Chapter 6

Present Truth

The Third Day is a day in which revelation is coming forth as present truth.  The mysteries of God are being revealed by the apostles and prophets.  Those who have a violent faith are pressing into the habitation of the Third Day.

The apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:12, " For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth."  Peter said that we should be established in present truth.  Present truth is estab-lished by discerning the present purpose of divine visitation.  It is also established by hearing the pro-ceeding word of God, which is presently coming from the throne room.

In Matthew chapter 4, verse 4, Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone (the written word-logos) alone, but (also) by every word that proceeds (is coming forth now) from the mouth of God.” 

We are talking about revelation knowledge that is given by the Holy Spirit.  This proceeding word can be inspired preaching which produces revelation.  It can also come by the prophetic word functioning as the Spirit wills to bring forth a prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, or tongues with interpretation.

In my opinion, one of God's greatest desires is to reveal His hidden mysteries to His people.  In Matthew 13:11 He told His disciples, "It has been given to you to know the mysteries (secrets or hidden truths) of the kingdom of heaven."

An often asked question is, "How can I hear the voice of God?"  Jesus answered that question:

Matthew 7:7  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:8  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

The voice of the Lord is revealed by the Holy Spirit as He gives gifts to men.  This is what Jesus said about His Father's desire for His children:

Matthew 7:11  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

The gifts of the Holy Spirit outlined in 1Corinthians 12:1-11 are available to every born-again believer who is baptized in the Holy Spirit.  These gifts are not for just a select few; they are not just for those in ministry.  One must simply ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit and believe that God will give this gift, because He said He would!  Romans 12:6 tells us that we must begin to exercise the gifts according the proportion of faith that we have.  If we do so, our faith will grow and so will the gift.

The Third Day will bring a visitation from the Lord that will release many powerful proceeding words that will begin to unseal and reveal the mysteries of God that have been reserved for this, the end of the Church Age.

When the apostle John was caught up into heaven and received the revelation, which Christ gave him, he heard the sound of seven thunders that came forth as the Lion of Judah roared.

Revelation 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.

Revelation 10:4  Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them."

The revelations of the seven thunders were sealed in John's day, but are to come forth in the Third Day prior to the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

Revelation 10:7  But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

Imagine!  Seven secrets of God, which I believe will be known by the Third Day Church.  The question is:  are they just 7 secrets, or are they 14 secrets because the word of God is a two-edged sword?  Or, just maybe it will be 7 times 7, or 49 mysteries or events.  And then, there is Daniel's pattern of 7 times 70. Several of these mysteries have already been revealed, but not all.  The 7 times 7 principle is easily justifiable because the book of Revelation is a book of multiplied sevens.

Revelation 10:11 may be a clue.  The angel spoke to John as a representative of the church and apostles, and he said, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings."

One of the jobs of the Third Day apostles and prophets will be to once again establish a pure doctrine.  This doctrine, redefined, will become the foundation of the Third Day Church that God will inhabit.

Ephesians 2:22  In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

A pure and true doctrine must be redefined because the doctrine that the first century church held to has been eroded by the doctrines of men and devils.  The apostle, Paul, prophesied this happening:

1 Timothy 4:1  Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

In my opinion, the apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, and in chapter 11 he spoke about faith.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

He said that faith becomes a substance (substantiation), which is based on evidence or truth.  In other words, truth or spiritual evidence will give substance and power to faith.

The first century church had a pure doctrine, perfect truth, which produced a dynamic faith, and that is why so many signs and wonders took place.  The Spirit of Truth gave witness to the word of truth and confirmed the word with signs and wonders following.

When present truth is once again the foundation of the church, the church will function with apostolic authority and power, and signs and wonders will once again be the norm.  This will become a reality in the Third Day Church.

The Holy Spirit recently revealed twelve foundational doctrines in the book of Hebrews chapter 6 through 12.  The first six are identified in Hebrews 6:1-2.  The subsequent six were given by revelation of the Spirit.

The first doctrine identified by the apostle is that of repentance from dead works.  I believe that this doctrine has a two-fold meaning.  First, it would mean repentance, which is to turn from the sins that were committed before we were born again.  Once we are born again, we must continue to repent for the sins committed as a Christian when convicted by the Holy Spirit.  This would also include any involvement in Christian activity or ministry that is not led by the Spirit.  This kind of activity will produce dead works.

The second doctrine is that of faith towards God.  This doctrine identifies that object of our faith, which is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Most Holy Spirit.  Justification occurs when one’s faith is extended towards God’s finished work of redemption.  Salvation occurs as a result of faith in what God has already done.  This doctrine identifies “saving faith,” which qualifies one to enter into the kingdom of God.  Salvation must be maintained by looking unto Jesus, having faith towards Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith.

The third doctrine is that of baptisms.  Please notice that the word baptisms is plural, which means that there is more than just one baptism.  The scriptures reveal three baptisms.  We are baptized into Christ and His sufferings.  Once we are born again, we should be baptized in water as a covenant sign that we have been born again and have made Jesus the Lord of our life.  The third baptism is that of being baptized in the Holy Spirit for power to serve in the kingdom of God.

The fourth doctrine is that of laying on of hands.  This doctrine tells us that the anointing is transferable.  The virtue of Christ can be transferred from one believer and deposited in another through prayer and the laying on of hands.  Three primary reasons for this process are revealed in the scriptures.  The first is to lay hands on the sick so that they may be healed.  The second application is for the purpose of equipping people for ministry by imparting gifts that accompany the calling or office.  The third is to get people baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The fifth doctrine is that of the resurrection of the dead.  The scriptures tell us that all who are in the graves of this earth will be resurrected.  Those who have done good will be resurrected to eternal life, and those who have done evil, have not been born again, will have their part in the resurrection of the damned.  Those who are alive and belong to Jesus Christ at His coming will escape death, hell and the grave in the great event that we call the rapture of the church.  This “catching away” of the righteous is a part of the doctrine of the resurrection.

The sixth doctrine that is one of the “elementary principles” is that of eternal judgment.  This doctrine teaches us that the final resting place of man, heaven or hell, is forever.  At the Great White Throne Judg-ment, the dead are judged according to their works.  Those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.  There will be no escape from the eternal torment of the fires of hell once the judgment of the dead takes place.

Now, we will move on from the elementary principles and go on to maturity as we examine the next six doctrines, which are revealed in Hebrews chapters 6 through 12.

The seventh doctrine is that salvation can be lost (Hebrews 6:4-8).  This doctrine will not be popular with those who teach to the contrary.  However, that is the next truth that God permitted the apostle to proclaim.  This doctrine is also reinforced in Hebrews 10:26-39.  Once this doctrine was established, the statement is made in Hebrews 6:9,   “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.”  From this point on we are made aware of the doctrines, which are wonderful promises of God that accompany salvation.

The eighth doctrine is that of covenant promise.

Hebrews 6:17  Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,

Hebrews 6:18  that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

The two immutable things that God promised are fulfilled in two covenants.  The covenant God made with Abraham was not annulled by the law (Galatians 3:10-29).  The promises that God made to
Abraham are fulfilled in Christ and become a part of the covenant of grace that the church presently lives in.  These two covenants are established by two immutable things God did.  He made promises and guaranteed the promises with an oath.  The guarantee was a blood covenant in which the shed blood of Jesus Christ became God’s signature that He would keep His promises.

The ninth doctrinal revelation is the revealing of the Melchizedek priesthood.  Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and therefore, not after the Levitical priesthood.  This establishes a pattern for us to understand, which is that we are also priests who are to rule and reign with Jesus as joint heirs.

The first revelation that is revealed in the Book of Revelation (1:6) is that we are kings and priests.  Melchizedek was a king and a priest, so is Jesus, and so are we.  As priests we are to minister to God and those He sends us to.  As kings we are to rule in the midst of God’s enemies by exercising the authority that we have been given. 

Luke 10:19  "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

What a glorious promise!  May the Lord open the eyes of our understanding that we might see who Jesus is in us, King of kings, and who we are in Him, kings and priests.  Psalm 110 gives the prophecy of Melchizedek, and it also commands us to “rule in the midst of Your enemies!”

The tenth doctrine expounds the mysteries that are revealed in the tabernacle.  The pattern of the heavenly tabernacle that God showed to Moses is a type and shadow of the redemptive work of Christ revealed in the New Testament.  These types and shadows also bring revelation to the ministry of the New Testament priests, those who serve God.  Extensive revelation is brought forth from examining the pattern of the tabernacle.  This is especially true when we have the revelation that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  The spiritual order of the temple is established in the tabernacle pattern, which God revealed to Moses and Christ reveals to us.

The eleventh doctrine is an expanded truth about faith.  This doctrine has to do with sustaining faith that is in addition to saving faith (the second doctrine).  Hebrews chapter 11 identifies the necessity of a strong, mature faith, which will sustain the Christian through hardships, persecution and chastening.  We must continue to have faith towards God, the object of our faith, but sustaining faith demands that we main-tain a vision of Jesus Christ as we continue to look unto the author and finisher of our faith.  Romans 5:1-2 gives us revelation of this doctrine of faith.  Verse one tells us about saving faith, but verse two teaches us that we also have “access by faith” into God’s grace.  God’s grace includes all that He has promised in His Holy Word.  Faith gives us kingdom access into the manifold blessings of God.

The twelfth doctrine, the last but certainly not the least foundational doctrine, is that of Zion.  Zion is a code word for the eternal kingdom of God in which the saints will forever abide.  This revelation is more fully expounded in chapter 8 of this book.

I do not make any claim that these twelve doctrines are absolute or complete.  However, I have not found any New Testament truths, which will not rest upon one of these twelve foundations.  I have also experienced an exponential increase in faith and anointing as revelation of these doctrines were birthed in my spirit.  I do not, however, believe I have attained to all that the Master has for his Third Day Church.

This much I have learned in my spiritual walk, revelation knowledge and present truth is progressive.  The apostle, Paul, also knew this secret:

Philippians 3:10  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

Philippians 3:11  if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:12  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Philippians 3:13  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

Philippians 3:14  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The earmark of the Third Day will be resurrection power (verse 10), but it will come to those who press towards the goal, and that goal or standard is before us.  It is in the Third Day!