Previously I have attempted to help you understand the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. In those prophecies we learned how close we are to the end of time. We learned that the coming of Christ “is near, right at the door”. (Mark 13:29) However, this is two thousand years after He arose from the grave. Two thousand years after His ascension into heaven. What has Jesus been doing during these last two thousand years?
If you will come with me on a journey, I think we will discover what our wonderful Friend and High Priest has been doing these last two thousand years.
“He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19.
“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” Luke 22:69.
“Exalted to the right hand of God…”. Act 2:33.
“God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” Acts 5:31.
“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55, 56.
“Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34.
“…which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms…” Ephesians 1:20.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1.
“After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3.
“Who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him.” 1 Peter 3:22.
“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:12.
Okay, where did Jesus go after rising from the dead? According to all these texts He went into heaven to be by the Father’s side. Now some have argued that He is “sitting” on a throne. That for two thousand years Jesus has “just been sitting” on this throne. That is dumb.
When Elizabeth became Queen of England, she took her seat on the throne during the coronation and became “Queen of England”. That act represented her assuming authority as head and “Queen” of England. But I hope you do not think that she has been sitting on that throne since the 1930’s. That would be awfully tiring. No, I think she has gotten up off that throne a few times and slept in beds, traveled in cars and airplanes and even sat at tables and walked in the garden. In fact, the only time she sits on the throne is for very important “State” occasions. Other than that she never even sees the throne room.
The same with Jesus. He is not “sitting” on a throne. The concept of “sitting” is the same as with the Queen of England. It is a statement of fact that Jesus has taken authority. We find this concept in 1 Peter 3:22. When Jesus stood before the high priest and the counsel on the night He was arrested, they saw Him as a “man”. Jesus told them they would see Him at the “right hand” of God. That concept of “right hand” has to do with power, authority and acceptance. Notice how the concept of “right hand” is used in the biblical sense.
“James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship…”. Galatians 2:9.
“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid.’” Revelation 1:17.
“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.’” Luke 1:11-13.
What you will find throughout the Bible is that the right side was considered the side of acceptance, approval and favor. Therefore, the angel standing on the right side of the altar showed favor to Zechariah. Placing the right hand on John showed approval, favor. Giving the right hand of fellowship to Paul showed approval and favor. This is a very important biblical concept. When we shake hands, normally, the custom is to shake with the right hand, again showing approval and favor.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He found the disciples fishing and said to them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” John 21:6. Why the right side? Because that was the side Jesus was standing on. By throwing the net toward Jesus, “they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” Same in our lives. If we will “fish” on the “right” side of Christ, we will be perfectly successful.
The same when Jesus went to the Father, the “sitting down” was a verbal concept of power and authority. Being on the “right side” showed approval and favor. But equally important as the symbolic language is the actual fact that Jesus is on the “right side” of the Father.
Remember the earthly tabernacle is a copy of the Heavenly Tabernacle. So, let’s take a look again at the earthly tabernacle, the parts that would represent the heavenly tabernacle.
“These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.” Revelation 2:1. Here we see that Jesus is walking among the seven golden lampstands.
In the illustration on the next page, you see how the golden lampstands were in the Holy Place of the earthly Temple. Therefore, in Revelation when John saw Jesus, he saw Him in the Holy Place of the heavenly Temple.
In the illustration of the earthly temple you can see that the Ark of the Covenant is in the Most Holy Place. That is where the Ten Commandments are kept. That is also where the presence of God was. The glory of God resided above the Ark. That Ark represents the throne room in Heaven where the Father sits. The Ten Commandments are the foundation of His throne. Psalm 89:14, Psalm 97:2, Psalm 119 are all about the Ten Commandments.
Looking into heaven, using the Ark as the throne, Jesus would be standing to the right of that throne. (Not your right, as you are looking at it, but to the right of the throne if you were sitting on it, looking at you, looking at it.) Jesus would be standing where the priest would be standing while ministering in the Holy Place. That is what Jesus was doing when He went to heaven. He was ministering in the Holy Place as our High Priest.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.
As our High Priest, He would be standing in front of the Altar of Incense offering up His prayers on behalf of us, His children, who had forsaken our sins and confessed them.
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a High Priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.” Hebrews 8:1, 2.
So what is Jesus doing as High Priest? He is working very hard for our salvation. He is continuing the work He began while here on earth. He is directing His army in an attempt to stem the tide of evil on this planet. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14. Since Jesus is the Archangel, He is the director, the “Leader” of the angels. He directs them and sends them to minister to those who are fighting the good fight of faith. When we come into difficult situations, He sends us the angels to help us fight the temptations. These angels will serve us and help us if we will humbly pray and request their help.
Jesus also sends the Holy Spirit to “teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26. Notice that the Spirit doesn’t tell us anything new, but to “remind you of everything I have said to you.” Those who run around claiming to have the Spirit and don’t need the Bible or anyone to teach them, are not of God. They do not have the Spirit of God. They have the spirit that was cast out of Heaven. The Spirit of God is in those who are teaching the teachings of Jesus: Stop sinning, Be perfect and Keep the Ten Commandments, including the 7th day (Saturday) Sabbath, in order to earn “get” your eternal life.
Last but not least, Jesus is directing His servants on earth. “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13. Notice, nothing there about building a “church”. No denomination mentioned. Just individuals doing the work of God.
That is what this book is all about. Jesus has used this little book of His to help build you up so you can reach the unity and maturity in the faith and attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. I am simply fulfilling my duty. I am nobody special, just a simple servant of Jesus doing as He has dictated and directed me.
Again, the temple on earth in the Old Testament did the same things. God gave His messages to the priests who then passed them on to the people. “They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel… And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” Nehemiah 8:1, 3. Notice, no mention of entertaining the people.
Jesus takes the message as given by His Father and gives it to us to give to the people. “But the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me.” “That I do nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me.” “For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them.” John 14:31; 8:28; 18:8. Are you accepting the words of this book as they have come from Jesus?
Any church who does not “speak just what the Father has taught” is not of God. There is no room for opinion, church doctrine, committee declarations or any other man-made wisdom. The true disciple of Jesus ONLY holds to the teachings of Jesus. “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31, 32.
“The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through His messengers again and again, because He had pity on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against His people and there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15, 16.
The same thing is happening today. The churches of the world are rejecting the messengers sent by God to bring the people back to His Ten Commandments and His 7th day Sabbath. The worldly churches despise and scoff at His prophets and messengers. His wrath is now falling upon the world. It will increase until the whole world is destroyed and His obedient people are taken off to be with Jesus. Please, do not reject the words of this book.
Here you see the eight (8) steps to perfection of 2 Peter 1:5-7 laid out in reference to the Temple. The first step is Faith. In order to be justified you must have faith that Jesus is able to wipe out your past sins. You must have faith that He, and He alone, can pay the penalty for your PAST sins. With that deep and abiding faith, you enter the courtyard of the sanctuary. After recognizing that Jesus is the Lamb who can take away your PAST sins, you then proceed to the second step at the water basin to wash your sins away. In the blood of Jesus, and through His power, you begin doing all the good you know how to do. You no longer do the sins of your past. You are born again and washed clean in the blood of Christ. You cannot continue in any KNOWN sin at this point.
Now you are entering the door of the Holy Place of sanctification and leaving justification behind. There is no more need for justification in your life at this point. Your past sins have been wiped out and thrown into the depths of the sea (symbolically of course). God no longer sees them. You are clean in His eyes. However, this cleanness will not save you eternally. It only allows you to continue in the salvation process. That process is called sanctification.
In the sanctification process you have a job to do. You must start by eating of the flesh of Jesus, His body, by learning about Him. This is the third step, knowledge. You must learn all you can about this new life and how you are to live and obey it.
As you learn what you must do, you are entering upon the fourth step, self-control. As you drink of the blood, sacrifice of Jesus, you enter into His self-control. You practice what you are learning. But this is not to be an on-again-off-again thing. It is not a momentary self-control. This self-control must be maintained. It is not “once saved always saved” but a continuous eating and drinking from God’s Word.
The fifth step is maintaining that self-control moment-by-moment, hour by hour, day after day, year after year. That is called perseverance. Through perseverance we no longer are sinning. When temptations arise, we use the self-control God has given us through His power to persevere in righteousness and say “no” to temptations. That is how we “follow” the example of Jesus.
This perseverance produces the sixth step of godliness. You are now living the sweet smelling, aromatic life of God. This is His perfection. Through godliness, or Godlikeness, you are now fulfilling the two parts of the Ten Commandments. We continue fulfilling the Ten Commandments as we continue in step seven, brotherly kindness. This is “Love your neighbor as yourself”. This brotherly kindness is what happens when you are fulfilling the last six of the Ten Commandments. From here we demonstrate the eighth step. This step is the highest, or Agape, love. You are now fulfilling the second part: the first four of the Ten Commandments: love to God.
This diagram is the essence of the whole Bible. Everything in the Bible is simply a more detailed concept of this simple eight step process of getting to heaven. It has nothing to do with church, religion or denomination. It has everything to do with your personal relationship and work with God and His eight steps to His perfection.
“To those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.” 1 Corinthians 1:2.
“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11.
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you His Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.
“May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13.
“…Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ…”. 1 Peter 1:2.
Grace saves us physically from immediate death. Justification does the same in a spiritual way. But neither will save you eternally.
Faith and Sanctification are the two vehicles that you must be in to be eternally saved. Grace and justification will get you to the vehicles, but you must open the doors of Faith and Sanctification and get inside. That is the only way you can have eternal life.
Keep in mind that these eight steps are to be constantly worked in “increasing measure”. “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:8. If you constantly work these eight steps in increasing measure, every day putting them into practice, then you will never sin again in your life. You will live the pure and perfect, sinless righteous life of Jesus. “For if you do these things, you will never fall.” 2 Peter 1:10.