“ON EAGLES’ WINGS MINISTRIES”
“When Shall These Things?" Matthew 24: Part 13… Feb. 2009…P 1.
“The Emerging One World Government.”
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” Zec. 14:9. “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” Deut. 6:4. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:20-21.
We have listed a number of scriptures above that carry one simple message that can be condensed into a single word—ONE. If were to wake up and see on television, or in our local news papers the bold headlines—The Emerging One World Government, we can be sure what the rest of the news would be, based upon past performances of religious folks, and more so, religious leaders who obligated themselves to fan the flames of the forth coming one world government.
A certain entity was created on March 25, 1957 called, the European Economic Community (EEC) or, what we commonly call, the “common market.” The founding member States were: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The basic idea behind this newly formed entity was for people, goods, and services to move freely across borders. However, it did not take long for ministers, religious authors, and religious educators to begin sounding the alarm of the scene being set for the coming antichrist. They began speaking of a one world monetary system, a one world military, a one world education system, and many of these teachers produced maps and charts showing the countries to be involved in this preparatory work on behalf of the man-of-sin.
These folks, in spite of their good intentions, foolishly saw “oneness” as a bad thing. But is bringing the nations together in one always trumpet certain diabolical intention? God is intent on bringing the nations together, no matter how we interpret his actions and intentions. We must always bear in mind that if there is an evil intent in oneness, there has to be a good intent in oneness also, because there cannot be a counterfeit if there is no genuine, in other words, for the shop keeper to detect a counterfeit dollar bill, there has to be a genuine dollar bill.
Throughout the bible, God’s emphasis has always been on “ONE” or oneness. As we quoted above from Deut. 6: 4. Even today among Jews, that verse of scripture stands supreme. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” In order to bring oneness among both Jews and Gentiles in the church at Ephesus, Paul exhorted the Body with these words: “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross.” Eph.2:14,16. Before we talk about oneness in the secular world around us, in which a number of nations come together to set the stage for the so-called antichrist, let us talk a little bit about oneness among God’s people.
Some years ago, I was conducting a series of meetings in South Florida, and in the middle of the week I went into a super market where I met a brother from the meetings. He said to me, “Brother, I have been listening to you for a few days now, and you are teaching what I believe.” He gave me a strong handshake as if to seal the deal, saying, you are my brother. Later on, I smiled and asked myself, “So what if I had been preaching what he did not believe, would I not still be his brother? It is time for us to cease being thin skinned and easily offended by difference of beliefs. What is the source of all beliefs in Christendom? It is “interpretation of scripture” whether by ourselves or by others who in turn mold their interpretation into tangible religious tenets.
Listen to the way Paul chastised the Corinthian Church for their lack of oneness. “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man.” 1 Cor. 3: 3-5. Let me affirm to you my friend, that my friend J. Preston Eby, and my friend Elwin Roach, and my other friend Gary Sigler, and yet another of my friends Bennie Skinner and Kelly Varner all minister out of what reservoir of truth God has placed within them. One does not try to be like the other, neither does one try to “out-teach” the other. This is not a blue ribbon contest, but rather a service to our King who hath made us able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 2 Cor.3: 6.
Oneness in Christ is not predicated upon my set of beliefs versus your set of beliefs. My beliefs and yours do not alter one iota of what God is doing and intends to do. I have said time and again that religion divides people more than politics. While driving from one town in Northern Ireland where I stayed, to be in meetings in another town several miles away, we passed through a small township that seemed to be well populated. As we drove down the main street, my host told me that for the past 12 years, folks on the right have not spoken to folks on the left, for one side are Catholics and on the other side are Protestants. Sure they all had deeply rooted beliefs, but where does Christ fit into all of this? Why Christ? Because Christ is not divided no matter how each person knows him.
Let us take a closer look at Paul’s lesson on oneness as taught to the Corinthian believers. He breaks it down into body parts, their value to the body itself and how each part should be viewed or assessed. “For as the body in one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.(Not Christianity—not church members—not the board of elders, but so is Christ.) For by ONE SPIRIT are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Cor.12:12-13.
Let us consider drinking INTO one Spirit! Consider yourself at a party for a friend’s birthday. Among the refreshments there is a huge bowl filled with a punch mixture, with small limes hanging around the side of the container and small glasses on hand. Each person helps himself/herself to the drink and walks away to a table. As we look around the room, there are about 24 tables with 24 different groups of people who have taken from that bowl of punch. They have taken FROM, but let us assume as the verse said, they had to drink INTO! Not FROM or OUT OF. Drinking into one Spirit, to me, signifies coming together in ONENESS. Instead of dipping in, taking of the punch and finding a seat elsewhere, they are all made to drink into that one container.
Yes, we are all made to drink into that one Spirit, but does it necessarily mean that we all believe the same thing? I don’t think so! Beliefs are limited to the human finite mind, and God is much too big for our little enclosure that we have to accommodate him. Paul describes the potential of each member of the body in terms of our limbs and even the uncomely parts. Look at how he frames this! “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. Please pay close attention to the following! For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked.” 1 Cor.12:23-24. The lesson for us is very simple! Each member in the body is different and I would assume that the difference could even be in beliefs, but the body must function as ONE. Some preferred Paul’s teachings, and although at some point Appollos wasn’t verse in the word, he had some followers. But Paul called for an end to that mark of stark carnality, no matter who was the better teacher, or whose doctrine had more appeal to the masses.
When we go around looking for little bits and pieces of religious teachings to disagree with, it proves that we walk as men, not only that, but we walk as carnal men and are still children who cannot eat meat but live on milk. Do I like to sit in a meeting and hear truths being imparted that I never heard before? Let the preacher or teacher go ahead and share more, because if all I am hearing is what I already know, both you and I are wasting our time. I like for a preacher or teacher to throw something at me that causes me to reach for my bible and to quickly make notes for future research. Of all the things I have heard from preachers over the years, some things I quietly let go by the way, and others I had to visit many times before I see the truth being conveyed. I want every believer in Christ to rest assured that God and his ultimate intentions for mankind are far larger than your beliefs can reach; in fact we can join the queen of Sheba in saying “The half has never yet been told.”
Our Lord prayed to the Father that we may be one, that is being many as individuals, but ONE in Spirit, and to drive home this point, Paul indicated that he that is joined to an harlot is one, or becomes one with her, and he that is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT. 1 Cor. 6: 16-17. Notice that God holds oneness to such a high degree that every person that is joined to the Lord becomes ONE SPIRIT with him. So then, we can begin to understand how God intends to establish his one world government, in which oneness is the only law that governs. Again, we turn to Paul to see how he continued to place emphasis on oneness. He tries to impress upon the Ephesian Church how and why we should counsel ourselves into oneness. “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT, even as ye are called in ONE HOPE of your calling. ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE GOD and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4: 3-6.
In order to bring about oneness in his body, God sets up a process to serve in that regard. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Eph.4:8,11-13. I call these the 5 ministerial gifts, also known among many as the “hand ministry.”
We will do ourselves good to note that Christ himself gave these gifts to the church. It was not based upon a person’s human talents, personality, or favor with the church hierarchy. It did not mean a father grooming his son to take over the ministry when Dad is dead and gone. It did not mean the ordination committee selecting and ordaining a person because of the person’s loyalty and contribution to the missionary fund. These 5 ministerial gifts are divinely imparted! In this our day, if you should come upon a business card from a minister bearing the title “apostle” I bet you every dollar in my pocket that the person who carries that card is a pastor, and I am sure that the same pastor will certify to you that he/she is the teacher in the local assembly. Seemingly, the pastor wants to do it all for the fear of competition. Paul as an apostle, did not lord it over pastors, even in churches that he himself established. He ministered to the pastors in what we call his “pastoral letters.” We should realize one thing that is missing in church circles today: “ministers need to be ministered to.” Instead, if you look around you in today’s crowded religious field, each ministry is a “one man’s show.” Sure, once in a while a guest appears to share a testimony, but over all, it remains the ministry of a single individual.(I will teach; I will preach; in many cases, when I am preaching I am prophesying—so there is no need for prophets, and when I take my show on the road, I am evangelizing—so as you can see, I DO IT ALL) Can you wonder why God’s people seem to live in a rut? They file in day after day, night after night, to look up at the rostrum and hear from one person. One of my former pastors told us in a minister’s meeting ; “It is a fore-gone conclusion that Sundays are taken, because the people come to hear me, not you.”
Sure, I have had my days when people stood as I walked in, so that I had to exhort them not to do that. Sure, I have had my days as “guest speaker” at conventions, and people paid great attention to what God gave me to share. But that is not the whole picture! I often wondered why I am short in certain areas in the ministry. I know of what is lacking and have prayed about it over many years, knowing full well that I cannot supply the lack myself. I look at others who show certain lack in other areas than mine. Finally, I realized that we all do not lack in the same areas, and we all do not excel in the same areas. But what I found out is that quite often, where I lack, another person excels, all to the glory of God. This equals the playing field, and explains why we all need one another. In other words, the feet will always serve as the feet, and the hands will always serve as the hands, but the body needs both, not only both, but all its members functioning in their designated capacity.
Christ Jesus put the icing on the cake when he said: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13: 34-35. Paul set forth Christ as the head; “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Eph.4:16. This is true body ministry in every sense of the word. Notice that Paul did not introduce doctrinal beliefs into the equation as a basis for achieving oneness. Thus we believe that keeping the unity of the Spirit is not predicated upon all of us believing the same thing.
In fact, let us seek some help from Paul again! “For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth thanks.” Romans 14: 3-6.
Even in grade school back home we had fellow students who were Seventh Day Adventists, some were Jehovah Witnesses, I was from a Baptist home, and one student even began to study black magic. Sure, we discussed the different religious faiths but there was no condemnation. Until today, some of those students have grown up on their particular faiths, and have become outstanding leaders along the way. Back in the mid seventies I was introduced to a group that was big in Sonship and Kingdom teachings. I remember very well the first time I saw a brother leading the praise and worship service. He was a gifted singer, but more than that, he seemed to have the ability to set the scene and atmosphere for true worship with his wife at the piano. He did this in every meeting in every city where we were in the same gathering. I remember the first time this brother, after doing such a great job of leading the praise and worship, confessed that he was gay. He did this in many places before many different groups and was never judge, condemned or castigated.
I have never discussed this issue with another minister, but at times shortly after our first meeting, I wondered how this brother could do such a great job in leading the praise and worship if he was all together wrong. In short, I simply left the right or wrong of it to God and kept on loving and accepting the brother. If we live, we live unto God, and if we die, we die unto God, and no man stands alone and unaccounted for in God’s book of records. One Thursday back in the late seventies, I attended a prayer meeting that the mother of our church was conducting. As the pastor I simply went for moral support, and found a chair at the very back of the room. After a while a voice spoke within me saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” I said yes! The voice said, “You were told that if your heart is pure, you will go to bed and have a pleasant dream of the Lord walking into your room all dressed in white.” I said yes! The voice said, “No that’s not what I mean.” The voice said again, “You were told that if your heart is pure, you will see me face to face on that great judgment day” I said yes! The voice said, “No that’s not what I mean. What I mean is simply this; if your heart is pure, everywhere you look, you see me.” My Friend, writing this now, brings back to me the same feelings I felt back in the seventies. That saying transformed my whole life and how I see others.
That is how true oneness can be achieved! By seeing God every where you look. Sure, there are many things that can distract us and even try to obscure our view so that we see ugliness instead of beauty. When I look at people, I don’t want to know what they believe in. What I want to do, is to connect with the God within. I have friends who are Muslims, who are warm and loving people. I have friends who go down to the Kingdom Hall every Saturday as Jehovah Witnesses. I have friends who would rather not believe that there is a God. Instead of fighting them, it is much easier to let God live through me and radiate his love toward these people.
The prophet of old wrote of a day when the Lord shall be king over all the earth: and in that day, there shall be one Lord, and his name one. This signifies God’s one world government, because the government shall be upon his shoulders. Many ministers have said so much about the coming of the evil one world order, that they thought that Dr. Kissinger was the antichrist. They moved on down the line to say that Ronald Reagan was the antichrist, then they moved on to Jimmy Carter. Now, we are hearing that it could be Barak Obama who is the antichrist. These speculators do not hear from God; they do not possess the mind of God’s Holy Spirit so they go about chasing shadows. The funny thing is that God’s Word announces the setting up of God’s one world government and these people are not saying a word about it.
Listen to what Paul outlined in his letter to the Ephesians! “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in ONE ALL THINGS in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” Eph. 1: 8-10. This has nothing to do with C. I. Scofield’s outline of the seven dispensations of man. It has nothing to do with the men who came up with the “Left Behind” series and made millions of dollars along the way. What Paul said God is going to do is not based upon how many of us understand it, are willing to back him up, and willing to be the standard bearers of this great event.
God did not call together all the big names in the field of religion to a conference based upon what they think he (God) should do. God did not seek our approval, and he certainly does not need to wait for the next meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, or a top level meeting in Denver, Colorado of the top names among Evangelicals. So what is motivating God to take this action? It is according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself. Independent of Elwin Roach! Independent of J. Preston Eby! Independent of Royce Kennedy! Independent of any thing or any person coming out of the “ever increasing faith ministry” originating out of the Crenshaw Center in Inglewood, California, or from the gentleman from Austin, Texas.
We understand that God framed “time” as it relates to us. He gives each person a number of years, and as we saw in past lessons, he set aside a certain number of years in which certain events would overtake the Jews and the city of Jerusalem, and we are told of the times of the Gentile, which some believe began with king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and ended when the Jews took Jerusalem back in the 1967 war. Whether we understand or agree with these events or not has no bearing upon what God has placed on his “to do” list. God removed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in what seemed to be a literal hell on earth. The cities were reduced to ashes and we emphasize the destruction that came upon those people for their sins. Preachers warn sinful people in our time to come to God or suffer the same fate; but they have missed another side of the equation.
Jesus told the unbelievers; “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.” Matt.11: 23-24. In fact, Jesus indicated that if the people of Sodom had heard what the people to whom he was ministering, they would have repented, and God said in another place that he moved them as he saw it good. But they shall rise in the judgment and testify against these unbelievers to whom Jesus spoke. It is all according to his good pleasure and divine purpose.
In many in religious circles, the coming together of nations seem to send a signal for us to prepare for the emergence of the antichrist, but what about another gathering together of the nations as God summons it? “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they all may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” Zephaniah 3: 8,9.
Can we forget the concise and enduring prophecy given by Daniel as we quoted in previous lessons in this study? “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:27. Does that sound like a one world government to you?
“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. All nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” Ps.72:8,11; Rev. 15: 4b. “And saviors shall come upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” Obadiah 21. Are we waiting for Christ’s one world government, or are we waiting for the antichrist’s one world government? Yes, indeed, God is gathering together in ONE all things in Christ just like he said he would. We do not at this point have all the nuts and bolts in our hands, and we cannot draw an outline of all the moving parts of this unfolding. But we do know that as the kingdoms of this world crumble bit by bit, so likewise, the kingdom of God peaks over the horizon like the sunrise on a bright summer’s morn. At evening time there shall be light, and that light is shining brighter and brighter with every passing day.
I am not a gloom and doom preacher and one who bears bad news, but it is good for us to have some idea of what is going on. Over the years, it has been, that when America encounters hard financial times, Europe stayed afloat in reasonably good times and could easily lend a helping hand. At this point in time all major economies around the world are suffering the same fate. Britain is bailing out banks much the same way we are doing. The stock market worldwide suffers on a daily basis, and all the funds the President is writing into his latest stimulus plans are being borrowed. (We, as a nation are spending billions on the right and on the left of money we do not have.) Some of us know what is happening when we have to borrow from one credit card to pay another, and when we can only pay the minimum due.
Some preachers believe that what America needs is a big old fashion revival, but I will venture to say that God has different plans. Listen to this! “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Isaiah 26: 9. Many years ago while visiting friends in the east end of London, I met the vicar of a local church, who among other things explained how he tried to accept West Indian immigrants (black people) to his congregation, but the deacon board would not allow him. As we talked about many different things of interest he mentioned a young couple he saw coming up his street the other day. They lived on the same street and did not know that a church building stood several blocks from their home. The vicar explained that during the time of the blitz during World War 11, churches were bursting at the seams. People were rushing to the churches to find shelter and some sort of peace and consolation. At the time when the vicar and I spoke, many church buildings were being torn down, or turned into bowling alleys and bingo halls
After many years of plenty and relative peace, it becomes convenient for some of us to ignore the old landmarks and even write new rules for ourselves based upon what our values have become. To think of the billions of dollars being robbed from people who have worked and saved all their lives, to watch it go like the morning mist, it is hard to think that so few heartless crooks can create so much pain for so many. Most of our big churches are loaded with prosperity messages. God wants us to prosper they tell us, and their ministers live the high life with several expensive cars and even airplanes. If all of that is a blessing from God, so be it. The point I am raising is that our entire society is gone off on a “prosperity binge” and some have become intoxicated with the lust for money. A 70 year old man has just been remanded to prison to await sentencing for lifting over 50 million dollars out of the life of thousands of people. A couple in Florida lost 1.6 million—their life savings over 28 years. A man from New Jersey lost 3.5 million to this man, who said he knew he was doing wrong but couldn’t stop. Whether it is white collar crime, or the drug trade, or human trafficking, the lust for money has turned the world into a deadly mine field. Even in poor countries in Africa and elsewhere, the leaders live the high life, some with foreign bank accounts with millions sitting cool in their accounts. In the mean time, their people eat out of garbage cans, scratch little morsels where ever they can, and finally many roll over and die from starvation.
When natural disasters strike and tragedies pile up on either side, unscrupulous characters like hungry hyenas move in to rob from the elderly even of what little they have left. It is easy to see people around who have no heart and no conscience. Could you rob people of $50 Mil and look others in the face with no sign of remorse? Over a long time of prosperity, the nations of the world have drifted farther and farther from God and the day of reckoning is slowly coming upon us. Every thing that can be shaken will be shaken and only those things that cannot be shaken will remain. Man must once again realize that the kingdom is the Lord’s and he gives it to whomsoever he wills. His government is a one world government and will be one that cannot be shaken, and as Daniel and Luke said in their writings, of this kingdom, there shall be no end. I do appreciate those of you who visited my website and have left your comments. This has been a good omen for me, and I do solicit your prayers. Thanks to you, one and all for taking time out to leave your kind words. The Lord richly bless you all in your many endeavors and under gird you with lasting peace.
Many prominent ministers of the gospel have gone on television and declared with stark assurance their belief in a literal interpretation of the bible. I heard one say that the Book of Revelation is a literal book and should be understood as such. Can you imagine the amount of trouble and discrepancies such mundane process does generate? That idea has been rendered null and void by the Lord himself in the very first chapter of the book, but we will save that for later. I remember the old days when members of a given flock would ask their pastor what a certain verse or passage of scripture means, and the pastor would reply, almost arrogantly; “It means what it says.” Sure, I agree, but what does it say? Let us look at a few instances of great complications generated by the principle of a literal interpretation of the bible.
The reason we need to take this route is to fully explain what Jesus meant when he told of events that would occur immediately after the tribulation of those days, especially events involving the sun, moon, and stars. I have said in previous studies in this series that it is of vital importance for us to understand the language of scripture, and this process lies squarely on how we understand WORDS. This throws the literal interpretation folks into a quandary. We are the salt of the earth, are we not? Jesus said we are! But are we sea salt or salt found in abundance in certain parts of the Sahara Desert? Are we used to season food on the dinner table, or to preserve meat in large barrels like we did on the old country farms? If none of the above applies, then we can safely reason that Jesus did not mean that we are literal salt. He said we are to lay up treasures in heaven, but if we picture a person going to a bank and renting a deposit box to deposit all his or her precious stones, diamonds, and other treasures, how do we actually deposit our treasures in heaven’s repository?
We read from scripture that we are the sheep of his pasture, but do we go to the barn to be shorn of our wool every so often? Do we actually graze in large green pastures? Yet, when we get to John 14, preacher after preacher, religious authors of all kinds, preach sermons and write books on the subject; “In my Father’s house are many mansions” and sell them in large numbers. The idea has been fostered and promoted with so much vigor over many centuries of church history, that we have been fed a strong diet of songs such as; “Somewhere beyond the blue, there’s a mansion for me, Somewhere beyond the blue I’m longing to be” and “I’ve got a mansion, just over the hilltop, in that fair land where we never more roam” and even the old time favorite, “He the pearly gates will open, so that I may enter in.” Many times I have sat behind a preacher, who, in the course of his sermon about these mansions, look back on all of us ministers sitting as his backup, and declare with vigor, gusto, and deep conviction; “If it were not so, I would have told you.” In other words, who dare to make Jesus a liar? He said himself that if there were no mansions in his Father’s house, he would have told us so.
We are taking this slowly for the benefit of those who are not quite familiar with our teachings, that we think are based upon what the bible actually said. Let us analyze a couple words so as to ascertain the truth as Jesus meant it to be. Let us look at “mansions and house.” According to what Jesus said, many mansions should be contained in his Father’s house. How can we numerate “many”? We would not say that 6 cows going across the field are “many” cows. We would likely say that a “few” cows crossed the field. Perhaps if the number increases to 10 or more we would call them “many.” Having said that, we must now seek to get “many mansions” into a single house since that is what the literal interpretation implies. But first things first! How would you describe a house? It is like a single family dwelling with 3 or 4 bedrooms, 3 ½ bathrooms, a 2-car garage, a den, a family room, kitchen and dinning room. My single family home is about 2,300 sq. ft. which is typical for the area where I live. What about a mansion?
The dictionary says that a mansion is a stately residence, an impressive house, and imposing dwelling. So then, a mansion, by any stretch of the imagination is much larger than a house. If you are asked to paint a picture of both for your pastor to teach from in his/her next bible class, you certainly would paint a large imposing building as a mansion, and a much smaller one as the house. We are now left to decide how to get many (we are not told how many) of the larger in a single smaller building. If we would read the entire chapter of John 14, we would quickly note that Jesus said nothing about building mansions for us in heaven and will come back to take us to them some day. He actually pointed to the coming of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, and the fact that we have become his Father’s house, being made partakers of his divine nature, and the very embodiment of the living Christ who reigns over principalities and powers, all depths and all heights.
Just about every believer in Christ, and even the average person on the street should understand that when we say, “As for me and my “house” we will serve the Lord” we do not mean a building of bricks and mortar: we simply mean our household—that is, all family members. We speak of the house of David, and the house of Eli, and the house of Saul. The word “house” in every case mentioned above means an entire household. No one will mistake these terms to mean a house in which we dwell. But throughout the bible we see that God uses terminologies and objects that the ordinary person can identify with. For instance, when God speaks to Israel saying every man would sit under his own vine and fig tree, he knew that they would readily understand his message. To say that to people from Idaho, or from the foothills of Montana, it is quite possible that they would not understand the message.
Away back in time, God had a message for a king who had outgrown his britches and was due for some serious lessons of correction. How did God communicate his message to this king? By showing him a tree that grew into full splendor with strong branches for the birds of the air to lodge in. However, the word went out for the tree to be cut down, leaving only its stump. Daniel said to the king, it is thou O king! Dan.4; 19-23.
Royce O. Kennedy