Man has been, is being, and will be saved for a
revealed purpose. There is a revealed goal in view, and, relative to salvation,
that goal is always the same in Scripture,
regardless of what aspect of man’s salvation is in view. That goal is the same for the whole of man’s salvation -
spirit, soul, and body. That goal is man
being placed back in the position for which he was created in the beginning, and that position will be realized
during the Messianic Era.
(This is the manner in which Scripture presents salvation
throughout, with the unchangeable foundational pattern set in the opening
verses of Genesis.
The inhabited world to come will not be placed in subjection
to angels, as the present world [Heb.2: 5]. This is the message seen throughout Scripture. A
new order of Sons is about to be brought on the scene [Rom.
8:18-23] -
Christ and His co-heirs. And, from a Scriptural standpoint, man’s salvation centers on that
coming day when this new order of Sons holds the sceptre and rules the earth.)
Man invariably deals with salvation in relation to eternity
and going to heaven, while seldom mentioning salvation in relation to the
Messianic Era and the kingdom of the heavens.
Scripture, on the other hand, presents the matter in a completely
inverse fashion. Scripture invariably
deals with salvation in relation to the Messianic Era and the kingdom of the
heavens. Heaven (the present dwelling place of God) and
the
ages beyond are mentioned at
times, but not relative to salvation in the same sense that man relates them to
salvation.
Man is not going to spend either the Messianic Era or the
eternal ages which follow in the place known today as heaven. And,
in relation to the eternal ages which
follow the Messianic Era, God is not going to dwell in this place either. God is going to dwell on the new earth
throughout the ages comprising eternity.
And even when Scripture does deal with saved man in heaven (e.g., Christians following death, or
Christians following the rapture) matters are always completely consistent with
the way Scripture elsewhere deals with saved man. If future time comes into view, reference is
made to things surrounding the Messianic Era, not the ages beyond (though in
several instances the Messianic Era is connected with and seen as the first of
these ages, though separate from them [e.g.,
Luke 1:33; Eph. 2: 7]).
THE
MESIANIC ERA, AGES BEYOND
During the Messianic Era, man will dwell either on a restored earth
or in the heavens above this restored earth, with there being a Jerusalem above
and a Jerusalem below (capital cities both over and on the earth, with
Christians [along with certain O.T. saints] inhabiting the city above, and
Israel inhabiting the city below).
During this era, there will be a rule from the heavens over the
earth. And this rule, as today, will
originate with God in heaven and progress through rulers placed in the heavens
in relation to this earth.
Today, this rule progresses from God through Satan and his
angels (though rebel rulers), who reside in the heavens above the earth. But during that coming day this rule will
progress from God through His Son and His Son’s co-heirs, who will reside in
the new Jerusalem above the earth.
A rule of the preceding nature, from the heavens over the
earth, must continue during the Messianic Era, for this is the manner in which
God established the government of the earth in the beginning. Such a rule must continue as long as the
earth remains, which will be until the end of the Messianic Era - to the full
end of the seven days, the 7,000 years, set forth in the beginning (Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3).
A rule from the heavens over the earth (one province in God’s
kingdom) is not only the way in which God originally established the government
of the earth but the way in which He evidentially established His government
throughout all other parts of the universe as well (all other provinces in His
kingdom). And this can never change in relation to any one province, for “the heavens
do rule” (cf Dan. 4:25, 26).
Thus, God’s Son, with His co-heirs, must rule throughout the
Messianic Era in exact accord
with the way God established the government of the earth in the beginning. Such a governmental rule will have to
continue during this time, for the present earth will not pass out of existence
until the end of the Messianic Era (Rev. 21: 1-5).
God’s Son, with His co-heirs, will rule over the earth for
1,000 years - the earth’s coming Sabbath, foreshadowed by the seventh day in Gen. 2: 1-3 (cf Ex.
31: 13-17; Heb. 4: 1-9). They will rule for 1,000 years to
effect order where disorder has prevailed for millenniums in one province in
God’s universe. And once order has been
restored, the kingdom will be delivered up to God the Father, that God might be
“all
in all [i.e., permeate all, be ‘everything in all things’].”
Then, once order has been restored and the kingdom has been
delivered up to the Father, the present heavens and earth will be
destroyed. A new heavens and a new earth
will be brought into existence, and the new earth will become the place in the
new heavens (as the earth today, suspended at a point in the heavens) from
whence universal rule will emanate. God
will move His throne to the new earth, the Son will sit with His Father on this
throne (called “the throne of God and of the Lamb”), and saved man will exercise power
from this throne as well (2 Peter 3: 10ff; Rev. 21: 1ff; 22: 1-5).
REGALITY, THE EARTH, THE UNIVERSE
Therein lies man’s destiny, not going to heaven per se. Man’s destiny has to do with regality,
the earth, and the universe -
first, ruling over this present earth
from the new Jerusalem above the earth (during the Messianic Era); then, ruling
out in the universe from the new Jerusalem on the new earth (during the ages
which follow).
Salvation in Scripture is always dealt with in relation to the
scope of Scripture; and Scripture deals centrally with everything moving toward
a seventh day, a seventh 1,000-year period.
Events during this coming day, the Messianic Era, must be brought to
pass first. And
therein lies the reason why Scripture deals with man
centrally in relation to this time, with the ages beyond seldom being in view
(regardless of which aspect of salvation is being dealt with - past, present,
or future).
Only following the Messianic Era can the ages which lie beyond
this era be brought into view in all their fullness. During the present time they are briefly
dealt with in Scripture so that man can have some understanding of God’s plan
for the ages, where the whole of the matter - 6,000 years, followed by a
1,000-year Messianic Era - will eventually lead. But only following the Messianic Era will
matters move beyond that dealt with extensively in Scripture. Only then will God begin to open up and fully
reveal that which will occur during the period which man thinks of today as
eternity.
And the manner in which Scripture presents this whole matter -
particularly as it relates to man’s salvation - has become very difficult,
practically impossible, for most Christians to see and grasp. These Christians have been taught wrong for
years - not necessarily concerning how to be saved, but concerning the purpose for salvation and that which
lies ahead for redeemed man. And because this erroneous teaching
surrounding [eternal] salvation
has become so ingrained within their way of thinking, attempts to present
salvation from the correct Biblical perspective usually meet with askance
looks, opposition, or antagonism on almost every hand.
When that depicted by the woman
placing the leaven in the three measures of meal in Matt.
13: 33 occurred very early in the dispensation (which concerned an attempt
on Satan’s part to corrupt all Biblical doctrine having to do with the Word of
the Kingdom), anything related to the Word of the Kingdom began to be adversely
affected. And this working of the leaven, of necessity,
would extend even into the Biblical scope of salvation by grace.
This would have to be the case because of the inseparable
connection salvation by grace has with the Word of the Kingdom. It is man passing “from death
unto life” which
places him in a position - where he can realize the salvation of his soul.
And matters become even more negative surrounding the
relationship which salvation by grace has with the kingdom through the message
of those advocating Lordship Salvation.
Those proclaiming this message take things having to do with the Word of
the Kingdom and seek to bring these things over into and apply them to the
message of salvation by grace (i.e., things
having to do with present and future aspects of salvation are removed from
their respective contexts and applied to things having to do with past aspects
of salvation). And, through this means,
those proclaiming this message not only remove the kingdom from view but they do two
other things in the process. They both
destroy the Word of the Kingdom and corrupt the message of salvation by grace.
Interestingly enough, those who proclaim a correct salvation message per
se but ignore the kingdom and
those who proclaim a lordship salvation message (who, through this means, destroy one
message and corrupt the other) form
two major groups in Christendom today.
Those from these two groups remain at almost complete odds with one
another on the message of salvation by grace; but when it comes to correctly
relating this message to the kingdom, it can only be said of both groups that
they have been similarly, adversely affected by the same leavening process
which is rampant in the Laodicean Church of today.
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TO REIGN WITH CHRIST
DURING HIS MILLENNIAL KINGDOM
Many Christians (i.e., regenerate
believers) think that because they have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as
Saviour, they will naturally reign with Him when He returns. This is not true. To be in the ‘Church’
does not imply that one will be in the coming ‘Kingdom’. The ‘Church’
is not taking the place of the ‘Kingdom’.
The conditional promises of God still
hold true in so far as His promise to Abraham is concerned. That is, Abraham is still waiting - (in Hades,
the place of the dead, [Lk. 16]) - to inherit the “land”
which God promised him, (Acts 7: 5).
All regenerate believers who have by
faith accepted Christ, are children of God and have eternal life in “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21: 1); but, to be amongst those “considered
worthy of taking part in that age” (Luke 21: 35), is quite another thing. To reign with Christ in His Millennial
Kingdom, will be part of the reward that obedient Christians may receive, if
their “righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law” (Matt. 5: 20). It will be a blessing given to those who have
proven faithful.
The Book of Hebrews seems to make this
perfectly clear for those who have been given eyes to see it. The general view of the book deals with the
promises of God to Abraham. The Author
shows by contrast that, as the redeemed children of God in the wilderness were
denied the joy of inheriting the
We often sing and hear about the
Christian “not being under law,” but a unbiased and careful study of Hebrews should convince any born
again believer that he is very much under law.
It is true that we are not under law to old Jewish rituals, and we are
not obliged to the law in so far as its religious worship is concerned, but
there are certain commandments, and certain laws, that God has laid down for us
to follow. We are repeatedly told “to abstain from the appearance of evil” … to “preach the Word,” … “flee
fornication,” … “greed,” … “foolish talk” and “coarse
joking” … “honour father and mother,” … “steal no more,” etc., etc. The moral law is just as binding on God’s
redeemed people today as it ever was to the children of
Hence the apostle’s warnings addresses
to those “inside” the Church (1 Cor. 5: 12), and
throughout his epistles to other churches of God. The millennial
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