“to execute His purpose by having a common purpose” (Rev. 17:17, NASB)
We have actually been discussing the seventeenth miraculous characteristic of the corporate spirit or mantle of Zerubbabel. In Zech. 6:13 the prophet says, “Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne …” Woven through previous teachings we have explained His reign on the throne as that which brings about this corporate mantle. Fausset’s Bible Dictionary notes about the above verse, “Finally Messiah (Christ) combined … in Himself the Antitype …” In other words, Zerubbabel is the prototype of (the) Christ. If it is then true of Jesus, “the King eternal” (1 Tim. 1:17) and “the King of kings” (Rev. 17:14), that “He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne,” it is also true of the Christ! Rev. 20:4, which we’ve spent quite a bit of time talking about, is then not concerned with thrones for no reason: “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
The corporate spirit or mantle of Zerubbabel makes it possible for you to reign. Now.
We obviously know that He has dominion (Eph. 1:21), or as Ps. 103:19 beautifully suggests, “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” Indeed: “the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isa. 9:6) and continually increases (verse 7). But to the spiritual line of David God promised: “then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’” (2 Chr. 7:18). Therefore, as Prov. 8:16 notes, the kings of the earth reign through Him!
It is very interesting that the prophetic book of Daniel carries more references to dominion than any other book in the Bible! The reason for this is that this apocalyptical book already places the Bride’s rule in purview. Here are three of the 20 verses that deal with this issue:
- “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Dan. 2:44)
- “Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” (Dan. 7:14)
- “’Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’” (Dan. 7:27)
Alas – the Bride often does not know what she has been called to have dominion over. Her retort is often akin to that of Gideon’s: “But Gideon said to them, “’will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.’” (Judg. 8:23). Along with Paul in 1 Cor. 4:8 one wants to call out – “… indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!” Rev. 5:10 however makes God’s unchanging edict quite clear: “And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Without mincing words.
According to Scripture, man, and especially the Bride, are called to reign over the following:
- Man must “have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Gen. 1:26, repeated in verse 28)
- “… sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Gen. 4:7)
- “… you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you” (Deut. 15:6)
- “You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet …” (Ps. 8:6)
- “The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” (Ps. 110:2)
It is interesting that all the examples above that explicitly state the areas over which should be ruled are from the Old Testament and thus prophetic. But the last Scripture from Psalms notes that the sceptre comes from ZION, the Bride of Christ! What then was the fulfilment, in the new covenant, that we had to rule over? We know that God also placed it in their hearts, as he has in ours, “to fulfil His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled” (Rev. 17:17). The crux of this answer is nestled in what this “purpose” might be. This phrase is translated in different ways – as “with one consent’ (TYN), “to act with one mind” (MKJV), “to carry out a common purpose” (WNT), “to perform one and the same purpose” (WORNT), but perhaps the best translation is “to execute His purpose by having a common purpose” (NASB)!
A believer will be able to present many reasons for why Jesus had to come to earth, which would most likely include:
- “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28)
- “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), or:
- “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 5:20). This is all true, but everything considered, the following statement that Jesus makes is the symbolically overarching, all-encompassing main purpose of His coming to earth:
- “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).
In the previous teachings, of Day 661-771, we wrote extensively about the transmutation of God as consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) – we explained what this process entails, and what the goal of Jesus’s coming is, as well as how WE manifest the fire of God so that we are able “to execute His purpose by having a common purpose”. In this manner you have dominion on a practical level.
- Selah: Remind yourself what the transmutation of fire entails.
- Read: 1 Chr. 21-26.
- Memorise: 1 Chr. 21:24 (what would this typology mean?).