 A VIEW
OF THE KINGDOM
The Kingdom of God has been an enigma in the church since the New
Testament scriptures were assembled into the present form. The Kingdom is mentioned dozens
of times but no clear explanation is given. Most writers use Romans 14:17 as THE
definition. ROM 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but
of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This tells us what the subjective
experience of the Kingdom is in us but doesn't tell us what the Kingdom really is
objectively. What is the substance of the Kingdom itself? When we first begin to search
out the meaning of the Kingdom we have a lot of confidence in getting our revelation from
the parables. However the parables fail to give us a clear definition. If we take 150
scriptures dealing with the Kingdom and try to make a composite definition, we only make
confusion. The principle of the Kingdom is the unfolding revelation of God's eternal
purpose from Genesis to Revelation. The Kingdom is not easily summed up into a definition
of a few words. The Kingdom has so many facets it cannot be defined by looking at one or
two. The city of Jerusalem had twelve gates. It was not possible to give an accurate
description of the city by looking in one gate. Even by looking in all 12 gates you could
only gain a partial view. That's why the Psalmist said to walk through the city and
observe carefully the details. PSA 48:12 Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,
PSA 48:13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the
next generation. Jesus has commissioned us to preach the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM. However He
didn't tell us exactly what that gospel is. For that reason many have thought the gospel
of salvation is the same thing as the gospel of the Kingdom. But the gospel of salvation
says come and get it, it’s all free! While the gospel of the Kingdom says come and
give, it will cost you all that you have. LUK 12:31 But seek his kingdom, and these things
will be given to you as well. LUK 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your
Father has been pleased to GIVE you the kingdom. LUK 12:33 SELL your possessions and GIVE
to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven
that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. LUK 12:34 For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The Kingdom of God has had a past
aspect in the lives of men, it has a present aspect in our lives and it has a future
aspect as the eternal Kingdom. The last aspect is what the church has preached. The
Kingdom will come someday. But the Kingdom has already come. MAR 9:1 And he said to them,
"I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they
see the kingdom of God come with power." We are now living in the dispensation of the
Kingdom. But not everyone who is born again will enter into the Kingdom of God. MAT 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. It is not easy to sort all this
out so we could turn the Kingdom into a message that is good news. A diamond has many
facets. The Kingdom is a diamond with many facets. To participate in the Kingdom we must
each DO THE WILL OF GOD. MAT 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven. The Kingdom of God will come to earth when the WILL OF GOD is done on earth as
THE WILL OF GOD IS NOW BEING DONE IN HEAVEN. That is but one facet. Obviously that facet
of the Kingdom has not yet come universally to the earth. However that facet of the
Kingdom of God has come in some individuals who have given themselves to do the whole will
of God. Therefore, the disciples saw the Kingdom of God come with power in Jesus Christ,
as He did the will of God. In this study we want to look at a different facet of the
Kingdom but a facet that is part of the whole. This facet has to do with the AUTHORITY and
the GOVERNMENT of the Kingdom that has been assigned to MAN. GEN 1:26 Then God said,
"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of
the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground." GEN 1:27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. GEN 1:28 God blessed
them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature
that moves on the ground." God's original purpose was to make man in His own image
and likeness so they could rule over God's creation. When man fell, he lost his capacity
to rule the earth as God would rule it. Satan usurped the authority that God had given man
and began to rule over man and over as much of the earth as he could. However, God's
original purpose never changed. PSA 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all
the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. PSA 8:2 From the lips of children
and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the
avenger. PSA 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the
stars, which you have set in place, PSA 8:4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the
son of man that you care for him? PSA 8:5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly
beings and crowned him with glory and honor. PSA 8:6 You made him ruler over the works of
your hands; you put everything under his feet: PSA 8:7 all flocks and herds, and the
beasts of the field, PSA 8:8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim
the paths of the seas. PSA 8:9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the
earth! One of the reasons God wants to restore full authority to man is because of God's
adversaries and to make the enemy and the revengeful to cease. God's purpose remained
after the fall. It also remained after redemption. HEB 2:6 But there is a place where
someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that
you care for him? HEB 2:7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him
with glory and honor HEB 2:8 and put everything under his feet." In putting
everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do
not see everything subject to him. HEB 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower
than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by
the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. God has now restored all power and
authority to man. The MAN, CHRIST JESUS. Not only on the earth but also in heaven as well.
MAT 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. The first Adam lost his authority but the last Adam has gained it back
again. If we are in the first Adam we have no authority. If we are in the last Adam we
have his authority to go in His name. Therefore, in His name we shall cast out demons,
heal the sick etc. If this truth was universally understood and acted upon the devil would
be in a panic. He has labored diligently to hide this fact from the church, although God
has not hid it. Very few in the church really act upon the authority that God has assigned
to the Person of Jesus Christ and enacted through His name. The tabernacle of Moses is a
picture for us of spiritual things and of heavenly things and of heaven itself. It is
therefore a picture for us of the purpose of God. The purpose of God is for man to take
the name of Jesus and begin to rule over God's enemies. It was for this purpose that man
was created, to rule over the creeping and crawling things. Satan is a creeping and
crawling thing, that old serpent of old. Since God has saved so many multitudes in the
last 20 years, we should see a great and mighty army of God that is waging war on God's
adversaries and causing the enemies and the revengeful to cease. The fact is the enemy is
not even being slowed down. He is doing as he pleases. How can we explain this
contradiction? I believe the Tabernacle of Moses will give us the answer. In many other
studies we have shown how the believer approaches God from the first veil called the gate,
or door. He comes to the altar with his sacrifice and kills it. The priest catches the
blood in a basin and sprinkles it upon the altar and splashes the rest against the base of
the altar. The person's sins are forgiven. Then if the person was a priest he stepped up
toward the laver and his garments were removed. He was then washed all over in the laver.
Then priest's garments were put on and he stepped up toward the second veil, called the
door of the sanctuary. He was then anointed with the horn of the anointing oil. It was the
anointing that qualified him to be a priest. EXO 40:15 Anoint them just as you anointed
their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood
that will continue for all generations to come." The seventh outer court experience
was the consecration offering. EXO 40:13 "And you shall put the holy garments on
Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me. No priest
could serve in the Holy place ministry who was not anointed and consecrated. The basic
meaning of consecration is to forsake all else to do the whole will of God. Once the
priest had completed the consecration offering he could pass through the next veil which
was the door of the sanctuary. Then he stepped into the Holy Place to minister as a
priest, first to God, and then to the people for God. In the Holy Place there were three
distinct pieces of furniture( for the lack of a better term). On the left was the
lampstand. On the right was the table of shewbread. Straight ahead, directly in front of
the third veil, was the altar of incense. It's smoke rose up toward the Most Holy Place
just beyond the veil. The altar was in the Holy Place but it was there to function for the
Most Holy Place. Since the Old Testament priesthood had no access to the most Holy place
it had to be in the Holy Place in order to be serviced under the Old Covenant. At Calvary
it was that third veil that was torn from top to bottom so the altar is now directly
before the ark of the covenant, the throne of God. The explanation of the manifestation of
the Kingdom of God begins at the altar of incense. Man participates with God to bring the
Kingdom of God to the earth at the altar of incense. Since so few people, who are saved,
can really qualify for ministry at the altar because of a lack of consecration, it is
clear why this ministry is neglected. Then it should be clear why the gospel of the
Kingdom is mistaken for the gospel of salvation. Salvation takes place at the bronze
altar. The Kingdom functions at the gold altar of incense. This then is the introduction
to our study on the Kingdom function of the church. This study must begin with GOD'S
SOVEREIGNTY. We began with man's dominion and God's eternal purpose in capsule form. Other
studies have focused on God's sovereignty. God Himself gave man sovereignty upon this
earth to rule over the earth in the character of God and to fulfil God's eternal purpose.
It is at the altar of incense that the purpose of God, the sovereignty of God and the
dominion of man upon the earth come together. The sovereign God gave man dominion on the
earth to carry out and fulfil God's eternal purpose. Man was given delegated authority,
rulership and sovereignty upon the earth, under God's sovereignty. Man had no autonomous
authority to act on his own behalf. All man's authority was subject to God's sovereign
authority and was by God's permission. Man was to co-operate with God in fulfilling God's
purpose. The place this happens is the altar of incense. God is not going to over step
man's authority. God sovereignly gave it and He will wait for man to co-operate with God
to Do His will. This is precisely why the consecration offering must precede the Holy
Place life and ministry. The carnal prayer of an unconsecrated believer who demands his
own way and has no concern for God's will and purpose will not co-operate with God to
complete God's eternal plan. Therefore, even though there may be a level of prayer,
praise, thanksgiving and worship, no incense is burnt. The incense is for a sweet smelling
savor unto God. Incense is wholly for God. The priests were forbidden to make any for
themselves for a perfume. EXO 30:34 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take for yourself
spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an
equal part of each. EXO 30:35 "And with it you shall make incense, a perfume, the
work of a perfumer, salted, pure, {and} holy. EXO 30:36 "And you shall beat some of
it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I
shall meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. EXO 30:37 "And the incense which
you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be
holy to you for the Lord. EXO 30:38 "Whoever shall make {any} like it, to use as
perfume, shall be cut off from his people." If the church understood this principle
of prayer, praise, worship and thanksgiving it would change it's attitude in praying to be
heard by people or to make an impression. Praying, as a sweet smelling fragrance for
ourselves, is not the revelation of incense and is forbidden by God. The incense is to be
salted, pure and sacred. Salt speaks to us of God's covenant. The basis and authority of
prayer is given by God and is His idea. God has designed the altar of incense to complete
His purpose. God has made an agreement that is part of the incense. This incense is not to
be used for ourselves! It is to be used for God! This gives a whole new emphasis on
prayer, praise, worship and thanksgiving( the four elements of New Testament incense). But
how and why does it work? First it works when these four elements are blended in equal
parts and in a perfumer's mixture and the fragrance arises up to God for His benefit. It
doesn't work when man just pleads with God for more blessing or provision. Jesus said if
we seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness ALL the necessary things will be
added. Praying for things is another subject and not part of this kind of prayer. It is
not wrong but it is not incense. Incense kind of prayer will never fail to be answered and
will never be irrelevant. Most prayer is not related to incense at all and therefore is
sometimes irrelevant. The purpose of this study then is to elevate our prayer to the level
of incense. God's absolute sovereignty, God's eternal purpose, God's omnipotent power and
man's delegated authority to rule on this earth are the motivation behind the function of
the gold altar of incense. It is at the altar of incense that God brings man into the
circle of His sovereignty, to exercise man's delegated authority in order to complete
God's eternal purpose. That is how man participates in the Kingdom of God NOW. It is by
co-operating with God to establish His government in us and then through us and around us.
Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and in earth and He must rule until He
has put every enemy under His feet. We can say" praise God" and just relax until
it happens. The problem is this; Jesus as head of the church, which is His body, has given
authority to use His name and to go in His authority. He is ruling until every enemy is
put under His feet. His feet are in His body. Therefore Jesus is ruling through His body
until every enemy is trampled under the church's feet. ROM 16:20 The God of peace will
soon crush Satan under your feet. Satan has been generally successful in confusing these
issues and in getting the church caught up in insignificant projects and work that present
no threat to his kingdom. The church has been deceived like Eve and kept powerless,
helpless and without vision. Satan will even sacrifice a few souls to be saved to make the
church think she is successful. Still that in itself is no threat to Satan. He will permit
the church to evangelize but his evangelism far outshines the church's evangelism. He is
winning more souls than the church. One reason God has given such authority to the church
is because of God's adversary and to cause His enemies and the revengeful to cease. All
Satan has to do is hide this fact from the church and there is no threat to his kingdom.
The church's real authority is exercised at the altar of incense. This is where the church
steps into the circle of God's sovereignty and begins to co-operate with God to rule. It
is at the altar of incense that the church begins her apprenticeship training for the
Kingdom of God. The church , over the years, has taught a very short sighted view of God's
sovereignty. The concept crept in that God's sovereignty means that God chooses and does
whatever He wants to do. God does not consult with man. There is really nothing we can do
to change God's sovereignty. While in a sense that is quite true, it is also true that God
does permit man to make decisions upon this earth. We see Abraham speaking with God and
God relenting of the destruction He was about to bring. We see Moses pleading with God to
spare Israel and God relenting. It is true that God is sovereign, but God's desire is to
bring man into the circle of His sovereignty and permit man to enter into the decision
making process of this earth. That was God's original plan and it is still God's plan. In
this way God lets man function within His Kingdom government. If God's sovereignty set
aside man's asking then why did Jesus speak so much about man asking? Why pray for God's
Kingdom to come? If God is sovereign, His Kingdom will come whenever He determines it will
come and there is nothing we can do about it. Unfortunately this has been the attitude of
the church. This is a wrong concept of God's sovereignty. Within God's sovereignty is
God's power, His wisdom, His knowledge and His judgement. But all are directed toward
carrying out His eternal purpose for His creation. Within God's sovereignty, He has given
man responsibility to rule over this earth and all that is on it. Including the Devil and
the forces of darkness. That is why if man does not pray God will not act, except to
complete His purpose. God has not relinquished His sovereignty over the earth but has
agreed to bring man into the circle of His sovereignty and to permit man to participate in
the decision making process for the earth once again. Man cannot change the course of this
world by his own wisdom, power or knowledge! Politics, demonstrations, lobbying and public
outcry is not the way to change things. Now when it comes to this earth and what happens
on it, God has given responsibility to man. But man is helpless in his own power to change
anything. However, when man steps into" the circle of God's sovereignty", all
the resources of heaven are available to change things to flow into God's eternal purpose.
When man has gotten a glimpse of this, he has tried to use it for summer homes, Cadillacs
and prosperity, instead of for God's purpose. We are not saying God does not prosper His
people, but His sovereignty is toward His purpose. God will always prosper us toward His
purpose. However, the cleaver man can prosper himself toward his own purpose. God has
given man dominion so He permits it, but it is very shortsighted compared to God's Kingdom
and His purpose. Man has been given authority and with authority comes privilege but with
privilege comes responsibility. Most are looking for authority and privilege without
responsibility. To whom much is given much is required and we will be judged by how we
used what we were given. REV 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and
the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were
holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. PSA 141:2 May
my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the
evening sacrifice. This is the fixed revelation of incense. We can't deviate from this and
assign our own interpretation. Incense is a picture of the prayers of the saints. Prayer
is the general term for all that takes place at the altar of incense. The incense was made
up of FOUR ingredients formulated from equal parts of each. This shows us one activity or
one kind of prayer is not what God has in mind. Prayer should be a perfumer's mixture. The
incense has but one primary purpose and that is to be burned. The purpose of the altar is
to provide a place for the incense to be burned. The incense was not to be a museum piece
for exhibit. It wasn't made for storage. The purpose for the incense was to be burned.
Because it was burned, new incense must be continually made. It was the fire that changed
the incense from a solid to a vapor that would ascend up to God. Even though it was burned
it was not wasted and it is not lost. When it ascends it is kept in bowls or in an
incenser. Even prayers that are offered before the exact time of fulfillment will be kept
until the time to release the answer. The altar of incense is all arranged in fours. (1)
The altar is first made of wood. (2) It is overlaid with pure gold. (3)There are four
rings, one on each corner. (4)There were two poles that fit through the rings for carrying
the altar. The incense was made of four different substances. (1)Stacte, (2)oncha,
(3)galbanum and (4)pure frankincense each in equal proportions. No other incense was
permitted. There were four specific things that were forbidden to be offered on this
altar. (1)Strange incense, (2)burnt offering, (3)meal offering and (4)any drink offering
(libation). (1)The altar was made of wood, covered with gold. (2)It also had four horns,
one on each corner. (3)There were four rings on the corners to carry it. (4) there was a
gold crown that ran around the top. What then is the significance of all these fours? The
altar of incense is the place and the work where The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit and
man all come together to make the decisions for the four corners of the earth! It is the
place that the triune God permits man to step into the circle of His sovereignty and to
begin to rule. It is the place of man's apprenticeship training for the Kingdom of God.
From before the foundation of the earth, it was God's purpose for man to rule over God's
creation. Man must be trained to do even simple jobs in the world. How much more must man
be trained for ruling in the Kingdom of God. The question then is: When and where does God
train us? If we look at all the possibilities in the different areas of the tabernacle, we
have to conclude the altar of incense is the only logical place. We are called to be
co-laborers with Christ. Christ is seated at the right hand of God making intercession. At
least one aspect of co-labor must be in prayer. Co-labor is working with Christ rather
than working FOR Christ or working independently of Christ. Altar of incense kind of
prayer is not man entering into dialogue with God trying to get God to see things our way
and change His mind concerning the things that effect us. Incense prayer is man entering
into discipleship and joining with Christ in fulfilling God's purpose upon the earth. A
disciple is one who is taught. A learner. A disciple is not one who instructs God but one
who learns from God. Most of our prayer is telling God what He should be doing and even
telling Him how to do it. The altar of incense is the place of absolute authority. It
stands directly before the throne of God, the ark of the covenant. Since God is sovereign,
He has absolute authority. All valid authority then must be under His absolute authority.
That means the Devil has no authority. Christ has been given all authority in heaven and
in earth. That means the Devil has none. He is like a fallen dictator who has no authority
but is still ordering people around. He is using a counterfeit authority. The question is;
How is man now going to make the adversary, God's enemies and the revengeful to cease? The
revelation of the altar of incense is that man steps into the circle of God's sovereignty.
The man Christ Jesus has been given all authority and His body, the church, has been given
delegated authority in His name. However we don't have delegated authority to decide our
own agenda and work independently. We must realize, apart from Jesus, we don't have any
authority. If we co-labor with Him we have His delegated authority in His name. If we try
to use His name to promote our own program, we run smack into the sovereignty of God. JAM
4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may
spend what you get on your pleasures. Now it should be clear why the incense must be a
precise blend and a perfumer's mixture and why we can't make any like it for ourselves. It
must be a blend of God's sovereignty, God's will, God's purpose and man's delegated
authority. When these are put on the fire, God's power is released. God has all the
sovereignty, all the wisdom, all the knowledge and all the power to bring to pass all that
He has determined to do from the foundation of the world. Whenever God decides to bring
the history of this earth to a close and cast the Devil and his angels into the pit, He
can very easily do it. Then, we might ask, why does God not just do it, if He can? The
reason is because of His plan for Man. God has determined to bring man into the circle of
His sovereignty, give man delegated authority now on the earth and let man train for God's
eternal government. If man is going to rule over 10 cities he must be trained, tested and
approved. God is not going to bring into His eternal government another bunch, just like
the bunch He threw out with the Devil. The bride who will rule with Him will have His very
same characteristics. She will have grown up in all things into Christ. She will have come
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. She will be conformed to His
image. She will be as pure gold, transparent like clear glass. She will be as a very
costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper. And the GLORY of God will shine through
her , and her lamp will be THE LAMB. Each believer must have a great work of God done in
him to prepare him for that place. Each believer must be transformed into the bride . Each
one must be trained for the throne. Many quit simply because they don't understand God's
eternal purpose and why they must be so radically changed. All the gold for the Holy Place
must be pure gold that has been through the fire and all impurities removed. Then it must
be beaten into shape. This is not fun but it is endurable if we have a vision of God's
eternal purpose and the perfection of the bride. If we understood that God wants to share
His throne with us, we would understand why we must be trained, tried, tested, found
faithful and approved. It is just logical! God's purpose from before the beginning of time
was to produce a co-sovereign bride for the Son of God. His bride will be His judicial
equal. ( not His divine equal). She will rule with Him. The bride is identified by her
relation with Christ. We see her as one who loves Christ , who is humble, obedient,
totally submissive and always seeking to do His will. However, with God's enemies she is
violent, well trained, fully equipped, relentless, unmerciful, a powerful conqueror and as
terrible as an army with banners. She is active in driving out God's enemies, possessing
their land and destroying their idols. Included in her training will be on the battle
field training in spiritual warfare, overcoming and subduing spiritual forces of darkness.
The end time army of God is seen in Joel 2. JOE 2:3 Before them fire devours, behind them
a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert
waste-- nothing escapes them. JOE 2:4 They have the appearance of horses; they gallop
along like cavalry. JOE 2:5 With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the
mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for
battle. JOE 2:6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. JOE
2:7 They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not
swerving from their course. JOE 2:8 They do not jostle each other; each marches straight
ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. JOE 2:9 They rush upon the
city; they run along the wall. They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through
the windows. JOE 2:10 Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are
darkened, and the stars no longer shine. JOE 2:11 The LORD thunders at the head of his
army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of
the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? In all of church history we have not
yet seen a militant church like this. Therefore we assume this prophesy is yet to be
fulfilled. This is not a church who is demonstrating on the streets or lobbing in
Washington or participating in public debates. This obviously is a spiritual army who is
leaping over mountains in prayer. Who are invading cities in spiritual warfare. Their
weapons are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. In verse
11 in N.A.S.B. it says: The Lord utters His voice BEFORE His army, surely His camp is very
great, for strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and
very awesome, and who can endure it? The Lord is leading this army with His voice and
great are those who carry out HIS WORD. The church in training must become the church in
fulfillment. It other words the church must become the church that God has designed. The
bride must become as terrible as an army with banners. If Joel 2 is speaking of the end
time church then there must be a fulfillment of these scriptures in the church. The church
must actually fit this description. Knowing the doctrine of these things does not fulfill
these things. LIVING THESE THINGS, FULFILLS THESE THINGS. God has given the church a legal
position NOW by positionally seating her in heavenly places in Christ. Through her death,
burial, resurrection and ascension in Christ, she has a throne position in Christ. Jesus
Christ is at the right hand of power and has all authority in heaven and earth. The church
IN CHRIST has amazing power and authority over the affairs of this earth. The question is;
will she fulfil her role of ruling this earth in this time period? Obviously it will
depend upon her revelation of her God given position, her God given authority and her God
given responsibility, and whether she will actually uses what she has been given. The
church certainly has a legal position in heaven, but enforcing that legal position upon
this earth is another matter. We may even declare our legal position in Christ,
doctrinally, without a serious conflict with the rulers of this earth. But when we enforce
our authority and dominion in Christ and begin to drive back the works of darkness, we
face violent warfare. It is understandable that the lukewarm and uncommitted are not
interested in spiritual warfare where there are real casualties and continuous
confrontation. Christ's work on Calvary was completely complete. He totally destroyed
Satan's authority on earth, took away the keys of death and canceled out all Satan's
claims on mankind. COL 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a
public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Then He ascended back to
heaven to sit at the Father's right hand. He is now ruling until every enemy is put under
His feet. His feet are in His body. From this we see the church has been given the
responsibility to enforce Christ's victory at Calvary upon all God's enemies on the earth.
In order to do this, the church must use the delegated authority that Christ has given to
the church, she must enforce the victory of the cross upon God's enemies. This then is the
revelation of the incense altar. Man has no power to accomplish that. God has all power to
accomplish it but he has given dominion of the earth to man. Now if man could step into
the circle of God's sovereignty and power and co-operate with God, the darkness could be
destroyed and God's enemies could be driven back. Then man could be assigned the title
"overcomer". But It was God who overcame. That's true, but it was man who
overcame at the altar of incense. For God to overcome the enemy is no problem for God. But
for man to overcome at the altar of incense is a great victory for man. Without a clear
revelation of God's eternal purpose and man's predestined purpose in God's plan, prayer
becomes just a program of ineffective asking. A kind of religious treadmill. A self
centered exercise in futility. Asking to heap more upon ourselves. The church that is
functioning within the Kingdom of God is doing the enemies of God great harm. The church
that is not doing God's enemies harm and taking a spoil, can hardly be called successful.
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