It is useless for us to return to Paradise until we ourselves have been changed and been appointed some kind of role, something to do. We would not be content no matter how wondrous the environment were we to have no role in the Kingdom, no responsibility. We might think we would be happy doing nothing but visiting our friends for eternity, but I doubt we would be satisfied if such were the case.

If we are to enjoy and hold Paradise, once we attain it, we must be changed radically. Another reason for our being changed radically is that the adamic nature is totally unqualified to assume the Kingdom roles that are to be fulfilled by the royal priesthood, such as being part of the eternal Temple of God, a member of the Body of Christ, a part of the Bride of the Lamb, and so forth.

Nowhere in the Scriptures, to my knowledge, does it state we must overcome the enemy in order to go to Heaven, to Paradise. But every move we make toward laying hold on the being and doing that have been assigned to the sons of God is bitterly contested by Satan, the fallen angels, and the demons.

We have come now to the time when the Lord Jesus is ready to lead His soldiers into the conquest of the land of promise. Our land of promise, our Canaan, is set forth in the rewards to the overcomer, found in the Book of Revelation.

Each of the rewards is an area of being and doing necessary for our achieving perfect joy and rest in the Presence of God and Christ.

The following are the areas of being and doing that constitute our land of promise. Once we attain these areas God will furnish a perfect environment. But to enter the perfect environment before we are changed would be to invite another rebellion against God. This is why Satan would have us concentrate on going to Heaven and forget about attaining these areas.

In order to lay hold on the areas of our land of promise we have to overcome. We have to overcome, to conquer, because we are being opposed by a skillful adversary with centuries of experience.

The common teaching today in Evangelical circles is that once we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior we automatically are an overcomer. If this were the case the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation would make no sense at all.

The thinking seems to be that faith (actually belief) in and of itself is the victory that overcomes the world.

The problem is, "faith" is defined as mental assent to orthodox doctrine. Belief alone is not what is meant by overcoming. Yet we have to have faith in order to overcome.

Let us say we are harboring resentment against someone. Such resentment is spiritual death no matter what the individual may have done to cause us to be resentful. Now, what does it mean to overcome this spiritual death, this work of Satan? Are we merely to believe because we have faith in Jesus we are not resentful? We have overcome resentment? This is nonsense.

To be continued.