6.63). Simply, doing the will of God that leads to salvation is
impossible for an unbeliever. Sinners need the grace of God and the faith of Jesus
to break through the barrier of unbelief, and this requires the spirit of God to move
upon their hearts of unbelief.

127

The more I read Scripture free of the traditions of men, the more I see that God
alone works out His purpose of the eons through His Son. There is no other way
because God designated it all beforehand in His Son. To accomplish His purpose,
God has not entrusted the plan to any man other than the Second Man. Let us not
rob God of His glory but give all the praise and glory for His marvelous purpose
and plan.

Now, this leads to the matter of predestination.

Predesti nati on.

I have heard it taught that predestination refers to what a person receives once he
or she believes and has nothing to do with God choosing the person for salvation
ahead of time or beforehand. This goes hand-in-hand with believing that the same
person made a free will choice to believe in Jesus. For example, according to this
line of thinking, a person who believes is predestined to be conformed to the image
of Christ. It is as if God determined before He created man that once a person
crossed the threshold of belief, the person would be called, justified and glorified,
but it is totally up to the person to cross the threshold on his (or her) own. I have
also heard it taught that predestination means that a person is chosen because
God, who is all-knowing, knew beforehand that the person would believe in Jesus;
that is, the person would make the right free will choice.

But, is this the proper way to view predestination? I dont think so.

The Greek word prooriz appears in Greek Scripture six times and is most often
translated as predestined or foreordained. The Concordant Version uses the
phrase designates beforehand. The thought conveyed in this word is that God has
made a determination beforehand regarding a matter or a people.

Let us consider the verses in which this phrase is used.

The verse that sets the stage for understanding designates beforehand is the first
usage in the New Testament.

For of a truth, in this city were gathered against Thy holy Boy Jesus, Whom
Thou dost anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the nations
and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel
designates beforehand [prooriz] to occur. (Acts 4.27-28 CV)

This is part of a declaration made by Peter and John, along with their companions,
after the two were released by the Jewish leaders of that day. In the name of the
One that the Jewish rulers and the nations raged against and crucified, Peter and
John had healed a sick man. What did God designate beforehand? He designated
that His Son would be crucified at the hand of Israel and the nations. In other
words, the crucifixion was determined in the counsel of God before the eons were
made and before Gods Son came to this earth. Peter had previously stood before
128

the men of Israel and declared that Christ had been given up for crucifixion in the
specific counsel and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2.23 CV). Christ was known
and loved by God before the foundation of the world (John 17.25; 1 Peter 1.20). He
was even the Lambkin slain before the disruption of the world (Revelation 13.8 CV).

In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that the death of Gods Son was Gods
wisdom in a secret that God designated before the eons.

Yet wisdom are we speaking among the mature, yet a wisdom not of this eon,
neither of the chief men of this eon, who are being discarded, but we are
speaking Gods wisdom in a secret, wisdom which has been
concealed, which God designates before [prooriz]before the
eons, for our glory, which not one of the chief men of this eon knows, for if
they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2.6-8 CV)

The point that needs to be understood is that Christs death was determined in the
counsel of God before the eons were even set in motion by the Son. But there is one
other essential point that is so obvious that it is hardly necessary to state;
nevertheless, it needs to be stated: the Son was known by the Father before the
eons, and He sent Him to this earth the first time with the sole purpose to die for
the sin of the world. Gods foreknowledge was not that He looked ahead and saw
that His Son would not fail, as if there could be some doubt. No; His Son came
with this purpose in mind and set out to complete the task.

This distinction is vital for understanding the other verses, because it is often
taught that God looks ahead in time and sees who will be faithful by applying their
free will, and on this basis alone, they are predestined to become sons of God in the
eons to come. In other words, for many people, predestination simply means that
God has predetermined that the reward for those who exercise their free will and
believe in Jesus will be glorification. The process of salvation is left up to man and
the ones that exercise their will and make the right choice are predestined to
sonship. Since God is all-knowing, and He knows the future, He also knows who
will make it. Do you see the danger in such thinking? At this point, I hope so!

Now, here is the key to our understanding. The Son of God did not come to this
earth to exercise His free will. He came to do the will of the Father. He had no
intention of coming to do what He wanted to do. The Father didnt send Him to
this earth because He looked out to the future and saw that He would be obedient
to the point of death on a cross. Yes; He knew He would go the full mile, but He
sent Him because He came to do His Fathers will.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but
the will of Him who sent Me. (John 6.38 NASB; also Matthew 26.39;
John 8.28)

129

It was designated beforehand that the Son would come to this earth in the form of
man, not to exercise His own will, but to do the will of His Father in going to the
cross to die for all mankind (Philippians 2.5-11).

As such, designated beforehand has nothing to do with mans free will, but has
everything to do with the exercise of Gods absolute will. God designates before-
hand His purpose and how it will be worked out to His own glory. How can it be to
the glory of God if the outcome of His purpose and plan is dependent on mans will
and not His? Truly, this is not the example left us by Jesus. Besides, has mans
collective will since the fall produced anything with any eternal value?

It is time for Gods people to stop holding to a god that seems limited by the frailty
of man and to believe in the God who has designated all things beforehand, in-
cluding who will come into glory first and who will follow later, even at the con-
summation of the eons. As Paul wrote to Timothy: Now in a large house there are
not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and
some to honor and some to dishonor (2 Timothy 2.20 NASB). Besides, for
from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the
glory forever. Amen (Romans 11.36 NASB).

The challenge to the predestination of some that precede the salvation of all comes
into sharper focus if we see that all will come into glory, but not all at the same
time. And, during the eons, Gods purpose and plan is worked out through vessels
of honor and vessels of dishonor, just as it is worked out through good and evil,
and through a host of adversaries among the celestials.

Now, let us look at the verses that apply to those designated beforehand.

Now we are aware that God is working all together for the good of those who
are loving God, who are called according to the purpose that, whom
He foreknew, He designates beforehand [prooriz], also, to be con-
formed to the image of His Son, for Him to be Firstborn among many
brethren. Now whom He designates beforehand [prooriz], these He
calls also, and whom He calls, these He justifies also; now whom He justifies,
these He glorifies also. (Romans 8.28-30 CV)

Some are called according to the purpose of sonship in the eons to come and some
are not. We might not like this, but God has not given us a vote on the matter. I
think Paul was well-aware of the protest that would come forth from what he saw,
and he addressed it later in his epistle.

You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who re-
sists His will? On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers
back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, Why
did you make me like this, will it? Or does not the potter have a
right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for
honorable use and another for common use? (Romans 9.19-21 NASB)
130

In bringing about His purpose in His Son, God not only designated beforehand the
plan (calling, justification, glorification), but He also foreknew who He was going
to call and choose to be on the leading edge of His plan. Simply, He alone, by His
will, calls who He has chosen according to His purpose. HE IS GOD!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who blesses us with
every spiritual blessing among the celestials, in Christ, according as He
chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world, we to be holy and
flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand [prooriz] for
the place of a son for Him through Christ Jesus; in accord with the
delight of His will, for the laud of the glory of His grace, which
graces us in the Beloved: in Whom we are having the deliverance through
His blood, the forgiveness of offenses in accord with the riches of His grace,
which He lavishes on us; in all wisdom and prudence making known to us
the secret of His will (in accord with His delight, which He
purposed in Him) to have an administration of the complement of the
eras, to head up all in the Christboth that in the heavens and that on the
earthin Him in Whom our lot was cast also, being designated
beforehand [prooriz] according to the purpose of the One Who is
operating all in accord with the counsel of His will, that we should
be for the laud of His glory, who are pre-expectant in the Christ.

For those who are called and chosen in this eon, these words penned by Paul are
the most encouraging in all Scripture. In love, God the Father has designated
beforehand those who will be placed as sons in the coming kingdom. This is His
delight and according to His grace. These are chosen beforehand according to the
purpose of God who operates all in accord with the counsel of His will. Did you
catch that? According to HIS WILL! It does not state that it is according to mans
will or even the will of the ones chosen. It is by Gods will alone, so that He alone
should receive the praise of His glory.

This is all in the secret of His will in accord with what He has purposed in His Son.

Consider Pauls testimony.

But when God, who had set me apart even from my mothers
womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His
Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles. (Galatians
1.15-16 NASB)

Notice how Paul was set apart from his mothers womb. This surely does not sound
like free will. How can a baby exercise any will on such a matter? God alone set
Paul apart and then called him through His grace. It was Gods pleasure to reveal
His Son in Paul. In other words, Paul lays no claim to his calling. Do you see Pauls
will being exercised in his testimony? Of course not!

131

Consider what John recorded in his gospel.

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of
God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1.11-13
NASB)

Some might read this and think that those who received Him were ones who
exercised their free will to believe, but this is not how John concludes the matter.
They were born not of the will of man, but of God! It seems to me that this is a
very emphatic statement that rules out mans will.

Or, consider some verses telling us that God moves on hearts, even to harden them
in order to fulfill His purpose.

What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were
chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written,
GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND
EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY. (Romans 11.7-8 NASB)

But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land;
for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart
obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.
(Deuteronomy 2.30 NASB)

Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed
his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. (1 Samuel 10.9 NASB)

Or, consider the fact that the Lord fashions hearts.

The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling
place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the
hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. (Psalm
33.13-15 NASB)

Or, as previously cited, consider the fact that creation itself is subjected to futility
by the Lord.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because
of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set
free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. (Romans 8.20-21 NASB)

Just these few verses indicate that the Lord is in charge of the destiny of man and
of creation. He hardens hearts as He chooses in order to work out His plan in the
eons. How can it be any other way? Is He not the Creator of all? Is He not the
132

firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1.15) and the firstborn among many brethren
(Romans 8.29)? Does He not uphold all things by the word of His power (Hebrews
1.3)?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good
to those who love God, to those who are called according to His
purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [pro-
oriz] to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would
be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined
[prooriz], He also called; and these whom He called, He also justi-
fied; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8.28-
30 NASB)

Some might say that these verses do not support predestination as I see it in
Scripture. After all, the verses apply to those who love God, as if the ones called
according to His purpose worked up love on their own. But where does love come
from?

The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through
the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5.5 NASB)

Love starts with God, not with man. It is His love that is returned to Him. Those
who have received His love are called according to His purpose. They are predes-
tined, designated beforehand, because it is Gods will that they are called and cho-
sen for glory.

Their destiny in Christ has been set by God. In other words, they were predestined
to be a son of God, to be conformed to the image of His Son. Ultimately, I believe
that all mankind will come into this place of justified and glorified because this is
the absolute success of the work of the cross, for in Christ shall all be made
alive. And yet, there are some who are predestined to precede most of humanity in
being glorified.

Someone once argued that if predestination is true, then Gods justice demands
that He save all mankind. Amen! Unfortunately, the same person rejected his own
argument. Nevertheless, I would add that if God hardens hearts to fulfill His pur-
pose, which Scripture clearly reveals, then Gods justice also demands that He save
all mankind. Perhaps, the best way to view predestination is to see that all man-
kind, without exception, is predestined to be saved, but not all are predestined at
the same time; salvation comes for some at the end of our present eon, some at the
end of the next eon, and some (many) either during Gods day or at the end of it.

Well, I believe Scripture teaches predestination, the salvation of all mankind and
the restoration and reconciliation of all IN CHRIST. It is the most glorious good
news that anyone should want to hear. It explains the full depth of God is love.
133

Love never fai ls.

Why does it seem that so many Christians today desire a god that is vengeful and
hell-bent on destroying most of mankind, and they believe that Gods love will fail
to reach the most hardened heart, even the hearts that He purposely hardened?

Let it be shouted from the rooftops that the love of God never fails, for God loves
the world! This is the very heart and foundation of the good news of Christ.

The restoration and reconciliation of the whole creation is about a love relation-
ship, the love relationship between the Father and the Son. The Fathers love de-
sires that His Son be all in all and the Sons love desires that the Father be All in
all.

Father, those whom Thou hast given Me, I will that, where I am, they also
may be with Me, that they may be beholding My glory which Thou has given
Me, for Thou lovest Me before the disruption of the world. And I make
known to them Thy name, and I shall make it known, that the love with
which Thou lovest Me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17.24, 26 CV)

This love is not merely between the Father and the Son, for it must have an
expression outside of the Deity. This is where mankind and all creation come into
the picture, for God is love, and He must express love to all mankind and creation.
In return, God desires a love relationship with mankind. His purpose is to fill all
with His love.

I purposely repeat the same lines about the love of God throughout my writings
because I believe the fact that God is love is rejected or relegated to a lesser
importance by many, especially by those who hold to the heaven-hell doctrine.
Again, love begins with God. God is love; He first loved us (1 John 4.16, 19); and
He expresses His love in and through His Son.

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His
only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. (1 John
4.9 NASB)

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us. (1 John
3.16 NASB)

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in
righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3.4-5 NASB)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with
134

Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order
that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2.4-7 NASB)


Some might argue that each of these verses applies to specific groups of people,
such as the disciples and the body of Christ, and not to all mankind. It is true that
only those who believe in Jesus in this eon will be counted among those who will
enjoy life (eonian life) in the next eon. However, does it follow that the rest of
mankind will be forever excluded from this love affair? Is Gods love so shallow
that it will not reach out and continue to reach out to lost humanity until He has
won the heart of every soul that was created to be in the image of His Son? Do you
honestly think that God did not make provision for His love to win every heart He
created to be in His image? The divine will of God for mankind eventually will be
fulfilled at the consummation. Gods will is greater than mans will, and all will be
conquered by His love and through His Son.

Beloved in Christ, Paul experienced the very love of Christ, and he willingly died
daily that others might know this love. Paul asked: Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ (Romans 8.35)? He declared: Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13.8).
If love never fails, and we know that God is love, then how can we say that His love
will not save all mankind and reach out into His entire creation? If it does not, then
Paul is a liar, and we cannot trust his word. But Paul testified: I am telling the
truth, I am not lying.

This leads to the most important point that I could stress in this entire matter.

The absolute success of the Cross.

How could Paul state that love never fails? He could because he knew that the love
of God manifested through the cross was an absolute, 100% success in undoing
what the first Adam brought upon his race.

Just consider the following points, which will be backed up with Scripture in the
second section of this chapter.

Adam successfully caused death and sin to enter through into all mankind. There
is no exception for any born of Adams race, which includes all mankind. In other
words, Adams one transgression was an absolute success in bringing death and sin
unto all mankind, and those born of Adams race have no choice in the matter. If
they are born of man, they must die as man. Most every student of Scripture would
have to agree that this is true. In fact, even the unbeliever would have to agree that
all die, for it is an indisputable fact that all die, and we have a countless numbers of
graves in the earth to prove it.

135

However, when it comes to Christs one act of righteousness, many believers hold
an entirely different view. They see Christs one act of righteousness potentially
leading to life for all, but not all will attain to it because it is only possible if one
believes on his own volition (free will). In other words, mankind has a choice in the
matter, and unfortunately, most will not make the choice while in the body, so they
will die in their sin and be lost forever. By some accounts there are perhaps
upward of 50 billion humans now being tormented in hell.

Is there something odd about this reasoning? Mankind has no choice in the matter
of death and sin, but now must make a choice in the matter of life. Mankind had no
free will in becoming a sinner and ultimately facing death, but now has a free will
to determine his destiny in heaven or hell. Does this make any sense to you? Isnt it
rather strange that billions upon billions of people who had the spirit of life
breathed into them made a free will choice to die and have rejected Gods promise
of life? Why is it that the majority of mankind (not the minority) has chosen,
according to their own free will, not to go the way of life? Isnt it far more logical
that if mans free will were operative in the matter of salvation that most of all
mankind would choose to live? After all, most of mankind seem to fear death.
When we fear something, we generally desire to stay away from that thing. Think
about it!

Consider this question: Why is Adams one transgression more successful (in a bad
sense) than Christs one righteous act (in a good sense)? Has God ultimately
failed? Is God not able to save all mankind? Did He make the ultimate sacrifice
knowing that billions of His creatures, made to be perfected into His own image,
are going to be cast into a fiery lake to be tortured forever and ever and ever? God
is the Supreme, and all comes out of Him, through Him and for Him is all (CV). Are
we to conclude that it is His will that there are exceptions to His all?

If it is true, then we must conclude that God will fail to achieve His purpose, and
the cross was not able to undo all that Adam did. Without doubt, some will argue
that it is mans failure, not Gods. But this cannot be so, for if man fails to reach
Gods end, it is God who fails, not man. Man did not establish Gods purpose, God
did! Man was nowhere to be found before times eonian when God set His purpose
and plan according to the counsel of His will.

Man is helpless in his sin, so why do we make man a hero in his own
salvation, as if he can save himself?

Let it be shouted from the rooftops and the pulpits of every so-called church
building that bears the name of Christ: The death of Gods Son on the cross
is an absolute, unequivocal 100% success according to the counsel of
Gods will!

We need to be continually reminded that it is Gods will that is being worked out in
the eons, not mans will, and that God will accomplish all that He wills. All things
136

come forth through God. We need to stop holding to a small, impotent god created
in our own image and embrace the God of All who will be All in all.

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things
which have not been done, Saying, My purpose will be established, and
I will accomplish all My good pleasure. (Isaiah 46.10 NASB)

According to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord
with the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1.11 CV)

Because of Him and through Him and to Him [are] all [things]; to
Him [be] the glory into the ages! So be it! (Romans 11.36 ALT)

Seeing that out of Him and through Him and for Him is all: to Him
be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans 11.36 CV)

I pray right now that you will meditate on these verses and the many to follow, and
may the spirit of God enlighten the eyes of your heart.

Well, this completes the first section of this chapter.

Now, let us consider some Scripture that supports what has been presented so far
regarding the restoration and reconciliation of all, especially all mankind.

[There] is not a righteous [person], not even one. [There] is not
[one] understanding; there is not [one] diligently seeking after God.
All turned aside, together they became unprofitable; [there] is not [one]
doing kindness [or, what is right], [there] is not so much as one. [Psalm 14.1-
3; 53.1-3; Ecclesiastes 7.20] (Romans 3.10-12 ALT)

If no one is a seeker of God, then how is anyone saved unless God touches their
heart to believe?

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2.1 NASB)

If we were all dead in our trespasses and sins, then how could we possibly become
alive again unless someone outside of ourselves gives us life? The dead have no
ability to change their condition, for they are DEAD! Unless the dead are raised
from the dead by a force outside their control they will remain dead.

Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and through
sin death, and thus death passed through into all mankind, on which
all sinned. (Romans 5.12 CV)

Death passed through to every single human born after Adam. Because we are
born to die we are also born to sin because sin reigns in death.
137

For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be
merciful to all. (Romans 11.32 CV)

God is going to shower His mercy on all because He has shut up or locked up all.
Whom do you want to exclude from this all?

But the scripture locks up all together under sin, that the promise
out of Jesus Christs faith may be given to those who are believing.
(Galatians 3.22 CV)

The word of God locks up all together under sin, so that each (in its own era) may
be released by faith. Today, the promise is for those who believe. But if God locks
up all together in stubbornness, and Scripture locks up all together under sin, then
how does one come to believe unless God gives the faith to believe.

And from this we learn that everything is dependent not on mans will
or endeavour, but upon God who has mercy. (Romans 9.16 WNT)

Why do we think that our will enters into the equation when everything is
dependent on God who has mercy? But God! Mans will is against God; therefore,
man is totally dependent on God who wills.

Our Savior, God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a
realization of the truth. (1 Timothy 2.4 CV)

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1
Timothy 2.3-4 KJV)

God our Savior Who will have all men to be saved is a mighty powerful affirmation
of Gods will. Unfortunately, many translations use the words wishes, desires and
wants, as if God is begging mankind to be saved. This is gross interpretative bias to
maintain the doctrine that man has a free will in the matter of his salvation.

Do you think that God sent His Son to this earth to die on a wish, a want or a
desire to save mankind? It is as if God said to His Son: Well, Son, I am not sure
this plan is going to work, but I desire for it to work. At any rate, You go down
there and be totally humiliated and suffer an agonizing death and lets see what
happens. Perhaps mankind will respond to our gesture of love. What kind of
Savior would He be if His vicarious death were not an absolute, perfect success to
save all mankind? Let us keep in mind that it is God who devised this plan of
salvation, not man. If we devised it, at best, it would be a wish or a desire. But for
God it is an entirely different matter. Do we not think that Gods will can and will
trump mans will. Why? Because He sent the Savior of the world to die for all the
sin of the world! Why? Because God loves the world! Why? Because God wills that
all mankind eventually will be conformed to the image of His Son.

138

We rely on the living God, Who is the Savior of all mankind, especially
of believers. (1 Timothy 4.10 CV)

Scripture does not state that God is the Savior of believers only. He is the Savior
especially of believers in this eon, for they are the ones who are called out to enjoy
a celestial allotment. However, it does not state that they are the only ones who ul-
timately will be saved. All mankind is included. There are no omissions, exclusions
or deletions in the work of the living God to save all mankind.

God wills, not man, not preachers. Who will cancel out Gods will? Will man cancel
it out? Will man reverse Gods will? If God wills it, then how can we say that it will
not happen? It must happen because it is in Gods will that all be saved.

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, Look,
that is the Lamb of God who is to take away the sin of the world!
(John 1.29 WNT)

Christ took away the sin of the world. John did not proclaim that Jesus left some
sin behind. He took it all away. Recently, I was listening to a pastor on the radio,
and he said the one sin that will be held against the unbeliever is that he did not
believe. In other words, Christ took away all sin but one, the sin of unbelief. This is
contrary to Pauls word to the Romans: For God hath concluded [locks up]
them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all (Romans 11.32 KJV
[CV]). Consider how Paul explained the matter to Timothy, his son in the faith.

I, who formerly was a calumniator and a persecutor and an out-
rager: but I was shown mercy, seeing that I do it being ignorant, in
unbelief. Yet the grace of our Lord overwhelms, with faith and
love in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1.13-14 CV)

By his own admission, Paul was in unbelief. He had no way out of his unbelief until
the grace of the Lord overwhelmed him with faith and love in Christ Jesus. After
all, he was locked up in unbelief. In other words, grace was a power outside of Paul
that came in and overwhelmed his ignorance and unbelief. Paul had no choice in
the matter; it was all of grace that was lavished on him.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that [faith] not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2.8 KJV)


Faith in Christ does not come naturally for us; it is something that we must receive
as a gift of God. In other words, God must give us the faith to believe on His Son.
This is what it means to be saved by grace through faith. If God does not do it, then
we will not be saved. He must overwhelm the unbelief of all through His grace.
139

Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to
you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed
through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves knowthis Man,
delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of
God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to
death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of
death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
(Acts 2.22-24 NASB)

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
(1 Timothy 1.15 NASB)

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the
good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His
own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. (Romans 5.6-8 NASB)

Christ came to save sinners not to condemn them to an eternal torture chamber.
Notice that He saved while all were yet sinners.

But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, You do not know what kind of
spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy mens
lives, but to save them.] (Luke 9.55-56 NASB)

Many teach as if Christ will destroy many lives by casting them into an eternal
oven called hell. Of course, this is countered by the same ones that it is man who
placed himself there, not God. But let us be reminded that all things are worked
out according to the counsel of Gods will. Are we to exclude the eternal destiny
of man from Gods counsel? Hardly! Christ came to save not to destroy.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons
all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases. (Psalm 103.2-3 NASB)

O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And
with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all
his iniquities. (Psalm 130.7-8 NASB)

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we our-
selves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was
pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniqui-
ties; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His
scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us
has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us
all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53.4-6 NASB)

140

For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I
remember no more. (Hebrews 8.12 ASV)

Under the new covenant God remembers sin no more. Whose sin will He retain?

All was given up to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is
except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and whomsoever the
Son may be intending to unveil Him. (Luke 10.22 CV)

And this is the will of him that has sent me, that of all that he has given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up in the last day.
(John 6.39 DNT)

And I, if I should be exalted out of the earth, shall be drawing all to
Myself. (John 12.32 CV)

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth [death on the cross], I will draw [or,
drag] all to Myself. (John 12.32 ALT)

All has been given to the Son; the Son will lose nothing; and the Son shall draw all
to Himself. Can Scripture make it any clearer? This is love!

The Son of God will gather all in heaven and on earth to Himself. He is like a
magnet that will draw everything to Himself. He is like the mother hen that broods
over her chicks. As He brooded over Jerusalem so will He brood over all (see
Matthew 23.37). All will come under the shelter of His wings, forever kept in the
love of the Son.

Was Christ exalted, which refers to the manner of His death? Of course, He was.
Then what are we to conclude? There is only one conclusion; He will draw all to
Himself. It does not say that He will draw all at the same time, but He will draw all
eventually. It also does not state that He will draw only all mankind. It states that
He will draw all, which is an all-encompassing drawing that has to include all of
mankind, all of the messengers and all of Gods creation. Nothing is left out of this
drawing. It is universal!

Further, the Greek word for draw literally means to drag as if Jesus literally will
drag all unto Himself.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians
1.17 NASB)

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visi-
ble and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall
things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1.16-17 NASB)
141

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions
and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. (He-
brews 1.1-2 NASB)

If Christ holds all things together, then He also must be holding the unbelieving
sinner together as well. How can one single person be excluded from the One who
holds all things together? Either in Christ all things hold together or they do not.
There is no room for exclusions, omissions or deletions in all things.

Further, all things are created in Christ, and He is the heir of all things. What are
we to exclude from this all?

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His
nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He
had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high. (Hebrews 1.3 NASB)

Christ upholds all things by the word of His power. ALL THINGS!

For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ
Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all (the
testimony in its own eras). (1 Timothy 2.5-6 CV)

Christ is giving Himself as a correspondent Ransom for allnot some, not a few,
but all. But notice that it is not all at the same time. The testimony is in its own
eras, which means that all will not benefit from this at the same time, but all will
eventually benefit, even if from the first to the last of the recipients of Gods mercy
and grace there are 2,000 years or more.

And He is [the] propitiation [or, appeasing sacrifice] concerning
our sins, but not concerning ours only, but also concerning the whole
worlds! (1 John 2.2 ALT)

John included the whole world in the appeasing sacrifice of Christ. It wasnt just
for John and his believing Jewish brethren, and it is not just for us who believe in
this day. Christ is the propitiation concerning the sins of the whole world.

entering into the holies of holies year by year by the blood of others, since
then He must often be suffering from the disruption of the world, yet now,
once, at the conclusion of the eons, for the repudiation of sin
through His sacrifice, is He manifest. (Hebrews 9.25-26 CV)

At the conclusion of the eons, Christ repudiates sin, which means that He will put
away or cancel out sin altogether. Now, if most of mankind is lost forever in mans
so-called eternal hell, then how can Christ repudiate or put away sin at the con-
142

summation of the eons or ages? If billions of people remain in this so-called tor-
ture chamber called hell, then are they not still in their sin? Then how does Christ
cancel out all sin if it continues beyond the eons? It cannot continue, and it will not
continue because once sin and death are put away for good all mankind must be
the beneficiary of this repudiation.

He brightly reflects Gods glory and is the exact representation of His being,
and upholds the universe by His all-powerful word. After securing mans
purification from sin He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on
high. (Hebrews 1.3 WNT)

This is another one of those absolute statements that can be easily passed over.
Christ secured mans purification from sin. Do you see any omission or exclusions
in this statement? If He secured mans purification from sin, then does it not
follow that one day all mankind will enter into the good of this purification?
Purification refers to washing off sin or purging of sin. Do we not think that Gods
fiery law can purify even the most hardened sinner? The person might have to
spend many years under the discipline of Gods righteous law in the spiritual lake
of fire during Gods day, but God is love, and His heart is to purge such a one, so
that he can enter glory one day.

Through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also
through one just award for all mankind for lifes justifying [justification
of life] (Romans 5.18 CV)

Who will not receive lifes justifying? One offense led to condemnation for all
mankind, and one just award will result in life for all mankind. How can anyone
refute Gods use of the word all?

But not as the offense, thus also the grace. For if, by the offense of the one,
the many died, much rather the grace of God and the gratuity in grace,
which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the many superabounds.
(Romans 5.15 CV)

For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were
constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the
many shall be constituted just. (Romans 5.19 CV)

Because of the offense of one, the many died. Through the grace of God through
one, the many shall be justified. Now, some will argue that the many does not
include all. However, Adam plus the many equals all mankind, and Christ plus the
many equals all mankind. Adam and Christ stand out as unique among mankind;
therefore, they are one and the rest are many. Further, Paul went on to define the
many as all mankind.

This word was not unique to Paul, for Isaiah the prophet spoke of the many as well.

143

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His
knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as
He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the
great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out
Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself
bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53.11-12
NASB)

Who is excluded from the many? Did not the Righteous One bear the iniquities of
all mankind? Notice that Isaiah identifies the ones for whom Christ will bear their
iniquities as the many. Thus, the many encompasses all mankind.

For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be
vivified. (1 Corinthians 15.22 CV)

Who can argue that in Adam all are dying? Look around you; who is not dying? Do
believers never experience death? Of course not, for we all die. But notice that in
Christ shall all be made alive. Now, some will argue that this means once you be-
lieve, you are in Christ and then you are made alive. But this is not what this states.
As he did in his Romans epistle, Paul was contrasting the two positions of man-
kind. All mankind, including believers, find themselves in Adam in relation to
death, for all die. Consequently, all mankind must ultimately find themselves in
Christ, for shall all be vivified. The wording is very important. Paul revealed the
truth that all are dying and shall all be made alive. Death came through Adam to
all; life will come through Christ to all.

Do not be deceived; there is only one way for all mankind to be saved and to be
made alive, and that is through Christ; He is the only way.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for
all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might
no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their
behalf. (2 Corinthians 5.14-15 NASB)

If Christ died for all and therefore all died, then who has the ability to come back
into life? No one does! Since no one can come back to life on his own, then he
must be absolutely dependent on the One who took him into death in the first
place.

Now, some will say that this is true; but they will also say that it now depends on
man to believe, so that he can benefit from what Christ did for him through His
death. Does it seem strange logic to you that we all have been taken into death
with Christ, not by our own choice but by Gods own doing, and yet many teach
that it is up to us to live? The dead know nothing whatsoever (Ecclesiastes
9.5). How could any of us come into life unless the Lord Himself gives us life?

144

Through Him to reconcile all to Him, making peace through the blood
of His cross. (Colossians 1.20 CV)

The blood of His cross has brought peace to all, which includes not only mankind
but all Gods creatures, including His messengers. Who of mankind is excluded
from this peace? Do we exclude the vilest sinner, as if Christs blood could not
reconcile such a one to God? Again, it does not say that all are reconciled at the
same time, just that all are reconciled.

If you dont believe that the vilest sinner can and will be saved according to the will
of God and not the will of man, then consider Paul, the foremost among sinners
who became our apostle. By his own account, Paul was the chief among sinners.
He was not trying to be humble but was stating a fact. He was the worst of the
worst. He persecuted the risen Christ, the Son of God. How do we know this?
Because Jesus declared so as He blinded Paul on the road to Damascus! Consider
Pauls testimony.

And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto
me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. (Acts 22.7-8 KJV)

Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1
Timothy 1.15 ASV)

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews religion, how
that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.
(Galatians 1.13 KJV)

I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding both men and
women and throwing them into prison. (Acts 22.4 WNT) [But Saul, yet
breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went
unto the high priest. (Acts 9.1 ASV)]

And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to
blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them
even unto strange cities. (Acts 26.11 KJV)

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15.9 KJV)

This was not a man who was trying to gloss over his accountability for his actions.
No; this was a man who was rightly judging himself. Persecuting the ecclesia of
God was persecuting the risen Christ Himself. Can you imagine that Paul
compelled people to blaspheme? This was a most serious and egregious offense.
No wonder Paul saw himself as the chief among sinners and the least of the
apostles. Yet, the Lord chose this persecutor and overwhelmed his ignorance and
145

unbelief, and not only saved him, but put him into the most glorious service
anyone has ever been given in the ecclesia of God. Paul alone is proof that God will
save the vilest sinner, not because of his free will choice but because God wills it so.

For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren, lest you
may be passing for prudent among yourselves, that callousness, in part, on
Israel has come, until the complement of the nations may be entering. And
thus all Israel shall be saved, according as it is written, Arriving out of
Zion shall be the Rescuer. He will be turning away irreverence from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them whenever I should be eliminating their
sins. (Romans 11.25-27 CV)

Paul grieved over the rejection of Messiah by his brethren by blood, but by faith He
could proclaim that eventually all Israel, even apostate and idolatrous Israel, shall
be saved. Who of the Israelites is to be left out? Just as Paul, once a persecutor of
Christs body, has been forgiven and saved, so will all who are the descendants of
Jacob by blood. This does not mean that they will necessarily be counted worthy of
the first resurrection. As with all mankind, all Israel shall be saved one day, even
if it is at the consummation of the eons.

But one has testified somewhere, saying, WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU
REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED
ABOUT HIM? YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER
THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND
HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR
HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS
FEET. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is
not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels,
namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and
honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
(Hebrews 2.6-9 NASB)

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last
enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL
THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, All
things are put in subjection, it is evident that He is excepted who put all
things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the
Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to
Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15.25-28 NASB)

Christ suffered death for all and now is crowned with glory and honor. Because He
has been crowned, all things are subjected to Him; there is nothing that is not
subject to Christ. He tasted death for everyone. Again, people will say that this is
true, but to benefit from it sinners must believe in this age; otherwise, they will be
forever lost in an eternal hellhole. But if all things have been subjected under His
feet and He has tasted death for everyone, then does it not follow that one day all
146

sinners will come out of death and into life? After all, Christ will reign until He has
put all things in subjection, so that God may be All in all.

And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth
by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or
to the stock of the strangers family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed
again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncles
son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may
redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon
with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the
year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number
of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him. If there
be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price
of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there
remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with
him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his
redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other
shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he be not redeemed
in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he,
and his children with him. (Leviticus 25.47-54 KJV)

Even the law of God as seen in the jubilee makes provision for the redemption of
one sold into servitude. According to Gods law, there is a limit to how long one
must remain in bondage. In the year of jubilee such a one shall be set free. Is this
not a beautiful picture of the grand jubilee that will occur at the consummation of
the eons when all mankind is brought into the family of God?

Then Peter came and said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother
sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to
him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times
seven. (Matthew 18.21-22 NASB)

Here we see the principle of jubilee as well. Seventy times seven represents ten
jubilees. Jesus laid down the principle that in the jubilee all debts are forgiven. Sin
is a debt; therefore, all the debts of every sinner must eventually be forgiven.

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12.3 KJV)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family
in heaven and on earth derives its name. (Ephesians 3.14-15 NASB)

Through Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations, all the families of the earth
will be blessed. There is no distinction made over their condition before God. It is
as if Paul picked up on this same theme and was caught up with the thought that
all the families of the earth and in heaven are named. Receiving a name from God
147

is clearly an indication that one is in the family of God. But notice that for
Abraham it was all families, and for Paul it was every family.

The last enemy that will be abolished is death. (1 Corinthians 15.26
NASB)

But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was
spoken to you by God: I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF
ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB? He is not the God of the dead but
of the living. (Matthew 22.31-32 NASB)

Our God is the God of the living. How can He be the God of the dead and death
remain a power in His creation? Death must be abolished, and so it will be at the
consummation of the eons. In that day, no one can remain in any state of death; all
must come out of death.

And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the
peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His
kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. (Daniel 7.14 NASB)

Notice that the kingdom is about all peoples, nations and men of every language.

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE
WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. (Philippians 2.9-11 NASB)

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God,
and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone
forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that
to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
(Isaiah 45.22-23 NASB)

Notice that every knee will bow willingly and every tongue will confess willingly.
Also, notice that this refers to all the ends of the earth. Who are we to exclude from
this all? Paul merely picked up this truth through Isaiah the prophet. This is Gods
will.

In 1849, E. Manford wrote an article entitled 150 Reasons For Believing In The
Final Salvation of All Mankind. Given this number, what I have presented is a
drop in the bucket. Nevertheless, my prayer is that the spirit of God will take what
has been presented and open the eyes of your heart, so that this will serve as a
springboard to see other Scripture that reveals the glory of salvation through
Gods Son, our Lord Jesus. God wills that all mankind be saved, and this
is discovered in the restoration of the whole creation. Praise God!
148
6. THE ECCLESIAOUT-CALLED

Just as the Greek word ain is lost in a sea of confusion in most English transla-
tions of Scripture, so is another Greek word, that is, the word ekklesia, which is
often translated as church or assembly. To understand the purpose of the eons, it
is important that we understand the meaning of the word ekklesia and how it is
used in Scripture.

We are immediately faced with a challenge, for when one mentions the word
church many people think of a building where believers gather or an organization
to join. In Scripture, the church, as many call it, is simply the body of believers in
Christ and not some great, powerful institution as viewed by the world and even
many believers. The emphasis as given by the spirit of God is on Christs body,
which is unique in Gods purpose and plan, for the body of Christ is seated together
among the celestials in Christ and through this vessel God is making known His
multifarious wisdom among the celestials (see Ephesians 2.6; 3.8-12).

The word church is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, which means out-
called or a called-out company. In English Bibles, this word is translated in
different ways, depending on the context. If it refers to believers, it is most often
translated church. When ekklesia refers to other groups or people who are out-
called, translators use other words such as assembly or congregation. And yet,
some of the translations that seek a more literal rendering use the word assembly
in all places of the word ekklesia. The Concordant Version uses the equivalent
word ecclesia in all cases. Henceforth, the word ecclesia will be used for the Greek
word ekklesia.
1

Before looking at some ecclesia references, a word is needed about the equivalent
Hebrew word, which is kahal. It is usually translated congregation or assembly in
the Old Testament. By comparing a verse in the New Testament quoted from the
Old Testament, we discover that kahal and ecclesia are equivalent words.

I will declare Your name to My brothers; I will praise You in the midst of the
assembly [kahal]. (Psalm 22.22 LITV)

I will announce Your name to My brothers; I will hymn to You in the midst
of the assembly [ekklesia]. Psa. 22:22 (Hebrews 2.12 LITV)

Thus, ecclesia is not a building, an institution or an organization. It is people! A
people called out to assemble together.

1
Notice that in the English equivalent form of the Greek transliteration, the only difference is the
use of the letter c instead of the letter k.
149

Now, the word ecclesia is not exclusively used in reference to believers. In fact, it is
a common noun (generic term) that refers to any company or gathering of people
that fits the description of out-called. There are two examples.

First, in Ephesus, there was a riot that rose up against Paul and his companions.

Others, indeed, then, cried some other thing, for the ecclesia was in
confusion, and the majority were not aware on what account they had come
together. Now they unite on Alexander, one of the throng, the Jews pushing
him forward. Now Alexander, gesturing with his hand, wanted to make a
defense to the populace. For we are also in danger of being indicted
concerning todays commotion, there inhering not one cause concerning
which we shall be able to render any account concerning this riot. And,
saying these things, he dismisses the ecclesia. (Acts 19.32-33, 40-41 CV)

This mob of silversmiths was a distinct called-out group based on their profes-
sion and their riot against Paul. Who would ever think of an ecclesia as a mob?
What if we replaced the word ecclesia with the translated word church? The
church of the riotous silversmiths!

Second, within this same story about the mob and Paul, there is another ecclesia
mentioned that refers to a legal or governing council that put down the mob of
silversmiths. This was a legal council or ecclesia that settled disputes in Ephesus.

Now if you are seeking for anything concerning other things, in the legal
ecclesia will it be explained. (Acts 19.39 CV)

So, we have an ecclesia of riotous silversmiths and an ecclesia of legal authorities
in Ephesus. Why not call this group the legal church?

It is unfortunate how this common noun has been changed to the word church and
made into a proper noun and capitalized as the Church. The emphasis has shifted
from simply a called-out people to a great institution called the Church. Conse-
quently, the word church has taken on a meaning far greater than Scripture pre-
sents. Throughout Christendom, it has become many things that Scripture never
assigns to it. Say the word church and to many it means a great institution, an or-
ganization or enterprise with much machinery (activities, programs) that has to be
maintained and supported with a big bank account, a building, a membership roll
in a denomination, a bunch of people sitting in pews every Sunday doing some-
thing they call worship and then listening to the pastor, much of which looks
more like a rendition of Judaism.

Groups of people who are the ecclesia or out-called are to stand out from others
around them. They are called out from others, and thus they are to stand apart
from them. However, there is nothing unique about the word ecclesia, for many
gatherings could be considered out-called. The uniqueness is found in the out-
called themselves, in the people.
150
THE ECCLESIAOUT-CALLED

It could be argued that the uniqueness of the church has been lost. In fact, the
church has failed in this regard. What is called the church does not stand out as
a spiritual body, which is its uniqueness from every other type of ecclesia. It is safe
to say that the so-called church of our day hardly looks like a unique called-out
body, for it looks, acts and functions with little difference from organizations of the
world. Most of what is called the church has lost its distinctiveness from the
world around. Thus, when people of the world hear the word church, they
associate it with a building on a street corner and people who meet there to do
church things. Contrast this concept with 1 Corinthians 16.19.

Consequently, the word translated church is just like the words translated hell and
eternal, for it has taken on a meaning foreign to the original language.

Let us not grow discouraged over the failure we see in what is called the church.
It is all in accord with the purpose and plan of God. Failure is necessary to prove
the futility of the flesh. Failures among denominations, non-denominations, house
churches and church houses will occur, for the flesh profits nothing; that which is
of the carnal man must fail and will fail. After all, God locks up all together in
stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all (Romans 11.32 CV). Only Christ can
build His ecclesia.

Now, let us look at how the word ecclesia is used in reference to the Lords people.
Just as the kingdom of God is progressively unfolded in Scripture, so is the ecclesia
of God. In fact, they are intimately related, for a kingdom is comprised of people
that can either be rulers (vice regents) for a king or subjects of a king; it is not just
comprised of a king and his territory.

Ecclesi a i n the wi lderness.

The first obvious indication of the ecclesia of God is revealed through the ancient
nation of Israel, a called-out company from among all the nations of the world. For
those who prefer to use the word church, they were the first to be called the church
of God.

In Acts, Stephen, a man full of grace and power, was doing great miracles and
signs among the people, which caused a stir among those of a synagogue termed
Freedmen (Acts 6.8-9 CV). All that listened to Stephen could not withstand the
wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. True to form, since they could not cope
with a man of such stature, they spoke falsely against him and dragged him before
the Sanhedrin. However, Stephen sat before these men as if he had the face of a
messenger (angel), and he began to recount the entire history of the nation of
Israel, referring to the Israelites as an ecclesia as they were wandering in the
wilderness under Moses. This is the beginning of the Passover Age (Eon).

This is the Moses who says to the sons of Israel: A Prophet will God be raising
up to you from among your brethren, as me. This is he who came to be in the
151

ecclesia [church] in the wilderness with the messenger, who speaks to
him in Mount Sinai. (Acts 7.37-38 CV [KJV])

Moses stood in the midst of the ecclesia in the wilderness. Using our modern-day
term, we could call this the church in the wilderness, for they were a people called
out of Egypt to serve God. The Passover Age (Eon) began when they applied the
blood. This was the beginning of the progressive unveiling of Gods ecclesia. The
ecclesia in the wilderness became the ecclesia of Pentecost when those waiting in
the upper room after Jesus ascension received the Holy Spirit of promise as an
earnest of the enjoyment of our allotment (Ephesians 1.14 CV). This commenced the
Pentecostal Age (Eon). They received (as all who believe in this eon receive) an
earnest of the spirit as a promise that one day the ecclesia of God will receive the
full anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to possess the allotment (spiritual land).
Spiritually speaking, the allotment is not a physical plot of land on earth but the
spiritual land of new, glorified, spiritual bodies capable of transcending time and
space, that is, celestial bodies. When this comes, we begin to enter the Tabernacles
Age (Eon).

Whole ecclesi a.

Stephen himself was part of the ecclesia of Pentecost that started with a handful of
disciples called to follow the Lord. Peter, Andrew, James, John and the other
disciples of Christ were the embryo and the nucleus of the ecclesia that was given
an earnest of the spirit. After Jesus death, resurrection and ascension, a small
gathering of Jews numbering about 120, along with the twelve apostles, waited in
an upper room as commanded by the Lord.

On the day of Pentecost as they waited together in a house, tongues as if of fire
came upon them; they were filled with the spirit and they began to speak in differ-
ent languages (Acts 2.1-4). These were not strange tongues but the known lan-
guages of the Jews from many countries of different languages that were gathered
in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Pentecost. They needed to hear what the
spirit of God had to say to them, so Gods spirit arranged for them to be told in
their own languages, so that they could understand.

Peter, who was given the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, stood before the
throngs of Israelites to declare the truth and call for repentance.

Men! Israelites! Hear these words: Jesus, the Nazarene, a Man demonstrated
to be from God for you by powerful deeds and miracles and signs, which God
does through Him in the midst of you, according as you yourselves are
awareThis One, given up in the specific counsel and foreknowl-
edge of God, you, gibbeting by the hand of the lawless, assassinate.
Now Peter is averring to them, Repent and be baptized each of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the pardon of your sins, and you
shall be obtaining the gratuity of the holy spirit. For to you is the
152

promise and to your children, and to all those afar, whosoever the Lord our
God should be calling to Him. (Acts 2.22-23, 38-39 CV)

Notice the distinctiveness of Peters declaration. It was to a very specific audience,
the Israelites. Peter was calling his blood brethren unto sonship. He reminded
them of the powerful deeds done by Jesus in their midst. It rightly accused them of
offering up their Messiah and held them responsible for killing Jesus. It required
that they repent and be baptized, in order to receive a pardon for their sins and to
receive the Holy Spirit.

It is noteworthy that this message was directed only to the Israelites and was not
directed to the gentiles or the nations. This message had limited meaning to those
who were outside the commonwealth of Israel in that day and who had not
demanded the death of Israels Messiah.

It seems that we often think that everything fell into place all at once, including the
good news of salvation. However, this is not how the Lord has worked in the
history of mankind. He shines increasing levels of light on matters as He unfolds
truths to mankind. Scripture is the unfolding of the truth of God. His truth goes
forth in progressive stages.

We see the same progression when it comes to the spirit of God. The ecclesia in the
wilderness had the spirit of God in their midst (Isaiah 63.11; Haggai 2.5). The
ecclesia of Pentecost has an earnest of the spirit within each person. The coming
ecclesia of the Tabernacles will have the full anointing of the spirit of God within
each one of the conquerors that are glorified as Christ is glorified. Further, each
conqueror is being connected together as Gods dwelling place, in spirit (Ephesians
2.22 CV).

The initial message to the Israelites did not contain the depth of the message that
later went out, particularly through Paul, the apostle of the nations, that is,
salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2.8), justification by faith (Romans
3.28; 5.1) and the conciliation of all (2 Corinthians 5.18-19; Colossians 1.20).

It is safe to state that the emphasis and expectation of the ecclesia that came forth
at Pentecost was not quite the same as that which evolved, because they were still
looking through the lens of ancient Israel, which was promised the land of Canaan.
As the evangel began to evolve and Jerusalem was destroyed, this tie was broken.
Undoubtedly, like the brethren from among the nations, their expectation grew
under the leading of the Holy Spirit that they had received (Acts 2.33).

Bui ldi ng My ecclesi a.

Like Stephen, let us recount a little of the history of the ecclesia.

Based on the prophets, the Jews were looking for the King of Israel to come and set
up His earthly kingdom. John the baptist appeared on the scene declaring the
153

kingdom was near and the need for repentance. He pointed to the Messiah who
walked among the people. Jesus took up Johns message and then passed it on to
His disciples, who were commanded to take the message to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel as He had done.

As He approached the cross, Jesus began to tell His disciples that He must be
killed but that He would rise on the third day. Before He began to expose them to
the horror that He faced, He asked them who they thought He was. Peter made
that famous declaration: Thou art the Chri st, the Son of the li vi ng God
(Matthew 16.16). To this, Jesus responded: Now I, also, am saying to you that
you are Peter, and on thi s r ock wi ll I be bui ldi ng My ecclesi a, and the gates
of the unseen shall not be prevailing against it (Matthew 16.18 CV).

This is the first reference in the New Testament of an ecclesia, and Christ takes
ownership of this ecclesia. He will build it. Truly, Jesus spoke of this building
project as something going forth from that time, but does this mean that no
building took place before this time? In studying Scripture, it should become
apparent that the first obvious indication of the building of His ecclesia began
when the sons of Israel came out of Egypt. We could even argue that, in type, it can
be traced back to the fashioning of Eve from the body of Adam. Paul tells us the
ecclesia is the body of Christ, and we know that Eve is a type of Christs body.

The key to seeing that the ecclesia in the wilderness is the first obvious indication
of the building of the ecclesia of Christ is discovered in the use of the word rock in
the above verse. On thi s rock I will be building My ecclesia!

When He spoke these words, Jesus was declaring what would happen on the day of
Pentecost as Peter stood before the Jews. Peter was a little rock standing on the
testimony that the one true Rock is the Christ, the Anointed Son of the living God.
Peter was not the first pope as the Roman Catholics believe. Simply, Peter was the
one who led the other disciples in the call for repentance to his fellow brethren. He
held the keys to the kingdom of the heavens.

The Greek word for Peter is petros, which means a piece of rock, and the word
for rock is petra, which means a mass of rock. We could say that Peter was a
little rock hewn out of the mass of rock, which is the testimony that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the Rock.

We need to see that Christ the Rock was not a new concept. The sons of Israel
knew God as their rock.

And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God
their Redeemer. (Psalm 78.35 NASB; also Psalm 18.2, 31, 46; 19.14; 28.1; 31.3;
62.2, 6, 7)

However, Paul gives us the clearest connection to Christ as the Rock in relation to
the ecclesia in the wilderness.
154

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all un-
der the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into
Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food;
and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a
spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nev-
ertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low
in the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10.1-5 NASB; see Exodus 17.6; 33.21, 22;
Numbers 20.8, 10, 11; Deuteronomy 8.15; 32.15).

Christ, the Son of the living God, was the One who led the sons of Israel through
the wilderness. Given this fact, Christ began the building work with the ecclesia in
the wilderness. Christ is the builder; however, He entrusted this building work to
be done through those He called out of Egypt, and this work was the building of
the theocratic kingdom on earth. Their charge was the prayer that Jesus told His
disciples to pray: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven (Matthew 6.10 KJV). As a people, they were to bring the kingdom of the
heavens to earth by being obedient to the will (law) of God in all things.

We could say that this building of the ecclesia was the building under Passover, for
they had applied the blood, but had not been given an earnest of the spirit.

Now, fast forwarding to the day of Pentecost, Peter stood before the men of Israel
and declared that they needed to be pardoned for their sins in order to enter the
coming kingdom of Christ. Those who repented became part of My ecclesia that
Christ was going to continue building through Peter and the other eleven apostles
of the circumcision. National Israel was called to be part of building the theocratic
kingdom nation under God, but they rejected the very Stone that was to be the
structural support of this building, the cornerstone to hold it together and give it
its strength. They were called to be builders, but they failed in their calling by not
trusting the Rock that led and sustained them.

After Pentecost, Peter was confronted by the rulers and elders of Israel that wanted
to know by what power or name they could heal a sick man. Peter was filled with
the Holy Spirit and answered them with authority (Acts 4.5-10).

Let it be known to you all and to the entire people of Israel, that in the
name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, Whom you crucify, Whom God rouses
from among the dead, in this name, this man stands by before you sound.
This is the Stone that is being scorned by you builders, which is becoming
the head of the corner. (Acts 4.10-11 CV; also see Mark 12.10-12)

Peter quoted Psalm 118.22, which Jesus also quoted as recorded in Mark 12.10-12.
We must not overlook the fact that the Israelites were originally called to build on
the Rock. They scorned the Stone that is to be head of the corner, which means
that Christ is the very foundation of this building. The vast majority of Israelites
rejected this foundation, and because of this, Jesus declared that He would build
His ecclesia; He was no longer entrusting it to the rulers and elders of the Israel-
155

ites. Instead, He chose a diverse group of men, including some lowly fisherman,
through whom He would continue to build.

With Peter in the lead, Christ began to build under the Pentecostal anointing, for
His ecclesia was given an earnest of the spirit. This initial group of apostles was
commanded to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and apparently they
made every attempt to do just that (e.g., Matthew 9.38-10.23; James 1.1; 1 Peter
1.1).

Starting with Pentecost, the out-called from Israel quickly grew from about a
handful to over 5,000 believers who repented, were baptized, and who believed
that Jesus is Messiah (see 1 Corinthians 15.6; Acts 1.15; 2.42; 4.4).

Proceeding to Acts 5, we discover the story of Ananias and Sapphira who were
stricken dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. They received a gehenna-type judgment.
Peter was exercising one of the keys of the kingdom when he challenged this
couple.

We find a type of this gehenna-type judgment in Joshua 7 when Achan took and
hid some of the booty of war banned by the Lord. As a result of one act of disobedi-
ence, Joshua and his army could not prevail against the men of Ai. To remedy the
situation, Achan was sentenced to death.

They took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all
the sons of Israel, and they poured them out before the LORD. Then Joshua
and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle,
the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his
tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of
Achor. Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you
this day. And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned
them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. (Joshua 7.23-
25 NASB)

This is one of the clearest pictures of judgment by gehenna fire in Scripture. But
take note that they were not cast into some eternal oven to be tormented forever
and ever. No; they DIED and their DEAD bodies were burned.

Entering the kingdom was, and still is, very serious business, and Peter was given
the authority to keep out any who did not live up to the righteous standard as given
by Jesus in Matthew 5-7. It is recorded that great fear came on the whole ecclesia
and on all those who hear these things (Acts 5.11 CV).

At this point in its history, the whole ecclesia was made up of Jewish believers and
some proselytes. However, this was about to dramatically change as the evangel
revealed to Paul began to go forth to the nations.

156

Ecclesi a of the fi rstborn.

Now, the epistle to the Hebrews refers to the ecclesia of the firstborn. Before
looking at this reference, it is helpful to review some of the history of the word
Hebrew, for the title in itself reveals the heart of the epistle.

The word Hebrew (Genesis 14.13; 40.15) comes from the root word abar, which
means to cross over, or refers to a person from the further bank, the opposite
side of the river, or passing beyond, a region across. Thus, a true Hebrew is one
who is a passer from beyond or one who immigrates.

The origin of this word is traced to Eber, a descendant of Shem. Following the
flood, Noahs sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth repopulated the whole earth.
However, Noah said of his first-born son Shem: Blessed be the LORD, the God of
Shem (Genesis 9.26). The Lord was the God of Shem in a very special way that
was not so stated regarding Shems brothers. It was through the line of Shem that
the Hebrews came forth and the promises of God were fulfilled. God was beginning
a new work which would bring forth a new creation: Israel is My son, My
firstborn (Exodus 4.22).

Shem lived 600 years and was called the father of the children of Eber, for he lived
long enough to see the entire ten generations that followed him, plus the
generation of Isaac. His great grandson Eber lived 464 years, and he not only saw
the same generations as Shem did but also the generation of Jacob. Eber died after
Shem and Abraham did. It was after Ebers passing that the twelve tribes of Israel
came forth through Jacob, who became Israel (Genesis 32.28).

Eber was significant in the history of mankind, for it was during his time that God
began to bring about changes in the material creation. He was born in the fourth
generation of Shem. His order in the line of Shems descendants is significant
because the number four relates to the material creation. It is the number of the
earth and the number of man in relation to the earth. What is significant is that
during Ebers life, the Lord began to divide the earth.

First, in Ebers day, the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
The descendants of Noah journeyed east to a plain in the land of Shinar and settled
there. The LORD had commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth, but instead they chose to settle in one region of the earth. According to the
record, they determined to build a tower of brick and said: Come, let us build for
ourselves a city, and a tower whose top {will reach} into heaven, and let us make
for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.
The LORD came down to see it and said, Behold, they are one people, and they all
have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which
they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there
confuse their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech. So
the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and
they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because
157

there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there
the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11.1-9).

So, most likely, in Ebers early years, the tower of Babel fell and Noahs sons and
their descendants began to spread across the earth.

Second, Eber begot a son named Peleg, which means division, for in his days the
earth was divided (Genesis 10.25). The Hebrew word for division means split,
which may indicate that it was during Pelegs life the land masses (continents) as
we now know them were divided. With man beginning to scatter across the earth,
God divided the land upon which they traveled. [It is possible that the division
occurred as a further receding of the waters from the flood.] However, other
historical sources indicate that Peleg divided the land by lot among his brethren.

It is also noteworthy that starting with Pelegs generation, the life span of man was
reduced to almost half of what it was after the flood. Prior to the flood, the average
life span of man was over 800 years. After the flood, mans life span was nearly
halved (average life span over 400 years); and after man was scattered from the
land of Shinar, it was halved once again (average life span under 200 years). God
had declared that mans days shall be 120 years (Genesis 6.3); therefore, mans
days were rapidly moving toward this end. This is further proof that during Ebers
day, change in the material creation was brought about.

However, the significance of Eber lies in the thought that the origin of the word
Hebrew seems to be traced to him. As a Hebrew, he was a passer from beyond or
one who migrated. It is possible that Eber was singled out as a Hebrew, or one who
passed beyond the region, or one who went to the opposite side of the river, be-
cause he was the first to move out as God had commanded. It is also possible that
he passed beyond the river, which most likely was the River Euphrates, even before
the tower of Babel fell. He was a Hebrew because he had the heart of a pilgrim and
a sojourner.

In the twentieth generation from Adam, the tenth generation from Shem or the
seventh from Eber, God began to unfold His purpose and plan through a Hebrew
named Abram.

Ten is the number that signifies the perfection of divine order. With the comple-
tion of ten generations, God finished one work and began a new one that would
lead to the birth of a nation. [Note that the 20
th
generation brings to completion
two sets of ten. Noah was the tenth in line from Adam.] Also, seven is the number
of completion meaning the perfection and completeness of what is in view. In
other words, God had completed what He intended through the line of Eber. He
brought forth the Hebrew that would be the father of nations and through whom
would come the promises.

158

After about two days (two 1,000-year days) from Adam, God brought forth
Abraham who would become a father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17.4-5)
and the first man recorded to whom the Lord spoke a word in a vision.

Now, through Abrahams descendants, God raised up a nation, the sons of Israel,
that were called out of Egypt to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation
(Exodus 19.5-6). On the night of Passover, the firstborn of the children of Israel
that were in Egypt were saved by the blood (Exodus 12.15). All the firstborn came
out, and the Lord claimed them for Himself (Exodus 13.2; 34.19). They too crossed
over to the other side (of the Red Sea) and headed toward the land of promise.
While in the wilderness, Moses was commanded by the Lord to number every
firstborn male of the sons of Israel. However, because of the sin of the people, the
Lord took the Levites as His own in the place of the firstborn. These became the
ecclesia of the firstborn in the wilderness. Through the Levites, the Lord brought
near to Him the ecclesia of the firstborn that were under the shelter of the blood,
ransomed by the blood (Numbers 3).

Well, what does this have to do with the Hebrews epistle and the ecclesia of the
firstborn? Being the firstborn refers to receiving the inheritance, and in the case of
the kingdom of God, it is about sonship, being a son in the kingdom of God and
receiving an allotment in the kingdom, which refers to receiving a glorified,
spiritual body. The Hebrews epistle is about sonship. Entering the kingdom of God
has everything to do with sonship, and this is the very subject of the Hebrews
epistle. The inheritance is sonship and all that goes with it. In fact, the whole heart
of the building of the ecclesia of God is sonship; many sons conformed to the
image of Gods firstborn Son (Romans 8.29).

Some of the Hebrew believers that came out of the circumcision were in danger of
returning to Judaism and the old covenant. Unfortunately, many within the so-
called church of our day are in the same danger as they relinquish their on-high
calling to the apostate state of Israel (according to the flesh).

The Hebrews epistle was written to deal with this danger. The problem was that
the kingdom had not come on the earth in their day, and they were in danger of
falling into unbelief just as those did that came out of Egypt under Moses. The
kingdom of the heavens was not going to be manifested among the nations in their
day. In fact, the life of the believing Hebrews changed dramatically. Jerusalem was
destroyed and all semblances of Jewish custom and order abolished, and many
scattered throughout the land. With this in view, the spirit of God exhorted them
not to neglect so great a salvation (Hebrews 2.3 REB) in light of the coming
habitable earth (Hebrews 2.5 REB). They now had (have) a great high priest who
entered heaven on their behalf and who continued (continues) to minister in the
heavenly sanctuary to see them through to the end (see Hebrews 8.1-2; 9.24).
Jesus is our High Priest today, and He will see us through to the end as well.

To encourage them to stay the course, the writer wanted them to see with spiritual
eyes that they had come to mount Zion and the city of the living God, celestial
159

Jerusalem, and to ten thousand messengers, to a universal convocation, and to
the ecclesia of the firstborn, registered in the heavens (Hebrews 12.22-23 CV). Here
we discover another progressive unfolding of the ecclesia, for not only had they
come to the new Jerusalem which comes into view in Gods day, but they had come
to the ecclesia of the firstborn. This is the ecclesia of many sons that will be
brought unto glory (Hebrews 2.10).

The old Jerusalem that was destroyed in 70 AD is no longer in the heart or
economy of God. Just as the glory had departed from Shiloh, so it departed from
Jerusalem (Jeremiah 7.12-15; 19.11; Ezekiel 10.18; 11.23). For this reason, Paul
declared that the present Jerusalem is in bondage and needs to be cast out. The
Jerusalem above is our mother, and she is free (Galatians 4.21-31).

We must understand that the true Hebrew is not one who has the sign of physical
circumcision. The true Hebrew is one who has crossed over, who has passed to
the other side, who is a sojourner and pilgrim who has migrated to the Jerusalem
above, which leads us to Pauls revelation of the ecclesia-body.

Ecclesi a, whi ch i s the body.

The revelation of the ecclesia truly was unfolded by Paul, as given to him by the
Lord. Paul declared that what was entrusted to him was previously a secret that
was concealed from the eons but was revealed.

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for you, and am filling up in my flesh, in
His stead, the deficiencies of the afflictions of Christ, for His body, which
is the ecclesia of which I became a dispenser, in accord with the
administration of God, which is granted to me for you, to complete the word
of Godthe secret which has been concealed from the eons and
from the generations, yet now was made manifest to His saints.
(Colossians 1.24-26 CV)

In these few words, we are told something quite profound that is part of the
progressive unfolding of the ecclesia of God. Consider this one phrase: His body,
which is the ecclesia of which I became a dispenser. Do you see the significance in
what Paul wrote? Pauls emphasis was on the body, not on the ecclesia per se. We
could restate his words: I was given charge to dispense the secret of the body of
Christ, which is an ecclesia. In other words, Paul was a dispenser of the ecclesia
called His body or the body of Christ. He did not state that he became the
dispenser of the ecclesia or the church. He became the dispenser of the body, and
then he identified it as an ecclesia.

As he began to take the revealed secret to the nations, Paul used the word ecclesia
exclusively to refer to the body of Christ (or, to a local assembly). Simply, there was
no other ecclesia in view for Paul, the apostle of the nations. Interestingly, outside
of Pauls epistles, the word ecclesia is used sparingly (Hebrews 2.12; 12.23; James
5.14; 1 Peter 5.13; 3 John 9, 10).
160

In Acts 13, the evangel given to Paul began to go forth to the nations (Acts 13.46;
28.28). Since then, the evangel has been going forth to the nations and will
continue to do so until the full number of the nations has come into the body of
Christ (Romans 11.25-27), and then all the conquering saints will be snatched away
to the presence of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4.13-17).

Further, Paul saw Christ as the Head of the ecclesia, which is His body. In other
words, Paul was given revelation of a called-out people who are joined to Christ
the Head as His body.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members of a part, whom also God,
indeed, placed in the ecclesia (1 Corinthians 12.27-28a CV)

And subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as Head over all, to the
ecclesia which is His body, the complement of the One completing the all
in all. (Ephesians 1.22-23 CV)

For no one at any time hates his own flesh, but is nurturing and cherishing it,
according as Christ also the ecclesia, for we are members of His body.

And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign,
Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first.
(Colossians 1.18 CV)

is the ecclesia. (Colossians 1.24 CV)

Notice that Paul states this revelation in two ways: His body, which is the ecclesia,
and the ecclesia, which is His body. The point of all this is that the emphasis of
Paul was not just on the word ecclesia but on the word body. We could call it the
ecclesia-body, which is the out-called body, something presented by Paul alone.

But the question arises as to whether the body was a unique teaching of Paul, or as
to whether there was something about the body that was unique. I propose that the
latter is true and that Paul knew that Israel was a body. What became revelation to
him is that the body of Christ is no longer restricted to the circumcision (in the
flesh) or the commonwealth of Israel (according to the flesh); but the body is now
open to all that believe and are circumcised of the heart. Peter was also given
revelation that the nations (foreigners) were not to be considered unclean, for he
came to understand that God is not one to show partiality (Acts 10.9-48). As Paul
wrote: For he i s not a J ew who i s one outwar dly, nor i s ci r cumci si on
that whi ch i s outward i n the flesh. But he i s a J ew who i s one
i nwardly; and ci rcumci si on i s that whi ch i s of the heart, by the Spi ri t,
not by the letter; and hi s prai se i s not from men, but from God (Romans
2.28-29 NASB).
161

J oi nt body, j oi nt hei rs.

In the following verses, Paul gives us the secret of the joint body.

Wherefore, remember, that ye were once the nations in the flesh, who
are called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh
made by hands, that ye were at that time apart from Christ, having been
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the
covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world;
and now, in Christ Jesus, ye being once afar off became nigh in the
blood of the Christ, for he is our peace, who did make both one, and the
middle wall of the enclosure did break down, the enmity in his flesh, the law
of the commands in ordinances having done away, that the two he might
create in himself into one new man, making peace, and might
reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having slain the
enmity in it, and having come, he did proclaim good newspeace to youthe
far-off and the nigh, because through him we have the accesswe
bothin one Spirit unto the Father. Then, therefore, ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens of the saints, and of
the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being chief corner-
stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together doth increase
to an holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom also ye are builded
together, for a habitation of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2.11-22 YLT)

For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you the nations, if,
indeed, ye did hear of the dispensation of the grace of God that was
given to me in regard to you, that by revelation He made known to me
the secret, according as I wrote before in few wordsin regard to which ye
are able, reading it , to understand my knowledge in the secret of the
Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the
sons of men, as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and
prophets in the Spiritthat the nations be fellow-heirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of His promise in the Christ, through the
good news. (Ephesians 3.1-6 YLT)

The secret that was made known in spirit through the apostles and prophets is that
the nations have been made fellow-heirs or, in some translations joint-heirs, of
the same body. In other words, Paul intimates that the commonwealth of Israel
was considered a body and that the nations had been excluded from being part of
this body, based on the flesh. They had been excluded from sharing in the house-
hold of God; but now, all distinctions of the flesh have been removed in Christ. All
in Christ have been joined together as one body, even a one new man, and a
new creation (Galatians 6.15). This joint body is the household of God being
built together for a habitation of God in spirit. The wall that divided these two
groups, which actually represents all mankind, was torn down, and the two have
162

been reconciled. We could say that a peace treaty has been signed in the blood of
Christ, and there is now only one body that, ultimately, will include all mankind.

There is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ
is all, and in all. (Colossians 3.11 NASB)

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether
Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to
drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. (1
Corinthians 12.13-14 NASB)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one
hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4.4-6 NASB)

The more that I read Pauls epistles, the more real the All of God becomes. It is as if
there are two truths that run through his writings. The first truth is that which
pertains to all who believe in Jesus and the need to press on toward the goal. The
second truth is that the very same things that pertain to us who believe in this eon
also apply to all mankind eventually. There is no longer a distinction upon
which any born of Adams race is to be excluded. Christ is all, and in all. There
will be only one body, for there is only one God and Father of all who is over all
and through all and in all. This is a mighty grand view of the All of God. Who will
be left out of this all at the consummation of the eons? We must conclude that not
a single soul will be left out of Gods All. Praise God!

Now, pressing on in this matter of the body, Paul reveals to us that the body of
Christ goes back even further than the nation of Israel, for it started with the first
Adam.

Chri st loves Hi s body, the ecclesi a.

In one of his greatest epistles, Paul unveiled the whole matter of the body and
related it to Adam and Eve.

Let the wives be subject to their own husbands, as to the Lord, for the
husband is head of the wife even as Christ is Head of the ecclesia,
and He is the Saviour of the body. Nevertheless, as the ecclesia is
subject to Christ, thus are the wives also to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, be loving your wives according as Christ also loves the
ecclesia, and gives Himself up for its sake, that He should be hallowing it,
cleansing it in the bath of the water (with His declaration), that He should
be presenting to Himself a glorious ecclesia, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such things, but that it may be holy and flawless.
Thus, the husbands also ought to be loving their own wives as their own
bodies. He who is loving his own wife is loving himself. For no one at any
163

time hates his own flesh, but is nurturing and cherishing it, according as
Christ also the ecclesia, for we are members of His body. For this a
man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the
two shall be one flesh. This secret is great: yet I am saying this as to Christ
and as to the ecclesia. (Ephesians 5.22-32 CV)

The entire emphasis of these verses is on a body. The husband and wife relation-
ship represents the closest of relationships, and this relationship is of a body of two
made into one. The husband is the head of the wife, which refers to Christ as the
Head of the body. Christ is the Savior of the body, which means that He alone is
responsible to see His body through to the end. I will build My ecclesia. Christ
loves the ecclesia, which is His body. Husbands ought to love their wives as their
own body just as Christ loves His own body. Christ is nurturing and cherishing His
body, which is made up of many members.

Then, Paul brought the whole matter back to the very beginning when Eve was
taken out of the side of Adams body. She was bone of his bones and flesh of his
flesh. Eve was literally part of Adams body since she came out of Adams body. She
was part of him, and as such, Adam could not reject her when she was deceived by
the serpent of old. Adam loved his body in the form of Eve and had to sin to save
her. This is love! It could be called body love.

This is a type of what Jesus has done and will do to bring all mankind into His
body, eventually. This is why Adam is a type of Christ (Romans 5.14).

Pauls emphasis is on the fact that when two become one flesh, there is a certain
order of the two (a head and a body), with the head loving his body. This is a
picture of Christ and His body, the ecclesia. However, let us not lose sight of the
fact that the body of Christ is a spiritual body and not a fleshly one. According to
Paul, the body of saints will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye and each
member will become a spiritual body in the image of the Celestial [heavenly], that
is, Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15.42-53 CV [NASB]).

I realize that some see these verses in Ephesians as referencing the bride of the
Lamb, but to me the primary emphasis is on the body that makes the bond of
marriage much stronger. On the carnal level, a bride is taken from other flesh and
can be rejected or divorced. But a body cannot divorce itself, for it is of the same
flesh. Consequently, a body can never be rejected, for one who does so is rejecting
himself. This is why Adam had to follow Eve. He could not reject his own body,
Eve. If he had, then there would have been no love. This explains what Paul wrote
to the Ephesians.

Now, being true, in love we should be making all grow into Him,
Who is the HeadChristout of Whom the entire body, being articulated
together and united through every assimilation of the supply, in accord with
the operation in measure of each ones part, is making for the growth of the
body, for the upbuilding of itself in love. (Ephesians 4.15-16 CV)
164

Truly, Christ is building this ecclesia, but notice that it is the body holding to the
Head that upbuilds itself in love. The love of God that has been poured out in the
hearts of its members (Romans 5.5) causes the growth or upbuilding of the body. It
is Gods love flowing through the body from the Head.

This is the wonder of the body of Christ. Those who believe on Jesus have been so
united with Him that in the eyes of God they are an entirely new creation of love
that is bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh (see Genesis 2.23). The body is of
Christ; therefore, the body must be and will be presented to Him as a glorious
ecclesia. Christ cannot fail, has not failed and will not fail. He is the Savior of His
body. He loves His body!

A body prepar ed.

In inspiring the writer of the Hebrews epistle, the spirit of God quoted Psalm 40.6-
8 and added but a body you have prepared for Me.

Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, SACRIFICE AND
OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE
PREPARED FOR ME. (Hebrews 10.5 NASB)

In its primary application, the body prepared for the Son was the body that went to
Calvary to die for the sin of the world. This is clear from what follows: By this will
we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all (Hebrews 10.10 NASB).

However, could this not have a secondary application? Through the offering of His
body came forth the sanctified ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. Could we not
state that the body that was prepared for Him is the corporate, spiritual body that
is comprised of the sanctified believers in Christ, and ultimately all mankind? God
sees things as they are meant to be. We see them unfolding, and He sees them as a
finished work. Space and time are not a hindrance to God.

Through His sacrifice, His side was opened and out from His broken body came
forth what was needed for the coming forth of the ecclesia, which is His body. This
was represented by the blood, which provides the forgiveness of sins and by the
water, which cleanses. Again, Paul brings this together in Ephesians.

Husbands, be loving your wives according as Christ also loves the ec-
clesia, and gives Himself up for its sake, that He should be hallowing it,
cleansing it in the bath of the water (with His declaration), that He
should be presenting to Himself a glorious ecclesia, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such things, but that it may be holy and flawless.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her
165

by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Him-
self the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any
such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. (Ephesians
5.25-27 NASB)

Is it not the implanted word that cleanses us and saves our soul in this day?

Wherefore, putting off all filthiness and superabundance of evil, receive with
meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (James
1.21 CV)

The spi r i t, the water , the blood.

John also brings these thoughts together in his first epistle.

Now who is he who is conquering the world if not he who is believing that
Jesus is the Son of God? This is He Who is coming through water and
blood and spiritJesus Christnot in the water only, but in the water
and in the blood. And the spirit it is which is testifying, for the spirit is the
truth, seeing that three there are that are testifying, the spirit, and the
water, and the blood, and the three are for the one thing. If we are
obtaining the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is
the testimony of God, that He has testified concerning His Son. (1 John 5.5-9
CV)

The testimony of God concerning His Son is contained in the water, the blood and
the spirit. The water speaks of His baptism and the Fathers testimony
regarding His Son. The blood speaks of His crucifixion. The spirit speaks of
His glorification. This is the threefold testimony of God regarding His Son, for
they prove that Jesus is the Son of God. This is what one is to believe in order to
enter eonian life in the oncoming eons, and this life is in His Son.

He who is believing in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; he who is
not believing God has made Him a liar, for he has not believed in the
testimony which God has testified concerning His Son. And this is the
testimony, that God gives us life eonian, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has the life; he who has not the Son of God has not
the life. These things I write to you that you who are believing in the name of
the son of God may be perceiving that you have life eonian. (1 John 5.11-13 CV)

At Jesus baptism, the Father testified that Jesus is His beloved Son.

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and
behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as
a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. (Matthew
3.16-17 NASB)
166

Then at Jesus crucifixion, John recorded that blood and water came out of His
side. There is a primary and a secondary meaning to the blood and the water.

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood
and water came out. (John 19.34 NASB)

Primary meaning: During Johns day, there were Gnostics who challenged the
truth that Jesus was truly a man. When John saw the water and the blood come
forth from the pierced side of Jesus, it was proof to him that Jesus was flesh and
blood; that is, He was truly a human and not merely some manifestation. To die
for the sin of the world, the Son of God had to be human and the proof is in the
water and blood that poured out of the pierced side of His broken body.

Secondary meaning: The blood speaks of the forgiveness of sins, for without
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9.22 NASB). Paul reminds us
that He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the
kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have r edempti on, the for gi veness
of si ns (Colossians 1.13-14 NASB). As noted previously, the water could also refer to
cleansing through the implanted word.

The spirit speaks of the glorification of Christ when He ascended back to His
Father to sit at His right hand. As proof of His glorification, the spirit of truth was
poured forth upon the 120 waiting in the upper room.

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will
flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom
those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7.38-39 NASB)

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And
suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it
filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them
tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of
them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were
Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And
when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered
because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. (Acts
2.1-6 NASB)

Later, as recorded in Acts, Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (Acts
6.5 NASB), testified before the Jewish Council, which became enraged at his
testimony and decided he was worthy of death for speaking the truth.

When they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing
their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into
heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of
167

God; and he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son
of Man standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7.54-56 NASB)

As if to provide a double witness of Jesus glorification, heaven opened up for this
dear saint to see the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He
was not sitting; He was standing to see if the ecclesia would be true Hebrews and
set their sights on crossing over into the promise. But the ecclesia that came out
under the Passover refused to enter by looking unto the Rock and coming into the
Pentecostal anointing that leads to the land of promise. As he neared his death,
Stephen called on the Lord and cried out just as His Savior had done on the cross.

They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit! Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a
loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them! Having said this,
he fell asleep. (Acts 7.59-60 NASB)

And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, Father, INTO YOUR
HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT. Having said this, He breathed His last.
(Luke 23.46 NASB)

But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them; for they do not know
what they are doing. (Luke 23.34 NASB)

This is the testimony of the conquerors filled with the spirit of God. They entrust
their spirit to the God of the living who is able to raise the dead, and they are
forgivers, for they heed the command to forgive others for their transgressions
(Matthew 6.14-15). They even love their enemies and pray for them (Matthew
5.44). These are the ones who are more than conquering through Him who loves
us (Romans 8.37). These are the ones who will reign with Christ in the oncoming
eons (Revelation 22.5), all to the praise, honor and glory of God, and all in accord
with the purpose of the eons.

In conclusion, the ecclesia has been on a wilderness journey waiting for the day to
cross over into the land of promise. In its journey, the ecclesia has received an
earnest of the Holy Spirit to continue on until the full anointing comes. The
conquerors are being prepared to receive the full anointing of glorified bodies in
order to cross over to be among the celestials. Gods plan in His Son is marching
forward, for the dwelling of God in spirit is being built up until it is among the
celestials reigning with Christ as He sums up all in the heavens and on the earth.
The ecclesia is the out-called of God that is now upbuilding itself in love, the love
of God poured into hearts of believers. This vessel of love is the ecclesia, which is
the body of Christ, the one new man in Christ (Ephesians 2.15 NASB), being
built together for Gods dwelling place, i n spirit (Ephesians 2.22 CV).
Spiritually speaking, the two have become one.

The secret is great; yet I am saying this as to Christ and as to the
ecclesia!
168
7. THE SECRET OF HIS WILL I N CHRIST

In many parts, and many ways, God of old having spoken to the fathers in the
prophets, in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He ap-
pointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages. (He-
brews 1.1-2 YLT)
1

By many portions and many modes, of old, God, speaking to the fathers in
the prophets, in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He
appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the
eons. (Hebrews 1.1-2 CV)

It is no secret that the Old Testament reveals the purpose and plan of God in many
parts and in many ways as penned by the prophets. However, in these last days,
which began over 2,000 years ago when Gods Son came to this earth, God speaks
to us in His Son, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. What does Christ speak? He speaks
the full revelation of Gods purpose and plan. How will Gods purpose and plan be
accomplished? It will be done through the Son who is appointed heir of all. By
what means will Gods purpose and plan be manifested, that is, begin and end? It
will be manifested through the eons, which are made by the Son; the Origin and
the Consummation of all, even the eons.

In the New Testament, secrets are revealed that had been concealed from the eons
and the generations. The prophets saw something of Gods purpose, but they
mainly saw it in bits and pieces, in types and in shadows. They had a limited and
often veiled view that did not see the full panorama of Gods purpose and plan. It
took the arrival to this earth of the Son of God and the raising up of a very unlikely
Hebrew named Saul (later called Paul), who proclaimed that he was the foremost
of sinners (1 Timothy 1.15), to unveil some of the most profound truths of God and
to bring the full panorama of Gods purpose and plan into view.

Musteri onsecret.

What does it mean that secrets are revealed? The Greek word musterion appears
twenty-seven times and is most often translated as the word mystery (e.g., ASV, DNT,
GB, HNV, KJV, LITV, MKJV, NASB, WAET); however, a few translations most often use the
word secret (e.g., ALT, CV, REB, WNT, YLT).
2
Musterion means close-keep or that
which was once kept closed and withheld but now is revealed. Some commenta-

1
Many translations use the word world instead of the words ages or eons; however, this is not
accurate. These words are translated from the Greek word ain, which usually refers to a long
period of time punctuated by a major change in the earth or in the moral condition or
judgment of man. Each long period of time has a beginning and is punctuated by an end.
The word eon is the Anglicized form of the transliterated Greek word ain.
2
Some translations use either of the words. For example, the WNT uses the word secret in Romans
11.25 but uses the word mystery in Romans 16.25.
169

tors have made a point about the use of one word over the other, but I prefer the
word secret. Mystery implies something that remains so secretive, so unknown or
so unexplained that it remains hidden and is not revealed. Ancient cults used the
term for their initiation rites; one had to be initiated into their mysteries. In this
context, that which is hidden becomes mysterious. On the other hand, secret sim-
ply means to keep or conceal some knowledge from others; a secret is concealed
from sight or notice; it is hidden until revealed.

Of the twenty-six times the word secret appears in Greek Scripture, nineteen of
those times occur in Pauls writings (Romans 11.25; 16.25; 1 Corinthians 2.7; 4.1;
13.2; 14.2; 15.51; Ephesians 1.9; 3.3, 4, 9; 5.32; 6.19; Colossians 1.26, 27; 2.2; 4.3; 2
Thessalonians 2.7; 1 Timothy 3.16). Other citations are found in the gospels in
reference to the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 13.11; Mark 4.11;
Luke 8.10) and in the Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1.20; 10.7; 17.5, 7).

Pauls use of the word secret is significant to his testimony, for the Lord Jesus
opened the windows of heaven for him to pull together the bits and pieces and the
types and shadows that had been revealed to the Hebrew prophets. As a Hebrew of
Hebrews, Paul knew what was revealed to the ancient prophets as recorded in the
sacred Scriptures that any devout Hebrew would have known in that day. We can
only imagine the reaction of this once-proud Pharisee when the eyes of his
spi ri tual heart were opened to see the secrets of God i n Christ in fullness.

Now, although Scripture refers to several secrets, or if you prefer, mysteries, all the
secrets are contained or summed up in one secret, and that is Christ. In particular,
the secrets that are revealed through Paul start in the person of Christ Jesus, our
Lord. Christ is the secret of God, who, we could say, sums up all the facets of Gods
secrets revealed through the eons. If we search for the secrets in any place or in
anyone other than Christ, we will never know the secrets of God. Thank God the
secret of Christ has now been made known!

The secret of the Chri st.

Paul asked for prayer that he might discharge the secret of Christ. He even
struggled over this secret, so that the ecclesias would come into a realization of it.

In prayer be persevering, watching in it with thanksgiving, praying at the
same time concerning us also, that God should be opening for us a door of
the word, to speak the secret of Christ, because of which I am bound also,
that I should be making it manifest, as I must speak. (Colossians 4.2-4 CV)

For I want you to perceive what the struggle amounts to which I am having
for your sakes and for those in Laodicea, and whoever have not seen my face
in flesh, that their hearts may be consoled, being united in love, and to all the
riches of the assurance of understanding, unto a realization of the secret of
the God and Father, of Christ, in Whom all the treasures of wis-
dom and knowledge are concealed. (Colossians 2.1-3 CV)
170
THE SECRET OF HIS WILL I N CHRIST

Notice that it is the secret of the God and Father, of Christ. In other words, it is
Gods secret, and it pertains to His Son, the Anointed or Messiah. All the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge are concealed in Christ. He is the wisdom and all the
knowledge of God. Earlier, Paul had written to the Corinthians: Christ the power
of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1.24 NASB). Jews ask for signs and
Greeks search for knowledge, but Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews
and foolishness to the unbelieving gentiles or nations (1 Corinthians 1.22-23).
Neither will discover what really matters in this life unless they discover Christ.
However, it takes the spirit of God to open the eyes of anyone to see the depths of
the secret of God that is in Christ.

There is so much hidden in Christ that it is supposed that we will be forever
discovering the breadth and length and height and depth of the wisdom and the
knowledge concealed in Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1.8),
which speaks of the complete alphabet or language of God. Words are used to
express wisdom and knowledge, but Christ is the very Word of God. He is the full
expression of God. He is the full complement of God. He is the all of God.

Words seem to come short in expressing the very essence of the secret of Christ. Is
it any wonder that Paul asked for prayer for doors to be opened to speak forth the
secret of Christ? He prayed for the Ephesians that the eyes of their heart would be
enlightened to perceive their calling in relation to the secret of Christ. We all need
the spirit of God to open the eyes of our heart to understand and see more clearly.

Now, we could say that in the secret of Christ are concealed several secrets, as
unveiled by Paul.

The Headshi p of Chri st.

The foremost of the secrets revealed to Paul is that Christ is Head of all, and He
will head up all until He is all in all. We could say that this is the sum total of all the
secrets (as well as the purpose of God), for all are begun in Christ, revealed in
Christ, manifested in Christ, and consummated in Christ as Head.

The Headship of Christ is vitally joined to Christ, the Head of the ecclesia, which is
His body. Paul has so intertwined this joining in his epistles that it is difficult to
discuss Christs Headship alone. However, to fully appreciate the place the body of
Christ holds in Gods purpose in Christ, we need to see Christ alone in His exalted
place as Head over all. To do this, at this point, specific references to Christ as the
Head of the ecclesia are excluded, to be taken up after we see Christ as the
universal Head.

To be clear, Paul was not alone in seeing the exalted position of Christ. John saw
Jesus Christ in His place as the Suzerain of the kings of the earth and as the King
of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 1.5; 19.16). Peter saw Jesus Christ at the
right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels (messengers) and
authorities and powers had been subjected to Him (1 Peter 3.22 NASB). This is the
171

Headship of Christ, which the Lord Himself declared to His disciples as He was
about to ascend back to His Father: All authority has been given to Me in heaven
and on earth (Matthew 28.18 NASB).

However, Paul never knew Jesus in His earthly life as John and Peter had known
Him. Paul came to know Christ in His risen and glorified life among the celestials.
He saw Christ Jesus, not Jesus Christ
3
seated in the heights of glory as the Head of
the entire universe and creation of God. Paul saw the universal Headship of Christ,
the all-encompassing nature of Christ.

Making known to us the secret of His will (in accord with His delight,
which He purposed in Him) to have an administration of the complement of
the eras, to head up all in the Christboth that in the heavens and that
on the earth. (Ephesians 1.9-10 CV)

Two other translations of the same verses add to the depth of Gods will in Christ.

God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a
plan to fulfill His own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time
He will bring everything together under the authority of Christeverything
in heaven and on earth. (Ephesians 1.9-10 NLT)

Granting us complete insight and understanding of the open secret of his
will, showing us how it was the purpose of his design so to order it in the
fullness of the ages that all things in heaven and earth alike should be
gathered up in Christ. (Ephesians 1.9-10 JMT)

Notice that it is the secret of Gods will, which God has purposed in Christ. It is
Gods plan of the eons or ages that must be and will be carried out in His Son. It is
not a coincidence or a correction of something that went bad. It is all according to
Gods design in order to fulfill His good pleasure. Consequently, Gods purpose is
to head up or gather up all in the heavens and on the earth in the Christ. This
includes everything, for there is no territory and no created being left out of His
Headship. At the right time, which is at the consummation of the eons, everything
will finally be brought under the authority of Christ.

Today, our Lord Jesus is seated at Gods right hand among the celestials, up over
every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is
named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending. God the Father
subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as Head over all (see Ephesians 1.20-
22 CV). We must be abundantly clear that His Headship is not for one exclusive
group of people or created beings, but it is for all Gods creation. Gods Son has
ascended and is seated at Gods right hand, and is over all.

3
Jesus Christ speaks of His humiliation on earth before and including the cross and is used most
often by the apostles of the circumcision to refer to Christs coming earthly reign. Christ Jesus
speaks of His exaltation in glory after the cross, and Paul used it most often to refer to Christs
universal reign.
172

He Who descends is the Same Who ascends also, up over all who are of the
heavens, that He should be completing all. (Ephesians 4.10 CV)

The purpose of the eons is summed up in these words: To head up all in the Christ,
all in the heavens and on the earth. This leaves no place in Gods creation exempt
from His Headship. Also, notice that, according to Paul, Christ is up over all who
are in the heavens. Thus, He is not merely the Head, as if He is among those in the
heavens, but He is up over all who are in the heavens. In other words, as Head,
Christ is far above all. There is nothing or no one above Him in His Headship as
purposed in the secret of Gods will.

Chri st i s all.

The word to sum up Pauls revelation is the word all. Simply, Christ is all. There is
nothing left out of His Headship, and there is nothing beyond His Headship. It is
Gods will and wisdom that His Son be exalted above all; to encompass all, to fill
all, to head up all and to be all in all. He is the one completing the all in all.

We see this most clearly in Pauls epistle to the Colossians, which he wrote to cor-
rect error that was creeping in that placed Christ at a lower level with the angels
(Colossians 2.18), and that challenged Christs Headship through the philosophy of
men. The Colossians were in danger of falling captive through philosophy and
empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary
principles of the world, rather than according to Christ (Colossians 2.8 NASB). Is
this danger any less so in our day? Hardly! It is probably just as prevalent, if not
more so.

According to Websters dictionary, philosophy is the processes governing thought
and conduct; theory or investigation of the principles or laws that regulate the
universe and underlie all knowledge and reality. Philosophy as embraced by lost
mankind might sound good, but Paul warned against its deception. Why? It is the
thinking and wisdom of man and not the wisdom of God! Christ is not mans
philosophy. If one wants to know what regulates the universe, one needs to see
Christ. Paul contrasted all these things of the earth and man with that which is in
accord with Christ. Christ is the answer to all mankinds questions about the
universe. Who in our day is searching out the unfathomable wisdom of Christ in
search of mankinds questions about the universe? Only the Lord knows!

Paul declared that the substance belongs to Christ. The Colossians were in danger
of chasing after shadows, things that are in the gray zone of life and not in the
brightness of the glory of Christ. They were following after self-made religion
manifested in such things as festivals and eating restrictions. Consider Pauls
answer to these shadows.

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in
respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath daythings which are a
mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no
173

one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and
the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated
without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from
whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and
ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. (Colossians 2.16-19 NASB)

The answer is to hold fast the Head, which is Christ. The growth of the entire body
of Christ is from God. The Headship of Christ is the answer.

The Colossians were living as if they had not died with Christ but instead were
living according to the elementary principles of the world system (kosmos). The
answer to this crisis is Christ. Paul declared that they had been raised up with
Christ; they were beyond the pale of this world system that was trying to drag them
down to its fleshly level. The religious world says to submit oneself to decrees and
all will be well. But Paul wrote that this is merely self-made religion and self-
abasement that has no power or value against fleshly indulgences. What is the
answer? You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. You have been
raised up with Christ, who is our life; therefore, set your mind on above where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Get your mind off the world system and
on Christ in glory, for when He is revealed, we will be revealed with Him in glory
(see Colossians 2.20-3.4). Hallelujah!

There is only one way to correct error; we must see the inclusiveness of Christ as
the all of God. Christ in His Headship is the answer to the many perplexing
questions we might have about the universe or the world system or kosmos in
which we live.

The i nclusi ve Chri st.

Now, in Pauls epistle, we see the full depth of Christs Headship of all in several
verses.

Chri stWho is the Image of the invisible God, Firstborn of every creature,
for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible
and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authori-
ties, all is created through Him and for Him, and He is before all, and all has
its cohesion in Him. .that in all He may be becoming first. (Colossians
1.15-17; 18 CV)

First, we see Christ as the I mage of the i nvi si ble God, and in Him the entire
complement of the Deity is dwelling bodily (Colossians 2.9 CV). If we want to see
God, then we must see His Son, for He is the full expression of God, who is
invisible. There is no other way. Is there anything more inclusive than this?

Second, we see Christ as the Fi rstborn of every cr eature. Do not miss the
import of this fact. Christ is not only the Firstborn of mankind but of all Gods
creatures, in the heavens and on the earth. From our view on earth and in this
174

physical world, we have little comprehension of all the creatures that are in Gods
kingdom. Our view may be limited, but this has no bearing on Christs exalted
place among Gods creation. Even what remains invisible to us is created by Christ.

The universe did not start in chaos; it started i n Christ. Notice how Paul
stated that in Him is all created. This is more than just an inventor of material ob-
jects. It is in Him that all is created. Scientists expend great energy and resources
trying to unravel the secrets of the universe. However, the secrets are hidden in
Christ, and without Christ the scientists of the world will never truly understand
the universe. The entire visible and invisible realm of the universe can only be ex-
plained in Christ, for it all came forth from Him, through Him, by and for Him.

Third, we see Christ not only as the Creator of all but the Creator of all that
governs Hi s creatures, that is, all thrones, lordships, sovereignties and
authorities.

Fourth, as if to be sure we get the import of Christ, Paul declared that all i s
cr eated thr ough Hi m and for Hi m. In other words, He is not an absent
Creator, as if He creates and then walks away from His creation. Never! Creation is
not only through Him but for Him.

Fifth, again Paul brings us back to before the eons and before creation itself.
Chri st i s before all. Paul wanted the Colossian believers and us today to know
that there is nothing beyond Christ. One will search in vain to find anything or
anyone that precedes Christ.

Sixth, all cr eati on has i ts cohesi on i n Chri st. In other words, Christ holds all
together. He is the very life and, we could say, glue of creation. In the Hebrews
epistle, we are told that He upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews
1.3 NASB); other translations declare that He holds the universe together (CEV), holds
everything together (GW), and sustains all things (HCSB).

The preemi nent Chri st.

Seventh, the purpose of God begins in Christ and continues in Christ as the plan of
God is unfolded in the eons, so that Christ may be becoming first in all. Some
translations use the word preeminence: That i n all thi ngs he mi ght have the
pr eemi nence (Colossians 1.18 ASV). Things of this world can be predominant, that
is, have a great influence or authority, but preeminence is much more than this.
Preeminence means to surpass and excel above all others. This is the exalted posi-
tion of Christ. He surpasses all, is above all, is over all, and in the consummation
will be in all. If we could travel the entire universe to discover that which stands
out among everything in Gods creation, we would discover that nothing surpasses
Gods Son.

What is the sum of all this? It is that Christ is the universal Head of allall
creatures, all government, all that there is. Gods entire plan is manifested so that
175

His Son is preeminent in all. Today, parts of creation might reject this fact or live
as if it were not true; but it is true, and one day all in Gods creation will come to
the knowledge of the greatness of Gods Son, to the glory of God the Father. Today,
every knee has not bowed and every tongue has not confessed that Jesus Christ is
Lord, and everything has not been subjected to Christ. But the day will come when
all this will change, and He alone will be preeminent in all as the Head of all.

This is the greatness and the glory of Christ. Christ is all!

With this glorious revelation sealed in our hearts, we can proceed to the next facet
of the secret of Christ, and that pertains to Christ as Head of all in relation to the
ecclesia, which is His body.

The Head of the body, the ecclesi a.

And subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as Head over all, to the
ecclesia which is His body, the complement of the One completing
the all in all. (Ephesians 1.22-23 CV)

And he has put everything under his feet and set him as head over
everything for the church, the church which is his Body, filled by
him who fills the entire universe. (Ephesians 1.22-23 JMT)

The key to this verse is that Christ is the Head over all, which means that nothing
is left out. Simply, His Headship encompasses everything. God subjects all under
the feet of Christ, making Him Head over all. Christ fills the entire universe. He is
the universal Head over all!

Then, in the capacity of Head over all, God gives Christ to the ecclesia, which is His
body. Do not miss the glory of this secret hidden from the generations and the
eons. In this present eon, God has chosen a called-out people to be given to the
One who is the Head of the universe. They have been joined with the One who is
now seated at the right hand of God the Father among the celestials. As far as we
can discern, no one in all Gods creation has been given such a high and glorious
privilege as that given to the ecclesia, which is Christs body.

Some translations of these verses place all the emphasis of Christs Headship on
the church, which greatly diminishes His Headship of the entire universe. They
make it appear that Christ was made simply head of the church, or that He was
made head for the good of the church, or that He was made head over all the
church. Although these are truths, they nevertheless miss the mark of the univer-
sality of Christs Headship and actually diminish the on-high, celestial calling of
the ecclesia, which is His body. The church has been raised up and seated with
the Head of the universe, which places the church over all the universe with
Christ; and in this capacity of Head and body, Christ will sum up all things in
heaven and on earth. Christ has not come down to be the Head of the church. He
has raised His body to be among the celestials, joined with Him as Head over all.
176

The complement of Chri st.

The greatness of Christ and His body is seen in Pauls declaration that the body is
also His complement. Complement refers to something that fills completely. It is
not merely a partial filling but a complete filling. In other words, the body is to be
full of Christ and to be so full that it is the very image of Christ, just as Christ is the
image of God. He fills His body with His very LifeHis resurrection and
conquering life. The ecclesia, which is the body, is the complement of the One who
will fill the entire universe with Himself until He is all in all in all Gods creation.

But there is more, for complement also means fulfillment. The word fulfill means
to carry out (something promised, desired, expected, predicted); cause to be or
happen, to fill the requirements of; satisfy a condition; answer a purpose, to
bring to an end; complete.

Do you realize that the body is to bring fulfillment to Christ as well? In other
words, the Son needs the body in order for Him to be complete, so that He can
bring about the purpose and plan of God. Just as the first Adam needed a helpmate
to join him in having dominion over the earth, so must the last Adam have a
helpmate. Adam was not complete without Eve, and Christ is not complete without
His body. The ecclesia, which is the body of Christ, is intimately joined with Christ,
the Head, and without this joining together Christ will not be complete, and Gods
purpose will not be accomplished. The Son of God needs His body in order to head
up all things in heaven and on earth.

Take a moment to reflect on this truth. It is almost beyond comprehension for
those who have been given to Christ, the Head over all.

Paul added to this glorious truth in his epistle to the Colossians.

And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign,
Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first, for in
Him the entire complement delights to dwell. (Colossians 1.18-19 CV)

He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, which is joined with the One who is
Sovereign. Think about it; if you are a member of the body of Christ, you are joined
to the Sovereign of the universe, the One who is over all, in all, before all and who
holds all together. Not only this, but you are joined with the One who is beyond
death, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality (1 Timothy
6.15-16). He has conquered death, the very enemy of mankind. He is the Firstborn
of the dead, and because of His glorious victory, His body will live and also
conquer death in His life. He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Beloved in Christ, do not allow the greatness of the secret revealed to Paul to
become something common to you. Today, there is much talk about the body of
Christ; but there is a danger that the body becomes merely another Christian term
177

that is bantered about and over time loses its greatness, just like the word church
has lost its out-called meaning.

Part of the danger comes from the fact that Paul referred to the body in two ways.
To be clear, there is only one body (Ephesians 4.4), and yet, we could say, Paul
dealt with the body from two angles.

The first angle is the relationship of the body to the universal Headship of Christ.
The body of Christ is the first of mankind, in this present eon, to come under the
resurrected Christ as Head. Over the next two eons, all mankind will be brought
under His Headship.

So also i s the Chri st.

The second angle is the relationship of the members of the body to one another,
which is described in 1 Corinthians 12. The body in this relationship is seen by Paul
as including the head. It would be very unusual for any of us to describe our own
body and leave out our head. A head alone is not a body any more than a headless
body is a body. In other words, the head is part of the body just as much as the feet
are part of the body. A few verses from Pauls epistle make the point.

For the human body does not consist of one part, but of many. Were the foot
to say, Because I am not a hand I am not a part of the body, that would not
make it any the less a part of the body. Or were the ear to say, Because I am
not an eye, I am not a part of the body, that would not make it any the less a
part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the
hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the
nostrils be? But, as a matter of fact, God has arranged the parts in the
bodyevery one of themas He has seen fit. If they were all one part,
where would the body be? But, as a matter of fact, there are many
parts and but one body. (1 Corinthians 12.14-20 WNT)

Notice how Paul included the ear and the eye in the body, which are parts of the
head. In this context, Christ is not presented as the Head of the body. The fact of
the matter is that Paul actually saw Christ as the whole body.

For, even as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members
of the one body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. (1
Corinthians 12.12 YLT)

So also is the Christ means that the entire body is one body in Christ; it is His body
and there are members that, metaphorically speaking, also include functions
similar to those that come through the head, like seeing, hearing and speaking.

The point that I want to impress upon your heart is that the Headship of Christ as
the Sovereign of the universe transcends the whole matter of the functioning of the
body of Christ in this present eon. The functioning of the body is vital and essential
178

for us today in the building up of the body in love, and this obviously has great
implications for individuals appearing before the bema of Christ (2 Corinthians
5.10). This is all within the plan of God. However, the body of Christ that is given
to the Christ, who is the Sovereign of all, has far greater implications for the next
eon and beyond.

This leads to the next aspect of the secret that was concealed from the eons but
revealed to Paul, and that is the celestial nature of the body of Christ.

Among the celesti als.

In his Ephesians epistle, Paul referred to the celestials in five verses. Most transla-
tions use the phrase heavenly places or heavenly realms or simply the word
heavenlies. In the Greek, the word is epouranion, which refers to that part of the
universe that is on, or higher than. The concordant method has chosen the word
celestial to distinguish it from the word heaven, which comes from the Greek word
ouranos. Heaven implies what is seen when looking up and celestial implies what
is beyond the heavens; thus, it is higher than. But what does this mean? Is it
merely a place further out in the universe, or is it something more than material
matter or physical space?

It is probably a safe assumption that when most of us think of the location of Gods
throne we often think in terms of physical space, and we place Gods throne some-
place in the far reaches of the universe or even outside of the universe. However,
the phrase among the celestials, or in the heavenly places, most likely implies
something far different from the physical universe as we see it with our natural
eyes and mind.

Today, science states that we live in a space-time dimensional universe. It is re-
ferred to as a space-time continuum comprised of three dimensions of space (i.e.,
height, width and depth, or longitude, latitude and elevation, or the coordinates x,
y and z), and one dimension of time. However, God and those among the celestials
are in another dimension obviously not restricted by the dimensions that we know.
Consider Jesus after His resurrection but before His final ascension back to His
Fathers throne. He appeared to His disciples in a form that they did not recognize
and also appeared to them behind shut doors, much to their surprise (Luke 24.13-
35, 36-37; John 20.14, 19, 26). Or, consider the angels that are ministering spirits
for the sake of those who inherit salvation (Hebrews 1.14). We do not see with our
physical eyes the angels that might be ministering all around us. Or, consider the
unseen powers of darkness, which are among the celestials as well. The body of
Christ is in spiritual battle with the sovereignties, with the authorities, with the
world-mights of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the
celestials (Ephesians 6.12 CV). For those who are spiritual, the pressure of these
forces is discerned in spirit, and not necessarily discerned (not ruled out either) by
seeing or feeling in the physical sense.

179

Given these few examples, we could safely assume that being among the celestials
is something far greater and different from what we know and experience on earth
in our physical bodies. Let us not forget that our God is spirit and among the
celestials, and that no one can see God.

Just as our earth is suspended in space that surrounds it, most of which we cannot
see from earth, we too could be suspended in a celestial realm that surrounds us,
none of which we can see while in our bodies of death. We must be constituted as
spiritual, celestial, immortal beings in order to enter the celestial realm. This is to
be our grandest hope and expectation.

Now, let us look at the verses that refer to being among the celestials.

First, Chr i st i s among the celesti als. In referring to the transcendent
greatness of the power of God, Paul wrote: Which is operative in the Christ,
rousing Him from among the dead and seating Him at His right hand among the
celestials, up over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, and
every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending
(Ephesians 1.20-21 CV). God has seated His Son at His right hand among the
celestials, which means that there is no greater position in all Gods creation.

Second, there are spi ri tual forces of wi ckedness among the celesti als
that are in a spiritual battle with the body of Christ. Therefore, we are exhorted to
take up the panoply of God that we may be enabled to withstand in the wicked day,
and having effected all, to stand (Ephesians 6.12-13 CV). One might wonder how
there could be spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials. Contrary to
popular belief, the wicked forces are not in some fiery chamber in the earth tor-
turing people; they are among the celestials. Job speaks of the sons of God or
messengers of God having access to the throne of God (Job 1.6; 2.1). In the Revela-
tion, we are told that Satan is the accuser of the brethren, accusing them before
God day and night (Revelation 12.10). How else could he do this unless he has ac-
cess to the throne?

Also, Paul wrote that the secret, which has been concealed from the eons in God,
now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the celes-
tials. This knowledge is directly related to the multifarious wisdom of God, in ac-
cord with the purpose of the eons (Ephesians 3.9-11). In other words, the secret
that has been concealed is to be revealed to Gods created celestial beings that have
been placed in positions of power in the rule of Gods kingdom.

Third, and most importantly to us, we come to the last two references to being
among the celestials, and both refer to the body of Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who blesses us
with every spiritual blessing among the celestials, in Christ,
according as He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world, we to
be holy and flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand for
180

the place of a son for Him through Christ Jesus; in accord with the
delight of His will, for the laud of the glory of His grace, which graces us in
the Beloved. (Ephesians 1.3-6 CV)

Paul began his epistle with this glorious declaration of blessing. He started by
blessing the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then he declared the
reason for the blessing. God has blessed us, that is, the body of Christ, with every
spiritual blessing among the celestials. This was something that God determined to
do before the earth was brought into the disruption that ended the first eon and
before mankind was created on the restored earth that began the second eon. God
chose in Christ a vessel that is called the body of Christ to be holy and flawless as
sons of God, all according to His grace in Christ. This was all according to Gods
purpose, for God is love, and He designated, before mankind even existed, a people
to come into this spiritual blessing among the celestials as sons of God. No wonder
it is to the laud of the glory of His grace.

Holy Spi ri t of promi se.

Notice that this is a spiritual blessing for today, not just for the next eon; it is an
assurance of our destiny among the celestials. Paul gives us the assurance of the
inheritance.

In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the
redemption of Gods own possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians
1.13-14 ASV)

When we first believe, the spirit of God not only takes up residence in us, but we
also are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. What is the promise?

Yet God, being rich in mercy, because of His vast love with which He loves us
(we also being dead to the offenses and the lusts), vivifies us together in
Christ (in grace are you saved!) and rouses us together and seats us to-
gether among the celestials, in Christ Jesus, that, in the oncoming
eons, He should be displaying the transcendent riches of His grace in His
kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and
this is not out of you; it is Gods approach present, not of works, lest anyone
should be boasting. For His achievement are we, being created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God makes ready beforehand, that we should
be walking in them. (Ephesians 2.4-10 CV)

In Gods vast love, we are saved only by His grace and not by works. Works have
no place in this glorious salvation of Christ that leads us into immortality. Works
have a role to play in our eonian rewards and Gods purpose after we are saved but
not in relation to salvation itself. We are justified by grace, for Christ was raised
because of our justification (Romans 4.25 NASB).
181

For those of us who are saved during this present wicked eon, there is only one
wordGr ace! For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of
you. Faith is not even ours; it is the faith of the Son of God that saves us, not our
faith. As Paul wrote: I live by faith, the fai th of the Son of God, who has loved
me and given himself for me (Galatians 2.20 DNT). If we live by the faith of the Son
of God, what makes us think that we are saved by our own faith? Christ is the
Inaugurator or Originator and the Perfecter or Finisher of faith (Hebrews 12.2
CV/ALT/MKJV). It is His faith from the beginning to the end. This all speaks of the
transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Even the good works, after we are saved, are in Christ. They were even prepared
beforehand that we should be walking in them. Perhaps, these good works are
actually the works that will be done by the body of Christ when we are spiritually
seated among the celestials. In some measure, we walk in them today; but in the
next eon, we will fully enter into them as the complement of the One who fills the
universe entirely, in heaven and on earth. In a sense, we cannot do all the good
works in this day because we have been given only an earnest of the spirit; we
have not received the full measure of the spirit or anointing that will enable us to
do the greater works.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will
do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the
Father. (John 14.12 NASB)

There is no doubt that the best is yet to come, and it will come when the
conquerors of Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit as they are glorified as Christ is
glorified (Philippians 3.21). It is when the saints receive glorified bodies in the next
eon that the greater works will be manifested in the fullest measure. Until that day,
we groan in these bodies of death, along with all creation, as all wait for the
revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8.20-25).

In accord with the purpose of the eons, the ecclesia, which is His body, will be a
glorious expression of Christ and the love of God in Christ throughout the
empyrean of God, which refers to the highest heavens.

Dear brethren, do you see the magnificence of the grace of God in Christ? We can
expend great amounts of energy trying to get people saved and trying to do works
that we think will please God, but it is all in vain if it is apart from grace, through
faith, in Christ.

Seated among the celesti als.

Now, we come to the most glorious part of the secret evangel, for it reveals the
destiny of the body of Christ. God seats us together among the celesti als, in
Christ Jesus, that, i n the oncomi ng eons, He should be displaying the
transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

182

Spiritually speaking, the body of Christ is among the celestials today. This high
privilege must be discerned in spirit and held by faith. Those who have been
called out as the body of Christ in this eon have the Holy Spirit of promise that
guarantees that a day is coming when the body will be transfigured into conformity
with the body of His glory and will be seated among the celestials. The spirit of
God is an earnest of the enjoyment of our allotment, to the deliverance of that
which has been procured. This glorious destiny has been procured in Christ.
Again, notice that the spirit is an earnest, which means that it is like a down
payment; it has not been given in full measure yet, which comes on the eighth day
of the Tabernacles Feast (John 7.37-38). Being sealed with the Holy Spirit is a
promise from God that the body of Christ is destined to enter the spiritual, celestial
realm, to enjoy an inheritance or an allotment in the kingdom of God. Until that
day, we are to be enjoyers of the celestial destiny that we have in Christ by tasting
what is to come, knowing full well that we are not there yet.

But how do we know in spirit that we are seated among the celestials? For all who
are truly born from above, there is one sure proof of this spiritual fact. We
increasingly sense that we no longer belong to this earth. We feel separated from
the things of this earth. The things of this earth grow strangely dim! Things of this
world that once seemed so much a part of us are no longer important, even
relevant. We find ourselves groaning within as if we long to be set free from this
world system that is in so much bondage (see Romans 8.22-23; Philippians 3.20;
Colossians 3.1-4; 1 John 2.15-17). Are you groaning in this last hour?

Now, do not think that being among the celestials means that the saints will leave
this old world behind, as many Christians seem to believe today. It is taught by
some that when the Lord Jesus comes for His people, they will leave this earth,
never to return. This is not true. Being among the celestials in glorified bodies,
beyond death, is what will allow the saints to minister in both the celestial and
physical or earthly realms.

Do you realize that the saints will one day judge the world and the mes-
sengers or angels (1 Corinthians 6.2, 3)? The word judge does not mean to con-
demn, as in sentencing; it means to set things right. In other words, the saints will
set things right for the world (inhabitants of the earth) and among the celestials
during the coming eons. As the complement of the One completing the all in all,
the body of Christ will be intimately involved with the heading up of all things in
Christ.

Can you imagine what this means? It is beyond ones wildest dreams. What is the
purpose of the eons? It is to sum up all in the heavens and on the earth until Christ
is all in all. This means that Christ must exercise His Headship over every milli-
meter and every subatomic particle of Gods creation. When He has subjected all
under His feet, including abolishing the last enemy, death, and has become all in
all in all of Gods vast universe, both invisible and visible, then the Son will deliver
up the kingdom to His God and Father, so that God may be All in all (1 Corinthians
15.24-28).
183

The secret evangel that was concealed from the eons and revealed to Paul is that
this vessel called the ecclesia, which is His body, saved by grace through faith in
this present eon, is destined to be the vessel through which God heads up or sums
up all in the heavens and on the earth. The body of Christ is not only spiritually
seated among the celestials today but one day, very soon, will literally enter the
celestials with the ability to move between the physical and spiritual realms to set
things right and to head up all in Christ, for Christ and to the glory of God. Think
about it!

The writer to the Hebrew believers revealed the same truth in reference to our
current and future place in Gods kingdom in relation to the angels.

For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof
we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou
art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest
him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and
honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all
things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under
him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all
things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and
honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it
became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2.5-10 KJV)

Today, mankind is lower in rank in Gods kingdom than the angels. Jesus Himself
humbled Himself and took on the form of a bond-servant and suffered death as
one lower than the angels. Praise God; the Son is far above all today, crowned with
glory and honor, awaiting the day that He will bring many sons unto glory.

Now, there is more to the secret of His will.

I n accord wi th the purpose of the eons.

To me, less than the least of all saints, was granted this grace: to bring the
evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ to the nations, and to
enlighten all as to what is the administration of the secret, which
has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all, that
now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities
among the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wis-
dom of God, in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He
makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord; in Whom we have boldness and access
with confidence, through His faith. Wherefore I am requesting you not to be
despondent at those of my afflictions for your sake which are your glory.

184

Pauls humility shines through his epistle like a bright beacon of hope. The less
than the least of the saints was granted grace to bring forth the evangel of the un-
traceable riches of Christ. He did nothing to merit such favor with God; it was all
Gods doing in taking the chief of sinners and lavishing His grace upon him, so that
he could enlighten all with the glory of the secret of Christ.

The riches of Christ were hidden or concealed from the eons in God. Even the
Hebrew prophets had not seen these riches. In many ways, we can now read the
Old Testament and discover the many facets of Christ, which were concealed as a
secret until Christ died, rose and ascended to His Fathers throne. Foremost of the
riches of Christ that were concealed from the eons pertain to Christs celestial
Headship and His body being part of His heading up all in the celestials. For all
who believe in this eon, the most marvelous aspect of this secret is the celestial
destiny of the body of Christ.

Paul declared that this destiny is in accord with the purpose of the eons. Notice
that it is in accord with the purpose of the eons, and that it is not the full or
complete purpose of the eons. This is an important point, for it is presented by
some teachers that this is the complete purpose of the eons, as if the celestial
destiny of the body of Christ is the purpose.

Let it be understood that the destiny of the body of Christ is a tremendous
revelation and in no way do I desire to lessen it. This destiny is our hope and is to
be our fondest desire. However, this does not alter the fact that Paul stated that it
is in accord with the purpose of the eons. Why would Paul state it this way? The
reason is very simple. Those counted worthy to attain to the resurrection of the
next eon are the anointed firstfruits of the kingdom. They are the first to enter into
the kingdom of God as sons to reign with Christ, but they are not the last, for it is
Gods purpose to bring all mankind into the glory of His kingdom, not all at the
same time but all eventually with the consummation of the eons.

However, until that glorious day and in our present eon, God is calling out a spe-
cial vessel that He has chosen to be the complement of His Son as His helpmate in
completing the all in all. The wisdom of God in choosing a people to be part of the
heading up of all things in heaven and on earth is so tremendous that God is mak-
ing it known to the entire celestial realm. It is almost beyond our comprehension,
but the angels and other celestial beings are being educated about the wisdom of
God as He takes vessels, formed from the soil of the earth, and conforms them to
the image of the Son of God. This is the multifarious wisdom of God.

Multi far i ous wi sdom of God.

That now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among
the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God, in
accord with the purpose of the eons.

185

This is the signature verse of the book that you are reading. Paul is the one who has
told us specifically that there is a purpose of the eons. In other words, the eons
were made in the Son for a purpose. There are three points to be made in regard to
this purpose.

First, who are these sovereignties and authorities among the celestials? We are not
told who or what they are, but we can assume that they are created beings that
administer the government of God among the celestials. They include the angels or
messengers and, most likely, other beings that have not been revealed to us. These
rulers among the celestials may include both the good and evil celestial beings
(Ephesians 6.12-13).

Second, why is the multifarious wisdom of God being made known through the
ecclesia, which is the body, to these rulers among the celestials? What does the
body have to do with these celestial rulers? Well, in the next eon, it has everything
to do with them, for the saints will judge them (1 Corinthians 6.3), that is, set
things right with the angelic host, some of whom have battled against the saints.
The body is destined to reign with Christ among the celestials.

The word multifarious means to have many kinds of parts, a great diversity.
Some translations use the word manifold, which has the same meaning. Gods
wisdom is multi-faceted, and it is through the ecclesia that Gods multi-faceted
wisdom is revealed. Of course, Christ is the wisdom of God, and thus, His body, as
His complement, is to express this multifarious wisdom to the rulers among the
celestials. We are to express Christ!

In this day, we seem to be such a small expression of the wisdom of God in Christ.
We are so frail and full of weaknesses that we seem to bring Christ down rather
than lift Him up. But fear not, the grace of God has been lavished upon us, and
there is far more wisdom being expressed through the body of Christ than we can
see with our eyes. We are a spiritual body, and the rulers of the celestials are spirit
beings. They see the wisdom of God in the ecclesia, even if we see little of it. In fact,
in our weakness, the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials see the
multifarious wisdom of God. In our weaknesses, the power of Christ is magnified.
Grace!

This is so clearly expressed in the life of Paul.

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to
keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a mes-
senger of Satan to torment meto keep me from exalting myself! Concerning
this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said
to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in
weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore
I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with perse-
186

cutions, with difficulties, for Christs sake; for when I am weak, then I
am strong. (2 Corinthians 12.7-10 NASB)

In Pauls life, we discover that grace and weakness kiss each other and produce the
power of Christ. Let us not forget that Christ is also the wisdom of God. Undoubt-
edly, the rulers among the celestials looked at Paul and saw something that they
could not explain apart from the wisdom of God. One day soon, this beloved apos-
tle will be ushered into the celestial kingdom, along with all the conquerors of the
body of Christ, to join Christ in heading up all in the celestials, which includes
reigning among the celestials.

Third, when is this purpose to be revealed in its greatest measure? Paul actually
gives the answer earlier in his epistle.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved
us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and
seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the
ages [eons] to come He might show the surpassing riches of His
grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2.4-7 NASB [CV])

It is in the ages or eons to come that God intends to show the surpassing riches of
His grace to us in Christ. In other words, I believe that when he penned this epis-
tle, Paul was not looking back to the previous eons nor was he looking at the pre-
sent wicked eon; he was looking forward to the oncoming eons, which are the eons
of the eons, the day of the Lord and the day of God. He was not looking forward to
what many call eternity, either. He was not writing about an eternal verity. He was
writing about an eonian verity. Glory will be progressively manifested in the
eons to come through the sons of God made alive in Christ.

Beloved in Christ, this is the multifarious wisdom of God that is in accord with the
purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The eons are made
in Christ to bring forth Gods purpose, in which we have been gloriously included.
Praise God!

Chri st among you.

Paul gives another encouragement in his epistle to the Colossians.

is the ecclesia of which I became a dispenser, in accord with the
administration of God, which is granted to me for you, to complete
the word of Godthe secret which has been concealed from the
eons and from the generations, yet now was made manifest to His
saints, to whom God wills to make known what are the glorious
riches of this secret among the nations, which is: Christ among
187

you, the expectation of gloryWhom we are announcing, admonishing
every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we should be present-
ing every man mature in Christ Jesus; for which I am toiling also, struggling
in accord with His operation, which is operating in me with power. (Colos-
sians 1.24-29 CV)

Paul again refers to the secret, which has been concealed from the eons and from
the generations, yet now manifested to His saints through the evangel. In the past,
Christ walked among His brethren, the Israelites. His mission was to save them.
During our day, Christ, in spirit, walks among the believers from among the
nations. It is Christ among you, the nations, the expectation of glory.

The word of God was completed by Paul with this secret that Christ is among the
nations. At one time, the nations were separated from the promises, having no
expectation of glory, but now in Christ the glorious riches of the secret among the
nations have been revealed. Christ among you, the expectation of glory!

It needs to be noted that some translations state Christ in you, meaning that Christ
has taken up residence in His people. This certainly is true, for it is His life in us
that will lead us to glory, the treasure in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4.7).

This is the secret revealed through Paul, the apostle of the nations, and the reason
that he struggled and suffered. Paul desired that all mature or grow up in Christ
Jesus, for the outcome is glory, the glory of Christ among the celestials.

Where do we see this glory manifested? We see it in the city-bride of the Lamb that
comes down out of heaven having the glory of God. The new Jerusalem i s the
ecclesia, which is the body of Christ seated among the celestials (Revelation 21;
22.1-5).

Yet have no love.

Now, when he finished writing his thoughts on the wisdom of God and the purpose
of the eons, it is as if Paul fell on his knees in worship of the Father.

On this behalf am I bowing my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
after Whom every kindred in the heavens and on earth is being
named, that He may be giving you, in accord with the riches of His glory, to
be made staunch with power, through His spirit, in the man within, Christ to
dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, having been rooted and
grounded in love, should be strong to grasp, together with all the saints,
what is the breadth and length and depth and heightto know the love of
Christ as well which transcends knowledgethat you may be
completed for the entire complement of God. (Ephesians 3.14-19 CV)

Again, Paul brings us into the very heights of glory as he prayed on bowed knee to
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He carried his thought to the entire universe
188

of God and to every creature within Gods creation in the heavens and on the earth.
His hearts desire was that Christ will dwell in all our hearts through faith, and that
we will be rooted and grounded in love.

We might have all the knowledge and know all the secrets, but if we have not love,
we are nothing. This is what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

And if I should have prophecy and should be perceiving all secrets and all
knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so as to transport mountains, yet
have no love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13.2 CV)

Beloved in Christ, we have been given a most glorious celestial calling. The body of
Christ is to be the complement of Christ, that is, the fullness of Christ, the expres-
sion or exact image of Him. But this is expressed in one way, and that is through
love. Pauls heart for all the body of Christ, including us, is to know the love of
Christ as well which transcends knowledgethat you may be completed for the
entire complement of God.

How are we completed? In the love of Christ that transcends all! God is love and
the entire complement or fullness of God is expressed as love. Oh, may Christ
dwell richly in our hearts and fill us with His love, so that we are His expression of
love on this earth as a testimony of what we will be in the coming eons among the
celestials and on earth. Through the love of Christ, we most surely will be enjoyers
of an allotment (inheritance) among the celestials, in accord with the purpose of
the eons.

Now to Him Who is able to do superexcessively above all that we
are requesting or apprehending, according to the power that is
operating in us, to Him be glory in the ecclesia and in Christ Jesus
for all the generations of the eon of the eons! Amen! (Ephesians
3.20-21 CV)

Reconci li ati on of all.

There is one more matter in regard to the secret of the evangel; it does not stop
with the ecclesia but extends to all mankind. This is a difficult matter for many of
the Lords people to accept in this day because the traditions of men have so
forcefully denied and refuted this truth to the point that ones who teach this are
told they are going to Christendoms modern-day version of hell. We must stand
against such traditions. Our God is love, and in His love, He has willed that all
mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth (1 Timothy 2.4 CV). Why
must we argue that the word of God does not mean what it says in order to line up
with the traditions of men? Let us allow the word of God to stand as it is and speak
the truth to our hearts.

At the close of his epistle to the Romans, Paul prayed that they would be estab-
lished in accord with his evangel, and the heralding of Christ Jesus in accord with
189

the revelation of a secret hushed in times eonian (Romans 16.25-27 CV), which re-
fers to the conciliation of the world (Romans 11.15, 32). However, in his Colossians
epistle, Paul revealed this most profound truth that had been concealed from the
eons or hushed in times eonian.

Through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of
His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.
(Colossians 1.20 CV)

Through the blood of the cross, God has reconciled all on the earth and in the
heavens in Christ. All is an inclusive word that must encompass all on the earth
and all in the heavens. In other words, the blood of His cross has made peace
between God and all mankind, as well as all Gods creatures in His vast universe.
This is how comprehensive and inclusive the victory of the cross is. It extends to
the full scope or dimensions of creation. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is left out.
We do not really fathom the greatness of this peace, for we know so little of the
ones who are in the celestial realm. But we do know that according to Paul, God
was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to
them (2 Corinthians 5.19 CV). Today, all mankind is conciliated to God, even
though all mankind has not conciliated to God; all mankind has not made peace
with God, even though God has made peace with them. Conci li ati on is a one-
sided peace agreement. Both parties must be at peace to have reconci li ati on.

Paul revealed to the Colossians that through Christ, God has reconciled all to Him,
which means that Paul saw that a day will come when all Gods creatures will be at
peace with God. This is the absolute victory of the blood of the cross, and this
victory will be manifested at the consummation of the eons when all in Gods
creation are subjected to the Son, and the last enemy, death, is abolished. All
mankind will come to know the love of God and enter into the peace of God
through the blood of His cross. Oh, the love of God!

In this present wicked eon, only the saints are reconciled to God (Colossians 1.22),
but at the consummation when the last enemy, death, is abolished, all mankind
will be at peace with God. However, we must not overlook the fact that this
reconciliation transcends this earth and extends to all that are in the heavens as
well: Whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.

Have you grasped the significance of this fact as revealed through Paul? This was a
secret that was hidden in God and revealed to Paul. Christ has created all, He is in
all, He has and yet will reconcile all, and He is Head and will be Head of all. All
Gods universe and creation will be summed up or headed up in Christ. This is the
purpose of the eons and the secret of His will in Christ, and God has chosen a
vessel called the body of Christ to be seated among the celestials and to be part of
this glorious summing up on earth and in the heavens as the complement of the
One completing the All in all.

Praise God!
190
8. LOCKS UP ALL TOGETHER

It is an undeniable fact that many people believe in a literal hell as a place of
eternal torment for lost humanity. It is blasted across the airwaves by some
preachers of the word of God that billions upon billions of humans created to be in
the image of God are now toasting in Gods torture chamber called hell with no
chance of ever being reconciled to God. Although they are dead, they somehow still
live in human bodies that are not destroyed by the literal fire that consumes and
torments them. As they say, these lost ones had free will,
1
and they exercised their
will by rejecting Gods Son, so God has no choice but to banish them to an eternal
existence away from His presence in which they will be tormented with fire forever
and ever and ever. After all, He is mad at most of humanity and must take out His
vengeance on them. Never mind that God i s love (1 John 4.9).

Some say that love does not trump Gods justice. They even go so far as to say that
Gods love demands that He banish most of the world, the world that He created
and loves, to a never-ending existence that is worse than what has been devised by
the worst terrorists and torturers that have ever lived on earth. Then, to cap it off,
they say that those who make it into heaven will rejoice as they look upon the lost,
including some of their loved ones, being tormented in their hell. After all, this is
justice and all to the glory of God. Really?

It grieves my heart when I think of such thinking passed off as truth. The most
diabolical quality of fallen man has been taken and made into a god in that image,
all the while declaring that this is according to the sacred Scriptures; and that this
is the heart of God that Scripture declares is love.

In essence, this line of teaching is declaring that through the death of His Son, the
Savior of the world, the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world, God cannot
save all mankind, in fact, cannot and will not save most of mankind, and that His
Sons death on the cross was a failure. Why? Because many say that it is up to
mans free will to choose to be saved. Think about it! Adams one transgression was
an absolute 100% success in bringing death and sin into the very fiber of all born of
the human race, and yet, Christs one act of perfect righteousness, ordained by God
Himself, is unable to save all born of the human race; only a relatively few will be
saved by most accounts. If this were true, which it is not, then we would have to
conclude that God is rather weak and impotent; His plan of salvation is mostly a
failure and is totally dependent on man, not God.

1
Free will implies that one can make decisions absent any external influence. In other words, one
decides to act without any consideration of an influence outside of himself. Can you think of any
decisions that any of us make that are like this. Everything we do has some external influence that
leads us to do what we do. Consequently, it is Gods will that overpowers our will.
191

God wi ll have all manki nd to be saved.

But let it be shouted from the rooftops that our God is not weak nor is He impotent
in the plan of salvation or in anything else, for that matter. He is the Savior of the
world! God the Father sent His Son to save the world, the whole world that He
loves. Man can fail and does fail at many things, but God cannot fail at anything
that He sets out to do, and He has set out to perfect mankind into His image and
likeness. If He does fail, then how can He be God, the Supreme and Sovereign of
His creation? We would have to declare that Scripture lies because we are told that
He works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1.11 NASB), that it is
God our Savior, Who wi ll have all men to be saved, and to come to the
knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2.4 KJV), and that we rely on the living God [not
a dead god], Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially [not exclusively] of
believers (1 Timothy 4.10 CV [added by writer]).

Did you catch the greatness of these words: Who will have all men to be saved?
Who do you want to exclude from this all? Surely, God has not excluded anyone, so
why do so many who profess to hold to the name of Christ declare a doctrine that is
diametrically opposed to Gods word, which is spirit and life (John 6.63)?

It is amazing how so many people read these verses and declare them to be true
with one huge exception: They only apply to ones who exercise their free will to
choose Christ as their Savior. Where in any of the verses cited so far is the concept
of mans free will? Actually, where in the entire Bible is there a word about man
must exercise his will if he is to be saved? It is Gods will that is worked out in the
salvation of mankind. It is God who wills salvation, not man who wills. This is why
He had to send His Son to die for the sin of the world. Only His Son could meet the
righteous demands of God.

Consider these verses:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they
have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full
of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and
misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is
no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3.10-18 KJV)

This is Gods indictment of mankind. None are righteous. None understand. None
do good. None seek after God. NONE! Another way of stating this last truth is that
mankind does not have the will or desire to seek after God. None seek! If none seek
after God, then if it is left up to mans will to be saved then none will be saved.
Period! Just in case some might think that they are special in this regard because
they somehow made a choice for Christ, let us be reminded: For there is no
respect of persons with God (Romans 2.11 KJV). We are all included in this none.
192
LOCKS UP ALL TOGETHER

If we would just step back from the babel of Christendom, put aside the traditions
of men and take God at His word, we would see that His plan of salvation for all
mankind is the most glorious love story between the Creator and His creation. It is
a love story that leaves none, absolutely none of His creatures, out of His purpose
and plan. All are not included at the same time, but all will eventually come in, for
this is the purpose of the eons, the purpose of God in Christ Jesus, His Son. His
purpose is the reconciliation and restoration of all.

For God!

Now, there is one more Scripture that proves the point and serves as the
springboard for what follows.

For even as you once were stubborn toward God, yet now were shown mercy
at their stubbornness, thus these also are now stubborn to this mercy of
yours, that now they also may be shown mercy. For God locks up all
together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all. O, the
depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How
inscrutable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways! For, who knew the
mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser? or, who gives to Him first,
and it will be repaid Him? seeing that out of Him and through Him and for
Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans 11.30-36 CV)

In Romans 9-11, Paul wrote much about Israel and their being set aside with their
rejection of Christ. They stumbled but did not fall in such a way that they have
been thrust out of Gods plan of salvation. A partial hardening has come upon
them until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and so all Israel will be saved
(Romans 11.11, 25-26).

Within this section of Scripture, we discover one of the most profound truths of
Scripture that blows the roof off of this notion that man has a free will that will
seek after God and be saved. Consider several translations of the same verse.

For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy
upon all. (Romans 11.32 KJV)

For God confined all in unbelief leading to disobedience, so that He should
show mercy to all. (Romans 11.32 ALT)

For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon
all. (Romans 11.32 ASV)

For God did shut up together the whole to unbelief, that to the whole He
might do kindness. (Romans 11.32 YLT)

For God has locked up all in the prison of unbelief, that upon all alike He
may have mercy. (Romans 11.32 WNT)
193

For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to
all. (Romans 11.32 CV)

The first thing to note is that in all the translations presented, God alone is the one
taking the action. For God!

The second thing to note is that the subject of the action includes all, which is the
whole of humanity. All together, the whole!

Strongs Concordance states that the Greek word for all in this verse is pas, which
refers to all forms of the word, such as all, any, every, the whole. There are no
exceptions in this all, just as there are no exceptions in there is none righteous,
none who understand, none who are good, and none who seek after God, as well as
all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23).

The third thing to note is in what all are together locked up or, as one translation
implies, imprisoned. All of us, without exception, are locked up in unbelief or
stubbornness.

According to Strongs Concordance, the Greek word translated concluded (a very
strange rendering!), confined, locks up and shuts up means to shut together, that
is, to include or embrace. The Greek word translated stubbornness, disobedience
and unbelief, according to Strongs means disbelief (obstinate and rebellious);
disobedient, unbelief. The Concordant Greek Text English Sublinear, which is an
ultra-literal translation, has taken the words together-locks and the all and made
them locks up all together, and has taken the word un-persuadableness and made
it stubbornness.

Most people probably understand the import of the word unbelief, but the word
stubbornness, as derived from un-persuadableness, adds another dimension to
the meaning. No one can be persuaded. But persuaded in respect to what? Well, if
there is none righteous and none seek after God, then it must be that man cannot
be persuaded in respect to living a righteous, good, God-seeking life. In other
words, mans will is not capable of being persuaded when it comes to salvation and
the things of God.

The stubbornness or unbelief of mankind is not some aberration in Gods eonian
purpose and plan. No! It is in the purpose of God, and even more amazing, it is
according to the very plan of God. God Himself ordained it this way. He brought
this creation called man into being to be stubborn, to be un-persuaded through his
own will. Why? So that God could show His mercy to His entire creation through
His divine will! Gods will is always intended to trump mans will. We could say,
God shuts up free will!

Please do not lose the import of what you just read. It was Gods full intention to
lock up all in stubbornness, even before eonian times. It wasnt that mankind
failed apart from Gods will, so He had no choice but to lock up all and then come
194

up with some corrective measure to bring it back, as if it all caught Him by
surprise. No! No! How could a whole race be brought into being on this planet we
call earth and all of them, absolutely all (100%) of them have been (are, will be)
stubborn or in unbelief? By some estimates this earth has had from 50 billion to
110 billion people living on it.
2
According to some, it means that there have been
about 50 billion free-will agents on this earth that had the capacity to choose good
and to believe, and yet, according to Scripture, most did not choose such a path.
Never mind that the evangel of Christ did not go out except in the last 4,000 years,
which leaves a huge gap of 2,000 years.

Some say that mankind (Adam) had to be tested. Did God not know that Adam
would not only fail the test but that all that followed him would also fail? No one,
absolutely no one learned from Adams sin. So, if we take the low end of the
number, then 50 billion failed (probably something less than this to account for
believers), and the number grows every day that a new human is born. Sounds
pretty hopeless to me!

Do you mean to tell me that a God who is Supreme and Sovereign over all His
creation and one who is perfect in all His ways, created that many people and not
one of them, that is, not one single person, ever, could be persuaded to be obedient
and believe according to his or her own free will. If you ask me, if this thought is
left to stand alone, we would have to conclude that when God created man He
failed colossally. Ah, but God did not fail, for His plan is a colossal success. Man-
kind was brought forth to be stubborn, so that Gods Son could die for the sin of
the world and take sin away to the grave. Sin was imputed to all mankind through
Adam, and righteousness (or, justification for life) was imputed to all mankind
through the last Adam, Christ (Romans 5).

Oh, the wisdom of God! It is proof that free will is a figment of fertile imaginations
when it comes to Gods purpose of the eons and the restoration and reconciliation
of all.

The indictment of mankind is that all are stubborn, and in this stubbornness, God
Himself locks up all mankind together. No one can get out of this lock box! We are
all shut up together. None of us can be persuaded. But here is the encouraging
part: God Himself locks us all up, so that He alone should be merciful to all. He
will treat all alike, for there is no partiality with God (Romans 2.11 CV). In other
words, He alone is the one to release all humanity from this prison of stubbornness
or unbelief. He has the key to unlock it, and it is belief in His Son, which is the faith
of the Son of God that all will eventually receive as a gift of God, so that all are
saved, in their own era, either at the former (first) resurrection, the latter (second)
resurrection (great white throne, lake of fire), or at the consummation of the eons.

2
Those who believe that Adam was formed from the soil about 6,000 years ago hold to the 50+
billion figure, which is mans best guess. Those who believe that man evolved over a much longer
period of time hold to the 110 billion figure. I hold to the 6,000 years.
195

A prisoner has no way out unless the jailer unlocks the door, and this is the picture
all of us must see in order to understand this whole matter of the salvation of all
mankind.

No wonder Paul had to declare: O, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the
knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments, and untraceable His
ways! For, who knew the mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser? or, who
gives to Him first, and it will be repaid Him?

Paul netted it all out, and it was none of mankind and all of God. Seeing that out of
Him and through Him and for Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons!

Oh, let us get off our high horses of pride and arrogance and be humbled before
the Almighty God Who is the Savior of all! He alone is responsible for our
salvation, and He alone will bring about the salvation of all mankind through His
beloved Son. He alone will bring all to bow the knee by His spirit, for no one can
say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12.3).

Every knee.

That in the name of Jesus every knee should be bowing, celestial and
terrestrial and subterranean (Philippians 2.10 CV).

Paul did not just make up these words. As one who knew Hebrew Scripture, Paul
knew the heart of God for mankind, as spoken through Isaiah the prophet.

I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in
righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow,
every tongue will swear allegiance. (Isaiah 45.23 NASB)

The Lord has sworn by Himself. What has He sworn? Exactly what Paul declared:
Every knee will bow! His word has gone forth, and it will not turn back to Him.
Gods word is like pure gold refined in fire. His word is righteous, and what He has
sent forth according to His word will happen. Every knee will bow, not by force but
by the mercy and grace of God, and by His spirit.

Desti ned to fai l.

Do you realize that God brought forth man with the express purpose that he fail, so
that Gods ultimate purpose for man, to be conformed to the image of His Son, will
be accomplished, and in the consummation of the eons, God may be All in all? Yes,
failure sums up the history of mankind, and it is all by the design and sovereign
will of God.

Failure is absolutely essential to bring mankind; that is, all of us, you and me, to
the end of ourselves, so that Christ may be all in all and ultimately God the Father
may be All in all. No man will ever boast before the throne of God. He will never
196

boast in his own so-called free will. He will never boast that he brought anything to
the table in bringing about Gods purpose and plan. As Paul wrote: But HE WHO
BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN THE LORD (2 Corinthians 10.17 NASB).

Just as the Lamb of God was slain from before the disruption, or the foundation of
the world, so was it ordained of God that mankind would fail and fall short of His
glory. Not only would he fail but that he had to fail, and this is in accord with the
purpose of God. Simply, man was not given the ability to succeed on his own.

For apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15.5 CV)

Let us no longer be blinded by the god of this eon. All mankind, without exception,
is a failure and absolutely no one deserves the grace and mercy of God. No one! We
all miss the mark and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23). Many who
believe in the Lord Jesus think that they made a choice for Christ because the
preacher told them they had to or else they would roast in hell forever and ever.
You may have had some legitimate emotional response that is still real to you to
this day. You may have made an altar call or walked the aisle out of obedience. But
if you were truly saved of God, and the spirit of God took up residence in you, then
it had absolutely nothing to do with your aisle walk or with your free will to put
one foot before the other. It was all by the grace of God that broke into your life
and overwhelmed your unbelief, your stubbornness toward God.

Paul declared: Yet the gr ace of our Lor d over whelms, with faith and love in
Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1.14 CV).

John declared: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of
blood nor of the wi ll of the flesh nor of the wi ll of man, but of God
(John 1.12-13 NASB)

But of God answers the whole matter of who is directing the grand drama of
mankind. It was not your will that saved you but the will of God that declares that
He wills that all men are to be saved.

As Jesus said: Every one whom the Father gives me will come to me, and him who
comes to me I will never on any account drive away (John 6.37 WNT).

It is the faith of the Son of God that draws man, not his faith. It is the grace of God
that overwhelms mans unbelief.

What and how much has been given to the Son? All things!

All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who
the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to
whom the Son will reveal him. (Luke 10.22 KJV)

197

In these two verses, please note that the action is on the part of the Father and the
Son. You will search in vain for any action on the part of man. The Father gives and
the Son reveals.

Manki nds fai lure for Gods greatest glory.

Now, let us continue along this line of failure.

When we read Scripture, there seems to be failure on all levels. God alone is the
Supreme in authority in the kingdom of mortals, and to whom He is willing is He
giving it, and low one of mortals is He setting over it (Daniel 4.17 CV). And yet,
mankind on all levels fails, even in that which God Himself calls into being ac-
cording to His will.

Everything seems so strange when one looks at history and at what is around us
today. Why is there so much failure? Why does God allow so much failure? Why
does He let it go on so long before He will step in and make everything right? Why
is there so much evil? Why must people die? There are a thousand and one
questions that could be asked and are asked every day.

If we telescope out from the world system (the kosmos) in which we live and look
at the overall condition of mankind, we must conclude that mans history is
marked by failure.

Here is some good news: Mankinds failure is for Gods greatest glory. If we
see this, we will see that mankind must fail on all levels and all fronts, so that
Gods purpose will be achieved, and He alone will receive all the glory as All in all.
Our boast will be in the Son of God who will bring about Gods purpose. Failure is
by Gods design! But here is more good news: Woven through what looks like
the greatest of failures is the golden thread of Gods handiwork.

Surely, everything that God does is a success. We know that the entire family of
God from all economies or eras throughout all the generations is being connected
together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord, and that many are being built
together into a dwelling of God in spirit of which Christ Jesus Himself is the chief
cornerstone and the capstone (see Ephesians 2.21-22).

Let it be indelibly written on our hearts that Gods eonian plan or plan of the eons
(ages) is being carried out exactly as God purposed and is being executed precisely
according to Gods timing. Nothing that has happened, is happening or will
happen is outside the will of God. Nothing! And, no man can change it. God alone
is the Supreme, and His will will be done.

We can look around us and wonder if Gods will is truly being worked out; but we
do not have to wonder if we believe that God alone is Supreme, that He is
operating all in accord with the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1.12), and that out of
Him and through Him and for Him is all (Romans 11.36). ALL!
198

Satan, the adversar y.

Consider Satan, the adversary of God and his (its) relation to mankind. So many
people place the blame for failure on this archenemy. They see him (it) as the
anointed messenger (angel) that started out good but turned evil; however, this is
not true. Satan was evil from the start. John tells us that from the beginning is the
Adversary sinning (1 John 3.8 CV). In other words, he did not turn into a sinning
messenger after being created; rather, he was created evil; he was created to be a
sinning messenger.

This may be hard for some to accept, but may the spirit of God open your eyes.

Speaking of God, Isaiah gave us a truth that many have not fully understood.
Former of light and Cr eator of darkness, Maker of good and Creator of evi l
(Isaiah 45.7 CV). Do you understand the significance of this word? God is the
Creator of evil. He alone is responsible for evil. Consider Solomons wisdom: The
Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil
(Proverbs 16.4 NASB). God is not evil in any sense of the word. He is merely the
Creator. He could be likened to a chef baking a cake. The chef can bake a cake
without ever eating it. He knows what went into the cake, and it comes out in the
form he planned for it, but if he never takes a bite of it, he has no idea what the
cake tastes like. Likewise, God does not partake of evil in any manner whatsoever,
but He is still its Creator, for all comes forth from Him.

Seeing that out of Him and through Him and for Him is all: to Him be the
glory for the eons! (Romans 11.36 CV)

What is evil? Is it not the antagonist of good? Only God is good (Matthew 19.17)!
Consequently, Satan was created to be the adversary of God, so that mankind
would have a stark contrast to God. By having a contrast, mankind would come to
know the one true God of love and light, in whom there is no darkness (1 John 1.5).
God is the one who created evil and the one who created Satan to be His evil
antagonist. Every step that God has taken has been followed by Satan. Satan is like
a shadow; for every step God takes in the light, there is a shadow of darkness cast
upon creation in general and mankind in specific. This is by Gods design. If it were
not so, how would we know good from evil, or light from dark, or love from hate,
or peace from war, or life from death? Mankind needs the contrast to know God.
This is the glorious wisdom of God that answers the age-old question of why things
are as they are. It is Gods doing until the consummation when God will be All in
all.

You might retort that mankind was never created to know evil; but who says?
Scripture surely does not state this. On the contrary, God placed the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil in the garden with full expectation that Adam and Eve
would partake of the tree. It was no accident that the tree was placed in full view of
mankinds parents and that the serpent of old was waiting for his moment of
deception. After all, if we accept that God is Supreme and Sovereign, and all things
199

come through Him, then we must conclude that the whole drama played out in the
garden was written and directed by God.

Some proclaim that prior to his fall, Adam was in the age of innocence, and that he
had to be tested to see if he would obey Gods one command. If this is true, then it
sure sounds like a formula for failure. Adam was the new kid on the block. Satan,
the old serpent, had been around awhile and was not ignorant of Gods ways. The
eternal God knows all and sees all, and He knew that in their current state Adam,
and especially Eve, were no match for the old devil. Besides, God put Adam and
Eve in the garden with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil staring them in
the face, as if to say, Go ahead and eat! Adam had no experience with death, so
how was he to know what it meant to die? The serpent probably knew, but how
was the first man to know?

Adam was simply outgunned and destined to fail. Plus, Eve was out of his body,
bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh. Based on Gods absolute law of love, Adam
had to love his body. He had to follow his wife in eating of the forbidden fruit
because he loved her as his own body. This is what Paul tells us in his Ephesians
epistle as he compares Christ and His body to Adam and his body. For no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it (Ephesians 5.29 NASB). Of
course, there are many types and antitypes in the account of Adam and Eve, but in
its primal presentation, it reveals failure as ordained by God. Adam had no choice
but to sin because God had given him no choice in the matter. If he had left Eve on
her own, Adam would have broken the much higher law of love.

After our first parents partook of the tree, what did God declare? Behold, the man
has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3.22). Man was
created to be perfected into the image of God, and this requires that he have
knowledge of both good and evil. But this knowing was only the beginning of the
process to conform mankind into the image of the Son. It was Gods full intention
that mankind would not only partake of this tree but also live by this tree, at least
for 6,000 years.

However, mankind requires more than mere knowledge of good and evil. He must
experience both. He must have the contrast of the two, just as he must experience
the countless contrasts found throughout Gods creation (e.g., light and dark, love
and hate, victory and defeat, peace and war, life and death, health and sickness, up
and down, hot and cold, soft and hard, wet and dry, to name a few). Adam and Eve
were not instantaneously created in the image of God. They were not created as
some super-human, perfected beings.

Some state that Adam and Eve were created perfect and that they were in the
image of God right from the start. If this were so, they never would have partaken
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They would have been smart enough
to know that when the serpent said they would not die that it was a lie. But they fell
for the lie, and death entered into all mankind from that day forward. Then why
was Eve first deceived by the serpent, and then Adam followed? The answer is that
200

they were not created perfect; they had to be perfected, as all of us do, and that
requires failure.

The futi li ty of manki nd.

We have been so indoctrinated with so much unscriptural babel that it is probably
hard for most believers to imagine that mankind, who was created to be in Gods
image and likeness, was predetermined to fail. If it is any consolation, I am still
struggling to get all the babel out of my thinking that has been thrust into my mind
over the last twenty-five years.

One would think that God is so invested in a creation that He made to be in His
image that He would go all out to prevent it from failing, even programming its
genetic pool if need be, so it would not fail. Many theologians, teachers, pastors
and preachers of Christendom declare ad nauseam that God did not want robots,
so He gave mankind a free will to make their own choices. In other words,
mankind can choose to believe or not to believe in God. Salvation is entirely
dependent on mankind and not on God who, by the way, is the Savior of all
mankind (1 Timothy 4.10) and wills that all mankind be saved (1 Timothy 2.4).

If mankind has a free will to be saved, then answer this one question: Did Paul, the
apostle of the nations, the chief or foremost among all sinners (1 Timothy 1.16),
who was severed from his mothers womb and called by His grace (Galatians 1.15),
have a choice in the matter on the road to Damascus? On that infamous road,
according to his own testimony, Paul was ignorant and in unbelief, and yet the
grace of our Lord overwhelmed his ignorance and unbelief, with faith and love in
Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1.13-14). Do you read of any free will in regard to salvation
in Pauls testimony or in any of his epistles, for that matter? Even where he
exhorted the brethren to be carrying your own salvation into effect, Paul wrote:
For it is God Who is operating in you to will as well as to work for the sake of His
delight (Philippians 2.13 CV). Notice that it is God who operates in you to will.
Where is there a free will independent of God in Pauls words? There is none. We
are totally dependent on God even to please Him.

In the context of declaring the foolishness of God is wiser than men, consider how
Paul viewed the whole matter of salvation.

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. (1 Corinthians
1.30 NASB)

By Gods doing you are in Christ! Not by your doing, not by your will, not by your
wisdom, not by anything that comes from you! Either God does it or it does not
happen; pure and simple.

Saul (prior to his encounter with Christ) was heading to Damascus to wreak havoc
and death on the ecclesia of God. He willed that the Way had to be destroyed, but
201

what happened to his will? His will was trumped by the will of the Lord. In a split
second he was blinded by the blinding glory of the risen Christ. Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting Me? And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And the shocking
answer came: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting (Acts 9.4-6).

Was Saul walking on that road that day wondering how he was to be saved? Was
he pondering how to ask the Lord into his heart? Was he seeking some meeting of
a local ecclesia, so that he could walk the aisle, make an altar call, and tell everyone
that he had accepted Christ into his heart? No! Such thinking was totally foreign to
Sauls thinking on that day. He set out to destroy those who had been called of the
Lord. To him, the One called Jesus was an enemy of his entire belief system and
teaching.

How was he saved on that road? He was saved by the grace of the Lord that
overwhelmed his ignorance and unbelief! Saul had no time to rationalize what was
happening to him. He had no time to stand in the midst of the light and refuse the
One speaking to him. Simply, he had no choice in the matter. It was a settled
matter; a matter settled from the risen Christ seated at the right hand of His Father
in heaven. He was called and chosen by the will of God. He was extricated out of
the present wicked eon, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be
the glory for the eons of the eons (Galatians 1.4-5 CV). Again, the will of God is
what was operative in Pauls life.

In his epistles, Paul acknowledged that it was not even his faith that saved him or
anyone elses faith, for that matter.

I am crucified with Christ, and no longer live, I, but Christ lives in me; but
in that I now live in flesh, I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who
has loved me and given himself for me. (Galatians 2.20 DNT)


For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is
Gods gift (Ephesians 2.8 DNT)

For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this [is] not from you;
[it is] the gift of God (Ephesians 2.8 ALT)

Notice that in each case, it is not Pauls faith or our faith but the faith of the Son,
and that this faith is not of yourselves but a gift from God. Thus, the whole matter
is based on a faith that is received. How can we say that our so-called free will
saved us? Of course, many seem to take this view, but it is not based on Scripture.

Christendom has placed man at the center of his destiny and made him
the hero or villain in his fate, when God alone has set the destiny of His
202

entire creation, and He alone will receive all the glory. If He does not,
then He is not the Supreme; man is.

God has allowed man to fail on all levels and all fronts, for without failure man will
never truly know God. Further, if man succeeded in his own might, it would be to
his own glory and not to Gods glory. The boast would be in man.

Adam failed and death passed through into all mankind, on which all sinned
(Romans 5.12 CV). Every human that has followed Adam has failed since all sin.
What is sin? It is missing the mark, making a mistake, failing of the ideal.

The anci ent wor ld fai led.

Consider the condition of mankind, especially of the ancient world, as described by
Paul in Romans 1.18-23. Mankind is without excuse, for God has revealed Himself
to His creatures through His creation. God manifest in His creation was to lead
mankind to worship the Creator. What did mankind do when they saw these
invisible attributes of God? They sought to worship what they perceived. In other
words, mankind did exactly what they were supposed to do, and that is worship,
but they failed by worshipping the created rather than the Creator. Mankind failed
to see the invisible God and took what they could see and worshipped it instead.
The result was that God turned mankind over to the lusts of their heart. Mankind
failed! (Is it any different today? Hardly!)

Every human that has followed Adam has failed, even the greatest of Gods people.
Just look at the history of the men of God recorded in Scripture and you will see
men of great fleshly weakness. Who can argue that Ishmael, who came from the
loins of Abraham, was not a failure when we look at the daily crisis and the dark
clouds looming over the Middle East? Yet, through their failures, God triumphed
every step of the way and will yet triumph. Why? Because each failure revealed the
absolute futility of mans way and the absolute perfection of Gods way! It revealed
the very character of God in the midst of evil.

Until man comes to see the futility of living without God, there will be evil; there
will be darkness; there will be hatred; there will be war; and there will be death.
But God knows that all of mankind will not and cannot come to the
point of futility on their own. In other words, we (all of us) could never figure
it out on our own. Never! Just consider the 6,000-year history of mankind. We
could say that the last century and even the last few decades have been a techno-
logical miracle as mans genius has reached heights that have never been seen in
the 6,000 years of history. However, on a moral and righteous level mankinds
history is an abject failure. Man has not been able to overcome the evil heart of
man; he has not been able to dispel darkness; he has not been able to make a world
of total love for one another; he has not been able to govern righteously; he has not
been able to stop war; and, most of all, he has not been able to overcome death.
Simply, mankind has not been able to reach the heights of glory. All of this is in
spite of all the tremendous technological advances and enlightenment that have
203

occurred, even in the last one hundred years. Man is an abject failure when it
comes to his heart.

Have you considered the countless number of laws that governments put into
place in our age of great enlightenment? My home state just enacted 900 new laws.
Do you honestly think that all these laws are to allow us to have what we call free
will, as if we can exercise our will as we please and when we please? This is what
free will demands, and yet, none of us can truly exercise our will in this fashion.
Why are there laws? To constrain our will! We are constrained all the time. Dont
you think that the Almighty can constrain our will to win us over to His love?
Think about it!

The nati on of I sr ael.

Over 2,000 years after Adam failed, God brought forth a special creation, a specific
group of people that are called Gods people, the ancient nation of Israel according
to the flesh. Jehovah entered into a covenant relationship with His people, and
called them to be His wife and to be wed to the land of promise.

In His wisdom, God brought forth a nation chosen to be His nation above all the
nations of the earth, called out from among the nations as a peculiar people, the
apple of His eye and the wife of Jehovah. They were called to be above all the
nations, with the blessing of God flowing through them, a royal priesthood and a
holy nation set apart unto God. The nations were to learn of God and His ways
through them, and to know the blessing of God. If Israel was at peace with God,
then the nations of the world would be at peace as well.

But what happened? They failed and their glorious destiny came apart each step of
the way. It came apart at Mount Sinai as Moses was up on the mountain receiving
the commands of God; it came apart as they worshipped a golden calf; it came
apart as they approached the promised land and doubted God and listened to the
fear of man instead of holding to the promise; it came apart when they demanded
a king; it came apart when they joined themselves with the nations of the world
and became more vile and evil than the worst of the nations; it came apart when
they became adulterous whores running after other nations; it came apart when
they worshipped false idols; it came apart when they shook their fists at God and
declared they had no king but Caesar; and it came apart when they demanded the
crucifixion of their Messiah.

What a sordid history for Gods people! They have had a failed history, and yet God
called them out of Egypt to be His people. Why did they fail? Because they were
not given the ability to succeed! God did not put His spirit in them to lead them.
His spirit was in their midst (Isaiah 63.11; Haggai 2.5), so in many respects, they
were not equipped to do what God had commanded. He meant for them to fail, for
if He wanted to give them a better opportunity for success He could have had a
Pentecost in their day in which He poured out His spirit on them and filled them.
But God did not do this in order to fulfill His purpose.
204

Did God stop loving His people and not plan for their redemption? Of course not!
In the fullness of time, God sent His Son, the Messiah of Israel, to this earth. He is
called Jesus because He had a very specific mission.

Now she shall be bringing forth a Son, and you shall be calling His name
Jesus, for He shall be saving His people from their sins. (Matthew
1.21 CV)

At His first advent, did He succeed in saving His Jewish brethren from their sins?
Did they accept His offer? Absolutely not! Instead they made the most profane
demand that Gods people could ever makekill Gods Son.

Pilate is saying to them, What, then, shall I be doing with Jesus, who is
termed Christ? They are all saying, Let him be crucified! Yet the governor
averred, What evil does he? Yet they cried exceedingly, saying, Let him
be crucified! (Matthew 27.22-23 CV)

Can you imagine that this came from the mouth of Gods chosen nation? Perhaps it
is difficult to imagine, yet this was a fulfillment of Scripture.

To His own He came, and those who are His own accepted Him not. (John
1.11 CV)

Jesus did not save Israel according to the flesh at His first advent. Only a few were
saved from their sins; the rest remained against Gods Son; they remained in
darkness. He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, gave promise to the
poor, yet He was rejected. Jesus came to save His people, yet only a handful
repented and acknowledged that He is the Messiah. Worse yet, those He came to
save knew who He was (Matthew 21.38-39), and demanded that He be crucified
and His blood be on them and their children (Matthew 27.25).

Instead of embracing Him, the very ones He came to save demanded His death as
if He were a common criminal. He turned from being the Savior of His people to
being the Savior of the world, the Lamb slain for the sin of the world.

As the Savior of His people, why didnt He go all out to change their minds? From
all appearances, His ministry to His blood brethren was a failure, but it was a
failure according to Scripture. It is recorded that He spoke in parables, so that they
would not understand. He explained the parables only to a handful of those closest
to Him. Some were given light, but the majority was left in darkness.

It was Gods design for them to remain in darkness. In the divine drama (play) of
God, this act in Gods play outwardly was to be a failure. It was to be a tragedy.
Jesus mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel was not to succeed in that
day.

205

And, approaching, the disciples say to Him, Wherefore art Thou speaking in
parables to them? Now, answering, He said to them that To you has it
been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, yet
to those it has not been given. For anyone who has, to him shall be given,
and he shall have a superfluity. Yet anyone who has not, that also which he
has shall be taken away from him. Therefore in parables am I speaking to
them, seeing that, observing, they are not observing, and hearing, they are
not hearing, neither are they understanding. And filled up in them is the
prophecy of Isaiah, that is saying, In hearing, you will be hearing, and
may by no means be understanding, and observing, you will be
observing, and may by no means be perceiving. For stoutened is the
heart of this people, and with their ears heavily they hear, and with their eyes
they squint, lest at some time they may be perceiving with their eyes, and
with their ears should be hearing, and with their heart may be understanding,
and should be turning about, and I shall be healing them. (Matthew 13.10-
15 CV)

As the last act of this wicked eon is played out, those that call themselves Jews of
the state of Israel will be in apostasy, having aligned themselves with the nations
and merchants of the world, fully enmeshed in Babylon the great, the mother of
harlots and of the abominations of the earth (Revelation 17.5). No wonder Jesus
cried over Jerusalem. Surely, He not only looked back, but He looked forward to
what His people were, had become and yet will be.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem! who art killing the prophets and pelting with stones
those who have been dispatched to her! How many times do I want to
assemble your children in the manner a hen is assembling her brood under
her wings-and you will not! Lo! left is your house to you desolate.
(Matthew 23.37-38 CV)

There is only one conclusion that can be made: Jesus ministry to the ones He
came to deliver into His kingdom failed. He had to walk out of their house and
leave them. However, there is a huge difference in this failure. As the Son of God,
Jesus only did what the Father commanded. He only spoke what the Father spoke;
He only taught what the Father taught; and He only did what the Father did. When
He spoke parables with full expectation that the Israelites would not hear, this was
in the perfect will of His Father.

However, it still leaves us with the pressing question: Why did they have to fail so
miserably? Surely, God could have kept them from going into such apostasy. He
could have opened the eyes of their heart to understand. He could have spoken to
them in plain language. Surely, He could keep them from any future apostasy.
Then why didnt He do it? Why wont He do it? Be patient, we will get back to the
answer.

206

The embryoni c ecclesi a.

In Matthew, we see this failure over and over again. We even see His closest
disciples not understanding and Jesus having to rebuke them for lack of faith. The
few gentile proselytes brought into the picture seem to have had more faith than all
of Israel (Matthew 8.10; Luke 7.9). We see the disciples vying to be the greatest in
the kingdom and one who denies Him three times. Failure all about!

This small, motley group of twelve men became part of a mighty move of God on
the day of the Pentecost. As the tongues of fire fell upon them, they became
empowered to take the evangel of the kingdom to their fellow Israelite brethren.
However, they failed in their mission as well. They were unable to get their fellow
brethren to see that they had demanded the death of their Messiah and King. It is
true that on the day of Pentecost there was a mighty wind and many believed, but
it was a relatively small number, a remnant. The rest of the Israelites rejected the
message.

After Pentecost, some of the embryonic ecclesia, which was comprised mostly of
saints from among the circumcision, looked down upon the saints from among the
uncircumcision. They failed to see them as co-equals in Gods plan. They saw them
as proselytes that could only be blessed through them. Some of the leaders of the
believers from among the Jews wanted the believers from among the nations to
follow the traditions of Moses. It took the revelation given to Paul some years later
to open the eyes of saints to the truth of the one body in Christ.

Earnest of the spi ri t.

There are two important points that need to be understood regarding the ecclesia
that grew out of Pentecost in 33 AD that answer why the ecclesia has failed.

First, even though on the day of Pentecost the spirit of God was poured out upon
the ecclesia, it was only an earnest of the spirit that was received. During the
Pentecostal Age, those who have been given the faith of the Son of God to believe
have also been given an earnest of the spirit of God (2 Corinthians 1.22; 5.5;
Ephesians 1.14), which means that they have been given a taste of the spirit but not
the full anointing of the spirit. Consequently, they have not entered into the full
promise of God in His Son, and this involves a full anointing of the Holy Spirit;
therefore, they only have an earnest of the spirit in this eon.

Second, Pentecost was celebrated with leavened bread (Leviticus 23.17), which
indicates that God never intended for the Pentecostal Age to be a huge success.
Leaven is corruption, which has been manifested throughout this age as God has
called out a people to Himself. Thus, failure was built into the Pentecostal Age.
Similarly, this is seen in the parable of the leaven (Luke 13.21).

Now, this fact alone should humble us who are now in the ecclesia of God nearly
two millennia beyond Pentecost.
207

The pr esent ecclesi a.

Before throwing too many stones at our early brethren, we need to examine the
condition of the ecclesia in our own day to see if we are living in a glass house. Are
we any different from Israel or the first believers of the ecclesia that came forth at
Pentecost? Have we somehow figured out how not to fail? The body of Christ,
which is supposed to be joined to the living Head, started out holding to its Head,
but unfortunately it has progressively joined forces with the world. It has grown
into Christendom, something huge that has many heads and filled with doctrines
of demons.

Are we holding to the unity of the spirit? Have we attained to the unity of the faith
(Ephesians 4)? Are we truly ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5.18-21)? Have
we successfully embraced the word of the conciliation in our lives, or have we
fostered discord and dissent? Are we functioning as one body, or are we fractured
into countless splinters? Are we walking by faith, or have we fallen into the depths
of apostasy, even the depths of Satan? Are we separated from the evil world around
us, or have we joined forces with it? Are we different from the world, or are we like
the world?

Well, many questions of this sort could be asked, but what does Scripture tell us?

Now the spirit is saying explicitly, that in subsequent eras some will be
withdrawing from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and
the teachings of demons, in the hypocrisy of false expressions, their own
conscience having been cauterized; forbidding to marry, abstaining from
foods, which God creates to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who
believe and realize the truth, seeing that every creature of God is ideal and
nothing is to be cast away, being taken with thanksgiving, for it is hallowed
through the word of God and pleading. (1 Timothy 4.1-5 CV)

Now this know, that in the last days perilous periods will be present,
for men will be selfish, fond of money, ostentatious, proud, calumniators,
stubborn to parents, ungrateful, malign, without natural affection, implaca-
ble, adversaries, uncontrollable, fierce, averse to the good, traitors, rash, con-
ceited, fond of their own gratification rather than fond of God; having a form
of devoutness, yet denying its power. (2 Timothy 3.1-5 CV)

For the era will be when they will not tolerate sound teaching, but, their
hearing being tickled, they will heap up for themselves teachers in accord
with their own desires, and, indeed, they will be turning their hearing away
from the truth, yet will be turned aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4.3-4 CV)

How many of the Lords people today have turned aside to myths? Just consider
the myths surrounding hell, death, afterlife and soul immortality, to name a few
things that many hold to in these last days. They are doctrines of demons. Or, we
could add the Hollywood-type emphasis on end-time events and even the rap-
208

ture. To this we could add prosperity and blessing teaching, anointing oils, daily
prophecy over lives and seeking for miracles, to name a few more. What about
riches? The world seeks for wealth and so does Christendom. Has anyone thought
about Laodicea lately (Revelation 3.14-22)? Just consider the mass marketing of
Jesus through Christendoms publishing industry. It has become a great enterprise
motivated by profit. All one has to do is walk into almost any so-called Christian
bookstore in the United States to see this great marketing enterprise.

What about power? So many today are looking for the miraculous, the signs and
the wonders. They are looking for manifestations of power. It should remind us of
when the disciples wanted to call fire down upon a Samaritan village that did not
receive Jesus, on account of which Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9.54-55).

Can anyone argue the fact that today there is so much diverse and contrary
teaching being given in the name of Jesus that it leaves ones head spinning trying
to decipher what is true and what is false? To make matters worse, many preachers
claim they are preaching the word, and the unsuspecting pew sitters or radio and
television listeners do not know if it is the word or not, because they have not
studied the word to prove it.

When a pastor tells his congregation that they must tithe to him otherwise they
will be cursed, then we must run out of the house of Babylon. When a preacher
tells his audience that billions are going to an eternal hell to be tortured and
everyone claps their hands in glee, then something is dreadfully wrong. When the
resurrection and transfiguration are put on the back burner of most teaching and
people are told that when they die they go straight to heaven, receive their reward
and are with Jesus for eternity, then something is amiss, for according to Scripture
our hope is in the resurrection and transfiguration, and this is totally dependent on
the presence of the Lord. When preachers say that they are preaching the word,
what they are actually doing is taking words from the sacred Scriptures and
pulling them together to tell a story that matches their tradition or interpretative
bias. It is a mosaic of words to paint a picture that they have in mind, but not
necessarily what the spirit of God has inspired.

I am not casting stones at my brethren in Christ who hold views contrary to
Scripture (or, mine for that matter), for I too have held many of these views and
even this day am trying to rid myself of baggage that has accumulated over many
years. I am not there yet, but I keep pressing on in pursuit of the truth. It is far too
easy to accept a teaching that sounds right, and yet it is from Satans tool bag or
from our own carnal minds that never rise above the dust of the earth. We need to
remind ourselves that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and where is
this disguise most manifested? In the doctrine or teaching of Christendom!

It is Babel and the doctrines of demons found in spiritual Babylon, the counterfeit
to the spiritual Jerusalem of God. What are we to do? Come of her My people
(Revelation 18.4)! We must not allow ourselves to give in to the temptation to
accept that which tickles or pleases our ear. We must press on in the word of God,
209

seeking for His truth that will truly set us free, and not leave us in bondage or lead
us into apostasy.

For many years I have been crying out to know the truth. When I share this with
some, I am greeted with disdain rather than encouragement. There are so many
interpretations of Scripture that Gods people have long discarded the thought that
God has absolute, spiritual truth, and they have bought into the relativism of the
world. After all, they say that it is good to have many views of the same Scriptures.
It makes us well-rounded! I dont care to be well-rounded, which to me is like
saying I want to be fat; I want to know the truth. Besides, they say: No one man
has a lock on the truth. How can you expect to come into it? According to this
thinking we might as well leave our Bibles on our coffee tables as dust collectors.

When you challenge some traditional, institutionalized teaching, such as billions
upon billions of lost humanity being thrust into an eternal oven to be toasted for
ever and ever with no chance of reprieve, you are given a book or a paper by some
well-known commentator who refutes the salvation or reconciliation of all, as if he
is the last word on the matter. In fact, this has happened to me twice on the matter
of God is the Savior of all mankind, and the eventual salvation of all mankind. I
was directed to the same article written by the same author by one person in the
United States, and then a few months later, a person in Europe directed me to the
same article. I guess this particular commentator must be right since I was given
two witnesses from two continents. Hardly! The one writing the article created a
god in the image of the worst torturers, and then said that it is the justice of God.
God is love has been rejected as the one truth that explains it all.

Cutti ng the word of truth.

Consider the great lack of sound teaching in our day. Who is heeding Pauls
exhortation to Timothy?

Have a pattern of sound words, which you hear from me, in faith and
love which are in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1.13 CV)

A sound pattern is more than taking words and piecing them together to support
ones position or message that one wants to sell to the people. It is holding to the
proper framework of Scripture. It is like a puzzle with every piece of the puzzle
being framed together until the whole picture comes into view. To do this, there
needs to be a correct cutting of the word.

Endeavor to present yourself to God qualified, an unashamed worker,
correctly cutting the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2.15 CV)

To get the puzzle pieces, we need to cut the word in such a way that it will form the
proper picture; otherwise, the pieces will never fit, and we will have to force them
together. Have you ever tried to force the pieces of a puzzle together that do not
fit? The result is that the picture does not look right when we are done, or worse
210

yet, we are not able to finish the puzzle. We end up with an incomplete picture.
This is what some, who love the Lord, are unwittingly doing in our day.

I am reminded of my father who recently died (and now awaits the resurrection).
When he could not fit puzzle pieces together, he would take his pocket knife and
cut the pieces to fit. This is not the type of cutting that Paul meant. Essentially, my
dad was destroying the puzzle. This is exactly what many preachers do when they
do not cut the word properly; they take words and cut them to fit, but they do not
fit. If we are honest with one another, most all of us have done this to some degree,
and many do it all the time without any hesitation.

When this is done, the whole picture or framework of Scripture is ruined, and
worse, something that is not even logical is created. If many of the preachers today
would step back and logically analyze what they are saying, they would discover
that they make no sense and contradict Scripture after Scripture.

There is another analogy to be made with a puzzle, and that pertains to losing a
piece of the puzzle. If a piece is lost, then the picture cannot be completed. The
same thing happens with the word if we leave out pieces that help to properly
frame Gods purpose and plan. And this is what is done so often, particularly with
words that are difficult to fit in the puzzle. They are often ignored altogether.

We need to be seekers of the truth of Scripture, not merely of the words of Scrip-
ture. We need to keep searching and when a piece does not fit, rather than forcing
it into our mindset or our traditions and biases, or leaving it out completely, we
need to examine it carefully to see why it does not fit.

All of this is to state the obvious: There is as much failure today throughout
Christendom as there was for Israel. Probably, the biggest difference is not so
much in the content of the failure but in the packaging of it. With all the glitz and
marketing of this day and age, the failure is easier to hide and gloss over. But be
assured, it is failure.

Apostasy must come, and it has come. Falling away from the faith must come, and
it has come. Following after doctrines of demons must come, and it has come. Not
cutting the word properly must come, and it has come. The era when they will not
tolerate sound teaching, but, their hearing being tickled, they will heap up for
themselves teachers in accord with their own desires, and, indeed, they wi ll be
tur ni ng thei r hear i ng away fr om the tr uth, yet wi ll be tur ned asi de to
myths must come, and it has come.

Systemati zi ng of the decepti on.

Dear brethren, we have played a fools game with Gods word by failing to dig for
Gods truth and instead have accepted the traditions of men that came along after
the embryonic ecclesias passed off the stage of history, and even worse, we have
211

made up our own interpretations to satisfy the flesh in which there is no good
(Romans 7.18).

According to Paul, the body of Christ is to mature until we attain to the unity
of the faith and of the realization of the son of God, to a mature man, to the
measure of the stature of the complement of the Christ, that we may by no
means still be minors, surging hither and thither and being carried about by
every wind of teaching, by human caprice, by craftiness with a view to
the systematizing of the deception (Ephesians 4.13-14 CV).

Only an adversary could devise a way to systematize the deception. This has been
one of Satans greatest achievements. He has not only succeeded in taking what is
false but in taking it and packaging it into a systematic framework and then pass-
ing it off as the truth of Scripture. It appears as light but at its very core is dark-
ness. Many of Gods people have been hooked into this systematizing of the de-
ception. I confess that at times in my life I have, so I only have the greatest
amount of compassion on my brethren who write and teach in this day.

Systematizing is not merely accepting something false; it is building an entire
framework based on a deception, so that everything is seen through this deception.
For example, if it is held that every believer immediately goes to heaven in death,
then this becomes a framework by which all other Scripture related to such things
as death, life, soul, resurrection and judgment is explained. When Paul wrote that
he would rather be out of the body and at home with the Lord, such a framework
holds that Paul taught that when a believer dies he goes to heaven immediately,
which is contrary to Pauls expectation of the out-resurrection (Philippians 3.11).
The result is that the one thing that is essential to the hope of believers is
systematically put in a lower place of importance, ignored or distorted.

What is the result of this systematizing of the deception? Gods people are not
growing up in Christ. They are minors, babes in Christ, not mature saints. They are
carnal, not spiritual. They see most things through the lens of the world and its
system (kosmos) in which they live. They lack spiritual vision. This systematizing
can be likened to putting a frog in a pot of water over a fire. At first, the water is
lukewarm which is soothing to the creature, and it is lulled to sleep. When the
water gets to the boiling point, the damage has been done, and it is too late for the
frog to jump out of the water. In like fashion, some of Gods people are being
bathed in lukewarm teaching. They are laughing and clapping at teaching that is
failing them, and they do not know it. Praise God; He locks up all together, so who
of us can cast a stone at our brethren? Let us pray continually for the eyes of our
heart, as well as all of our brethren to be enlightened.

What are we to conclude? Failure is written across all the people that God has
called and chosen. Failure is written across all mankind and its history.

212

God locks up all i n stubbor nness.

This leads to the answer to the pressing question of why. Why would God allow
this to happen, even to that which holds to the name of His Son on this earth? This
leads us back to this matter of stubbornness.

For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be
merciful to all. (Romans 11.32 CV)

Do you understand the greatness of these words? In the context of Pauls epistle,
we might be tempted to think that the locking up is only for Israel, but they are
only part of the equation. All the nations (gentiles) are locked up as well, which
includes the rest of mankind, even us who once were stubborn toward God. All
have been stubborn, and all will be shown mercy. All, from the beginning to the
end, from Adam to the last child born of the human race during the eons, must be
locked up for God to reach His end and fulfill His purpose, so that no one can boast
in self but in God alone who is merciful to all.

If any of us could reach Gods end by our own might without any failure, then we
would take the glory for ourselves. We would consider ourselves better than all the
others who failed. Even the body of Christ would do this and, in fact, is doing it in
this day. Just consider the glee that seems to emanate from some circles of believ-
ers at the grotesque notion that the lost are roasting in an eternal fire. It is as if
they are saying: We made the right choice, so we deserve heaven. You made the
wrong choice, so you deserve hell; its your own fault. Burn brother!

Let us restate these words. God locks up all, leaving all in a place of stubbornness
(unpersuadable), so that all will receive His mercy, and all will be included in His
grand purpose and plan, and all will give the glory to God. Let us state this in
another way: No one will fail to receive His mercy; no one will be left out of His
grand purpose and plan; and no one will take glory for himself. It is to the glory of
God. O, the wisdom of God.

O, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How
inscrutable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways! For, who knew the
mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser? or, who gives to Him first,
and it will be repaid Him? seeing that out of Him and through Him and for
Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans 11.33-36 CV)

Who knew, who became, who gives? The answer is the God of all!

The key to our understanding is the word all, which means that nothing is left out.
In Gods wisdom, all must fail; all must be locked up in disobedience and
stubbornness, so that all will come to Gods end. Do you get it? All will come to
Gods end, to His purpose!

213

There is no other way for God to reach His end. What is His end? It is that He will
be All in all! He locks up all for all. How can God be all if He annihilates billions of
His human creations in the second death or leaves them to be tormented and
tortured in literal flames of fire forever and ever? Think about it!

Out of Him and through Him and for Him is all.

To most people, these words probably have been lost in a sea of confusion. There
are three clauses in this verse.

First, all is out of God. Everything comes forth from God; nothing, absolutely
nothing in His creation comes out of any other source but God. He is the Supreme,
and all comes out of Him, including the adversary.

Second, all is through God. Everything that is and that happens must come
through God; nothing, absolutely nothing that happens in His creation can come
through any other source but God. He is the Supreme, and all is through Him.

Third, all is for Him. Everything in His entire creation is for Him; nothing,
absolutely nothing in His creation is for any other purpose but God. He is the
Supreme, and all is for Him.

How can mankind come to know this great truth and come into the experience of it
without experiencing failure? Mankind needs a contrast of who God truly is so that
they will know Him, love Him and serve Him, not out of obligation but out of true
love and adoration. In the day that God is All in all, all mankind will know God and
failure will be no more. God does not fail!

So, we must conclude that the first Adam failed; the ancients that followed failed;
the nation of Israel has failed and will fail; the nations and governments of the
world have failed and will fail; and Christendom has failed and will fail.

The end from the begi nni ng.

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things
which have not been done, Saying, My purpose will be established,
and I will accomplish all My good pleasure. (Isaiah 46.10 NASB)

Dear beloved brethren, our God has told us the end from the beginning. His pur-
pose is to be All in all, and nothing will stop Him from becoming All. His purpose
has been established, and He will accomplish it.

The Creator, the Potter.

Have you ever wondered why God would harden the heart of Pharaoh or even take
an unbelieving king like Cyrus and make him His anointed?

214

And the LORD hardened Pharaohs heart, and he did not listen to
them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses. (Exodus 9.12 NASB)

Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the
right hand, to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings; to
open doors before him so that gates will not be shut. (Isaiah 45.1 NASB)

Paul gives the clearest answer to this question in all Scripture.

Just as it is written, JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED. What shall we
say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He
says to Moses, I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I
WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION. So then it
does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but
on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, FOR THIS
VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN
YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT
THE WHOLE EARTH. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He
hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, Why does He still
find fault? For who resists His will? On the contrary, who are you, O
man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder,
Why did you make me like this, will it? Or does not the potter have a
right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for
honorable use and another for common use? (Romans 9.13-21 NASB)

Let us consider Pauls argument as presented.

First, Esau is brought into the picture to make the point that God is not unjust in
His determinations. At first glance, we might think that it was, in fact, justice that
Esau was disqualified; after all, he sold his birthright for food. But there is
something else behind the Lords rejection of Esau.

Second, mercy is brought back in by quoting the Lord Himself. The Lord will have
mercy on whomever He will have mercy. In other words, God calls the shots, not
man when it comes to His mercy.

Third, mans condition does not depend on mans will or the man who runs, but on
God who has mercy. The word run refers to the course that man is on as if on a
race course. Notice, Paul again emphasizes but God, which is the same wording as
for God.

Fourth, simply, God will harden hearts as He sees fit to accomplish His purpose.
He raises up and He tears down to demonstrate His power, not for the sake of a
show of force but because He has a purpose.

Fifth, Paul asks: Who can resist the will of God? This is a mighty pregnant
statement that needs to give birth in our hearts. No man can resist the will of God.
215

If we accept this as the truth, which we had better, then it answers the question of
the salvation of all mankind. It is Gods will to save all. Consequently, whose will is
strong enough to resist Gods purpose to save all mankind; eventually, even the
ones whose hearts He hardens must yield to the will of God.

Sixth, God is the Potter and mankind is the clay pot. The Creator has the right to
make one vessel a vessel of honor and another for common use. Has the created
any right to question the Creator? As the Creator, God has responsibility for His
creation. He made it, and He must keep it. It is not in the will of man to have
responsibility for his ultimate destiny. God creates and calls forth vessels of honor
and dishonor with purpose. After all, let us not forget that He is the God of the
living. What is death and failure to the God who sees the end from the beginning?
He alone has determined the course of events, as well as the outcome.

In light of the Potter, consider Pharaoh whose heart was hardened by the Lord. Do
we not think that after a few plagues that Pharaoh was willing to let Gods people
go? Surely, he must have thought to himself that enough is enough, but God had
another plan that dealt with the heart of the sons of Israel and the Christ that
would come 1,500 years later. So God hardened Pharaohs heart. Does this seem
just for one who might have been willing to listen and obey? It is just if we know
that God is just; and that He will settle all accounts with men in a just and
righteous way at the great white throne. Thrusting Pharaoh into an eternal hell for
something that God ordained is hardly justice.

Seventh, all this is necessary so that Gods word will not fail (Romans 9.6), for
when His word goes forth it does not turn back; it accomplishes all that it was
intended to accomplish.

At this point, let us turn to the cross, for it is here that all comes together. It is here
that all failure is remedied, and it is here that all mankind is saved. Did you grasp
these words? All mankind is saved!

The absolute success of the Cross.

We know that the world does not acknowledge the cross for what it truly means. To
the world, it is a failure. Christ is merely one of many men who left their mark on
the world, but He is in the grave like all the others or perhaps in some after-life
state, depending on which pagan view one holds.

If we look at the cross of Calvary from the eyes of man, the cross seems to be a
failure. Others he saves! Himself he can not save! If he is king of Israel, let him
descend now from the cross, and we will believe on him! (Matthew 27.42 CV).

He came to save His brethren but He could not, for they were in unbelief; and at
the crucial hour, He could not even save Himself from death. From mankinds
view, it would appear to be utter failure again for mankind; the Second Man had
failed. Mankinds view is always distorted through the lens of sin and death.
216

But praise God; it is Gods view that matters; the view from the heavenly throne of
grace and mercy; the view of Him from whom all flows. It was all in His perfect
plan and according to His purpose; the One Who is operating all in accord with
the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1.11 CV).

Let men say that Christ could not save Himself or that God abandoned Him, as if
the power of death would forever hold Him in its mighty grip; but Scripture says
that God raised His Son from the dead, for it was not possible for death to hold
Him. Please understand that on the cross the Son of God DIED! He did not fake it;
He did not avoid it; and He did not spend three days in the torture chamber called
hell. He died as all men die, and He was raised from the dead by His Father, as all
men will be raised by the Father.

Men! Israelites! Hear these words: Jesus, the Nazarene, a Man demonstrated
to be from God for you by powerful deeds and miracles and signs, which God
does through Him in the midst of you, according as you yourselves are
awareThis One, given up in the specific counsel and foreknowledge of God,
you, gibbeting by the hand of the lawless, assassinate, Whom God
raises, loosing the pangs of death, forasmuch as it was not possible for Him
to be held by it. (Acts 2.22-24 CV)

Let it be shouted from the rooftops and the pulpits of every so-called church
building that bears the name of Christ: The death of Gods Son on the cross
is an absolute, unequivocal 100% success according to the counsel of
Gods will!

Most preachers would probably agree that the cross is an absolute success.
Unfortunately, their preaching often does not reflect this great truth, for they place
exceptions in the finished work of the cross that today extends to all mankind
without exception. What has resulted throughout the Christian world? The result
is that the majority of the body of Christ believes that the cross was a failure? If
this does not raise a reaction from you, then you must be spiritually asleep or dead.

To a majority of believers, the cross is an absolute success for them because they
made a commitment to Christ. However, it is not a success for the rest of man-
kind, for they did not make this commitment. In other words, the cross is a success
with limits, with exceptions, for the success of the cross ultimately depends on
man. So that there is no misunderstanding, I reject this line of thinking.

Stand in the pulpits of today and proclaim that Christ has saved all mankind with-
out exception, and you will most likely be severed from that group of believers or
be ignored to the point that you must leave. The big lie is that just like death is not
really death but life, so all is not really all but all with exceptions. In the garden,
the serpent told Eve not to die shall you be dying (Genesis 3.4 CV). In more plain
English, the serpent said that mankind would not die, and today innumerable be-
lievers have also come to accept this lie. After all, many people see death as not
really death but merely as an immediate portal into another existence in heaven or
217

in hell. This is a lie! By the same token, the word all is not seen as an all-inclusive
word. It is all with billions of exceptions. In fact, all is not even some but a few in
the minds of many. They have very few saved and the majority lost in a fiery oven
to be tormented with no chance of escape.

Paul wrote: We are working for the good of all, yet specially for the family of faith
(Galatians 6.10 CV). Why would he make such a statement if all were not included
in Gods purpose and plan? Surely, he could have simply stated that they were
working for all of the family of faith, but he did not state this. Paul worked for the
good of all because he knew that the cross was an absolute success for all.

The most grotesque systematizing of the deception has occurred in relation to the
effectiveness of the cross, and many have embraced this deception to the point that
brethren who challenge this deception are told they are going to hell. This in
itself is a sad commentary on the failure of Gods people.

This is how the deception goes. Adam successfully caused death and sin to enter
through into all mankind. There is no exception for any born of Adams race, which
includes all mankind. In other words, Adams one transgression was an absolute
success in bringing death and sin unto all mankind, and those born of Adams race
have no choice in the matter. If they are born of man, they must die as man. Now,
this is true.

However, when it comes to Christs one act of righteousness, it is an entirely differ-
ent matter. As the deception goes, Christs one act of righteousness potentially
leads to life for all, only if one believes on his own volition (free will). In other
words, man has a choice in the matter, and unfortunately, most men will not make
the choice while in the body, so they will die in their sin and be forever lost. By
some accounts there are perhaps 50 billion humans now being tormented in hell.
Is there something odd about this reasoning? Mankind has no choice in the matter
of death and sin but now must make a choice in the matter of life. Mankind had no
free will in becoming a sinner and ultimately facing death but now has a free will to
determine his destiny in heaven or in hell. Does this make any sense to you? Isnt it
rather strange that billions upon billions of people, who had the spirit of life
breathed into them, made a free will choice to die and have rejected Gods promise
of life? Why is it that the majority of mankind (not the minority) has chosen, ac-
cording to their own free will, not to go the way of life? Isnt it far more logical that
if mans free will were operative in the matter of salvation that most of all mankind
would choose to live? After all, most of mankind seems to fear death. When we fear
something we generally desire to stay away from that thing. Think about it!

Consider this question: Why is Adams one transgression more successful (in a bad
sense) than Christs one righteous act (in a good sense)? Has God ultimately
failed? Is God not able to save all mankind? Did He make the ultimate sacrifice
knowing that billions of His creatures, made to be perfected into His own image,
are going to be cast into a fiery lake to be tormented forever? God is the Supreme
218

and all comes out of Him, through Him and for Him is all. Are we to conclude that
it is His will that there are exceptions to His all?

Dear brethren, open your hearts to Gods love and search Scripture to see if this is
in fact true. If it is true, then we must conclude that God has failed and the cross
was not able to undo all that Adam did. Now, some will argue that it is mans
failure, not Gods, but it is not, for if man fails to reach Gods end, it is God who
fails. Man is helpless in his sin, so why do we make man a hero in his
own salvation, as if he can save himself?

So that no one takes these words wrongly, please understand that I am stating
that, according to Scripture, this matter of Christs death potentially saving
mankind is a deception of the highest order. Even worse, it has been woven into
the very teaching of Christendom until it has become a systematized deception.

I realize that these are serious allegations, but let us turn to Gods word with an
open heart and see what is revealed. To do this, we must accept that the word all
means exactly all, and not all with exceptions or all with some excluded.

One of the greatest deceptions that has been systematized involves the word all.
Just as death does not mean death to most people, the word all does not mean all
but something less.

Only i n Chr i st.

Before proceeding further, there is a very dangerous counterfeit that we must
guard against that states all mankind will eventually find favor with God, but there
are many ways to this favor, only one of which is through Gods Son. This must be
rejected. There is only one way to God, and that is through His Son who
is the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection, and the Life. Apart from Christ,
there will be no favor with God. In this eon, we must be saved by grace through
faith, the faith of the Son of God.

Let us not forget the CROSS!

Today, many Christians see the state of Israel of our day as Gods chosen people
that will lead the nations to God and bring peace on earth. This Israel is an
apostate nation in unbelief. They reject Christ as their Messiah. They are enemies
of the cross! There is only one way for them to come out of the fire of persecution,
and that is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Today, their eyes are blinded,
but one day many Jews will see. We must guard ourselves from thinking the Israel
(according to the flesh) that we see in the land of Palestine, constituted as it is
today, is the called and chosen nation of God. They are a nation in fulfillment of
Scripture; but they are a nation of the world [leaves] (Matthew 24.32) that has yet
to bear any fruit for the kingdom of God; they are fruitless (Matthew 21.43).
However, this does not mean that there will never be an Israel, for truly there is an
219

Israel of God that will emerge in the oncoming eons (Galatians 6.16; Revelation
7.4; 21.12).

Nevertheless, we must be reminded that there is only one body and one Spirit; one
hope, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through
all and in all (see Ephesians 4.4-6). In Christ, there is no Jew or Gentile according
to the flesh. Jews according to the flesh have yet to heed the word of the Lord
through Jeremiah: Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskin of
your heart (Jeremiah 4.4 NASB). May their eyes be opened to this truth! Paul
confirms this truth in his Romans epistle.

But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which
is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from
men, but from God. (Romans 2.29 NASB)

Let us not forget that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the comple-
ment (fullness) of the nations has come in (Romans 11.25). Their failure is riches
for the world (Romans 11.12). But God has purposed their failure!

Now, to bring this essential matter into focus, consider the following contrasts.

All saved i n thei r own er a.

Let some say that only a few will receive the mercy of God because they made a
decision for Christ; but Scripture says God locks up all to give mercy to all.

For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful
to all. (Romans 11.32 CV)

God is going to shower His mercy on all because He has shut up or locked up all.
Whom do you want to exclude from this all?

Let some say that only those who make a free-will decision for Christ will be
drawn to Christ; but Scripture says that all will be drawn to Christ.

And I, if I should be exalted out of the earth, shall be drawing all to
Myself. (John 12.32 CV)

Was Christ exalted, which refers to the manner of His death? Of course, He was.
Then what are we to conclude? There is only one conclusion, and that is, He will
draw all to Himself. It does not say that He will draw all at the same time, but He
will draw all eventually. It also does not state that He will draw only all mankind. It
states that He will draw all, which is an all-encompassing drawing that has to
include all of mankind, all of the messengers and all of Gods creation. Nothing is
left out of this drawing. It is universal!

220

Actually, the word draw in the Greek is best translated with the word drag, which
gives a stronger meaning to this verse. Jesus will drag all unto Himself. There is a
force to this word that implies that if necessary Christ will drag all to Himself just
like a magnet drags metal to itself. Once the magnetic field gets hold of a certain
type of metal object, the object has no choice but to be caught by the magnet.
Christ will eventually catch all.

Let some say that God is the Savior of only relatively few of mankind, those called
believers; but Scripture says that God is the Savior of all mankind.

We rely on the living God, Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially
of believers. These things be charging and teaching. (1 Timothy 4.10-11 CV)

Scripture does not state that God is the Savior of believers only. He is the Savior
especially of believers in this eon, for they are the ones who are called out to enjoy
the celestial allotment. However, it does not state that they are the only ones who
will be ultimately saved. All mankind is included.

Let some say that all will not be saved; but Scripture says that God wills that all be
saved.

Our Savior, God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a
realization of the truth. (1 Timothy 2.3-4 CV)

Consider how the King James states this verse: For this is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior; Who wi ll have all men to be saved, and to come
unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2.3-4 KJV)

God our Savior Who will have all men to be saved is a mighty powerful affirmation
of Gods will. Unfortunately, many translations use the words wishes, desires and
wants, as if God is begging mankind to be saved. This is gross interpretative bias to
maintain the false doctrine that man has a free will in the matter of his salvation.

Do you think that God sent His Son to this earth to die on a wish, a want or a
desire to save mankind? It is as if God said to His Son: Well, Son, I am not sure
this plan is going to work, but I desire for it to work. At any rate, You go down
there and be totally humiliated and suffer an agonizing death, and lets see what
happens. Perhaps mankind will respond to our gesture of love. What kind of
Savior would He be if His vicarious death were not an absolute, perfect success to
save all mankind? Let us keep in mind that it is God who devised this plan
of salvation, not man. If we devised it, at best it would be a wish or a desire. But
for God it is an entirely different matter. Do we not think that Gods will can and
will trump mans will. Why? Because He sent the Savior of the world to die for all
the sin of the world! Why? Because God loves the world! Why? Because God wills
that all mankind eventually will be conformed to the image of His Son.

221

God wills, not man, not preachers. Who will cancel out Gods will? Will man cancel
it out? Will man reverse Gods will? If God wills it, then how can we say that it will
not happen? It must happen because it is in Gods will that all be saved.

Let some say that God is holding all mankinds offenses against them; but
Scripture says that God is not reckoning their offenses against them.

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving
us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, concili-
ating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and
placing in us the word of the conciliation. (2 Corinthians 5.18-19 CV)

God is not reckoning mankinds offenses to them. He has conciliated the world to
Himself. Is the world only made up of believers? Of course not!

Let some say that the blood of the cross was only for those who believe; but
Scripture says that God has reconciled all, having made peace through the blood of
His cross.

Through Him to reconcile all to Him, making peace through the blood of
His cross. (Colossians 1.20 CV)

The blood of His cross has brought peace to all, which includes not only mankind
but all Gods creatures, including His messengers. Who of mankind is excluded
from this peace? Do we exclude the vilest sinner, as if Christs blood could not
reconcile such a one to God? Again, it does not say that all are reconciled at the
same time, just that all are reconciled.

If you dont believe that the vilest sinner can and will be saved according to the will
of God and not the will of man, consider Paul the foremost among sinners, who
became our apostle. By Pauls own account he was the chief among sinners. He was
not trying to be humble but was stating a fact. He was the worst of the worst. He
persecuted the risen Christ, the Son of God. How do we know this? Because Jesus
declared so as He blinded Saul on the road to Damascus! Consider Pauls testi-
mony.

And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto
me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. (Acts 22.7-8 KJV)

Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1.15 ASV)

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews religion, how
that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.
(Galatians 1.13 KJV)

222

I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding both men and
women and throwing them into prison. (Acts 22.4 WNT) [But Saul, yet
breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went
unto the high priest. (Acts 9.1 ASV)]

And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to
blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them
even unto strange cities. (Acts 26.11 KJV)

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15.9 KJV)

This was not a man who was trying to gloss over his accountability for his actions.
No; this was a man who was rightly judging himself. Persecuting the ecclesia of
God was persecuting the risen Christ Himself. Paul even compelled his brethren to
blaspheme! This was a most serious and egregious offense. No wonder Paul saw
himself as the chief among sinners and the least of the apostles. Yet, the Lord
chose this persecutor and overwhelmed his ignorance and unbelief, and not only
saved him but put him into the most glorious service anyone has ever been given in
the ecclesia of God. Paul alone is proof that God will save the vilest sinner, not
because of his free will choice but because God wills it so.

Let some say that billions will end up in an eternal torture chamber, dead, yet
alive; but Scripture says that all are dying, yet shall all be made alive.

For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be
vivified [made alive]. (1 Corinthians 15.22 CV) Life to all!

Who can argue that in Adam all are dying? Look around you; who is not dying? Do
believers never experience death? Of course not, for we all die. But notice that in
Christ shall all be made alive. Now, some will argue that this means once you
believe you are in Christ and then you are made alive. But that is not what this
states. As he did in his Romans epistle, Paul was contrasting the two positions of
mankind. All mankind, including believers, find themselves in Adam in relation to
death, for all die. Consequently, all mankind ultimately must find themselves in
Christ, for shall all be vivified. The wording is very important. Paul revealed the
truth that all are dying and shall all be made alive. Death came through Adam to
all; life will come through Christ to all.

Do not be deceived; there is only one way for all mankind to be saved and to be
made alive, and that is through Christ; He is the only way.

Let some say that Adams one sin brought death to all, but Christs death only
potentially brought life to all; but Scripture says that Christs death overcame one
mans sin and brings life to all mankind, without exception.

223

For if, by the offense of the one, the many died, much rather the grace of God
and the gratuity in grace, which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the
many superabounds. Through one offense for all mankind for
condemnation, thus also ... through one just award for all mankind for
lifes justifying. (Romans 5.15, 18 CV)

Because of the offense of one, the many died. Through the grace of God through
one, the many shall be justified. Now some will argue that the many does not
include all. However, Adam plus the many equals all mankind, and Christ plus the
many equals all mankind. Adam and Christ stand out as unique among mankind;
therefore, they are one and the rest are many. Further, Paul went on to define the
many as all mankind.

Who is excluded from all mankind? Who will not receive lifes justifying? One
offense led to condemnation for all mankind, and one just award will result in life
for all mankind. How can anyone refute Gods use of the word all?

Let some say that only a few were ransomed; but Scripture says that Christ is the
correspondent Ransom for all, each in their own time.

For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ
Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all (the testi-
mony in its own eras). (1 Timothy 2.5-6 CV)

Christ is giving Himself as a correspondent Ransom for allnot some, not a few,
but all. But notice that it is not all at the same time. The testimony is in its own
eras, which means that all will not benefit from this at the same time, but all will
eventually benefit, even if from the first to the last of the recipients of Gods mercy
and grace there are 2,000 years or more.

The word of God locks up all together under sin, so that each in its own era may be
released by faith. Today, the promise is for those who are believing.

But the scripture locks up all together under sin, that the promise out of
Jesus Christs faith may be given to those who are believing. Now before the
coming of faith we were garrisoned under law, being locked up all together
for the faith about to be revealed. (Galatians 3.22-23 CV)

Let some say that Christ could not save His brethren from their sins; but Scripture
says that all Israel shall be saved.

For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren, lest you
may be passing for prudent among yourselves, that callousness, in part, on
Israel has come, until the complement of the nations may be entering. And
thus all Israel shall be saved, according as it is written, Arriving out of
Zion shall be the Rescuer. He will be turning away irreverence from Jacob.
224

And this is my covenant with them whenever I should be eliminating their
sins. (Romans 11.25-27 CV)

Who of the Israelites is to be left out? Some will not enter the joy of the Messianic
kingdom, for these ones will not be forgiven for this eon (wicked eon) and the next
eon (Messianic kingdom), but Scripture does not say that they will never be
forgiven for their sin of blasphemy (Matthew 12.31-32). Their chastening is for a
long season (i.e., they remain dead, not tortured), but not for eternity, for some
will face the purging fire of the second death to perfect them and make them ready
to enter into the glory of God. This is the mercy of God.

Let some say that all will not be saved; but again Scripture says that all will be
saved but in their own order and time.

And each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ [anointed firstfruit],
afterwards those who are the Christs, in his presence, thenthe end, when
he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made
useless all rule, and all authority and power. (1 Corinthians 15.23-24 YLT
[literal])

Christ stands alone as the Firstfruit that rose from among the dead. He is the
Firstfruit of those who are dead. This happened about 2,000 years ago. With the
first resurrection, a company of conquerors will rise from among the dead as
anointed firstfruits. At the end of the millennial reign of Christ, the remaining dead
will rise to be judged at the great white throne. Believers that did not conquer in
life and unbelievers will appear before the throne. Thereafter, or after this eon,
there will be the consummation when Christ gives up the kingdom to the Father.

Let some say that death will keep the unbelievers forever in its grip; but Scripture
says that death will be abolished.

For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under
His feet. The last enemy is being abolished: death. (1 Corinthians
15.25-26 CV)

The first death will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death (see
Revelation 20.14). So which death is abolished? Death is death, whether it is the
first type of death (of the body) or the second type of death (of works). As long as
death exists, Christ cannot give up the kingdom to God the Father. He must defeat
all types of death in order for God to be All in all. When does this occur? It occurs
at the consummation. Before mankind moves beyond the eons as we know them,
all the resurrected dead that will appear at the great white throne eventually must
be purified, that is, purged of all dross, imperfections and evil, through spiritual
fire, so that God is All in all. The fire is not for torture but for purifying. God is
spirit, and God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12.29). The lake of fire is a spiritual,
consuming fire designed to save billions and billions of lost people, not to destroy
225

them. It is the spiritual and moral law of God, which is His word, for His voice
hews out flames of fire (Psalm 29.7 NASB).

This leads to the conclusion of the matter. It brings us to the very purpose of the
eons, and it answers why God allowed all the failure.

All i n all.

Let some say that God is not after all and will not have all; but Scripture says God
will be All in all.

For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is
subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him. Now,
whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be
subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all. (1
Corinthians 15.27-28 CV)

This is the end to which God is driving mankind with all its failures. It is
accomplished in His Son, who has not and will not fail. Christ Jesus must rule until
He has subjected all to Himself, and He willingly subjects Himself to the Father, so
that God may be All in all.

What does it mean that God may be All in all? It means that God fills His entire
creation with Himself. He is all, and He is in all. It does not mean that mankind
somehow becomes absorbed in God and ceases to be. No; it means that God
becomes all to all His creatures. The love of God will so fill the creation that He will
be the true Father of all. All His creation will be related as one family under God.
All mankind will be in the image of the Son of God. All mankind will have been
built into Gods spiritual house, a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place of God
in the Spirit (Ephesians 2.21-22). Love will fill all, and all will love and adore Him.
There will be a sweet sound of love and adoration filling all of creation.

God locks up all together, so that no one will be able to boast in himself. When all
arrive in glory, the boast will be God is love. No one will have deserved the favor of
God in that day; but all will receive it.

Those who arrived first will embrace all who come through the purging fire of God
when all is consummated. All mankind will be related, for all will have one God
and Father. No one will boast in himself in that day; all will boast in God who
allowed all to fail that all will know Him and all will finally be in the glorious
image and likeness of His Son. It is the result of the mercy and grace of God!

God will be the happy God and His glory will fill all. This is the purpose of the
eons.
226
9. THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
(Matthew 24.14 NASB)

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever. (Revelation
11.15 NASB)

Lost i n a wi lderness.

Today, without doubt, many, if not most people of the world have a sense within
them, perhaps even a groaning, that something is not right in the world; some-
thing is amiss. It is as if the whole world is like a mighty engine that is sputtering,
as if a cylinder or two is misfiring. On a personal level, it seems that more and
more people have a sense that something is not quite right in their lives; some-
thing is missing. Even the rich and famous have a void in their lives that they can-
not fill. All one has to do is read of the lifestyle of many of them to see that they are
searching for something. Not only is there a groaning among men, but even crea-
tion seems to be groaning. In fact, the Bible says that the whole creation groans
and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now (Romans 8.22 NASB), which
implies that something is trying to come forth as if being birthed. Something is
afoot as the world and creation groans.

If we went throughout the nations of the world and asked people in each nation
what are the most pressing issues of our day, the answers would run the gamut,
depending on a number of individual, local, national, ethnic and global factors.
Obviously, everyone is affected by the first three factors, but more and more we all
are being brought into the global sphere and what happens globally affects us all.
For instance, instability in oil-producing countries brings an instantaneous rise in
gasoline prices that does not discriminate between the rich and the poor nations.
Terrorism does not discriminate either.

The people of the world look to their leaders for answers, but it seems that they are
unable to solve the most pressing national or global challenges. For instance, star-
vation, disease, pestilence, genocide and tribal conflicts continue without resolu-
tion.

The world leaders pass many paper resolutions, or even laws, declaring their intent
to deal with the most pressing issues facing mankind, but it soon becomes obvious
that their resolutions are not worth the paper they are written on. All the while,
people die day after day as the world leaders reveal their impotence to solve real
problems. The world often turns to an organization called the United Nations,
227

which is more like disunited nations. The kingdoms (nations) of the world are
divided. How can they stand? They cannot!

The cry from many is peace and security, but there is no lasting peace and
security. People die daily due to global terrorism, war, tribal conflicts, ethnic
cleansing, poverty, famine, disease, dramatic shifts in the weather, and the list
goes on. Many continue to live in fear and cry out for change, but their cries
continue as world leaders pass their meaningless resolutions. After a century in
which the world has seen an explosion of technological advancements that are
almost miraculous, we have yet to solve the most basic and pressing issues of life
that promote the general welfare of people globally.

Through Daniel the prophet, we are told that at the time of the end, the end of our
present eon, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased
(Daniel 12.4 KJV). We have reached the time of the end! There is little doubt that
with the onset of the 20
th
century many began to run to and fro and knowledge
increased phenomenally.

Many shall run to and fro means that the world population would increase,
and this is exactly what has happened in the last century as the population of the
world figuratively exploded during this period. In 1804, the world population
stood at an estimated 1 billion people, and 123 years later, in 1927, it stood at 2 bil-
lion people. But the astonishing fact is that the world grew during the 20
th
century,
so that as the century ended, the world population had exploded to 6 billion peo-
ple. Think about it; more than 4 billion people were added to this earth in less than
100 years. Many are running to and fro in our day!

As the world population has exploded so has knowledge. Knowledge that once
required hundreds of years to advance began to increase exponentially. It is esti-
mated that knowledge doubled from the time of Christ to the start of the 20
th
cen-
tury. It then doubled again from 1900 to 1950. However, starting around 1950,
knowledge began to explode, so that by the 1960s, knowledge doubled every two
years.

Knowledge increase is directly connected to the computer. In the early 1980s,
the personal computer came on the scene and more knowledge and information
became available to a vast number of people. Consequently, the various types of
media for the movement and presentation of images, data, video, entertainment,
etc. grew to amazing levels. The Internet took root in the 90s and the Information
Age came to the entire world. Today, the amount of information available to the
common man is beyond any one persons comprehension.

Increased knowledge has led to unbelievable advances in technology that have
opened up numerous new frontiers, the likes of which have never been seen before,
especially in transportation, which has led to an exponential increase in world-
wide travel. The driving force for such travel came in the 1950s with the advent of
the jet aircraft engine and commercial airlines. Today, people can fly around
228
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

the world in a matter of hours, not days or weeks or months as it was in prior
centuries with other modes of transport. Not only this, but man has discovered
how to travel into space (the heavenlies) and explore other planets.

When the technology revolution began, many said that it would solve world
problems and make life much simpler, less complicated. To some degree this is
true, for there have been many advancements that have helped life for many. But
can we honestly say that our lives have become simpler? For those of us who live in
the western world of high-tech gadgets, it seems that our lives have become more
complicated, not less complicated. Have our lives become more safe and secure in
this nuclear age? Let us be reminded that during this time the world also saw the
invention and production of the most sophisticated and destructive weap-
onry that mankind has ever known (atomic and nuclear bombs, cruise missiles,
bunker-busting bombs); all produced by the USA, a nation founded by men who
believed in the Prince of Peace.

We must ask ourselves: Has the increase of knowledge and great advancements of
technology led to solutions to the most pressing problems of this world that deal
with the very heart of man? Have wars and rumors of wars ended? Hardly! Where
is world peace? Where is justice? Where is righteousness? Where is love for the
many that struggle each day just to survive? Isnt it time to repent and turn from
our destructive ways and become ambassadors of peace?

Now, take the matter of economic security and prosperity. The world has
seen an explosion of wealth among a relatively small number of individuals and
nations, while the vast majority live in poverty or struggle to keep up with the
many burdens of life that have become more and more complicated, even as tech-
nology has advanced. In addition, many have been shackled with large debts that
must be paid back with interest. As a result, many are in bondage to what must be
called the present-day Babylon. The statistic on debt is staggering, for it
reaches into the trillions of dollars, a number that is beyond the comprehension of
most people. Debt of this magnitude saps the life out of society. Perhaps this is why
Gods law is against usury (charging interest; see Exodus 22.25; Leviticus 25.36,
37; Deuteronomy 23.19, 20). In addition, taxes of all kinds continually increase,
along with the cost of goods and services. Taken together, the nations have been
brought into Babylonian captivity, which is like a devouring beast.

Take the matter of racism and discrimination, which are issues often raised in
the United States. Many thought that globalization, technology and the revolution
in communications would pave the way for multicultural societies (diversity is the
buzz word) that would bring an end to the harsh way people often treat one an-
other. Diversity says: Let us get along together and live in peace, accepting each
others views. This too has been an elusive goal.

With the end of the cold war, some thought (hoped) that many of the world
dictatorships and repressive regimes would fall, and the world would be filled
with democratic or free and open societies. Surely, change has come throughout
229

the nations of the world; but overall, the goal has been elusive, for there are still
oligarchies, dictators, tyrants, and other forms of repressive governments.
However, with the rise of global terrorism, even the so-called free societies have
been forced to give up some of their freedoms.

Many people think that democracy is the answer; but it is not, for it means that
the people rule. Consider what happened to ancient Israel when they demanded a
king (1 Samuel 8.7). If the people are unrighteous and immoral, then the very fiber
of their society will be unrighteous and immoral. Mankind needs to be led into
righteousness and morality, and as will be shown, this is the good message of the
kingdom.

After September 11, 2001 (9/11), many people flocked to church, and there was
much talk of the United States, even the rest of the world, being united around a
common cause. This too has been an elusive goal. In fact, there is just as much
division, perhaps even more, than before 9/11. As for church attendance;
well, it seems that it is back to business as usual.

Mankind cannot solve the most basic issues of life, and now many are determined
to tackle the climate of the world, as if they actually can affect this mighty
juggernaut. Their outcry is over global warming. So what do they do? They
gather pop stars to give 24-hour worldwide concerts. Instead, why not consider
Gods word to us that He is going to shake the heavens and the earth (Haggai 2.6)?
Or, consider Gods conversation with Job.

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Can
you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion?
Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear
with her satellites? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or
fix their rule over the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the
clouds, so that an abundance of water will cover you? Can you
send forth lightnings that they may go and say to you, Here we
are? Who has put wisdom in the innermost being or given understanding to
the mind? Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or tip the water
jars of the heavens, when the dust hardens into a mass and the
clods stick together? (Job 38.4, 28-38 NASB)

Sure does sound like God has control of the heavens, as well as the atmosphere of
the earth. And yet, it seems as if man shakes his fist at God and says: Dont bother
us; we can handle this on our own. Well have a rock concert!

Surely, mankinds pollution and waste have altered our beautiful earth, in some
measure; but in the debate over manmade global warming, some scientists are not
so quick to join the many in their conclusion that man is the sole reason for the
planets entire climatic changes. They claim that there are other factors that are
either beyond the control of man or not fully understood, such as solar activity and
the effects of rainfall on climate change. Take note of Gods questions of Job: Can
230

you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of water will cover you?
Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or tip the water jars of the heavens, when
the dust hardens into a mass and the clods stick together? It sure does sound like
this is a mystery hidden in God.

Now, what about righteousness and justice? How does the world stand in this
regard? Well, not too well. Actually, the word righteous is not very commonly used
among the people and leaders of the world. People often cry for justice, but it
seems that few cry out for righteousness. Unfortunately, justice to the world today
is perverted by the self-centered carnal mind that says: I have rights. Give me
what I want and deserve. It is all centered on I and me.

What is righteousness? The word righteous is an adjective that means upright,
just, virtuous. The word virtuous means moral, and moral means conformed
to right. In other words, righteousness (a noun) is doing things the morally right
way. It is being rightwise, or taking a stand for what is right. By the way, right-
eousness and justice go hand-in-hand.

The difficulty that arises in our day over such words is that the world has thrown
out absolute moral standards and has accepted the humanistic and relativistic view
that man has all the answers, but that there are no absolutes in his answers. What
matters is what a person thinks, believes or feels, as long as ones views do not
interfere with anothers views, which might be just the opposite. What is the fruit
of such enlightened thinking or feeling? Lawlessness, immorality, injustice and
hatred, to name a few, have all increased.

It seems as if many have sunk deeper and deeper into a cesspool of immorality
that is flaunted over the airwaves of television and in movies. Violence, sex and
homosexuality are just a few of the things that come out of Hollywood by those
who are trying to push their anti-God and anti-Christ worldview onto the many.
Homosexuality and same-sex marriages are being flaunted as acceptable, for we
are told that we must be accepting of people with different lifestyles. It matters not
to most people that these lifestyles are called sin according to Gods word (Leviti-
cus 20.13; Romans 1.26-27; 1 Corinthians 6.9-10; Galatians 5.19-21; Revelation
21.8; 22.15). Of course, ones who remind the world of this are labeled as close-
minded and mean-spirited.

This is all being allowed in the name of freedom that comes from having an open
society, which has become a euphemism for anything goes. Many see the
horror of what is being done in the name of freedom but seem helpless to change
it. Of course, there are others who see nothing wrong with it and even embrace it.
After all, they say: What harm will it do; it does not affect my life. Little do they
know that it affects us all!

One might counter these statements by stating that we have laws that deal with
this sort of thing, and if it is lawful, then how can it be wrong? Well, laws are
created by imperfect men who are motivated by many reasons, including power,
231

greed and prestige. In many cases, it seems that they simply give society what it
demands in order to maintain their power over the people. If people demand
immorality, then they will get immorality. Thus, we have legalized abortions,
gambling and pornography. It all leads to bondage to sin and unrighteousness.

Consider this: the world has thousands upon thousands upon thousands of laws
and ordinances, and yet, they have not been able to stave the tide of lawlessness.
The fact of the matter is that the more laws that are enacted, the more lawlessness
there is. This is one of the reasons why laws are written in the first place. Of
course, there are other reasons, such as to maintain power and control over
peoples lives, and in the process enrich the lives of the leaders and the special-
interest groups that support them.

In a related area, consider the penal system in the United States that is based on
punishment (as opposed to rehabilitation and restitution); the prisons are bulging
at the seams. Unfortunately, when the incarcerated are released, a very high per-
centage of them commit a crime again that will land them back in jail. The criminal
justice system is a failure, for it does not bring about true rehabilitation in the
heart of the so-called criminals, and does nothing to bring restitution to victims of
crime, or to society that has to foot the bill to pay for the incarceration of the con-
victed. Everyone loses with this system.

Obviously, a discussion of this sort could go on almost endlessly since the world
faces innumerable challenges. Some might take exception to this assessment, for
they see their lives and the world differently; that is, they see all the good in the
world. Undoubtedly, there is much good in the world, along with much evil. This
we cannot deny. However, taken in total, it seems as if mankind has lost its com-
pass, as if it is wandering in a wilderness and cannot find its way out to reach what
it hopes is paradise. What do the lost do when they are in the wilderness? They run
to and fro searching for a way out, but they cannot find one, and they will not find
one on their own. Even their great wealth of knowledge will not help them.

Even the most optimistic among us will one day be faced with the reality that all is
not well and that a dramatic change must take place. The history of mankind bears
this out, for this world has undergone many dramatic changes that have ushered in
new eras. So, what is the solution? Is there truly a solution? The answer is yes!
Dramatic change is coming to this world!

Ri ghteousness, j usti ce, peace and lovi ngki ndness.

The solution to the world wandering in a wilderness, running to and fro, will not be
discovered in more resolutions, in more technology, or even in more weaponry to
keep the nations in check. No; the solution will be discovered when the longing of
mans heart is satisfied. This is why man is wandering to and fro; the many are
searching to satisfy a longing that perhaps they cannot even express. But, for what
does mankind long? Deep down in the heart of man, in his spirit, what does he
desire the most? I doubt that many would verbalize it this way; but, based on the
232

word of God, I believe that the longing of mankind is for righteousness, justice,
peace and lovingkindness. This is what the world desperately needs.

But is it possible for these things to overtake the world and lead us into the
paradise for which many groan, including creation itself? And if so, how will
righteousness, justice, peace and lovingkindness overtake the world? From whom
or from where will these things come? If mankind has not been able to pull off any
of this on a grand scale in its 6,000-year history, then what great change will take
place to bring it about?

There is good news to report. Change is coming! A wonderful, marvelous change!

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before
the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the
world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. (Psalm 98.8-9
NASB)

The kingdoms of this world are about to be overtaken by a new kingdom, the King-
dom of Righteousness and Peace. No longer will this world be divided by many
kingdoms with many views. No longer will lawlessness be accepted or excused. No
longer will injustice and unrighteousness be the order of the day. The day is com-
ing when there will be one kingdom and one king. This day is when the reign of the
heavens comes to this earth. It is the Kingdom of Christ that is coming, and it will
come when God the Father sends His King of kings and Lord of lords to this earth.
It is the kingdom of the Son of Gods love (Colossians 1.13). The name of this king
is Jesus, the Son of God, who died on a stake (cross) and rose from among the
dead, and then ascended to the throne of God in heaven. He is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.

Jesus holds many titles. He is the Son of the Most High, the Christthe Anointed
One, the Holy One, the Righteous, the Son of Mankind, the Prince of Peace, the
Faithful and True, the Word of God, the Wisdom of God, the Wonderful Counselor,
the Alpha and the Omega and the Living One, to name a few. His titles alone indi-
cate that He will be a ruler like no other that this earth has ever seen or will ever
see. He is not a tyrant or a dictator. He is the Lover and Friend of all man-
kind.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his
friends. (John 15.13 NASB)

We know love by this, that He [Jesus] laid down His life for us. (1 John
3.16 NASB [added by writer])

These verses alone verify that the Son of God is the Lover and Friend of all
mankind.

233

The Lover and Friend of all is coming to reign over the kingdom of this world. A
day is coming when all the kingdoms of this earth and all the cities of the nations
will fall, and the restoration of all things will begin to take hold on the earth that
will lead to the return of Gods King. Then this earth will truly experience a
renascence the likes of which it has never experienced. It will be the age (eon) of
righteousness, justice, peace and lovingkindness.

The ki ngdom of our Lord and of Hi s Chri st.

In that day, all heaven will declare the glorious arrival of the King and His king-
dom that will overtake the entire world.

And the seventh messenger trumpets. And loud voices occurred in heaven,
saying, The kingdom of this world became our Lords and His
Christs, and He shall be reigning for the eons of the eons! Amen!
(Revelation 11.15 CV)

Heaven will open to reveal the most marvelous and loving King that this earth will
ever know. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. In other words, He
is the Sovereign of this earth, even the Sovereign of the entire universe. He is the
Lord our Righteousness!

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages
war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems;
and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He
is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of
God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp
sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule
them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath
of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19.11-
16 NASB)

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, When I will raise up for
David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and
do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be
saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be
called, The LORD our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23.5-6 NASB)

His arrival was prophesied thousands of years ago. In part, it was fulfilled over
2,000 years ago when He came to this earth and was born of a virgin. He is called
I mmanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 1.23).

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government
will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful
234

Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will
be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the
throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with
justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore [lit. henceforth
and age-abiding, or eonian]. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish
this. (Isaiah 9.6-7 NASB [REB/CV])

In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David
to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the
earth. (Jeremiah 33.15 NASB)

A day is coming when God the Father will give His Son the kingdom of this earth to
rule all the people.

And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the
peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion
is an everlasting [lit. age-abiding, or eonian] dominion which will not pass
away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. (Daniel 7.14 NASB
[REB/CV])

He shall be great, and Son of the Most High shall He be called. And the
Lord God shall be giving Him the throne of David, His father, and He shall
reign over the house of Jacob for the eons. And of His kingdom there
shall be no consummation. (Luke 1.32-33 CV)

Under His reign there will be no end to peace. The old Moravian version of the Bi-
ble says in Luke 1.33: And his kingdom shall have no frontier. We could say that
the greatness of His empire shall have no border. He will uphold His kingdom
with justice and righteousness. He will act wisely and do justice and righteousness
in the land. His lovingkindness will fill all the earth. The very foundation of His
glorious throne is righteousness and justice, for He loves righteousness and justice.

Just think of the glory that will come upon this earth. There will be no limits to His
righteousness, justice, peace and lovingkindness.

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-
kindness of the LORD. (Psalm 33.5 NASB)

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lov-
ingkindness and truth go before You. How blessed are the people who
know the joyful sound! O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all the day, and by Your righteousness they are ex-
alted. For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is
exalted. (Psalm 89.14-17 NASB)

235

A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, and a judge will sit on
it in faithfulness in the tent of David; moreover, he will seek justice and
be prompt in righteousness. (Isaiah 16.5 NASB)

Again, who is this King? His name is Jesus and He is the Son of God. He is the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1.29). He died for the sin
of the world and rose from the grave to bring life to all mankind.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1.8 NASB)

Do not fear! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One: and I
became dead, and lo! living am I for the eons of the eons. (Amen!) And I
have the keys of death and of the unseen. (Revelation 1.17b-18 CV)

Can you imagine a greater king than this one? Has the world ever had a king who is
both its Lover and Friend? Has it ever had a king who actually loves righteousness
and justice? Has the world ever had a king that willingly died to save the world?
Has the world ever had a king that has conquered sin and death and now sits at the
right hand of God the Father on high (Ephesians 1.20; Colossians 3.1)? Has the
world ever had a king whose sole purpose is to restore all things to God, all in
heaven and on earth? Gods King is the Savior of all mankind! He is the kind and
loving King of God.

The renascence.

When He walked this earth over 2,000 years ago, Jesus declared to His twelve dis-
ciples: Verily, I am saying to you that you who follow Me, i n the renascence
whenever the Son of Manki nd should be seated on the thr one of Hi s
glor y, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel
(Matthew 19.28 CV). In the Greek, the word for renascence is palingenesia, which
means again-becoming. When the Son of Mankind sits on His throne of glory,
the earth will be restored to the condition that it was meant to be, most likely to
the pristine state to which it was restored in Adams day before he sinned. The
earth will be born again and will no longer groan, but will be set free from its slav-
ery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans
8.21).

Hosea the prophet was given a tremendous view of the hope of this earth.

In that day I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field,
the birds of the sky and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish
the bow, the sword and war from the land, and will make them lie down in
safety. I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in
righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compas-
sion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know
the LORD. It will come about in that day that I will respond, declares the
236

LORD. I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, and
the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, and they
will respond to Jezreel. I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have
compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will
say to those who were not My people, You are My people! And
they will say, You are my God! (Hosea 2.18-23 NASB)

Mankind is not destined for mans version of hell; mankind is destined for glory.
The King is the one who will bring restoration to all things, as all the nations begin
to turn to God. Consider what the Psalmists had to say about the matter.

God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us
Selah. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all
nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples
with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah. Let the
peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. The earth has
yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. God blesses us, that all the
ends of the earth may fear Him. (Psalm 67.1-7 NASB)

And let all kings bow down before him, all nations serve him. For he will
deliver the needy when he cries for help, the afflicted also, and him who has
no helper. He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the lives
of the needy he will save. He will rescue their life from oppression and
violence, and their blood will be precious in his sight; so may he live, and may
the gold of Sheba be given to him; and let them pray for him continually; let
them bless him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the earth on
top of the mountains; its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; and may
those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth. May his name
endure forever; may his name increase as long as the sun shines;
and let men bless themselves by him; let all nations call him
blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works
wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole
earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. (Psalm 72.11-19 NASB)

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O
Lord, and they shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous
deeds; You alone are God. (Psalm 86.9-10 NASB)

All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; they will sing
praises to Your name. Selah. (Psalm 66.4 NASB)

Consider the glory of what is contained in these few verses, which encompass not
only the nations, but the whole earth. This is the good news of the reign of the
heavens upon this earth. Consider this other prophecy from Isaiah.

237

Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the
LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised
above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will
come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house
of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and
that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth from Zion and
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the na-
tions, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn
war. (Isaiah 2.2-4 NASB)

War will cease, and the Lord will judge the nations and settle all disputes according
to His law. The nations will even desire to learn the ways of the Lord. This is in full
keeping with another word from Isaiah: For when the earth experiences Your
judgments, the i nhabi tants of the world learn ri ghteousness (Isaiah 26.9
NASB).

Learning righteousness will not be an overnight task; it will take all of the next eon
(age) of 1,000-years, which is the day of the Lord, and then continue on a new
earth in the day of God, which is an eon of unknown length, perhaps thousands of
years.

Most alive on earth when the Lord comes at the end of our present wicked eon
must learn righteousness. Some alive on the earth will already have come into the
place of righteousness, for they will have believed in Jesus and conquered through
His life. Those who died conquering in faith and in love will be raised from the
dead in what is called the first resurrection (Revelation 20.6), the out-resurrection
(Philippians 3.11), or the better resurrection (Hebrews 11.35).

However, at the end of the next eon, the millennial kingdom of Christ, the rest of
the dead will be resurrected, believers who did not conquer and all unbelievers,
and they will face the great white throne to be judged according to Gods fiery law.
The believers will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3.15). The
unbelievers must be taught righteousness as they make restitution for their
transgressions and are purged of all unrighteousness and sin, as their fleshly works
go into what is called the second death. They will be saved through the fiery law of
God (lake of fire) (see Deuteronomy 4.4; 33.2-3; Psalm 29.7; Isaiah 4.4). Be
assured, they too one day will come out of this spiritual fire (Romans 7.14) of judg-
ment and enter into the joy of the Lord. We are not told how long such ones will be
in this state of judgment, but we do know that one day it will end, for we know that
the last enemy, death, will be abolished (1 Corinthians 15.26).

All types of death will end in that day, and all mankind from Adam to the last
human born on earth will be made alive in Christ, for in Adam all are dying,
thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified (made alive) (1 Corinthians 15.22 CV).

238

Every knee and every tongue.

It is Gods desire and will that all will bow the knee to His Son, for God wills that
all mankind be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2.4).

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE
WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2.9-11 NASB)

Paul quoted Isaiah the prophet and added to it, as the spirit of God led.

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is
no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in
righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow,
every tongue will swear allegiance. (Isaiah 45.22-23 NASB)

Later in Isaiah, the Lord makes it abundantly clear that nothing will stop Him
from accomplishing His purpose. He has told us the end from the beginning and
His purpose will be established. In fact, God sounds pretty determined to
accomplish what He has set out to do in and through His Son.

Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the be-
ginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying,
My purpose will be established, and I wi ll accomplish all My good
pleasure. (Isaiah 46.9-10 NASB)

There are multitudes on the earth today that have not bowed the knee, and there
are countless numbers in the grave that died, never having heard of Jesus, the Son
of God, and there are others who did hear but never believed on Him. All of them
must be brought into judgment for the purpose of the restoration and reconcilia-
tion of all things. In the eons to come, they will learn righteousness as they are
taught Gods law and see the great benefit of Gods ways, and their hearts are over-
whelmed with the love of God, for God is love. When all is accomplished, right-
eousness and glory will fill the earth, and love will be the order of the day. It will
take time for all this to come into fullness, but be assured that it will come in Gods
time and in Gods way, for it has been set in the concrete of Gods will that every
knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. In that day, Scripture will be fulfilled.

Then comes the end [the end of the grand and glorious eon of the eons],
when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He
has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until
He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abol-
ished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER
239

HIS FEET. But when He says, All things are put in subjection, it is evident
that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.

When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be
subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be
all in all. (1 Corinthians 15.24-28 NASB [added by writer])

God will be All in all. Nothing will be left out of Gods All. All mankind will be
saved into immortality (forever beyond death), and will be brought into the
glory of God, and will be bathed in the love of God.

This is the good news of the glorious kingdom of our Father!

God i s love.

I believe that in our day, Gods purpose is grossly misunderstood, and that His very
character has been grossly misrepresented. God is love, and all that He does is
based on His love. After all, for thus God loves the world, so that He gives
His only begotten Son (John 3.16 CV). God loves and gives in the present, not
just in the past. Consider the words of John, the apostle of love.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who
loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not
know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might live
through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4.7-11 NASB)

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.
God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides
in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in
the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is
no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves
punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because
He first loved us. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is
a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot
love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from
Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (1
John 4.16-21 NASB)

Please take note that love is a commandment; it is Gods greatest law.

Unfortunately, the world at large has rejected Gods love as manifested through
His Son. Why? Some people have never heard of Him. However, many that have
heard of Him have rejected Him because they do not know Him, and the spirit of
God has not opened their ears to hear. They think He is like any other man. They
240

think He is a hard taskmaster who is out to seek revenge. They think His right-
eousness and justice will take away their freedom and their will to do as they
please. But dont you think that the world would be much better off being ruled by
a Friend and a Lover? Even the most hardened hearts, whether they know it or not,
deep down long to be loved.

Ar e thi ngs r eally getti ng better ?

The question that the people of the world need to ask themselves is this: Is the
world getting any better under the rule of man?

World leaders reject Gods King because they know that when He comes, He will
replace them and establish His own government on the earth. Actually, this is
nothing new, for when He came to this earth 2,000 years ago, the ones who knew
who He was rejected Him, and even demanded that He be crucified, because they
did not want to lose their power and prestige (Matthew 21.33-41). It is no different
in our day. Who among our world leaders has declared publicly that he would lay
down his crown willingly if only Jesus would come today? Who is declaring: He
must increase, but I must decrease (John 3.30).

Please do not take this to mean that all leaders are the same. Some leaders are
righteous, some are not. Some are quite capable, some are not. Some are well-
meaning, trying to do what they think is right, some are not. Some are good
leaders, some are evil leaders. Some succeed in what they set out to do, some fail.
But regardless of the heart of the man, the challenges that the world faces today
are beyond any one man. Unfortunately, it appears that even the ones that seem to
be good are being drowned out by the mediocre and the self-righteous ones.

What is the result? Make no mistake about it; the nations are in an uproar over
God and His ways. They might not say it with their lips; however, by their actions
the leaders of the nations refuse to humble themselves and yield their power to the
Almighty God.

Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain
thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take
counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed,
saying, Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords
from us! He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then
He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, But
as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.
I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, You are My Son,
today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as
Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall
break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now
therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to
the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath
241

may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
(Psalm 2.1-12 NASB)

In the Bible, there are often stern words that make it seem as if God is so angry and
mad that He is determined to wipe man off the face of the earth. There is some
truth to this since God did wipe out all but eight of the inhabitants of this earth in
Noahs day, but He has promised not to do that again (Genesis 9.8-17).

When those who do not know the heart of God read words such as have been cited,
they often conclude that God is mean and vengeful just like man is. Unfortunately,
this false impression has come from within the church of God that has misrepre-
sented Gods heart for His creation, especially man. But those who know His heart
and His word know that He is not angry, and He is not mad in the way that man
thinks or acts. They know that His anger is not like mans anger. Rather, they know
that He has a purpose and a plan for mankind, and He will accomplish all that He
has set out to do. There may be times that He must take pretty harsh action with
mankind, but it is not for total destruction or annihilation; rather, it is for recon-
ciliation. His actions need to be seen as more like a father disciplining his children,
even if it does not seem to be that way during the process. As the saying goes,
Father knows best. God always acts with the end in view, and that view is All.

Whom do you tr ust?

I believe that God has given us a prophetic word in the Bible for the people of this
earth in this dark hour right before the dawn of a new day.

For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will
not prosper with them. (Jeremiah 2.37 NASB)

Whom do you trust in these days of shaking? Do you trust in mankind? Do you
trust in leaders that have no solutions? Do you trust in yourself? Do you trust in
flesh and blood that cannot inherit the kingdom (1 Corinthians 15.50)? The Lord
God has rejected those world leaders in whom you trust. You will not prosper with
them. Why? Because God has a much better plan; a glorious plan for this earth!

It is time for the people of the world to know that the kingdoms of this world have
been judged and that they are about to fall and be replaced by one kingdom that
has a foundation built upon righteousness and justice. The world is about to re-
ceive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. God has declared: I am going to shake
the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms
and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.

People, do not put your trust in man; put your trust in God!

It is not that our leaders are necessarily bad; but, the fact of the matter is that they
cannot solve the world problems apart from God and His Son. Further, it is not
about which worldview is correct: liberalism or conservatism, socialism or capital-
242

ism, or any other ism that man has created in his own image. It is not about who is
right or wrong. It is about the Righteous One of God.

The nations might be in an uproar and might be fighting against Gods plan, for
they do not want to lose the grip of power that they have over others. But God
declares: I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will
surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the
earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You
shall shatter them like earthenware.

It is time to take refuge, not in man or in the leaders of men, but in Gods King. The
nations have rejected the Almighty God, the Creator and the Savior of all mankind.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put our confidence in man. It is
better to trust in the Lord than to put confidences in princes (Psalm
118.8-9 NKJV).

Consider these few facts. Europe once was the bastion of Christian faith but has
become mostly pagan in its outlook (worldview); many of the nations of Europe
have rejected the Almighty God. When the European Union was being formed,
they made a conscious decision to make no mention of God in their constitution.
They purposely determined to have a secular constitution apart from any divine
influence. Essentially, they snubbed their noses at God.

The United States has an entirely different history. Its constitution is founded in
God. Some who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to form this great country desired to
make this a Christian nation under God, a nation to bring the Kingdom of God to
the nations, just as the ancient nation of Israel was called to do. However, for this
to work required that the leaders be godly men who believe in Gods righteousness
and justice. Unfortunately, because of the weakness of man, it was not too long
before darkness began to creep into the fiber of the nation. Probably, one of the
darkest moments was in the 1960s when the Supreme Court began to make
rulings regarding prayer, the Ten Commandments and abortion on demand. God
was being pushed out of government. It was tantamount to saying: We do not
need God anymore; we can govern on our own. Judgment fell upon our nation,
and our president was assassinated. In addition, crime, suicides, drug abuse and
abortions all dramatically increased. Interestingly, as if not to lose the light of
Christ in this darkness, during this same period, the spirit of God raised up among
young people what has been called the Jesus movement.

Today, there is a continuing battle to maintain a separation of church and state,
which was never intended in the constitution. In fact, our founding fathers
believed that the only way to effectively govern was under God, not under man.
One nation under God! Sadly, we are now a divided nation with many gods made
in the image of man, and this is being manifested in the laws of the land.

To show how foolish the rule of man is becoming, consider the movement to pass
special hate crime laws. According to mans thinking, some crimes (but not all) are
243

committed because one hates another person because of race, religion, sexual
orientation and who knows what else. To convict someone, the judge or jury would
have to get into the mind of the person to determine his or her true motive. Who
can do this other than the spirit of God? The foolishness of this thinking is exposed
by the fact that the very foundation of all crime against others, apart from pure
accidents, is hate. The opposite of hate is love, and if we loved each other as we
ought, then there would be no crime, period! So, which crimes are we to single out
as hate crimes?

God shakes the heavens and the earth.

As the world continues its downward slide into immorality and lawlessness, God
Himself is holding His hand against man to frustrate his ways, so that he cannot
achieve what he desires. In other words, God is keeping the world wandering as if
in a wilderness until the time is right for His King. The Lord does this in order to
bring about the plans of His heart and to bring in the inheritance of the rightful
King of the nations (Psalm 2).

The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the
plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the
plans of His heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the
nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen
for His own inheritance. (Psalm 33.10-12 NASB)

Through Haggai, a Hebrew prophet, the Lord gives us a similar word for the eon
(age) in which we live.

I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting winds,
mildew and hail, yet you did not come back to Me. (Haggai 2.17 NASB)

For thus says the LORD of hosts, Once more in a little while, I am going to
shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I
will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all
nations, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The
silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The
latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of
hosts, and in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.
(Haggai 2.6-9 NASB)

I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow
the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of
the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the
horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.
(Haggai 2.21-22 NASB)

Many centuries later, the same words were quoted to show that they apply to the
end of our present wicked eon or age.
244

And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, YET
ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO
THE HEAVEN. This expression, Yet once more, denotes the removing of
those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things
which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a king-
dom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may
offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a
consuming fire. (Hebrews 12.26-29 NASB)

Obviously, there is much that could and should be said about these verses, but the
point is this: God Himself holds back mankind, even smites it as needed to bring
the nations to the end of themselves. He alone shakes the heavens and the earth to
bring about His purpose. The nations cannot achieve the end that they long for
without God, and ultimately God will block every attempt on their part to do so, as
the nations shake their fist at God in defiance of His perfect will.

He purposely frustrates the action of the nations, allows them to be blinded, and
brings on judgment to accomplish His purpose and plan. After all, God is the
Sovereign and Supreme of His universe.

As an aside, it appears that all this shaking is giving many Americans a headache.
A recent article in our local newspaper was titled: Americans painkiller use is
up sharply. Analysis shows that sales of five major pain medications
increased 90 percent from 1997-2005. Gods remedy is His Son, and until
this once great nation and all the nations of the world repent and cry out to God,
there will be more judgments. Rather than turn to drugs, our country needs to turn
back to Jesus!

Who do you think allowed the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attack to happen?

9/11 was a mighty declaration that the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ is
coming. During February, 1995, as I was seeking the Lord, I heard: When the
structures crumble, testi fy of My ki ngdom. During the months that
preceded 9/11, I began to be exercised over what might be coming, perhaps even a
catastrophic event. I was not alone in this sensing, for I have read of others that
had the same sensing in that period. On September 11, 2001, I watched television
and in real-time saw the two structures crumbling down to the earth.

Two is the number of witness. The two fallen towers were a witness of Gods
judgment and the coming of His kingdom. Babylon will soon fall in one hour, the
time it took for the towers to fall, and the time that Scripture says it will take for
Babylon the great to fall (Revelation 18.10).

Since that day in 2001, I have been testifying of the Kingdom of Christ that is not
only coming to be manifested in this earth, but which also resides in the hearts of
those who believe in this day. I make no claim to be a prophet, but I am reminded
245

of the word to Amos: Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals
His secret counsel to His servants the prophets (Amos 3.7).

Nothing happens in Gods creation apart from His will. So why would He allow
such evil to occur? He would allow it to bring people to the point of repentance. It
is His way of getting our attention and giving us a chance to turn from our ways
and humble ourselves before the Almighty God; otherwise, He will bring more
chastening upon us until our hearts are turned to Him and seek Him for the
answers. But who has turned? What nations have truly turned back to God? Has
the United States made such a turn yet? Have the nations of the world made the
turn? At this point, it appears that the answer is no. Consequently, the nations of
the world are kept wandering, as if in a wilderness with no compass to direct them
into the true paradise for which they long.

As I write this chapter, the earth and the world system (kosmos) is undergoing
more shaking. We have seen bridges collapse from Minneapolis to China; the US
Stock Market fall 1,000 points in less than one month and shaking all the world
financial markets; weather extremes across the globe that go from drought and
extreme temperatures to torrential rains and major flooding; an 8.0 earthquake in
Peru that killed hundreds; half the land of the nation of Greece ravaged by smoke
and fire; and two major hurricanes hitting central America simultaneously.

Surely, these are shakings, which cause the many to live in fear and uncertainty of
what will come next. From the Lords perspective, the purpose of shaking is to
cause mankind to wake up and to look up. No one will ever be able to accuse the
Lord of not warning of His coming judgment. It seems to me that He allows pauses
in between major events to give the inhabitants of the world time to consider their
ways; but the day will come when the time is up, and Gods appointed time for
judgment of mystery Babylon will come, and He will bring our wicked eon to its
rightful conclusion. However, this is good news because it means that the
kingdom of the Son of His love is coming, and He will rule over this
earth in righteousness and justice.

Until that glorious day, it is clear that the unbelieving world has been blinded by
the god of this age.

But even if our Gospel has been hidden, it has been hidden among the ones
perishing, among whom the god of this age blinded the minds of the
unbelieving, in order for the illumination of the Gospel of the glory of
Christ not to shine on them, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4.3-4
ALT)

The world has been fed a lie that says if it allows God to rule in the affairs of state,
then the people will lose their freedom to do what they want. After all, in their
thinking, God is a hard taskmaster and will deny them all the good they desire. In
other words, the Creator of the entire universe does not know how to take care of
mankind that He loves and was created to be in His image. Oh, the foolishness of
246

mans wisdom. Ask yourself: Has man done such a good job on his own
without God? Think about it!

Some world leaders also believe the lie that if they relinquish any of their so-called
power to God, then they will not be able to control the people. But they fail to rec-
ognize that God rules in the kingdom of men (Daniel 4.17), whether they know it or
not. God alone has placed them in their position of authority, and they serve at the
discretion of God. In their ignorance and arrogance, they are like Nebuchadnezzar,
the great Babylonian king, who failed to acknowledge that the heavens do rule
(Daniel 4.26), and as such, God rules in the kingdom of men. God is the supreme
power of the universe, and all leaders are delegated their authority by God (Daniel
4.25, 32; Romans 13.1). No leader among men has absolute power, only God does.

At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a
kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against
which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I
planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a
nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My
sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which
I had promised to bless it. (Jeremiah 18.7-10 NASB)

Also, leaders have bought into the lie that to have God in government will offend
those who do not believe in God. According to their thinking, they have to make
room for all types of faiths and all gods because this is what makes a society free.
After all, the enlightened thinking of man declares that there are no absolutes
when it comes to faith. This too is a lie. It is a pathway to bondage and failure.

Because of all this and more, the nations of the world are wandering in a godless
and lawless wilderness, which leads to another point that many do not want to
hear, including many Christians; it has to do with the law of God.

The nations of the world have rejected God and His Son, and have rejected His
divine moral law, which is all about righteousness, justice, peace and lovingkind-
ness. Living apart from Gods standard, the world is godless and lawless, and
becoming increasingly loveless. The result is unrighteousness and injustice, on
account of which the whole world is groaning under the weight of its sin, which is
lawlessness. When there is lawlessness, love becomes cold, and there is no peace.
It is a vicious cycle from which there is only one way out, and that is Gods way.

If all followed Gods command to love, then there would be no crime, period. If all
followed Gods Ten Commandments, then there would be no crime, for the royal
law of love, which is the law of liberty, sums up all the commandments.

Saved by gr ace thr ough fai th.

Before proceeding into this part of the discussion, I must emphasize that we are
saved by grace through faith; we are not saved by the works of the law. We are
247

saved by the grace of God through faith and not on the basis of works (Ephesians
2.8-9). No man is justified by the works of the law (Romans 3.20); we are justified
by His grace apart from the works of the law (Romans 3.24, 28; Galatians 2.16).
This is important as we consider the place that the law has in the fulfillment of
Gods purpose and plan.

Gods law.

When Gods King takes the reign over this earth, how do you think righteousness,
justice, peace and lovingkindness will come about? Will this just happen? Will
peoples hearts change in an instant? Hardly! We need to keep in mind that most
on earth in the next eon will be mortal; meaning, they will continue to have bodies
of flesh and blood that are subject to death and sin.

The nations must learn these things and be governed accordingly. But how will this
be done? What will lead to true righteousness, justice, peace and lovingkindness?
How will anyone know right from wrong, good from bad? How will anyone know
what righteousness is without some standard by which to judge? How will justice
be identified without some standard?

The answer is discovered in the law of God, which is Gods standard that defines
righteousness and justice. The exercise of righteousness and justice will determine
whether there will be lasting peace. Love is what binds it all together, for this is the
very foundation of Gods divine law. In fact, love sums up all the law of God
(Romans 13.10). Who are we to question the standard set for us by our Creator?
Does not the Potter have the right over His clay pots? Do we have the right to
question His wisdom? After all, we are merely the created, not the Creator. See
Romans 9.14-26.

The Bible says that sin is lawlessness (1 John 3.4). The opposite of lawlessness is
obedience to the law; therefore, if we want to know what sin looks like we must
know the law of God. Some might ask what the law of God is. Well, the first place
to look is to the Ten Commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20.1-
17). The second place to look is to Jesus Himself, the Word of God, who came to
fulfill the law of God. He did not do away with the law, as so many today believe,
but to fulfill it. We must hear His word (law).

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come
to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass
away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law
until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in
the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5.17-19 NASB)

Notice that the law will continue until the heavens and earth pass away. If He
meant the heavens and the earth of our day, then this means the law will end after
248

the next eon comes to a close and Gods day (2 Peter 3.12) is ushered in. And yet,
we know that there will be a new heaven and earth, which would mean that the law
never passes away. After all, God will write His law on hearts.

When He comes to this earth to reign as King, Jesus mission will be to rule ac-
cording to the law of God until all is accomplished that His Father has given Him
to do. This is what it means when the word of God says that He will rule with a rod
of iron. He will execute the law of God impartially, for God does not show favorit-
ism (Acts 10.34; 1 Peter 1.17).

Love, the greatest!

While He walked on this earth the first time, Jesus spoke many things. As the day
of the cross neared and He had to depart this world through death and resurrec-
tion from among the dead, Jesus commanded His disciples.

And He said to him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH
ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR
MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is
like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two
commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22.37-
40 NASB)

Love is the ultimate law of God, for it is the foundation of the Law and the Proph-
ets. Everything will be judged by how much love was manifested. All mankind will
be judged by their works of love or their works that lacked love.

Because of its relationship to all Gods law, love grows cold and ceases among
lawbreakers; they become lawless. When there is lawlessness (i.e., one acts apart
from Gods law), there is no love.

What is a sign that lawlessness is taking hold? Governments have to issue more
laws to deal with the lawlessness. What do we see happening in the world today?
More and more laws are being enacted every year. Is Gods law being ignored in
our day? You bet! How can we expect people to obey Gods law if they ignore mans
law? This should be a warning to us.

Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes astray; and because of
the prevalent disregard of Gods law the love of the great majority
will grow cold; but those who stand firm to the End shall be saved.
(Matthew 24.11-13 WNT)

This particular translation truly captures the heart of the matter. A rampant
disregard of Gods law leads to the loss of love. When we meet someone who seems
to lack love, we call such a person coldhearted. Their love has grown cold; it is
rigid and they are lacking warmth. It is tantamount to being dead!

249

So the law of God and love are inseparable. Break the law (i.e., become lawless),
then love grows cold and dies. Become loveless (i.e., not laying down ones life for
anothers life), then you are breaking Gods law, and you are a lawbreaker (i.e., a
lawless one).

James called the commandment to love the royal law.

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture,
YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, you are doing well.
(James 2.8 NASB)

The Greek word for royal is basilikos, which means belonging to (or befitting) the
sovereign; the kings. This law belongs to the King, the Sovereign of all. The Greek
word for love is agapa, which is the verb form of the love that is attributed to
God. We are commanded to love our neighbors unconditionally as we love our-
selves unconditionally. Love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13.10).

Jesus Himself has given us the commandment to love.

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14.15 NASB)

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love
him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does
not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is
not Mine, but the Fathers who sent Me. (John 14.23-24 NASB)

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I
have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life
for his friends. (John 15.12-13 NASB)

Consider Jesus progression of thought. First, He tells His disciples to keep His
commandments out of love for Him. Then, He defines His commandments as His
word. Those who keep His word (commandments, laws) will be loved by the
Father. So now we have a reciprocal love. Love Me, keep My word and My Father
will love you in turn. Finally, love itself is the commandment of Jesus to His
disciples. His commandment to us is to love one another as He has loved us.

In his first epistle, John, the apostle of love, wrote: This is His commandment,
that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one
another, just as He commanded us (1 John 3.23 NASB).

The problem today is that most of the world does not believe in Jesus Christ as
Gods Son. However, faith (trust in the Son) and love (love of the Son) go hand-in-
hand. Only in Jesus will mankind truly know how to love and fulfill this command.
Without Jesus the law becomes merely a set of dos and donts; however, this is not
the intent of the law. Its intent is to lead the lawless to Christ, for in Christ the law
of God becomes a matter of life and intuitively knowing the good to do out of
250

sacrificial, unconditional love. There is no life in dos and donts. Life is in love, for
love knows what to do without hesitation or comparison or compromise!

The law of God is not legalism; it is liberty. It does not mean that mankind
must perform animal sacrifices, circumcision and other physical rites as ordained
under the old covenant. The law must be applied in the light of the new covenant.
For those who have received the life of Christ and the spirit of God, the law is
meant to be applied spiritually, spi r i tual wi th spi r i tual. God has promised that
under His new covenant, He will put His laws into minds and will write them on
hearts (Hebrews 8.10), and this He does by His spirit.

With spiritual sight, we see that there is no need for animal sacrifices year after
year because the body of Jesus Christ has been offered once for all (Hebrews
10.10). He is the sacrifice for sin. There is no need for circumcision of the flesh, for
under the new covenant we need a circumcision of the heart (Romans 2.29). There
is no longer an elite class of priests that enter the holy of holies once a year, for to-
day there is a new priesthood, the body of believers, who have a hope that enters
within the veil (Hebrews 6.19). Further, Gods moral law has not been done away
with but has been taken to greater heights (e.g., Matthew 5.20; 21-22; 27-29; 44).
The foundation of the Ten Commandments and all the law is love; it is no
longer an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, for the command is to love your ene-
mies and lay down your life for one another (Matthew 5.38-48; 1 John 3.16).

Learn ri ghteousness.

Today, the nations do not know Gods law in this way. When Gods King comes to
reign over this earth, the nations will not have spiritual discernment. They will
have to learn righteousness. Isaiah the prophet declared: For when the earth ex-
periences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn ri ghteousness
(Isaiah 26.9 NASB). In other words, during the reign of Gods Son, the earth will be
brought into the judgment of God, which is not for punishment or total annihila-
tion but for correction, and through correction they will learn righteousness.

Today, if the nations of the earth all joined together with one purpose to know the
law of God and to administer it faithfully and impartially, then this earth would
become a true paradise for mankind. There would no longer be disease. There
would be plenty of food. No one would have to worry about what they wear. There
would no longer be wars or any conflicts among nations, tribes or ethnics. The land
would bear much fruit, for rain would come in due season. Even the animals would
be at peace with mankind.

How do we know this is true? Well, the Bible gives us some indication when the
Lord instructed the ancient nation of Israel and told them what would happen if
they followed His law.

If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments [law] so as
to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the
251

land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape
gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full
and live securely in your land. I shall also grant peace in the land, so that
you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate
harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
(Leviticus 26.3-6 NASB [added by writer])

If they did not walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, then these
things would not happen, and they would experience just the opposite. God
promised the ancients that by keeping the law of God they would have life.

But we are given a much greater example in a righteous man that lived nearly
4,000 years ago. God appeared to him when he was in his home land and told him
to leave and go to a land that He would show him (Acts 7.2). The man is Abraham,
the father of a multitude of nations, and often called the father of faith because he
believed God. Consider the promises made by the Lord to Abram, later called
Abraham.

The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Now lift up
your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward
and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to
you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as
the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the
earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. (Genesis 13.14-
16 NASB)

And He took him outside and said, Now look toward the heavens, and
count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He said to him,
So shall your descendants be. Then he believed in the LORD; and
He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15.5-6 NASB)

As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of
a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but
your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a
multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I
will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.
(Genesis 17.4-6 NASB)

Abraham believed God, and God promised that he would be exceedingly fruitful.
Many nations and kings would come forth through his line. With this promise, the
Lord revealed something else that had to do with righteousness and justice.

The LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since
Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the
nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, so that
he may command his children and his household after him to keep
252

the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the
LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him. (Genesis
18.17-19 NASB)

Notice how the Lord intended to bring about all that He promised. Abraham was
chosen to command his children and those after them to keep the way of the Lord
by doing righteousness and justice. This is how the nations will be blessed. This is
Gods unchanging law. Righteousness and justice are the way of the Lord.

Thus says the LORD, Preserve justice and do righteousness, for My
salvation is about to come and My righteousness to be revealed. (Isaiah
56.1 NASB)

When the Lords righteousness is revealed, the inhabitants of the earth will learn
righteousness through the law of God, the very law that the nations have refused to
accept and which many of Gods own people have rejected. Again, to reign over the
earth, the King must have some standard by which to rule and judge.

The eoni an gospel.

This leads to a word that is given to us through John in The Unveiling [Revelation]
of Jesus Christ. It is the eonian evangel or gospel, which means good news. As
our present eon comes to a close, and the kingdom begins to overtake this earth,
the judgment of God will be brought to bear on the inhabitants of the earth.

John recorded that an angel will fly in the mid-heaven of this earth to proclaim the
good news for the eon to come, which sets the stage for the eons of the eons. Most
translations refer to it as an eternal gospel, but this is not the proper translation of
the Greek word ainion. It is the good news of the eonian kingdom.

And I perceived another messenger flying in mid-heaven, having an eonian
evangel to bring to those situated on the earth, and to every nation
and tribe and language and people, saying with a loud voice, Be ye
afraid of God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judging
came; and worship the Maker of heaven and the land and the sea
and the springs of water. (Revelation 14.6-7 CV)

Many people view the Revelation from the perspective of all the Hollywood hype of
end-time events, but this is not how one should view this proclamation.

What is the purpose of the reign of the heavens coming to this earth? What is the
purpose of Gods judgments of the inhabitants of the earth in bringing in the
kingdom? It is so that salvation will come to the nations, and all will come into the
joy of the Lord, singing praises for His leading the nations in righteousness and
justice. When the nations learn the ways of the Lord, His righteousness, they will
sing praises to God, and the earth will yield its produce. Even the earth will praise
God.
253

Please hear this: Gods judgment of the nations is a good thing. It is not for the
purpose of destruction but of restoration, leading all the nations into righteousness
and justice. Then, and only then, will the nations be at peace and know true joy
and blessing; only then will they begin to know the love of God in Christ.

For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of
the world learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26.9 NASB)

God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine
upon usSelah. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your
salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let
all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the na-
tions on the earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all
the peoples praise You. The earth has yielded its produce; God,
our God, blesses us. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth
may fear Him. (Psalm 67.1-7 NASB)

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing
to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salva-
tion from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His
wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD and
greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the
gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in
His sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, as-
cribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the
glory of His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.
Worship the LORD in holy attire; tremble before Him, all the
earth. Say among the nations, The LORD reigns; indeed, the
world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the
peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth
rejoice; let the sea roar, and all it contains; let the field exult, and
all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy be-
fore the LORD, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the
earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in
His faithfulness. (Psalm 96.1-13 NASB)

O sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His
righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His
lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the
ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joy-
fully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and
sing praises. Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre
and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the
254

horn shout joyfully before the King, the LORD. Let the sea roar
and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the riv-
ers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before
the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the
world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. (Psalm 98.1-9
NASB)

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with
gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the
LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we our-
selves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His
gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to
Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is
everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100.1-5
NASB)

This is the good news of the kingdom that will overtake the earth.

Truly, the acclamation will go forth that the Lord reigns. He is seated upon His
throne, and all is well. Even the trees will sing for joy before the Lord. What does
this mean? Will they literally sing? Perhaps not, but they most assuredly will be in
harmony with their Creator in such a way that it will be a joy for mankind to walk
amongst all that the Son has created. Can you imagine what it will be like for the
inhabitants of the earth to experience the joy of the Lord every place they travel on
earth? All creation will rejoice, and this comes about through the Kingdom of
Righteousness, Justice, Peace and Lovingkindness. This is glory!

Oh, it is time for those who are called to be ambassadors of Christ who have the
word of the conciliation in them (2 Corinthians 5.19 CV) to proclaim the good
news of the kingdom. The message that many are proclaiming in our day is mixed
with leaven, the leaven of Pentecostal bread. God is presented as mean and
vengeful, who is set on destroying billions of people created to be in His image.
There is no such concept found in the Psalms quoted above. Gods judgment will
lead the nations to praise God; to thank Him for His uprightness and His guidance
of the nations.

The nations will be overwhelmed with joy and praise as they behold even the earth
praising God through its abundant yield. Today, America cries out for God to bless
her; but a day is coming when all the nations will have no need to cry out for
blessing, for they will proclaim that, in fact, God is blessing them as they are
learning righteousness. This is what judgment is all about. When we learn Gods
ways there is nothing but blessing and joy. What a gospel!

Dear brethren in Christ, do you have the word of the conciliation written on
your heart? Are you a peacemaker? Are you a lover? Are you a forgiver?

255

Psalm 67 is both historical and prophetical, for it points to the transfiguration of
the conquerors in Christ who will take the gospel of the kingdom to the nations
during the Tabernacles Age. Psalm 67.1 refers to the day Moses appeared in the
presence of the Lord and the skin of his face shone (Exodus 34.29-35). He then
commanded the people to work six days and rest the seventh day. When Moses
was first called into the presence of the Lord, the glory had rested on Mount Sinai
for six days; and on the seventh day the Lord called Moses from the midst of the
cloud. The glory of the Lord on that seventh day was like a consuming fire.

In like fashion, as He was approaching the cross, after six days, presumably on the
seventh day, Jesus took three of His closest disciples up on a high mountain and in
their presence, along with Moses and Elijah, was transfigured in their sight; His
face shone like the sun (Matthew 17.1-8). It was a picture of the Son of Mankind in
His glorified body as He comes in His kingdom of glory.

This is also a picture of the conquerors of Christ, who will be transfigured into the
body of His glory, as our present eon comes to a close and the Tabernacles Age
comes to this earth. They are the ones who have beheld the face of Jesus and have
been transformed into His image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3.17-18). One
day soon, the treasure of glory hidden in their earthen vessels will burst through as
it did with Jesus on the mountain on the seventh day; so will the conquerors shine
forth on the seventh day, the day of the kingdom of Christ.

What am I to do?

At this point, I hope that the question on your heart is: What am I to do? People of
the world, it is time to bow the knee to Gods King, Jesus, the Son of God. It is time
to believe on Gods Son and enter into the kingdom of God in spirit.

To conclude, it is needful to share a little of the good news for the sinner. By the
way, we are all sinners in need of a Savior. No one of mankind is excluded. It
matters not how we view the magnitude of our sinful nature. There is no sin that
we have committed that is outside the forgiveness of God. Take heart; God is the
Savior of all mankind and He wills that all be saved (1 Timothy 2.4; 4.10).

Paul, the apostle of the nations, was used mightily by God, and we in our day
receive the benefit of what this dear brother in Christ endured in order to bring us
the whole counsel of God (Acts 20.27). Consider Pauls testimony.

For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am
what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even
more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians
15.9-10 NASB)

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He consid-
ered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a
256

blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was
shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our
Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are
found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full accep-
tance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I
am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the
foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example
for those who would believe in Him for eternal [lit. eonian] life. (1 Timothy
1.12-16 NASB [added by writer])

Paul was pretty critical of his former life, but he knew the grace of God that
operated in his life to save sinners.

J usti fi ed by Hi s blood, saved by Hi s gr ace.

Now, Paul became equipped to expound on the good news for all sinners. In the
following verses, he outlines what a sinner must know.

Much rather, then, being now justified in His blood, we shall be saved
from indignation, through Him. For if, being enemies, we were concili-
ated to God through the death of His Son, much rather, being conciliated,
we shall be saved in His life. Yet not only so, but we are glorying also in
God, through our Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom we now obtained the
conciliation. (Romans 5.9-11 CV)

The shed blood of Jesus justifies us sinners. Justify means to make just or to de-
clare righteous in the sight of God. A sinner has no righteousness that is acceptable
to God, but Jesus paid the price for our sin and satisfied the just demand of God
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5.21).

We need to be very clear that justification is not based on any work that we can do
to overcome our sins. Another, Jesus, has done the work. We are saved by grace
through faith. We are not saved through any works that we do, by our own
righteousness, or by any laws of God, or of man (Romans 3.20, 28).

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one
may boast. (Ephesians 2.8-9 NASB)

The faith that we receive by the grace of God means we believe that

Christ [that is Jesus, the son of God] died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to
Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred
brethren at one time. (1 Corinthians 15.3-6 NASB [added by writer])

257

Believe that Gods Son died on a cross for your sins, was buried, was raised from
the dead and then appeared to many as proof that He lives. He is not dead in a
grave. He rose from the grave and ascended on high. This was witnessed by many.

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were
looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they
were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in
white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you
stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from
you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have
watched Him go into heaven. (Acts 1.9-11 NASB)

Note that He is coming back in the same manner, only this time He will come to
reign as King over this earth. There is more good news.

God has conci li ated the wor ld to Hi mself.

In Romans 5.9-11, quoted previously, Paul referred to being conciliated to God,
something that he also brought to the attention of the Corinthians.

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is
giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in
Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their of-
fenses to them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation. (2 Corin-
thians 5.18-19 CV)

Listening to some preachers one would conclude that God is mad at mankind. But
what if you were told that this is not true, but that He is at peace with all? Would
this not change your view of God? Well, be of good cheer, for it is true. God is love,
and His love reaches out to us to come into peace with Him.

Once justified by faith, we need to come into peace with God, to be conciliated. The
words conciliate and conciliation are probably foreign to most people. Seldom do
we hear them used in common conversation; but they are vital words in under-
standing what God has done through His Son. Conci li ate means to win over;
soothe the anger of; make friendly; placate and to gain by friendly acts. When
two parties are at war with each, they are enemies. If one party makes peace with
the other, then there is conciliation. This is what God has done. There was
enmity between God and mankind; but God has made peace with mankind at the
cross of Calvary.


In other words, man is no longer Gods enemy because enmity has been removed
through His Son dying on the cross. It is as if God Himself waved the white flag of
peace. Through Christ, the entire world, which means all mankind, has been
258

conciliated to God, and God is not counting their offenses against them. Do you
grasp the greatness of these words? He is not counting your offenses against you!

Even in our day, God is reaching out to mankind with a peace offer, as if to say:
Believe in My Son, be saved by grace and then accept the peace that I offer, and
come into peace with Me.

For if, being enemies, we were conciliated to God through the death of
His Son, much rather, being conciliated, we shall be saved in His life.
(Romans 5.10 CV)

When we come into peace with God, then we are reconciled to God. The word
r econci led means that both parties are in harmony and at peace with one
another. Each party has to make peace (conciliate) with the other.

And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by
wicked acts, yet now He reconciles by His body of flesh, through His
death, to present you holy and flawless and unimpeachable in His sight.
(Colossians 1.21-22 CV)

This is truly good news for all. We are saved by grace, not by works, and we are
brought into a relationship of peace with God. We are no longer separated from
God, and we are no longer enemies of God.

Unfortunately, one can believe in Jesus but not be at peace with God. Are you at
peace with God? He is a loving Father, and He beckons all to be at peace with Him.
Be conci li ated to God! Do not delay!

Now, what does it mean to be saved? Many people use this word very indiscrimi-
nately. We must be saved from something to be delivered into something, but what
is the saving and the delivering about? Some will say it is about being saved from
hell, supposedly a place of torture for the dead, and being delivered into heaven in
death. This is not according to Scripture; it is according to man.

I mmortali ty and glori fi cati on.

First, we need to realize that when Adam sinned death passed through i nto
all manki nd, on whi ch all si nned (Romans 5.12 CV). In other words, we all
inherited death from Adam; we became mortal and death became our enemy.
Mortal means we die a physical death. Death is not life in some other realm. The
dead know nothi ng whatsoever (Ecclesiastes 9.5)!

Further, sin reigns in death, so because we are mortal we also sin. According to
Gods law, the wages of si n i s death (Romans 6.23). We all sin and fall short of
the glory of God (Romans 3.23), and there is no way for us to escape from this
death sentence on our own. The indignation or wrath of God refers to Gods death
sentence for sin.
259

Second, once we believe and put our trust in Jesus, this death sentence is lifted
from us. We are saved from having to pay the wages of sin, for Jesus paid it all.

Third, we will still die, for we live in mortal bodies. This cannot be reversed. J esus
alone has i mmor tali ty (1 Timothy 6.16), which means that He is the only one
beyond the power of death at this point in time. However, just as Jesus was
resurrected from among the dead and moved beyond death forevermore, so will
those who have put their trust in Him. Though they might die a physical death in
these bodies of death, they will be resurrected one day and become immortal in
glorified bodies like the body of His glory.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble
state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the
power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3.20-21
NASB)

The good news is that God has willed that we all are to be saved out of death and
delivered into immortality to live in glorified bodies. The One who will subject all
things to Himself, so that God may be All in all is the same One who will raise all
mankind from death, not all at the same time, but each according to their own
class. This is the hope of the gospel and the hope of all mankind. It is truly good
news. The death sentence for all mankind brought on by the first Adam has been
replaced with the life sentence for all mankind brought on by the last Adam.

For believers in Jesus who have conquered through His love, there is even more
good news, for they will join Jesus as He heads up or gathers up all things in the
heavens and on the earth in the eons to come (Ephesians 1.10). They not only will
have immortal life, but they also will have eonian life, life in the coming eons. They
will be the complement of Christ; the One who has been given all authority in
heaven and on earth in order to complete or bring about the purpose of the
eons, the All in all; all in love and all in God.

Dear beloved in Christ and all who are seeking for that deep longing to be satisfied,
we need to be conquerors through love, forgiveness and obedience. This will yield
an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

Finally, if the eyes of our heart have been opened to the good news of justification,
reconciliation, immortality and glorification, and we are rejoicing in the good news
of the coming of the Kingdom of Righteousness, Justice, Peace, and
Lovingkindness, what are we to do? Let us joyously and boldly proclaim this
good news to the nations of the world!

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as
a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew
24.14 NASB)
260
10. GOD IS LOVE

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God
is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in
him. (1 John 4.16 NASB)

It seems fitting that this volume be concluded with these three mighty words: God
i s love!

The grace of God, the love of God, and the glory of God are foundational in our
pursuit of understanding the purpose of the eons.

Grace is the way to the full expression of the love of God. Glory is the full
expression of the love of God. In fact, all the attributes of God come forth from His
love. He is gracious because He is love. He is merciful because He is love. He is
faithful because He is love. He is longsuffering because He is love.

God is love encapsulates and sums up the purpose of the eons. The love of God is
the very heart of the purpose of the eons. For thus God loves the world!

Why has God made the eons through His Son? Why has God suffered long with
mankind throughout the eons? Why did He send His Son to this earth, and allow
Him to suffer and die on the cross for the sin of the world? Why did the Son
willingly submit to the will of His Father and suffer the shame of the cross? Why
will the Son willingly subject Himself to the Father to consummate the eons?

He fi rst loved us.

The answer to all these questions is discovered in God is love. He first loved us (1
John 4.16, 19), and He expresses His love in and through His Son.

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only
begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. (1 John 4.9
NASB)

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us. (1 John 3.16 NASB)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8 NASB)

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in
righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3.4-5 NASB)

261

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved [loves] us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us
alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up
with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places [among the
celestials], in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show
the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2.4-7 NASB [CV])

Gods love is not merely a past-tense love; it is an ever-present love. Hi s great
love wi th whi ch He loves us!

This love has been extended to us who believe in this wicked eon; but do we
honestly think that this same love will not eventually be extended to all mankind?
Paul, the beloved apostle of the nations, wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith:
Faithful is the saying and worthy of all welcome (for for this are we toiling and
being reproached), that we rely on the living God, Who is the Saviour of all
mankind, especially of believers. These things be charging and teaching (1
Timothy 4.9-11 CV). Notice how Paul told Timothy to teach these things. What is
included in these things? God is the Savior of all mankind!

I realize that many say it is impossible; it cannot be! After all, they declare that
Gods love must be balanced with His justice; that is, He must judge those who re-
ject His Son, with the ultimate penalty being eternal torment. They declare that if
He does not so judge, then He is not a just God. After all, God is a consuming fire
(Deuteronomy 4.24; Hebrews 12.29). Truly, God must judge, and so He will. How-
ever, what they do not understand is that Gods spiritual fire is a good thing, for its
purpose is to purge and cleanse all from dead works. It does not destroy or end-
lessly punish anyone; its purpose is for restoration, so that God may be All in all.

Interestingly, a recent poll of Americans revealed that 31% of those polled see God
as an angry, authoritarian God. Unfortunately, this impression is reinforced by
many preachers who know little to nothing of the word of the conciliation. A very
well-known preacher recently declared: The only thing equal to the love of God is
the wrath of God. More is written on His wrath than on His love.

He loves thr ough j udgment.

I have not found a Scripture that declares God is wrath; but it does declare God is
love. Nothing, absolutely nothing, equals God is love! Wrath must come forth from
the love of God, for this is who He is. Unfortunately, man defines wrath from his
perspective, which is more like torture. God is not like man and neither is His
wrath. Gods wrath is corrective, not penal; it is constructive, not destructive.

Our God is not angry or mad. These are attributes of man who does not know the
heart of God. All judgment has been given to the Son of God, who is the Son of His
love.

262
GOD IS LOVE

And He is treading the wine trough of the fury of the indignation of God,
the Almighty. (Revelation 19.15 CV)

Most reading this verse probably see the words fury and indignation and quickly
come to the conclusion that this means God is really mad at mankind. But if we
look at the meaning, or we could say the heart, of these words, we discover that
they express passion, very strong passion and desire.

The Greek word for fury is thumos, which means feel or passion, as if breathing
hard. The Greek word for indignation is org, which means properly desire, as
reaching forth or excitement of the mind.

Given the root meaning of these words, we see that there is a passionate desire
driving this action. Again, many look at wrath or fury as an out of control passion
of man, an emotional response that seeks to utterly destroy or get vengeance.
When man is enraged he often seeks revenge or, as the saying goes, he seeks for
blood.

But the Lord Himself is never out of control. When He acts, He has the utmost of
control. He is not out to destroy. He is driven by a passion for mankind, a passion-
ate desire to see mankind freed from the bondage of sin and corruption. Why
shouldnt He act out of deep passion for that which He brought forth out of love,
even if it leads to severe chastisement? Even amongst mankind, parents who
deeply love their children must administer what we call tough love to train them.
Why would we think that our Lord would react otherwise with those He created to
be in His image? He is deeply passionate. His desire is for man.

Is justice served when some of Gods created beings are forever cast out of His
presence with no chance of restitution or rehabilitation? Is justice served when
there is no end to the punishment? Doesnt a deep, passionate love keep reaching
out until the hardened heart is fully won to the Lover? How do we explain Gods
justice for those whose hearts He hardened to serve His purpose? How do we
explain Gods justice for the vessels of dishonor that He created to serve His
purpose? If He punishes and tortures them endlessly, where is God is love in this
type of justice?

Gods justice will be served at the great white throne judgment, which will result in
the second death for many. But does this justice demand eternal torment or, as
some see it, torture? Does it demand an eternal existence away from the presence
of God? God is a consuming fire means that God will purify all that is evil in accord
with His divine law. The fire of His law is a purifier. But does it mean that He will
torment some of His creatures in a never-ending fire without any chance of
reprieve? Does the love of God for the world and mankind that was created in His
image never enter into Gods justice? May it not be coming to that! Our God i s
love!

263

God must judge, but He must judge in love, and He must judge according to His
divine law of perfect justice that is underpinned by His love. He is love, and love
must trump all. We know that today we are to abide in faith and love; but the
greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13.13 NASB). However, when the perfect
comes, faith and hope will be no more, for these will be fulfilled when we see our
Lord face to face. We could say that faith and hope are temporary things. In like
fashion, justice, grace and mercy are all temporary measures until love conquers
all; until love ascends the throne of the heart of all creation and leads mankind to
the heights of glory. When love reigns supreme there will be no need for justice, for
all will be in the perfect will of God. Of all the attributes of God, love is king. Again,
love must trump all, for God is love.

How could God continue to be the Supreme and the Sovereign of His creation if
some of His creation is forever outside His will? Will He not cease being God of
All? Will His purpose and plan be deemed an absolute success?

Some say man has a free will, and many have chosen to reject Gods Son, so they
will get their due justice. But where was our will when we were born? Where was
our will when we were born to die? Where will our will be when our last breath
leaves our body of corruption? Where was our will when the Son of God died for us
to save us from our sins? Where was our will when the grace of our Lord over-
whelmed our unbelief with faith and love in Christ Jesus?

Conquered by love.

Today, man thinks that his will rules the day, but do we think for a moment that
mankind can or ever will trump the will of God? Doesnt the potter have full
responsibility for the pot that he forms? Does the pot have the right to question the
potter why it was formed a certain way? Is God not the Potter and we are the pot,
the clay? Are we, the created, able to resist the will of the Creator? Who are we to
think that our will is greater than the will of God Who wills that all mankind be
saved, that somehow we can and will overrule Gods will? If God has set His will to
save all mankind, then He will save all mankind. Read Romans 9.

Gods will is greater than mans will, and all will be conquered by His love ex-
pressed through His Son. Consider these verses.

All was given up to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is
except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and whomsoever the
Son may be intending to unveil Him. (Luke 10.22 CV)

And this is the will of him that has sent me, that of all that he has
given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up in the last day.
(John 6.39 DNT)

And I, if I should be exalted out of the earth, shall be drawing [lit.
dragging] all to Myself. (John 12.32 CV [ALT])
264
GOD IS LOVE

All has been given to the Son; the Son will lose nothing; and the Son shall draw all
to Himself, which literally means that He will drag all to Himself. Can Scripture
make it any clearer? This is love! Love conquers all!

The Son of God will gather all in heaven and on earth to Himself. He is like a
magnet that will draw everything to Himself. Once a magnet is set in place it drags
all metal to itself. He is like the mother hen that broods over her chicks. As He
brooded over Jerusalem, so He will brood over all (see Matthew 23.37). All will
come under the shelter of His wings, forever kept in the love of the Son.

Love i s the greatest law.

The foundation of Gods divine law is His divine love; the royal law is love.

Love sums up all the commandments.

And He said to him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL
YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR
MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is
like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two
commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22.37-
40 NASB)

Love is the ultimate law of God, for it is the foundation of the Law and the
Prophets. Everything is to be judged for how much love has been manifested. All
mankind will be judged by their works of love.

James called the commandment to love the royal law.

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture,
YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, you are doing well.
(James 2.8 NASB)

The Greek word for royal is basilikos, which means belonging to (or befitting) the
sovereign; the kings. This law belongs to the King, the Sovereign of all. The Greek
word for love is agapa, which is the verb form of the love that is attributed to
God. We are commanded to love our neighbors unconditionally as we love our-
selves unconditionally.

Jesus Himself has given us the commandment to love.

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14.15 NASB)

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love
him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does
not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is
not Mine, but the Fathers who sent Me. (John 14.23-24 NASB)
265

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I
have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life
for his friends. (John 15.12-13 NASB)

Consider Jesus progression of thought. First, He tells His disciples to keep His
commandments out of love for Him. Then, He defines His commandments as His
word. Those who keep His word (commandments) will be loved by the Father. So
now we have a reciprocal love. Love Me, keep My word and My Father will love
you in turn. Finally, love itself is the commandment of Jesus to His disciples. His
commandment to us is to love one another as He has loved us.

In his first epistle, John, the apostle of love, wrote: This is Hi s commandment,
that we beli eve i n the name of Hi s Son J esus Chri st, and love one
another , just as He commanded us (1 John 3.23 NASB).

Faith (trust in the Son) and love (love of the Son) go hand-in-hand.

Paul, the striving apostle, reinforced all that John wrote on the matter, for he
encouraged brethren to pursue love and faith. He looked for it in them and
commended them when he saw or heard of it in their midst (e.g., Ephesians 1.15;
3.17; Colossians 1.14; 1 Thessalonians 3.6; 5.8; 2 Thessalonians 1.3). Paul referred
to it is as the faith and love in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1.14 CV).

Paul was looking for the relationship of love manifested amongst the brethren, for
this is the heart of God.

Paul should know. He called himself the least of the apostles because he had perse-
cuted the Lords body on earth, even making believers blaspheme, before the risen
Christ met him on the road to Damascus. Paul knew that he did not deserve the
love of God, for he was the foremost of sinners. But he came to know the love of
God that reached down and overwhelmed his unbelief and ignorance with faith
and love in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1.14; 2 Timothy 1.13). Paul knew the depths of
Gods love for him, and he expressed that love to the brethren by pouring out his
life daily for them.

Love, a r elati onshi p.

Love must be expressed, and it is expressed through relationship. God is love
means that with the consummation of the eons, God will be in a love relationship
with His entire creation as a father is in relationship with his family. However, we
must see that the genesis of this relationship is a love relationship between the
Father and the Son. We cannot and must not separate the love of God from the Son
of His love, our Lord Jesus Christ. The relationship between God the Father and
His Son is a love relationship that existed before the disruption of the world (John
17.24).

266
GOD IS LOVE

Father, those whom Thou hast given Me, I will that, where I am, they also
may be with Me, that they may be beholding My glory which Thou has given
Me, for Thou lovest Me before the disruption of the world. And I make
known to them Thy name, and I shall make it known, that the love with
which Thou lovest Me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17.24, 26 CV)

Gods love is expressed for, in, through and by His Son. If we want to know that
God is love, we must know the Son of His love, the visible image of the invisible
God. On the one hand, the Fathers love for His Son desires to give His Son all
creation as His possession and allotment, and on the other hand, the Sons love for
His Father desires to give His Father His rightful place as the Father of all creation.

Their love cannot be contained between them but has to be expressed throughout
the creation of God. Love demands an expression of itself that reaches beyond
itself to touch something outside itself. In this case, the object of Gods love is
mankind that was created to be in the image and likeness of Jesus. We could say
that the love between the Father and the Son birthed creation and man who was
made to be in the image and likeness of God.

The love of God reached down to touch humanity and to raise mankind to the
heights of glory. The love of God is the thread that has been woven throughout the
eons that have passed and the thread that will flow through the glorious eons yet to
come. The love of God in Christ Jesus is the thread that binds all the eons together
and will close out the eons of the eons. The love of God in Christ Jesus is what will
consummate all the eons when the Son of God gladly delivers up the kingdom to
His God and Father, so that God may be All in all. The love of God in Christ Jesus
is what will sweep us into eternity.

The highest form of love is discovered when One willingly sacrifices His life for
others and then willingly subjects Himself to Another, so that the Other will
receive all the honor and glory. This is the love of God in His Son.

Love never fai ls.

Our current era has been reserved to express the love of God to the vessel that Paul
calls the ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. Christ loves the ecclesia and gave
Himself up for her that He might present her to Himself in all her glory, having no
spot or wrinkle, that she would be holy and blameless (see Ephesians 5.22-33).
What love! Later, this love will be progressively expressed to the nations until all
mankind is brought to know the love of God, to the praise and honor and glory of
God. When all come to this place of glory, then the word will be fulfilled that
declares that at the name of Jesus every knee wi ll bow, of those in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue wi ll confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2.10-11; also Isaiah
45.23). With this declaration, all that the Son of His love was given to do for His
Father will have been accomplished.

267

The plan of the eons is to express the love of God to His creation and to fill creation
with His love. At the consummation of the eons, all creation will know the love of
God in all its dimensions. Love means that Gods creation will operate as one
family with one Father. There will be no need for governments or kingdoms as we
know them today. Love will rule the day, and all will be in Gods perfect will. In
that day, love will fulfill the law of God in the whole creation. No longer will
anyone do wrong to his neighbor.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment
of the law. (Romans 13.10 NASB)

Paul knew the very love of Christ as he experienced Gods love poured out on the
foremost of sinners. He willingly died daily that others might know this love. Paul
asked: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8.35)? He declared:
Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13.8). If love never fails, and we know that God is
love, then how can we say that His love will not save all mankind and reach out
into His entire creation? If it does not, then Paul is a liar and we cannot trust his
word. But Paul testified: I am telling the truth, I am not lying.

It is only fitting that we conclude with Pauls words that best describe the love of
God in Christ Jesus, our Lord, as it relates to those called and chosen during our
present era.

Now we are aware that God is working all together for the good of those who
are loving God, who are called according to the purpose that, whom He fore-
knew, He designates beforehand, also, to be conformed to the image of His
Son, for Him to be Firstborn among many brethren. Now whom He desig-
nates beforehand, these He calls also, and whom He calls, these He justifies
also; now whom He justifies, these He glorifies also. What, then, shall we de-
clare to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Surely, He Who
spares not His own Son, but gives Him up for us all, how shall He not, to-
gether with Him, also, be graciously granting us all? Who will be indicting
Gods chosen ones? God, the Justifier? Who is the Condemner? Christ Jesus,
the One dying, yet rather being roused, Who is also at Gods right hand, Who
is pleading also for our sakes? What shall be separating us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus? Affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or na-
kedness, or danger, or sword? According as it is written, that On Thy ac-
count we are being put to death the whole day, We are reckoned as sheep for
slaughter. Nay! in all these we are more than conquering through Him Who
loves us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor mes-
sengers, nor sovereignties, nor the present, nor what is impend-
ing, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our
Lord. (Romans 8.28-39 CV)

How do we sum up the purpose and plan of the eons? The love of God in Christ
Jesus, our Lord!
268
GOD IS LOVE

Someone recently asked those gathered for a worship service if anyone understood
why God does things the way He does. The brother asked if there was anyone in
the room who could answer the question. I was tempted to respond. The answer is
that God is love.

Beloved of God, no matter what you are going through in your life today, or you
will encounter in the days ahead, never lose sight of the fact that God loves you and
nothing, absolutely nothing, can or ever will separate you from the love of God in
Christ Jesus. Nothing! We may have more trials, uncertainties and even major
changes to face, or perhaps death itself before the treasure hidden in His body of
conquerors bursts forth, and they are transfigured into the body of His glory; but
be assured that His love for us will never change.

Be encouraged that when He appears to us, we will forever be with the Lord from
then on. No matter where the Lord is or what the Lord will be doing during the
eons of the eons and beyond, we will be with Him.

As I meditated on this thought, I thought about when God spoke to Job about the
sons of God shouting for joy when He laid the cornerstone of the earth (Job 38.4-
7). Then, I thought about the heavenly host that praised God and gave Him glory
when Christ was born (Luke 2.13-14). We cannot see the heavenly host with our
physical eyes today; nevertheless, they exist and, most likely, are looking upon us
today, marveling at the multifarious wisdom of God. The point is that, in some
measure, we will be like the heavenly host as we will be able to observe and
participate in all that our Lord will be doing.

As sons of God, we too will shout for joy over all the marvelous works of God that
undoubtedly will come forth. When the nations begin to turn to the Lord and His
righteousness is established in the earth, we will be looking on and shouting for
joy, giving glory to God. When the new heavens and the new earth come into view
and the new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, having the glory of God, we will
be that city of glory, and we will be shouting for joy. When the Son abolishes all
rule and all authority and all power, abolishes death itself and then hands over the
kingdom to His Father, we will be looking on and shouting for joy, giving glory to
God. When the consummation of the eons finally arrives and all mankind sees the
absolute victory of the cross of Calvary, we will be that celestial body looking upon
the glory of God as He fills all that is new with His love. Along with all creation, we
will be that celestial choir singing the praises of God and His Son.

Through Joel the prophet we are told that the Lord will pour out His spirit on all
mankind (Joel 2.28). Paul tells us that we have been given the spirit of love (2
Timothy 1.7). It is the spirit of love that will be poured out on all mankind.

What is the purpose of the eons? All i n love! All in love with God the Father and
His Son! What is the character of what lies beyond the eons of the eons? Love!

269

May the Lord direct your heart into the love of God and may you know the love of
God in Christ Jesus that surpasses all knowledge, for this is in accord with the
purpose of the eons! Amen!

270
APPENDIX 1

SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE

The following lists the spiritual meaning of many numbers used in Scripture.

1. Unity, primacy
2. Division
3. Divine perfection or completeness (refer to #7)
4. Fullness of creation, the world
5. Grace, Gods goodness
6. Man, mans wisdom and labor
7. Spiritual perfection (refer to #3)
8. New birth, new creation, new beginnings
9. Judgment; or 3x3 signifying the gifts and fruit of spirit
10. Fullness of law and responsibility, ordinal completion
11. Disorder, disintegration
12. Divine government
13. Depravity and rebellion
14. Deliverance, salvation
15. Rest
16. Love
17. Victory
18. Bondage, spiritual infirmity, and release into life
19. Faith
20. Redemption
21. Exceeding sinfulness of sin
22. Light
23. Death
24. Priesthood
25. Forgiveness of sins
26. Gospel of Christ
27. Preaching the gospel
28. Eonian life
29. Departure
30. Blood of Christ, dedication in the temple, spiritual maturity
31. Offspring
32. Covenant
33. Promise
34. Naming of a son
35. Hope
36. Enemy
37. Jesus, as the Word of God
38. Slavery
39. Disease, infirmity, weakness
40. Trial, probation, testing
271

SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE
1

42. Mans opposition to God, antichrist
45. Preservation
46. Herods Temple, Man without the Holy Spirit
49. Jubilee
50. Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Jubilee
51. Divine revelation, peace
52. Building wall around Jerusalem
60. Pride
61. Restoration based on six days and seventh day, 6+1 *
65. Apostasy
66. Idol worship
70. Universality, restoration/reconciliation of all
76. Cleansing or blotting out
100. Gods election of grace, children of promise
119. Call to resurrection, yet falling short
120. Probationary period awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
144. First resurrection saints
153. Sons of God
200. Insufficiency
210. Time of Jacobs trouble (refer to #21)
220. Light (refer to #22)
276. Flesh, Satan, Babylon
390. No king in Israel (refer to #39)
414. Cursed time
434. Judged time
490. Blessed time (refer to #49)
600. Warfare in the world (refer to #60)
666. Mans authority over Gods creation
888. Fullness of Christs body
1000. Glory of God, Divine completeness

49000. Creations Jubilee

1
Number in Scriptures by E.W. Bullinger, Kregel Publications, 1967;
Biblical Mathematics, Keys to Scripture Numerics by Ed. F. Vallowe, The Olive Press, 1998;
Secrets of Time by Dr. Stephen E. Jones, Gods Kingdom Ministries, 2000.
* Writers addition.
272
APPENDIX 2

ABBREVIATIONS OF SCRIPTURE VERSIONS

The following list represents Scripture versions that may have been referenced in
this book.

Primary: versions referenced most frequently

ALT Analytical-Literal Translation (2001)
ASV American Standard Version (1901)
CV Concordant Version (1926, 1983)
KJV King James Version
NASB New American Standard Bible (1960, 2002)
REB Rotherhams Emphasized Bible (1959, 1994)
WNT Weymouths New Testament in Modern Speech (1912)
YLT Youngs Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (1898)

Secondary: versions referenced less frequently, perhaps only once

BBE Bible in Basic English (1965)
BTCB Bullingers The Companion Bible (1922)
BWD Benjamin Wilsons Diaglott (1942)
CEV Contemporary English Version
CJB Complete Jewish Bible (1998)
DNT Darby New Translation (1899)
ESV English Standard Version (2001)
GB Geneva Bible (1599)
GW Gods Word
HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible
HNV Hebrew Names Bible
ISV International Standard Version
JBP Phillips The New Testament in Modern English (1958)
JMT James Moffatt Translation
JPS Jewish Publication Society Bible (1917)
LITV Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (1976, 2001)
MKJV Modern King James Version (1962, 1998)
MNT Murdocks New Testament
NIV New International Version (1973, 1984)
NKJV New King James Version (1979, 1999)
TCNT Twentieth Century New Testament (1904)
TSS The Sacred Scriptures (1981)
TT Tyndales Translation (1530)
WAET Wuests The New TestamentAn Expanded Translation (1961)
WEB Webster Bible (1833)

273

274

Eon 1

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Eon 1

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.

S-ar putea să vă placă și