No. 59 - POWERS OF OBSERVATION By: John J. Blanchard Saturday, February 05, 2005 The title of today’s sermon is “Powers of Observation”. The dictionary says to observe means to see or to notice, to perceive, to watch attentively and to make careful observation. That is a dictionary definition of observe. One must develop good powers of observation during their lifetime. That is difficult enough in our physical lives, but that is extraordinarily difficult in our spiritual lives. As a matter of fact, it requires miraculous help from God to develop good spiritual powers of observation. Spiritual powers of observation require faith, so let’s first turn to the faith chapter, Hebrews chapter 11. Read verses 1-3. Faith is the evidence of things we cannot even see with our physical eyesight. If you would, please turn to the gospel of John chapter 17. We will once again start reading in verse 1 and read to verse 4. Just before Jesus was betrayed, He told the disciples (He was speaking to His Father in heaven), the work that I have been given is finished. The apostles heard Him talk to His Father. I have done the job that You have given Me to do. Then He began to pray for His disciples right in front of them. Continue reading John 17:5-8. Jesus Christ said these have believed in You. They see Me and they believe in You, because they heard the words that I gave them as I did the job you sent Me to do. And He said I have kept them in Your name, as He prayed here, as we will see. Continue reading in verses 9-15. Jesus Christ knew He could not take the disciples out of the world because they had a job to do in the world. But He said please keep them from the evil one for I have kept them in Your name. This is the prayer that Jesus Christ prayed for the disciples right in front of them, so they could record it for us. Continue reading in John 17:16-19. It is the same truth that sanctifies us and has sanctified all of the brethren from Jesus Christ’s time to this very day. Then He does something extraordinary here starting in verse 20. Jesus Christ prays for all of those who would follow and would not have the advantage that the apostles had. The apostles got to see Christ, to touch Christ, to talk with Christ, and they believed His word which was accounted to them as righteousness. None of us have been able to see or touch Jesus Christ. None of the people who followed after the times of the apostles had the advantage of seeing and touching Christ. Jesus Christ knew this and prayed for those people who would follow, starting in verse 20. Read verses 20-23. Christ is saying here it is because of the followers who would not have the advantage of seeing, touching and talking directly to Him that the whole world would eventually believe. Followers to come would believe the word the apostles recorded, which they received from Jesus Christ who received it from the Father. And so the truth has gone down through the ages. The word of God asks us to believe, therefore, things that we cannot see, as we read in Hebrews. These are things that we cannot verify by physical sight, touching or witnessing, but we must believe. We do that because of spiritual observation. We observe things spiritually and have faith that they are so. DEVELOPING SPIRITUAL POWERS OF OBSERVATION The purpose of this sermon is to develop those spiritual powers of observation. These are powers that come from God. They are powers that are honed by use. They are powers that are strengthened by faith and sustained by believing God’s word. Carefully listen and prove what you are about to read in this sermon. Measure it against God’s word. If it makes sense to you, then believe it and act upon it, because that means God is opening your eyes to the truth in these last days. We are going to start by comparing a couple of scriptures that are an apparent contradiction to one another. Turn, if you would, to Matthew 24. Once again we will begin in verse 1 and read to verse 3. The apostles asked Him a direct question. What should we be watching for to know the end of the age is imminent and Your return is imminent? That was their question. If you would drop down to verses 26-27, you would see what Jesus Christ says in the middle of this discourse in Matthew 24. Jesus Christ said when the second coming actually occurs, it will be like lightning flashing from the east to the west. All eyes will be able to see it. The apostles were getting an answer there. That is one thing that is observable, but it is already upon you when the return of Jesus Christ happens. OCULAR EVIDENCE If you would, please turn to Luke 17 where a very similar question was asked of Jesus Christ by the Pharisees. Read Luke 17:20-21. Or an alternate translation says “in your midst.” Here Jesus Christ is saying something quite different. He says you cannot observe the kingdom of God coming. What is He talking about? These are both answers to questions about what to observe - one from the Pharisees and one from the disciples. They seem to be in opposition to one another. One tells you one thing that you can observe, and the other answer from Jesus Christ says the kingdom does not come with observation. These questions may seem in opposition, but there is a key mentioned there when Christ said it is “in your midst.” He was saying the kingdom of God is in the midst of the Pharisees when they were asking this question, because Jesus Christ is the king of that kingdom. He did not look all powerful. He did not have any subjects or any entourage with Him. There was no way to tell the kingdom of God was in their midst. There was nothing they could observe that could tell them they were witnessing part of the kingdom and seeing it with their eyes. There was nothing they could observe. That term “observation” here in Luke 17 comes from the Greek word parateresis which means inspection or ocular evidence. Therefore, without observation means without physical evidence to see. Jesus Christ said until it is here, you are not going to be able to verify that it is coming by physical things that you can observe. There are no physical signs except one, and He mentions it a little later on in Matthew 24. Let’s go back to Matthew 24. This time we will read verse 14. In the midst of the discourse in Matthew 24 He tells the disciples: “‘And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.’” That is the one physical sign that He mentions other than seeing the light flash from the east to the west. This is the one physical sign He gives them to watch for. Of course, that never occurred in their lifetime. The gospel was not preached throughout the world in the days of the apostles, nor indeed was accomplished until the Philadelphia era of God’s Church when one Herbert W. Armstrong did proclaim the gospel around the world in great power. That was done, as he noted, prior to about 1978 to 1980. It was about that time. By that time, the gospel of the kingdom, which means the “good news” of the kingdom of God, had gone to the whole world through radio, the Plain Truth magazine, through television programs and through personal evangelism by Mr. Armstrong and those he sent forth from headquarters. This fulfilled the prophecy and did so within the Philadelphia era of God’s Church. Those brethren called during the Philadelphia era actually witnessed this! They witnessed the fulfillment of the prophecy mentioned in Matthew 24:14 that the gospel of the kingdom would go to the whole world. Once that physical thing has taken place, the end can come! Many things have happened since those days. That is what we are here to talk about, because it requires spiritual vision and spiritual observation. It requires powers of observation beyond the human experience to determine where you are in time. If you would, turn now to Matthew 4:12. We are going to look at what Jesus Christ started to do. He began spreading the gospel of the kingdom at the very beginning of His ministry. Read Matthew 4:12-17. From the time that John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus Christ began preaching the gospel of the kingdom (the good news of the kingdom of God). Of course, He did not take it to the whole world. He took it to a very small geographical region in what we call today the Holy Land. That is where Jesus Christ spoke, but His words were recorded and taken from that time by those that God had sent forth. Eventually His words were taken to the entire world in the late 1970’s, which was accomplished when Mr. Armstrong had spread the gospel of the kingdom as a witness. A GOVERNMENT IN EXILE If you would, now please turn to John chapter 18. Christ sheds some light on this gospel of the kingdom just before His crucifixion. It is a famous discourse with Pilate. Read John 18:33-37. Jesus Christ said I am a king. You said rightly so, and I am answering directly I am a king. But My kingdom is not here now. If it were, you would not be able to hold Me like this. My forces would fight you. But My kingdom is not here yet. The kingdom was in the midst of those who were talking to Him right there just as it was to the Pharisees, for the king was there. But the kingdom was tiny. There were no subjects yet. There was no government yet, but there was our king. Since that time Christ has been assembling His government. He has been assembling the necessary government to have the people over the kingdom along with Him, which He termed the firstfruits. Let’s look at a few scriptures to back that up. Turn, if you would, to Revelation 1. Read Revelation 1:4-6. Right here at the start of the Book of Revelation John says that he has a message from Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead. He is the ruler of the entire universe who is assembling people such as John to be kings and priests in that government. Turn back now to I Timothy chapter 6. Read verses 11-13. This is referring back to that incident we just read. Verse 14: “…that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing…” That is the second coming. Verse 15: “…which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings…” (multiple kings). He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Verse 16: “…who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” At this point in time, the only one to receive that power and immortality from being a physical man is Jesus Christ. He is King of kings. He stands alone at this time. He is the only King of kings and Lord of lords until His government is complete and resurrected at His second coming. Turn, if you would, to I Peter chapter 2:9. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” Here He is talking to the believers who would follow. He is talking to the believers of the word that was recorded by the apostles, that we are reading right now. He said “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” These are the firstfruits who will eventually be kings and priests along with Jesus Christ. It is a very special calling and an extremely important calling. Right now it is a government in exile, and a government that cannot be seen with physical eyesight. It is a government, in essence, in embryonic state. It is tiny and to human vision, it is invisible. You still cannot see the kingdom of God. You cannot observe it. Jesus tried to explain this to a Pharisee of the day back in John. Turn to John 3. This is a Pharisee made famous by this incident, Nicodemus. Christ has a discussion with this Pharisee, and He talks about the kingdom that cannot be seen yet at that time. Read John 3:1-4. Nicodemus knew what was being talked about here: a second birth. He said how can one do this? Jesus answered in verses 5-6. Jesus Christ plainly states here that when we are born in the flesh of water and we are 90 percent water, we are of the flesh. When one is born of the spirit, they are spirit, just as Jesus Christ is right now. He is a spirit being. THE CURRENT HIDDEN GOVERNMENT The ultimate purpose of Christ’s government is to replace a horrible tyrannical government that is over the earth. It is another government that cannot be seen with the naked eye. That government is going to get replaced by Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords with His government when He returns. Let us look at this hidden government that now reigns over the earth and causes such terror. Satan’s current government is arranged over the earth the way Jesus Christ’s eventually will be arranged over the earth. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 6 where this is stated very clearly. Ephesians 6, verse 12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Paul knew very well that our enemies are not mortal flesh and blood human beings. Our true enemy is Satanic in nature and the demons who form a government along with Satan. These are the powers and principalities and the rulers of the darkness of this age in heavenly places. Principalities are just like where the United States is divided up into fifty states and then eventually into counties, cities or villages. Those are principalities. These are the divisions on a physical earth that form principalities. Jesus Christ is telling us through Paul that the earth has been divided into principalities, and Satan the devil and his demons rule over them. But these are spiritual in nature, and we cannot see them. We cannot see the boundary lines. We cannot see the potentates who are over them, but they are there. They are very real. They are our real enemies. II Corinthians 4 explains this very clearly once again. Turn to II Corinthians 4:3. “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing…” It is hidden from the world at this time, but that is about to change with the gospel of the good news. Verse 4: “…whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” The gospel has not shined on the whole earth as of yet, but it will. It has shined on the firstfruits who have been called and understood and have been fighting this fight against these spiritual potentates in heavenly places. That is why god in these verses is a little “g”, because it is referring to Satan, the god of this world. He rules these principalities in an invisible government that we only feel the crazy effects of around the earth. This term “god of this world” in Greek is aion which means age. Aion in Greek means age or a fixed period. So that government of Satan has a fixed length of time in which it can reign, and then it will be brought down. Actually it will be brought down ahead of time. Its time will be cut short, and that is what we are waiting for. Turn, if you would, back to Matthew chapter 4. We will get a glimpse of this government of Satan and the divisions over the world. In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan the devil. This reveals a little bit about Satan’s government. We will not read the entire temptation beginning in verse 1, but we will drop down to verse 8. “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” Satan the devil took Jesus Christ up on an exceedingly high mountain to tempt Him. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. There is no physical mountain that tall. There is no physical mountain that you can see around the earth from. Some translations of the Bible even say He saw all the kingdoms of the world in a point of time. In other words, all of history and all the kingdoms. Read Matthew 4:9-11. Jesus Christ resisted this temptation from Satan the devil. This would have given Him the kingdoms of the world and all the people without suffering and dying a horrible death. But it would have left Satan in his seat of power. That was not acceptable to Jesus Christ. He was willing to suffer and die to eliminate that government totally once and for all. Turn, if you would, to Ezekiel 35 where this mountain is talked about and even named for us. It is a very fascinating prophecy of what is going to happen to this mountain that Satan took Jesus Christ up on to. Read Ezekiel 35:1-4. Here we can see He is attributing almost human qualities to this mountain. They are qualities of a being because this mountain is representing Satan and his government. Continue reading Ezekiel 35:5-10. Because Satan attacked Israel back in the Old Testament days, God made a prophecy. This prophecy extends to this very time, so we know that government of Satan and that mountain still existed when Jesus Christ walked the earth. It is still there today. That government of Satan of principalities and powers of the air is still there. It is called Mount Seir at this point. Those who come and go from that mountain will be stopped. That means the demons who go back and forth from those high mountains come to the earth and do Satan’s bidding. Those whose blood will be shed by the sword, when the sword of God (the word of God) converts people, are actually removed from Satan’s sphere of influence. This will weaken Satan. When the whole world is converted, Satan will have nobody on the earth to do his will. His government will collapse! He will be bound. To see a little bit more about this battle and the outcome, please turn to Zechariah chapter 4. Read Zechariah 4:6-7. This is a prophecy of that mountain getting laid flat like a plain and God’s mountain eventually coming and rising up converting the whole earth. It will be a replacing of Satan’s government by Jesus Christ’s government. THE SPIRITUAL MOUNTAIN OF GOD Now we are going to examine the kingdom of God as a great mountain in its own right. It is a spiritual mountain that will replace Satan’s mountain. We can do that by turning first of all to Daniel 2. If you recall, this is the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. He was very troubled by it, and he asked Daniel to interpret it. Read Daniel 2:34-35. God’s mountain will eventually lay flat and totally destroy Satan’s mountains. It will replace Satan’s government and his mountain. We will see that government is composed of the firstfruits of God’s calling. Please turn to Isaiah chapter 2 where this government is spoken of. It speaks of the latter days, and we are obviously in the latter days. Read Isaiah 2:1-4. Where Satan and Satan’s government stirred up intense competition and hatred among the nations, those mountains will get replaced. Where Satan’s government led the nations to learn the acts of war and violence, racism, intolerance and all manner of destructive behavior, those mountains will get replaced by Jesus Christ’s mountain. It will fill the earth with His truth, His law and His knowledge and teach people the way of peace. This is the purpose of Jesus Christ’s government that will fill the whole earth. Now turn to Hebrews chapter 12. We will see that this house of the mountain of the Lord is composed of firstfruits. Those are the people called between Christ’s first coming and second coming as firstfruits. It is a very special calling by God. Read Hebrews 12:18-19. We are in a situation where we want to hear the word of God. It is recorded for us in the Bible. We want to hear the word. But the first time the Lord visited the people and gave them the word, it was terrifying, as you will see here. Continue reading Hebrews 12:20-21. At Mount Sinai Moses, who knew God perhaps the best of all human beings who ever lived, was terrified! He could not bear to hear the word of God, it was so terrifying. Continue reading Hebrews 12:22-24. The firstborn, Jesus Christ, has firstfruits which are the Church of the firstborn registered in heaven. They are not born again yet. But this general assembly of those registered in heaven is the Church. It is spiritual Zion, Mount Zion. Now we have a name for the mountain, just like Satan has a name for his mountain and his chain of hills, Mount Seir. Jesus Christ has Mount Zion. On it is spiritual Jerusalem composed of the firstfruits, the Church. It is the assembly of the firstfruits who have been given a better covenant from Moses than the original inhabitants of the Holy Land, you might say. Moses received physical promises, a physical law and saw a physical mountain shaking and quaking that terrified them when God spoke. SPIRITUAL POWERS OF OBSERVATION TO HELP US KEEP THE COVENANT We hear God’s voice very gently and quietly written in the scriptures. We see spiritual things that you cannot see with physical eyesight. It is a miracle, and we do it with faith. We believe God. Faith is the evidence of things we cannot see. The people of old saw the mountain shaking and dark clouds, and they were terrified. We should also have a certain fear that God is all powerful. Once a person is called and given the truth of God, it is a very important covenant to keep. That is what this is all about. It is about having spiritual powers of observation to help us keep the covenant and move forward to eventually see God’s mountain and His kingdom replace Satan’s government. If you would now, please turn to Galatians chapter 4. Read Galatians 4:21-25. That corresponds to physical Jerusalem, and it is in bondage with her children. Similarly the whole world, in essence, is in bondage to this horrible government that Satan has over the earth. Verse 26: “…but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” The new covenant with this new spiritual Jerusalem on spiritual Mount Zion is free, and is the mother of us all. This is the mountain that represents Jesus Christ’s government, and this is the city on that hill. These are things you cannot see with physical eyesight. We must believe that it is very real. It is composed of those registered in heaven as firstfruits, which are those who have gone before us and died like the twelve apostles, except for Judas. They are registered to eventually assume positions in the kingdom of God when Jesus Christ returns. But when they walked the face of the earth, no one could tell that representatives of that government were there. There was nothing physical to get a hold of except the gospel of the kingdom. You had to watch for that gospel to get preached to the whole world as a witness, and then you knew Christ could return. We are of the generation that can say Jesus Christ can now return if the Church would get itself ready! Turn to a very famous scripture in Matthew 6. Our first priority is to seek the kingdom of God, we are told in Matthew 6:33. Seek this kingdom that cannot be observed with the naked eye. That is what we are told to do. Seek this kingdom. It cannot be seen by ocular evidence, but it is very real. THE KINGDOM SUFFERS VIOLENCE Turn, if you would, to Matthew 11:7. “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John…” (John the Baptist) “‘…What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?’” Continue reading verses 8-11. In other words the kingdom was not there yet, but of those born to physical women there was none greater till this time than John the Baptist! That is how great he was in the eyes of God. But He said in the kingdom of God, which is not here yet, he will be the least in his state. Continue reading in Matthew 11:12-13. John the Baptist, I am sure, will be part of God’s kingdom eventually, and then he will be great in his state as a king with Jesus Christ. As Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords, John the Baptist will be working with Him. But as a physical man, he was just a great prophet. The point that Jesus Christ is making here is that from the time John the Baptist finished his work and Jesus Christ began preaching the gospel of the kingdom, that kingdom has suffered violence. Jesus Christ suffered violence and was murdered as King of kings. We saw that. Pilate knew where He was going if He did not get freed. He was going to die. He did. He died for us. What Christ is saying is this kingdom has suffered violence until now, and I am saying until this very day it still suffers violence. From John the Baptist’s work until now, the kingdom of God suffered violence. If you were to look up this word you would find that “suffers violence” comes from the word biazo which means to force or to crowd oneself or to seize. It comes from the prefix bia which means forces of vital activity. One must seize the opportunity when called to enter the kingdom and be part of the kingdom of God. It is very hard, and it is a very tough fight. We are locked in a life and death struggle with the principalities and the powers of the air, as we saw in Ephesians 6. We are locked in a fierce struggle. As the called out ones, the firstfruits try to enter the kingdom. Satan is also there to try to prevent them from ever entering the kingdom. He does not want it to come to fruition. The kingdom of God has suffered violence. Indeed many of the followers of Jesus Christ have died a martyr’s death, physical violence. All have suffered, you might say, spiritual violence. They have suffered temptation like Jesus Christ did. We have to repent of sin. No human being is without sin. Only Jesus Christ is without sin. That is a form of spiritual violence that comes upon God’s people and has ever since John the Baptist. Some day that will end, and we hope some day very soon. HIDDEN BEFORE TIME BEGAN We are peering, brethren, into secrets that have been there since the foundation of the world. We are doing it with spiritual powers of observation. We cannot yet see the mountains of this kingdom that we have been talking about. But we understand these scriptures are true, and we believe them. Jesus Christ prayed for all of those who would believe these words. We have to believe with all of our might and let God work with us, so that we can understand secrets hidden from the foundation of the world. If you would, turn to Matthew 13. You will see that this is exactly what Jesus Christ calls them, as a matter of fact. Matthew 13, verse 34: “All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.’” The word that Jesus Christ spoke that was recorded in the Bible was oftentimes clouded in parables for those physical people around who were not called as disciples, because there were secrets hidden from the foundation of the world! That is a long time ago, brethren. Turn to Titus. God knew what He was going to do for a long time. Titus 1, verse 1: “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…” He promised these things before time began! Continuing in verse 3: “…but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior…” Until these words were recorded in the Bible and the word of truth preached, God said I have had these things hidden. He said they will be revealed as I allow people to understand, over the course of time. They will be revealed by preaching. Then it is our job, each of us, to hear the preaching and to go back to the word of God and prove it. God will help us see with spiritual powers of observation. Those are the sorts of things we must develop. Powers of observation are developed by use, by faith, by constant prayer and studying. This is how we can see things that are spiritual in nature. Indeed, at this very time we must do this more than ever before. The ocular evidence that people are pointing to around the world regarding Jesus Christ’s return is not what we should be paying attention to. We need to look to the spiritual things that cannot be seen for the evidence of where we are in time. WE NEED VISION TO BE READY Turn, if you would, to Revelation chapter 3 where it is speaking of our time today. This is speaking of the Laodicean era where we are told the following. Read Revelation 3:17-18. Speaking to our generation in the Church, we are told to ask God and beg God for the help to have that eye salve placed on our eyes. It is spiritual eye salve once again. It is not something you can buy at the local drug store. This is something that Jesus Christ must apply to one’s eyes, one’s spiritual vision, so that we can see our actual condition. Then we need to repent and remove every spot and blemish that is hindering the Church at this time. This could actually be slowing down the return of Jesus Christ to marry His bride! This is our job. It is a very important job and one we must take seriously. It is very important to remove this blindness and get rid of every spot and blemish in the Church. Turn to Proverbs chapter 29. This is Old Testament wisdom regarding spiritual vision. I am reading in the New King James. Proverbs 29, verse 18: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.” The King James Version says “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Both of these renderings help us to see the complete understanding of this verse. We need spiritual vision in order not to perish spiritually. We need that revelation to understand God’s Bible, the Book of Revelation as well as all the prophecies concerning the last days. We need to understand this revelation, or we end up casting off restraint. We end up spiritually starving and getting weak and sinning. This puts the spots and the blemishes on our garments and makes us spiritually naked, in essence. Without good garments, we are naked to God. We are blind and we are miserable. That is why Laodicea is told you are poor, blind, wretched, naked, and miserable, and you do not even know it! Because once again it is not seen by ocular evidence. It is not the clothes that I have hanging in my closet at home. It is not the vision that I have when I go to the eye doctor and he tells me what my physical eyesight is. It is all spiritual in nature. To understand that, we need God’s help. We need a miracle from God. This is what we are being told here. This term “vision” comes from the Hebrew chazown which means a sight as to receive or perceive, to contemplate with pleasure and to have a vision of. We need to be able to see with spiritual vision for the future and see with pleasure. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of the kingdom of God. To understand good news will give us pleasure. Without the good news, we can be running around in selfish fear and anxiety, which is the state of the Church by and large today. We want to avoid that. Have God put on the eye salve so that we can have the vision we need to correct the problems that we have. A PUZZLE IN THE DARK We must believe God’s word in order to understand the secrets that He wants to reveal in the last days. We need to believe so we can understand those secrets hidden from the foundation of the world. The Church, in essence, has been working a puzzle, brethren. You have often heard that analogy of working a puzzle and trying to put all the pieces of the prophecies together. It is very difficult. It cannot be done without God’s help. It is actually far harder than this. We have already heard from the scriptures today about the prince of the age of darkness. This period of time (chronos or aion) that we all live in is a period of utter darkness. The only light has been Jesus Christ. He is the only bright light. The Church should be reflected light, but the bright light was Jesus Christ. He was only here working preaching the gospel of the kingdom for three and one-half years. We need to work on this puzzle in darkness. It is like if you had a puzzle on your kitchen table, it is dark in your house, and you are trying to feel your way to put the puzzle pieces together. Without illuminated pieces, you would not know what you are doing. The only light that illuminates those pieces is Jesus Christ. He illuminates them by teaching us through His word. He reveals those secrets to us. But a puzzle just to work a puzzle is useless. It is a game. We are not in a game, brethren. We are building a puzzle that is forming a building. I have been a builder for most of my life. I know how difficult it is to build some structures. If you asked me to do it in the dark and try to follow plans, find pieces, and build it in the dark, and have it come out right in the dark, I would tell you that physically it is impossible. Yet this is what God has been doing for the last 6,000 years. He has been putting the pieces in place and then teaching the Church, illuminating the pieces while we are all in darkness. To make matters worse, over this 6,000 year period of time none of us has known each other! This has gone on from generation to generation for 6,000 years now. Men have been used by God as were the prophets of the Old Testament to lay the pieces out, but they are all scrambled up. They did not know what they were laying out! But they put the pieces in the Bible for us in the dark. Then the Church age (the ecclesia) came along with Jesus Christ the first of the firstfruits. He spoke some of those prophecies in the dark in parables, uttering secrets that have been secret from the foundation of the world. There is a very good reason for that. God does not want to reveal the game plan to Satan, his enemy, any sooner than Satan needs to know. When He makes a move, let Satan react. So He never did lay out the whole plan in a fashion that you can look at physically and put together, that your cognitive skills can figure out. We cannot and neither can Satan. Here we have a building that Jesus Christ is working on. First He laid out the plan and put all the pieces on the table in darkness. Then He brought along a spiritual ecclesia (the Church of God) to put the pieces together to form this building that Jesus Christ can return to. That building is called the temple of God, as we will see in a bit. We have done all of this in the dark. If Moses were to come into this room right now, I would not know him. I would not know any of the twelve apostles. I would not know any of the people who followed them. I would not know a prophet. Because we have worked over a 6,000 year period not one generation knew what the next generation was supposed to do. But each generation did the work necessary for those to follow. It is a miracle that only God could pull off, and He is succeeding! Satan has tried to react and stop it whenever he could see what God was doing, but he has been tricked and fooled big time. God is going to win in a magnificent way here in the last days. It is a wonderful thing just to be in on this a little bit at the end and to understand the truths of God just before they occur. He said I will not do anything until I reveal to My prophets. Jesus Christ said the prophets’ words would not be understood until the right time. Then He reveals what is happening. We are at the end, brethren. We are at the time when we need to learn these things so we can fight this arch enemy. In essence, we live very close to the unveiling of this building! It is like a marvelous structure that has been worked on for thousands of years. It is shrouded in mystery, and we are about to have it unveiled before the world’s eyes. It will be the actual government of God to relieve them of the tyranny of Satan. This horrible being that has caused all of this suffering that we see on the news and all the suffering that we have seen down through the ages is about to be replaced. Satan’s mountain is about to be laid flat and replaced by God’s mountain. All of this to this point in time cannot be seen. All of this was being done without ocular evidence. The only thing we had to go on in the last days to start with was that we saw the gospel of the kingdom preached. From that point God is slowly trying to show us to get us to repent and to put the eye salve on. Then we can put the pieces together and finish the work of God in the last days. Let’s look at some spiritual backing for these mysteries. Turn, if you would, to Jeremiah chapter 23:18. “For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?” Certainly the Church should be among those numbered. Continue in Jeremiah 23:19. “Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury, a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.” This goes back to before time began, brethren. Then he concludes verse 20 with: “In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.” We are not to understand in the latter days where God’s prophecies are wrong. I guarantee God has never made a mistake and intends to never make a mistake. It is only we who make mistakes. If we stay poor, blind, wretched, naked and miserable, we are making huge mistakes. Let’s ask God to put that eye salve on our eyes and see us for what we really are so we can get with the program. Then we can help God bring an end to the tyrannical government of Satan the devil. Turn to Daniel 12 which confirms what we just read. Read Daniel 12:8-10. This is a prophecy for the latter days for those in tune with God. They are those who have allowed the eye salve to be placed on their eyes. They are those who have their spiritual vision in tune. Those are who will be able to see and understand. They are not talking here about ocular evidence. We are talking about spiritual vision. These are things that cannot be seen physically. They are in another dimension. We need to have confidence, have faith (believe) and seek after this evidence. We need to seek for God’s help and receive His eye salve. Then we can prepare to help here at the end. We do not want to be part of the problem. We want to be part of the solution. Now we are ready to look at some of the secrets and the mysteries of the kingdom of God. I have nine or ten listed that I want to go over before we apply these spiritual powers of observation. We are actually going to apply it today so that we can practice and start using it. Then I would encourage anyone who reads this and comprehends what we are talking about to practice it. Apply it and use it. Because by using it we hone it, and we get better at it. We can understand the word of God, and He can lead us. Individually He is knocking on the other side of a spiritual door that you and I cannot see. We are told in Revelation chapter 3 that he is knocking on that door. When we open that door that we cannot see, He will step in and sup with us. He will give us clean garments. He will give us eye salve. He will help us in all spiritual ways in things we cannot see physically. So get ready to open that door. 1. MOUNTAINS REPRESENT KINGDOMS We are going to look at some of the mysteries hidden from the foundation of the world! The first one we have already talked about. Mountains represent kingdoms. Physical mountains and physical kingdoms that are seen with physical eyesight are ocular evidence only. They are not suitable for the spiritual task at hand. We need to look at these spiritual mountains and the spiritual kingdoms, the one that we are fighting and the one that is going to replace Satan’s. We need to understand what God is doing. We need to comprehend what God means by mountains in His word. 2. CHURCH IS TEMPLE AND HOUSE The second point is the Church is God’s holy place (His temple), and also it is His house, as we have read in a couple of scriptures already. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 2. We will read just a couple of scriptures along this line, although there are many. Ephesians 2, verse 19: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…” These are the firstfruits, the assemblage of the Church. We are part of the household of God. Continue reading Ephesians 2:20-22. God’s Church, God’s people who are the firstfruits, are His house. The firstfruits are His dwelling place and His temple. Turn now to Hebrews chapter 3 and we will read verses 4-6. If we hold fast to what God has taught us, we can remain part of the household of God, a dwelling place for Him in the spirit. So the second point is God’s Church is His holy place, His temple, His house. 3. CHURCH IS GOD’S FIELD The third point is in addition to being His House or His holy place, we are God’s field. Turn, if you would, to I Corinthians chapter 3. Read verses 5-9. We see we are the field as well as the building. Continue reading I Corinthians 3:10-17. It puts it all together. The Church of God is His temple, His home, His building and His field. So we are God’s field that He is working in. 4. BEGOTTEN BUT NOT YET BORN AGAIN The fourth point: firstfruit brethren are begotten, that is conceived, and not yet born again. Turn once again to some verses we read already, but we will reread John 3:1. That was the discourse with Nicodemus. I want to reread John 3:1-8. When Jesus Christ was resurrected and could appear and disappear at will, He was manifesting the fact that He was now born of the spirit. None of us and no man to this day has been able to do that. When the resurrection itself occurs, then this will be possible. We see the kingdom of God is hidden and requires a spiritual birth to be a part of, and one must be conceived to be born again. Now we are going to put together a few scriptures because this term “born” in these verses is gennao. It can also be translated begotten. I want to look at other places where the word gennao is used so we can understand that very clearly in our mind. Turn to Philemon, the Book just before Hebrews. Paul says in verse 10: “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains…” That term begotten is the same word translated born in John chapter 3. It should have been translated begotten, which means conceived. Paul is saying here I conceived this son of mine, Onesimus, while I was in chains. There are two issues here. Paul was not married. This is a spiritual conceiving. Paul was in prison in chains. This Onesimus was either a guard that he could talk to about the gospel of the kingdom or it was a fellow prisoner, one or the other. Then Paul could talk with him, plant the seed and water the seed that is spiritual in nature. Then something within Onesimus was conceived. That is how he was begotten. If you would, please turn I John chapter 5 for a few more scriptures where the term gennao is used. I John 5 we will read verse 1 and 18. “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…” That word should be begotten. “…and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.” John is saying here whoever has been conceived of God should love all the other brethren so conceived. The Church should love each other. All of the begotten (all of the firstfruits) should love one another. I John 5:18 uses the same word, gennao. “We know that whoever is born…” (that is begotten) “…of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” Isn’t that what Jesus Christ prayed to the Father for? Keep them and those who follow them. Keep My disciples who have heard and believed My word and those who would believe after them. Keep them from the evil one. With the power of Jesus Christ and His blood that washes us clean when we repent, Satan cannot touch us unless we continually sin without using Christ’s blood to repent and cover our sins. Then we have a problem. That is when we need the eye salve from Jesus Christ to see our condition and to eliminate those sins. We need to eliminate those sins and get ready to be part of the bride of Christ. Turn, if you would now, to I Corinthians chapter 4:14. “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.” Here Paul is talking in a paternal fashion. He is talking to those he has begotten. He calls them his beloved children once again. I emphasize he was not married. Continue reading I Corinthians 4:15-17. This is a remarkable statement where an unmarried apostle of Jesus Christ is calling those people that he has taught his begotten children. I remember once or twice or maybe more than that, when Mr. Armstrong would refer to those who heard his voice when he preached the gospel of the kingdom to the world in this way. He was referring to those who answered the calling, who were baptized and received the Spirit. He said you are my children in the Lord. Some people took offense to that and to this day do not want to recognize it. But we would not be here without Mr. Armstrong having brought the truth to us and in a spiritual sense begot us. That is how the truth has gone from generation to generation. When we have physical families, we pass physical seed on from generation to generation to have children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. This is true also when Jesus Christ passed on the seed of the Holy Spirit to His begotten children (His disciples) and they passed it on to the next generation and so on. Then we have received it. It is an unbroken pattern of receiving the seed that was watered and nurtured by those faithful ministers down through the ages who taught us the word of God. It is also an unbroken pattern by faithful members of the body of Jesus Christ teaching themselves by studying God’s word, asking for His help and asking for Jesus Christ to open their mind and nurture the seed. So it is a spiritual begettal. This is important to understand because it is going to lead to some other concepts that will help us have tremendous spiritual powers of observation. 5. THE CHURCH AS A MOTHER The fifth point, the Church, the body of Christ, is a type of a mother carrying the conceived children. Turn, if you would, back to a scripture we read once already, Galatians chapter 4. We will read a little bit more of that chapter this time. Read Galatians 4:21-31. Those who are called to be firstfruits and the Christian dispensation between Christ’s first coming and second coming are children of spiritual Jerusalem (the Church, as we saw in Hebrews 12), which is the mother of us all. As the Holy Spirit in those who have preceded us passing on the seed as a father figure, you have the body of Christ carrying these children that are conceived as the mother of those children. That is straight out of the scriptures. Study it carefully. That is how the seed of the firstfruits has been moved forward down through the ages. That seed has been what we would call in physical terms in the vernacular a down payment. It is a down payment of the future birth to come. It is called the earnest of the Holy Spirit. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. We will see where this is talked about. Read Ephesians 1:1-4. We need to contemplate the deep meaning of all of these verses. We must be holy to be part of the body of Christ which means get rid of every spot and blemish. Constantly repent and use the blood of Christ. Continuing in Ephesians 1, verse 5: “…having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will…” We become firstfruits with Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God and passes on the seed through the Holy Spirit. He uses His people down through the ages to convey that seed to the next generation. Read Ephesians 1:6-14. The guarantee, the earnest or the down payment is the Holy Spirit that we received. We work with that Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice to repent, grow and bear fruit for God. We want to be a fruitful part of His body. But we must have been conceived first and nurtured by our mother the Church. It is a very important concept to understand. We can see this again by turning to II Corinthians chapter 1. We want to establish this point very firmly to go on to other things and use our spiritual powers of observation. II Corinthians 1, verse 21: “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (or earnest) Verse 23: “Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.” Paul is telling them here it is by faith that you stand, but you received that earnest (the down payment, the guarantee of your faith) through us who brought it to you. You accepted the covenant and received the gift of the Spirit. Turn to II Corinthians chapter 5:1. “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.” It is possible, as we saw in Revelation 3, to be found naked. Verse 4: “For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” That is to be born again, eventually. Continue in II Corinthians 5:5. “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” Once again we see the term guarantee, earnest or down payment. Verse 6: “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” Here he is not talking about a physical absence. This absence is from the Greek word apekdechomai which means to expect fully and wait for, which would be in contrast to the places where Paul says I am away physically like the following: Make a note of this II Corinthians 10:1 and 11 which use the Greek work apeimi which means to be away from physically. Here we are talking about waiting expectantly for the body to come, waiting for the resurrection from the dead when we can receive the spiritual life and its fullness of which now we only have a down payment. Eventually we will have spiritual life in its fullness and be like Jesus Christ, born in the spirit and able like He is today to manifest Himself if He wants or not. As the wind blows, He can go where He wants and not be seen by ocular evidence. That is what it means to be born again. Another way to view this Godly concept which is part of point five is that the firstfruits during physical life are pregnant, in a way, with the seed of God. It is the Holy Spirit within. This allows Godly character to grow within a physical body. This Godly character is the work that we need to do that builds a reward that will either be gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. This depends upon what we do with the Holy Spirit we have been given. In other places we are told to bear fruit thirty, sixty or a hundred fold. Once we have covenanted with God and received that seed, we need to take care of it and work with it. We need to overcome and build holy righteous character. Our inheritance depends on what we have done with it, how much have we worked with it and how much have we overcome. So in a sense, we are pregnant with the Holy Spirit of God. We have been begotten. Now we have to nurture and care for it. Turn to I Corinthians chapter 3 where we are told exactly that. Read verses 1-3. Paul is saying I see evidence in this congregation in Corinth that you are acting so carnal I cannot give you strong spiritual food. But I try to nurture the seed you have with milk, in trying to help you overcome the carnality that is still too extant in your physical life. You have envying, arguing, strife and divisions, which is certainly true of the Laodicean Church today. It is full of strife, divisions and enmity between the brethren of God which is right in the body of Jesus Christ. Turn to Hebrews 5:12. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” He is talking to the Hebrews here, and they have reverted back. They were receiving solid food, and they have gone back now to needing milk. Continue reading in Hebrews 5:13. “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” As we grow in strength and this seed develops within us, we are able to discern both good and evil and go forward and fight our arch enemy Satan. As this seed is nurtured, it grows and our character becomes stronger. We are able to discern evil and fight those principalities that try to bring us down. We can fight them. Turn to I Peter chapter 2 where this is confirmed again. I Peter 2, verse 1. “Therefore, laying aside all malice…” (laying aside all of these sins) “…all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes…” (that is newly begotten babes) “…desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” How we take care of the seed we have been given is to put out sin and put on God’s righteous character. 6. FIRSTFRUITS ARE CHRIST’S BODY A sixth point, is that the firstfruits are the flesh and blood of God’s spiritual body. Read I Corinthians chapter 12:12-14. The body of Christ is composed of many parts (many members) being these firstfruits that we read about in Hebrews 12. Let’s now turn to Ephesians chapter 5. It says this very boldly and clearly and unequivocally. Ephesians 5, verse 29: “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.” We are Jesus Christ’s flesh and bones. This is the body He is using. To be part of His spiritual body, we are His flesh and His bones. It is a very important concept. It is going to help us have spiritual powers of observation in just a few minutes. We have just a few more things to look at. Colossians chapter 1, verse 13: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…” He has illuminated some of the pieces for us and given us His Holy Spirit so that we can understand the truth. Then we can put the pieces in the right place as He reveals them. Continuing in verse 14: “…in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible…” He speaks of them right here. “…whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Jesus Christ originally gave the earth to Satan to rule, but Satan at that time, of course, was perfect. Christ never makes a mistake, nor does the Father. So these principalities and powers that rule the earth are there because Christ allowed it, and they went bad. Now they must be replaced by Jesus Christ’s government and His mountains, which are composed of the firstfruits. Continue reading in Colossians 1:17. “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And 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.” Jesus Christ is the firstborn from the dead. No one else has yet been born again. Verse 19: “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled…” He has performed miracles that reconcile us to the Father and bring us into the body. Verse 22: “…in the body of His flesh through death…” Through His death we become part of His flesh and part of His body. “…to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight…” We must work at getting rid of every spot and blemish using the free will God gave us to bear fruit. Verse 23: “…if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul became a minister.” The creatures under heaven, Satan and the demons, heard the truth originally. They despised it, rejected it, and wanted to take the throne of God for themselves. Now that gospel of the kingdom is going through the people of the earth slowly, starting with the firstfruits. Eventually the conversion of the entire world will take place, bringing down Satan’s government to the point of collapse. The subjects he rules and his power base will be destroyed. This is what Jesus Christ is doing. If the firstfruits dwell in spiritual Jerusalem and spiritual Mount Zion, which is in Judea, this would make them a form of spiritual Jews. This is a part of point six: the firstfruits are the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ’s spiritual body. They are also called spiritual Jews. Romans chapter 2, verse 28: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” To be a spiritual Jew is to be one inwardly having received the Holy Spirit of God. That is why the term is used that we are dwelling in Jerusalem, Mount Zion and the holy place of God. Revelation chapter 2 has some admonitions for some who are pretenders to the calling. Revelation 2, verse 9 tells us, “I know your works…” (speaking to the Smyrna era of the Church) “…tribulation and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Amongst God’s true Church (His people) there have been over time since Jesus Christ’s first coming those who were pretenders to the faith for whatever reason. They were used by Satan and called the synagogue of Satan. They said they were Jews and are not. Revelation 3, verse 9 (talking to the Philadelphia era) also tells us “‘Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.’” The messenger of the Church of Philadelphia could very well have been Mr. Armstrong himself. He brought the gospel message to that era of the Church . We are told that there were people surrounding him or people called into the Philadelphia era of the Church who said, yes, I am part of the Church, and they were not. They said I am a spiritual Jew, but they were not. They were pretenders to the faith. They did much damage to the Church over the course of time since then. The firstfruits are also called houses for the spirit of God to dwell in. They are called spiritual Jerusalem, dwelling on spiritual Mount Zion as spiritual Jews in a region that could be called Judea. That is where these physical mountains are. If you were to go and look at the physical Mount Zion, it is in Judea. If you were to go and look at physical Jerusalem there today, it is in Judea. When the Jews were the ones living and ruling in that area, it was called Judea because they were the dwellers there. You have the spiritual component that you can only see with spiritual vision. You have a spiritual city called Jerusalem with a spiritual temple in it. You have spiritual Mount Zion which in that area would be called Judea. It is part of that spiritual chosen nation of Israel that we read about in I Peter, you will recall. That was in I Peter chapter 2:4-10. Let’s go to I Peter again. I think we have enough time to do this and then use these spiritual powers of observation. I Peter 2, verse 4: “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” All those who have been pretenders to the faith have stumbled over Him. Those of us who are blind can also stumble if we hang on to that blindness. Continue reading I Peter 2:9-12. It is important to fulfill our calling by living the truth to the max in our lives, so that the world can eventually see by our works and by our faith where God was working. Even if they persecute us at this time, eventually they will see. We do it by working on our character and bearing fruit for God. We become, in essence, the physical flesh He uses to be His spiritual flesh and bones, the body of Christ. It is something you cannot see by ocular evidence. You should be able to see it working in our lives. 7. FIRSTFRUITS ARE A SPRING CROP The seventh point is the firstfruits are a springtime crop, which is why Pentecost is the holy day that portrays or signifies what God is doing with the firstfruits. A summer crop follows that spring crop. It grows during the summer and when the winter comes, it should be in God’s barn. It should have been harvested and in God’s barn. So we see the Feast of Pentecost (the firstfruits) representing them is a spring harvest, which is a smaller harvest of the two. Then in the fall, you have a great big harvest that the Feast of Tabernacles signifies the whole world being called. 8. HEAVEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT The eighth point: I want to discuss for just a moment what heaven means in the scriptures, specifically in the New Testament. The word for heaven is ouranos which is the idea of elevation, the sky that surrounds the earth, and by extension above that the throne of God. But ouranos means an idea or a concept of elevation. The sky around the earth is the base of that elevation and above that the throne of God. It comes from the word oros which means to rise or rear as a mountain, a mountain as lifted above the plain, comparable to the word ouranos or a bird rising in the air. Put that together. Heaven includes speaking of Satan, demons and the heavens. In Ephesians 6 the powers and principalities in the heavens are a demon realm that we cannot see (his government). It is above the earth and ruling over the earth as a mountain rising above the plain. You have the earth as a plain below it. It is comparable to a bird rising in the air because angels are pictured in the Bible as having wings. You can find a comparison to angels as birds. That is why the concept of his demons going back and forth from his heaven around the earth to the earth and wreaking havoc. Above that you have, of course, God’s heaven and God’s throne. Remember Zechariah 4:6-7. We will not reread that, but you can on your own. That mountain will be laid flat. In Daniel 2 God’s mountain will come and rise above these mountains when they are laid flat. Now you are getting the concept. 9. STARS REPRESENT ANGELS The ninth point is that these angels can be represented as stars. Turn to Revelation 1:20 and we will see that point. John says here: “‘The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.’” John is recording Christ’s words, and Christ is saying the seven stars are simply angels. They represent angels. If you were to just turn a page or two to Revelation 9:1 we are told here: “Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.” This is speaking about Satan falling from heaven, which Jesus Christ referred to when He was here at His first coming. Turn, if you would, to Luke chapter 10. Jesus Christ said that He saw Satan fall when there was a battle in heaven. Luke 10, verse 18: “And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’” So Jesus Christ saw Satan (that angel or that star) fall from heaven when he was cast out of heaven. It is mentioned also in Revelation 12. Revelation 12, verse 3: “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.” Satan was cast down to the earth with a third of the angels, these stars. When Jesus Christ was about ready to have His physical birth from Mary, Satan, using people (Herod and others), was trying to kill that Baby. Of course, it did not happen, not until Jesus Christ finished the work that the Father sent Him to do. Revelation 12, verse 10 says: “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.’” That is the star (Satan and his demons) that was cast down. Now they exist here surrounding the earth. They no longer have access to heaven, but they surround the earth here. They do not have a throne or a place in heaven, but they wreak tremendous havoc here, as their government has not completely fallen. BIRTH PANGS Summing up our observations, let us turn to Romans chapter 8. Then we will use our spiritual powers of observation. Read Romans 8:18-21. These are the children we have been talking about, the begotten children. Verse 22: “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” All of creation groans with birth pangs waiting for this birth to take place! The kingdom of God has not yet been born again. The only one is Jesus Christ. He has been raised from the dead, and no one else. The earth suffers birth pangs. All of these physical things we see going on causing havoc on the earth are the birth pangs the world has as it waits for the kingdom of God to be born. Verse 23: “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” So we suffer the violence that the kingdom suffers. The Church of God, the firstfruits, have been suffering since John the Baptist. They wait patiently going through all kinds of trials and tribulation until the redemption of the Church, which will allow the world to be born into the liberty of the children of God. That liberty is what that new government will bring. We will conclude with Isaiah 66 before we use the powers of observation. Turn to Isaiah 66, verse 1: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of my rest?’” We have answered those questions. The house is God’s Church, His holy place. Verse 2: “‘For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,’ says the Lord. ‘But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.’” We need the fear of God and to respect Him and be of a contrite spirit, a repentant spirit, for God to work with us. Continue in verse 6: “The sound of noise from the city!” That is God’s city. “A voice from the temple!” (God’s temple, His house) “The voice of the Lord, who fully repays His enemies! ‘Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child.’” That is the child we just read about in Revelation 12. The Old Testament Church, the woman comprising the first ecclesia, gave birth to Jesus Christ. Then Jesus Christ went on to be born again, the first of the firstfruits. Before the spiritual Church had a single birth pang, our Savior was born. The Church had not suffered any birth pangs yet. The world had lots of physical birth pangs, but the Church did not suffer any. We have suffered ever since. Continuing in verse 8: “‘Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?’” So our Savior has been born again. The rest of the government of God has not been born again. “‘Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?’” They are waiting to be released into the liberty of the Church. “‘Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?’ says your God.” God says I did not bring Zion (Jerusalem, My firstfruits) to the point of delivery to hold back. They are going to be born again. It will be very, very quickly when it happens. Continue in Isaiah 66:10. “‘Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; that you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom, that you may drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.’” In other words, the Church will go on to convert the world and feed and nurture the world, as we have been fed and nurtured by the Church. Verse 12: “For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; on her sides shall you be carried, and be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.’” Jesus Christ, through His Church (the bride of Christ, Jerusalem, the temple) will comfort the entire world. It will bring them all the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. MATTHEW 24 Now we are ready to use our spiritual powers of observation and read some scriptures that have been misunderstood and twisted horribly, especially here in the last days. Turn to Matthew chapter 24. This is just the beginning to what God can do with spiritual powers of observation if you will let Him apply eye salve to your eyes. Let Him come into your life and work with you as a firstfruit. We may have gone to sleep as a Church and lost our vision, but we can get it back if we let God help us. Now I want to read Matthew 24 and apply all the things we just learned. Read verses 1-5. How will they deceive them? It goes on to say. Matthew 24, verse 6: “‘And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’” This is better translated birth pangs. Look it up. The world suffers physical birth pangs, waiting for the Church to be revealed as the kingdom of God and born again into their spirit bodies to release them into the liberty of God’s government. The false signs are the ones that require physical ocular evidence. God’s spiritual signs are the things that we have been talking about. Verse 9: “‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.’” This has been occurring ever since Christ’s time. Verse 10: “‘And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.’” It certainly has. Verse 13: “‘But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.’” Now we come to some signs that require spiritual powers of observation. Verse 15: “Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand)…” The holy place, we already saw, is God’s house, His temple. The abomination of desolation has been going on for quite sometime in God’s house. Continuing: “‘Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.’” Those who are in spiritual Judea flee to God’s mountains. Flee in the direction He is coming from. Flee to the truth of God, the mountain that cannot yet be seen but soon will be visible to all when Christ returns! Verse 17: “‘Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.’” From the top of the Church to those working in the field (God’s field), do not go back and get your old doctrines if they have been twisted and maligned. Do not go back and look at physical things. Look forward with the spiritual eye salve that God has given us at the end time so that we can see and understand perfectly. Take the truth established by the Elijah in the Philadelphia era and utilize it to develop powers of observation. They will allow us to see into the spiritual dimension. Fight these powers (the mountains, the principalities) that God hates. We must help deliver the world from the influence of them. Verse 19: “‘But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!’” We are pregnant when we have the Holy Spirit and begotten with the Spirit of God. Those who are taking care of those who are pregnant would be the ministry. It is very difficult to be a minister today. It is very difficult to carry the seed of God in this day and age. Verse 20: “‘And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath,’” because we are a spring time crop. If we are still fleeing from God in the winter when the crop should have been brought in or on the Sabbath which portrays the Millennium, it is because we have fallen on the wrong side of the fence for too long. Wake up and see where we stand. Apply the eye salve so that we can remove the spots and blemishes from our life while there is still time. Verse 21: “‘For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.’” We are in it! There has never been such a tribulation on God’s Church as today. Verse 22: “‘And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.’” Why? Because the elect are the flesh of God’s body. There would be nothing left of God’s body the way it is going in these last days if God did not cut this time short! I am sure you can see that with what has happened to the Church in the last 15 to 20 years. God has to cut time short. Not only are we physically dying off, but spiritually we are growing weaker by the day! We have to reverse this by letting Christ into our lives. Open that door and let Him in! Verse 23: “‘Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There!” do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.’” People who said they were of the Jews and are not are going to point to wars, rumors of wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, tsunamis or whatever and say these are signs of Christ’s coming. Those can all be seen with physical ocular eyesight. We need to have spiritual vision and spiritual powers of observation to see where we are in time. I am telling you time is short! Verse 27: “‘For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’” Wherever the body of Christ is getting devoured by the demons (the birds of the air), there the body is. You know that the body of Christ is what Satan is after. He is devouring the flesh of God’s body, the bones of God’s body and denying us the vision that we need to see where we are in time. He is denying us the vision, so we do not know who the enemy really is and what the signs are! This has to be reversed. It can be reversed simply by opening the door and letting Christ into your life. Put on the eye salve so that we can get rid of every spot and blemish. Verse 29: “‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven…’” That is when we will see the lightning flash from east to west, but we will have gone through all of these events. If we are looking at physical things, we will never know where we stand. We will be taken by Christ as a thief in the night. We will be shocked! We will be surprised! We will be stunned at what has happened, because we did not have spiritual powers of observation. We were told in Proverbs that without spiritual powers of observation (without revelation and the understanding of vision) we can perish. We are being warned. We were warned by Jesus Christ repeatedly here of what the false signs were. We are told what the true signs are. There was a fulfillment in 70 A.D. of Jerusalem going down, but that was physical. In the last days, this is all spiritual, brethren. It is occurring at such a rapid rate and we cannot see it, so that Jesus Christ is alarmed in Revelation. You poor, blind, wretched, naked and miserable people and you do not even know it! I am knocking. I am rapping! I am pounding on your door. Let Me in! Let’s conclude now with verse 30: “‘Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’” Matthew 24, verse 32: “‘Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.’” Jesus Christ said when you see these spiritual signs take place, it is just as if you can tell summer is near by the budding of fig leaves on a fig tree. Brethren, you are seeing the budding of the leaves on the fig tree! We have gone through it. The fig tree that is symbolic of God’s Church is starting to come to life again. When it does, we need to be part of those five virgins who wake up and have vision. They have the oil. The have used the eye salve, and they can be wise. Do not be five foolish. Do not be among the foolish and stay asleep until it is too late. I guarantee you Christ was not lying when He said I will take you by surprise. No one knows the day or the hour. I will come as a thief, and I will utterly shock the Church. To avoid that, prepare now. Let Jesus Christ into your house and work with your lives!