"…and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword…." Revelation 1:16

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." II Peter 3:8

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Matthew 6:26-32

Good morning, friends, and may the glory of God's face shine into your life this day – and that it certainly will to you have been born anew into the kingdom of Jesus Christ!

In my last message you were shown how a twoedged sword proceeded from the mouth of Jesus Christ; the two edges being the message of light and life unto a world in darkness, and the second edge being that of prophecy, which is intended to prove the authority of God behind it. It is not in the power of man, no matter how clever or learned, to look hundreds and even thousands of years into the future, and to specify events and the dates on which they will take place. Because the Word of God does that very thing, not only in an isolated instance, but in many hundreds of instances, that, then, constitutes to us the proof that it has the wisdom and Spirit of God Almighty behind it. It was through His grace usward that He gave it, in order that we might know for a certainty that it is the very Spirit of God which has given us the message of light and life. For, when we see His prophetic words fulfilling, we are expected to understand that the balance of what He has said is also equally as true.

That was the way that Jesus of Nazareth proved Himself to be the Son of God, and proved that His word was true according to what He said, that "the words that you hear, I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth within Me, He doeth the works" (Jn. 14:10). And again He said, "I and My Father are one" (Jn. 10:30). Last time as we dealt with one of these twoedged messages by our Lord, we considered His speaking of the birds of the air who did not toil or harvest, neither lay up food for themselves for the winter, yet the compassionate God in heaven provided for them. By this He expected us to understand that we should direct our thoughts towards Him, even into the sunlit heavens, the same way as the birds of the air take on altitude and draw nearer to the light and the warmth of the glorious sunshine. So similarly should we also have our thoughts take on altitude, dwelling in the truth of God, in the warmth of His love and in the beauty of His light, instead of being perpetually concerned and worried stiff over the things of this earth, which today are and tomorrow may be swept away.

Can you imagine the birds of the air being worried or concerned over where the next meal is coming from? Whenever they are hungry they simply go forth in the fullest confidence that they are going to find what they require, and sure enough they do find it. Just listen to them chirping and singing at the top of their voices! Did you ever see a bird drop its head and point its beak at the ground and then open its mouth to sing? No indeed, you never have and never will. They lift up their head, they look up to the beauty of the heavens above, and with the Spirit of God surging through them, they open up to give voice to that spirit of joy which God Almighty has given them.

Like Israel of old, so similarly has Christendom limited the Holy One of Israel, and, thereby, sinned. But we have done worse, because we have limited Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, while ancient Israel had only their Prophets, who relayed to them the Word of God. But Jesus Christ, as the very Son of God, spoke to the people directly the words from the Throne Room; and through His spoken word, He wielded the power of God Almighty. Eyes that had never seen the light of day were instantly opened; ears that couldn't hear a sound were made to instantly hear clearly; tongues that had been tied were loosed to sing the praises of God; those sick and in pain were made instantly whole to enjoy the soundness of good health; while whenever the occasion seemed to call for it, those who had died were commanded to rise up and immediately they did. Therefore, I say that Christendom has sinned more greatly in limiting Jesus Christ, in attributing to Him only casual words, just as we might understand some other ordinary person speaking.

My mentioning His raising the dead reminds me of His bringing Lazarus back to life. Concerning that account, I have written a little book entitled Lazarus, Come Forth!, which is a detailed and vast prophecy of the Israel people. You may request it from Shepherdsfield Publishers. And may I also remind you that the Jewish people hold the key to the world's tomorrow. When we know what is going to happen to the Jews, we also know what is going to take place in the world at large as incidental thereto, because the Jews are His key people, chosen for a very strategic work in the plan of God for man.

You were also shown how His speaking of adding one cubit unto one's stature constituted a prophecy for the Christian era, showing the measure of time that it would require for His Own people to arrive at that understanding and spiritual experience which would enable their Messiah to return to earth to establish His kingdom.

Immediately after His asking what man could add a cubit unto his stature, He drew attention to the lilies of the field, how they did not toil, but grew in profusion and were beautiful in color, so that even Solomon in all of his glory could not array himself like one of them (Lk. 12:27). By referring to the lilies of the field Christ set forth two main thoughts: the first, that in spite of their not doing any labor, they still grew and became beautiful. This was to show that similarly we, too, could grow and have the beautiful things in life, if, like the lilies, we would not worry, but turn our face to the golden sunshine of God's love. Then, in the next breath, He classified the lilies of the field among the grass of the field. In so doing, He associated them with the people of this world, for the Prophet of old clearly told us that the people of this world were as the grass of the field (Isa. 40:7). Now carefully observe His words which followed, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. 6:30).

I have often reminded you that a thousand years are but as one day with God (Ps. 90:4; II Pet. 3:8). Now observe here where our Lord spoke of two days: that is, "today" – speaking of the lilies of the field or the grass, and "tomorrow" – is cast into the oven. In other words, He was here speaking of two eras represented by those two days: the first one thousand years, and the second one thousand years. During that second one thousand years, He said by the spirit of prophecy that the people of this world should be cast into the oven; that is, the oven of God's judgment, when nations in their selfishness and greed for power would launch such a world conflagration that Christ likened it to the hay which is cast into the heat and the flames of the oven. So we see that in those few sentences Christ pronounced a twofold prophecy, one underscoring the other; the two days or the two thousand years during which the grass of the field would be growing, and before the close of the second day or the second thousand years, it would perish in the heat of the oven. While the underscoring and more detailed prophecy showed that after the measure of the cubit (the 1,900 and approximate 40 years of experience) for His nation and the Gentile world, we would then have arrived at that spiritual stature where one part of humanity would be fit for judgment, while the other part fit for Christ's return to reign over them.

Remember that as the cubit is based on the length of the arm from elbow to tip of the middle finger, so also has man two arms: the right and the left. The left symbolically bespeaks the things of this world, while the right the things of spirit and that which pertains to God. Through this fact that the cubit is founded in the length of man's two forearms (being the left and the right), so did that betoken the two divisions of humanity: namely, those who serve mammon with all their heart, in contrast to those who serve God in sincerity out of a devout heart. As the one is cast into the oven of God's judgment, the other will soar into the air, even as the fowls of heaven. The former is typified by the cubit of man's left forearm, while those who are to soar into the heavens are typified by the cubit of man's right forearm.

So our Lord concluded by saying that in view of these things, how much more then would not God in heaven clothe us, if we have the right faith and perspective and attitude towards God. Stop for a moment to reflect on that one word of being "clothed." Did not the holy Apostle speak of being clothed upon from above (II Cor. 5:2-4)? So you see, the words of the Christ fit together like hand-in-glove. And now we have approximated that span of time represented by the cubit, being from Isaac's marriage unto the time of the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, the judgment of the world under mammon is due to take place, as typified by the grass being cast into the oven, while those who live for God with their right hand raised to heaven (figuratively speaking), shall be clothed upon from above.

Prophecy as the second edge of the sword is terrifically important, but it is not the most important. Here, as in many another instance, the Christ resorted to both edges of the sword, but by His words we see that the kingdom message was by far the most important edge, for, He commenced with the kingdom message and wound up with the kingdom message in saying that, "Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" (Matt. 6:31). We must decide as to whether or not we are going to serve mammon with our left hand, or if we are going to serve God with our right hand. If our labors are founded in the strength of the left hand for this world, then are we serving mammon, which is another way of saying the kingdom of Lucifer. If so, our future becomes the destiny of Lucifer's citizens. But if we have lifted our right hand to heaven to serve the living God, then will He fully feed and clothe us, both here on earth as well as from above.

This is that great message of joy which I rejoice to bring to a world driven mad in the struggle for existence. NONE of that is intended for the children of God. For, when once we become citizens of Christ's kingdom (which is for the HERE and NOW), then will He – as the HEAD of the body – immediately take charge of all responsibility, and cause our life to blossom like the Garden of Eden.

Man has been brainwashed with the thought that Jesus of Nazareth spoke like other men. Because of placing that limitation upon Him, we have failed to understand the wonderful revelations of truth and prophecy which His every word and deed portrayed. I repeat: it is because we have not fully believed into Him that we have failed to perceive the glorious truth and prophecy which He veiled for us – until we have come to age and understanding.

As for instance, when did you hear it even hinted at that the measure of the cubit which Jesus referred to when He questioned as to WHO could add a cubit to his height, actually constituted a prophecy for His people and for the world at large? Yet that it did! It is only by means of one's hands that man can work. But, of course, the entire length of the arm becomes involved, for, without the arm the hand would be useless; in fact, there could be no hand without it. So, since man's arm has two main divisions of approximately the same length – from the neck over the shoulder down to the elbow, and from the elbow to the point of the middle finger – God used that to indicate the two main divisions of time.

The first one reckons from Adam's mortality to the birth of Abraham – being 1,946 to 47 years. God's manifestation number to man is 100. When Abraham was 100 years of age, his son Isaac was born; concerning whom God had said that "...in Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12). It was through Abraham, and from the time of Isaac's birth, that God was enabled to really commence working – for the redemption of the entire world. And we see that from the birth of Isaac to opening of the Christian era, approximated another similar period of time, being about 1,950 years. These you will observe are in almost perfect agreement with the more precise measure I showed you in my last message – from Isaac's marriage to the Sermon on the Mount. That again became the measure in time of His work for man's redemption, as inaugurated when Jesus commenced His Spirit-powered ministry. Adding the cubit's prophetic measure to that time, takes us into the recent decades. According to the veiled prophecy, He expects us to understand that as approximating our present era, the time is ripe for His return to establish His kingdom on earth.

Yet I cease not to remind you that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is a spiritual kingdom for earthlings here and now. It makes no sense to put it off until we are dead. For, if we are not fit for it here and now, by what stretch of the imagination can you conclude that death of the body will make you fit? Death changes no one!

To be healthy, successful and happy is the heritage of the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ. God wants His children to constitute a happy family.

Go to church in the right spirit, and you will stand aghast at the funeral dirges you hear in the song service! How utterly foreign to the true Spirit of Christ, and to the yearning of a Father's heart for the joys unto His children! Did He not say: "These things have I told you – that My JOY might remain in you, and that YOUR JOY might be full" (Jn. 15:11)?

What normal father wants his children weeping? Or going through the day like a cemetery on parade?

WE are the children of the Great KING; so, let us shout and SING (with great joy)!

The "Kingdom" is HERE and NOW!

Let the DEAD bury their dead (Lk. 9:60)! (THUS spoke the Prince of all JOY!) And immediately He added to those words, "but go thou and PREACH THE GLAD TIDINGS" (of marvelously GOOD things) (Lk. 9:60)!

Let the DEAD go to the cemeteries; but the children of the Great KING LIVE, and belong to that HAPPY THRONG which sings from morning to night.

Commence to live!

Arise and shout!

Christ Almighty KEEPS all of His….