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STAND& COMFORT Newsletter PART 2: THE FATHER'S PRE-CREATION PURPOSE FOR THE LAMB Paul told the Church that "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4), God had determined to make "known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:" (Ephesians 1:9-1O), God willed to create with a particular purpose in mind. Then throughout history, He kept to Himself a mystery until He wanted His purposes to be made evident. What was this mystery? Before He created anything, God's purpose was to "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." Every time God said, "Let there be . . . ,' He was thinking in His heart, "I will exalt you, Son, to be head over all of this." It wasn't until then that I saw God fulfilling this purpose for His Son through the imagery of a Lamb that God's purposes became clearer for me. Through the Scriptures, I saw Jesus Christ coming "out of" eternity and into time and space and history as the One to be exalted over all things because that's what the Father desired for Him (see Philippians 2:5-11). THE LAMB ALONE CAN PROSPER GOD'S PLAN When we read Isaiah 53, we usually see it as how the cross was beneficial to us, but we must see that the cross was the doorway to a walk with God in Christ's holiness in order to satisfy God's good pleasure. The one thing God needs from man to fulfill His intention is for man to be holy. Let's look at verses 6, 7 and 10 in Isaiah 53: Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53 specifically says Christ was made a sin offering so the will "of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." The KJV reads, "the pleasure of the Lord," and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines this "pleasure" as His desire or purpose: PLEASURE 2656. chephets, khay'-fets; from H2654; pleasure; hence (abstr.) desire; concr. a valuable thing; hence (by extens.) a matter (as something in mind) The death of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah was not final. He rose from the dead and could now prosper the plan of God established before the foundation of the world. This prospering was to be backed up by all authority and power in heaven and on earth and under the earth. As to Christ seeing His offspring, Who are they? The sheep who had gone astray from God's original purpose - Adam and all of his offspring. It was because they went astray that God put men under the Law. He had to show them their true condition so they would realize they needed the Savior. Then He could send the Lamb to redeem them from sin and death, which the Law was powerless to do. So as men repented and accepted salvation, they received the Spirit of adoption by whom "we cry, Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15). Those who believe in the message of the Lamb of Isaiah 53 become His offspring Isaiah promised He would see and they become part of the outworking of God's purposes. The Spirit now works in them to make them holy. These offspring are the sons the Father originally intended to have, and immediately upon His resurrection, exaltation and pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the Lamb began prospering the plan of God to the point of preparing for its culmination. The plan and purposes of God didn't end with forming the Church. Once man was restored and the body of Christ began to grow, God's plan could prosper further in Jesus' hand. Now well underway, the plan would forge on to its culmination. So His glorification accomplished God's purpose for Himself. For the Father's satisfaction, the first-begotten Son who had come to earth in the flesh entered God's presence, and could now bring forth a family of sons after His own image. A time of gathering would ensue and the Lamb would look ahead to returning to establish the visible kingdom the Father had prepared. THE LAMB FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION To see how the Lamb is to be exalted over all things, let's look at His journey into time from before the beginning of this world to when He hands everything over to the Father. 1 Peter 1:19-20 - The Lamb "was foreordained before the foundation of the world" to redeem man by His shed blood if man chose to disobey God. Revelation 13:8-12 - The book of life in which the believer's name is written was in the Lamb's hand from before the world began. John 17:1-5 - Christ was in glory in the Father's presence "before the world was." John 17:24 - The Father loved the Son "before the foundation of a world." John 1:1,29,35 - After Jesus came into time, space and history, John revealed Him to Israel: "Behold, the Lamb of God!" This was the One who had come to fulfill God s intention by restoring man to a place before the Father. This is the One who was God and with God "in the beginning." Acts 2:23,24,32,33,36 At Pentecost, Peter preached to Israel that the Lamb was handed over, "being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Jesus, he said, was raised from the dead, exalted to God's right hand as Lord and Savior and had received and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all who would believe. Revelation 5 The Lamb, seen here as having been slain, was now exalted above all: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (v. 12). He comes and takes the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne" (v. 7) and those present sing, "for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (vv. 9 10). Now the Lamb begins to reign with all of God's authority to bring His plan to completion. God's purpose for Christ is being accomplished. He is exalted over all things, and will bring the age to an end by opening the scroll. At the same time, men from every nation have been purchased and can be brought into God s family. In John 17:2, Jesus said this was the reason the Father had "given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." This is the priority of the risen Lamb in the present economy. Revelation 6 - The Lamb breaks the seals on the scroll, bringing forth the culmination of God's plan - "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished" (Revelation 1O:7), and at the breaking of the sixth seal, the Lamb returns with God's wrath on the kings and rulers and unbelievers to bring this age to its close (vv. 12-17). Revelation 17 Before the age comes to a close, the ten nations rise and give their power to the beast to fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb defeats them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. In giving their power to the beast, the ten kings are unwittingly fulfilling God's purpose, not theirs (vv. 12-14). Revelation 19 - The fulfillment of the Lamb defeating the kings and the beast. The Lamb's followers, the spotless Bride, are invited to wedding feast. Revelation 14 - The name of the Father is written on the foreheads of the followers of the Lamb, those purchased from among men because they were pure. Those who rejected the Lamb will burn in torment before Him (vv. 1 5, 10-11). Revelation 7 - The Lamb gathers God's family of sons, from every nation, tribe, people and language" (v. 9). The Lamb leads them, those who responded to the gospel dressed in white robes, to springs of living water, and God Himself spreads His tent over them because the Lamb is their shepherd (vv. 15-17). Revelation 21-22 - The Lamb is the center of the millennial kingdom: 1. In the New Jerusalem, the Lamb's name is written on the 12 foundations which represent the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). 2. There is no temple in the city because God and the Lamb are its temple (Revelation 21:22). 3. The Lamb is the lamp of the city; He gives it light. Night no longer exists and there is no more need for the sun or moon because of the Lamb. God in all of His glory is all the light there is (Revelation 21:23,25). 4. The nations walk by the light of the Lamb and the kings bring their glory into the city (Revelation 21:24,26). 5. In the city, all are there whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the creation of the world (Revelation 21:27). 6. The throne of God and of the Lamb are in the center of the city, and His servants see His face. His name is written on their foreheads (Revelation 22:1 5). THE SUPREMACY OF THE LAMB What is all of this? What do you see? Christ saving our sinful skins so we can be happy or redeem America or conquer kingdoms, or do you see God's larger eternal purpose? Do we see God in His Sovereignty in total control of His plan and the fulfillment of it? Do you see what Paul proclaimed? He wrote that God's "eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord . . . . [was to] gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him" (Ephesians 3:11; 1:10). This is what God set out to do before He created Adam. It was His number one priority, and God considers it a done deal. Everything is subject to the Lord Jesus, and He is prospering the plan established in God before creation. Nothing and no one can hinder Christ in bringing that plan to completion. This includes New Worlders, New Agers, the U.N., socialists, the nations, New Age Globalists or Christian Reconstructionists, sinners and saints, life and death, heaven and hell, you, me - everything and everyone. We might think it sure doesn't look that way, but that's because Christ hasn't been manifested to the world yet by His second coming. Remember what the writer to the Hebrews wrote: Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. These "brethren" in verse 11 are those of Isaiah 53 and the evidence that the Lamb is indeed prospering God's plan and purpose: Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, HE SHALL SEE HIS SEED, he shall prolong his days, and THE PLEASURE OF THE LORD SHALL PROSPER IN HIS HAND. THE LAMB MUST REIGN UNTIL When the Lamb of God is manifested to the world as He returns to reign for a thousand years, we will see with our physical eyes that all things are indeed subject to Him. How will this come about? The Scriptures say, 1 Cor 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. These are important verses for our time. We are so concerned about our future under the New World Order, but its rise is pertinent to God's plan. Look again at the above verses. Christ must reign . . . UNTIL . . . HE has destroyed ALL DOMINION, AUTHORITY and POWER. Those who reject the gospel will accept the delusion God sends (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12), and come under the dominion, authority and power of the beast's reign over the brave New World. But God is allowing the world to become one global system, a force that will eventually enter the Valley of Megiddo to fight against Christ. Under the lead of Antichrist, the nations must fulfill this prophecy. The manifested kingdom of darkness will be brought into one place so Christ can destroy it by His coming. This destruction is also described in Revelation 6 and 19. We have been told God's plan and how He intends to carry it out to the end. We must see world events not so much as persecution coming down on us, but as Christ preparing to come down on all rebellious dominion, authority and power. We can't fear this thing. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus by seeking to know Him as revealed by the Holy Spirit through God's word. Our Father was pleased to tell us even more than we need to know about the end of His plan. After these are long gone and we are with Him, there will one more episode where the devil is released after the millennium to deceive the nations one last time, but this will be over with a flash of fire from heaven. Then Christ will hand everything over to the Father because he who had the power of death will be forever gone (Hebrews 2:14). Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). All men will have been raised and judged. All dominion, authority and power will have yielded to the Lamb and as the Father exalted Him, so shall He exalt the Father by handing all things over to Him. ============== This newsletter will be sent out whenever I think there is something the body of Christ needs to consider, to build it up, to give it encouragement or comfort in hard times. To sign up for this newsletter, email Ed at edju@velocity.net
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