- Brother Dom Agomuo
SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR
Many Christians do not understand the eternal plan and
purpose of God for which all things were created, for
which Christ Jesus died. Jesus is the only way into
divine destiny. In other words you can have a place in
the plan and purpose of God by becoming born again.
The Bible teaches that every born again person is a
member of God's family and all unbelievers are outside
God's family and outside God's purpose and plan.
1) God created all things. Then He made man and
crowned him with glory to rule over His creation
eternally.
Gen2:9-15 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up
from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that
produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden He
placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. 10 A river flowed from the land of Eden,
watering the garden and then dividing into four
branches. 11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed
around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found.
12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic
resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The
second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the
entire land of Cush. 14 The third branch, called the
Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth
branch is called the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God placed
the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over
it.
The garden of Eden is on earth. Our geography clearly
tells us that Rivers Tigris and Euphrates are located
between Egypt and the middle East. So the garden of
Eden from where Adam and Eve were to rule is on
earth!
Gen3:6, 7 The woman was convinced. She saw that the
tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she
wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some
of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her
husband, who was with her, and He ate it, too.
7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they
suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed
fig leaves together to cover themselves.
The immediate effect of man's disobedience is the
realization that he is naked because the glory of God
that covered him had been withdrawn. The Fig leaves
they sowed to cover their own nakedness is akin to
religion. Religion is our own effort to reinstate our
relationship with God. Whatever we sow for ourselves
cannot replace the cover of glory. God is seeking for
people who will return back to Him naked with a desire
to be clothed again with God's glory which we had
with him before the fall. Let us return to Him naked
instead of sowing our own fig leaves and pretend we
are covered.
All through the Bible, those who sought God sincerely
with openness found Him. Noah Gen9:1, Abraham
Gen15:18, David, and many more. However such
relationships could not measure up to what it was in the
beginning because there is a time in the plan of God
when man will be restored to that glory.
God’s plan is to have a people on earth who are covered
with His glory. He chose that Israel would be the first
set of people to experience the restoration of glory
because of His promise to Abraham. In Ex19:4-6 He
promised to make them a kingdom of priests over the
whole earth if they obey Him. That day He showed
them His glory in answer to Moses' prayer. The glory
and power of God came down on mount Sinai as He
spoke with them but they couldn't bear the sight and
sound of it. The contrast was too much for them. They
rejected God's offer to share in His glory and appealed
to Moses to remain the mediator between them and
their God.
Even today many children of God cannot bear the sight
and sound of God so they have their own Moses, a
priest or pastor (a mediator) who will hear from God
and tell them, sometimes at a price! If God is truly your
father why would you be scared of being in His
presence?On one occasion, Moses came down after
speaking with God, his face shined with the glory of God.
Israelites who were waiting to hear from him could not
look upon his face so they put a veil over his face to dampen the
glory of God. It was a defining moment for their entire
relationship with God. From then on, a veil came
between them and God in all their understanding of the
things of God.
In Num14:21,22 God declared that His glory would
cover the whole earth as long as He lives. His scope was
no longer the nation of Israel which had earlier rejected
His glory. The glory of God which man lost will cover this
whole earth.
Rom3:23 says All (Israel inclusive) have sinned and
COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. But God had
sworn to Abraham “In thy seed shall all nations be
blessed”. Gen22:18. That seed is Jesus Christ. The
blessing is the restoration of God’s glory upon the
whole earth through Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord.
Proverbs 3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame
shall be promotion of fools. Every man is consciously or
unconsciously aiming for either glory or shame in life.
Those who are aiming for glory are wise. Are you wise?
2Thess2:14 Whereunto He called you by our Gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The goal of the true Gospel is the restoration of glory which
is only obtainable from Jesus Christ
On the mount of transfiguration as He spoke with
Moses and Elijah they were all covered with the glory of
God on this earth and Peter James and John saw it.
Hallelujah!
They did not cover the face of Jesus like the Old
Testament believers did and they did not cover their
own faces. This is significant for all of us as New
Testament believers. Our relationship with Jesus has
granted us boldness to stand in the presence of the
glory of God. This reminds me of the calm I felt when an
angel of the Lord visited me for about forty-five minutes.
We are no longer short of the glory of God. We shall not
only behold the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall
partake of it.
Referring to the transfiguration experience Peter said
(2Peter1:16-18) ‘For we have not followed cunningly
devised fables when we made known unto you the
power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God
the Father honour and glory, This is my beloved Son in
whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came
from heaven we heard when we were with Him in the
holy mountain.’Even today if we are with Him we will
bear witness of His power and glory as Peter James and John
experienced.
In Jn17:22 Jesus said “I have given them the glory you
gave me, so they may be one as we are one. When the
glory of God overshadows you, you disregard earthly
and carnal attractions. And if all who believe in Jesus
are covered in the glory the glory of the Lord, it will
breed unity
Shortly after Jesus left this world these words became
obvious that the glory has been given to us His disciples.
Peter said in 2 Pet1:19 that we taking heed to the sure
of prophecy is like a light shinning in a dark place but
day break is coming when the day star will arise in our
hearts and manifest in our bodies.
They stoned Stephen as he prayed for them. As they
watched Stephen transit from the earth into the
heavens his face began to glow with glory. Acts7:55. He
had the glory within as Peter said. We all who have the
living word within have this treasure in our earthen
vessels!
This glory of the Lord must cover the whole earth as the
Lord Himself has sworn. Who will bear this glory of the
Lord upon all the earth? The wheat; children of God!
Prese4ntly the wheat and the tares are contending for
control over this world but as the parable clearly states
Matt13:24-30 that day will come when the tares will be
removed and the children of God will shine (with God's
glory) in the kingdom of their Father. Matt13:36-43.
Two things are clearly revealed in this parable;
1) The kingdom of God is here on earth. Remember
Jesus said, THE FIELD IS THE WORLD (not the church as
some teach). So they were both in this world and then
the tares are removed first and burnt while the wheat
remained and flourished in the kingdom of their Father.
V41 says "All things that offend and defile will be
removed OUT OF THE KINGDOM. This agrees with the
vision interpreted by Daniel the prophet (See
Dan2:34,35 44). The conclusion of which is that the
Stone hewed without hands (Jesus) grew and became a
huge mountain that COVERED THE EARTH. With all
these scriptural proofs it is obvious that the location of
the kingdom is the earth
2) The righteous will bear the glory of God that will
cover the whole earth. V43 says The righteous shall
shine (with God's glory) IN THE KINGDOM OF THEIR
FATHER
A new era is about to come upon us as the restoration
of all things begins. The first thing to be restored is the
truth in the word of God. As plain as this revelation is
about God's kingdom on earth many still teach rapture
to a far away heaven where there are physical
mansions and streets made of material gold!
The next stage of restoration will be the Church as one
united community in a locality, the exact opposite to
denominationalism. They will meet in homes, breaking
bread from house to house eating their food with
singleness of heart and because they are fellows, they
will share fellow-ship with one another under the
supervision of plurality of elders.
Restoration of all things and more importantly the lost
glory is at hand Acts3:21. Bear in mind that the sons of
God will be the bearers of this glory.
According to Rom8:18-23 it is at the manifestation of
the sons of God that all creatures shall be liberated and
God's glory shall be revealed upon us and upon all
creatures. 1Cor15:51,52 confirms that we shall be
changed whether we remain alive or sleep before the
appearing. This change is a jacket of glory which will cover
our mortality
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house
of this tabernacle (fleshly body) were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. 5:2 For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our
house which is from heaven: 5:3 If so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. 5:4 For we that
are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for
that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that
mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Think of it this way. You are naked and your body is
naturally wearing out. But God has a heavenly jacket
that once you put it on, will suppress all perishability in
your body. You would desire to be clothed with this
heavenly jacket. Wouldn't you? That is our building in
the heavens, a clothing of glory that come upon us to
bring a change from mortality to immortality. There are
no other mansions in the heavens.
You are not flying to any mansion. Did you notice from
the passage that the house "jacket" is FROM heaven?
Our houses in the heavens are not mansions of gold. It
is this jacket of immortality and it is coming to swallow
our mortality here on earth.
Let me point out the common misinterpretations or
mindsets people have from two passages of the Bible.
Unfortunately people have built false doctrines upon
their mindsets and have taught them for so long that
many think they are truths.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
am, there ye may be also.Most Christians agree that
Jesus is coming but they add that He is coming to take
us back to far away heaven.
This passage did not say that. Jesus said when He comes
He will receive us unto Himself. Period! We miss the
important point that He is coming to make us
inseparably one with Him. He stressed this point by
adding "that where I AM you may be also." Notice I
omitted "there" because every word in italics in KJV was
added by translators. Translators chose to add "there"
because it suits their mindset of a journey to far away
heaven. If they were not so biased they would have
noticed that Jesus said I will come and unite with you,
and as a result it is more appropriate to translate it as
‘where I AM (present continuous) you may be also.’ This
state, this condition, this location that I am now you will
be in the same condition also! Other scriptures confirm
that He is coming to reign and we are to rule and reign
with Him
Have you noticed that Jesus never said He will take us
to any location (mansions) in the sky in that passage?
His analogy of mansion in verse 2 is to assure His
disciples that the household or family of God can
accommodate everyone. He didn't imply that His Father
(Spirit) lives in a physical building or that there are
physical buildings for every believer (spirit beings) in the
sky! Jesus said, I will come again (not to take you to
any place) but to receive you to myself that where I
am you be.With the popular erroneous mindset in the Church
she missed a vital message of the Lord which is that when
He returns we will be one with Him, inseparably united
with Him for ever.
The second passage commonly misinterpreted 1Thess
4:13-17.
Verse 14 says, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will
God BRING with him. The word "Bring" connotes
that they will come with Him. So the doctrine that
Jesus will come with ten thousand of His saints is
correct but it is not after rapture! There is no
rapturing first to heaven and coming back with ten
thousand saints. He will come once and for all with
all who died in Christ.
4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord... Here again we are told that
this event is about His coming.
4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall
rise (resurrect) first:To descend is to come down to us.
After descending did He ascend? No! Let's read on.
4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord. (in the air)!
Thank God the authors specified "to meet the Lord in the
air" and remain so with Him for ever. So the "caught
up" does not suggest a journey through the sky. Again
many are distracted from the point of being with the
Lord for ever! That is the climax of His return; to be
inseparably united with His people for ever. We will no
longer need to walk on the surface of the earth but like
Him after His resurrection we will be without
restrictions and limitation as we rule and reign with Him
for ever!
This passage does not indicate in any way that the Lord
will fly back to heaven to share mansions to us! We are
told in plain English that the Lord shall descend and
nowhere in that passage did the descended Lord ascend
again. Even if you refuse to see phrases like about the
Lord coming and the Lord descending, can you see that
after meeting Him, we will remain so with Him forever?
Where is flight to heaven mentioned in this scripture?
Somebody even said what of the cloud? There are
several instances in the Bible where clouds cover the
surface of the earth.
Israelites saw the pillar of cloud covering the entrance
of the tabernacle and heard God speak from it. See
Ex33:8-10
There was a cloud on the mount of transfiguration, that
overshadowed Jesus, Moses, Elijah and the apostles on
earth. Matt17:5. According to Peter this is a foretaste of
what will happen when Jesus appears again on this
earth.
When the Lord descends with all who died in Christ and
believers who are alive will be changed it is not difficult
to imagine that the same cloud of glory will cover the
earth again. The resurrection of believers who are
asleep and the instant change of believers who are alive
is enough to constitute a great cloud.
This mansion in the sky theory is absurd because if our
permanent abode is the sky why are we praying "Thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth..."? Why did
the apostle teach and expect the restoration of all
things being restored? Why are the creatures going to
be liberated to partake of the liberty of the sons of God?
In any case what do Christlike spirit beings need
mansions for?All the prophets spoke of that time when the God of
heaven will establish His kingdom which shall cover the
whole earth forever. See Dan2:44
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand for ever.
The prophetic book of Revelation also tells us in 21:2
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. 21:3 And I heard a great
voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be
with them, and be their God.
Glory to God. Who are these men who will dwell with
the burning glory of God for ever?
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death (where
death use to reign), neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain: for the former things (that
happen freely on earth) are passed away.
There will be no tears on this earth where
immeasurable tears had flowed. Death, the last enemy
would also have been destroyed. Sorrow and pain and
all previous identities of the earth would be removed.
Hebrews 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in
subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. It
shall be under the control of the faithful children of God.
We will live in the glorious "world to come"
We look forward to this new world wherein dwelleth
righteousness See Eph1:18-22 and 2Pet3:13
I will allow John the Apostle to sum up the hope of all
believers. 1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but
we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like
him; for we shall see him as he is. 3:3 And every man
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he
is pure.
John is simply urging us to live for this hope of seeing
Him as He is and appearing in glory like Him
3 times in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible
Jesus says 'I come quickly' and the writer of the book
says Even so come Lord Jesus.
Jesus is coming. God Himself is coming into His
tabernacle on earth. New Jerusalem will come down so
who then will live in the "mansions above"?
Paul the Apostle boldly declared that the sufferings of
this time is nothing compared to the glory that shall be
revealed in us! It is not going to be unveiled in the high
heavens. The glory that resides in us is going to be
revealed.. He is asking us to keep this hope of glory in
view as we go through life.
Isn't that something to live for?
