By: G.J.G.
SINCE ADAM’S DISOBEDIENCE THAT RESULTED IN HIS FALL, THE VISION AND REALITY OF MAN WALKING IN DOMINION HAS NEVER CHANGED, FOR THIS IS AN ETERNAL VISION.
WE KNOW THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS DEALT WITH MAN ON THE BASIS OF CHOICE. WHAT A PRECIOUS GIFT! WHEN ADAM CHOSE NOT TO OBEY THE VOICE OF GOD, (Gen. 2:16,17) HE DECIDED HIS OWN DESTINY-SUFFERING AND DEATH. (Gen. 3:17-19)
BUT GOD DIDN’T LEAVE MAN WITHOUT HOPE, NEITHER DID HE LEAVE SATAN UNPUNISHED FOR HIS WORK IN THE FALL OF MAN. HE SPOKE TO THE SERPENT, SATAN HIMSELF, AND SAID, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” (Gen. 3:14)
THIS IS WHERE OUR STUDY BEGINS. MAN IN HIS FALLEN CONDITION, (RATHER THAN THAT BEAUTIFUL REALM IN THE SPIRIT WHERE HE HAD AND EXERCISED DOMINION) (Gen. 1:26) FINDS HIMSELF UNDER THE DOMINION OF SIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH. (Rom.5:12-14; Rom. 6:12-23)
GOD DID MAKE A WAY OF ESCAPE WHEN HE CONTINUED HIS DISCOURSE WITH SATAN, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”(Gen. 3:15) HERE BEGAN THE HIGHWAY OF THE SEED, ABEL, SETH, NOAH, SHEM, ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB, JUDAH, DAVID, CHRIST, AND NOW, THAT MANY-MEMBERED BODY, THE BODY OF CHRIST.
JESUS CHRIST, THE SECOND ADAM, CAME TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL (I John 3:8). BY HIS DEATH, HIS HEEL WAS BRUISED, OPENING UP ONCE AGAIN THAT REALM OF DOMINION FOR MANKIND. JESUS FINISHED THE WORK THAT HIS FATHER GAVE HIM TO DO, AND THAT WAS TO TAKE THE KEYS OF DEATH AND HELL AWAY FROM SATAN (Rev.1:18). THE STORY DOESN’T END HERE HOWEVER, FOR JESUS COMMISSIONED US TO PUT THE LAST ENEMY UNDER OUR FEET-DEATH! (I Cor. 15:22-28)
THE GARDEN OF EDEN WAS INDICATIVE OF MORE THAN JUST A PHYSICAL PIECE OF REAL ESTATE, IT WAS A PICTURE OF A “REALM IN THE SPIRIT” OR, THE RELATIONSHIP THAT ADAM HAD WITH GOD. IT WAS A PLACE OF ONENESS AND UNITY, OF RULERSHIP AND DOMINION, OF COMMUNION BETWEEN GOD & ADAM. IT WAS A PICTURE OF THE SONSHIP RELATIONSHIP THAT GOD DESIRES WITH HIS PEOPLE. IT WAS THIS RELATIONSHIP THAT ADAM WAS TO GUARD, NOT JUST SOME PLOT OF GROUND. THE REALM THAT ADAM LOST WHEN HE FELL WAS ONE OF DOMINION, POWER AND MIGHT. WHEN ADAM CHOSE SATAN’S WILL ABOVE GOD’S WILL, HE BROUGHT MANKIND FROM A POSITION OF RULERSHIP TO A POSITION OF SLAVERY. HE BROUGHT MAN FROM THE PLACE OF KINGLINESS UNTO THE REALM OF SERVANT, WHERE CAR- NAL MAN IS RULED OVER BY THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, SATAN. BEFORE HE FELL FOR SATAN’S DECEPTION, ADAM KNEW NO DEATH. IT IS THIS PLACE OF SINLESSNESS THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS, THIS PLACE OF DOMINION WHERE DEATH WILL NO LONGER RULE IN OUR MORTAL BODIES.
THROUGH HIS FALL, ADAM LOST THAT PLACE OF DOMINION AND BROUGHT ALL OF MANKIND INTO A LOWERED PLACE. LET’S LOOK AT SOME SCRIPTURES THAT SPEAK OF THIS FALLEN STATE OF MAN. IN Isaiah 51:3 WE READ, “For the Lord shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” THIS GARDEN REFERS TO THE CONDITION OF GOD’S PEOPLE, A PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING COMFORTED WHILE IN A WILDERNESS STATE OR WASTE PLACES, A PEOPLE THAT WILL SOMEDAY BE BROUGHT BACK INTO A REALM OF DOMINION, KNOWN AS EDEN, THE GARDEN OF GOD. READ Song of Solomon 4:12-16 and Song of Solomon 5:1.
THIS MYSTERY OF EDEN IS REVEALED IN Matt. 13:44 and I Cor. 6:20. THE PRICE WAS PAID FOR MAN TO COME BACK INTO THAT BEAUTIFUL GARDEN OF THE LORD, BUT ADAM MUST NOT ENTER IN, FOR THERE ARE TWO CHERUBIMS WITH FLAMING SWORDS STILL STANDING TOGETHER TO BLOCK HIS WAY (Gen. 3:23-24). OUR CARNAL MAN MUST NOT ENTER INTO THIS HOLY PLACE OF GOD, HE MUST BE PUT OFF, AND LET THE INWARD MAN, (CHRIST) BE RENEWED. READ (Rom. 7:22; II Cor. 4:16).
GOD HAS A VISION, A PLAN, A PURPOSE FOR HUMANITY.”Where there is no vision, the people perish…” (Pro. 29:18). “For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17) “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37) EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE FALLEN AWAY FROM HIS ORIGINAL INTENTION HE HAS NOT FORGOTTEN US, NOR REJECTED US. HIS VISION IS STILL ALIVE BECAUSE HIS PURPOSE FOR US IS ETERNAL AND WILL NEVER CHANGE. HE IS STILL CALLING FOR OUR COOPERATION WITH HIS WILL AND WITH HIS VISION. HT Y
FROM THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED MAN TO FULFILL A PARTICULAR WORK WITHIN HIS CREATION. “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26) HE PLACED MAN IN THE GARDEN FOR A PARTICULAR REASON. “And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.” (Gen. 2:15 Amp.).
BY HIS LIES, SATAN HAS TRIED TO USURP OUR BIRTHRIGHT AS KINGS AND PRIESTS AND HAS SET UP HIS OWN THRONE OF DOMINION OVER THE HUMAN RACE. WE NOW HAVE BECOME SERPENT’S MEAT, FOR SATAN HAS BEEN CURSED”..dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” (Gen. 3:14) IT IS THE FALLEN NATURE OF ADAM THAT HAS BECOME SATAN’S FOOD. WE HAVE LITERALLY BEEN BROUGHT INTO BONDAGE TO. THE FORCES WE WERE ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED TO RULE OVER!!
SATAN HAS TURNED OUR PARADISE INTO A PRISON HOUSE AND OUR VERY INHERITANCE INTO SLAVE CHAINS. HE HAS NOT ONLY KICKED US OFF OUR THRONE BUT HAS GIVEN US OVER TO HIS FILTHY HORDES OF VILE AND UNCLEAN SPIRITS TO FEED UPON AT WILL, WHILE HE CARRIES OUT HIS PLAN OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE HUMAN RACE. THROUGH THE PROMISE OF MAKING US GODS IN OUR OWN SIGHT, HE HAS HUMILIATED US, DRAGGING US INTO THE MUCK AND MIRE OF DEPRAVITY, DISEASE, DECAY, SIN, AND DEATH. THAT REALM OF LIFE ADAM HAD IN GOD IS NOW HARDLY MORE THAN A FAINT DREAM, A MERE SHADOW OF THE BEAUTY AND PERFECTION THAT SEEMS LONG LOST. MANKIND, IN ALL HIS EFFORTS, HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO BRING ABOUT HIS UTOPIA, FOR THE PROBLEM LIES NOT IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EARTH OR WITH HIMSELF, BUT WITH GOD, & WITH HIS FOE, SATAN.
IT IS WITHIN THIS CONTEXT THAT JESUS CHRIST CAME TO EARTH. HE CAME PRIMARILY TO RESTORE THAT WHICH WAS LOST TO HUMANITY. IT WAS SOLELY FOR THIS PURPOSE: TO RESTORE OUR BIRTHRIGHT AS SONS OF GOD, THAT HE WENT TO CALVARY. HE DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE BUT THE SWORD. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 10:34-39)
HE CAME TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF SATAN THAT CAUSE MAN TO SIN. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (I John 3:8) FIRST OF ALL, HE DEMONSTRATED TO THE WHOLE WORLD HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY OVER ALL THE EARTH AND THEN PROCEEDED TO PAY THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS, THUS FULFILLING THE RIGHTEOUS DEMANDS OF HOLINESS. HE OPENED THE WAY FOR US AND ALSO EQUIPPED US TO OVERCOME OUR ENEMIES. HE CAME LITERALLY TO RESTORE THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON THIS EARTH, ANY OTHER CONCEPT OF CHRISTIANITY IS TO RENDER IT UNSPIRITUAL. “…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” (Luke 11:2) THIS KINGDOM IS REAL AND ITS KING IS ALIVE.
OUR KING–JESUS CHRIST THE LORD, CAME TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM AND IN THE PROCESS DESTROY THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS THAT HAS USURPED OUR POSITION AS RULERS ON THIS EARTH.
ALL THROUGH THE GOSPELS WE SEE THAT JESUS SPENT MUCH OF HIS TIME IN BATTLE, CASTING OUT DEMONS, HEALING THE SICK AND AFFLICTED, AND SPEAKING LIFE UNTO THE LOST AND DYING. HE HIMSELF PROCLAIMED THIS WORK WAS A SIGN OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you.” (Matt. 12:28) HE MADE IT VERY PLAIN THAT HIS WORK WAS TO CAST OUT THE USURPERS AND TO OVERTHROW THEIR GOVERNMENT OF REBELLION. THIS IS WHY THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL IS NOT ONE OF LOFTY IDEALISMS OR MORAL PLATITUDES. IT IS PRIMARILY A GOSPEL OF POWER. PAUL SAID, “The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” (I Cor. 4:20) “And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power.” (Luke 4:32)
JESUS CAME TO RESTORE US TO THIS REALM OF DOMINION THAT WE TOO CAN WALK IN AUTHORITY AND POWER OVER THE FORCES THAT HAVE ROBBED US AND HAVE BROUGHT HUMANITY INTO THE REALM OF DARKNESS, DECAY, & DEATH. “Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2) And He said, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)
GOD DID NOT CREATE MANKIND TO BE RULED OVER BY SATAN, OPPRESSED, DEPRESSED, OR POSSESSED. HE DID NOT INTEND FOR US TO BE WALLOWING IN A QUAGMIRE OF DESPAIR, DROWNING IN OUR OWN HOPELESSNESS. HIS PURPOSE WAS THAT WE WOULD WALK IN COMMUNION WITH HIM AND THUS EXPRESS HIS LIFE, HIS KINGDOM ON THIS EARTH. JESUS CHRIST HAS EQUIPPED US TO ONCE MORE WALK IN THIS REALM OF LIFE, TO ENJOY THE BLESSINGS OF TRUE SONSHIP WITH OUR FATHER THE CREATOR. THIS IS THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM AND “…it must be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt. 24:14) THIS IS THE MESSAGE THAT IS TO BE PROCLAIMED THROUGH ALL THE WORLD, THAT JESUS CHRIST IS OUR KING AND OUR LORD, AND THAT SATAN IS PUT UNDERFOOT BY THE POWER AND AUTHORITY THAT IS OURS IN JESUS CHRIST. THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IS A MESSAGE OF BATTLE. IT IS A MESSAGE OF RECLAIMING THE POWER AND AUTHORITY, THE DOMINION THAT IS OURS, IF WE WILL TAKE IT BACK FROM SATAN!!!
JUST AS THE JEWS OF PHARAOH’S BONDAGE WERE FREED BY GOD THRU MOSES, SO NOW CAN THOSE WHO ARE SATAN’S BOND SLAVES BE FREED BY THOSE MANIFESTING THE POWER OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. GOD IS RAISING UP A MANY-MEMBERED BODY TO SERVE IN THAT MOSES COMPANY, AN ARMY OF DELIVERERS WHO WILL SET GOD’S PEOPLE FREE FROM THE CAPTIVITY OF SATAN.
THIS IS AN HOUR OF GREAT URGENCY IN WHICH WE ARE LIVING, IT IS A TIME OF SERIOUS CONSECRATION AND TOTAL DEDICATION TO GOD, FOR THIS IS THE HOUR WHEN HE IS CALLING FORTH A PEOPLE TO RETURN TO THAT PLACE OF ONENESS AND COMMUNION THAT ADAM LOST. HE IS CALLING FORTH A PEOPLE WHO WILL WALK IN DOMINION, WHO WILL CARRY FORTH HIS DELIVERING TRUTH, WHO WILL MARCH IN UNITY WITH HIM, AND WHO WILL NOT BREAK THEIR RANKS, FOR THEY SHALL KNOW WHO THEY ARE IN GOD. WE ARE LIVING IN THE GREATEST TIMES IN SEE WE SHALL THE HISTORY, THE TIMES WHEN MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD! WE ARE LIVING IN TIMES WHEN DEMON POWERS HAVE BEEN UNLEASHED AS NEVER BEFORE, BUT WE ARE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO OVERCOME THOSE POWERS, TO DRIVE THE ENEMIES OUT OF THE LAND, OUR LAND. JUST AS THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD TO DRIVE THE ENEMIES OUT OF THE LAND OF CANAAN IN ORDER TO POSSESS WHAT WAS THEIRS IN GOD, SO TOO MUST WE BE WILLING TO DRIVE OUT THE ENEMIES IN OUR LAND THAT WE CAN FULLY BE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE. GOD IS CALLING FORTH HIS PEOPLE IN THIS HOUR TO BE SET FREE FROM THE INSIDE; HE WANTS US TO WAR VALIANTLY AND RELENTLESSLY AGAINST THOSE FOES (DEMONS) WHICH HAVE KEPT US IN CHAINS TO SATAN. HE WANTS US TO TAKE DOMINION AND WALK ON THE HEADS OF OUR ENEMIES AND GRIND THEM TO POWDER. GOD WANTS A PEOPLE WHO WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.
GOD’S LIGHT IS COMING FORTH WITH GREAT INTENSITY TO THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO FORSAKE ALL AND FOLLOW HIM, AND IN THE LIGHT OF HIS INTENSITY, MANY OF THE THINGS FORMERLY CONSIDERED IMPORTANT ARE BEING MELTED WITH FERVENT HEAT, THE HEAT OF HIS DIVINE LOVE. HE IS CALLING US TO THE WORK OF “…casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. ” (II Cor. 10:5)
THIS IS THE HOUR OF TOTAL COMMITMENT, THE HOUR OF OBEDIENCE, THE HOUR TO SURRENDER ALL AT THE FEET OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD. GOD DESIRES HIS PEOPLE TO BE CLEAN, HOLY, SANCTIFIED AND CONSECRATED UNTO HIM. HE DESIRES A PEOPLE WHO WILL FULFILL HIS PURPOSE ON THE EARTH. BUT WE MUST PREPARE OURSELVES, WE MUST LABOUR TO ENTER INTO THAT REST. “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Heb. 4:11) WE MUST COME OUT FROM THE UNCLEAN, FROM AMONG THE DEAD AND DYING DENOMINATIONAL SYSTEMS, AND COME INTO THE FULLNESS OF THE LORD. FAR TOO MANY HAVE SLOUCHED DOWN IN THEIR T.V. CHAIRS AND ARE WAITING FOR A RAPTURE THAT WILL TAKE THEM AWAY. BUT HE IS NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYONE AWAY, HE IS GOING TO HAVE A PEOPLE WHO WILL OVERCOME, NOT RUN. GOD IS TELLING US TO CAST OFF THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, AND PUT SATAN AND HIS DEMONS UNDERFOOT, AND REGAIN THAT REALM OF DOMINION THAT ADAM HAD.
GOD IS CALLING FORTH A PEOPLE WHO WILL AGGRESSIVELY MOVE OUT IN THEIR CHRISTIAN WALK, AND NOT STAY HIDDEN AWAY IN A STATE OF COMPROMISE AND PASSIVITY BUT WHO WILL STAND FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST, REGARDLESS OF THE COST. GOD IS CALLING FORTH SONS IN THIS HOUR WHO WILL KNOW THE GLORY AND VICTORY THAT ONLY COMES THRU WAR IN THE SPIRIT REALM AGAINST THE UNSEEN FORCES OF HELL. THESE SONS WILL RECLAIM WHAT IS THEIRS WITHOUT BEING INTIMIDATED BY THE ENEMY. GOD IS RAISING UP A PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT BE AFRAID OF SATAN, BUT WHO WILL BACK HIM IN THE CORNER TILL HE SCREAMS FOR MERCY. FOR TOO LONG, GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE LIVED IN FEAR AND DEFEAT AT THE HAND OF DEMONIC FORCES. BUT THAT DAY IS ENDING, FOR GOD’S ARMY IS MARCHING AND THE HOUR IS AT HAND, FOR THERE SHALL BE A PEOPLE STRONG AND VICTORIOUS IN THE LORD!!!
IN ORDER TO BE IN HIS RANKS WE MUST LEARN TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO HIM, TO HIS WORK, TO HIS WILL, TO HIS VISION. WE MUST LEARN TO KEEP OUR EYES, HEARTS, AND MINDS STAYED UPON HIM, LOOKING NOT TO THE LEFT, NOR TO THE RIGHT, BUT STRAIGHT AHEAD TO HIM, THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS. THE MORE WE KEEP STAYED UPON HIM, THE MORE THAT HIS GLORY, STRENGTH, AND MIGHT WILL FLOW INTO US AND OUT TO OTHERS. HE IS OUR ONLY SOURCE OF POWER AND THROUGH HIM COMES THE EVERLASTING DOMINION THAT IS OUR RIGHTFUL INHERITANCE AS HIS SONS. WE WILL ONLY HAVE DOMINION OVER EVIL AS GOD HAS DOMINION OVER US, AND WE WILL ONLY BE IN AUTHORITY AS WE’VE ALLOWED GOD TO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER US.
GOD IS CALLING FOR HIS PEOPLE TO BE CO-WORKERS WITH HIM IN FULFILLING HIS VISION. “We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” (II Cor. 6:1) ONLY THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO LABOUR TOGETHER WITH HIM WILL ENTER INTO THIS REALM OF DOMINION, FOR THIS IS A REALM OF OVERCOMING LIFE, A REALM THAT IS ONLY POSSIBLE THRU THE KING OF GLORY. NO FLESHLY LABOUR WILL BRING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BUT ONLY THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT. HUMAN EFFORT WILL NOT BRING IN GOD’S KINGDOM, BUT RATHER COOPERATION WITH GOD IS WHAT BRINGS IT FORTH. HUMANISTIC EFFORTS, NEW AGE PRATTLE, AND HIGH TALK OF A NEW WORLD WILL NOT BRING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THESE ARE NO MORE THAN SATANIC IMITATIONS OF WHAT GOD IS DOING IN THIS HOUR. THE TRUE KINGDOM IS BEING BROUGHT IN THROUGH A PEOPLE WHO ARE IN OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER, JUST AS JESUS WAS.
AS GOD BRINGS FORTH HIS CHOSEN ONES, THE FORCES OF HELL WILL RAGE WITH GREATER INTENSITY, FOR THEY KNOW THAT THEIR HOUR IS AT HAND WHEN THEY WILL BE FORCED INTO A PLACE OF SUBJECTION TO THE SONS OF GOD. IT’S UP TO EACH OF US TO CHOOSE WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANT IN THE LORD; IF WE DESIRE THAT PLACE OF DOMINION WE CAN HAVE IT, BUT WE MUST BE WILLING TO LAY ALL ASIDE AND FOLLOW THE LAMB AT ALL COSTS.
THE WAY IS WIDE OPEN FOR ALL WHO WOULD ENTER. GOD IS CALLING HIS PEOPLE UP INTO HIM. HE DESIRES A PEOPLE WHO WILL CHOOSE HIM ABOVE ALL ELSE, WHO WILL HAVE A SINGLE EYE TO HIM, WHO WILL LOVE HIM WITH ALL OF THEIR HEARTS. HE HAS A VISION FOR A PEOPLE WHO WILL DARE TO FOLLOW HIM OUT OF THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND INTO THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT. HE IS CALLING FOR A PEOPLE WHO WILL BOLDLY PROCLAIM HIS DOMINION IN AN EARTH OVERTAKEN BY THE ENEMY. HE IS CALLING FOR A VALIANT PEOPLE WHO WILL OVERTHROW THE TYRANNY OF SATAN AND RESTORE THE DESTRUCTION THAT THE EVIL ONE HAS WROUGHT IN PEOPLE’S LIVES. THE ARMY THAT GOD IS CALLING FORTH WILL NOT ONLY DELIVER HIS PEOPLE FROM CAPTIVITY, BUT THEY WILL ALSO WORK MIGHTILY IN THE REALM OF RESTORATION. GOD HAS EQUIPPED US MIGHTILY FOR BATTLE AND HAS SOUNDED HIS ALARM IN ALL THE EARTH.
THIS IS THE HOUR TO RESPOND TO THE LORD FROM THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART; LET HIM MAKE YOU INTO ONE OF HIS MIGHTY ONES, ONE OF HIS OVERCOMERS, ONE OF HIS SONS!!!
Walk In Dominion Part 2
SINCE ADAM’S DISOBEDIENCE THAT RESULTED IN HIS FALL, THE VISION AND REALITY OF MAN WALKING IN DOMINION HAS NEVER CHANGED, FOR THIS IS AN ETERNAL VISION.
WE KNOW THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS DEALT WITH MAN ON THE BASIS OF CHOICE. WHAT A PRECIOUS GIFT! WHEN ADAM CHOSE NOT TO OBEY THE VOICE OF GOD, (Gen. 2:16, 17) HE DECIDED HIS OWN DESTINY–SUFFERING AND DEATH. (Gen. 3:17-19) “And God said, let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them (Adam, male and female) have dominion…” (Gen. 1:26)
FIRST OF ALL, LET US CONSIDER WHAT ADAM WAS LIKE IN THE BEGINNING. LET’S TAKE THE WORD “IMAGE” AND DEFINE IT. IT COMES FROM THE HEBREW WORD, “TSEH’- LEM” THIS WORD IS DEFINED IN THE STRONG’S CONCOR- DANCE (#6754) AS A REPRESENTATIVE FIGURE. IT IS TAKEN FROM AN UNUSED ROOT MEANING: TO SHADE; A PHANTOM, (FIG) ILLUSION, RESEMBLANCE. WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT GOD CREATED MAN TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE OF HIMSELF ON THE EARTH, AN EXTENSION OF HIS PERSON.
LET US CONSIDER THE WORD “LIKENESS.” IT ALSO COMES FROM THE HEBREW WORD “DEM-OOTH”” (#1823), “DEM- OOTH”” IS TAKEN FROM (#1819): RESEMBLANCE; CONCR.
MODEL, SHAPE; ADV. LIKE: -FASHION, LIKE (-NESS, AS) MANNER SIMILITUDE.
FROM THIS WE CAN SEE THAT ADAM WAS TO RESEMBLE GOD, REPRESENT GOD, ON EARTH. WHAT A MARVELOUS POSITION. THE VERY LORD GOD REVEALING HIMSELF IN AND THRU A MAN AND WOMAN. LET US GO TO THE GREEK FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION. LET US READ THE SCRIPTURE FOUND IN I COR. 11:7: “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and the glory of God…” THIS IS A GREEK WORD (#1504), “I-KONE””. THIS WORD COMES FROM (#1503), “I-KO” THE GREEK WORD FOR “IMAGE” IS DEFINED AS: A LIKENESS, RESEMBLANCE, TO RESEMBLE, BE LIKE.
NOW LET US TAKE THE WORD, “LIKENESS” IN THE GREEK. TURNING TO ROMANS 6:5, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his (Jesus’) death, we shall be also be in the likeness of his resurrection.” THIS GREEK WORD (#3666), “HOM-OY-O-O” MEANS: TO ASSIMILATE, COMPARE, TO BECOME SIMILAR. IT IS A WORD TAKEN FROM (#3664), “HOM’-OY-OS”. THIS WORD IS FROM THE BASE WORD (#3674), MEANING: SIMILAR (IN APPEARANCE OR CHARACTER.)
JESUS SAID IN JOHN 14:9, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the father…”. JESUS CHRIST WAS THE VERY CHARACTER OF GOD, FOR HE WAS GOD IN FLESH, A CHRISTIAN IS SUPPOSED TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD IN APPEARANCE. THE WORD “APPEARANCE” IS DEFINED AS: “THE ACT, ACTION, OR PROCESS OF APPEARING.” IN OTHER WORDS, BEING A LIVING EPISTLE, KNOWN AND READ OF ALL MEN (II Cor. 3:2).
JUST WHAT IS THE CHARACTER OF GOD? IT IS THE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAKE UP AND DISTINGUISH HIS PERSONALITY, HIS MORAL EXCELLENCE AND FIRMNESS. TO A BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT A CHRISTIAN’S CHARACTER SHOULD CONSIST OF, LET US READ GAL. 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.. “THIS CHARACTER CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED BY THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, NOT BY OUR SELF-EFFORTS. THIS IS ONLY A GLIMPSE OF WHAT THE WORDS “IMAGE” AND “LIKENESS” MEAN. LET’S KEEP THIS IN MIND AS WE RELATE TO THE OVERCOMING WALK, WALKING IN DOMINION.
NOW, LET’S SEE WHAT THE WORD “DOMINION” MEANS. “…and let them (Adam male and female) have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26) THE WORD “DOMINION” IN THE HEBREW IS “RAW- DAN” A PRIMARY ROOT MEANING: TO TREAD DOWN; SUBJUGATE: SPEC. TO CRUMBLE OFF: (COME TO, MAKE TO) HAVE DOMINION, PREVAIL AGAINST, REIGN, (BEAR, MAKE TO) RULE, (RULE OVER) TAKE.
LOOKING INTO THE GREEK MEANING, WE READ IN ROMANS 6:9 AND 14: “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more: death hath no dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.”
YOU CAN BE A RULER…
“DOMINION”, KOO-RE-YOO’O: (STRONGS #2961; FROM #2962), MEANING: TO RULE; HAVE DOMINION OVER, LORD, BE LORD OF EXERCISE LORDSHIP OVER. KOO’REE-OS: (#2962) IN AUTHORITY; (AS SUPREMACY; SUPREME NOUN) CONTROLLER BY IMPL. MR. (AS A RESPECTFUL TITLE) GOD, LORD, MASTER, SIR
SINCE ADAM FELL ARE YOU GETTING THE PICTURE? FROM THIS PLACE OF EXALTATION AND AUTHORITY, JESUS CHRIST, THE SECOND ADAM, CAME TO RESTORE THIS REALM IN THE SPIRIT TO MAN. THRU HIS DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION, JESUS DESTROYED THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL, UNLOCKING THIS POWERFUL REALM OF DOMINION FOR US TODAY.
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO HAVE DOMINION AS A CHRISTIAN, WE CAN SEE WHAT A TREMENDOUS HERITAGE IS OURS, AND HOW THE DEVIL IS USURPING THE AUTHORITY OF THE SONS OF DOMINION.
THE APOSTLE PAUL SAYS, “We wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high (heavenly) places.” (Eph. 6:12) YES, PAUL DID HAVE, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, DOMINION, ALONG WITH SOME OF THE SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS THRU THE AGES. BUT AS A WHOLE, THE CHURCH OF JESUS HAS SUFFERED MISERY AND DEFEAT FROM THE POWERS OF DARKNESS. DEPRESSED, OPPRESSED, DECEIVED ON EVERY HAND, AFFLICTED WITH ALL MANNER OF DISEASE AND SICKNESS, SIN HAS RUN RAMPANT THROUGHOUT THE CHURCHES. ALL TOO MANY SAINTS OF GOD HAVE BEEN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY THE GOD OF THIS WORLD. WHY? SOMEWHERE WE’VE STOPPED WALKING IN DOMINION. INSTEAD OF TREADING DOWN THE ENEMY, PREVAILING AGAINST, MASTERING OUR OWN CARNAL WILLS, WE’VE WAVED THE WHITE FLAG AND SURRENDERED TO HIS POWERS.
INSTEAD OF EXERCISING LORDSHIP AND RULING OVER OUR CIRCUMSTANCES IN LIFE THAT WOULD MAKE US SEASONED SOLDIERS, WE’VE SETTLED FOR THE COMFORTS OF COMPROMISE AND LUKEWARMNESS. THUS, WE’VE BECOME STAGNATED IN OUR WALK WITH GOD, AND INEFFECTIVE AGAINST THE ENEMY.
OH YES, WE’VE WITNESSED A MEASURE OF DELIVERANCE, A MEASURE OF VICTORY, BUT HOW LITTLE WE HAVE SEEN IN COMPARISON WITH THE TREMENDOUS NEED THAT
PRESENTS ITSELF!
HOW MANY SUNDAYS DO THE SAINTS GATHER TOGETHER AND SING THIS SONG: “LIKE A MIGHTY ARMY, MOVES THE CHURCH OF GOD, BROTHERS WE ARE TREADING WHERE THE SAINTS HAVE TROD. WE ARE NOT DIVIDED, ALL ONE BODY WE, ONE IN HOPE AND DOCTRINE, AND IN CHARITY. ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, MARCHING AS TO WAR! WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS GOING ON BEFORE.” THIS SOUNDS SO VALIANT INDEED, BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT WE ARE NOT DOING ANY OF THE ABOVE. THE CHURCHES DON’T EVEN LIKE TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH WAR. INSTEAD OF BEING UNI- TED, WE ARE DIVIDED INTO NUMEROUS ORGANIZATIONS, DENOMINATIONS, AND SECTS, ALL HAVING DIFFERENT DOCTRINES AND HOPES AND KNOWING LITTLE, IF NOTHING, ABOUT CHARITY!!
THE REAL TRUTH IS THAT FAR TOO MANY BELIEVERS LIVE FAR BELOW THEIR CALLING. INSTEAD OF BEING A REPRESENTATIVE FIGURE AND PUTTING FORTH THE CHARACTER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WE WANT TO BE CONFORMED TO THE WORLD, HOPING WE WILL WIN MORE SOULS FOR GOD. FOOLISH THINKING! INSTEAD OF RISING UP WITH THE ROD OF AUTHORITY, WALKING IN DOMINION OVER THE WORLD, FLESH, AND DEVIL, WE ARE DOING THE OPPOSITE. WE FIND OURSELVES AT THE MERCY OF THE WORLD AND ALL OF ITS ALLUREMENTS AND EVIL DEVICES. WE YIELD TOO OFTEN TO THE APPETITES AND LUSTS OF OUR FLESH AND SATAN IS CAUSING HAVOC IN OUR LIVES. WE BECOME THE ONES OVER WHOM LORDSHIP IS EXERCISED– BY SATAN!!
GOD HAS NOT CALLED US TO BE CONFORMED INTO THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF THE WORLD, NOR TO BECOME CHURCH-LIKE, BUT HE HAS CALLED US TO BE CHRIST-LIKE! FORGOTTEN ARE THE DAYS WHEN MEN CALLED SIN, SIN. OUR PHILOSOPHY TODAY IS ROOTED IN HUMANISM, “SIN IS ONLY SIN IF YOU THINK IT’S SIN.” WE ARE BECOMING MORE HUMANISTIC THAN HUMBLE IN OUR SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK. THE SHEEP ARE BEING FLEECED INSTEAD OF FED.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO ONCE AGAIN RULE AND REIGN? WHEN WILL WE EVER REALIZE THAT THE SINS AND JUDGMENTS OF ISRAEL ARE RECORDED IN THE BIBLE “To the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” (I Cor. 10:6). WE OUGHT TO TAKE HEED TO THE STORIES AND EXAMPLES OF DIVISION, CORRUPTION, AND STRIFE RECORDED IN THE SCRIPTURES. WE NEED TO EXERCISE DOMINION TODAY AS NEVER BEFORE. WE DO NOT WANT TO FOLLOW IN THE PATHWAY OF DISOBEDIENCE AS DID ISRAEL.
JESUS WAS A MAN LIKE YOU AND I, HE WAS TEMPTED IN ALL POINTS, YET HE ALWAYS TOOK DOMINION AND PUT THE ENEMY ON THE RUN. GOD IS CALLING FORTH A PEOPLE WHO WILL PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD AND GO INTO BATTLE. TO REMOVE WARFARE FROM ONE’S SPIRITUAL LIFE IS TO RENDER IT UNSPIRITUAL. BEING TRAINED AS A SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST, ONE REALIZES THAT A LIFE MUST BE TOTALLY YIELDED TO THE COMMANDER WITHOUT THOUGHT FOR PERSONAL COMFORT AND HAPPINESS. A SOLDIER IN OBEDIENCE IS A SOLDIER OF USEFULNESS. IT IS GOD’S INTENT THAT HIS PEOPLE WALK IN DOMINION. HE PURPOSELY SENDS THE ENEMY OUR WAY TO TRAIN US TO BECOME SKILLED IN WIELDING THE SWORD AND EXERCISING OUR SPIRITUAL SENSES. HE HAS, FROM THE MOMENT OF ADAM’S FALL, HAD A PLAN FOR HIS PEOPLE TO BEEN MADE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE TO BECOME VALIANT WARRIORS. IT IS SAD TO SEE SO MANY OF GOD’S PEOPLE WITH FEARFUL, UNBELIEVING HEARTS. THEY FIND EXCUSES NOT TO DO BATTLE. THEY ARE DEPRESSED, OPPRESSED, OBSESSED, AND HARASSED BY THE VERY ONE JESUS HAS ALREADY DEFEATED. WHAT A SHAME TO HEAR MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD SAY, “I’M JUST HOLDING ON.” SATAN SMIRKS WHEN A CHRISTIAN FALLS INTO HIS TRAP, MANY TIMES NEVER TO RISE AGAIN. HOW LONG, HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO FLINCH AS THE ROARING LION ROAMS ABOUT? TOO OFTEN THE FIERY DARTS OF THE ENEMY FIND THEIR MARK BECAUSE WE HAVE FAILED TO LIFT OUR SHIELDS!!
Walk In Dominion Part 3
WHILE IT WAS MOSES THAT GOD USED to lead Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness, it was Joshua, the man with the warrior anointing, that God used to lead Israel into the Land of Canaan. He led them in a war campaign against the heathen: “casting out” the enemies, “pulling down” their strongholds-this is WAR!
Far too many Christians have settled for the borders of Canaan because they have too many possessions and they’re afraid of losing something in the process of gaining the Land. They don’t like to fight. Others have entered the battle, conquering the enemy as they possess the fullness of their inheritance! Some settle to be thirty-fold, some sixty, but God will yet have those who will bring forth a hundred fold!
God is bringing forth His manchild company in this hour-a people out of a people who will rule and reign in the righteousness, the power, and the authority of Jesus Christ. Notice in Revelation 12:4-5 that the woman (the Church) gave birth to a manchild (a male son): “and the dragon (Satan) stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron (scepter of strength).” The dragon was not after the woman but the manchild. Some people say that this was speaking of Jesus, but this scene was shown years after Jesus had been born, died and resurrected. “And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron (scepter of strength): and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman (the Church) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they (God and the manchild) should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (31⁄2 years)” (Revelation 12:5-6).
The very words of the psalmist (see Psalm 2:1-9) and of Jesus prove that this one who was to rule the nations with a rod of iron could be none other than the Son of God, the CHRIST (Anointed One), the OVERCOMER-including us true Christians, the Body of overcomers, who have been joined to our divine head, JESUS CHRIST. Remember, the ascended Christ spake out of Heaven to John, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my continues until the Son delivers up the Kingdom to God (1 Corinthians 15:24). Some believe that this millennium reign will be a time of peace and safety, a time of great rest and blessings. But God makes it clear that even while we reign with Him during the thousand years, that there are enemies all around us, continually being put under our feet.
Jesus has bound the “strong man” (Satan) but He left it up to us to “spoil his house.” What is Satan’s house? PEOPLE!!! Glory to God! What a time of ruling and reigning, what a time of deliverance and dominion!
Walk In Dominion Part 4 — Early 1980s
“And God said, Let us (the Father and the Son) make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them (Adam and Eve) have DOMINION.” Genesis 1:26
WE CAN SEE THROUGH THIS VERSE that the Lord God created man for a particular purpose, and here we discover it is to exercise DOMINION over the earth. But what does this really mean? The phrase “have DOMINION” means “to rule, tread down, reign (over), master.”
We can also see, through the fact that man was created in the image and likeness of God, that this DOMINION was not something in man’s own power, but rather was the result of his relationship with his Creator, God. Adam was created to be an expression or extension of God’s Government and authority. God’s initial plan for Adam and Eve was that they were to manifest His order, His Kingdom, and His will upon the earth as a result of their perfect obedience and relationship with Him. It was not until they broke that perfect relationship that they lost all their authority and DOMINION which they had in Him.
God created man with a free will: a mind, emotions, and will that could reason, feel, and let him choose for himself. When confronted with the choice of obedience or self-will, life or death, Adam chose his own self-will and thus brought death upon all mankind. This act of disobedience brought all humanity into a lowered state of being; into the realm of sin, sickness, and death. Adam fell out of his exalted realm of Glory and DOMINION and thus produced children in the very likeness and image of his new-found carnality.
Jesus Christ, as the second Adam, came to restore mankind, to deliver him from the bondage of sin, sickness, death, and decay. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He opened up this beautiful realm of DOMINION and Glory that Adam originally had.in God. All those who accept the Son as the Savior and are obedient to the truth are reinstated into that Sonship Realm that we once had before the Fall. But, it is very essential that we are obedient!! Through our obedience to the revealed will of God, we can be “born again” as Jesus proclaimed in John 3:3. Our spirit that was dead in rebellion, sin and trespasses against God, can be quickened (made alive) by the Spirit of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-9).
But what has God done with our foe, the tempter, the one who originally incited man to sin against His Creator? God did use Satan as the tempter to try and test Adam, yet He also was planning to curse the serpent so as to destroy him, once his purpose was completed. This began the age-old battle between good and evil, light and darkness, between the seed of the woman and Satan. But God did not leave man without a hope, or without the means to destroy his enemy. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
This set in motion the promises and prophecies concerning Christ and His conquering work over the enemy of our souls. It was this victory over the Devil that He was to accomplish through His obedient life, service, and crucifixion. All was finished, completed and sealed with the POWER of God through the resurrection; and through the POWER of His Eternal Life, He equips us, His Body, the Church, to complete the work of destroying our adversary, the Devil. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
It was on Calvary that Christ had his heel bruised, but Satan’s head (his rulership and authority) was also bruised in fulfillment of Genesis 3. We know without a doubt that Jesus finished all that the Father gave Him to do, and failed in nothing; yet He has now given us a command. He has given it to us, through the power and authority of His name and presence, to completely and finally overcome the adversary through the mighty provision of His life and resurrection. “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).
So you see, on the one hand, the work is completed, and there is nothing we can do to add to it or subtract from it…
but we must utilize the full provisions given us, we must proclaim the victory, we must possess the Land, we must take what is ours and manifest
Christ’s overcoming power in the earth.
He has given us DOMINION and AUTHORITY over ALL the hosts of Hell and ALL the power of the evil one, BUT UNLESS WE TAKE HOLD OF THAT POWER, UNLESS WE EXERCISE AND USE IT, IT WILL DO US NO GOOD WHATSOEVER.
Too many Christians are lying down in a bed of ease, waiting to be raptured out of all the pressures and tribulations. They’re waiting to go to Heaven so that they can build a mansion over the hilltop, or a cabin in the corner of Glory Land… but, brothers and sisters, we have a job to do! There remains yet much Land to be taken, for we must put ALL enemies under our feet. We must learn what it means in truth and reality to rule, tread down, reign over and master every dark force of the wicked one. We must once-and-for-all put Satan out of this earth and out of business!!!
Jesus has given us a command “through the power and authority of His name and presence,
to completely and finally overcome the adversary through the mighty provision of His life and resurrection.”
Many say that it is already done and all we have to do is wait for Christ’s return, “For didn’t Jesus finish it all on Calvary?” they say. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, SEEKING whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). As long as he is walking around, we have not totally put him under our feet. Paul the Apostle told the saints in Rome that “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).
Now we understand the seed of the woman is the many- membered Body of Christ, Jesus being the firstborn of many brethren, who led the way and served as our Captain in opening the doors for us to follow.
Now that we see both our provision in Christ and the need to use the authority and power given to us in Him, the question arises, “How?”. How do we use the DOMINION that the Lord has so richly provided for His saints? Let’s turn to Psalms 110:1-2. Here we see David writing prophetically under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, saying, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” We see two things here: Jesus Christ will remain sitting at His Father’s right hand until ALL enemies will be made His footstool; secondly, the Lord shall send the rod out of
Zion. For what reason? To enable us to RULE in the midst of our enemies. So, we use our dominion by ruling; therefore we must walk in obedience, in Christ, to gain that place of rulership.
“AII those who accept the Son as the Savior and are obedient to the truth are reinstated into that Sonship Realm that we once had before the Fall.”
