The inheritance of the saints
God Almighty has given to the Lord Jesus Christ all authority and power in Heaven and on the earth (Matthew 28:18).
The saints are coheirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). Christ’s inheritance includes the earth and the nations thereof. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen [nations] for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Psalms 2:8)
There is no limit to the authority and power of Christ, for it pleases the Father to give all things into the hands of His beloved Son.
Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre [sceptre of righteousness]. (Psalms 45:6)
Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords in the heavens and on the earth. There is no throne or authority or power that can resist His will (Revelation 17:14).
Mankind today is attempting to govern itself apart from the rule of Christ. Such an effort is hopeless because God has decreed otherwise.
The result of all human rule apart from the Presence and blessing of God is chaos whether the rule is over one person or a nation.
Just as the Father’s love has moved Him to give unlimited authority and power to Jesus, so Jesus’ love has moved Him to desire to share His authority and power with His friends (John 15:15). We, of course, must cooperate with the Holy Spirit so we can be prepared to assume properly such awesome responsibility.
It can be seen that it is the victorious saints who share the inheritance with Christ. Notice the similarity of the following passages. First, concerning Christ: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Psalms 2:9) Then, concerning the saints:
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. (Revelation 2:26,27)
The authority and power to rule are associated with suffering (II Timothy 2:12) and also with living a victorious Christian discipleship. Even Christ was required to overcome the obstacles placed before Him.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Revelation 3:21)
The following are a few of the many passages of Scripture that describe our participation with Christ as He comes into His rightful position as Ruler and Judge of God’s creation:
. . . thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; (Genesis 22:17)
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)
Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen [nations], and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalms 149:5-9)
Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? (Song of Solomon 6:10)
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Daniel 7:27)
And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11)
And saviours [deliverers] shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. (Obadiah 1:21) And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. (Micah 5:8)
. . . when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. (Habakkuk 3:16)
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19) And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20)
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?... (I Corinthians 6:2)
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? . . . . (I Corinthians 6:3)
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people [people for God’s own possession]; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; (I Peter 2:9)
. . . Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14,15)
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14)
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power [authority], but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)
It seems clear, from the preceding verses, that all authority and power in Heaven and on the earth have been given to Christ and that He has chosen to share His authority and power with those who leave all and follow Him.
The promises are to the conquering saints. There is no scriptural basis for the belief that we will rule with Him whether or not we follow Him faithfully in this life.
It is not that we earn the position of ruler ship with Christ. Rather, it is that we must, through His grace, be prepared for such an undertaking. If we do not cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the process of preparing us for ruler ship, there is no possibility that we can join with Him in the work of judgment and release of the earth and its inhabitants.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Revelation 21:7)
The challenging goals held out to us in the New Testament are intended to inspire us to press forward. God has called us to both glory and virtue (II Peter 1:3). In accordance with His calling He has given us "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (II Peter 1:4).
"To sit with me in my throne" is the promise of Revelation 3:21. Here indeed is an extraordinary challenge. Meditating on such a promise helps us escape the corruption that is in the world through lust and enables us to take heart in the midst of our fiery testing's.
And she brought forth a man child [male son], who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (Revelation 12:5)
The "male son" is Christ formed in the Church. Christ alone is the Ruler. Christ is the Head. The Body of Christ now is in the process of coming to maturity (Ephesians 4:12-16).
It is Satan, the accuser of our brothers, who is conquered. He is overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of the testimony of the victorious saints, and by the saints loving not their lives to the death.
It requires the blood of the Lamb, the proclaiming of the Word of God truly and faithfully, and a forsaking of one’s life, in order to overcome the accuser of our brothers (Revelation 12:10,11).
As soon as the accuser has been overcome, the salvation, power, and Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ, can come forth.
Everything hinges on the overcoming of the accuser. The conquering of the accuser awaits the bringing forth of the "male son." The Son is Christ who is being formed in the Church of Christ (Galatians 4:19). Only Christ in the saints can overcome Satan.
The conquering saints are the wall and gates of the new Jerusalem. They will have ruled with Christ during the thousand-year Kingdom Age, sharing His Glory with Him.
Because of the thousand years of such immersion in the Glory of God, sitting with Christ in the throne of the universe, they will be transformed into precious stones and pearls.
Truly, the conquering saints inherit all things.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)
The servants of God will serve Him throughout eternity. They will see His face and His name will be in their foreheads. They will rule the creation of God throughout the endless eons of eternity.
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)
There are passages in the Book of Isaiah that portray the ruler ship of the new Jerusalem, the Temple of God, over the kingdoms of the earth:
Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles [nations], and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. (Isaiah 60:11,12)
All that God has planted in the earth, from the time of Adam and Eve until the Day of the Lord, will spring up in its time and bring forth righteousness and praise.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
Christ will work through His Body until every enemy of God has been subdued. As soon as this has been accomplished, Christ will turn the Kingdom back to God the Father.
The work that is performed throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age of Christ will be in preparation for the endless age during which God rules through Christ over the new heaven and earth.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (I Corinthians 15:28)
The end of the matter is that "God may be all in all."
Is Christ making God All in all in your life now?
The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in the saints, ruling over the nations of the earth.
Daniel prophesied that the "street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubles times" (Daniel 9:25).
We believe in the difficult days in which we are living it is time to "build the wall of Jerusalem," in the spiritual sense.
The street of the new Jerusalem is the "highway of holiness." It is the "way" of Him who said, "I am the way" (John 14:6).
The street of the holy city, and the city itself, are of gold that has been refined to a state so pure the gold has become as transparent as glass.
The "gold" of the city is the refined faith of the saints (I Peter 1:7). The "fire" of our "manifold temptations," our problems and difficulties, purifies the gold of our faith until it becomes transparent.
God has ordained that there be no impurities of any kind in the refined faith of the saints. Our faith is not to be mixed with lust, hatred, sorcery, self-will, unbelief, fear, ignorance of God’s Word, personal ambition, deception, self-pity, pride, presumption, sentimentality, or fleshly enthusiasm.
Only the fire of God can refine our faith to the degree that it is as clear as glass. One of the greatest needs of the hour in which we are living is that the fire of God baptize the members of the Body of Christ in order to prepare them for the coming of Him whose eyes are a flame of fire.
The task of Christ will not be completed until every enemy of God has been subdued and God is all in all. It is our understanding that the significance of the days in which we are living is greater than those of any past era, except for the few years that Jesus of Nazareth lived among us on the earth. We make this statement because we believe it is time now for two events of kingdom-wide importance to take place.
These two events are as follows: (1) the testimony of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3); and (2) the coming to birth of the male Son (Revelation 12:5).
As we understand the symbolism, the two witnesses represent the "latter rain" revival, mentioned in Joel, the sixth chapter of Hosea, and Zechariah 10:1. The Gospel of the Kingdom will go forth to every nation under the heaven for a witness, accompanied by signs and wonders of power and glory never before seen on the earth (John 14:12; Matthew 24:14).
The male Son represents the coming to maturity of Christ, the Ruler, in the members of the Body of Christ. Christ—Head and Body—is the Servant of the Lord who will bring release and blessing to Israel, and justice to the nations of the earth (Isaiah, Chapter 42).
Armageddon (Christ against Antichrist) is near. After that smashing victory there will dawn on the earth a thousand years of righteousness under the iron rod of Christ and His saints. Then the Throne of God and of the Lamb will descend upon the new earth in answer to the Lord’s prayer: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
The Temple of God will stand on the earth in the last days. God in Christ in the saints will govern and bless the nations of the saved throughout the ages of ages. Heaven shall emerge from the spirit realm and become flesh and bone so all who desire God and His righteous ways may be filled to overflowing with the desire of their heart.
The Holy Spirit says, Come!
The Wife of the Lamb says, Come!
Let him who hears say, Come!
Whoever is thirsty, let him come and drink freely of the waters of eternal life. It is time now to sit at the Lord’s table and feast on the abundance of the Kingdom of God. He has prepared a banquet for us in the midst of our enemies. We may eat and drink of all the good things of the Kingdom. Jesus says, "Surely I come quickly."
We say with the Apostle John, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with everyone who loves Him and keeps His Word.