"Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool" (Isa. 66:1). "And I will make the place of My feet glorious" (Isa. 60:13). And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives" (Zech. 14:4).

Children in school learn what we call definitions. A definition is an explanatory statement which tells us just exactly what a certain thing is, as "an island is a tract of land completely surrounded by water." God also gives us definitions in His Word. He tells us exactly what certain things are. And, in the scripture just quoted He has told us exactly what heaven is: "Heaven is My throne." Now, let us make this a little plainer. Definitions of men can be given backward. For instance the definition, "An island is a tract of land completely surrounded by water," can be given thus: "A tract of land completely surrounded by water is an island." This is but another way of stating the same thing. It does not, in any way, change the meaning. Now, let us try this on the biblical definition of heaven. "Heaven is My throne" may also be turned around to say: "My throne is heaven." Whether we say that heaven is God's throne or that God's throne is heaven the meaning is still the same. We would do well to remember here that "heaven" is not a place away off somewhere in the ethereal blue, millions of miles distant; but "heaven I-S  M-Y T-H-R-O-N-E." God's heaven is the throne from which He reigns over the earth - yea, over all things! And God's throne IS HEAVEN.

Christ is the supreme Ruler of the universe. Christ always has ruled. He always will. The Father has given "ALL things" into His hand (Jn. 3:35). So God's "heaven" is His throne from which He reigns over the earth. The earth is physical and natural; God, on the other hand, is SPIRIT. God rules BY HIS SPIRIT, as the prophet declared, "Not by might, nor by power, but BY MY SPIRIT, saith the Lord of hosts (armies)" (Zech. 4:6). The reality of omnipotent power within God's Spirit IS God's throne! It means just this - God rules out of spirit. His power is spiritual power, His authority spiritual authority. The natural realm must always be acted upon by the higher spiritual realm.

The chemical elements in the soil of the farmer's field are lifeless and powerless. It is absolutely impossible for the inorganic mineral to produce any life or raise itself up into the kingdom of the living. The inorganic world is staked off from the living world by barriers which have never yet been crossed from within. No change of substance, no modification of environment, no chemistry, no electricity, nor any form of energy, nor any evolution can endow any single atom of the mineral world with the attribute of life. Only by the bending down into this dead world of some living form can these dead atoms be gifted with the properties of life; without this direct contact with life they remain fixed in the inorganic sphere forever. The law is: Except a mineral be born "from above" - from the kingdom just above it - it cannot enter the kingdom just above it. Let us UNDERSTAND! How are the inorganic, non-living mineral elements of the earth raised up into the organic kingdom of living things? You begin with a seed. Within the seed is a-germ of life. The seed containing the life is planted IN THE EARTH, in the kingdom of the dead. Once buried in the earth, with all the right amounts of water and air, and the right temperatures, the seed germinates and the life within the seed begins to grow. Finally the shell of the seed bursts and there takes place a release of the life from the seed. As the life is released it immediately SEIZES UPON the chemical elements in the earth, converts them into food, and then builds up living tissue out of matter that never lived! The inorganic chemicals B-E-C-O-M-E organic tissue! In like manner, the breath of God, blowing where it listeth, touches with its mystery of divine life the dead souls of men, bears them across the bridgeless gulf between the natural and the spiritual, endows them with its own holy and eternal and divine qualities, and produces within them these new and marvelous faculties, by which those who are born of the Spirit are said to SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD and ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Thus heaven, spirit, throne - these three terms are synonymous, bespeaking of the dimension of SPIRIT from whence God is revealed and by which the earth realm is quickened and made glorious. As heaven is God's THRONE - the sphere of His almighty spirit-power - so is earth His FOOTSTOOL the realm ruled over and transformed by the divine action of infused spirit!

God's footstool has been anything but glorious for the past six thousand years: sin, pain, fear, sickness, sorrow and death have made it one vast hell in which now at least five billions of humanity wait for the time when deliverance shall come, the curse shall be lifted, and life and glory shall break forth upon all nations and all the inhabitants of the world. To this end God has made abundant provision. The apostle Paul speaks of the appointed hour of the manifestation of the sons of God when all creation shall be set free from the bondage of corruption and ushered into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God (Rom. 8:18-22).

The first work of the manifested sons of God will consist in MAKING GLORIOUS GOD'S FOOTSTOOL. The earth is God's footstool - not merely that earth out there consisting of rocks, soil, water, and vegetation, but that "earth" which MAN IS, forecasts is OF THE EARTH, EARTHY: as is the earthy, such are they also that ARE EARTHY" (I Cor. 15:47-48). The richest jewel of the Lord's glorified footstool in that glorious age to come will be mankind in whose deliverance, regeneration, transformation, and likeness to God will be reflected the very image of Divinity, as most gloriously the perfected humanity reveals the honor, wisdom, nature and power of God and His wondrous plan of redemption, reconciliation and restitution of all things. The long age of the reign of sin and death is represented as the time when God "remembered not His FOOTSTOOL in the day of His anger (judgment)" (Lam. 2:1); but following the subduing of the nations unto Himself, the people are prophetically called upon to "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His FOOTSTOOL, for He is worthy" (Ps. 99:5). This beautifying and glorifying of the Lord's "footstool" will not be completed until our Lord Jesus Christ shall have "put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Cor. 15:24-28).

"Then shall the Lord go forth, and shall fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And HIS FEET shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (Zech. 14:3-4).

This prophecy is generally misunderstood, and applied to the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ at His second advent: and indeed, those who thus err generally go farther and assert that it will be the feet of flesh, pierced with the nails of Calvary; not realizing that now "the LORD is that SPIRIT" (II Cor. 3:17), and "YE are the BODY of Christ, and members in particular" (I Cor. 12:27), and "As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also IS CHRIST" (I Cor. 12:12), and it is "Christ IN YOU the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). Shall we now become carnal And say that the visible, flesh feet of the man of Nazareth who walked, shod with sandals, along the shores of blue Galilee are again to stand upon the mount of Olives east of Jerusalem? Cannot we see with the spiritual eye that we must discern the Lord's "feet" there in the same spirit and manner that we now discern the Lord's "body"?

The scriptures are positively plain that the glorious Christ of God is a many-membered body, with Jesus as the Head. The whole world is waiting for the manifestation of this new creation Man, God's corporate Son. Long centuries ago the prophet Isaiah peered through the telescope of divine revelation and exclaimed in astonished wonder, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the FEET OF HIM that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isa. 52:7). I would draw your prayerful attention to several things in this verse. First, Paul quotes this passage in Rom. 10:15 and applies it to the gospel messengers of the body of Christ. The word "beautiful" translates the Greek word HORAIOS which is from HORA, meaning hour, day, or season. Dr. Strong explains that HORAIOS means "timely," or "belonging to the right hour or season." Dr. Thayer says, similarly, that it means "ripe" or "mature." The spirit of inspiration is suggesting that the "feet" of him that publishes the gospel of peace bespeaks of a ministry that appears in God's APPOINTED TIME, bearing a SEASONED MESSAGE, proclaimed by a MATURE BODY that has grown up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ. It has nothing whatever to do with the popular distorted and diluted "gospel" proclaimed by the spiritual dwarfs called "ministers" and "preachers" in the harlot religious systems, which promises merely a partial salvation, and that for only a small minority of earth's teeming inhabitants. That only a handful of the billions who have lived and died on this planet will finally make it into the Kingdom of God is certainly N-O-T "good tidings of great joy that shall be to all people!"

Second, this One bringing good tidings, publishing salvation and proclaiming the reign of God is referred to as "HIM" - a singular and masculine. Not a bride, but a MAN. And the beauty of this One will be seen in His feet. "How beautiful are the FEET OF HIM." The same truth is stated in Nahum 1:15, "Behold upon the mountains the FEET of HIM that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" Again it is masculine and singular. And who is this One who brings good tidings and publishes peace? First of all it is our Lord Jesus Christ. "And it came to pass afterward, that He went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the GLAD TIDINGS of the Kingdom of God" (Lk. 8:1). "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching PEACE by Jesus Christ: that word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee" (Acts 10:36-37). "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to PREACH THE GOSPEL to the poor..." (Lk. 4:18). Now turn to Rom. 10:15 where Paul quotes this Old Testament passage about the "feet of Him," giving us the fuller revelation of what God is saying: "As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of THEM that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!"

I can assure you, precious friend of mine, that Paul was not ignorantly misquoting a scripture. The Holy Spirit is revealing here that the ONE who came two millenniums ago preaching good tidings, publishing peace, and proclaiming the Kingdom is NOW A MANY-MEMBERED BODY. And just as Jesus was designated Head of this body (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22), there is a company of this body that will be known as the feet, the part of the body in contact with the earth - His footstool! In a normal birth, the head is the first and the feet are the last to be born. So it is with God's glorious Christ, Christ the Head and Christ the body. We have arrived at the hour, my beloved, when the feet of the new creation Man are being brought forth into the fullness of His glory. It must be a work and a ministry wrought upon a company of saints still living here upon the earth. It must be the last members of the enChristed ones birthed into the fullness of Christ at the end of this age.

It is this "feet company" that I present to you today. Bill Britton wrote of this company: "The Word is full of this truth, giving the nature, characteristics, and activities of this great people. If the scriptures had so much to say concerning John the Baptist, Judas, and the first coming of Jesus, is it strange that there would be so much written about the people who come to the end of the age and bring forth the manifestation of the sons of God? We have many times read over scriptures that spoke of the Feet, and never gave it a thought. We never realized that God was speaking to us of a company of people that we were to be a part of.

"The great need for those who live here on this earth is that they come to a life of absolute perfection and purity. There can be no true and full manifestation of His glory out of a people who are loaded with sins and evil spirits. The FEET must be washed! Jesus warned Peter that if his feet were not washed, he would have no part in the glory of this Kingdom. He also told him that it was only the feet that needed washing. Speaking of His Church on earth in Eph. 5:26 He says: 'That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.' That sounds like a perfected company, doesn't it? You see, there is to be a people in the last days who come into a greater knowledge of His Word than anyone who has walked this earth, except Jesus. Even Paul said, 'Now I know in part.' The part shall be done away, and the perfect shall take over. For if we are to be perfectly washed and cleansed, we need a perfect understanding of His perfect Word. This New Creation Man shall be clean, perfect, no longer bearing the image of that earthy Adam. And to bring us to that, we need a strong cleansing agent. His Word, clearly understood, is that agent.

"Not only shall this feet company be cleansed by the washing of the water of the Word, but out of them shall flow a fountain of living waters to bring life to this world. The nations shall sit at His 'feet' to learn wisdom. This world will be set free from the bondage of corruption, and the rulership of principalities and powers in the heavenlies. Then the world will will sit at His 'feet'. That is they will learn from and be governed by a people living on who have come into the fullness of Christ. The glory of this people of God is spoken of by the prophet in Isa. 60:13-15. 'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I WILL MAKE THE PLACE OF MY FEET GLORIOUS. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down AT THE SOLES OF THY FEET; and they shall call thee, The city O the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.' Can you believe that? It's in the Word!

"All the glory of heaven is going to be manifested on this earth. 'I will make the place of My feet glorious.' Did not Jesus pray, 'Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'? My friends, let me tell you something: God is calling an end to this wicked age wherein man has rebelled against God and Satan has run rampant through the earth. But God has not given up on His creation, not even this physical ball of mud we call earth. HE IS GOING TO MAKE IT GLORIOUS. God has a surprise for the people of this world, and He is just about ready to spring it on them. Glory to God! What a Saviour! Did you know that the body of Christ will rule and reign on this earth? Are you aware that a living people are going to overcome all enemies, and that even the nations of the world shall be subdued under them? 'He shall subdue the people under us, and THE NATIONS UNDER OUR F-E-E-T' (Ps. 47:3). So the feet company of this glorious body of Christ shall bring the nations under subjection to the rule of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords! But first we must be brought completely in subjection to Him.

"There is a Babylon system to be overcome. We know that God has already decreed its fall, and as far as God is concerned, it is already overcome. But He is going to let His "feet company" tread down Babylon. This system shall be destroyed by a people manifesting the fullness of the Spirit right here on earth. In Isa. 26:1 we read: 'In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation shall God appoint for walls and bulwarks.' Now we understand that this is not a natural city spoken of, that this is the people of God, the bride of Christ, the Holy City. But notice in verse 5 that he speaks of another city, even Babylon: 'For he bringeth down them that dwell on high (Babel); the lofty city, he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. THE F-O-O-T SHALL TREAD IT DOWN, even THE F-E-E-T of the poor, and the steps of the needy.' Who are the 'poor' who shall tread down the 'lofty city'? In Lk. 4:18 Jesus said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.' And in Lk. 6:20 Jesus said, 'Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the Kingdom of God.' Yes, it is that glorious 'feet company' in the last days who hear the everlasting gospel of the Kingdom, and who press their way into that Kingdom, that shall tear down Babylon's walls and set her captives free! Don't expect an angel to come from heaven to perform this great task. This victory and this honor has been given to saints of God living here on this earth. And I can assure you that the saints who went on by way of the grave shall rejoice with the 'feet' in this glorious triumph (I Cor. 12:26). Notice what it says in I Cor. 12:23: 'And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have MORE ABUNDANT COMELINESS.' Yes, HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET!" -end quote.

When the Lord declared that the earth is His "footstool," surely no one will err and get the thought that God possesses a body like unto men and that the Almighty literally rests His feet upon the earth as a footstool! And if the placing and resting of Jehovah's "feet" is symbolic, and signifies His dominion from the throne of the spirit realm expressed through members of His body on earth, so, we may be sure that when the Word speaks of His feet standing upon the mount of Olives, and its peculiar division, its valley, the flight of the people, the waters of life from Jerusalem, etc., all are symbolic statements - word-pictures of grand and glorious spiritual realities.

Your understanding will be greatly enlightened when you are able to grasp the simple truths in this remarkable prophecy. The OLIVE is a symbol full of meaning. In Bible days it was the source of light, its oil being used to light the lamps of God's Tabernacle, as well as the homes of His people. Indeed, in the Hebrew the olive tree was called SHEMEN or "oil tree." Olive oil was also used as the basis of many of the precious ointments of olden times - such as that used in anointing the kings and priests, typifying the Holy Spirit upon the "royal priesthood" of the New Covenant (Ex. 30:24). And from time immemorial the olive branch has been used as a symbol of peace (Gen. 8:11; Neh. 8:15). If then the olive be the symbol of LIGHT, PEACE and BLESSING through the Holy Spirit, and if mountain be considered as elsewhere in the scriptures the symbol for a Kingdom, the significance here of the term "Mount of Olives" is easily seen to be - the Kingdom of DIVINE ILLUMINATION, PEACE and BLESSING. And the standing or establishment or fixing of Jehovah's "feet" upon it signifies that it is upon and from the ground or base of the Kingdom of God in the Spirit that the feet company shall minister illumination, peace and glory to the peoples of earth. Glory to God!

The anointing is upon the feet! The earth is God's footstool; and I do not hesitate to declare that we are living in the "feet" time of Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the great image (Dan. 2:31-45), as well as the "feet" stage of the development of the body of Christ. The feet company, or the sons of God in preparation in these days, must be anointed with the precious ointment or anointing that came upon the Head of this High Priesthood (Ps. 133:2). We know that Jesus was anointed with the Spirit without measure, that He had the seven-fold intensified Spirit of God (Isa. 11:2; Rev. 5:6), but what about the rest of the body? In the beautiful Old Testament type the anointing oil ran down Aaron's beard, on to his robe, and unto his feet. The Word tells us that we have received only a "measure" of faith, and knowledge "in part." Is it possible that God has ordained for a people living on this earth to be anointed with this same "precious ointment" of the seven spirits of God that the Head received? Yes, praise God! it is.

Mary of Bethany took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet as well.as the head of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. The ointment was worth some three hundred pence (Jn. 12:1-5; Mat. 26:6-13). Martha was there too, rattling pots and pans, still moving on the serving realm of good works and religious efforts, while Mary sat at the anointed feet of Jesus receiving something that would never be taken away! Think, dear reader, of the profound depths of truth that lie hidden in the great value of the precious oil that anointed the feet of our Lord! - three hundred pence. Three hundred is the number of divine deliverance, as shown in Gideon's army, Noah's ark, Moses' tabernacle, Solomon's shields, etc. The wonderful truth here revealed is that the "feet company" of the body of Christ receive the same unique anointing as the Head - the anointing for the deliverance of groaning creation! When the feet are anointed there is a beautiful and wondrous result - "the house was filled with the odour of the ointment" (Jn. 12:3).

Ah - the putrid stench of the death realm, a world filled with walking dead men performing twice-dead works, will be changed when the anointed feet of the many-membered Christ stand in power and glory upon the Mount of Olives, the heavenly Kingdom of light and peace and blessing. The awful stench of evil, fear, hatred, deception, greed, lies, murder, unfaithfulness, pain, torment, war, sickness sorrow and death will be replaced by the exhilarating fragrance of the precious ointment upon the "feet" of the Christ. By the power of the spirit the whole atmosphere of the world shall be perfumed by the heavenly aroma of the righteousness, peace and joy emanating from the anointed sons of God. The fragrance of His glory, His truth and His love shall fill and permeate the whole earth! God is anointing His feet in the world today, not with the literal ointment or oil, but with the seven-fold intensified Spirit of God.

The triumphant, victorious sons of God shall stand upon the Olive Mountain (Kingdom) and in the power of the anointing do battle with all the forces that oppose the Kingdom of God; they shall enter into every battlefield of human life, breaking every foe and conquering every enemy. They shall walk on tops of the mountains (kingdoms). "He maketh my feet like hinds feet: and setteth me upon my high places" (Ps. 18:33). Praise God, how beautiful are the feet! How we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory that we are privileged to live in this great hour of the manifestation of the sons of God, the bursting forth of God's incorruptible life through His many-membered Son. Be encouraged, children of God! Press on, saints of the Most High! Jesus is coming! And HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE HIS FEET!

In this passage of scripture (Zech. 14:4-8) so pregnant with meaning the inspired prophet has told us of the deep and profound events that mark the great and wonderful day which lies before us in these strange and remarkable words: "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be."

I would draw your attention to what takes place, a mighty upheaval of nature before which the people flee and, as if to tell us the natural cause underlying the upheaval, we are told that it is "as before the EARTHQUAKE in the days of Uzziah." This upheaval results in the splitting of the mountain and the formation of a very great valley; the land is turned into a plain and the light becomes dim, then brighter, until at evening it is brilliant as the noonday. And what causes it all? HIS FEET STANDING UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES! Yes, the earth is His footstool.

Here we see, then, that the TWO HALVES of the Mount of Olives (Kingdom of the Anointing) signify TWO ASPECTS or PARTS of the Kingdom of God, distinctly separated according to a divine order or arrangement. The separation indicates no opposition between the two ministries of God's Anointed Government. It is, on the contrary, for the purpose of producing the "Valley of Blessing" between - to which all who desire divine aid may flee and find delivering and transforming grace under the blessed ministry of both the Kingship and Priesthood of the sons of God. The removal of one part of the mountain to the north and the other part to the south is wonderfully significant. The original Zion, with its fortress of the Jebusites captured by king David, and made into his palace and throne, was located just to the south of Mount Moriah. On Mount Moriah to the north the priesthood served in the temple. On Mount Zion to the south David the king reigned gloriously. The Mount of Olives is located just across the Kidron Valley to the east, directly facing both Moriah and Zion. To remove to the north relates to Mount Moriah, the temple, and the priesthood. To remove to the south relates to Mount Zion, the throne, and kingship. Praise God, this ANOINTED KINGDOM is a Kingdom of both KINGS AND PRIESTS!

It is the glory of Christ and His many brethren as KING-PRIESTS that Melchizedek so wondrously prefigures. A new order has arisen in Jesus Christ. He is a King-Priest. And He has made us to be Kings and Priests, yea, a Kingdom of Priests, a Royal Priesthood unto God. "They shall be PRIESTS of God and of Christ, and shall REIGN with Him" (Rev. 20:6). The principal idea attached to the title "king" is that of authority and rule; to the title "priest" that of mediation, mercy, ministry and reconciliation, drawing men nigh unto God, and God nigh unto men. Why is Jesus seated as a priest upon the throne of the heavens? It is that men may be blessed, and that God may be glorified in man. As priest He lives only for others, to bring them near to God. He lives as king only that He might reveal the Kingdom - the power, authority and glory - of God in and through us.

JESUS IS PRIEST AND KING. The Lord Jesus is a Priest who is ever merciful and compassionate. He will and does meet the needs of man, but He is also the King who demands your obedience to His wise and sovereign will. Surely He will meet your needs, but He will also demand your obedience. We must learn about BOTH dimensions of the Melchizedek ministry. We cannot project a loving Priest apart from the firm discipline of His Rulership. And we cannot preach the Gospel of the Kingdom without the mercy and compassion of His Priesthood.

Do you want to be an overcomer? Then learn that the firstborn Son is Priest AND King. There is a great error abroad in the land today. There is a projection of a one-sided gospel to the multitudes that appeals to the flesh. This is how it comes across: "God loves you, God wants to forgive you, bless you, heal you, deliver you, solve all your problems, prosper you, fill you - God wants to meet all YOUR NEEDS." And that is tremendously true! But if that is our sole emphasis, if that is where our message stops, if that is all we tell God's people, then we are in trouble! If we make that priestly truth our priority, we will produce a race of spoiled spiritual brats who are immature and selfish, takers and not givers. And when the clouds of adversity and trouble roll in, when the storms of tribulation and fiery trial break in unbridled fury upon their land, as they surely shall, these poor folk will be frustrated, fearful, upset and angry with God when He doesn't come running when they quote their favorite "faith" scriptures. An unbalanced presentation of truth will produce unbalanced saints. And the land is filled with these today! They are all excitedly awaiting the "rapture"! Jesus Christ wants to reveal Himself not only as King, not only as Priest, but as KING-PRIEST. He is the King eternal and invincible. He is the Priest for the ages full of compassion and mercy. He shall yet arise in glory in His NEW MAN FOR THE NEW AGE and reveal Himself in a people as the great and conquering King and the merciful High Priest, and then all shall know Him. Every tongue shall confess and every knee shall bow and all men shall partake of the blessings that flow from the Mount of Olives, God's anointed Kingdom of King-Priests after the order of Melchizedek.

Let all who treasure the beautiful hope of sonship know that the principles of this anointed Kingdom are being established in the lives of God's elect today. The Lord must be King NOW. But He wants to be more than that. We first have to know Him in His Kingship, in His authority, rulership and government. The scriptures call Him a "righteous Governor." We have to first know Him as King. But why does He desire us to know Him as King? Why is it His purpose to set up the throne of His Kingdom in our hearts? So that He can make US to become kings. But that is not the end. He is not setting up His throne within us, just to make us kings. But He is establishing His throne in us and is making us kings in order that HE may be able to appear and manifest Himself in the midst of the kings as THE KING OF ALL THE KINGS. The world will never know Him as the King of kings until there are kings among whom He can stand and reveal Himself as King of the kings. Do not think you will be puffed up when you come into kingship - "Ah, when I become a king!" When you become a king, that is just the beginning. It is just the beginning of the opportunity for the revelation of Jesus Christ as KING OF KINGS. He will not reign THROUGH you until first He reigns OVER you. Furthermore, He is a Priest upon His throne. He is priest in our hearts. In this age only the church which is His body knows His wonderful priesthood. But the hour is coming when the priests of the order of Melchizedek shall touch all creation. You are only becoming a priest, my brother, my sister, so He can manifest HIS HIGH PRIESTHOOD through you. May God make this real to you today!

In these wonderful King-Priests the authority of God's law and the mercy and compassion of God's grace are brought together. It was, then, of this priestly kingship that David prophesied when he said, "Surely His salvation is nigh ... MERCY and TRUTH are met together; RIGHTEOUSNESS and PEACE have kissed each other" (Ps. 85:9-10). Mercy and truth are met together - praise God, what a summit meeting! These words are pregnant with meaning. When one contemplates the very impossibility of such an union, it is an overwhelming thought that mercy and truth are met together. Truth is harsh and demanding; mercy is lenient and lax. Truth condemns and devours; mercy covers and exonerates. Yet here, in the Melchizedek priesthood, these two incompatible forces are MET TOGETHER! Partakers with Him in this heavenly calling, when one actually becomes an ANOINTED KING, he shares that dominion, that power that is derived from the King of kings. And when one actually becomes an ANOINTED PRIEST, he shares that unlimited outflow of mercy, of compassion, of unqualified love that is derived from the heart of our Great High Priest.

The appearance of this DUAL MINISTRY (King-Priest) of the sons of God causes the formation of a "very great valley" known as "the valley of the mountains" - specifically the mountains of Olivet, Moriah and Zion - each symbolizing in its unique way the anointed Kingdom of the sons of God. Olivet bespeaks of the anointing, and the anointing rests upon Zion and Moriah - Kingship and Priesthood. The "valley" thus produced bespeaks of the hope of all mankind for deliverance and refuge from the travail of this dark world; and this valley would be one full of light - free from shadows: for the sun would stream through it from east to west. This speaks of the Sun of Righteousness and His full light of glory, truth and blessing scattering the shadows of ignorance, sin, superstition, and death, and healing and reconciling and restoring all who will flee to this valley of blessings, this valley of mercy and safety - for the Hebrew word signifying mercy is ELAIOS and is derived from ELAIA signifying an OLIVE.

Carrying the picture further, the prophet declares, respecting that day in which gradually the earth shall be made glorious as the Lord's footstool: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at EVENING TIME IT SHALL BE LIGHT" (Zech. 14:6-7). The day here referred to is in its beginning only partially bright, although in it the Sun of Righteousness arises and shines to scatter earth's miasma of sin, superstition, sorrow and death. Has it not been thus in the experience of God's elect? What LITTLE LIGHT we actually had in our spiritual beginning, when first the consciousness of Christ awakened and dawned within our hearts! How the light has grown brighter and brighter until today we are dazzled by the brightness of the illumination of His glorious mind! For the masses of humanity entering this day of the Lord it will at first be only partially bright, because it will be dealing with people after people, nation after nation, power after power, system after system, delusion after delusion, evil after evil, as the fallen race is progressively brought forth from the tomb of ignorance, sin and death, from glory to glory ushered into the illumination of God's perfect day.

Ah - it shall also be a day of battle, for in the same hour that the "feet company" are planted on the heights of the Anointed Kingdom, in the authority and power of the seven-fold anointing, WAR BREAKS OUT! "Then shall the Lord go forth and FIGHT against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And HIS FEET shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives ... and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee" (Zech. 14:3-5). How shall the Lord, the Spirit, fight? How shall those elect saints in whom He comes, fight? The Word of the Lord in its spiritual meaning does not describe for us the carnal warfare between nations. For what have wars between nations to do with the Kingdom of God? Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world (order): if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants FIGHT..." (Jn. 18:36). The Kingdom of God is not a Kingdom enforced by might of worldly armaments. The weapons of our warfare are NOT CARNAL, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (II Cor. 10:4). The weapon of the army of God is the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, the sharp two-edged sword of the spoken Word of God - a sword to smite the nations, not with the cruel force of merciless slaughter, but with the life-changing properties of TRUTH AND LIFE. The battle fought on the Mount of Olives, the Kingdom of the Anointing, is a spiritual warfare, combat between light and darkness, between spirit and flesh, between truth and error, between righteousness and evil, between life and death, between the customs and ways of THIS WORLD and the principles of the Kingdom of God. The anointed feet company of the lovely Son of God does not conquer nations by blowing away millions or with bullets and bombs and bloody savagery.

The apocalyptic description of the Christ setting His feet on the Mount of Olives and engaging in fierce warfare with all the nations that come against Jerusalem, portrays no literal conflict with carnal weapons. How utterly uncharacteristic of our precious Saviour that would be! "And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth" (Zech. 14:12). Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Atomic war? No. There are deep mysteries and profound realities in these significant words which the veil of the carnal mind has hidden from our eyes. When the Spirit of God draws aside the curtain of human tradition and interpretation and shines His light into the dark recesses of the understanding, all is made clear. Three beautiful spiritual principles emerge from the letter of the Word: (1) their FLESH shall consume away (2) their EYES shall consume away (3) their TONGUES shall consume away. When the truth of this dawns like a ray of sunlight in the heart, it is a life-changing concept and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory that shall come to every man who is the enemy of God that blessed experience in which HIS FLESH (fleshly nature) consumes away before the blazing countenance of God's Christ; his EYES (worldly understanding, carnal vision) dissolve away as he leaps for wonder at the revelation that bursts upon his consciousness from the presence of the Lord; and his TONGUE (speech, confession, outward expression of the inner nature) melts within him as the Living Word is implanted in his heart by the regenerating power of the Spirit, and from that moment grows and develops until its life consumes his old self completely and he can literally say in absolute truth. "it is not I, but Christ." Thus does God's Christ do battle! What a mighty victory! Hallelujah!

"And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be NO RAIN... there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles" (Zech. 14:17-18). There need be no question in the mind of anyone as what the "rain" signifies. The prophet Hosea declared, "Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and HE shall come unto us as the RAIN, as the latter and former rain unto the earth" (Hos. 6:3). There is a strange and foolish tendency in man to interpret the words of God with the carnal understanding. If you will take time to meditate upon this with the spiritual mind it will become clear that the "rain" in both passages quoted above is the VERY SAME RAIN. It is not the rain from the sky that is withheld from those nations which fail to follow on to know the Lord in His fullness in the Feast of Tabernacles, but the glorious RAIN OF HIS SPIRIT - the blessings and benefits of the Kingdom of God!

We are looking forward with great anticipation to God's Kingdom dealings with ALL NATIONS. Humanity is thirsting for these living waters from heaven! Let us not sell creation short. Arise, saints of God, and come away with the enChristed to the holy Mount of Olives, the Kingdom of the Anointing, the FULLNESS OF GOD. Can we not see, then, how simple a matter it will be for the overcoming "feet company" to administer help, deliverance and life to a weary and suffering world? For these shall be OVERCOMERS in the fullness of Christ's victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. Sin, sickness, or death shall have no more claim on them. They will be EVEN AS their Lord and Master when He walked upon earth and ministered among men. And more! We can easily understand, therefore, how the glorious gospel of Christ shall be proclaimed in power and great glory throughout the whole earth. There will not be a country, city, village or hamlet on earth that will be closed to THIS gospel of the Kingdom. Glory to God!

How refreshing it is to be assured that in that day of the establishment of the Lord's "feet" upon His footstool, there shall be no more "thick darkness," no more "gross darkness" resting upon the minds and hearts of the vast majority of earth's inhabitants; and at the close of that day, instead of growing darker, the world will have reached the high noon of its "light of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord," and its sun shall never set.

The Sun of Righteousness is the arising of the glory of the Lord shining in His full strength and majesty, dispelling the darkness, bringing in the day of victory, life and blessing. This day has already dawned upon us and shone in our hearts, but creation awaits its day. The scriptures are plain that the influence of the Sun of Righteousness - the glory of God upon His people - is destined to extend to the world and beyond to the farthest reaches of creation. "I am the light of THE WORLD," not just of the saints, said Jesus. And again, "YE are the light of THE WORLD" (Jn. 8:12; Mat. 5:4). John on Patmos, beholding with astonishment the glistering glory of the Holy City, New Jerusalem, exclaimed with the voice of jubilation, "And the NATIONS of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it ... and they shall bring the glory and honour of the NATIONS into it" (Rev. 21:24,26). To which the prophet Isaiah adds his testimony, saying, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the GLORY OF THE LORD is risen upon THEE. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but ... HIS GLORY SHALL BE SEEN UPON THEE. And the GENTILES (NATIONS) SHALL COME TO T-H-Y  L-I-G-H-T, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (Isa. 60:1-3).

The message is clear - there has been a dawn for us and, blessed be God! there shall be a dawn for all creation. The peoples of our planet will not remain in the icy clutches of an ever-deepening darkness until all hope is gone, until there is nothing but total darkness and death. No, light will appear - more light than the world has ever seen - at the arising of the Sun of Righteousness and the sending forth of His healing rays through the VALLEY OF BLESSING. The whole face of this old world is yet to be changed by the arising of the glory of the Lord within His people! The illuminating rays of glory will fill the earth, your earth, my earth, their earth, until all the shadows and darkness of night have been chased away. All the carnal thinking of man, all the delusions of this gross material realm, all the doctrines of devils, all superstitions, all human creeds and dogmas, all human precepts by which men are taught to fear God rather than to love Him; all political intrigues, all humanistic education and institutions, all the myriad citadels of sin and vice and crime, are to be swept away, replaced by the glorious KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD AND HIS TRANSFORMING GRACE. The Sun of Righteousness shall arise and arise until there is no more night anywhere in God's vast universe. "It shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light" (Zech. 14:7). No man anywhere will be able to escape the glory of God. WE ARE THE DAWN OF IT, the firstfruits, praise His name!

This glorious work commences just as soon as the "feet company" are established upon the "Anointed Kingdom" of God in the fullness of the King-Priest ministry after the order of Melchizedek. "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea; and the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day" (Zech. 14:8-9). Oh! We have understood so carnally, supposing as the natural-minded preachers have taught us, that this glorious prophecy pointed to nothing more than a physical Jesus descending upon the little hill of Olivet at Jerusalem, attended by terrestrial earthquakes and commotions, and natural waters flowing forth unto the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea.

The reference to the rivers of living waters flowing from Jerusalem during this day of the establishment of the Lord's "feet" upon the government of His footstool, is highly reminiscent of the corresponding testimony of Ezekiel (Eze. 47:1-12) and of John's revelation (Rev. 22:1-2) which, under this same symbol of living waters proceeding from the throne of the Kingdom of God, show us the restoration blessings going forth to all mankind by the overflowing of the spirit of life from the glorified body of Christ on earth. "In the last day, THAT GREAT DAY OF THE FEAST (tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This He spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive" (Jn. 7:37-39).

Jesus spoke of an artesian fountain of living water that would rise up in the soul, and flow forth to humanity in mighty rivers of blessing and life. It is the healing, life-giving stream that we read about in Ezekiel: "These waters issue out toward the east country (false religion, departure from the truth of God), and go down into the desert (spiritually parched; death realm), and go into the sea (raging, surging masses of wicked humanity): which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, that moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish (people, converts), because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh" (Eze. 47:8-9).

The coming manifestation of God through His sons shall utterly eclipse anything we have ever read about in the Bible or in Church history! This river of life has been flowing under the Mount of Olives and in the City of God, within those elect saints who as a firstfruit have experienced the powers of the Kingdom of God ever since Pentecost; we realize that. But soon it shall empty into the mighty oceans of humanity, bringing life and blessing to a dry and parched wilderness where no water is. "Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (Isa. 43:19). Let it flow, child of God - let it surge forward until it becomes a mighty Amazon in this desert-world of sin, disease, sorrow and death. As one has written: "Said Jesus, 'Out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' We are not looking forward, then, to some strange, foreign power ... some glory or some experience that does not really belong to us. But we are awaiting the RELEASE of the Divine flow which is now locked up in the hearts of God's people. We are 'A spring shut up, a fountain sealed..."' -end quote.

The world is thirsting for these living streams from the ANOINTED KINGDOM. The time is at hand when we may with all confidence expect the mighty EARTHQUAKE that will loose us from our carnal-mindedness and raise our consciousness to walk in the precious mind that was in Christ Jesus. From this glorious mind shall flow forth the seven spirits of God into all the earth in that glorious age and ages to come. Therefore, let us even now begin to rejoice in the NEW DAY, as the first rays of hope arise on the eastern horizon; let us arise to plant our feet on the Anointed Mount and drink in the intoxicating freshness of the morn! Hallelujah!

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