Please remember to express your wish to remain on my mailing list if you have not contacted me over the past 12 to 18 months. Thank you.
"ON EAGLES’ WINGS MINISTRIES"
“The restitution of all things” September 2016 Part 5
The title and subject matter of this study herald a truth that cannot be denied. It mirrors the very heart of God, and sets before our very eyes what God has willed and predestined before the foundation of the world. No matter what school of thought we were raised on: and no matter what form of doctrine became the bulwark of our religious training; one undeniable truth stares us in the face: that indeed there will be “The restitution of all things” back to God. When we lift up our eyes from the turmoil and consternation among nations, and look more closely at the Divine plan outlined in scripture, we stabilize the inner man: we settle and be at peace with the unfolding of all that matters to God.
We, and creation itself, is governed by the law of circularity; and as we usually say, “What goes around, comes around.” Here is the biblical account for that concept. “For of him (because of him or out of him) and through him, and to him (that is back into him) are all things: to whom be glory forever.” Romans 11:36. So when we add Colossians 1:16 to the conversation, we cannot help but conclude that God fills all— and is in all. After all, “in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28. As Paul wrote: “And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” 1st Corinthians 15:28. There is no room for doubt or vain speculations. YES! ALL THINGS SHALL BE SUBDUED UNTO HIM!! And it does not matter what our church doctrines say!
I usually say from the pulpit: “God will work with, or without us. Because of that I make myself available to work WITH HIM—as a co-worker or laborer.
We mentioned earlier that the church as we know it; even if we include the “Deliverance and Pentecostal Ministries” over the great periods of church history, spent time, energy, and financed multitudes of foreign missionaries, all for the saving of the souls of the lost. As soon as a sinner comes to Christ and settles in the church, the task is just about finished. The child of God is then gradually being prepared to live with Christ one day in heaven. One would think that Jesus Christ, after his death and burial would pronounce that his work was finished. But we learn that even after his death and burial, he went and preached to the spirits in prison who were disobedient to the preaching of Noah. Watch this carefully! These spirits in prison dated back to Noah’s flood in about the year 1656 B.C. So for nearly 2,000 years these spirits remained locked up in prison to whom Christ ministered: and led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Ephesians 4:8-10.
But for any of us standing on the slopes of Mount Ararat, with total devastation and the end of all human life, would conclude to ourselves that all humans thus destroyed will remain in total oblivion until judgment day. “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
1st Peter 3: 19; 4:6. I am trying to remember as far back as when I was a child in Sunday school, and through the many years of being in the ministry, I cannot remember hearing a sermon or being in a bible class where the concept of preaching to the dead was ever taught. In fact, to the contrary, the very mention of preaching to the dead is quickly rebuked and forbidden by our elders. Preaching to the dead is being characterized as tapping into the occult and must be shunned at every level. The good thing for Jesus after his mission to the lost souls in hades, is that he did not have to give an account to the elders and chief priests of the church.
Although Paul did not elaborate on the subject, he made references to it in passing. “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”1st Corinthians 6:3. So then, the angels mentioned in this verse of scripture do not mean the pastors, as messengers to the church as many would have us believe. Angels in this case do not pertain to this life. And Paul is saying that if we are to judge angels that belong to the realm of spirit, shouldn’t it be much easier for us to judge things that pertain to this life?
Let us do a second take on what Paul introduced and mentioned in a previous chapter. “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things (in every realm that we care to mention or even invent) by Jesus Christ. To the intent (the main purpose) that now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places (in the realm of spirit) might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3: 9-11.
So Jesus Christ, in going to preach to those who died away back from the days of the flood, opened to us a path forward for our ministry to extend beyond the saving of the souls only of those who are alive: and as soon as they are dead we simply close the book and walk away, falsely thinking that there is no more that we can do. This study is meant for us to reach out and pull the curtains back, ever so small; but enough for us to begin to look beyond this physical realm, and to begin to acquaint ourselves with the dynamics of the ministry beyond the veil. Keep this thought before you as we move forward: and in doing so ponder and determine how you will adopt yourself to the truth that “We shall judge angels also.”
Some years ago I ministered to a group in Clovis, California which is a small suburb of Fresno. During my fellowship with the pastor after one of the services, we talked about the fact that the whole creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. The pastor asked: This was written two thousand years ago; how much longer must creation wait to be freed from the bondage of corruption? I must confess that at that time, I did not have an appropriate answer to the question. But in recent weeks as I continue to write this series, answers are coming to me for questions that continue to be asked for the past several decades. Some of us have been in weekend Son-ship conferences, and have attended meetings in hotels conducted by masters in the ministry of the Kingdom and Son-ship. We can call to mind people like Elwin Roach, J. Preston Eby, Peter Demetris, Kelley Varner, and many others. These pioneers in what we call the “End-time ministry of present truths” have taken us far, wide, and deep in our understanding of the pending unveiling of the sons of God. One speaker in a meeting in Southern Florida pointed out to the host pastor that he is already a manifested son. However, by the time we conclude this series, I think we will get a better timeline and circumstances of the manifested sons of God.
I was ordained in London, England in 1968 by the efforts of one of Thelma Chaney’s representative in the U.K. I had a chance to meet Sister Chaney in Brooklyn, NY; and she had the opportunity to minister for a week with my mother in Darliston, Jamaica. Sister Chaney published some remarkable works such as “Sonship—the great break through.” But the Spirit of revelation is now lifting the cover off what can be deemed as “hidden truths” and Paul indicated that these truths which from the beginning of the world, hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. From ancient times, people have always wanted to know God’s timetable for events that will impact the whole created universe.
At the temple scene, the disciples wanted to know, “When shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming?” Or the sign when they shall happen! Just moments before he was taken up into the heavens, the disciples asked Jesus: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6. As a product of these questions and expectations, many from the first century have been predicting the imminent return of Christ to earth.
History tells us that even from the first century, people have been ridding themselves of their earthly possessions, taken to mountain tops, and readied themselves for the imminent return of Christ—which of course, still has not happened to this day—March 2016. However, I remember being told by the Dean’s wife at Bible College that the bible answers itself; and all we have to do is search diligently. I think it is appropriate for us to go back and take another look at Paul’s account of pending events. Before long we will observe the fact that creation is cognizant of events that are designed to bring freedom and lasting prosperity to every aspect of its own existence.
Here is where we begin! “For the earnest expectation of the creature (the created universe) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly (not of its own will) but by reason of him (God himself) who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Paul went on to acknowledge our place in the pending unveiling: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, (those who were given the “earnest or down payment of the Spirit”) even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption” to with (or to experience or to appropriate unto ourselves) the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:19-23.
As I alluded to a while ago, this passage of scripture and the message it conveys has been preached and written about for a mighty long time. But, seemingly, we somehow missed the Spiritual dynamic woven into the lesson. We, along with the whole creation, have been waiting in labor pains. And what are we waiting for? The redemption of our body! We have explained this before in other publications, but we are going to look much closer at certain nuggets of truths that will shed total light upon the events that were birthed in the mind of Christ before the world was. Yes, we are waiting for the redemption of our body! This is not by any means addressing the salvation of our souls. To wrap our arms around this, we need to study the word redemption mentioned in two different verses of scripture.
We read in Hebrews 9:12; “neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” The Greek word used for redemption in this case is lootrosis, which means a ransoming—to redeem: and Paul wrote to Timothy saying that Christ gave himself a ransom for all. 1st Timothy 2: 6.
But when we look at the same word “redemption” as used in Romans 8:23; we notice that the Greek word used is: apolootrosis, meaning ransom IN FULL, riddance, deliverance, or the loosing away of all restrictions presently known and is being lived by all of us. Apolootrosis is commonly understood to mean metamorphoo from whence we get the word metamorphosis—like a caterpillar being changed into a butterfly. I am a true believer in “salvation of the body” that was bought and paid for by Jesus Christ himself. Millions of Christians around the world claim to be “born again” and in many cases I assume that they have no idea of what the term means. Jesus made it quite plain in saying: “That which is born of the flesh IS FLESH; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. To incorporate this concept with the redemption of our body in Romans 8:23, we have to bring the next verse in John under the microscope and carefully, prayerfully, unwrap the contents by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Ephesians 1:17. So let us go back and join Christ in his dialogue with Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews.
This is the missing link in the ministry of Son-ship and the Kingdom: and remember that what we are about to say is inexplicable if addressed to the natural mind, especially a mind that has been taught and redefined by text books, and hours spent in the classroom. Jesus said: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8. Even the untrained mind is likely to conclude what the meaning in that statement really is. (Everyone that is born of the Spirit moves like the wind—that is what Jesus alluded to.)
Let us not forget that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples in a room and ate bread and fish before them. Then, he disappeared from their midst, not having to open the door—it was as if he vaporized and disappeared into thin air. Why was he able to do that? Because his body had already gone through his metamorphosis: and it is that process we are waiting on. But in the meantime, Paul indicated that “he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit.” This opens the door!
So having received the earnest of the Spirit, the down payment called the Spirit of promise, we are sealed unto the day of redemption—that is, the redemption of our body. According to what Jesus said, he that is born of the Spirit moves like the wind. Many years ago in London I asked my pastor to explain that verse. He said Jesus was only showing how one is born again. (The process itself) But deep in my spirit, I knew that Jesus was saying something much more deliberate, divine and profound. Perhaps it is reasonable and safe for us to conclude that this concept of what being born of the Spirit really means, is too farfetched for preachers to preach and for teachers to teach. But I know in my spirit that the time has come for us to open our hearts and minds for this great event that is knocking at our doorsteps. It is as if Paul took us by the hand and moved back the curtains and gave us a glimpse of how the process works.
Watch this carefully: “But we all, with open face (having our face uncovered from the traditions of the elders and fables being sold to the masses) beholding as in a glass (in a mirror) the glory of the Lord, are (being) changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2nd Corinthians 3:18.
We can well remember the song we enjoyed in Son-ship meetings; “The cells of my body, speak forth a new life: Every atom radiates God’s glorious light. Rejoice O earth at the sound of my voice: I am a new man walking, I never walked before.”
It seems to me, from the scriptures I offered in this study, that creation AND US are equally waiting for the apolootrosis which will be our true metamorphosis when our bodies are changed like unto his glorious body; when all limitations and restrictions to which we are now subjected, will be removed and as the word indicates, there will be complete riddance of the mortal flesh in which we now live.
Creation knows it is going to happen and is waiting on tip toes for this event to break forth across every hill and valley: when a new breed of people shall begin to walk across the land moving like the wind as Jesus alluded to. Hallelujah!!
In His Service—Royce
Please remember to express your wish to remain on my mailing list if you have not contacted me over the past 12 to 18 months. Thank you.