The Promise and
Christ's Inheritance:
(Part
Two)
By
Gerry Watts
Abraham, the Father
of Faith
"For not through law is the
promise to Abraham, or to his Seed, for him to be enjoyer of the
allotment of the world, but through faith's righteousness. For if those
of law are enjoyers of the allotment, faith has been made void and the
promise has been nullified, for the law is producing indignation. Now where
no law is, neither is there transgression.
Therefore it is of faith that it may
accord with grace, for the promise to be confirmed to the entire seed,
not to those of the law only, but to those also of the faith of Abraham,
who is father of us all, according as it is written that, 'A father of
many nations have I appointed you'..."
(Romans 4:13-17)
"Now to Abraham the promises were
declared, and to his Seed. He is not saying "And to seeds," as of
many, but as of One: And to "your Seed," which is Christ. Now this
am I saying: a covenant, having been ratified before by God, the law, having
come four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not invalidate, so as to
nullify the promise. For if the enjoyment of the allotment is of law, it is
no longer of promise. Yet God has graciously granted it to Abraham
through the promise...But the scripture locks up all together under sin,
that the promise out of Jesus Christ's faith may be given to those who are believing."
(Galatians 3:16-18, 22)
Paul is laying down here the foundational
truth of the evangel of God for today, which is made available to all nations,
and not just Israel. He is saying that the original promise to Abraham and his
Seed to rule the world is based purely on the righteousness that comes from
faith. It has nothing to do with the Law that was added centuries later. The
Seed of Abraham is ultimately Christ Himself, born a Son of Abraham, who will
fulfill the promise and rule the world.
He is not only the Seed of Abraham, but as
regards His royal lineage, He is the Root and Seed of David.
"Remember Jesus Christ, Who has been
roused from among the dead, is of the seed of David, according to my
evangel..."
(2 Timothy 2:8)
"I, Jesus,...am the Root and Race of
David..."
(Revelation 22:16)
He is the Root of David because He is
Yahweh Himself, who gave David, and Abraham, the promises! The Jews knew that
Jesus was declaring this fact when He told them that He had seen Abraham, which
is why they wanted to stone Him for blasphemy!
" "Abraham, your father, rejoiced
that he may see and know My day, and he did see and know it and
rejoiced." The Jews, then, said to Him, "You are not as yet fifty
years old, and you have seen Abraham!" Jesus said to them, "Truly,
truly, I am saying to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am."
They then pick up stones to throw at Him."
(John 8:56-59 FT)
Yet as to His flesh, as the Man
Jesus of Nazareth, He was born of the tribe of Judah, of the house of David. Not
only is He the Root of Jesse, David's father, He is also the Branch of
David.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
(Isaiah 11:1 NIV)
Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Here
is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place
and build the temple of the LORD.'
(Zechariah 6:12 NIV; see also 3:8 &
Jeremiah 23:5)
The Hebrew nazer can be translated
as branch, and this is a Messianic term in the prophets, though it is
somewhat hidden. The prophets stated that the Messiah would be called the
Branch. Now here's the really interesting bit. The word Nazeroth
(i.e. Nazareth) is derived from Nazer. So Jesus was literally called 'the
Branch, the Nazarene' - and He is still called this by Jews today.
'...and he went and
lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said
through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene." '
(Matthew 2:23 NIV)
Zechariah 6:12, quoted above, was
fulfilled when Jesus was before Pontius Pilate and Pilate addressed the crowd.
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him,
they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"
But Pilate answered, "You take him
and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
(John 19:5-6 NIV)
Then, when Jesus was crucified on the
tree (related to Branch), the sign above Him read, in Aramaic, Latin and
Greek, 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' (John 19:19-22). His
Name was the Branch and He was nailed to the tree as the Son of
David - the King.
Yet
Christ also holds the Key of David, that is, He alone opens the door for
entrance into the kingdom and He alone shuts it again.
"Now this is saying the True, the Holy
One, Who has the key of David, and Who is opening and no one shall be
locking, and locking and no one shall be opening."
(Revelation 3:7)
Yet Christ is also the Door itself!
"I am the Door of the sheep...I am the
Door...if anyone shall be entering through Me, he shall be saved...I came
that they may have eonian life, and have it superabundantly."
(John
10:7-10)
But going back to what Paul is saying
about Abraham in Romans, the Promise is based on grace and not
the Law, for the Law and its fleshly precepts can only condemn. The promises and
blessings of God have always been based on faith in accord with grace so that no
one can boast before Him! It was always this way. It was never God's intention
to establish the promised blessing through Law! The Law was given to condemn
those under it, for they could not help but transgress! This in turn prepared
them for the coming of the Messiah and Saviour in Whom the promises are to be
fulfilled. He then paid the price once for all as the Lamb of God on behalf of Israel
and the whole world to deliver them from the curse and condemnation of the Law.
Those who believe in Him are sheltered from God's wrath and indignation, and
shall receive the allotment of eonian life.
"...Christ Jesus (Whom God purposed for a Propitiatory shelter, through faith in His blood, for a display of His righteousness because of the passing over of the penalties of sins which occurred before in the forbearance of God)..."
(Romans 3:24-25; see also Acts 2:22-40; 17:30)
"And He is the propitiatory shelter
concerned with our sins, yet not concerned with ours only, but concerned with
the whole world also."
(1 John 2:2)
"And this is the promise which He
promises us: the eonian life...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."
(1 John 2:25; 5:11-12)
Abraham was a man of the nations when he
was called by Yahweh. He then believed God and obeyed, and this faith was
credited to him as righteousness. But Paul emphasises the fact in Romans 4:9-12
that Abraham was uncircumcised when he was called, and when he
showed his faith, and when he was given the promises! He was then
given the sign of circumcision as a seal in his flesh many years later. But the
foundational stuff happened while he was in uncircumcision, well before the
Law was given. So he is most definitely the father of us all, whether of
those of the Circumcision who believed under Law, or of those of the
Uncircumcised nations who have no Law!
Now through Jesus Christ's faith, the Seed
of Abraham, all those who show their faith in Him, in the same manner as
Abraham did when he believed God, these shall receive the promises. These become the sons of God,
those in Christ who are truly led by the Spirit of God and His Son.
"...for you are all sons of God,
through faith in Christ Jesus. For whoever are baptized into Christ, put
on Christ, in Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet
free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. Now
if you are Christ's, consequently you are of Abraham's seed, enjoyers of the
allotment according to the promise."
(Galatians 3:26-29)
"For whoever are being led by God's
Spirit, these are sons of God."
(Romans 8:14)
Paul is describing the New Humanity in
Christ, those who belong to the New Creation in Spirit. This is the Bride/Body
of Christ Ecclesia, Christ's Flock, those taken out from the fold of Judaism as well
as from the nations.
"And other sheep I have which are not
of this fold. Those also I must be leading, and they will be hearing My
voice, and there will be one flock, one Shepherd."
(John 10:16)
These are the true celestial Israel of God
of the New Creation, the true circumcision in spirit not flesh, that which is of the
heart, the true sons of Abraham.
"For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation. And
whoever shall observe the elements by this rule, peace be on them, and
mercy, also on the Israel of God."
(Galatians 6:15-16)
"Beware of the maimcision, for we
are the circumcision who are offering divine service in the Spirit of God,
and are glorying in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in flesh."
(Philippians 3:3)
"He who has the bride is the
Bridegroom...The spirit is that which is vivifying. The flesh is not benefiting
anything. The declarations which I have spoken to you are spirit and are
life."
(John 3:29; 6:63)
"Wherefore, remember that once you, the nations in flesh - who are termed
"Uncircumcision" by those termed "Circumcision," in flesh, made by hands - that you were, in that era, apart from Christ,
being alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and the guests of the promise
covenants, having no expectation, and without God in the world.
Yet now, in Christ Jesus, you, who once are far off, are become near by the blood of Christ. For He is our Peace,
Who makes both one, and razes the central wall of the barrier (the enmity in His flesh), nullifying the law of precepts in decrees,
that He should be creating the two, in Himself, into one new humanity, making
peace; and should be reconciling both in one body to God through the cross, killing the enmity in it. And, coming, He brings the evangel of peace to
you, those afar, and peace to those near, for through Him we both have had the access, in one Spirit, to the Father.
Consequently, then, no longer are you guests and sojourners, but are fellow-citizens of the saints and belong to God's
family, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the capstone of the corner being Christ Jesus Himself, in Whom the entire building,
being connected together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord: in Whom
you, also, are being built together for God's dwelling place, in spirit."
(Ephesians 2:11-22)
Instead of the fleshly seal of
circumcision, these Sons of God are sealed within by the Holy Spirit of God, the
true circumcision of the heart, marked as God's property with a seal of
Ownership. This is the Spirit of Promise, which is an earnest or deposit of our
allotment, guaranteeing what is to come. This spiritual seal is greater than the
fleshly seal.
'...in Whom you were circumcised also with
a circumcision not made by hands, (that is) in the stripping off
of the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ.'
(Colossians 2:11)
"In Whom you also - on hearing the
word of truth, the evangel of your salvation - in Whom on believing also, you
are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise (which is an earnest of
the enjoyment of our allotment, to the deliverance of that which has been
procured) for the laud of His glory!...the eyes of your heart having
been enlightened, for you to perceive what is the expectation of His
calling, and what the riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His
allotment among the saints..."
(Ephesians 1:13-14, 18)
"Now He Who is confirming us together
with you in Christ, and anoints us, is God, Who also seals us and is
giving the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
(2 Corinthians
1:21-22)
"And I perceived another messenger
ascending from the orient, having the seal of the living God...'You
shall not be injuring the land, nor yet the sea, nor yet the trees, until we
should be sealing the slaves of our God on their foreheads.' "
(Revelation
7:2-3)
The True Life - Immortality
This spiritual seal of God gives believers
a foretaste of their future deliverance from sin and death. This is the ultimate
allotment of God - immortality and incorruption! This is true eonian
life: to know the Father and His Son intimately in the power of an immortal body
that transcends the laws of this Old Creation of corruption and death!
"Now this is eternal (eonian)
life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you
have sent."
(John 17:3 NIV)
"...treasuring up for themselves an
ideal foundation for that which is impending, that they may get hold of
life really."
(1 Timothy 6:19)
"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...For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on
immortality...then shall come to pass the word which is written, Swallowed
up was Death by Victory..."
(1 Corinthians 15:50, 53-54)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His vast mercy, regenerates us into a
living expectation, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the
dead, for the enjoyment of an allotment incorruptible and undefiled and
unfading, kept in the heavens for you, who are garrisoned by the power
of God, through faith, for salvation ready to be revealed in the last era,
in which you are exulting."
(1 Peter 1:3-6)
"...through which have been presented
to us the precious and greatest promises, that through these you
may become participants of the divine nature, fleeing from the
corruption which is in the world by lust."
(2 Peter 1:4)
"...Christ Jesus, Who, indeed,
abolishes death, yet illuminates life and incorruption through the
evangel of which I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher
of the nations."
(2 Timothy 1:10-11)
"For our realm is inherent in the
heavens, out of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the Lord, Jesus
Christ, Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation, to conform it
to the body of His glory, in accord with the operation which enables Him
even to subject all to Himself."
(Philippians 3:20-21)
"For we are aware that, if our
terrestrial tabernacle house should be demolished, we have a building of
God, a house not made by hands, eonian, in the heavens. For in this also we
are groaning, longing to be dressed in our habitation which is out of
heaven...that the mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Now He Who produces us for this same longing is God, Who is also giving us the
earnest of the Spirit."
(2 Corinthians 5:1-5)
The spiritual, immortal body, the true
Temple of God, will not be encumbered by all of the limitations of our present
soulish bodies. We shall be free from the laws and ways of this Old Creation,
such as gravity, death and decay, the need for sustenance and shelter, as well
as other bodily functions that are necessary and natural at present (such as
sleep and rest, relieving bodily waste, sexual needs, etc), no more sickness and
infirmity, and most of all, there will be no distance from God and His Son, no
sin and wrong-doing to hinder us. We shall be truly full of power and life,
basking in the glory of the Sun of righteousness. We shall belong to another
dimension (a spiritual, celestial, heavenly one) that can interact with the
present world. To find out more about this immortal body, just take a careful
look at the details of the events after Jesus' resurrection (His appearances to
the disciples in Mark 16, particularly Luke 24, John 20-21 and Acts 1).
This is the real blessing of salvation and
eonian life.
"...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 One's
grace, we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of the allotment of
life eonian."
(Titus 3:5-7)
"...that you should be enjoying the
allotment of blessing..."
(1 Peter 3:9)
"Does not God choose the poor in the
world, rich in faith and enjoyers of the allotment of the kingdom
which He promises to those who are loving Him?"
(James 2:5)
"Are they (angels or messengers)
not all ministering spirits commissioned for service because of those who
are about to be enjoying the allotment of salvation?"
(Hebrews
1:14)
In comparison, anything less than this
allotment is death, and not true Life! Hence all those who are not saved shall
have to endure the severe chastening of the Second Death on the New Earth until
they are reconciled to God.
Paul also reveals that the Body of Christ
Ecclesia, the Sons of God, will share in Christ's universal Headship.
"...the secret of His will...to have
an administration of the complement of the eras, to head up all in the
Christ - both that in the heavens and that on the earth - in Him in
Whom our lot was cast also, being designated beforehand 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...His power...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: 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 1:9-12, 20-23)
"...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;...Who...is seated at the right hand
of the Majesty in the heights; becoming so much better than the
messengers as He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name than they."
(Hebrews 1:2-4)
"...Jesus Christ, Who is at God's
right hand, being gone into heaven, messengers and authorities and powers
being subjected to Him."
(1 Peter 3:21-22)
"Wherefore, also, God highly exalts
Him, and graces Him with the name that is above every name, that in the
name of Jesus every knee should be bowing, celestial and terrestrial
and subterranean, and every tongue should be acclaiming that Jesus
Christ is Lord, for the glory of God, the Father."
(Philippians 2:9-11)
"...God...vivifies us together in
Christ (in grace are you saved!) and rouses us together and seats us
together 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."
(Ephesians 2:6-7)
"...in spirit the nations are to be joint
enjoyers of an allotment, and a joint body, and joint
partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus, through the evangel of
which I became the dispenser, in accord with the gratuity of the grace of
God..."
(Ephesians 3:6-7)
"And to the one who is conquering
and keeping My acts until the consummation, to him will I be giving
authority over the nations; and he shall be shepherding them with an
iron club, as vessels of pottery are being crushed, as I also have
obtained from My Father...The one who is conquering, to him will
I be granting to be seated with Me on My throne as I, also, conquer,
and am seated with My Father on His throne."
(Revelation
2:26-28; 3:21)
The whole of creation is awaiting the time
when these Sons of God shall be revealed or manifested or unveiled at the return of
Christ, and will then take the reins of government.
"For you did not get slavery's spirit to fear again, but you got
the spirit of sonship, in which we are crying, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit itself is testifying together with our spirit that
we are children of God. Yet if children, enjoyers also of an allotment, enjoyers, indeed, of an allotment from God, yet joint enjoyers of Christ's allotment,
if so be that we are suffering together, that we should be glorified together
also.
For I am reckoning that the sufferings of the current era do not deserve the glory about to be revealed for us.
For the premonition of the creation is awaiting the unveiling of the sons of
God. For to vanity was the creation subjected, not voluntarily, but because of Him Who subjects it, in expectation that
the creation itself, also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of
God. For we are aware that the entire creation is groaning and travailing together until
now.
Yet not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the
Spirit, we ourselves also, are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our
body. For to expectation were we saved. Now expectation, being observed, is not expectation, for what anyone is observing, why is he expecting it also? Now, if we are expecting what we are not observing,
we are awaiting it with endurance."
(Romans 8:15-25)
Yet notice here in the above text that
Paul states that the Sons of God will only enjoy the allotment of God's
blessing, sharing in Christ's allotment, if we suffer together with Him. Only
then will we be glorified together with Him. This means that only those who endure
and conquer and overcome by the Spirit of God will be saved to
enjoy this allotment of rulership with Christ. These are the true Chosen Ones of
God, the Saints or Holy Ones, the Body of Christ who have shown their worthiness
by their faith and obedience.
"If ever you should be remaining in
My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the
truth, and the truth will be making you free."
(John
8:31-32)
"If anyone should be serving Me, let
him be following Me, and where I am, there My servant also shall
be."
(John 12:26)
"...according as He chooses us in Him
before the disruption of the world (that is, before sin entered),
we to be holy and flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand for
the place of a son for Him through Christ Jesus."
(Ephesians 1:4-5)
"No one can come to Me if ever the
Father Who sends Me should not be drawing him...And no one is recognising
the Son except the Father; neither is anyone recognising the Father except
the Son and he to whom the Son should be intending to unveil Him."
(John 6:44; Matthew 11:27)
"...for all that is begotten of God is
conquering the world. And this is the conquest that conquers the world:
our faith. Now who is he who is conquering the world if not he who is
believing that Jesus is the Son of God?"
(1 John 5:4-5)
The Overcomers
Let
us now take a look at the subject of endurance, and those who are termed Overcomers
or Conquerors. Paul makes it clear that not all those who are of the nation of Israel
are really Israel, and in the same way, not all those who claim to be Christian
and belong to the Church are really the true Church or Ecclesia of God. The
other apostles also taught the same thing.
"For not all who are descended from
Israel are Israel"
(Romans 9:6 NIV)
" For I do not want you to be
ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all
passed through the sea, and all are 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 drank of the spiritual Rock which followed. Now
the Rock was Christ. But not in the majority of them does God delight,
for they were strewn along in the wilderness. Now these things became
types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, according as
they also lust...
...Now all this befalls them typically.
Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of
the eons have attained. So that, let him who is supposing he stands
beware that he should not be falling. No trial has taken you except
what is human. Now, faithful is God, Who will not be leaving you to be tried
above what you are able, but, together with the trial, will be making the
sequel also, to enable you to undergo it."
(1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 11-13)
Paul is clearly saying here that of all
those who belonged to the nation of Israel who were led by Moses in the desert,
who saw and experienced the miracles and blessings of God, the majority of them
were not of true faith, and were therefore destroyed by the judgments of God.
Only a minority were the chosen ones who evidenced their faith with their
actions. Yet even though we are not now under Law, and we belong to an era of
abundant grace, these ancient events are there to warn us not to behave in the
same way as they did. Paul warns all those who claim to belong to the Ecclesia
of God that we can fall due to trial. Only the grace and power of God within us
can help us to undergo such trials and remain faithful.
A similar warning is given in the book of
Hebrews.
"...Christ...Whose house we are, that
is, if we should be retaining the boldness and the glorying of the
expectation confirmed unto the consummation. Wherefore, according as the
Holy Spirit is saying, "Today, if ever His voice you should be hearing,
you should not be hardening your hearts as in the embitterment, in the
day of trial in the wilderness"...
...Beware, brethren, lest at some time
there shall be in any one of you a wicked heart of unbelief, in
withdrawing from the living God. But entreat yourselves each day, until what
is called "today," lest anyone of you may be hardened by the
seduction of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, that is, if
we should be retaining the beginning of the assumption confirmed unto the
consummation..."
(Hebrews 3:6-8, 12-14)
Only those who are retaining, that is, holding on
to, their original confidence of faith, who confirm their choice by boldly enduring to the
end (that is, the end of their life or the end of the age, whichever comes
first), believing in the expectation of the kingdom, these are the ones who will
enter into God's rest, that is, the allotment of salvation, the allotment of the
kingdom. Yet it is inevitable that many shall fall aside, that is, apostatise,
due to a hardened heart, while manifesting a wicked heart of unbelief in God's
testimony about His Son.
Jesus also made it very clear that only
those who endure in the faith and bear fruit, who continue to follow Him and
remain in Him, no matter what, will be saved to enjoy the allotment of the kingdom.
"Yet he who endures to the end
shall be saved."
(Matthew 10:22 FT; also 24:13)
"Now the seed in the ideal soil stands for
those with a good and noble heart, who are hearing the word, are retaining it,
and by endurance are bearing fruit."
(Luke 8:15 FT)
"By your endurance shall you be
acquiring your souls."
(Luke 21:19)
"He who is remaining in Me, and I
in him, this one is bringing forth much fruit, for apart from Me you
can do nothing. If anyone should not be remaining in Me, he was cast out as
a branch, and it withered."
(John 15:5-6)
Paul and the other apostles also teach the
same truth.
"...God, Who will be paying each one
in accord with his acts: to those, indeed, who by endurance in good acts
are seeking glory and honour and incorruption, (will be given) life
eonian;..."
(Romans 2:7)
"Yet not only so, but we may be
glorying also in afflictions, having perceived that affliction is
producing endurance, yet endurance (is producing) testedness,
yet testedness expectation."
(Romans 5:3-4)
"Now, if we are expecting what we are
not observing, we are awaiting it with endurance."
(Romans 8:25)
"...being endued with all power,
in accord with the might of His glory, for all endurance and patience
with joy..."
(Colossians 1:11)
This is the real power of God that we
should be praying for - power for endurance and patience with joy! Most today
would rather pray that afflictions will cease so that we may 'enter our
inheritance of health and prosperity' which takes away the need for
endurance and testedness!
"...for your endurance and faith in
all your persecutions and the afflictions with which you are bearing - a
display of the just judging of God, to deem you worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which you are suffering also..."
(2 Thessalonians 1:4-5)
"...may be racing with endurance
the contest lying before us...For discipline are you enduring. As
to sons is God bringing it to you,...Now all discipline, indeed, for the
present is not seeming to be a thing of joy, but of sorrow, yet subsequently
it is rendering the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those exercised
through it."
(Hebrews 12:1, 7, 11)
"...knowing that the testing of
your faith is producing endurance. Now let endurance have its perfect
work, that you may be perfect and unimpaired, lacking in nothing."
(James 1:3-4)
"Here is the endurance and faith
of the saints."
(Revelation 13:10)
Paul also reveals to Timothy that only
those who endure shall reign with Christ.
"Faithful is the saying: "For if
we died together, we shall be living together also; if we are enduring,
we shall be reigning together also; if we are disowning, He also will be
disowning us; if we are disbelieving, He is remaining faithful - He cannot
disown Himself." "
(2 Timothy 2:11-13)
Paul is saying here that only true
believers in Christ, who have died to the flesh, will also live with Christ in
His kingdom; only those who endure shall reign with Christ in His kingdom; and
even though we may sometimes disbelieve the Word and struggle in our faith, Christ
will remain faithful to us, for He cannot disown His own Body!
But Paul also confirms here what Jesus
taught about those who completely disown Him before others through their lives -
Christ will disown them when He returns!
"Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I
will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns
Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven...If
anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man shall be ashamed of him
when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the
holy angels.
(Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 9:26 NIV)
It is true that Peter disowned Christ
three times, but he repented shortly after with great bitterness of heart. He
also didn't have the Holy Spirit within him at that time, for the Spirit was
given later. He certainly made up
for this denial in the years that followed, eventually giving his life for His
Lord. Every believer should show his or her
loyalty to our King and Lord, which includes confession to others and
obedience to the Master's teaching. We should not be ashamed. There is a cost
involved.
"...if you should be confessing with
your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and should be believing in your heart that
God roused Him from among the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart
it is believed for righteousness, yet with the mouth it is confessed for
salvation."
(Romans 10:9-10 FT)
"Become faithful until death,
and I shall be giving you the wreath of life."
(Revelation 2:10)
"Happy is the man who is enduring
trial, for, becoming qualified, he will be obtaining the wreath
of life, which He promises to those loving Him."
(James
1:12)
But who are the Overcomers or Conquerors?
Well, firstly, here is what Paul and John say concerning those who are conquerors.
"What shall be separating us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus? Affliction, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...Nay! in all these we are
more than conquering through Him Who loves us."
(Romans 8:35,
37)
"...for all that is begotten of God is
conquering the world. And this is the conquest that conquers the world:
our faith. Now who is he who is conquering the world if not he who
is believing that Jesus is the Son of God?"
(1 John 5:4-5)
Those who believe in God through Jesus
Christ, who are followers of Christ, who obey the evangel, who endure in the
Faith, who bear fruit to God by remaining in the Vine, who are led by the Spirit
as Sons of God, who belong to the Ecclesia of God, the Body and Bride of Christ
- these are the Conquering ones who overcome Satan, the world and the flesh
through Christ Jesus.
Jesus addresses these Overcomers in the 7
letters of Revelation chapters 2 & 3. These letters represent every aspect
of each individual Christian and local Church that exists throughout this era of
the secrets of the kingdom that Jesus spoke of in many of His parables. There's
a message for everyone here until Christ returns. The number Seven is the number
of spiritual completion, hence there are seven 'churches' or ecclesias.
They also represent 7 distinct epochs
within this Church era which can be interpreted using Historical Parallelism,
but that's for another study. I will just say this: we are clearly in the 7th
and final epoch of the Laodicean Church! The Day of the Lord is certainly near!
The
Promises for the Overcomers
At
the end of each letter, Jesus says,
"He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the ecclesias."
(Revelation
2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22)
This
is an intimation of the secret prophetic nature of these letters. Jesus had used
a similar phrase to the people when He had been teaching them about the 'secrets
of the kingdom' in His parables (Matthew 13:9,43,52). He spoke about these
secrets in parables so that only the spiritual ones amongst the people could
understand, while it was hidden from the rest (Matthew 13:10-17; 34-35, 52).
These secrets primarily revealed that there would be an extended period of time,
during Christ's absence, when the evangel of the kingdom would be proclaimed
throughout the world through His Body/Bride ecclesia, right up to the conclusion
of the age and His return. (For further study, see the book The
Secrets of the Parables).
In
each letter, He also gives a promise of reward to the Overcomers
or Conquerors who keep His words and
endure to the end.
Here
is what they are promised:
"To
the one who is conquering, to him will I be granting to be eating of the
log (tree) of life which is in the centre of the paradise of God."
(Revelation 2:7)
In the distant past, there was once a real Tree of Life which would've been
destroyed in the Flood, and there will probably be another Tree of Life
in the future. But the real Tree of Life, The Vine, The Fig Tree, The Olive
Tree, is Christ Himself - the One Who gives Life to all who feed on Him as the
Bread of Heaven. The Paradise of God is the blessings of the celestial kingdom.
All of this was pictured in the Garden of Eden.
"The
one who is conquering may under no circumstances be injured by the
Second Death."
(2:11)
The Second Death is metaphorically called the Lake of Fire. As we saw earlier,
the Body of Christ shall partake of immortality at the return of Christ. This
will be a special prior resurrection known as the First Resurrection, and only
believers will partake in this out-resurrection out from among the dead. All
the unsaved shall later experience the eonian chastening
of God in the Lake of Fire after their judging at the Great White Throne. They
shall suffer the divine justice of God's law as they are paid in accordance with
their acts, yet they shall suffer this in mortal bodies. The Overcomers, though,
shall not be injured by this Second Death for they will be clothed with
immortality. Instead they shall be healing those who are injured by the Second
Death through the ministry of Christ (Revelation 22:1-2).
"To
the one who is conquering, to him will I be giving of the hidden manna,
and I shall be giving him a white pebble and on the pebble a new name
written, of which no one is aware except the one who is obtaining it."
(2:17)
The Overcomers will be given special nearness to Christ (the hidden Manna), and
they will be voted in to the administration of His kingdom with a new and secret
name as a spiritual son of God (pebbles were often used for ballots). The hidden manna is a reference to
the golden urn containing a piece of the bread that was miraculously given to
the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16). It was kept inside the Ark of the
Covenant in the Tabernacle (Hebrews 9:3-4). Christ is the true Bread from heaven
(John 6:30-66)
"And to the one who is conquering
and keeping My acts until the consummation, to him will I be giving
authority over the nations; and he shall be shepherding them with an
iron club, as vessels of pottery are being crushed, as I also have
obtained from My Father. And I will give him the morning star."
(2:26-28)
They will be given authority to rule the nations as God's administrators under
Christ, and they will share in His blessings and allotment. The morning star is
a reference to the sun, which brings the light of day at dawn, after the
darkness of the night. Christ is the Son, the Sun of righteousness, the
resplendent morning star (Revelation 22:16; Malachi 4:2). Peter refers to Christ
and the coming kingdom in this way when he encourages the messianic believers to
heed in their hearts the words of prophecy,
"And
we are having the prophetic word confirmed more, which you, doing ideally, are
heeding (as to a lamp appearing in a dingy place, till
the day should be breaking and the morning star should be rising) in your
hearts..."
(2 Peter 1:19)
"The
one who is conquering, he shall be clothed in white garments, and under no
circumstances will I be erasing his name from the scroll of life, and I will
be avowing his name in front of My Father and before His messengers."
(Revelation 3:5)
"The one who is conquering, him will I be making a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he may be coming out nevermore, and I will be writing on
him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem,
which is descending out of heaven from My God, and My new name."
(Revelation
3:12)
They will
be given a permanent place in the celestial Royal-Priestly nation as pillars in
the Ecclesia of God, the spiritual temple of living stones, and they will be the permanent property of God and His
Son, belonging to the celestial City, the New Jerusalem, which will eventually replace
the old Jerusalem when the New Creation arrives. This
'take over' will begin at the Return of Christ.
In John 14:1-3, Jesus spoke these words to His
disciples,
"In My Father's house
are many abodes; yet if not, I
would have told you, for I am going to make a place ready for you. And if I
should be going and making a place ready for you, I am coming again and I will
be taking you along to Myself, that where I am, you also may be."
Jesus
was comforting His apostles
concerning His coming absence, which at that time they didn't understand. He was
about to be rejected and then to die at the hands of His people, and then after
His resurrection, He was going to return to His Father in the heavens. The
apostles were saddened and confused about this. But Jesus encourages them to
believe in Him concerning His return, at which time He will take them to Himself. They will then be given a permanent place in
the coming kingdom, with spiritual bodies that are the real abodes, buildings
from God, which have already been reserved for them.
"...If
anyone should be loving Me, he will be keeping My word, and My Father will be
loving him, and We shall be coming to him and making an abode with him."
(John 14:23)
One of the robbers, who was crucified next to Jesus,
who repented, was also promised a place in the kingdom, which Jesus referred to
as 'paradise' (Luke 23:39-43). (Many
believe that the word 'paradise' here is referring to 'heaven' or some other
spiritual place, but no one has been given the promise of 'going to heaven' as
such. Paradise is more than just a location). Only a few are chosen for this privilege (Matthew 22:14).
All of this now applies to the whole Body of Christ.
"The one who is conquering, to him will
I be granting to be seated with Me on My throne as I, also, conquer,
and am seated with My Father on His throne."
(Revelation
3:21)
In the
final letter, written to Laodicea, the Overcomers are again promised co-rulership
with Christ in His administration of the kingdom, in the same way as He is
granted co-rulership with His Father as the ultimate Conqueror or Overcomer. In the previous two verses, Jesus
had said,
"Whosoever I may be fond of, I am exposing and
disciplining. Be zealous, then, and repent! Lo! I stand at the door and am
knocking. If ever anyone should be hearing My voice and opening the door, I will
also be coming in to him and dining with him, and he with Me."
(3:19-20)
This passage is commonly used in church evangelism,
where it is often said that Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart and you
are encouraged to let Him in. This application has some element of truth in it,
as many passages of the Scriptures can have a number of various interpretations
to be applied on differing levels of truth, and yet all the applications are in
fact true from different vantage-points. This is the wonder of God's Word. But
there is generally a primary
interpretation of any given passage in accordance with the context.
The context here reveals that Jesus was talking to
His Ecclesia. He is here describing His arrival or return as knocking
on the door of their house, with the promise that those servants who will be
ready for Him will sit at His table in the kingdom. This is confirmed through
some of the parables that Jesus had previously taught to Israel.
In Luke 12:35-40, Jesus describes Himself as a Master
returning from the wedding festivities, and the faithful ones are described
as His servants. They are to be ready and anticipating His return, so that when
He knocks on the door, they can open it and enjoy the meal together. Jesus then
promises that those who are watching for His return will be accepted into the
kingdom, and the Master Himself will cause them to recline at the table and will
serve them. What a beautiful picture this is of love and fellowship.
"Now
I am saying to you that many from the east and the west shall be arriving
and reclining with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the
heavens, yet the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer
darkness."
(Matthew 8:11-12)
But Jesus is also saying here that there shall be many who belong to the
believing community, whether of ancient Israel or the Church, who, as the sons of the kingdom, shall be locked out of the kingdom and will
suffer the Second Death, the ultimate Gehenna of Fire.
"Not
everyone saying to Me 'Lord! Lord!' will be entering into the kingdom of the
heavens, but he who is doing the will of My Father Who is in the
heavens."
(Matthew 7:21)
Words
of Warning
Throughout these 7 letters, there are
also words of
warning and encouragement concerning the Return of Christ and His Judgment.
To Ephesus,
He says,
"I am coming to
you, and shall be moving your
lampstand from out of its place, if ever you should not be repenting." (2:5)
To
Pergamum, He says,
"Repent then! Yet if not,
I am coming to you swiftly,
and shall be battling with them (those who
hold to false teaching) with the blade of My mouth." (2:16)
To
Thyatira, He says,
"Moreover, what you have, hold until that time
whenever I should be arriving." (2:25)
To
Sardis, He says,
"If ever, then, you should not be watching,
I shall
be arriving on you as a thief, and under no circumstances will you be knowing
what hour I shall be arriving on you." (3:3)
To
Philadelphia, He says,
"Seeing that you keep
the word of My endurance, I,
also, will be keeping you out of the hour
of trial which is about to be coming on the whole inhabited earth to try those
dwelling on the earth. I am coming swiftly! Hold on to what you have, that
no one may be taking your wreath (of Life)." (3:10-11)
In this last one, we have the description of
the Day of the Lord, when the whole inhabited earth will be judged
by God. Jesus promises that the believers at that time, who will be enduring to the
end, will be
kept out of the coming trial of Christ's indignation. Elsewhere we are told by
Jesus and Paul that these chosen ones shall be supernaturally snatched away to
be assembled together with Christ in the air before He pours out the fullness of
His wrath upon
the world (Matthew 24:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
This protection from God's
judgment is typified in
the account of Noah and his family being kept safe in the Ark; and of Lot and
his family leaving Sodom before it was destroyed; and of Moses and the
Israelites being kept safe in Egypt when the plagues were hitting the Egyptians
(Matthew 24:15-18, 37-42; Luke 17:26-37; Revelation 12:6, 13-16). And the same
protection shall be given to these end-time believers. Only the Conquerors, the
true Body of Christ, the Sons of Righteousness, will enter the kingdom.
This
separation between the sons of God and the sons of stubbornness shall ultimately
be played out in the age to come. The Sons of God will be blessed in the Kingdom
(the New Jerusalem) while the rest will suffer God's wrath outside in the Second
Death. It is the separation of the Wheat and the chaff; the result of two
Harvests: The Barley (Grain) Harvest, and the Grape (Vine) Harvest.
I looked, and there before me was a white
cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a
crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel
came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on
the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has
come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." So he who was
seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was
harvested...
...The angel swung his sickle on the
earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of
God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city,
and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for
a distance of 1,600 stadia.
(Revelation 14:14-16, 19-20 NIV)
The
Sons of Stubbornness
Both
Jesus, and Paul especially, make it clear that the unbelieving, unrighteous sons
of stubbornness shall not enjoy the allotment of the kingdom. Instead, they
shall experience the divine justice and indignation of God for eonian chastening in outer
darkness.
"...God,
Who will be paying each one in accord with his acts:...yet to those of
faction, and stubborn, indeed, as to the truth, yet persuaded to injustice,
indignation and fury, affliction and distress, on every human soul which is
effecting evil..."
(Romans 2:8-9)
"...yet
he who is stubborn as to the Son shall not be seeing life, but the
indignation of God shall be remaining on him."
(John 3:36)
"And
these shall be coming away into eonian chastening, yet the just into
eonian life."
(Matthew 25:46)
"...And,
being indignant, his lord gives him up to the tormentors (jailers) till
he may pay all he is owing him. Thus shall My heavenly Father also be
doing to you, if each one should not be pardoning his brother, from your hearts."
(Matthew 18:34-35)
"I
am saying to you, 'I don't know you or where you come from! Withdraw from me,
all workers of injustice!' There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth,
when you are seeing Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out."
(Luke 13:27-28)
"And
you, being dead to your offences 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 (or atmosphere), the spirit now
operating in the sons of stubbornness..."
(Ephesians 2:1-2)
"For
this you perceive, knowing that no paramour (or male prostitute)
at all or unclean or greedy person, who is an idolater, has
any enjoyment of the allotment in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one be seducing you with empty words, for because of these
things the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness.
Do not, then, become joint partakers with them, for you were once
darkness, yet now you are light in the Lord."
(Ephesians
5:5-8)
"Deaden,
then, your members that are on the earth: prostitution (or unlawful sexual
acts), uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry, because
of which the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness
- among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these things."
(Colossians 3:5-7)
"Or
are you not aware that the unjust shall not be enjoying the allotment of
God's kingdom? Be not deceived. Neither paramours, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor catamites, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the greedy,
nor drunkards; no revilers, no extortioners shall be enjoying the allotment
of God's kingdom. And some of you were these, but you are bathed off,
but you are hallowed, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
(1
Corinthians 6:9-11)
You can't get much clearer than this! The whole of Christendom has been riddled with
these things for numerous centuries, particularly the greedy, and thieves and
extortioners, adulterers and sodomites, and all manner of lawlessness. Even
today there are those who are still raping
the people of God through such things as forced tithing and 'seed-faith gifts'
along with all kinds of manipulation and control to make the people serve them
and not Christ. On the whole, this
new Christianity has become a huge money-making machine serving man and money
rather than God. People of God, and everyone else, be warned, from the words of
the King Himself!
"To
him who is thirsting I shall be giving of the spring of the water of life
gratuitously. He who is conquering shall be enjoying this allotment,
and I shall be a God to him and he shall be a son to Me. Yet the
timid, and unbelievers, and the abominable, and murderers, and paramours,
and enchanters, and idolaters, and all the false - their part is in the lake
burning with fire and sulphur, which is the second death...Outside
(of the New Jerusalem, the kingdom of God) are curs, and enchanters,
and paramours, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone fabricating and
fondling falsehood."
(Revelation
21:6-8; 22:15)
The
New Jerusalem
In the
very near future, this Old Creation will be superceded by a New Creation, a New Heavens and
a New Earth. The old city
of Jerusalem shall be
superceded by a new city, the New Jerusalem. This celestial City is essentially
the special dwelling place of God and His Sons, the Bride/Body of Christ, the
Wife of the Lamb. In fact, the saints are the New Jerusalem, the Temple
and dwelling place of God. This is the destiny of the true heavenly Israel
of God!
"Behold
Me creating new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be
remembered, nor will they come upon the heart. But be glad and rejoice in
the futures of the future which I will create. I will create Jerusalem to be
a delight and its people a joy...As the new heavens and the new earth that I
make will endure before Me,' declares Yahweh, 'so will your name and
descendants endure...all mankind will come and bow down before Me,' says Yahweh."
(Isaiah
65:17-18; 66:22-23 FT)
"Yet
we, according to His promises, are hoping for new heavens and a new
earth,
in which righteousness is dwelling."
(2 Peter 3:13)
"Yet
the Jerusalem above is free, who is mother of us all."
(Galatians 4:26)
Consequently, then, no longer are you guests and sojourners, but are fellow-citizens of the saints and belong to God's
family, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the capstone of the corner being Christ Jesus Himself, in Whom the entire building,
being connected together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord: in Whom
you, also, are being built together for God's dwelling place, in spirit."
(Ephesians 2:19-22)
"For
he waited for the city having foundations, whose Artificer and
Architect is God...Yet now they are craving a better, that is, a
celestial (country); wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be
invoked as their God, for He makes ready for them a city."
(Hebrews 11:10, 16)
"But you have come to Mount Zion,
and the city of the Living God, celestial Jerusalem, and to ten
thousand messengers, to a universal convocation, and to the
ecclesia of the firstborn, registered in the heavens, and to God, the Judge
of all, and to the spirits of the just perfected, and to Jesus,
the
Mediator of a fresh covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling which is speaking
better than the blood of Abel."
(Hebrews 12:22-24)
"Wherefore, accepting an unshakable
kingdom, we may have grace through which we may be offering divine service
in a way well pleasing to God, with piety and dread, for our God is also a
consuming fire."
(Hebrews 12:28-29)
"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...And
one of the seven messengers who have the seven bowls brimming with the last
seven calamities came, and he speaks with me, saying, "Hither! I
shall be showing you the bride, the wife of the Lambkin." And he
carries me away, in spirit, on a mountain, huge and high, and shows me
the holy city, Jerusalem, as it is descending out of heaven from God,
having the glory from God.
Her
luminosity is like a stone most precious, as a crystalline jasper gem,
having a wall, huge and high, having twelve portals, and at the
portals twelve messengers, and their names inscribed, which are the
names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. From the east are
three portals, and from the north three portals, and from the south three
portals, and from the west three portals. And the wall of the city has twelve
foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of
the Lambkin...
And
the nations shall be walking by means of its light, and the kings of the
earth are carrying their glory into it...And they shall be carrying
the glory and honour of the nations into it, and under no circumstances
may anything contaminating, or one who is making an abomination and a lie be
entering into it, except those written in the Lambkin's scroll of life."
(Revelation
21:1, 9-14, 24, 26-27)
"And
there shall be no more any doom, and the throne of God and of the Lambkin
shall be in it. And His slaves shall be offering divine service to Him.
And they shall be seeing His face, and His name shall be on their
foreheads. And night shall be no more, and they have no need of
lamplight and sunlight, for the Lord God shall be illuminating them. And
they shall be reigning for the eons of the eons."
(Revelation 22:3-5)
This is the ultimate destiny of the
Circumcision and the Uncircumcision together as the Bride/Body of Christ. This is the
ultimate fulfillment of the Promise. This is Christ's Inheritance. What a
glorious future! May we walk worthily of this calling and be willing to suffer
for the sake of our Lord and King until He returns.
"...walk worthily of the calling with
which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with patience,
bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit with the tie of peace: one body and one
spirit, according as you were called also with one expectation
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...
...unto the end that we should all
attain to the unity of the faith and of the realisation of the
son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the
complement of the Christ..."
(Ephesians 4:1-5, 13)
"Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away."
(Matthew 24:35 NIV)
All
Scripture quotations are taken from the Concordant Version unless stated
otherwise as follows:
NIV
= New International Version
FT
= Free Translation based on the CV and NIV texts
For further information on the Lake of Fire, the Scroll of Life, the
Resurrection Order, the Body/Bride, and the coming Ages, see the following
articles:
Is
There Really a Hell?
The
Conciliation of the World
The
Faithful Love of the Husband of Israel
God's
Plan of the Ages
Copyright © G
Watts 2004; revised and expanded 2007
Back
to Main Articles