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 ones faith is extended towards Gods
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 Gods 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 Gods 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 Gods grace. Gods 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!
Faith Tabernacle