Having established beyond question the Sovereignty of God, we can begin to build ever more confidently on the foundation of Christ, knowing that as the building takes shape we are doing no violence to its structure, but are freely confessing that "of Him and through Him and to Him are all things." (Romans 11:36) We can now apply His all powerful nature to His stated plan and purpose, and look into the mystery of His will with bated breath and reverent awe, knowing that He is God and there is none like Him:

       ¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning,
       And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
       Saying, "My counsel shall stand,
       And I will do all My pleasure,'
       ¹¹Calling a bird of prey from the east,
       The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
       Indeed I have spoken it;
       I will also bring it to pass.
       I have purposed it;
       I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:10-11)

We can also discard the false image of God erected by religion – the helpless, impotent, disorganized god – and give glory in our hearts the true Ruler of All, who clearly states His unlimited self-sufficiency, and His ability to fulfill all of His purposes.

In the first book of Genesis, God indeed "declares the end from the beginning", making a prophetic statement as to His dealings with man and His purpose for humanity:

There are wonderful truths contained in this short passage, valuable for gaining insight into the purpose and intent of God. Understand that Adam stood before God in perfect fellowship and sweet communion, already a foreshadowing of God’s ultimate plan. Nevertheless, this, though a fulfillment of God’s stated intent, was not the highest fulfillment, rather a starting point for the whole dramatic sweep of the history of mankind. Humanity, as represented in the person of Adam, was about to go through a process of God’s planning, one that would last many ages. Did man fall? Yes, indeed. But that fall was actually God sovereignly subjecting His own creation to futility:

Here we see the hand of God deliberately subjecting His creation to this process of darkness and bondage, and we are told that He subjected it in hope, indicating a beautiful, benevolent end. Indeed, our hearts are illuminated even more when we understand that God was, in effect, selling us under bondage to sin! (Romans 7:14) And to what end? Why, that is very easily answered – that He might buy us back again!

Already we begin to see something of His purpose. Sold into slavery to sin, and bought back by His blood to Life and Freedom – creation coming forth out of God into fragmentation, confusion, and darkness, and then being repaired, healed, restored and reconciled!

Brethren, the true panorama of the plan of God is only understood when seen in the Only Begotten Son, and if we are to experience the continuing revelation of Christ Jesus, we would do well to listen to what He says regarding Himself. Listen to His words in the first chapter of His own book of Revelation:

⁸"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,"^[c] says the Lord,^[d] "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)

And again, in the third chapter:

Understand, saints, that creation began in Him, as He declares in both these verses. Such a point is not disputed much even in the religious realm. After all, the very opening of the Gospel of John states:

^{(A) 1} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

However, what the carnal religious mind has been blind to, and refuses to embrace, is the truth, stated explicitly from His own lips, that He is ALSO the Omega – the End!!! When this truth sinks into our hearts, the true light begins to shine yet more, and the purpose of God unfolds to another degree. The Word indeed gives further emphasis to this marvelous realization, when the climax of God’s plan is revealed:

²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. ²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷For "He has put all things under His feet."^[a] But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:21-28)

What a plan!!! Creation began in Christ, died in Adam, descended into bondage and darkness, was purchased back by the blood of Christ, and will find its end and consummation in Him! One can see the simple panorama of God’s plan here, as if creation began at a bright point, descended into darkness as it made its way around the bottom of a circle, and then re-emerged into the light, ending at the point of commencement – Jesus Christ!

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

The plan of the ages – to reconcile all things into Christ, having made peace through the blood of His cross!

Hallelujah! God will gather all things in Christ, till He be All in All!!! When we begin to grasp the depth of this mystery, we can embrace the glorious truth that Jesus Christ is the Alpha AND Omega, the Beginning AND the End, and we can thankfully declare, in unison with the Word, that:

For truly, creation proceeded forth from Him, and through His blood, is now returning to Him, praise His name!

Understand, dear saints, that God’s plan includes everyone in Adam – everyone who was plunged into darkness and sovereignly subjected to futility by Him who did the subjecting in hope. At the consummation of the ages, God will have restored everything that was fallen, reconciled all that was at enmity, and gathered all that which was lost:

Jesus Christ does indeed seek the sheep that stray, because he came to save that which was lost. To buy back what was sold! The problem that the religious mind has is understanding the plan of the ages, that all shall be gathered into Christ in order:

²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³But each one in his own order: (1 Corinthians 15:21-23)

The Holy Spirit, through Paul, expounds upon our death in Adam and life in Christ in the fifth chapter of Romans, with a constant drawing of parallels, emphasizing the truth again and again:

Dear saint, can you not see what is being said here? The point is driven home again, and again, and again, lest we miss it. Even as in Adam…..Death…so, in Christ….LIFE! This passage gives us another glimpse at creation entering into darkness, and then re-emerging into the wonderful light of Jesus Christ. We see the buying back, the purchasing, the reconciliation. Sadly, opponents of the true Gospel claim that "all things" are just all things already in Christ. If that is so, what is the Spirit saying here? Why the constant emphasis on Adam losing and Christ gaining, Adam dying and Christ resurrecting, Adam falling and Christ restoring? Let us look again at the verse we mentioned earlier:

Let us again apply God’s sovereignty to the issue at hand, and understand that something deep, weighty, and profound is being revealed. God subjected His creation to futility in hope. Hope of what? What would such a creation hope for? Let us read the very next verse in Romans:

What an amazing God! Praise His name! Creation will be delivered from that bondage, from that futility, to which it was subjected by God Himself!

Again, we must remember that this reconciliation takes place in order, and be aware that the sacrifice of Christ will be revealed in its far reaching entirety at the fullness of the ages:

Here again, we see both God’s sovereign intention that all men will be saved, and the declaration that the ransom (paid for ALL) will be testified in due time. One must understand that the price for the sin of the entire world has, as these lines are read, already been paid in full:

God WAS in Christ reconciling the world at the cross! He had already begun the process of salvation by not imputing trespasses, and has now made atonement by His own blood:

We see a distinction made between us and the world, but then a reminder that Christ died for all. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy we see this distinction and reminder again:

Paul, by the Spirit, declares that Jesus Christ is indeed the Savior of the entire creation - the Holy Lamb of God "who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) – yet he also reveals a special salvation for them that believe. The difference between the two is best summed up by two words: firstfruits and harvest.

In this current age, God is working to take out a people for His name, a firstfruits company, who are fully conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and have overcome even as He overcame. This company of people are collectively the Body of Christ. When the Head, the Lord Jesus Himself, appears, the words of John in the Spirit will be fulfilled:

There is a deep truth in these words that pertains to the manner of Christ’s appearing, which will be examined in depth later. It is sufficient for the moment to say that the Body of Christ is the manifestation of God’s Kingdom upon the earth. Their inheritance is described in the book of Daniel thus:

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom – God ruling through the Lord Jesus Christ, Head and body. The prophetic symbol for a kingdom in scripture is a mountain,

and we find many allusions to this great mountain (kingdom) throughout the prophets:

Rejoice, for God clearly states through the prophet Isaiah that He will sovereignly destroy the covering and veil (blindness) that is cast over all people, and spread over all nations! What an awesome God! What a majestic, glorious plan! He will wipe away every tear! There is coming a time when all nations, indeed, all the ends of the earth, will look to God in Jesus Christ for salvation:

He swears by Himself! Brethren, when we hear God swear by Himself, surely all creation must strain forward to catch the next words that fall from the divine lips. And what does He swear? That to Him every knee shall bow! To Him every tongue take an oath and declare that in God we have righteousness and strength! Dear friends, a word from God is sufficient – He cannot break His word, yet He has even sworn by Himself to accomplish His high and lofty aims! We must not dismiss such a profound declaration, but we must reverently examine a statement of such depth and assurance. The apostle Paul, lest we miss the words of Isaiah, refers to this mighty promise again in His epistle to the Philippians:

Here we have a further clarification: that every tongue will confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ! In heaven, on earth, and even under the earth! Listen to how the Amplified Bible brings out verse eleven:

¹¹And every tongue [^[h]frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Amplified)

A frank and open confession! What a far cry from the traditional, carnal interpretation of these scriptures, that seeks to explain away such explicit statements by insisting that the confession in question is ‘forced at gunpoint’, as it were, before the majority of creatures are burned in a gigantic, cosmic concentration camp that has no end. What a twisted view of God! Brethren, it has occurred to me lately that the religious man’s God is one of extremes. If you find His favor, He is a great big teddy bear, or maybe a celestial tooth fairy, who gives you hugs and kisses and all you have to do is slap on your ‘christian’ bumper stickers and pay your lip service (not to mention tithes) in return. However, if you fall into His disfavor, He tortures you ceaselessly without a shred of mercy. No wonder this thing they call ‘Christianity’ has become such a laughing stock to those on the outside! Since when did Christ become an ‘Anity’ anyway?

But I digress. Saints of the Most High, I admonish you to solemnly consider these great truths of the Almighty, and be not conformed to the pattern of the worldly religious arena, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds – put on Christ! See all things through the lens of His love and sovereignty. And pray without ceasing, giving thanks and glory to His name!

As stated earlier, when looking into the plan of God, it is expedient to consider the end from the beginning, finding out what the consummation of the divine purpose in Christ may be, that we may better perceive what events and times are ordained to take us to that climax of all things. And our great God, in His patience and kindness, does not leave us without ample proof of His ultimate intent:

What a beautiful picture the Psalmist paints in the Spirit! God will truly be "All in all" in and through Jesus Christ the only begotten!

There is the distinction again – all kings (those who the kingdom is given to, of whom Christ Jesus is the preeminent one – the King of Kings) – and then all the nations. The same Psalm goes on to enlarge upon the theme a few verses later:

Let us again consider Paul’s words to the church at Corinth:

From the cross onwards, history has been the story of the increase of God’s kingdom in and through Jesus Christ, and through the Spirit, and through His saints, and ultimately through the whole earth! Through all nations! All men! All people! What a blessed thrill when the staggering proportions of God’s love and genius illuminates our hearts and opens our minds!

Glory to the name of Christ! Amen.