THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES TO EARTH

Part Eighteen June 2002

Many of us know and understand that the kingdom of God is coming to the earth, bringing a new age with a new set of principles. Those new kingdom principles are to be observed and kept by all who will make the transition from the old order to the new, or from the obsolete church order to the new and higher order of the kingdom of God on earth. The Apostle Paul wrote to tell us that some things of the Spirit, such as prophecy, tongues and other gifts of the Spirit, would pass away, that is, would lose their value and be superseded by more truth. Paul said our knowledge, while still in the orders of man, is fragmentary, incomplete and imperfect, and our prophecy and our teaching is fragmentary, incomplete and imperfect. Then Paul declared, by the Spirit, “But when the complete and perfect [total] comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away - become antiquated, void and superseded” (see 1 Cor. 13:8-10, Amplified).

The kingdom of God is “the complete and perfect” to which the apostle referred. And when something is the complete, the perfect and the real thing, nothing can ever be added to it to make it any better or more perfect. Therefore, the kingdom of God is the absolute and totally complete and perfect realm; it is the holy realm of the rule and reign of our Father. In the past church order, all prophecy and teaching was fragmentary, incomplete and imperfect, and still is. The kingdom of God is all that God is! As God is perfect and complete, so also is His kingdom. It is impossible to add something to our Father or to His kingdom to make Him/it any better or more complete than He/it is now.

The kingdom of God is the complete and perfect realm without help from any other thing or person. When we declare that the kingdom of God is coming down from God out of heaven to the earth, we are really declaring that “the complete and perfect [total] (has also) come” to the earth. And all who understand this will leave the inpart realm of the past, to become a part of the new, complete and perfect realm, which is the kingdom of God on earth. Our Father has changed the order! And when the reality of this great truth is transferred from His Spirit to our spirit, and then from our spirits to our wondering minds, by the same Spirit, we will fall on our faces before the Lord. We will then repent of all that has to do with the past church order, and will ask the Lord to move us onward and upward into the new and greater, spiritual order of the kingdom of God on earth.

The beginning of this new Day is a time of transition! We are living in the introductory phase or stage of the kingdom of God on earth! This is transition time for all of us! It is moving Day in the Spirit! And may the Lord of glory help us all to move or transition from the old church order of the past to the new, greater and more glorious order of the kingdom of God on earth. And although this is moving Day in the Spirit, we cannot, yea, we must not, bring anything with us out of the old “house” we are leaving (see Mt. 24:17). The old “furniture” along with all the gifts and abilities from that old house will never fit into this new and more glorious kingdom house or realm in God. The past house or order was a Pentecostal “house” that was furnished and maintained by the gifts of the Spirit, along with other less spiritual observances, ceremonies and activities.

The new kingdom “house” is of a much higher order! It is “furnished” and maintained by the Word of the Lord and the wonderful movings of the Spirit of God. His kingdom continually increases in the earth by His Spirit and according to the pure and perfect will of our heavenly Father. Our Father maintains this new kingdom “house” by the Spirit, causing it/Him to increase and grow until it/He shall fill the whole earth. And He is all that is needed to make this new kingdom “house” everything our Father purposed it to be from the beginning! This new kingdom house is sufficiently strong and powerful enough for all the tasks ahead of us for all mankind throughout the eternal future.

There is one sure way that we shall make the transition from the old, dead, church order to the new and higher order of the kingdom of God on earth. And that one, sure way, according to the anointed and revealed word of the Lord, is repentance. Our omnipotent Father and Lord of all has set forth some standards and requirements by which His people will make the transition from the old age to the new. And there is no better example of this truth given in scripture than the message of Jesus in the beginning of His ministry here on earth. When Jesus was finished with His temptations by Satan in the wilderness, He began His ministry with these words: “The people who sat (dwelt enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned. From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, Repent - that is, change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins - for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 4:16-17, Amplified).

When John the Baptist and Jesus began preaching repentance, it was the beginning of an entirely new spiritual order in the earth. Gone were the old religious ordinances and observances of the former Jewish religion. Gone were all the old dead rituals that required animal sacrifices. God had brought an end to the old religious order of the past, and was replacing it with an entirely new spiritual order in the earth. The old priesthood of the past, that was based on dead, lifeless rituals, was being replaced with a new priesthood based on more spiritual things. The old Jewish order of the past was an order of darkness compared with the new order of the greater revelation of Christ. For those who sat in the shadow of that darkness then, the Light of Christ had dawned to reveal a new order, which was to be realized by walking a new spiritual path. It was and is a transgression for any follower of Christ to remain in the old order of the past. And God’s method of bringing His people into the new spiritual order was and still is repentance.

When the new church order was in its initial stage of formation and the early church was being established, the people of the old Jewish order were described by Stephen when he spoke to the Sanhedrin in his own defense. The Spirit said of those still in that old Jewish order, “You stubborn and stiff-necked people, still heathenish and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. As your forefathers [were], so you [are and so you do]! [Exod. 33:3, 5; Jer. 9:26; 6:10; Num. 27:14; Isa. 63:10.] Which of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? And they slew those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, Whom you now have betrayed and murdered, You who received the Law as it was ordained and set in order and delivered by angels, and [yet] you did not obey it!” (Acts 7:51-53, Amplified).

By repentance, the Lord takes a stubborn, stiff-necked people, such as those in Israel were at that time; who are heathenish and uncircumcised in heart and ears and who actively resist the holy Spirit; and He makes of them an obedient and faithful people who shall do all His holy will. So also is He taking us, His chosen elect, who delight to do all His will on earth, and by our repentance is making of us the firstfruits of the rest of mankind, as well as kings and priests of God after the order of Melchisedec. When we have fully repented of the old, obsolete church order, our Father will then lead us to walk the narrow path of sonship fulfilled and manifested. We shall then be led of the Spirit to be transformed in our bodies, and changed into the very image and likeness of the risen and glorified Christ of God!

Of John the Baptist, it is written, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Mt. 3:7-9).

The Pharisees and Sadducees of that day represented the old, dead religion of the past. They were stuck in the old paths and locked into the former religious order; but it was an order that God had abandoned. The Lord had replaced the old religious order with something new and more glorious, but the Pharisees and Sadducees had not yet made the transition. So John, by the Spirit, referred to them as a “generation of vipers,” and told them to repent. John also knew they would rely on their relationship with Abraham and his religion of the past to give them a right standing with the Lord; so John wisely eliminated that possibility. Some today might use the same argument. But our past relationship with the Lord means little in this new kingdom Day. Unless we are His faithful and obedient sons today, and are in harmony with His purposes for this new Day, we have no claim on the abundant promises of the kingdom of God. We must be changed, and repentance is God’s tool that He uses in our lives to change us!

We should also know that when we repent, it is the Lord Jesus Christ working within us, by the Spirit, to bestow that precious gift, and other gifts also, “on those who obey Him.” Peter said this of our Lord, “The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree (cross). [Deut. 21:22, 23.] God exalted Him to His right hand to be Prince and Leader and Savior and Deliverer and Preserver, in order to grant repentance to Israel and to bestow forgiveness and release from sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and the Holy Spirit is also, Whom God has bestowed on those who obey Him” (Acts 5:30-32, Amplified). God has ordained it and has also established it as a true, spiritual principle; by repentance He will change us and spiritually relocate us from the old order to the new, and will make of us everything He has purposed us to become.

Father’s call to repentance at this time is not directed to sinners out in the world, but to His people (see 2 Chron. 7:13-14). It is our Father’s plan to bring His people up to a new and higher realm in the Spirit; and He has determined to do that by bringing us to repentance. Hear this prophetic Word of truth given by the prophet Zephaniah: “[The time for repentance is speeding by like chaff whirled before the wind!] Therefore consider, before God’s decree brings forth, before the time [to repent] is gone like the drifting chaff, before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you! Seek the Lord - inquire for Him, inquire of Him, and require Him [as the foremost necessity of your life] - all you humble of the land, who have acted in compliance with His revealed will and have kept His commandments (that’s us, and we are told to); seek righteousness, seek humility - inquire for them, require them [as vital]. It may be you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zeph. 2:2-3, Amplified).

By repentance, we will make the transition from the old church order to the new and spiritually higher, kingdom order. Then we will be led of the Spirit to experience the tests and trials of this life, which are the sufferings of Christ, if we have not experienced them already. And those sufferings of Christ, which many of us are going through now, will qualify us to receive the kingdom of God and all its/His blessed privileges. The word of the Lord is clear, “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Another true Word of the Lord has been declared by the Spirit, which is: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50).

Therefore, we must be changed, from this Adamic body of flesh and blood to that new and glorious body of the resurrection Life of Christ, that we might inherit the Kingdom of our Father. And God’s way of changing us is by repentance! Additionally, Jesus said this about His kingdom, “And you are those who have remained (throughout) and persevered with Me in My trials; And as My Father has appointed a kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you [the privilege and decree] That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Lu. 22:28-30), Amplified). Obviously, it is the twelve apostles of the Lamb who shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Our rule and reign with Christ will concern other realms and other peoples.

O to eat and drink at the Lord’s table in His kingdom! And we shall surely do that as the Lord leads us! But there is a process involved that will bring us to the table of the Lord in His kingdom, to eat with Him. And that process may already be working in our lives. The disciples of that day walked and talked with Jesus; they participated and persevered with Him in His trials as they walked together. We are also walking and talking with our Father in the Spirit. And as we walk and talk with Him, communing with Him in the Spirit, we are also participating and persevering with Him, in these earthly experiences that are perfecting us. We are participating and persevering with our Lord in the tests and trials of this life, which are called “the sufferings of Christ” (see 2 Cor. 1:5, 1 Pet, 1:11 & 5:1).

Jesus spoke to “those who have remained (throughout) and persevered with Me in My trials.” He said to them, “as My Father has appointed a kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you [the privilege and decree] That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Therefore, the way to the throne of the Lord in His kingdom is to remain with Him, persevering with Him in “the sufferings of Christ.”

By repentance, we will turn away from the old order and will enter into the new kingdom order. And by enduring “the sufferings of Christ,” which are the tests and trials of this life, we shall sit at His table to eat the new food of the kingdom of God and drink the new wine of that same glorious kingdom, by the Spirit. The “food” of the kingdom of God for this new Day, is new spiritual food; it is not at all like anything we have “eaten” before. It is food of a heavenly quality; it will nourish us spiritually, and will make us heavenly as well. It is impossible to eat this new kingdom food and then return to the old dead manna and all the old, obsolete ways of the past. And it is also impossible to drink the new wine of the kingdom of God and not be totally and completely intoxicated by the glorious, fresh and new, Kingly presence of the Lord of glory. Kingdom food and kingdom wine will so dramatically change us that we will find no realm in this world where we may have absolute peace, harmony and agreement.

We will be so completely changed that we will be as misfits on this earth, as Abraham was. Like him, we will be more seriously and more passionately looking for a city, whose builder and maker is God, which is the glorious realm of the kingdom of our Father. And doesn’t the wonder and promise of the glories of the kingdom of our Father give you an appetite for that new kingdom food and that new kingdom wine? Let us not be satisfied until we are indeed sitting at His table in His kingdom, eating and drinking His provisions with our blessed Lord! Our Lord is also anticipating this glorious, spiritual experience with us, for He said, “I say unto you, I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you new and of superior quality in My Father’s kingdom” (Mt. 26:29, Amplified).

The next step for us, after eating kingdom food and drinking kingdom wine with our Lord, will be to sit on thrones judging the nations with the wisdom of the mind of Christ and the power of the seven Spirits of the Lord. The fresh, new food and the pure, new wine of the kingdom of God will nourish us according to the new principles of Life in His kingdom, and in the newer ways of the Spirit of the Lord our God! Then, when we have received that kingdom Life in abundance and have been transformed in our bodies, we shall minister that same kingdom Life to the nations, by the power of the seven Spirits of the Lord and with the transforming Love of God!

Forsaking All to Inherit His Life and the Kingdom of God

When the rich, young ruler realized he would be required of the Lord to sell all he had, he went away sorrowful, for he had great riches and many possessions. He apparently considered his worldly wealth, status and position more valuable and more important than the kingdom of God. Then Jesus explained how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but He did not say it was impossible. He compared it to going through the eye of a needle, as if to suggest that we cannot take any old baggage with us from the past. We must be stripped clean until we have no other programs, theories or works of man that are loading us down as we go through the narrow gate, or the eye of the needle, into the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard what Jesus said about the eye of the needle, they were amazed, and said to Him, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have left all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first” (Mt. 19:23-30).

There is coming a regeneration of all things! And that “regeneration” shall take place when the Son of man sits on the throne of His glory. The word “regeneration” means “rebirth, spiritual renovation, specifically, Messianic restoration.” (From Strong’s Concordance.) And we believe this is that Day of rebirth, spiritual renovation, and Messianic restoration, for the Son of man is indeed sitting on the throne of His glory! It is also interesting to see that the Emphatic Diaglott, which gives the original Greek text along with an interlineary word for word English translation of the New Testament, interprets the word “regeneration” as “the new birth day.” And that is what this great Day is! It is our new birthday; it is the great Day of our second birth! It is the glorious new, kingdom Day when our new birth, or our real and true born again experience, shall take place, by the Spirit!

At some point during this great, new kingdom Day, we shall truly be born again of the Spirit to receive our new bodies of the Life and the Glory of Christ. The holy Spirit continues to prepare us for this new, kingdom Day and all it portends. At this time, the Lord is leading us to rid ourselves of all that is of the flesh and of the carnal ways of man. Specifically, our Father is now calling us out of two of the three realms of Babylon’s power and influence in this world. He is calling us out of religious Babylon and also out of political-governmental Babylon. Many of us have left those Babylonish realms long ago! Those who shall reign with Christ have forsaken those two realms of Babylon’s power and influence. They are leaving those two realms, never to return to them again! Those who reign with Christ cannot be involved in the corrupt and carnal ways of man in this world. Those who reign with Christ cannot and must not be bound together with the evil conspiracies of this world and the confusion of man. The corruption of man cannot possibly be mixed with the incorruption of the kingdom of God! And those who reign with Christ must be gloriously free in Christ from all of man’s corrupt, worldly systems! We shall truly be free and pure to represent the righteous and holy kingdom of our Father!

Jesus concluded His remarks regarding the coming “regeneration,” by saying, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” Those who do the will of God, who have forsaken all for His Name’s sake; who faithfully respect and abide by the authority and the character of their Father; and who obediently regard His holy Name; “shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” The real come-outers are those who have forsaken all that is of the flesh, as well as other unspiritual things of this world. They shall receive an hundredfold more than they gave up, and will also inherit everlasting life, which is the abundant Life of the kingdom of their Father.

Some of us may already know what it means to forsake “houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,” for His Name’s sake. We may have already experienced, at least portions of this passage given by Jesus. Yet, Jesus experienced all this forsaking, this abandonment, this surrendering, this aloneness, this rejection, this lowliness of life and more, during His brief life here on this earth. We may forget what the life of Jesus was really like while He lived and walked on this earth. But the prophet Isaiah foretold what Jesus’ life would be like. He prophesied beforehand, saying Jesus would be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (See Is. 53:3-10).

Jesus knew what it was to experience all those sufferings, and He said His disciples “remained (throughout) and persevered with Me in My trials.” Jesus went through all that without murmuring and complaining. He suffered in silence, for He opened not His mouth. And His disciples remained and persevered with Him in those trials. He did it all for us! Jesus set the pattern and example for us, and now we are faithfully walking in His footsteps, in the Spirit and by the Spirit. As Jesus’ journey through this life brought Him to the fullness of Life with His Father, so also will we be brought to the fullness of Life in the kingdom of our Father, by following the Godly example Jesus left for us and by walking in His footsteps, in the Spirit and by the Spirit. We shall receive an hundredfold more for all we have forsaken and given up of that which is of this world, including family, friends and lands. We will also inherit eternal Life, which is the abundant Life of the kingdom of our Father.

The Principle of the First and the Last

To fully answer Peter’s question, Jesus made this most amazing, prophetic statement, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” This is the last verse of Matthew, chapter nineteen. Chapter twenty of Matthew’s Gospel continues by saying, “For the kingdom of heaven is like....” The word “For” is used here to join the first verse of chapter twenty with the last verse of chapter nineteen, thus continuing the same thought or subject that was mentioned in the last verses of chapter nineteen. The subject regarding “the first and the last,” that was begun in chapter nineteen, is continued in chapter twenty. In Mt. 20:1-7, Jesus told of an householder who hired laborers to go to work in his vineyard. Some were hired early in the morning, others at the third hour, some at the sixth and ninth hour, and still others were hired at the eleventh hour. The first group that were hired in the morning were promised a penny. Others were promised, “whatsoever is right I will give you.”

When evening came, the Lord of the vineyard asked the steward to call the laborers to come and be paid, “beginning from the last unto the first.” When the last came to be paid who started to work at the eleventh hour, they each received a penny. And when those came who were hired first, they also received a penny. But those who were hired first, supposing they would get more since they worked the longest, “murmured against the goodman of the house.” They had worked from the morning, through the heat of the day, until the evening, and received only a penny, just as those who had worked only for an hour. Those who started work in the morning agreed to work all day for a penny. But the lord of the vineyard payed them all the same to establish a principle. That principle was established and confirmed then as a divine, prophetic principle in the kingdom of God. And that principle is: “SO THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST LAST: FOR MANY BE CALLED, BUT FEW CHOSEN” (Mt. 20:16).

It is obvious that the first and the last have to do with the called and the chosen ones in the kingdom of God. Jesus gave us this parable to illustrate the great truth that the chosen ones of this hour, who are the last to be “hired” for kingdom service to the Lord, shall be the first to be paid for their kingdom service. The last to be “hired” by the Lord of the harvest are a specially anointed and chosen company of saints. They are the chosen sons of God of this hour who delight to do the perfect will of their Father and who are making the transition from the old order to the new. They shall not only be the first to be paid or rewarded for their service to their Father, but they also have another, very special characteristic or attribute. And that very special characteristic was set forth by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah prophesied that God “raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings” (Is. 41:2) This is a reference to Abraham, who came from the east. King Cyrus is spoken of later in this chapter, but he came from the north (vs. 25). Abraham was the righteous man from the east. He was “the foot,” the forefather and the founder of the nation of Israel; He was THE FIRST in a long line of saints with whom the Lord had covenanted to fulfill His will on earth.

Abraham was called to be the “foot” of the Lord, which means he was the foundation of God’s ultimate purposes for this world. The “foot” of the Lord becomes all the more significant when we understand the truth of the “Head!” God gave the nations to Abraham and set them before him, and He also made him rule over kings. Those who were THE FIRST in God’s order of servants were called of Him to do His will. So also were many others called as Abraham was, to fulfill Father’s purposes on this earth. But there is a company of saints in the earth today whom God has raised up to serve His final purposes for this world. They shall consummate His eternal purposes in the earth; they are THE LAST of His righteous ones in the earth; they are not only called of God, but they are also specially CHOSEN of Him!

These CHOSEN ONES serve the high and holy kingdom purposes of their Father on this earth by doing only and always His pure and perfect will. They represent the kingdom of God, not some paltry, imperfect and impure, worldly cause, scheme, program or purpose of man. And they have a unique position or relationship with the Lord beyond what other called ones have known throughout the history of the world. But there is another, more glorious aspect concerning these CHOSEN ONES that is vitally important for us to know and understand in this new Day! That unique relationship, that glorious aspect that concerns the chosen ones today, is set forth by the prophet Isaiah. Thus we read, “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, THE FIRST, and WITH THE LAST; I AM HE” (Is. 41:4)

Here, the Lord reveals Himself as THE FIRST in His grand design for this world. All that our Father has already accomplished in the earth, along with all He will yet do, was done by Him Who is the first, the beginning, or the Alpha. In other scriptures, God reveals Himself as both the first and the last, and as the Alpha and the Omega (see Is. 44:6, 48:12, Rev. 1:8, 11, 17, 2:8, 21:6, & 22:13, 18) I am sure we all understand that Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. But what is significant in the scripture quoted above is that God reveals Himself as the FIRST, and then declares Himself to be “WITH THE LAST.” Isaiah’s prophecy is directed to Israel. The Lord revealed Himself to Abraham as the FIRST, for he was the “foot,” or the founder, of the nation of Israel. And then He declared that He is also “WITH THE LAST.” The Lord anointed Abraham to begin the nation of Israel, but He is WITH THE LAST of the remnant of Israel, in a greater, more unique and special way, to fulfill the LAST of His eternal purposes in the earth.

The LAST manifestation of God, to, in and with His people on earth shall be much greater than was the first manifestation of Him. To further emphasize this great truth, the Spirit repeated it again in Isaiah’s anointed prophecy. The Lord said again, “Fear thou not; for I AM WITH THEE: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Is. 41:10) The Lord most certainly was with all His servants in Israel’s beginning! But He is WITH THE LAST of His called and chosen saints in a greater way than He ever was with those who were among the first! He is with us, who are THE LAST of His anointed ones, to be our God, to strengthen us and uphold us with the right hand of His righteousness. WITH HIM we shall do wonders!

God Himself is WITH His remnant of this hour in a greater way than He ever was with Abraham and all the other called ones of the past. Abraham, along with every other servant of the Lord, including those of the church age, were called of God to serve His purposes. Many wonderful things were done in the Name of the Lord by those who were called of God in the past. But greater things shall be done by the elect of the Lord in this new kingdom Day (Jo. 1:50, 14:12), who are the LAST of His servants; who represent the LAST revelation and manifestation of the Christ; and who are uniquely CHOSEN of God to serve the last of His plans and purposes for His kingdom. The first revelation and manifestation of the Lord began with Abraham and continued throughout the history of Father’s unfolding purposes in the earth up to the present. And that first revelation of Him was glorious indeed! But THE LAST revelation and manifestation of the Christ, which includes you and me, shall far exceed the first and succeeding manifestations of Him in His people in glory, wonder, power, Life, Love and many other characteristics of the kingdom of our Father.

He Who is the FIRST, began His purposes in the earth with Abraham, who was the foot, or the beginning of His purposes. The Lord continued to fulfill His purposes in the earth by calling others throughout the ages up to the present, to fulfill those purposes. He blessed His servants in the past and anointed them to do the work He set before them. But our God and Father of all has reserved HIS BEST FOR THE LAST! Those of us who are THE LAST of the Lord’s anointed ones shall know Him in a greater way! He not only called us, but He also CHOSE US and made us to be faithful to Him and His eternal purposes. He processed us and is continually preparing us to be joined to Him by the power of His resurrection. And we who are THE LAST have the promise that He IS “WITH THE LAST!” Amen.

Before Jesus was born the angel of the Lord said of Him, “they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US” (Mt. 1:23). And He surely is WITH US in a greater way than we can imagine! He is not only within us, He is also WITH US! The Lord anointed Abraham and all the others with the precious anointing oil of His holy Spirit. He has also anointed us and called us, but He is IN us and WITH US in a greater way than ever before, for He declared Himself to be “WITH THE LAST.” The word “WITH,” as used in Isaiah’s prophecy (41:4), is in italics, meaning it was added by the translators and is not a part of the original scripture. The revelation of the Lord as being WITH US does not depend on one feeble word added by man; but the prophecy given by the angel in Mt. 1:23 confirms the truth of “GOD WITH US.”

Indeed, GOD IS WITHIN US AND HE IS ALSO WITH US! God is WITH US in a greater way than He ever was with those of the past, for we are the LAST manifestation of Him in this present world. When we are transformed into His glorious image and likeness, Christ will have unveiled, revealed and manifested Himself WITHIN US AND ALSO WITH US in a greater way than He ever has to any of His called and chosen ones throughout the history of the world. And by that unveiling and manifestation of Christ WITHIN US AND WITH US, the world will be thoroughly and completely changed to show forth the glory of the Lord; for His glory shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

When the Assyrians were encamped against the fenced cities of Judah and war seemed inevitable, King Hezekiah admonished the people, saying, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles” (2 Chron. 32:7-8). There is a quiet confidence and a certain assurance that comes to us by the Spirit when we hear and receive the pure word of the Lord. Others are strengthened and sustained by the many arms of the flesh, in which they trust, but we have placed our trust only in the Lord and in His unfailing word. Indeed, “ there be more with us than with” any of the enemies about us, whether real or perceived!

The results and benefits of the pure word of the Lord is always positive in the lives of those who are able to hear and receive that word. When Hezekiah gave the people the word of the Lord, we read this: “And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” Ah, what else is there to do when we are assured of the Lord’s presence by His word, than to rest ourselves upon that word and continue to trust Him, believing for the promised victory in Christ? The arm of flesh, with its many fingers and tentacles, will fail us, but the pure word of the Lord along with His Spirit shall give us rest and quiet assurance forever. Where there is righteousness there is peace, and where there is assurance and faith there is a simple KNOWING, by the Spirit. Thus it is written by the anointed prophet, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Is. 32:17).

God is in the midst of His people and they shall not be moved. God shall help us and that right early. The heathen are raging and the kingdoms and systems of man are being shaken. But “the Lord of hosts is WITH US; THE God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” Notice what will take place in the earth when the Lord’s elect, who are the last manifestation of their Father to the world, will know by the Spirit that God is with them. “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (For) the Lord of hosts is WITH US; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah” (see Ps. 46:5-11). Indeed, the Lord will do all this when we are in full union with Him!

Everywhere we may look today, men are organizing, associating and merging, making businesses, corporations, clubs, churches and fellowships larger and larger. Churches and the fellowships of man are getting larger, not by the wisdom and the power of God, but by the will and the strength of the Adamic man. All this organizing and associating is called Babylon in scripture, for it is the result of man’s carnal works and efforts. God’s word has gone forth, speaking against all such organizing. “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; FOR GOD IS WITH US (He is with His elect who know no organization, but the kingdom of the living God). For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Is. 8:9-13). This is a very sure word of truth and peace for the elect of this hour, who are growing and maturing in the Spirit!

In this passage, the Lord is telling us not to have the fear that is common to the people of the churches and of the world today. Some find relative comfort and peace in man and his systems and organizations, which are all to fail and be broken to nothing. All the confederacies, associations, and organizations of man will never deliver mankind from the fear that troubles and perplexes most people today. Only in the Lord and in His Spirit will we find the peace and rest the soul needs and desires. While the Lord is shaking everything that can be shaken to bring down the organizations and the systems of man, we will put our complete trust in the Lord. He alone is able to keep us free from the bondages and the fears of man, and to deliver us from this “life” and raise us up to that new Life with Him in the Spirit.

Transformed from a Worm to a Butterfly, and from a Pauper to a Prince

The word of the Lord has gone forth for man, as he was in his early, pre-Christian state in Israel of old. God said of him, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Many people do not seem to know that they need any help. But the Lord is here to help us when we realize our great need. He continued to give His word regarding man’s need, when the Lord said, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 41:13-14). How important it is for us realize that we need the Lord’s help to do what He told us to do. Man has gone through many centuries in this “life,” and many more generations of experience in this world of spiritual darkness. Perhaps now, after all these ages and generations, we are finally ready to sit at His feet and learn of Him, that we might be empowered of the Spirit and taught the way of the Lord, whereby the world shall be delivered from the curse and every person brought into the blessed kingdom of our Father.

To do the work that must be and will be done in this great, new Day, we must be changed and transformed by the Spirit of the Lord. When the Lord gets our attention and lets us know that He will help us, we can complete the process that will take us from a mere worm, living in fear of that which is to come and not knowing what to do about it, to a beautiful butterfly manifesting the very Life of the Son of God. Then the Lord said He would do this for us and with us, "See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 41:15-16, NIV).

God is making us into a new threshing machine capable of eliminating the mountains and hills, which represent the governments of man, including those both large (mountains) and small (hills). Then, when the Adamic governments of man out of the way, WE WITH HIM shall harvest the people of the nations and gather them all into His kingdom. Years ago, the Lord gave me a vision of a great harvest field. In that vision, I saw a field of ripened grain being harvested by old, outmoded means. The farmers were using a hand scythe, cutting the grain and then bundling it all by hand, as farmers once did before the invention of binders and combines. But then, the Lord let me see that He had a large combine being prepared on the side of that field, waiting for the right time for it to be used. I was encouraged when the Lord revealed to me that that massive combine represented the new thing He would do in the earth, by His Spirit.

Now I know and understand the meaning of that vision. By the Spirit, I saw that the Lord is preparing a people who would represent Him and His kingdom purposes in the earth. They would be used of the Lord to gather in the ripened harvest of the world's billions. In due time, the multitudes of the world will be as ripened grain to be gathered into the kingdom by His massive, spiritual "combine." They will all be fully prepared and ready to come to the Lord. And Father is now preparing many people to turn to Him through the strange and severe "acts of God" now taking place in all the earth. So also has He been preparing His remnant to become that spiritual “combine,” which shall be used of God to gather in this great harvest! What a glorio us Day this is for us, who are THE LAST manifestation of Christ in the earth! We are His chosen ones, His special “combine,” who shall reap the harvest of the earth! With heavenly eloquence and sharpened, spiritual vision, the anointed prophets of the Lord prophesied of us and also of this glorious new Day!

This is the great Day when the prophetic word of the Lord shall be gloriously fulfilled, not just in part, but in its entirety, and in completeness and in fullness. And we are the people Father has chosen to fulfill all His yet unfulfilled, prophetic promises. Throughout the ages of this world, God has been making man into His image and likeness, just as He declared He would do (see Gen. 1:26). He took a man, even the “worm” Jacob, from the beginning of His dealings with man in this world, changed him and then renamed him Israel, meaning, a “prince with God.” Of course, I do not believe Jacob was the “Prince” that the Lord had in mind. There has been one man, the Man Christ Jesus, who was a descendant of Jacob-Israel; He is the true Prince of His Father’s kingdom purposes in the earth. And there are many other such “Princes,” who shall follow Him. They are becoming as He is in this world! They shall possess His power, His authority, and His royal stature. And they share His image and His likeness, and His royal throne of all might and power!

Now we are able to see that God took man, from his humble beginnings and generally through a small remnant, made the man something wonderful and glorious. God took Jacob, the “worm,” changed him and then touched his thigh so he could never walk the same again (Gen. 32:25). So also is our loving and merciful Father taking us, changing us from glory to glory and then touching our walk, making it impossible for us to walk as we once did in the past. He has given us a new walk for a new Day, and has chosen us to fulfill all His yet unfulfilled purposes for this world. Perhaps we were all as “worms” when Father called us, but He is making us into beautiful “butterflies” in His kingdom, by transforming us into His image and likeness. Our Father has taken us, the “paupers” that we once were, and is making us “princes” of God, and kings and priests in His kingdom. And if He can do that with us, think of all our Father will yet do with this sinful world that is filled with carnal-minded and rebellious people! What else can we say to these things, but Amen and Amen!

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With all that is taking place within the Catholic Church at this time, we may wonder if this is the beginning of the end of that religious system and of all the rest of religious Babylon! Rejoice saints of God, our God is marching on!

Paul and Emily Mueller

P O BOX 25055, PORTLAND, OR 97298-0055

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