The Body of Christ is very immature today. Thank God for the ministries and gifts that have been restored to the Body over the last fifty years. But there must be much more exercise of the various gifts and ministries of the Body before we will be anywhere near ready to appear with the Lord Jesus.

The forming of Israel into an army speaks of the transformation of the churches of Jesus Christ into a disciplined army. We are hearing our music change from "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" to various choruses that emphasize the coming of the army of the Lord. Banners and other forms of pageantry are appearing in the services.

We hear many prophecies that the next generation will cross the Jordan, so to speak. To what are these utterances referring? We don't even know what our land of promise is. The Israelites understood clearly where their land of promise was. But our doctrine is such a mixture of Gnosticism and mythology that we suppose our promised land is Heaven.

But if you stop to think about it, the army of the Lord is not being organized to invade Heaven. Is Jericho a type of Heaven? Will a militant church approach the walls of Heaven and march around them until they fall?

Obviously not, so it is clear we do not know what our land of promise is. In the meanwhile we keep preaching our unscriptural doctrines about the Lord Jesus coming to catch away His waiting bride to Heaven. What a departure from the Word of God!

But all this is past for those who are hearing the Spirit. We know we are being prepared for war and we know the land we are preparing to invade is not Heaven.

If we are to bring the Throne of God, in our own personality, into the land of promise, then we need to know where the land of promise is.

The land of promise is the earth. The nations and farthest reaches of the earth are the inheritance of Jesus Christ and His coheirs.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. (Psalms 2:8,9—NIV)

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— "He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery"—just as I have received authority from my Father. (Revelation 2:26,27—NIV)

In the beginning God gave the earth to man, not to the angels but to man. We were not created in Heaven and Heaven is not our home. The earth is our home.

Then Satan and his forces came and took over the earth. Now we have to drive him back out and reclaim what was given us in the beginning.

Since we are only dust we are unable to drive Satan from the earth—even from our own personality. God sent Jesus Christ, not to do the job for us but to make it possible for us to drive Satan out of our own personality and then, at the coming of the Lord, from the entire creation of God. It has been given to man to judge the world, and the angels as well.

To be continued.