In this sermon, the preacher discusses the concept of growing for adoption and the end times. He references three verses, Romans 13:11, Ephesians (twice), and 1 Peter 1:5, which all speak about the future salvation and the redemption of the body. The preacher emphasizes that salvation is not just a spiritual concept but also includes the physical redemption of our bodies. He explains that attaining this redemption requires living in the spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body, and cooperating with God's power. The sermon encourages listeners to nurture their spiritual lives and endure to the end to be saved.

Praise you, Lord, for your wonderful love to us. So great, and your attention to the details of our lives, watching over us, Lord. We appreciate it. We pray your blessing on each family here, Lord. Keep them safe and healthy. Their loved ones safe and healthy. Help us, Lord. Help us, Lord. We know the enemy's always looking to harm. We pray you'll keep us by your power. Lord, this night we need to know what you are saying at this time to us, Lord. So we pray you'll help us in Jesus' name. Amen. I may have mentioned before, and I don't know if I answered this to you, but you remember I said I was really, could not put it together, where the Bible was saying should not perish and draw back to perdition and how this fit in with heaven and hell and all the others. Do you remember my saying I could not understand it? Did I ever tell you what I felt the Lord showed me on that or not? I never did? I didn't tell you about cause and effect? Well, I asked the Lord about why whenever it speaks about Christians living in the flesh, which it does frequently, it never cites the result of that living in the flesh as being hell or the lake of fire. Is that right? Hell and the lake of fire. You see, the rich man was in hell not because he didn't accept Christ, but because he was selfish and he didn't help the poor, and so he broke the law of Moses. So he was in hell because of that breaking the law of Moses, he didn't minister. The other people that you see in the lake of fire are the Antichrist, the false prophet, the nations that did not minister to Christ, brothers, are led away into Gehenna, Matthew 25, and then finally in Revelation 20, whose ever name was not written in the book of life. And these are the people who will end up in the lake of fire. Those are the categories. But when Paul talks so much about the consequences of living in the flesh, he never mentions hell, he never mentions the lake of fire, he mentions corruption. For example, in Galatians 6 verses 7 and 8, if you sow to your flesh, you reap corruption. And then in Romans 8.13, if you live after the flesh, you shall die. And then in Romans 6.23, where he's talking about choosing between slavery to righteousness and slavery to sin, he said that the slavery to sin results in death. And in John 3.16, that whosoever believes in him should not perish. And Paul, in all of his epistles, never once uses the word hell. Now we know that hell is a place, just the same as heaven is a place. These are places, actual places in the spirit realm. You can go to hell in the spirit realm, you can go to heaven in the spirit realm, maybe a whole bunch of other places. But these are places of punishment, the lake of fire. But whenever Paul talks about living in the flesh, the consequences of not following the spirit, he never once mentions hell. So I asked the Lord about that. And I said, Lord, I do not understand that at all. And I felt the Lord was going to explain it to me. And I think he did, but I thought that I had already told you. And I felt what the Lord had told me was that there are two different sets of results. And I didn't tell you that? Okay. Two different sets... Mike? I think you did, but you went to Daniel. Huh? Daniel 12, verse 2 and 3. Yeah, but I want you to get the model in your mind. Because I think it's very useful. There are two different sets of results of your conduct. One is the set of place. And the other is the set of condition. And they can work together, but not necessarily. And did I give you the illustration about how you could be in a warm and loving environment and be deathly sick, so your condition was bad, but the place was good. And by the same token, you could be in excellent health, but be in a situation that was very painful just from the environment. So your condition was alright, but the place where you were was not. So this is what I think the Lord showed me. And heaven and hell... Heaven and hell are kind of like rewards and punishments, but more to the point with the Christian, since he's not threatened with heaven or hell, is the law of cause and effect. The kingdom law of sowing and reaping. And whereas grace and mercy possibly could intervene and change the place that you would go, it will never in any way change the law of sowing and reaping. That is an unchanging immutable law. If you could sow one thing and reap another, you would be mocking God. That's why it says in Galatians 6 verses 7 and 8, and those two verses you should know, because they apply to Christians. And he says, if you sow, be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, he shall reap. That is, if you sow grass seeds, you're going to reap grass, you're not going to reap fruit trees. Whatever a man sows, he shall reap. That's a law of nature and a law of the kingdom, and it is not in any way modified by grace or mercy. Where does grace and mercy fit into the picture? Giving you the time to change? Exactly. Forgiving you and giving you a new start, so that you can begin to sow something that will have a worthwhile crop. But it never interferes with the law of sowing and reaping. What you sow, you're going to reap at some point or another. Even if you sow all your wild oats, and reap AIDS, for example, God may save you, but you're still going to die from the AIDS. The law of sowing and reaping is an inviolable law of the kingdom. And of course, the whole evangelical teaching is contrary to that. The idea is that it doesn't really matter how you behave, because you're saved by grace, which is a mishmash of nothing. It does away completely with all of Paul's warnings about inheriting the kingdom, which, by the way, is a condition, because the kingdom is not a place. So whenever he... Remember Jesus said that you won't say, low here and low there, because the kingdom does not come with observation? For the kingdom is within you. So the kingdom has to do with our relationship with God and Christ, which is, again, a consequence of sowing. So we're dealing here, in one case, with reward and punishment, but in another, with cause and effect. Cause and effect. Cause and effect operates in the kingdom. And that's why Paul kept saying, if you live after the flesh, you're going to die. Be not deceived, Galatians 6, 7, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, he shall reap. For he that sows to the flesh, you take that one first, shall reap corruption. See, now that's what I couldn't get a hold of, but I think I'm beginning to, and with your prayer and support and comments, we may arrive, because I think it has to do with the resurrection. See, the resurrection is far more important in the Christian gospel, according to the Bible, than is preached, or has been preached. Two major doctrines were lost almost immediately in the first century. One was the doctrine of the resurrection, which has not been re-established to this present day. And the other one was the doctrine of the coming of the kingdom of God to the earth. Both of those were lost, and God is restoring both of them now, because they're connected, they're related. Alright? So, we have not... The doctrine of the resurrection now is what God has had in my mind for some time. This is what the Christian church in America needs to learn about, is the fact of the resurrection. See, Satan has steered the church away from the idea of the bodily resurrection and away from the idea of the coming of the kingdom. To a flight to the spirit realm, without reference to your body. And if you don't think that's without reference to your body, you ask someone who believes in the rapture where the resurrection fits in. And you'll find out they have no idea, they don't know anything about the resurrection. So Satan, they don't care whether they're raised in their body or not. Who cares? You don't need one. And the reason for this corruption of doctrine is that Satan regards the earth and the material realm including your body as his own. He regards that as his own territory. And you can talk about heaven all you want to and he'll encourage you to go there because that is not what he wants. He wants the earth and he wants your body. And the minute you begin to tamper with your body, the resurrection or the coming of God's kingdom to the earth, you're going to run across all... you're going to threaten the church world terribly because Satan's going to go in there and fight like crazy because that, he wants the message of the rapture. See, he wants that. He wants us out of here. Now, yes? Where do you get that idea from that Satan wants the earth and he... And where he governs is where the air, the thrones in the air govern the earth. Let's see if there's other verses that tell about that. Huh? Jesus' temptation. Satan. Yes, he's been... They eat small animals, small living animals. They do not eat dust. So we take that, since the serpent was Satan, we take that as, you know, being symbolic. Yes? Animals are good. Small animals are good. Yeah, but when he says, on your belly you will go and dust you will eat, he's not talking about the little mice and things that snakes eat. He's talking about eating dust. Anyway, we're talking about Satan here. We know that it was not a snake that tempted Eve. We know that Eve was beguiled by Satan. So that's all symbolic. The trees of light, trees of knowledge of good and evil, and Satan, all that is symbolic language. We know the snake is Satan. And God says, on your face you will go. But in any way, we know from the second psalm that the kingdoms of the earth, and the farthest reaches of the earth, and the nations of the earth, are the inheritance of Christ and his co-heirs. We know also that the law of sin is in our members. And so we know that Satan regards this as his own territory. Yes? What does it mean to say, living in the flesh? Living in the flesh means devoting almost all of your time to eating, sleeping, working, playing, and reproducing. That's the life of the animal. And we do all these things, and it's normal, but we are supposed to devote our time and strength and attention to praying and reading the Bible, fellowshipping with the saints, and ministering. And not be giving all the time and energy of our life to eating, sleeping, working, playing, and reproducing, because that is the life of the flesh. And we live in the spirit by choosing to pray and follow the spirit of God, and that the flesh does not do. So that's where we begin to leave the life of the flesh and live in the spirit of God. Yup. And that's so important, because everything hinges on that. Because as we live in the spirit, moral transformation takes place in us, which is the preparation for bodily transformation. And that's why I say this thing is involved, this law of cause and effect, is involved with the resurrection. Okay? So we were back on Galatians 6.8. He that sows to his flesh, that is, he lives primarily in the appetites and desires of his fleshly body, which is the normal life of the human being, of the horse and of the dog. That's the normal life. Eating, sleeping, working, playing, and reproducing. That is the life of flesh and blood. Okay? But you know, God never intended that flesh and blood would be human life. That was never God's intention. That's only a temporary expedient. True life for a human is life lived in the spirit of God. Now, where we're half in the spirit and half in the flesh, and later, where we're totally in the spirit. That is the normal human life. And until we're there, we're still in a temporary arrangement. Yes. When you say in the spirit, though, that's confused a lot of times with having no body. Well, yes. Well, I explain to myself that I do not mean by that. I would call that being in the spirit realm. That's in a place rather than a condition. Being in the spirit is a condition. Being in the spirit realm is a place. Okay? Okay so far? Now, then, Galatians goes on in 6.8 and says, if we sow to the spirit, we will reap. Yes. And, you see, the thing is, the four steps of salvation are a real good orientation or start with God, but it gives the impression that at once you receive eternal life as a gift. But the truth is, if you take all the New Testament, we are meant to be in the pursuit of life. We are pursuing life. That's what our whole, the good fight of faith, the whole thing, you know when it says, but the gift of God is eternal life, it sounds like it's just something that's handed to you. But that's not the case. Remember he said to Timothy, lay hold on eternal life. And Jesus talks about in the world to come, eternal life. If you leave father and mother and houses and all this, you'll receive a hundredfold more in this world, and in the world to come, eternal life. So, many verses, and I'll read you some now, point to salvation in the future, and that salvation that the Bible speaks about, the Bible is not oriented toward a past salvation in your life, but to a future salvation. And that future salvation is eternal life in your body. And what we have now is called an earnest or a down payment. We don't have life as God wants us to have life. We are sealed to the day of redemption. It isn't here yet. The day of redemption is the redemption of our body, and that's the whole focus of salvation. We are in the pursuit of life. And if we sow, but life is a consequence, it's an effect of certain things we do. It's not a place. See, that's how the Lord explained to me. That's the answer, Robert, to your confusion. Because there are two sets of consequences. One is a set of place, which is all that the church understands and is utterly concerned with. But the other one is more important. It's the consequence of what you are. And the church always holds up to be saved by fire. Just as long as I'm saved by fire. To be saved by fire means that you are brought in to the new heaven and earth reign of Christ, as I understand the meaning. But you go in as a naked spirit. You have no reward. You have no body of life. I mean, you know, that a spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. That's one. And two, you're stripped of everything that we associate with the Christian inheritance. You just enter in with nothing. And maybe with so much part of your personality burned away, you re-enter as a child. And you say, well, that's cool. I don't care. I'm not ambitious. But when you see the rewards of glory and majesty and honor and power and the ability to be everywhere at once and the inheritance of people and all the other things that are going to accrue to the co-heirs of Christ, you're going to realize, I blew it big time. Because that was all in my hand. And I traded it for nothing. For nothing. Just for the frantic thrills of the world, I traded it. Or for the deadening security of material goods. Or to please the lusts of my flesh. Or so I could have my own way. For that, I traded the inheritance of a son of God. Now see, we're not talking about place now. We're talking about cause and effect. And that's why Paul was constantly saying to the Christians, you're not going to inherit the kingdom. You're going to die. You're going to inherit corruption. I get it now. I couldn't get that thing. For years, I couldn't get it straight in my mind. Well, the Lord explained to me. Bless His name. Alright, now I said that there are a whole bunch of scriptures in the New Testament. When you're sensitized to this, I'm just going to read you three of them, that tell us that our salvation is in the future. And once you become sensitized to that, you'll be amazed at how many verses there are in the New Testament that tell us our salvation is in the future. I'm going to find these, because this is a little book that I wrote today. It's called Groaning for the Adoption. And the one I wrote prior to this is called Cause and Effect. When I'm through, Eddie, tonight, if you want to, you can have this if you want to peruse it. Oh, glory, how fun, just be patient. In the meantime, I'll give you a verse to look at and consider. If I can find it. Alright. I found the three verses that deal with the end time. And the passage that we'll consider in a minute, maybe, is Luke 20, verses 35 and 36. Might want to be mulling that over. But here's three verses that tell you, and this is just a sampling that I just drew off the top. I didn't want to put too many, because these are going into essays, and essays don't look so great if they're nothing but scripture. Alright, Romans 13, verse 11. Romans 13, verse 11. And do this, referring to something that is spoken previously. Understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber. Because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. See, now, don't be fogged on what that salvation is. What is it? The redemption of your body. That's what Paul referred to as salvation. See, Paul, this whole thing, as far as Paul was concerned, was to answer his question, who will deliver me from this body of sin and death? In other words, how am I going to be rescued? I think NIV says rescued. How am I going to be rescued? The rescue is in the redeeming of your body. And then he goes on in Romans 8, and he tells you how to attain the redemption of your body, by living in the spirit, by putting to death the deeds of your body. That's how you attain salvation. It has to be attained. If I feel like it tonight, do you ever have any idea how many times in the New Testament it says we must be worthy of salvation? I'll read a few verses today if I get to it. You won't believe it, because we've been taught so long no one's worthy but Christ. I know Christ is the only one who's worthy in that sense. But several times in the New Testament it says you've got to be worthy of the kingdom. You have to attain it. You have to fight for it. You've got everything against you. It's trying to keep you from attaining the redemption of your body, because, see, that's an enemy. Physical death is an enemy. It comes from Satan. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. You've got to fight for it. That's why Paul says, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Think of it. That's the salvation. See how important it is? We've been thinking of salvation as a place. Salvation is a condition. Salvation is not where you are, but what you are. The purpose of salvation is not to move us from one place to another. It's to change what we are. And if you're not changed, the place of location, if we were to be brought... Alright, let's say the day of resurrection is here. We're called forth by the Lord and we stand on our feet and our flesh and bones. Now remember, we're not animated at this point by the Holy Spirit, by incorruptible life. We're animated and raised by the power that God uses to run the universe. Just the power of God. Not the incorruptible resurrection life that is the divine life of God's presence. That's the reward of sowing to the Spirit. But when we're raised from the dead, it's not by the spirit of life that we're after. Because, see, all of God's creatures have life. The wicked angels have power, if you want to call it that, that animates them. And that power that runs the universe will raise our flesh and bones. It's what happens after that. Is the expression, in Christ, is that generally conditioned or that's a condition? That's a condition. That's a condition. The whole thing is unconditioned. If it were a place, God would just forgive us and put us back in Eden and the whole thing would happen again. It is transformation that is salvation. Not a movement. It doesn't matter where you are, it's what you are. If you're complete in Christ, the second death, the lake of fire, couldn't even hurt you. You're going to walk on it like Peter walked on the water. In fact, one time, a man in vision saw Jesus walking on the lake of fire. Yes? Even more so than what we are, isn't it specifically who we are? Because in Romans 8.23, it refers to us. The one that gets the new name is the overcomer. So it's the change in what you are that brings about who you are. To a certain extent. Who are watching you with a jaundiced eye here. Alright. Another one is Hebrews 9.28. So Christ was once, was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people and he will prepare a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation. To bring salvation. And that salvation is what? The redemption of your body. That's what it's all geared toward. That's what John 3.16 is geared toward. Should not perish, but have life. And then we read in 1 Corinthians 15.22-23 that every man shall have life in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, and afterwards they who are Christ at his coming. We will be alive at his coming. So what we have now is called an earnest, which is an old word that means a guarantee or a down payment or like an insurance, a binder. A binder is probably as good as any term. It means something that you put down as a deposit. I think NIV calls it a deposit on something. We don't have the fullness of the Holy Spirit and that's our life. Our life is the Holy Spirit of God. And we don't have the fullness of the Spirit that we're going to have. We have a binder on it. We have a pledge of God, has pledged to us and we're sealed to the day of redemption, Ephesians says twice, to the day when our body is adopted. Our inward nature is born of God. Our body is adopted. Flesh and bone is adopted. Everyone is raised, as flesh and bones are raised, but it's what happens after that that is the resurrection, so to speak. And I'll show you why I use those terms that way in a minute. Yes? What does the word sealed mean in that? Sealed? No, I think you could think of it like this. Say a man was going through war surplus machinery. Say it had drill presses, milling machines, shapers, turret lathes and so on. All this expensive equipment, and some was rusty and some was not worth fixing or anything, but this guy was going to buy it all for a song and build a factory, and he goes through like this, and he says, tag that one. That's no good. Tag that one. Tag that one. Meaning that at some later time, you're going to pick up your option on it and take it. And I think that's about the way the sealing works. And God has put, and of course in the literal use of it, it's referring in those days when you sent a letter. You put some warm clay on it, and then you had a seal, your seal, it had an impress on it, and you would press it on that letter. And that proved that it was from you. And of course we have that now on the seal of the state of California. We have a seal for our corporation. It's a hand punch like that, and you punch it on paper and it leaves a seal in it. It means that it's established. God has said, that's mine. That one belongs to me. But as far as the spirit is concerned, what we have is a deposit. A deposit, a kind of layaway. But the trick is, if you're going to get the balance, what do you have to do? You have to sow to that. You have to lay hold on it. You have to nurture it. You have to give way to it. You have to follow it. You have to cooperate with it. To not do so is to live in the flesh. And the result is, that the spiritual life that you had dies, and out it goes, and you're left as a fleshly creature. You've killed your resurrection. See, the consequences are at the resurrection. Everyone's going to be raised, but it's what happens after that, that is the problem. Here's the third verse that talks about the future salvation. It's 1 Peter 1.5. Who through faith are shielded by God's power. That's a good way to think of it. Who are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Now, there are many such verses, and once you're sensitized to them, you'll be amazed. He that endures to the end shall be saved. It's a future thing. Salvation is past, present, and future. Now, it does not mean that at this time we can't know that we've been saved and enjoy the assurance and the blessing of God. We can. But the point is, it's like we're in a salvation that is moving toward a fullness. And so in some places, that fullness is termed salvation. But at other times, the entry point is named salvation. Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, we know we're saved at that point. But if we don't do what the Lord commands us, then we're not saved. Let me give you an illustration. It would be like, say, someone found himself in the middle of a minefield, and he could see that, you know, I don't know the path out of here. And someone would say to him, I'll save you just a minute. Now watch, and do exactly what I tell you. Step there. Step there. Do you see what I mean? I'll save you. Whoever calls the name of the Lord shall be saved. Yes, I'll save you, but you've got to do what I tell you. Because if you just say, hallelujah, I'm saved, and start charging out, and not do what the guy tells you, well, you know, the odds are not heavily in your favor. So, yes, whosoever, you know, he that believeth is baptized shall be saved. Sure, he'll be saved, but after, or he'll be cut out of the vine, if he doesn't bear fruit, if he doesn't sow to the Spirit. So there's way too much emphasis in current preaching is not in balance with the Scripture. It lays too much stress on the initial entrance into the plan of salvation that forgives our sins, we're born again, we receive the deposit of the Holy Spirit, assuming that this is a ticket that will get us into heaven. See, the whole thing is really unscriptural. It's way out of balance. The balance is on the future salvation. That's when everything is validated, the promises are fulfilled, and we're brought into what God has promised us. Any problem? Okay. Now, I want you to look now and see what you think of Luke 20, verses 35 and 36. And there's an incongruity here that we need to look at. And it appears in other places too. There's an incongruity here. All right. But those who are considered worthy, how do you like that? Whoa. You gotta be worthy. Of course, there's many, many verses. Oh, my goodness, I wrote down 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of them in the New Testament. You all know Revelation 3, 4. They'll walk with me in white for there. Worthy. All right. Now, anyway. Those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age, now he's talking to the Sadducees who didn't believe in the resurrection, so they were Sadducee. That's not original with me. You have to go to four square conventions to hear stuff like that. Taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage and they can no longer die for they are like angels. They are God's children since they are children of the resurrection. I really prefer the word sons there. The New American Standard uses sons of the resurrection. You don't happen to have your Greek there, do you, Tony? It's a quios or is it techno? Quios. Okay. They are sons of the resurrection. I like that expression. I think it's neat. But there's an incongruity here. Can anyone spot it? Well, it has to do with John 5, 28 and 29, our famous verse. Now, how does that go? You all ought to have it memorized by this time. I've said it so many times. Mark him like this. A-D-L-L. All that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth. Now, what is in the grave? Is it our body or is it our inward nature? We believe that's the body. We don't believe in soul sleep. We believe that when you die your body and your inward nature separate. Right? We believe that. All right. So, we're saying that all that are in the graves shall be resurrected in the conventional sense of the term. But you see, then that presents an incongruous relationship with Luke. Yes? Over here it talks about the first resurrection of Luke. It says from among the dead. That's something that has to be obtained. That's right. And that's a good way of looking at it because Philippians 3.11 where it says the exonostasis, the resurrection of among the dead. Okay. So, we see here that the word resurrection is used in two different ways. And that causes confusion just like we find out that salvation is used in different ways. Because on the one hand we merely mean the bringing up of the reassembling and animating of the flesh and bones of a human being who has died previously. That's what the word ordinarily means. But then we find that it's being used in a special sense to mean not just bringing up reassembling, bringing up, and animating but clothing with life. How many see that? That's very important because otherwise we get into inconsistencies. The point is as far as I can tell the scripture, and I'd be glad it would really make things a lot easier for my thinking if someone could show me that John 5.28 and 29 are not talking about the resurrection of our flesh and bones. Because then I'd have a neat doctrine and I could say what Paul means by perishing is you don't get resurrected. Boy, that'd be simple. But now we've got where we have to deal with two different meanings of the term. So what we would say is it's not enough to be resurrected. You must be resurrected. It's what takes place after you're raised in the primary sense that determines whether you are participating in Luke here. Your point in Luke that that says that this is a more special resurrection that we're not, we're to attain it. To attain it shows that it's not referring to everyone. It's not referring, well we could call it the plain one and the advanced one. That'd be good terminology. Over here in verse 36 where they're saying it says that Well yes. Although all this is talking about is the fact that they have attained, he was rebuking the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection. He wasn't really referring to their ministry and the release of the creation at this point. But there's no harm in looking at it that way. Yes Bill? Is this special resurrection in Luke? I mean can we call it the first resurrection or is it just something? No I don't think it's something different still. I don't think so. I say, first of all the Lord was answering the foolishness about whose wife shall she be in the resurrection. He was answering that foolish question that the Sadducees raised to prove there is no resurrection. And so the Lord was answering them according to their folly. Yes. He's answering them according to his folly. He says you don't know the scriptures or the power of God because those who are worthy to attain the age that's coming and the resurrection from the dead. See he's not emphasizing first or second resurrection. He's just saying those who are worthy to count that they're not in any trouble with whose wife it is. See because flesh and blood marriage as we know it will not exist at that time. There will be the marriage of the Lamb. So there's marriage. But he was answering them according to their folly. So you want to talk about flesh and blood marriage? Fine. Cool. It ain't there. Yes. Yes John. Two different aspects here. And shall come forth they that have done good under the resurrection of life and they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation. Right. Is that counted in one city? I think at least for myself we're assuming that the people that are raised in the sacrament you know what I'm saying. Other than the body that's called up out of the grave. Right. Well see that that is an area that is not explained. What happens at that now you're talking about Revelation chapter 20 verse 12. Okay. Where are the dead small and great stand before God. That's at the end of the kingdom age. The end of the millennium. Okay. All it says is the books were open and the book of life was opened and those whose names were not found written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire. And it doesn't say anything about the rest. So my question would be then what gets thrown into the lake of fire? The spirit? The body. You're rewarded in your body and you're punished in your body. You can tell this clearly from Revelation 19 where it says that the antichrist and the false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire. Now they never were spiritually alive in God. So we have to be talking about life in the body. So they were thrown into their bodies which of course agrees with Isaiah 66. Yes? So is John 5 of 20 28 or 29 the same as Revelation 20 verse 12? Is it the same resurrection? I've wondered about that and I'm not sure whether that's talking about the split before and after the kingdom age or whether the first resurrection of Revelation 20 verses 4 through 6 is talking about the elect and the priesthood whereas that other one in John 5 28-29 is talking about the sheep and goat nations. See the sheep and goat nations the sheep were led it says into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And as far as I can see that is the white throne judgment. It's Matthew 25 because when you try to put Matthew 25 the sheep and goat at the beginning of the thousand year kingdom age you run into bad problems. But if you put it over at the white throne judgment there's no problem at all. And what it shows is that those who were wicked in the sense that they didn't minister to Christ brothers it says were led away into Gehenna which is fire it's not Hades or hell it's fire and probably a Greek term for the lake of fire is Gehenna. So we see in Matthew 25 that those who God called righteous because they were not Christians they ministered to the Christians they ministered to his brothers they were just people of the nations these are the saved nations it says enter the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Now in order to enter into the kingdom you have to be born again. So it is it is my opinion that every person in the saved nations will be born again and will have a portion of Christ because remember it says there are some a hundred and some sixty and some thirty so I believe those members of the saved nations because everyone in the age to come will have a part of Christ remember it says in 1st Corinthians 15 that Christ will keep working at the kingdom until everything has been brought into subjection unto him and when all has been brought into subjection unto him then what will happen? Christ will be in subjection to the father will turn the kingdom back to the father so that did you get the next expression? God may be all in all so that means in every person in the final wind up will have a portion of Christ which agrees with Ephesians 1 10 that in the fullness of times he might gather together in one in Christ all things in heaven and on the earth so if you put those together what is happening if indeed Matthew 25 is a white throne judgment which I believe it is the judges will be Christ and those who were raised in the first resurrection those are the judges on the white throne and before them appear the nations of people the wicked are tasked everyone is rewarded in his body because man is not man unless he is in his flesh and bone body you are not man when you are soul and spirit so we are either rewarded or punished in our body as Isaiah 66 says they will go forth and look at the bodies of those who have rebelled against me not their inward nature but their bodies and antichrist and the false prophet were tasked in alive that is in their bodies we know that the word life refers to the body because in Revelation 20 verse 6 it says the rest of the dead lived not they lived not until the end of the thousand years which means they were not united with their body until the end of the thousand years if that is the case then what we are saying is in Revelation chapter 20 verse 12 that the dead small and great not members of the church but of the nations stand before God the wicked those whose name is for whatever reason it does not say wicked it says they are judged according to their works then it says those whose names were not written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire it does not say anything about the rest but if that is Matthew 25 the rest then entered into the kingdom of God and when the new earth appears they are there with a portion of Christ in them and comprise the saved nations but then to follow the type of the tabernacle the new Jerusalem is made up of the priesthood which is in two parts the holy of holies and the and the overcomers the holy place which is now one church but God's pillars his overcomers maintain their uniqueness then throughout eternity like David's mighty men and that's the way I see the picture that's the way I see it yes it sounds like some references that you said earlier that actually being born again is the resurrection resurrection no being born again means that you have a portion of Christ in you your inward nature is not is no longer just the damag you've been born again by the virtue of God in Christ you have actually been born again a new life has been born in you and that new life is the kingdom and the reason I said they were born again is because it says enter the kingdom now it could mean just enter the auspices of the kingdom the kingdom in that sense meaning the church which governs but I tend to think that everyone will have a portion of Christ because it says that God may be all in all and God can't be all in all and all things can't be gathered together in Christ unless these people have a portion of Christ however I wouldn't I wouldn't fight with anybody about that yes do you feel that the kingdom that ultimately will be is both consequence and the place or is it the place follows the consequence it's no good bringing us to a place until our the effect of how we lived has been established and then we belong one place or another but you see it makes room for the weak Christian because he's brought into the right place but he has no reward and see that accounts see Christians today have a simple dichotomy either you're saved in heaven and everything's perfect or you may not be the greatest king in the world and they may not send out the band to play when you die but basically you've made it by grace where on the other hand all these yokels are in the fire to burn forever see which is really mythical it's not what the scripture teaches but if the church today ever in America the evangelicals ever get wind of the fact that in all their carelessness and slop that they've been doing what they're going to be facing is an angry Christ they're going to be facing outer darkness you know having their talent taken from them and lashes and loss of reward and contempt and all these things and that grace will not modify this whatever we're not talking here about place but about condition we're going to see revival in America and the scripture teaches it so clearly it's pitiful it does not teach this heaven hell dichotomy at all sure there's a heaven and sure there's a hell but what good is it if you yourself are you know I was thinking today let's say you're resurrected you stand up in your flesh and bones and you're standing wondering what's going to happen well here comes the robe your clothes it's all spotted it's all blemished with unforgiveness and hatred and slander and everything else that's never been confessed never been repented of and here see this is when people this is when people see today people can't see what we are but in that day they can tell what you are by your body because it will reflect what you are oh you know so here you are and here you're looking at the victorious saints and they're with Christ and they're all you know it's all light and beauty and glory and everything and you look down at yourself and you're in a filthy garment what are you going to do? what are you going to do without Christ saying anything? what are you going to do? and what else? that's what Adam and Eve did you're going to try to hide you're not going to want the people to see you and so you yourself are going to leave the light and go into the darkness you're not going to need anybody to put you in there you're going to choose that and Marietta Davis in her vision said that's just exactly when she was brought up in the presence of the saints and saw her her heart was made revealed for everyone she just turned and just bowed down into hell to get away she said that torment was worse than anything you could imagine of being in that holy light and you yourself in a wretched state of darkness that's the problem with the difference between effect and place it makes a big difference in where you're placed depending on what you have become so our goal is not heaven our goal is transformation heaven will take care of itself those who are transformed will always be in paradise because it's just their natural environment those who are not transformed would be miserable in paradise they don't belong and they know it so there's a tremendous significance in this two sets of results of how you live Bill is it true that heaven and hell are places in the sense that they're not going to last we know that hell is going to be cast into the lake of fire the lake of fire will be eternal heaven and earth are going to change maybe that definition is referring to the sky but once the kingdom is in place that will last it's possible I don't know you see we have our concept of heaven is really paradise we're really thinking of what was on the earth in paradise we're thinking of God we're thinking of Jesus we're thinking of holiness we're thinking of light and beauty and everything we're thinking of paradise well it's been moved back into the spirit realm but there are things there in the spirit realm that we would not be comfortable with we would not be comfortable with the cherubim we would not be comfortable what we want is God and the saints and holiness and the light and beauty of paradise that's what we want so whether God will leave a place in the spirit realm called heaven where the angels reside or whether the angels will come down to minister to the sons of God I don't know once God comes to the earth in the holy city with the saints and with Christ and to save nations and the whole thing to go back into the spirit realm would be kind of anticlimactic you know probably go there if you want to but I don't know the two realms are converging see that's the thing the two realms are converging and so in that sense they're not places like that they're really dimensions they're really dimensions and once they converge I don't know whether there will be any difference because that word uranos in Revelation 21 is probably sky and can be translated sky yes? will there be respecter of persons in heaven? will there be respecter of persons in heaven? respecter of persons? you know if there's different levels of graciousness that are more close with when we're in heaven won't there be levels of like these people are greater than these people oh yes oh yes greater greatest and least in the kingdom oh my goodness yes and honor glory these all belong to God and we are never to usurp them but God gives them to whomever he wishes just like he did to David he said you want to build me a house let me tell you I'm going to build you a house I'm going to make you a name man I'm going to make you famous did the same thing to Solomon he put glory in Solomon see we're never to take to ourselves glory but God does you know father glorify them with the glory I had with you before the world was no the glory which thou gavest me I have given them remember John 17 glory and honor oh yes those that turn many to righteousness shall be as the stars that shine forever oh yes the kingdom the kingdom is a place of rank and glory rewards my my my indeed it is does that make well respect your persons is used as I remember in the new testament where God favors one and not another God is not a respecter God is not the question is if there is some more honor than others is that not respect some more than others no that isn't God is if God chose to exalt David and give him a name as he did it wasn't because he David was his favorite election and because David sought God with all his heart even though he sinned he still was a man who sought God with all his strength and that's why he was a man after God's own heart but God did not say now I'll play favors with you and not with you the moment David sinned bang and if one of God's highly placed lords in the coming world should choose to rebel he'll be hurled down to the lake of fire just like a fallen angel so God is not a respecter of persons and that he plays favors but there will be ranks yes the next verse after this is in Acts 10 34 Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted he just doesn't play favors but ranked greatest and least in the kingdom he that will do these things and teach others so should be great in the kingdom he that breaks one of these commandments to each other so should be least in the kingdom now the point we're in the pursuit of life now it isn't enough just to be resurrected let's look once I was going to tell you some of these verses about worthy someone read because this is a good antidote for the endless thing we've been taught we're not worthy but we're saved by grace someone read Matthew 10 37 anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me you have to be worthy of Christ you have to be found worthy of Christ ok Luke 21 36 he only is on the watch and pray that he may be able to escape as a prisoner for the Lord then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received yeah we have to live we can't just flop around we have to we have to respond to God's call with a worthy behavior 1st Thessalonians 2 12 what does it say does it have the word worthy encouraging comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God how about 2nd Thessalonians 1 5 and then 11 2nd Thessalonians 1 5 and then 11 worthy of the kingdom and then verse 11 therefore all who have reason to put confidence in the flesh I have more circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of Hebrews in regard to the law of Pharisee as for zeal persecuting the church as for legalistic righteousness faultless but whatever was to my prophet I now consider loss for the sake of Christ what is more I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ now that boys and girls is an astounding remark Paul toward the end of his life trying to gain Christ now put that together with contemporary teaching at the end of his life trying to gain Christ trying to gain Christ remember he said to Timothy to live righteously and read the Bible and do all these things that you may save yourself and those who hear you now that found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law see again Paul is reacting against the law not against righteous behavior but against the law not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith and that you have to interpret that and define that in terms of that I may gain Christ it's not it's not that I believe so I'm justified the idea is I'm living by depending on Christ for everything counting everything loss to gain Christ and it has to be interpreted in that way the righteousness which is of God that comes to us as we turn away from our own life and embrace Christ does that make sense to you that means I don't do anything just believe that doesn't fit the context alright I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection interesting I want to know the power of his resurrection here was a man who was really being beaten down and crucified by circumstances and being raised up by the Lord changing from flesh and blood energy and power and wisdom to resurrection power and wisdom and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings and I think that you know that we may look back and say to us that like him or it may be talking about the sufferings that he's experiencing now to a thought the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow and we share in those sufferings of humiliation of rejection by people of being denied the things Christ was denied through his life was brought down into the dust became a servant not being able to grasp his kinship becoming like him in his death and so somehow and this is what is so remarkable to attain to the resurrection from the dead so how's the word being used there it's not being used as that primary animation of the flesh and bones but something far beyond that if Paul hadn't reached it by this time and the fact that he hadn't reached it and the fact that he was striving toward it yeah having done all this having lost everything for Christ and and if somehow by doing all this I may attain the resurrection and then we talk about a stupid rapture it is so out of sync with the scriptures that it's pathetic because you can't have a rapture before you have a resurrection that cannot be 1 Thessalonians 4 says the dead are raised then caught up you couldn't be caught up in a rapture before your before your body was raised and the fact that the resurrection has to be attained by a man who is exemplary shows us the depth of the apostasy that we are in in America we are far off the mark I mean every Christian should be a fighter pressing forward each day and encouraging all his brothers come on press on don't let anything distract you lay down your life press on maybe you'll attain the resurrection so we're in the pursuit of life we are in the pursuit of eternal life that's what we're pursuing that's what's lost in Eden and we are pursuing it and of the three dimensions of transformation that are needed in our personality 1 deliverance from finding our security and survival in the world 2 being delivered from the loss of our flesh and resisting them and 3 not trying to save our life but giving ourselves to God even though it may mean many years of denial of those three dimensions of moral transformation that are necessary if we're going to attain the redemption of the body which of the three is Paul talking about in Philippians 3 which of those three is he talking about discipleship and escaping the bondage of the world system or is he talking about overcoming the loss of the flesh or is he talking about his own fierce determination to be an individual separate from God which of those three is Paul those three is he talking to be an separate from God which of is he talking his own fierce determination to be an individual God which of those three is he talking about his own fierce determination to be an individual separate from God which of those three is he talking his own fierce determination to be an individual those three is he talking his own fierce determination to be an individual which of those three is he talking to be an individual separate from God which of his own fierce determination to be an individual separate from God which of the veil of the tabernacle death to self not death to the world not death to sin but death to your right to be yourself and that's the hardest death by all it was where Satan rebelled I will be like the most high and is the source of all sin but it's the hardest to get rid of because you can't have it cast out of you yes democracy is the absolute antithesis of the kingdom of God. By the way, the United States is not a democracy. We're trying to make it a democracy, but the scholars of politics have known from ancient times that the surest way to chaos is through a democracy. We have a republic, but we're making a democracy by the polls. I don't want to go into that, but the spirit of democracy, the rights of people, is the very nature of Antichrist. The very nature of Antichrist. Yes. Yes. As you know, America, I've been wondering, they say America is Babylon, I don't believe that. Babylon has to do with religious pride, not political pride, but you know where it talks about the beast being wounded and then recovering? I wouldn't be surprised if the United States, which right now is the only, hey, that was a marvelous article, you can get more like that, buddy, please remember me, that was a marvel, but the United States is the only existing superpower right now. So we are, and we're trying to force our system of self, you know, the rights of the individual. Singapore nailed that, you know, they said, which is the only one of two nations in Asia that is coming through this, where Japan is going down and all the other rest of them. Singapore and South Korea are the only ones that have what looks like a viable economy at this time, and Singapore says the problem with America is they're stressing the rights of the individual over the rights of society. I mean, they got us psyched out good, and they figure we're a more abundant culture, just going downhill in immorality and self-seeking. Well, you know where it says in Revelation that the Antichrist suffered a great wound? I think we're coming to a war that is going to bring America right down to her knees. And it could be where it's talked about where the Antichrist had this terrible wound and then recovered with the help of the false prophet, and the false prophet is self-seeking Christianity, because it comes out of the soul and has the power of the lamb, the horns, but it speaks with the voice of the dragon. And since we are the only superpower, we're the only one in the world advocating and promulgating the rights of the individual, man is his own god. The Arab states are a feudal system, they don't promote that. Russia is reverting back into a communist system because of the failure of democracy, and all that Russia has done is destroy itself, so she's reverting. China wants nothing to do with it. See, these major powers are coming up, and they are against this idea of the rule of the individual. They're interested in the rule of the state, the rule of society, the good of society. So that the only real power in the world today that's promoting the Antichrist's values is America. And every time I go to prayer, what I'm hearing, I've never heard it before, it's been consistent for a month, war, war, war, war, and catastrophe. Not the end of the nation. God has promised me there's going to be a revival in America, and that we're going to have righteous government at all levels, but in order to get there, we are going to be smashed, big time, if I am hearing from the Lord. And boy, do we need it, because we're poisoning the world with our Hollywood stuff and our pornography and all this, we're poisoning the world, we're poisoning the world, this is exactly what we're doing. But worse than that is this idea that man is his own God. We're poisoning the world with this thing. And it's the exact opposite of death to self. And death to self is the only way you get from God fruitfulness and dominion. They come only through death to self. And so when Paul here is striving to attain the resurrection, he's going just the opposite of the American ideal. Everything that was gained to me, I count as rubbish. That I may live by another power, and that I may share his sufferings, he's opposite of the American ideal. But that's the only route to the resurrection, the first resurrection, the resurrection unto life, the only route is through death to self. Because God will not give his glory to another until we forfeit our right to be a unique individual separate from God. God cannot share his glory with us, we're another God in the universe. We're made, we were created with a throne room, we were created to be part of God, and when we're not part of God, we're a wandering star, and that's all you can say about us. All I'm saying is, let Jesus live in your heart. Shall we stand? Boy, we've been in deep waters tonight, whoa. But the Lord is good, isn't he? And I find his saints are getting hungry, they want to know these things. They just eat it up, and I rejoice to see it. Lord, we give you thanks tonight, Father. Hallelujah. Lord, you have moved among mankind. You have seen fit to seal us, but we know the only route up, Lord, that we may attain life. Lord, we're going to pursue it, lay hold on it. Lord, help us, help us. And Lord, to share what we have with others as you make the way, Lord. Oh, hallelujah. That we may lead a whole train of people into your resurrection glory, into your kingdom, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for showing us the way of salvation. Thank you, Lord. And now, Lord, we pray that on each one of these people and their families, one of us, Lord, keep us safe on the highway, good night's sleep, awakened in the morning, fresh, strong, and ready to serve the Lord. And again, we love you and thank you, Lord, for some understanding of your word. In Jesus' name, amen.