Ministry and personal update

Another month has gone by, and progress has been made. From a long-term perspective, the ministry progress has been rapid; from a short-term perspective, it has seemed slow. The same can be said of world events as a whole. The rulers of Babylon have found it necessary to make a mad dash toward their goal, because they now realize that it is now or never. They know that they are running out of time.

Next week we will have some visitors for a few days, and then we plan to leave town again to sign papers on some property that we are purchasing. By the end of next week, we also hope to sign other papers to purchase a suitable house at our new ministry site. We hope to move out of Minneapolis to our new location this summer.

Since we are coming into the month of May, we are also planning to drive to Arkansas to attend our grandson’s high school graduation (May 12). We should be back about the 14^th or 15^th.

Then we have a short time in which to catch up on emails and weblogs before we fly to South Africa (finally!) on May 28. That date was chosen, because I am committed to conduct a memorial service for an old friend (Bruce Miller) on May 27.

We are coming into a new phase of ministry, one that goes beyond preparation. Just as Israel prepared for the Kingdom in the wilderness for 40 years, so also did I have to prepare 40 years. Much of that preparation was spent in writing books, commentaries, and tracts to give you a greater understanding of the promise of God and the inheritance that He has for us. The ministry in the future will be one of implantation, rather than preparation as such.

I do not expect to have time to write more commentaries, but I hope to find the time to write a book on The Exodus Book of Psalms, covering Psalm 42-72. With that should come a corresponding book on The Biblical Meaning of Numbers from 42 to 72. Some years ago I got stuck at number 48 and never found time to get back to it. That study was interrupted by the two latest commentaries, each of which took more than a year to write.

I would also like to work on my fifth novel in The Anava Chronicles. So far, I have only 3 chapters written, covering the time of Saul’s coronation.

It is clear that we are moving into a new era of Kingdom building. We have crossed the Jordan, but we still face many giants in the land who provide us with opportunities to overcome. We see giants falling already. The latest seems to be Amazon, which took a 14 percent hit on April 28.

https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-stock-suffers-biggest-one-210237386.html

In South Africa the warfare continues, as the giants refuse to give up, even after they have lost. Last night an anonymous caller tried to bribe a key team member with the equivalent of more than $600 million, if he would break off his relationship with John. The opposition from the bank collapsed a month ago. They are now working with us. The opposition is coming from more powerful banking families with power bases in Europe. God has hardened their hearts so that they too might be overthrown. God has His sights on their power and wealth, which He will not allow them to keep as the Kingdom grows.

 There is a growing anxiety among the giants in the earth. They feel the pressure, even if most Christians remain drowsy or asleep, seeing little or nothing. Yet the church is beginning to awaken. Most are still in a foggy state, but they are showing signs of life.

Meanwhile, God continues to expand our horizons by giving us glimpses of His plan of total redemption. God has used the term Universal Empire to distinguish it from a World Empire. A World Empire is limited to the earth; a Universal Empire includes the heavens. Paul describes this in Philippians 2:10, 11,

¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There are knees and tongues in all three realms. We today are just getting started as we build the kingdom “on earth.” I’m not sure what “under the earth” means. Is it referring to the dead? Are there beings living underground? Is this a reference to the angels that we are called to judge? There are many opinions about this, but I do not have time to search out those matters at the present time. My present focus is to do what is necessary to reconcile the earth to fulfill Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 6:10.

In fact, I am more interested in revelation than in opinions. Like everyone else, I have my own opinions, but I lack revelation on that subject.

Once the Kingdom on earth has been secured, our calling is to reconcile the heavens as well. So far, we have very little data about what that means, but by the time that work is complete, there will be a Universal Empire. We just need to understand what that actually means in practical terms. No doubt God will show us more when we need to know such things.