Have You Accepted Jesus's Gift of the Keys to the Kingdom of God?

I can remember when I concentrated on studying the Book of Matthew, which I found full of the revelation that Jesus is King of a heavenly kingdom realm that was being established on earth with His birth. With that divine disclosure to the human world, it makes "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" a much more powerful statement. 

I cannot go forward without addressing the differences of opinion [among the Body of Christ] as to whether the Kingdom of God on earth is a future event [at the return of Christ] or whether it is present today. I can only share what my spirit is telling me, and each of you have to study the Word and come to your own theological understanding.

NOTE: And that's why I often return to the same subjects that I have written about years before ... because these truths need to be stated again and again, until everyone has a chance to receive them. And they are a good reminder to established believers [including myself] to review what we believe and why, so that we are ready to "Preach the word; [and] be prepared in season and out of season, [to] reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction, the teaching of God's message".

So, if I had to give you a concise statement as to my belief, it would be this .... Both John the Baptist and Jesus warned those who would hear them to "Repent!" .... John, saying "for the Kingdom of God is near", and Jesus telling them, "for the Kingdom of God is at hand". It is my belief that both John and Jesus were announcing that God's representative from Heaven (Jesus) had come to plant Heaven's flag, so to speak, in the earth, staking territory for the Kingdom of God; in effect, inaugurating [or beginning] the heavenly Kingdom system of government on the earth. So, in that sense, the Kingdom is present now, or "in your midst" (Luke 17:21), but is not yet complete. The Kingdom is here in a partial sense as we Christians continue to take territory from the devil and take back dominion of the earth until the Day of the Lord, when Jesus will return, bringing His Justice and destroying the evil and corruption in the world, while establishing the good and perfect Kingdom realm on earth that God had planned from the beginning. That event will usher in the complete and fulfilled existence of the Kingdom of God on earth.

And one of the reasons that I love the Book of Matthew so much is that it focuses on Jesus's teachings about how people are to behave as citizens of that Kingdom realm on earth, with Jesus as their ruling King. Which takes me to the born again experience that Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about in John, Chapter 3. Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." To me, this says that we come into the Kingdom as a citizen through being born again -- [reborn from above by the Holy Spirit—spiritually transformed, renewed, and sanctified]. 

When we are born again into the Kingdom, with Jesus as our King, we use a key to enter into that Kingdom. Jesus is the door and our salvation is that key. Romans 10:9-10 tells us, "For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will experience salvation." To sum it up, when you are born again and confess your faith in Jesus, you are saved and become a citizen of the Kingdom. And with that citizenship come keys.

We see this confession/citizenship/keys relationship in Matthew 16:13-20. Peter, who  confesses Jesus as the Christ (Anointed One from God), is given keys of the kingdom of heaven, and now has the authority "to forbid [bind, stop] on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release [loose, permit] on earth that which is released in heaven." Those rights are only conveyed to one who is a citizen of the Kingdom of God/Heaven! And that is the purpose of the keys of the Kingdom -- to transform this earth, so that it looks like Heaven! 

I also want to point out that it is my belief that there is a false narrative that this passage is establishing Peter as the head of the Church; which is a corruption of Scripture promulgated by Constantine. I believe, truth be told, that the keys to the Kingdom are principles given to all who are born again into the Kingdom as citizens; principles to rule and reign until the return of our King. These keys represent our authority and provide access to the Kingdom of Heaven. And that access is initiated through Scripture. It's not enough to just know Scripture ... we must DO Scripture! You see, God is moved by His Word, not our tears. Hebrews 6:17 says, "in His desire to show to the heirs of the Promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, [God] intervened and guaranteed it with an oath" -- in other words, He says He is bound by His Word. So when we DO His Word, He will move in our lives and in this world; we will see results.

But here's something to think about .... to have a key to the Kingdom and never use it, is no different than never having a key at all. If you don't know the principles or purpose of the keys to the Kingdom then you will likely have no effect [fruit] for the Kingdom.  And something else we need to understand is that the keys are also unique and specific. You can't take one Kingdom key (principle) and think it's going to necessarily work in another place. For instance, Praise is a key that bestows honor upon the one who receives it, and we are to praise our Lord for all He does for us. But I can't praise a demon and expect to throw him out! And I think Jesus exemplifies this when He tells the disciples, "But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Here, we have two more principles of the Kingdom.

We must realize that there is no Master Key of the Kingdom, and it is inherent upon us to know what the keys are; to understand and employ them to their fullest effect. If not, "my people perish for lack of knowledge", comes to mind. We also need to remember what our Lord tells us in Luke 12:32: "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom". We are to remember that we are citizens of the Kingdom; "sons of Light", and we are to be operating in the Kingdom system, not the system of the world. 

So, here's a truth we need to be aware of ... If we are born again and Saved, we are citizens of the Kingdom. But which system are we operating in? We can be considered citizens of the Kingdom, but still be operating in the world system. I believe we are all guilty of that at one time or another in our lives. For instance, if we get offended by someone [which is one of Satan's favorite schemes] do we withdraw and sulk, or do we work in the Kingdom government system and handle it with a Kingdom principle; for instance praying for those who curse you? We must recognize that the system of this world is not our system! Our system is Kingdom government!

The bottom line is this: we must know that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, and walk in our power and authority! Yes, we wait for the fulfillment [completion] of the Kingdom on earth. But we serve our Lord, who is King of that Kingdom, and He has entrusted us to continue His work in establishing the Kingdom He came to inaugurate. Just because He has not yet returned, it doesn't mean we are to remain idle until that glorious Day. When He returns, we will give an account of the fruit we have borne for the Kingdom. I can imagine Him embracing us as Saved Christians; welcoming us as citizens of the Kingdom of God. And then I can hear Him ask, "What did you do with the keys of the Kingdom that I gave you? Did you read my Word? If so, did you seek to understand and experience it? Did you DO My Word?" 

It is my prayer that each of us know that the Kingdom in us is greater than the kingdom of this world. Let us use the keys He has given us in His Word to lock and secure our hearts in His Kingdom system. Let the reality of God's Kingdom be apparent in the present through the abundant and prosperous fruit we bear, in the Name of Jesus.

Luke 17:21      "The Kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s Kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you."

Ekklesia: We Are the Government of The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

If ever there was a time to understand Jesus's mandate to become His Ekklesia and storm the gates of Hades, it's now. The Enemy has ridden unleashed across our land, destroying, corrupting, and devastating the Christian foundation and fabric of our nation. I have written about understanding the concept of Ekklesia and what it meant to Jesus, and its importance in taking back territory in the spiritual realm. Jesus promised to give His Ekklesia the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, which would grant them the authority to both forbid and declare according to the lawful standards of His Father's Kingdom -- all with the purpose of seeing His Father's will "be done on earth as it is in Heaven".

I want to further expound on this topic by delving into the hermeneutics [interpretations of words] of Matthew 16:17-19, the source of today's post. And I want to make the argument that we must look at it in a First Century context, not a 21st Century one. As I have previously explained, all of our English translations of the Bible quote Jesus as saying, "On this rock I will build my church". Even the Aramaic translation uses the word "church", although it gives a detailed notation that the Greek word for "church" is "ekklesia"; even noting that it means "a legislative assembly".

So, can we agree that Jesus was never casual about the words He used? In fact, Jesus, Himself, tells us in John 12:49, "For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent me has Himself given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak". We know the Father was intentional in having Jesus use the word Ekklesia, and not the word Church. There was a purpose to the Ekklesia and it was "to govern; to legislate; to rule". And the people to whom Jesus spoke would have understood that concept.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 4:4 that we are to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Since Jesus only spoke what the Father told Him, we must take seriously His use of the word "Ekklesia". You see, there is power in this word to identify our role and purpose in the earth. Words have specific meanings, and sadly the English language is not as specific as others. As Christians, we cannot afford to be casual with our understanding of Jesus's words. He did not say He would be the bedrock foundation upon which He would build His "church". The word "Church" comes from the Greek word kyriake, or kyriakon, meaning "gathering place, assembly dedicated to the Lord". Jesus was very deliberate in using the word Ekklesia, because He knew what its specific meaning was: ek, meaning "out of", and klesis, meaning "a calling".

 I like what author Dean Briggs says in his book, Ekklesia Rising:The Authority of Christ in Communities of Contending Prayer: "[Jesus] could have told Peter He would build His family, His bride, the Temple, an army or a kingdom.... or He could have used the word synagogue, which they would have clearly understood as the meeting place where they gathered in regards to their religion". But He wasn't talking about religion. He was talking about government! So He used a word [Ekklesia} that they clearly understood in terms of both the Hebrew and Greek significance. 

From the Greek perspective, it was a governmental assembly having authority in determining the affairs of their cities and territories, depending on their citizenship. All qualified persons were summoned together for a purpose and expected to participate. From the Hebrew perspective, Jesus's use of that word Ekklesia would have told the hearers that they were a summoned people, assembling together to receive God's heavenly kingdom government on the earth, and to act upon it. I also love how Ed Silvoso, author of Ekklesia: Rediscovering God's Instrument For Global Transformation, explains Jesus's use of Ekklesia: "[The objective of Jesus's use of this word] was the transformation of people and society, rather than acting as a transfer station for saved souls bound for heaven".

Jesus intends for us to be part of an Ekklesia; agents of His kingdom government to transform earth back to the model of the Garden of Eden, where God's Laws reigned supreme, and man knew nothing of Death. The Jews that Jesus spoke to would have recognized Ekklesia from their history: "the ekklesia in the wilderness", led by Moses, the Law-giver. It was an Ekklesia that first assembled around Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God; and from thenceforth, they formed a covenantal identity with YHWH.

But, now here comes Jesus speaking of an Ekklesia that He will build; one that identifies with Him as the Son of YHWH, and a body that receives their commission to carry His rulership into all the earth as part of a covenantal community. When He spoke of a Kingdom, they understood that term -- throughout their history they had been governed by Israelite kings, and were now subjected to the rulership of the kingdom of Rome. But here is Jesus, talking about a greater kingdom that is taking over the earth, and a governing assembly of His followers that will transform cities, nations, and the world! 

But let's go a step further and look at the next sentence after He declares He will build His Ekklesia. Jesus says that the gates of Hades will not be able to overpower it! Once again, the people would have understood the "legislative" connotation of that word "gates". Courts of justice were held at the city gates in the ancient world. Prophets also stood in the gates and delivered their divine messages. Gates were also symbols of the strength or vulnerability of a city. Whoever controlled the gates of a fortress, city, or stronghold ruled that territory.

Jesus never stopped preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom during His ministry. He continually encouraged the people to change their way of thinking [Repent!] because the Kingdom of God had arrived -- there is a new kingdom come; with a new way of ruling; and He intends on establishing a legislative body of those called [believing in Him] to defeat the gates [ruling power] of the one who has ruled with the power of Death. Furthermore, He is giving us the key of authority to open or close [loose or bind] God's heavenly principles on the earth, thereby offering Jesus as the gate [or doorway] into the Kingdom of God. Jesus perfectly models for us God's design to establish His people in His place under His rule. 

Make no mistake, only Jesus has the authority to allow or disallow someone to enter the Kingdom of God. But we have the authority -- and yes, the responsibility -- to point everyone to Jesus! I believe that the world needs [and in truth, is looking for] an authentic Ekklesia, not a church. Today, we can see that Lawlessness is spreading like wildfire. And we desperately need the government of the Prince of Peace to be established, bringing order out of disorder, and His light into the darkness of this world. And Jesus has called us to be the ruling agents of this transformation. If we are honest with ourselves, what we have established in our Churches has not done what Jesus intended. The earth does not look like heaven. In fact, the "gates" [ruling power] of Satan are fighting back whenever and wherever the Ekklesia makes strides to transform any territory.

And it's an escalating battle as, for instance, we watch the evolution of AI threaten to affect every aspect of our lives. Then there are all the whistleblowers who are exposing the corruption in the highest levels of our constitutional government, as well as the disclosure of the degree of sex trafficking that exploits our children. And who can deny that our banking system and military are under attack, which threatens to erode the underpinning of our national security? The Church has been unable [or unwilling] to stop the disintegration because it was never going to fulfill the purpose of the Ekklesia... to govern; to legislate; to rule.

One thing is for certain .... the Kingdom of God is going to be attacked by the kingdom of Satan. He knows that we are meant to grow in our identity as the Ekklesia, rather than simply being the church. We must continue to spread Jesus's Gospel of the Kingdom, bringing peace, joy, salvation, righteousness, justice, grace and all of God's attributes through our authority as citizens of heaven. But we must also deliberately battle in the spirit to establish ourselves in our gates as the ruling body on earth, and we must not relinquish our authority or role in any arena of society or the nation. As Jesus reminded Peter, we must be setting our minds on the things of God, not on the things of man.  Jesus IS coming to fully establish His Kingdom! Until that glorious day, we must stand firm, ruling and transforming the earth according to the Father's will. The question is, when Jesus returns, will He find you and I acting as a member of a church ... or the tip of the spear, contending for the rulership of Christ in our territory? It is not only time, but essential and crucial, that we take our Ekklesial identity and assignment seriously!

Joel 2:15-16     Blow a trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment], dedicate a fast [as a day of restraint and humility], call a solemn ekklesia. Gather the people, sanctify the ekklesia, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of His room and the bride out of her bridal chamber. [No one is excused from the ekklesia.]   

  

Now Is The Time For "Abiding"!

    

     You can feel the tension among some in the Christian community ... these are times of wariness and fear, filled with apprehension and even despair. We, in 2020 America, and the Western world, for the most part, have never experienced such upheaval in our daily lives as this Corona pandemic has brought. We have lived our lives in consistent uniformity and stability. But now the very foundation of our way of life is being shaken. Our freedoms have been curtailed, and we are hearing government leaders, as in the state of Illinois, voicing the possibilities of confiscating personal property during a "state emergency" such as Covid-19.
     People are out of work, unable to worship in Church together, and I have no doubt that faith is being tested. But now, more than ever, we need to come to terms with our relationship with Christ. We are by no means the first Believers to have their world shaken, or their expectations to be challenged. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Jesus's disciples in those days leading up to His trial and crucifixion, and then the discouragement that must have descended upon them after His burial. All their hopes in Him must have been seriously in question! After all, Peter had been told by Jesus, Himself, that he had correctly identified Him as the Son of the Living God. Yet they knew He had been buried in a tomb like an ordinary man!
     I would venture that many Believers are like the disciples, Cleopas and his companion, whom the risen Christ encountered as they traveled to Emmaus. They did not recognize Him and commiserated about their feelings of defeat and the questions they had about all that had transpired in the preceding days. They were so overcome by dashed hopes that they were unable to perceive His presence in their midst. They had not clearly received the revelation Jesus shared with them at their Last Supper together -- that He would sacrifice His body and shed His blood for the remission of their sins. They were blinded by their disappointment in dashed dreams and had returned to their old ways of thinking.
     But as Jesus began to reveal all that the Scriptures had spoken and prophesied about Him, they were overtaken by a burning hunger within themselves, and begged this stranger to stay and abide with them. Jesus obliges them, and stays to share a meal with them. As He breaks bread with them, reminiscent of what He did at the Last Supper, their eyes are opened and they knew Him!
     I believe that many of us can identify with Cleopas and the other disciples who had followed Jesus. Remember, there were more than just the Twelve who were closest to Him. He had touched the lives of many people who chose to follow Him and be known as disciples of Jesus, of Nazareth. But like them, as we are faced with these confusing times, we are distracted by what we see in the flesh and how we discern world events affecting our personal lives. We have taken our eyes off the promises of our Lord Jesus.
     We long for a return to those comfortable feelings of stability in Him; and the exhilaration of seeing His undeniable and obvious blessings. And in looking back, we are unable to see His continued presence in our immediate circumstances. But if we seek Him, we can still experience that burning hunger for Him, just like Cleopas, and invite Him to "abide". And it's important that we understand the fullness of that word ... to abide is to stay in a given place, state, relation or expectancy -- no matter what turn of events might cloud our vision.
     It is easy to look at the realms of politics, global transformation, and the growing limitations of our personal freedoms and begin thinking that everything is out of order according to God's plan. And you can imagine how the Enemy can use these states of affairs to whisper seeds of doubt and unbelief into our hearts. But if we truly belong to Him in spirit, then we will remain abiding in Him. We will know in the depths of our soul and spirit that God orders everything in the earth and the universe -- everything has an appointed time and purpose. God thinks in terms of Eternity. Man views circumstances in short periods of time.
     Have you considered that your success in persevering through these trying times relies much more on what you believe than what you do? It's what you believe about who you are, and what you think God will do for you, and how you call that into existence that will ensure your survivability.  As I said, everything in the universe is ordered by God, and you have been appointed for this time. Your life has a purpose now! And it's more than your job or your physical comforts. God wants to talk to you personally, face-to-face, about what's in your heart [and that He wants you] to accomplish. Just as Jesus did with Cleopas, He wants to reveal to you all that God has ordered through the Scriptures up to this very day -- so that you clearly see and know that everything He did was the Father's will for your happiness and blessing.
     So, even though the world might look bleak now, we need to abide in Christ -- to stay in that state of expectancy that His timing is perfect for our lives; that ALL of His promises for our life are "Yes" and "Amen"! We must not abide in the limits the world is trying to place on us! We have been given the ministry of Jesus in trying times, and they are no less trying than those disciples experienced in the first century under Roman occupation, fearing for their lives as followers of Jesus Christ. No matter what the world throws at us, it is essential that we stay rooted in the True Vine and the knowledge that the Vinedresser has destined us to bear fruit for His Kingdom. And if He is pruning you, then know that it is so you will bear more fruit. It is the season for "abiding"; and it is our time to renew our strength in Christ, not growing weary, nor fading in our purpose!

1 John 2:6    Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.

Prayer: A Key To The Kingdom

    
    This Thursday, May 7th is the National Day of Prayer. Our nation began the tradition in 1775, when the Second Continental Congress called for a day of fasting and prayer at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It certainly was a time of great calamity, disorder, economic turmoil, and fear of the future; much like what we have experienced throughout our history. That war was followed by the Civil War, two World Wars, decades of war in the Middle East, and now a war against a viral epidemic. As in all major crises, the people of this nation have turned to prayer, imploring God to assist us in our times of trouble.
     Prayer is a natural reaction to our human condition. I would venture that even people who do not claim a relationship with the Most High God, have found themselves at one time or another, asking a Higher Power [than themselves] for help in a daunting situation. That solemn request for help is called prayer, by any other name.
      There is no better example of the effect of national prayer than in the Book of Exodus when we read how “the Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of their slavery their cry for help rose up to God…and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Exodus 2:25 says, "God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them." That began thousands of years of a relationship between YHWH and the nation of Israel that would result with the offer of Salvation to the world, and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.
     The Bible is full of stories of the power of prayer in manifesting God's will on earth. The prayer of King Hezekiah saved the nation of Israel from destruction by the Assyrians. Moses prays for the deliverance of the Israelites from God's wrath when His plan is to smite them all for worshiping the Golden calf. Zechariah, the priest, prays for a son, and his wife, Elizabeth, bears John the Baptist. The Virgin Mary prays a prayer of thanksgiving, joy, and praise for the honor of giving birth to the Son of God. And Jesus Christ gives us the gift of one of the most powerful prayers for all mankind, the Lord's Prayer.

Prayer is one of the keys that unlocks our power and authority

 -- power that Jesus intended for us to release on the earth

 to see the Father's will done, "as it is in Heaven".

 

     But Prayer is more than just asking God for help in times of trouble, or to ward off His wrath, or even to praise Him for blessings. There is power in Prayer to see the fulfillment of God's plan and purpose in establishing His Kingdom on earth, and to see honor and glory brought to His Name. In that sense, Prayer is an important "key to the Kingdom".
     When Jesus declares that He will build His Ekklesia [as a governing body of Believers to execute Heaven's government on earth] and the gates of Hades [hell's governing power] would not prevail against it, He backs that up by saying, "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind [prohibit] on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit] on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
     Read that again! The authority of Heaven stands behind us! The keys to the Kingdom are principles given to all who are born again into the Kingdom as citizens; principles to rule and reign until the return of our King. These keys unlock our power and authority, and provide access to the Kingdom of Heaven. And that access is initiated through Scripture. So, if prayer is one of the keys to gaining access to that power to bind and loose, and to rule and reign, then some of the most powerful prayers we can pray should include Scripture! (See below to join my in scriptural prayer).
     There is no doubt that our nation is in desperate need of prayer by her citizens. Even in the midst of a great spiritual and secular awakening among all Americans, we are assailed on all sides by an insidious virus; growing unemployment; a precarious economy; global threats of war; and secret and vindictive machinations by enemies foreign and domestic upon our government and way of life. 
     We need to approach this coming National Day of Prayer with united hearts and in solemn and humble repentance for our personal and national iniquity; asking our Lord and Savior to intervene on behalf of all others who are seeking His Kingdom in obedience and faith. He has given us righteous Prayer, one of the keys to the Kingdom, and in the powerful words of theologian Charles Spurgeon, "The Lord continues to back up the teaching and acts of His servants, and as long as we abide rightly in Him, we have His sanction to make them valid. The words of His servants, spoken in His Name, shall be confirmed by the Lord, and shall not be, either as to promise or threatening, a mere piece of rhetoric." Let us walk in the power of His Word expressed in prayer! Hallelujah, that we possess one of the most powerful keys to the Kingdom of Heaven!

     Will you join me in this prayer for our National Day of Prayer [taken from the Psalms]? Father in Heaven, we come before Your throne asking for compassion and mercy upon each one of us and upon our nation. Forgive the full extent of our rebellious ways. We know our sins, transgressions and iniquities have led us to this bondage. We repent of not believing Your promises and for straying from Your righteous path. Like spoiled children, we have sought our own desires, and refused to trust in Your wisdom, thinking ourselves above Your counsel and guidance. We have not acknowledged Your miracles and powers that have brought us all this far. We have refused to love You with all our hearts, and we have tested Your patience. We are overcome by our sins against You.
     So, Father, we humbly submit and surrender ourselves to You, asking for Your forgiveness and grace. We ask that You cleanse our spirits and turn our hearts back to You. You are our righteous God who helps us like a Father. Here us in our time of distress as we bless Your Holy Name! Arise, Lord! Deliver us, our God! Strike all our enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. You sit enthroned over this world and we ask that you site enthroned over this nation once again, Lord! Be enthroned as our King forever! Lord, give strength to endure what is coming against us, Your people,  and bless us with Your peace and Your enduring Love! We thank you that You have given us this mighty Key to Your Kingdom, and we loose all of Heaven's blessings upon this nation and we return her to You! Amen!

If you desire to know more about the Keys to the Kingdom, please order my newly released book, "Through A Kingdom Lens: Rediscovering What The Church Lost".
    


    
    

The Holy Spirit : The Key To Enter The Kingdom of God

   
      This past weekend, Mark and I gave a presentation on the Gospel of the Kingdom for Luke 4:18 Ministries in Austin, Texas. As the time approached, I will tell you that I was a little nervous. Speaking in front of groups of people is getting easier for me, but it does not come naturally. Then my good friend, Mary, gave me a new perspective about this disposition of mine. When we arrived at the venue and I expressed my concern, she looked me right in the eyes, and said, "Oh, that's just your flesh. Your spirit is excited!" And at that moment everything changed. She was right! My spirit was excited about the opportunity to share this important message about the Kingdom of God to the people gathered there; all of whom I knew were never going to be the same after we showed them what they'd missed in their Bibles and in their Churches. After all, we wanted them to have the same experience of divine revelation we had when this amazing Truth was revealed to us. 
     It was such a joy to see minds being renewed to God's original plan for mankind. There was so much to share, and to be honest, I feel we barely scratched the surface of what God wants us to rediscover in His Word.  There are so many aspects of the Gospel of the Kingdom that we need to bring to light, that we could spend days teaching on the "Good News" Jesus brought.  For this day, it was important to show that the reason we were created was to be God's representatives and ambassadors on earth. The word representative is a very serious word. It means one chosen or appointed to act or speak for another; and someone in particular. I sometimes think we forget, or don't see, who we were made to be, and what is our role in the earth.
     Genesis 1:26, 28 make it very clear that we are made in the image of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit [Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness]. I love a teaching by the late Dr. Myles Munroe, in which he says, "You don't have a spirit .... You are a spirit!"  He goes on to teach that, as the Bible says, God formed man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), so we are "a spirit in a dirt body, known as a human".  This is important because we need to understand why God only gave humans the authority [to represent Him] on the earth. Dr. Munroe gives a quick etymology lesson: the word humus is the word for dirt. The word for man is Ish, and man is a spirit being. Man is a spirit, but his body is humus.  In essence we are a humus man [spirit being in a dirt body], shortened to human. Follow me, so far? 
     When you think about it, that is a complicated concept, but it is important in knowing God's plan and our purpose. His plan began with giving humans dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26, 28): Let them (humans) have dominion over all the earth ... God said to them, subdue it and have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth. So the only being that has legal rights and authority to dominate the earth [given by God] is a spirit being in a dirt body. 
     God's Word never changes, right? So, here is a nugget of wisdom from Dr. Munroe that rocked Mark and I, and I think it will you, too .... "Any spirit without a dirt body is illegal on earth. Now you know why demons are illegal. Your most powerful weapon on the earth is not your spirit. When we die and lose our body, we become illegal, too, and we have to leave the earth. We call it death. We need to understand that our bodies keep us legal on the earth, and this is why demons are looking for a body to enter. They are trying to become legal, so they can become functional on earth".
     NOTE: I want to stop right here and interject an important point. I am not saying that someone who comes to us for Inner Healing and Deliverance and is being tormented by a spirit of anger, or a spirit of unworthiness, etc. is possessed. That is why when we confront these spirits [in a deliverance session] we ask if they have legal authority, and they say "no", because the person is being "oppressed" by the demon of anger, and is not "possessed" by it. It is a matter of torment and not possession, because the demon has not entered their body, they are just whispering lies that the Beloved is believing. That is why we can cast them out, because they have no legal authority according to God's own rules. And we must remember that our Father is a God of order and has set spiritual laws in place to govern His Kingdom, which is why our legal authority is so important. Obviously, I am not saying that our spirit is unimportant -- it is the connection with our Lord and how we have relationship with the Father. But in order to carry out the assignments our spirits have been given, we must have a body here on earth. Make sense?
     Now, it is also important to understand Scripture as God intended. He gave man dominion over the earth instead of giving it to Himself. He created us to be His agents, or ambassadors, who would extend His Kingdom of Heaven to the earth. So He wants to use us in order to become involved in the earth. But it is the spirit in us [which is Him in the form of the Holy Spirit] that enables Him to rule through us. It is God's plan to rule the world through the unseen Holy Spirit, living in the unseen spirit of man, which dwells in our physical [seen] body. 
     Consider this, the Holy Spirit didn't indwell anyone in the Old Testament. He came upon men when God needed them empowered for His service, giving them special skills to perform certain tasks. For instance Judges 3:10 tells us, And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (Othniel, younger brother of Caleb), and he judged Israel, and went out to war; Judges 6:34 says, But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him; Judges 14:6 says this about Samson: And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. And the Bible records that "the hand of the Lord" came upon all the Old Testament prophets to prophesy and do His will.
     That's the difference between the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Covenant and the New ... there wasn't a person who could permanently host the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament because there wasn't a sacrifice good enough to make them holy. The Spirit would come upon them to do God's will [through a miracle, a prophecy, or to be strong to do a great work] and then He would leave. And it is important that we recognize that while Jesus was on the earth in the New Testament, there is no record of anyone else hosting the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the power of the Holy Spirit entered Him at His baptism and He carried it from that day forward! And His ultimate assignment was to get the power and the authority of the Holy Spirit into us so that we could carry on His assignment to restore the Kingdom of God on earth back to man.
     You see, while Christ was on the earth, He lent the power of the Holy Spirit that was in Him to men. Luke 9:1 validates this truth so well: And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. But after His resurrection, He appears in the Upper Room and breathed on the Disciples and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, He said, As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. What was Jesus sent to do? As He says over and over in the Gospels, He was sent to bring the Good News that the Kingdom of God was going to be restored on the earth. And it would be accomplished through Saved men. How do we know that?
     Every parable He taught was a lesson on what the Kingdom of God in Heaven was like, and how we are to walk in it on the earth. He told us to seek the Kingdom first, above all else. He told us to pray that His Father's Kingdom would come, on earth as it is in Heaven. He told us to "ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." He told us that our Father in Heaven knows what we need, and if we, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those of us who ask Him! And, He told us it is the Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom... but it is incumbent upon us to use our free will to ask for it, seek it, and knock until it is opened to us. He will not force it upon us. And the door to enter into the Kingdom is our Salvation ... unless one is born [again] of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit indwells us at our Salvation experience and is the key to entering the Kingdom of God!
     It is so easy to see once the veil is removed from our spiritual eyes. In fact, everything about the message of Jesus in the four Gospels takes on new significance. Just read the Word again with a new perspective ... underline every time Jesus talks about the Kingdom and ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind about what your purpose is. We are a spirit in the likeness of our Father and Creator, sent here to live in a body and to continue the work of our Lord, restoring the dominion of the earth to God's original purpose... that earth would perfectly reflect Heaven. It is time we recognize the fullness of our purpose and take back the spiritual government of the earth, ruling it as it is in Heaven.

Mark 1:15    The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand [has arrived]; repent [change the way you think; seek God's purpose for your life] and believe in the gospel [the Good News].    

The Ekklesia, The Kingdom & The Seven Mountains of Influence

     As I was finishing up my study of Hebrews, I was struck by the various interpretations of some verses in Chapter 12. I feel as if the Lord is leading me on a treasure hunt, and one verse leads to another and then back to a previous understanding; and somehow it all comes together to form new revelation.
    So, let's follow the Bible's trail of clues, shall we? As we begin Chapter 12, we find that the writer of Hebrews [which I believe to be Paul] is exhorting the believers to persevere through trials, as well as God's discipline, in order to enter into the earthly presence of God. In fact, the Bible says in verse 8, We all should welcome God's discipline as the validation of authentic sonship..

     All of this is given to us as encouragement to let us know we can enter into the presence of God just as Moses did on Mount Zion. However, we enter into a different realm than he did --- his was a physical mountain; ours is a spiritual mountain. Hebrews 12:22 says, By contrast, we have already come near to God in a totally different realm, the Zion-realm, for we have entered the city of the Living God, which is the New Jerusalem in heaven! We have joined the festal gathering of myriads of angels in their joyous celebration! (TPT)
     Let's take a minute and unpack this important verse. "We have already come near to God" indicates that the fullness of our heavenly salvation and our entrance into God’s heavenly realm has already taken place. We also see that truth in the following verses: For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son. This means the Son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like Him (Romans 8:29); He raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with Him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ! (Ephesians 2:6); Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. And as Christ Himself is seen for who He really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with Him in his glory!(Colossians 3:1-4).
     As we walk out our salvation here on earth, we are present with God in a totally different realm, the realm of Zion, which is used in both the Old and New Testaments as more than a location. Zion is referred to as the place of God’s dwelling. When Moses met Him, He was dwelling on the physical Mount Zion, but now we are present with Him in His spiritual mountain, the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the fulfillment of Abraham’s vision in Hebrews 11:10, and what Israel’s ancestors had seen from afar in Hebrews 11:13. The New Jerusalem is not only a place, but a people who dwell with God in their midst. It is what the Garden of Eden was intended to be. It is a city that is a bride or a bridal-city coming out of heaven to the earth (Revelation. 21:9-14). We are not going TO the New Jerusalem; we are going to BE the New Jerusalem! Are you starting to see the Good News of the Kingdom of God on earth yet?
     But wait ... there's more! Take a look at the next verse, Hebrews 12:23: And as members of the church of the Firstborn all our names have been legally registered as citizens of heaven! And we have come before God who judges all, and who lives among the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect in His eyes! I think that perhaps this verse causes more confusion than we Christians recognize.  As members of the Kingdom of God on earth, we are citizens of heaven (having been spirits in heaven sent to earth to have dominion over it on behalf of our King). Jesus is God's uniquely Firstborn, but because of our position as citizens of heaven on earth, we are in Christ, and we are all the first-born and have all the rights and blessings that Jesus has. 
     As 21st Century Christians we don't understand that, and I think we get hung up on the part of the verse that says we are "members of the church of Jesus". And here's the real dilemma ... we don't even have the proper understanding of what that word church meant in the first century! And that confusion is compounded by the misinterpretation of Matthew 16:18, which we read in most versions of the Bible like this, And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I've read so many commentary's that say "Peter" sounds like "Petra", the Greek word for rock. And the Greek text does state that Peter is the “rock” on which the church is built. However, the implication is that it is Peter’s revelation from the Father and his confession of Jesus as the Son of God that becomes the “bedrock foundation” for the church. The earliest writings of the church fathers all acknowledge that the Rock is Jesus Christ, not Peter.

    So here is a more correct interpretation of this verse, in Aramaic: I give you the name Peter, a stone. And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly -- and the power of death will not be able to overpower it!  It is important to understand that the Greek word commonly used for "church" is ekklēsia. However, ekklēsia means more than a church meeting, for it signified in Greek culture the governing assembly which had the authority to make decisions for the entire city. It means “legislative assembly” or “selected ones.” This is not a religious term at all, but a political and governmental term that is used many times in classical Greek for a group of people who have been summoned and gathered together to govern the affairs of a city. For Jesus to use this term means he is giving the keys of governmental authority in His kingdom to the church.
     The problem is that the church, as we know it, has not walked in their kingdom identity, nor used their authority to govern the earth as it was originally mandated. The power of death [which is the power of Satan] was not to overpower God's kingdom on earth. True, Adam and Eve handed over dominion to the devil, but Jesus came to re-inaugurate the kingdom and gave us back the keys to govern the earth once again. The "Church" was to be a legislative body of sons and daughters of the King who would rule this earth [and all the spheres of influence within it] as a colony of Heaven. It's time we walked out our governmental duties. 
     As ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven, and its legislative body on earth, the Church was to bring the mountain of God (His Presence) to the mountains of influence on this earth; namely, Education, Religion, Family, Business, Government/Military, Arts/Entertainment, and Media. How do you think the modern Church has done so far? I would venture to say that it has lost its true identity as an ekklésia, and walks in a different identity of its own making. 
     I think we need to take a good hard look at the two final verses in Chapter 12 of Hebrews: Since we are receiving our rights to an unshakeable kingdom we should be extremely thankful and offer God the purest worship that delights his heart as we lay down our lives in absolute surrender, filled with awe.  For our God is a holy, devouring fire!
     Moses knew what it was like to be in the presence of God and experience that holy, consuming fire. Hebrews 12:21 even quotes him [at the sight]:  The astounding phenomena Moses witnessed caused him to shudder with fear and he could only say, “I am trembling in terror!" Gives new meaning to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling", doesn't it?  We are still in the process of working out our salvation while here on earth. When it is considered that we have been given the keys to the kingdom here on earth, we must ask ourselves if we have done right by the authority we received to govern this heavenly colony. I think we all know the answer -- and it's time to do something about it.

If you're looking for additional resources on the true meaning of the Ekklésia, I highly recommend two books: Ekklésia Rising by Dean Briggs, and Ekklésia by El Silvoso. Both are available on Amazon.

Matthew 23:13    Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and you Pharisees—such frauds and pretenders! You do all you can to keep people from experiencing the reality of heaven’s kingdom realm. Not only do you refuse to enter in, you also forbid anyone else from entering in!

We've Been Given The Keys of the Kingdom of God -- What Now?

    In the last couple of posts I have zeroed in on expanding our understanding of the Kingdom of God. This may be a new concept for some, and for others, you might be aware that Jesus commanded us to "seek the Kingdom first", but are not quite sure what that looks like.
     I can remember when I concentrated on studying the Book of Matthew, which I found full of the revelation that Jesus is King of a heavenly kingdom realm that was being established on earth with His birth. With that divine disclosure to the human world, it makes "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" a much more powerful statement.
     I cannot go forward without addressing the difference of opinion as to whether the Kingdom of God on earth is a future event [at the return of Christ] or whether it is present today. I can only share what my spirit is telling me, and each of you have to study the Word and come to your own theological understanding.

     If I had to give you a concise statement as to my belief, it would be this .... Both John the Baptist and Jesus warned those who would hear them to "Repent!" .... John, saying "for the Kingdom of God is near", and Jesus telling them, "for the Kingdom of God is at hand". It is my belief that both John and Jesus were announcing that God's representative from Heaven (Jesus) had come to plant Heaven's flag, so to speak, in the earth, staking territory for the Kingdom of God; in effect, inaugurating [or beginning] the heavenly Kingdom system of government on the earth. So, in that sense, the Kingdom is present now, or "in your midst" (Luke 17:21), but is not yet complete. The Kingdom is here in a partial sense as we Christians continue to take territory from the devil and take back dominion of the earth until the Day of the Lord, when Jesus will return, bringing His Justice and destroying the evil and corruption in the world, while establishing the good and perfect Kingdom realm on earth that God had planned from the beginning.
     And one of the reasons that I love the Book of Matthew so much is that it focuses on Jesus's teachings about how people are to behave as citizens of that Kingdom realm on earth, with Jesus as their loving King. Which takes me to the born again experience that Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about in John, Chapter 3. Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." To me, this says that we come into the Kingdom as a citizen through being born again -- [reborn from above by the Holy Spirit—spiritually transformed, renewed, and sanctified]. 
     When we are born again into the Kingdom, with Jesus as our King, we use a key to enter into that Kingdom. Jesus is the door and that key. Romans 10:9-10 tells us, "For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will experience salvation." To sum it up, when you are born again and confess your faith in Jesus, you are saved and become a citizen of the Kingdom. And with that citizenship come keys.
     We see this confession/citizenship/keys relationship in Matthew 16:13-20. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ (Anointed One from God), is given keys of the kingdom of heaven, and now has the authority "to forbid [bind, stop] on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release [loose, permit] on earth that which is released in heaven." Those rights are only conveyed to one who is a citizen of the Kingdom of God/Heaven! And that is the purpose of the keys of the Kingdom -- to transform this earth, as it is in heaven! 
     I also want to point out that it is my belief that there is a false narrative that this passage is establishing Peter as the head of the Church; which is a corruption of Scripture promulgated by Constantine. I believe, truth be told, that the keys to the Kingdom are principles given to all who are born again into the Kingdom as citizens; principles to rule and reign until the return of our King. These keys represent our authority and provide access to the Kingdom of Heaven. And that access is initiated through Scripture. It's not enough to just know Scripture ... we must DO Scripture! You see, God is moved by His Word, not our tears. Hebrews 6:17 says, "in His desire to show to the heirs of the Promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, [God] intervened and guaranteed it with an oath" -- in other words, He says He is bound by His Word. So when we DO His Word, He will move in our lives and in this world; we will see results.
     But here's something to think about .... to have a key to the Kingdom and never use it, is no different than never having a key at all. If you don't know the principles or purpose of the keys to the Kingdom then you will likely have no effect [fruit] for the Kingdom.  And something else we need to understand is that the keys are also unique and specific. You can't take one Kingdom key (principle) and think it's going to necessarily work in another place. For instance, I can't Praise a demon and expect to throw him out. And I think Jesus exemplifies this when He tells the disciples, "But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Here, we have two more principles of the Kingdom.
     We must realize that there is no Master Key of the Kingdom, and it is inherent upon us to know what the keys are; to understand and employ them to their fullest effect. If not, "my people perish for lack of knowledge", comes to mind. We also need to remember what our Lord tells us in Luke 12:32: "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom". We are to remember that we are citizens of the Kingdom; "sons of Light", and we are to be operating in the Kingdom system, not the system of the world. 
     So, here's a truth we need to be aware of ... If we are born again and Saved, we are citizens of the Kingdom. But which system are we operating in? We can be considered citizens of the Kingdom, but still be operating in the world system. I believe we are all guilty of that at one time or another in our lives. For instance, if we get offended by someone [which is one of Satan's favorite schemes] do we withdraw and sulk, or do we work in the Kingdom government system and handle it with a Kingdom principle; for instance praying for those who curse you? We must recognize that the system of this world is not our system! Our system is Kingdom government!
     The bottom line is this: we must know that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Yes, we wait for the fulfillment [completion] of the Kingdom on earth. But we serve our Lord, who is King of that Kingdom, and He has entrusted us to continue His work in establishing the Kingdom He came to inaugurate. Just because He has not yet returned, it doesn't mean we are to remain idle until that glorious Day. When He returns, we will give an account of the fruit we have borne for the Kingdom. I can imagine Him embracing us as Saved Christians; welcoming us as citizens of the Kingdom of God. And then I can hear Him ask, "What did you do with the keys of the Kingdom that I gave you? Did you read my Word? If so, did you seek to understand and experience it? Did you DO My Word?" 
     It is my prayer that each of us know that the Kingdom in us is greater than the kingdom of this world. Let us use the keys He has given us in His Word to lock and secure our hearts in His Kingdom system. Let the reality of God's Kingdom be apparent in the present through the abundant and prosperous fruit we bear, in the Name of Jesus.

Luke 17:21      "The Kingdom is not discovered in one place or another, for God’s Kingdom realm is already expanding within some of you."