Tag: Millennium

Studies

Exposing the Millennium Reign Doctrine – Part 2

Pete

This is a continuation of a study series.  For part 1 of this series Click Here

“Fire From Heaven Destroys All Flesh”

Exposing the Millennium Reign Doctrine – Part 2

 

Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

We are learning to look within and not without to see what the Lord is doing and where He is focused.  Thankfully, the Lord is opening our spiritual eyes to see the carnal lusts we so easily ran after in being deceived into believing false doctrines on the end times and particularly the so-called Millennium [1,000 year] Reign.  We learn spiritual truths by our first erring in truth, being seduced by false Christ’s who bring false doctrine to tell our flesh what it likes to hear.

Mar 13:22  For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

Our flesh desires to profit and be blessed for our walk with Christ.  Yet we are learning more each day, that is not the Lord’s plan.  His kingdom is not of this world [Joh 18:36] and we need to repent of these lies and desires that had us looking down upon others less blessed than ourselves.  This experience of evil is shown us in the Scriptures through the experiences of the chosen disciples who moved onward to maturity in time.  Christ speaks about death but our self-absorbed focus is what is in it for our flesh.  What do we gain the carnal mind will be asking.

Luk 9:44  Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 

Luk 9:45  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying. 

Luk 9:46  Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. 

Luk 9:47  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, 

Luk 9:48  And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. 

Those in Christ will be ministering meekly to babes, they won’t ever be lording over men.  Not now or in the age to come as the Lord changes not [Heb 13:8].

The entire book of Revelation is speaking of things the Lord is working within us when our appointed day and hour for judgment is at hand.  It is not “out there” in the future, it is happening in the kingdom of God which is the hearts and minds of those the Lord has appeared the second time for salvation [which day is today for the Elect in this age]. His appearing and all these acts being lived out or kept is the greatest blessing that will fall to every man when their time is come.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep [live them] those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings [lives them out] of the prophecy of this book

The further we walk with Christ and He pulls us further upward in Spirit, the greater the gulf between us and the carnal world.  The greater truth we have been given to see will be mocked and ridiculed as foolishness by those on the other side of this great gulf.  Our understanding of the Lord’s absolute control over who is spiritually blind, deaf or dumb, has been sharpened by our recent trials with former brethren.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

The exposing of the outward Millennium Reign doctrine removes a giant plank from our spiritual eyes.  Our discipleship for Christ comes not with special rewards and privileges other than being the first group of men to be blessed to know the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.  Our flesh loves the idea that the outward world would bow before us and we would be exalted over the entire human race. This verse has never been brighter as it plainly tells us that our flesh profits nothing:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Our walk with the Lord is an unprofitable walk for our flesh.  That life is being lost in order to gain a new one in Christ.  We work and toil because we love God as the Holy Spirit grows in our hearts [Rom 5:5] doing our reasonable service knowing we are unprofitable servants [Luk 17:10, Rom 12:1].

We are fleeing this carnal idolatry that has us puffed up, thinking more highly of ourselves over the rest of mankind.  Our blessing is not to rule the outward, but it is to rule inwardly in His kingdom and be the first group of men [the second harvest] to sit with Him in heaven having dominion over our earth [our spiritual bodies].  Drinking the wine of the New Testament is both the blessing and the event that is destroying our flesh as we partake of His death inwardly as we become living sacrifices for one another.

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

We all first follow Christ for the carnal benefits, being fed of the fishes and loaves, being filled with knowledge but not truly having faith which is the work of God within us.  We first pursue Christ for the carnal gains to the old man.

Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 

Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

Our blessings from the Lord are not outward, they are inward and come forth from the Kingdom of God.

The true Christ, the living Word, is unattractive to flesh.  Learning there is no carnal benefits and the elect in this age will not be lording over men in an outward physical world will cause many to depart and walk no more with the Lord.  Many are offended in hearing the truth that their flesh is not being blessed and there will be no carnal profit to our walking with Christ and following Him to death.  These truths winnow down the flock and separate the true disciples of Christ from the false as it truly is a few that shall endure to the end.  It is a hard saying, offending all carnal to know there is no profit in this walk for flesh.

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 

Joh 6:60  Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 

Joh 6:61  When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 

Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

Joh 6:64  But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 

Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 

Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 

The Millennium Reign doctrine is just another variant of a “prosperity gospel” of Babylonian orthodoxy that teaches the Lord is blessing His people in the flesh.  As we have grown to see, it is only through death that new life comes forth.  Any outward flesh blessing or carnal gaining gospel is no gospel at all.

Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 

Gal 1:7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 

The Scriptures do not tell us the details of how the Lord will bring an end to the outward world and bring about a cessation of physical life.  Reverting to the letter, forgetting that all “My Words are Spirit” has led many to make up their own private interpretation of these signified words and verses [Rev 1:1, Rev 1:3] regarding the end of the carnal age which is the destruction of the old earth [spiritual land] within us.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 

Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 

Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth [G1093], and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 

Not only are all these words and events “signified”, but they have also always been shortly to come to pass in every generation since John wrote them.

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 

We have many things to relearn rightly dividing the Word, as the leaven of an outward Millennium Reign is removed from our spiritual eyes.

The death the Lord focused on doing away with is being carnal minded. That is the last enemy to be destroyed, not physical flesh.  The Lord is not bound by physical flesh and considers those not alive in physical flesh to be “sleeping” rather than dead.  The focus of Revelation 20 is not on the outward and the physical. The focus of His spiritual words is inward and speaks to the destruction of Satan and his messengers, our carnal thoughts with fire.  This is the death and the one having power over death that the Lord is intent on destroying in these verses.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh [acting carnally] cannot please God.

The works of the devil is this carnal mindedness that works in all flesh.  Those works and that death is destroyed when Christ comes a second time to redeem us from sin.

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works [carnal mindedness – death] of the devil. 

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Our Lord’s appearing in our hearts and minds … IN HEAVEN …, brings the spiritual fire that destroys and consumes our carnal mind.  That is what the signified words for fire consistently represents in the Bible and it changes not when we get to Revelation 20.  Fire is the Spirit of God, it is His Word which is, was and will be burning up all things that defile us in the day we are given to hear those words.

Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire. 

Eze 22:31  Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD. 

When the Scriptures speak about the outward physical earth, the Greek word Kosmos or G2889 is used that is almost often translated as the “world”.

G2889, κόσμος, kosmos

Total KJV Occurrences: 188

world, 185

adorning, 2

world’s, 1

It is the outward world [G2889 – kosmos] that Satan promises us we will be given to rule over if only we will bow and serve him,

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world [G2889 Kosmos], and the glory of them; 

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things [THE WORLD] will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

It is the carnal mind, the mindset of death, of the devil, that has us twisting the Scriptures to seek gain and exaltation over other men.  This is not the way of the Lord whatsoever!  The Lord seeks to serve, not to rule over men outwardly.  His words and deeds are the examples we follow.  Christ withdrew from carnal followers when they were about to force Him to be their king.

Joh 6:15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Seeking to gain the whole world [kosmos] is the work of the carnal mind and is a sure-fire way of remaining lost in this age.  It is a huge deception we have mercifully been delivered from.

Luk 9:25  For what is a man advantaged [profited], if he gain [rule over] the whole world [G2889 – outward “kosmos”], and lose himself, or be cast away? 

Desiring the world and to rule over it, is loving the world which is following Satan and his temptations.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world [G2889], the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world [G2889]. 

The word G1093 or “GE” on the other hand represents “the earth” and is also spoken of as “the land”; representing the spiritual land promised to spiritual Israel.

G1093, γῆ, gē

Total KJV Occurrences: 243

earth, 188

land, 33

ground, 18

country, 2

earthly, 1

world, 1

 

Having dominion over “our earth or land” is salvation and that is what comes about via the three-day process of the Lord working righteousness through judgment in our personal earth in the appointed times for all.

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth [G1093]

The Lord comes to save men by destroying their first earth, not the outer world of kosmos, but their carnal existence [end of their carnal age] with fire.

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth[G1093]; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 

We do not pray for the world [Joh 17:9] which is speaking of the world or Kosmos.  Yet we are to pray for the earth and for overcoming to come upon our earth.

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth [G1093], as it is in heaven. 

It is not in the plan of God to profit the flesh/carnal mind by giving physical rulership over the whole world [G2889 –the Kosmos].  This physical rulership is an insidious lie of the evil one [Luk 4:5-7] designed to entice the many called who bow and serve Satan unknowingly.  The profit to our new man is the death and destruction of our beast and false prophet in the lake of fire within us.

Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Spiritual Fire Falling from Heaven Consumes the Carnal Mind

Fire being poured out on the earth in Rev 20:9 is spiritual speak for judgment being poured out upon our carnal existence [mind and body] that is the earth.   Our salvation comes by way of the destruction of the first Temple [the land, the earth] and that BY FIRE from heaven.

1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy [with spiritual fire] for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 

Spiritual fire from heaven remakes a new earth wherein dwells righteousness, which is our obedience to Christ.  The new earth is the result of our reigning with Christ in Spirit for one day, which is the same as 1,000 signified years which ushers in our day of the Lord bringing the spiritual fire and heat that destroys death [the carnal mind] in us and remakes a new heaven [mind] and a new earth [walk/deeds].  Peter spoke in similar spiritual language as John.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth [G1093], wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

The Lord is not a liar nor a hypocrite.  He strongly rebuked the disciples when they wanted to call literal fire to consume unbelievers.

Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 

Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 

Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them …

Literal fire “killing” [same Hebrew word as smite] all of mankind, would make the Lord’s covenant with Noah [mankind] a false promise.  The Lord spoke to Noah and said He would never again smite all living on the physical earth.

Gen 8:21  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 

Many have first erred in not looking to the Lord, but instead seeking profit and power over men as a reward for following Christ.  It is from such an exalted place men concoct all kinds of abominations including burning God’s creation with literal fire.

Jer 32:33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. 

Jer 32:34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. [=Abomination of desolation standing in holy place]

Jer 32:35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Any doctrine that makes God a liar and contradicts His example is coming from the evil one who roams our earth seeking whom he may devour [1Pe 5:8]. The Lord burning His creation with literal fire has never come into His heart.

Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. 

Jer 7:31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

We now know that any teaching that takes Revelation 20 literally, is a false doctrine as it turns our Lord into a monster doing the very abominable acts He forbids.  Literal fireballs killing all mankind on the kosmos is another strong witness that the entire teaching of an outward Millennium Reign is built on a house of lies.  This false doctrine is a repackaging of the Babylonian false doctrine of eternal hellfire that the more blessed Elect get to avoid.  It is high time to awake out of our sleep and receive His instruction in our minds and hearts (the high place) and stop looking out there.

Walking by faith includes accepting we don’t know all the details about the end of the world and how humanity will cease to exist.  Our focus needs to be put back on things of the Spirit within the Kingdom of God.  The new man will be reigning over our earth [the promised land] as as a result we will be gaining dominion over sin as our carnal mind is being destroyed with spiritual fire.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth [G1093 GE, not the kosmos]

Our time to reign over the inner earth is now as we die with Him to death which is the Second Death.  To do so, we suffer the destruction of our old way of life and thinking.

2Ti 2:11  It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 

Lord willing, spiritual fire is falling from our heaven right now.  This fire is destroying the old man, the first man Adam, the flesh in all of us.  This makes way for the second Adam, the Lord from heaven to emerge.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth [G1093 – GE], earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 

This fire from heaven is putting to death our carnal mind and devouring the spirit of Satan within that is roaming our inner earth.  The result of this fire falling is a remaking of a new heaven and a new earth and consuming up of the spiritual sea that is our flesh.  Getting past the chapter break we see the blessed result.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea [the carnal mind, flesh, the deep where Leviathan dwells]

The Lord and all the apostles warn His people of many deceivers who will come to them as angels of light and put our focus “out there” in the world.  Lord willing, our eyes are being turned back inside of ourselves, into the Kingdom of God where we are being diligent in watching and working the work of God.  It is there we shall seek the treasures in heaven and learn to follow the Lord.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

We are not told how the outward earth comes to an end.  That was never the intent or subject of Revelation 20.

Next week we will look at the verses [Rev 20:9-10] specifically regarding the destruction of Satan in Part 3 as we further brighten our spiritual vision and ensure we completely remove the lie of an outward Millennium Reign.

Part 3 of this study series can be found by CLICKING HERE  

Part 1 of this study series can be found by CLICKING HERE

 

Studies

Exposing the Millennium Reign Doctrine – Part 1

Pete

Exposing the Millennium Reign Doctrine – Part 1

This study is intended to expose some of the many falsehoods of a doctrine many of us previously learned that has Jesus Christ returning outwardly to physical earth and ruling and reigning with His Elect for a symbolic 1,000-year period. This doctrine, as we once learned is a lie that takes our focus away from where it should be.  An invention of the carnal mind, this teaching relates back to the lie that the Elect receives greater rewards from the Lord including ruling the outward world.  If we are chosen to be saved in this age, we will be given to see through the twisting of the Scriptures by those who perform great signs and wonders.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

Within secular Christianity, there are many versions of this one thousand [1,000] year doctrine, called “the Millennium” that have generally been classified into three main groups those being: premillennialists, post millennialists or amillennialists.  The pre and post refer to whether the group believes this outward literal event occurs before or after an outward “great tribulation”.  Of course, even this great tribulation is an inward event, signifying the coming of Christ a second time to men for salvation.

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 

Amillennialists believe there is not an outward reign on the earth. Amillennialists are closest to the truth by rightly claiming this event is spiritual in nature and not an outward physical event.  The words of Scripture are all Spirit, profiting not the flesh [Joh 6:63] and the truth of any matter is only found following sound principles to those the Lord has given the ability.

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

The way of truth is foolishness to those God has blinded and who have not been given the gift of God to spiritual discern the truth.

Our old way of life [thinking and our deeds] is being destroyed in our great tribulation which is the same as our inward day of the Lord. From the perspective of the timing or sequencing, the premillennialists have it right as the time period of the 1,000 years precedes what is the day of the Lord and our being raised with Christ to eternal life.

Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished [AFTERWARDS]. This is the first resurrection. 

A little carnal leaven leavens the whole lump and results in all kinds of false doctrines and theories about the end times.  Only those blessed few in this age are given to see that none of the end times sequences [eschatology] in the Book of Revelation and in Scripture is outward. It is 100% speaking of what is going on in the kingdom of God within and it is always shortly to come to pass.

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

Christ will rule and reign with His people, which is all men in the appointed time.  Yet that rulership is never said to be outward but always in His Kingdom.  And where is that kingdom?

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 

Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Our Lord who changes not [Heb 13:8] has no plan in ruling the carnal world outwardly through His people.  He is in the process of destroying that world one man at a time as He chooses them for salvation.

Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Before we go further, let’s read the key verses and the only place in the Bible where this doctrine is being interpreted from.  Here are the verses

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 

Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 

Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 

Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, [our day of the Lord] and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The outward reign doctrine originates from false prophets the Lord created and turns over to the idols of their heart [Eze 14:9]. An idol of pride has us all puffed up and believing as God’s chosen people we are given better promises and greater rewards than other men.  Such thoughts are a hidden lust of the flesh that has snared many before we mercifully have been dragged out of that error.

The only purpose given for the outward millennium reign in our former teaching forums was so the Lord could destroy all physical flesh of men so no more babies could be born and so death could be destroyed. Here is an excerpt repeated all over those teachings that speak to the purpose of this outward Millennium.

“It is only “through death”, the death of our old man, that our new man can be born. So it is for all men of all time, and so it is with death itself. Until death itself is destroyed, there will be no victory over death. But as long as little Adams are being born, death cannot be destroyed, and that is the real reason for putting “the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan” in prison for a thousand years, just to release him again for “a little season” afterward.”

The error here is very subtle yet huge.  While death is the last enemy [1Co 15:26] to be destroyed, this outward thinking about death misses the mark entirely.  The death the Lord is reigning until He destroys it is the carnal mind which is naturally an enemy of God.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 

It is no big deal, requiring no process, nor a 1,000-year reign for the Lord to speak physical flesh out of existence. We have many events, stories, and parables that show us that the Lord considers physical death to just be sleep [See the story of Lazarus Joh 11:11-14].  The end of death is the end of the carnal mind. That is the Second Death that only happens in the Lake of Fire, which many deny as having any application to God’s Elect.

Unwinding these errors and removing the leaven, will help put our focus back where it needs to be which is our overcoming and the rest of the dead within us coming alive to Christ.

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead [dead to death and the carnal mind, which is the Second Death] is freed from sin. 

Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 

The resurrection to damnation is very much needed and must precede the coming of the Lord for salvation.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die [be found dead in sin, see ourselves as chief of sinners], but after this the judgment: 

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time [in our day of the Lord in the Lake of Fire] without sin unto salvation. 

These events in Revelation 20 are signified words describing the transition from our abiding in the resurrection of damnation knowing the truth but without overcoming unto the day of the Lord when fire will be poured out and a new heaven and earth within us is being made.  It is answered prayer.

Rev 6:9  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 

Rev 6:10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 

Are there Multiple Witnesses to the Outward Rule on the Earth?

No Scripture is to be of its own private interpretation (2Pe 1:20) and that is how Revelation 20 must also be interpreted.  It is only in two or three witnesses that every truth and matter of doctrine shall be established.

2Co 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 

The Millennium Reign doctrine was taught without any confirming witnesses and is now shown to be another facet of the bigger lie that the Elect are given special awards and prizes from the Lord.  The Lord never mentions an outward rule on the earth to His disciples in all His walk with them in the Gospels.  Also, none of the Apostles (Paul, Peter, John, and James) make any mention of this supposed gigantic event in any of their writings.  This alone should be a huge red flag that this doctrine is an invention of men.  Revelation 20 by itself is not the Truth unless it harmonizes with the sum.

Psa 119:160  The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. 

Christ is Lord of the heavens and the earth and He is going to reign in both places.  But those places are within you and that is where the Lord is working right now to establish dominion within those being saved.

Act 7:49  Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool … 

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

A close inspection of the signified words of Rev 20 shows that nowhere does it say our reign with Christ is taking place on the outward physical earth. All those words in Revelation are signified words meaning what they mean not what they literally say [Rev 1:1, Joh 6:63].  It is only by transcribing them by the letter that such a doctrine can be twisted into existence.

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

Let’s remind ourselves what the rulership of Christ is always speaking about when we see it in the Bible.  Rulership is over our own bodies and emotions, in the kingdom of God that is within us (Luk 17:21).

Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth [have dominion over sin, be dead to death]

Isa 14:2  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors [the Gentiles, our carnal mind, our flesh]

Nowhere are we promised ruling over other men in any way shape or form.  In fact, we have the exact opposite witness, a witness that tells us those in Christ will be doing no such thing in ruling and lording over any man.  The list of Scriptures witnessing to this has been used a lot recently, yet repetition is needed to keep out that false spirit of ruling men.

Mat 20:25  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 

Mat 20:26  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 

1Pe 5:2  Feed the flock of God [all men in their harvests] which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, [carnal gain, exaltation among men] but of a ready mind; 

1Pe 5:3  Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples [ministers] to the flock.

It is the spirit of Satan who will lie to us and drive us to be made chief among the people and be given the promise to rule over men and the entire world.  It is a key temptation that only the true Christ in us can resist and overcome.

Luk 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 

Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 

Luk 4:7  If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 

Luk 4:8  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Those seeking to rule others in Jerusalem have made a covenant with the devil who has been given the power of death by the Lord [Heb 2:14]. Thankfully all men’s covenant with their carnal mind [death] will be disannulled.  But in the meantime, it will first deceive all of us until the Lord brings mercy.

Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Some may point to the story of Joseph and his brothers to say the Elect will rule over men.  Yet an important truth is omitted to arrive at such a conclusion.

Gen 37:5  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

Gen 37:6  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

Gen 37:7  For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

Notice it was the sheaves [of grain] not the brothers that bowed down to Joseph’s sheave of grain.  This story in no way speaks of the Elect ruling over men, it shows the Word of God, which is the grain we gather ruling over the carnal words that the world, our eleven brothers walking after the flesh gather.  The obeisance was to the grain; which is symbolism for the Word of God we as the Elect in this age are gathering into the barn.  Joseph’s brothers like our carnal brothers [the rest of mankind and the world within us] will misunderstand and hate us for standing on truth and falsely accuse us of claiming dominion over them.

Gen 37:8  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

The carnal mind, every man’s flesh does not want to bow to Christ who is the Word. We don’t want to be reigned over.

Luk 19:14  But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 

The bowing down of men is always to be to the Word [Christ’s Commands] and never to the messenger who brings that word [Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8]

Joseph had a second dream about the sun, moon, and stars bowing down.    That dream like the first was about our carnal thoughts or beliefs … the sun, moon, and stars in our heavens, bowing down to the Truth.  When our day of the Lord starts and our conversion begins, the lights that guide us will all bow before the brightness of the Truth.

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 

Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 

The rulership of Christ is always about truth and doctrine ruling over the lies and carnal reasoning and the not the physical rulership of any man over another. Our old man [Jacob] will hate Christ in us and the world will also hate us for standing on truth and rejecting their way of thinking.  That is the real message in the story of Joseph’s dreams.  It was never about any outward rulership on a physical earth.  To be spiritually nourished, they all had to bow and come to Joseph [Christ] for the bread of life that sustains us.

Gen 41:55  And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for [spiritual] bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph [a type for Christ]; what he saith to you, do. 

Those yet carnal parts within us, the rest of the dead within us will in due time bow down to the new man who is the one the Lord loves [He hates Esau].  Our sins and carnality will be exposed in our day of the Lord and those parts of us will bow to the Word of God that is the New Man, Christ in us.  Our carnal thoughts are messengers of Satan that masquerade as angels of light [spiritual Jews] which will bow down to the new man.

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 

Only the Lord who is the Word shall be ruling over every man.  Gideon, a type for the Elect and a judge of Israel, the very role those in the second harvest are first to serve the Lord in spreading the fire to all of mankind.

Jdg 8:22  Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

Jdg 8:23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you

Did Christ in the gospels teach of an outward rule and reigning over men before the end comes by His church?  No He did not.  His coming to every man is within, it is in the kingdom of God.

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all [inward] nations; and then shall the end come [inwardly in the hearts/minds of every man in their time]

 If we need any motivation to strive to obey the gospel [be faithful], we find some in the parable of the Talents.  We are all three of these men [as we mature] given talents who first squander them in sloth and then by the grace of God begin to work in the kingdom within us and multiply those talents as we gain dominion over our sins.  This is the rulership the Lord is working in His Elect in this age and in all men in due time.

Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 

When we are given His talents, His truths, we are learning to put them to use so we can receive even more and hasten the rulership and dominion over our inward earth.

Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 

Ruling over “many things” are the things that defile and the creeping things in our earth that are contrary to faith.  Our bodies are the temple of God, His very House in which He dwells, and it is in that house where the new man is being established as the ruler.  His inward revealing, the second coming without sin is when every man is judged and eventually given to rule and reign over the promised land.

Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 

Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 

Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 

It is Christ in us who becomes the ruler of His House and Temple which is the Israel of God in which He dwells.

Mat 2:6  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee [within you] shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 

Christ in us and also in the fellowship with the saints is the “treader of the winepress” and the one serving up the wine [the cup of wrath to flesh] that is converting the inward nations when every man’s day of the Lord begins.

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

The ruling and reigning of Christ coincides with the ruling and reigning of chastening, scourging grace within us.  Here is Paul speaking of these 1,000 symbolic years (one day) another way.

Rom 5:21  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 15:12  And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles [reign over the rest of the dead, the Gentiles within us]; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

In conclusion, the outward Millennium Reign of Christ on the physical earth is an invention of the carnal mind.  It’s origins and defense all come back to the carnal lie of Satan who promises us glory in ruling and reigning the entire world in Christ’s name.  Those taken by the serpent’s subtlety have invented an entire outward age, going way beyond what is written and going outside of the three-day process by which the Lord rebuilds His temple in every man.  The truth, which is the sum of the Word, stands in strong in opposition to this false doctrine we were once taught.

In Part 2, we will look more into the ruling and reigning with Christ and how it is depicted elsewhere in the Scriptures.  The focus will be on what this reign is versus this study that focused on what it is not.  Seeing the same event in plainer language than Revelation 20 will help cement the Lord’s plan for the age and get our focus back where it needs to be.

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. 

Part 2 of this multi-part study series can be found by CLICKING HERE

 

Articles

Carnal Questions That Demand Answers

Pete

 

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? 

When we are first exposed to the truth that God is sovereign and is actually causing ALL THINGS, yes even our very sins; we go crazy with all kinds of carnal questions.    This is quite natural and the process of learning the truth of God’s ways takes time.  It takes time for us to grow into knowledge of the grace of God and understanding His ways.  The ways of the Lord are far far different than the ways of  the natural man and indeed we at first think the truths of God’s word as foolishness.

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We really have no appreciation for these verses until much time has passed and we have our carnality burned out of us.

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The purpose of this post is to address a couple of those “carnal questions” as a follow-up to my post on God being responsible for evil in this world. Paul speaking of the true gospel and the salvation of all by faith thru grace was viciously rejected and scorned by the religious of his day. It has not changed my friends, these are experiences and the words of the Lord that we as God’s Elect will live in our appointed times. By preaching the salvation of all men nobody is suggesting or encouraging anyone to continue to do evil and engage in sin. Yet we like Paul, a type and shadow of all God’s Elect,  will be slandered and accused of doing just that.

Rom 3:5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
Rom 3:6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
Rom 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Rom 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

God’s Elect will never say any such a thing about sin. It is a false accusation that will come to all of God’s Elect. What we do say is that without the intervention of Christ into our inward heavens we have no chance of obeying God in the weakness of sinful flesh. We will speak the truth that when we do fall into sin or stumble that it is the Lord working that sin in us for His good pleasure and purposes.  That is the truth so very few are given to receive.  But what do the Scriptures plainly teach.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

While we are still abiding in Babylon, the harlot apostate churches of men that promote another jesus we will not be aware of our sinfulness.  The fact that we are still blind, wretched and naked is far removed from our spiritual vision.  We are blind as bats until the Lord opens our eyes and causes us to see and to hear His word.  We won’t know any of this until our day of judgment arrives and we are given eyes to see the abomination that is causing desolation and our need for a Savior is made perfectly clear to us.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  (You, me, the old man within all mankind)

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

While we are blind and held captive in Babylon, we will fool many that similar to us have the outside of the cup cleaned but inside are still full of dead men’s bones, walking in spiritual death and separated from God all the while claiming to know Him.  We may know him in the flesh but at this point we do not know Him in the Spirit.  Those that claim to be in the truth and teachers of the blind, are those for whom Christ saves His harshest rebuke.

Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

It is indeed by grace we are saved and not of our works or any delusion of our free will choosing God. God’s Elect will even be falsely accused of exalting themselves for merely speaking the truths that were GIVEN to them. Such is the narrow way and part of the cross we carry in our times.  We are not better than anyone, all men are sold under sin.

Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

But we do have one thing they do not have and that is the gift of faith.  This is indeed GIVEN to very few and with that gift comes the gift of spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see the truth of God’s words.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Without further ado let’s look at the questions.

Question #1 – Let’s just live it up and sin like crazy

The first question of the carnal mind is that if all men are going to be saved, why don’t we just go ahead and live it up to the fullest. Let’s eat, drink and be merry is our most immediate thought.  I can’t tell you how many times this has been asked by those that believe the Lord is going to torment most of His creation forever without end.  An obvious rebuke of such carnal mindedness is to challenge the person asking this question why do they say they love God if they don’t have an overwhelming desire to obey Him?

Luk 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

At the end of the day, the love of God has a definition and that definition is based on obedience.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

When we ask these questions we do not understand or believe God’s plans for the ages and the purposes and function of the Elect. Yet without going into that in this post,  the primary causation we ask this carnal question in our walk is that we do not yet understand what God’s grace really is and its function.  We have yet to learn that grace is what chastens. Grace is what scourges us. Grace is the righteousness judgment of God against all our ungodliness.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching (Chastening) us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

The word translated TEACHING in Titus 2:12 is the greek word paideuo and it means TO CHASTEN. So sure when we are chastened we learn so the word teaching is not that far off, but it does obscure the real meaning and waters down the point.

G3811
ðáéäåṍù
paideuō

Total KJV Occurrences: 13

chastened, 3
1Co_11:32, 2Co_6:9, Heb_12:10

chasteneth, 2
Heb_12:6-7 (2)

chastise, 2
Luk_23:16, Luk_23:22

chasten, 1
Rev_3:19

instructing, 1
2Ti_2:25

learn, 1
1Ti_1:20

learned, 1
Act_7:22

taught, 1
Act_22:3

teaching, 1
Tit_2:12

So we learn when we are taught, and we are taught when we are chastened. That is the function and purpose of grace, it is how we are CAUSED to obey God in due time.

Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Being scourged is not fun. Yet that is what we are told the Lord does to every son He loves and receives unto Himself. We saw it above but it needs to be pounded home thru thick carnal minds.  EVERY SON God loves is scourged and that is actually a blessing because the old man must be killed for the new man to come forth.

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

So when you understand all men are saved and if true faith has come to you, then judgement has fallen upon your house. You are now under grace and not the law.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

When this happens in our life, we will not take the attitude of let’s eat, drink and be merry. We will quickly learn that we indeed reap what we sow. DO NOT BE DECEIVED.

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

We will learn, be taught, when we are caused to sin and then God bring judgment upon us and we are scourged with great trials and afflictions.

Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you (BY GRACE) to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Grace MAKES us obey God in the appointed times.  It is how the old man is put away and the new man arises.

Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Once we know this and God’s ways, we should not think it strange when these trials come.  We should count them all as joy, knowing their purpose.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

That is the purpose of the furnace, it is the purpose of the afflictions, that is the true grace of God in action. That is how the old man is decreases and the new man is increased in us. This is how the beast is destroyed by the fire that is the word of God.

Isa 48:10Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Act 14:22Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Let’s keep in mind that fire is the WORD of God.  Fire is what saves us (baptism of fire) when it work in us and burns the sin and inequity out of our hearts and minds.  We are saved BY THE FIRE, yet Babylon teaches us salvation means avoiding the fire.  All men will be purified by the fire that is God’s word in the appointed times, which is our ordained day of judgment.  When grace is poured out upon us thru faith,  the old man is not going to make it much longer.  No man or beast can stand.

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

The beast is no match for Christ and will be destroyed by the fiery grace of God.  So we will learn to truly tremble at the word of God, knowing of His absolute sovereignty. So the carnal reasoning that we will say let’s just go ahead sin so grace may abound is flawed. That is the last thing God’s Elect will be doing or teaching to anyone. We will learn that when we sin, the Lord simply turns up the heat. The Lord will simply ratchet up the grace dial and will keep on doing it until we get it. Eventually, we will learn to fear God and will be given the faith to stop sinning. That is how it works friends and it is a long process.

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

I guarantee you will not have the attitude of let’s sin so grace may abound once you are given ears to hear and eyes to see. When you understand free will is strong delusion you will be crying and sighing over all the abominations and sin committed in your spiritual house. Because you know this is against the commands of the Lord and you have the certain expectation of ongoing fiery judgment, there is no escape, we reap what we sow.

Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation (IE GRACE POURED OUT UPON YOU), which shall devour the (inward) adversaries (of sin and rebellion)
Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

When you truly understand grace, then you will begin to be taught the fear of the Lord.  You will know that the Lord will have vengeance and you will get away with no sin.  If you sin, the dial on the furnace is simply increased.  Oh thank God for these wonderful works of God to the children of men,  they will teach you to fear God in due time.

Deu 4:10  Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

Isa 33:6  And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

These verses above from Hebrews 10 are used by many that are blinded to the truth of the salvation of all men. These are used to support the lie of eternal hell but what this is speaking about is the righteous judgment of God and that is the way we are saved. Understanding that salvation is the method we are delivered of our sins, meaning we no longer commit them and are given power to rule over sin is key. God’s plan has never changed, it was always the way we are to be redeemed and remade into children of the most high God.

Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments (MUCH CHASTENING GRACE, MUCH SCOURGING OF THE OLD MAN):

It is this process of having God’s wrath poured out upon our sins and inequities, i.e. GRACE that chasten, that teaches….. that we learn the fear of the Lord. We won’t learn this until we are in the midst of God’s Elect and the chastening grace of God’s judgment is upon His house. Knowing these truths about grace will eliminate any carnal thoughts that we might as well eat, drink and be merry.  It is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Now let’s consider a second yet related question our carnal minds focus on when hearing of God’s truths.


Carnal Question #2 – Then Why Does God Find Fault

The second carnal question is why does the Lord judge us and bring punishment upon us when He is the one that is causing us to sin.  Since He is the Potter and we the clay, why does He still find fault with us when we stumble? A very good questions which demands an answer and one we best know to walk the narrow way.

This section of Romans 9 addresses this question and provides the proper answer. We are told the Lord has mercy on some and hardens the hearts of others against His ways and His word.  Why does He then find fault since nobody is resisting God’s will. God’s will is being done all the time, we truly are the works of His hands.

Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

The Lord has a method to His seeming madness.  As I wrote about in the post Who Is Responsible For Evil,  our purpose in this life is to learn good and evil, that is a necessary step to become like God.

Gen 3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

When we complain and grumble to the Lord about what He is doing in our lives, we are contending with God.  He knows what He is doing and we need to have faith and to believe and know that whomsoever will wait on the Lord will not be ashamed in the end.  He will be faithful to His promises and will indeed finish the good works He has started in this age in the lives of His Elect.  We all like JOB will contend with the Lord but it is thru these very contentions that we will be judged and will learn the truth.

Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

To convert us from carnal Christians to the new man that walks in the Spirit a lot of lies have to be burned out of us.  We have to learn that the Lord really is the Lord and that we of ourselves can indeed do nothing.  This is such a pivotal verse I often cite and I do hope you are beginning to get it.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The real answer on why God finds fault is so He can bring judgment upon us.  It pleases Him to crush His sons, in the flesh and to destroy the old man and carnal nature of the first vessel made from the clay.  The Babylonian lie of the fall of mankind also is blown up by the truth of knowing and believing the Lord really is the Potter and has a two step process in store for all men.  The Lord has to cause your ears to be open to hear it.

Jer 18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel (God’s Elect)  cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

So Paul continues in Romans 9 and tells us the mystery of how Christ is formed in us and the old man is destroyed and the man brought forward.  This is the purpose of God finding fault.

Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Lord of Heaven & Earth

The purpose of God finding fault is to bring judgment and the purpose of judgment is to teach us His ways and to reveal Himself to us and remake us so that we are partakers of His Holiness.

Heb 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 

Flesh and blood is not entering into the kingdom of God.  Experiencing fiery grace is for our profit just as this Scripture tells us.  It must go and thus the requirement for all of us to be remade and go through the fiery judgment of God against our flesh.    During this process, we are going to learn that being Lord truly means He is the Lord of all things and most certainly the inward heavens and the earth that represent each of us lumps of clay made of the earth.

Deu_4:39  Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

Perhaps you can begin to apply these physical words in the spirit and look inside where the kingdom of God actually resides.

Isa_66:1  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

1Ch_29:11  Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

This process of judgment starts with the house of God (the Elect or the House of Israel etc) but all men will in due time learn righteousness when judgment is fallen upon them.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

It is a good thing the Lord finds fault, otherwise we would not learn His ways.  Think about how a child in the natural learns or we learn on the job.  We learn by doing, by making mistakes and being corrected.  It is no different in the spiritual.  When we fall down and sin, the Lord brings chastening which is judgment and that comes in the form of afflictions and tribulation.

Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

These judgments of the Lord bring afflictions to the old man and are necessary to destroy the beast and our carnal nature that puts, ME MYSELF and I as numero uno, all the while we claim to serve the Lord.  What will help align all Scripture is your coming to see that judgment is good, very good. It is the process by which we are changed into the likeness and image of Christ. Without it we could never learn obedience and let’s remember how we learn obedience.

Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Psa 119:7  I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

Christ, meaning His Body, the Elect;  all learn obedience by the things we suffer. This is the mystery of how Christ is formed in all men in their appointed time.  It starts with the Body of Christ filling up in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of the church.  This comes about by judgment and that is why the Lord is in the fault finding business, to teach us.  This is a great mystery, a secret that few are given the spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear yet it is right in our Bibles.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Whoever said the finished works of Jesus Christ on the cross means you don’t have to suffer and die is a liar and knows not the Lord.  Anyone telling you about a rapture and that you are saved from God’s judgment is blind as a bat.

Judgment is good, very good, sweeter than honey and it is how the new man is formed and the old man is decreased in all of us.

Psa 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psa 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Judgment is how we learn the fear of God and this is what causes us to obey in due season.  So God finding fault with us and bringing judgment is a very good thing.   Psalm 119 has many verses that tell of this mysterious truth.

Psa 119:39  Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.

Psa 119:66  Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

Psa 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

With God’s judgment, comes afflictions and these are designed to benefit the new man.  Those wise in the ways of the Lord will come to see how the Lord works His mysteries and brings forth Christ in us thru much tribulation and afflictions of all kinds.

Psa 119:75  I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

Psa 119:76  Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.

We may not know it now or feel joyful now in the midst of our trials and afflictions when our Loving Father brings His wrath and fury against our sins and wicked nature.  One day though we will be able to look back, once salvation has come to us and be very glad the Lord loved us enough to bring His wrath and anger against our sins. I just saw this gem over in Psalms.

Psa 90:15  Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

Which also reminds us of what the purpose of this life is all about.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens:it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Some of these things are hard to understand at first so please ask if you have sincere questions.  The scriptures are not broken, they tell this wonderful truth from Genesis to Revelation.

The only way to come to know the Lord is thru the process of judgment. I have written extensively on this topic but if you will just search for the phrase “know the Lord” or “know I am the Lord” you will see the context is always, 100% of the time, the old man within us, the beast that all flesh is, being judged by having the wrath of God poured out upon us.

Pressing Onward To the Highest Calling of God

So I hope you can now understand the purposes of the Lord in finding fault when we sin and stray from His ways.  Even though He is the one causing it and working that in our lives;  it is by the process of Him bringing judgment upon us that we learn His ways and become like Him, knowing good and evil.  The Lord works evil for good and that really is the mystery of how Christ is formed in us and we learn good and evil.

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

All men will go thru this process.  The only thing that separates the Elect is that we will be judged in this life while still in fleshly bodies.  We will experience our death to the old man and carnal mind first.  We will then be in the first resurrection and will be used to bring the rest of mankind thru the process of judgment at the second resurrection.  It is a very good thing that we are judged now, it is far better than being judged later with the rest of the world.

1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Far greater honor to be a priest and king of the Lord and to rule and reign with Him for the Millennium Reign and then be the judges of the world and bring the knowledge of Christ to all mankind.  That is why we press onward and upward for the higher calling of God.  That is why we as God’s Elect depart from inequity and strive to not be disqualified for such a great reward.  Here are three scriptures that speak of the critical role and function given to the very few that are God’s Very Elect.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Mat 19:28  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 (all mankind in the end)

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Sincere comments or questions are welcome.  You can also email me at peterjwilson56@gmail.com

Your brother in Christ,  Pete