Category Archives: kingdom of God

You Are Nothing, and You Will Be Happy

Here’s some gospel good news for you: You are nothing. Not just you. Me, too. I received this stupefying information from the apostle Paul, who wrote, “He who plants is nothing and he who waters is nothing, but it is God who gives the increase” (I Cor. 3:7).

If you are sowing the word, spreading the good news of Christ, you are still nothing. If you are not sowing the word of truth out into the good earth, you are still nothing. If you are watering the seed, the word of God, then you are still nothing. There is no place for one’s vaunted pride in the Master’s Regiment.

And he who waters what is planted, he who teaches and expounds on the spiritual truths that have been planted—he is nothing (I Cor. 3:6).

A few people reading this will notice a bit of bile rising in their craw when first being taught about our common spiritual state of nothingness. I call it the “good nothingness,” the nothingness born of truth and nurtured in love. Not the “bad nothingness,” that despondent nihilism, that dark and desperate and hopeless nothingness.

Conversely, the good nothingness is liberating. We are free to dance between the fingers of God, egoless, unconscious of those standing in selfish little pools of hubris, standing there judging the dancing David. For he danced knowing that he was nothing, and his father Yahweh was Everything.

For the Great Something is He who “gives the increase” in this life. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17). He has called and chosen you and me to sow His word. We sow His seed/word, knowing that it is the power of his resurrection that causes the seeds we plant to spring to life.

If we are “in the picture,” and we think that we are something, when we are nothing, we deceive ourselves (Gal. 6:3). At best, we are a warm vapor distilling into the “voice of one crying in the wilderness.” And that voice plants and waters the seed, but it is that great, stupendous, and radiantly shining Everything, that shows us the way.

Being nothing begins at the cross. It is the beginning of our new spiritual life, and it is the ending of the old selfish life. We are nothing. After all, it is a “good nothingness” that brings happiness. There is no reputation to uphold, no sword of honor to fall on, no luxuriating in the “wonderfulness of ourselves.”

Rather, we are to have the mind of Christ. Though His destiny was to sit on the throne of the universe, He “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). He did say to his disciples, “Let the greatest among you be servant of all.”

[Let’s all say it together out loud: “I am nothing. He is Everything.” Now, that wasn’t so bad. I bet you’re smiling right now. See, I told you that you would be happy…]

With agape— Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Introduction of “The Abiding”—The In-dwelling Spirit of Love

The abiding of the Holy Spirit in us is a definition of God’s ultimate growth within a believer. The abiding is when He, the Spirit of Love, comes to dwell in us and remain in us, thus fulfilling His purpose. And God does have a purpose and a plan to fulfill that purpose. He created human beings to carry out His plan.

“God is love.” Agape love. His purpose is to multiply or reproduce Himself—Love—in man and woman. That is where you and I come into focus. This happens when we spiritually grow the agape Love He has planted in our hearts (I John 4:16). We show the greatest love in the universe, like Christ did by laying down our selfish lives for Him. We show our love for Him when we give up our old life and take on His life.

 [This is the Major Leagues. Christ is assembling His team. Game time is at hand.  The denominational churches contain many who are called, but sadly, they will not hear this message about dying with Christ on the cross and resurrecting with Him. Once this truth sinks in, it burns a hole in your heart. The fire of God’s reality will consume you. Romans 6 is not preached or taught in 99% of church houses.

I love all of you; With each post that He shares with me, I give it my best to bring light to the road you are travelling. I know. It is a thankless vocation, marching on in the Savior’s army. But we thank Him for everything, and He thanks all of us with the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, and peace.

Being Called and Chosen

God calls many to be a part of His plan. It is an invitation to be adopted into His royal spiritual family. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” The chosen are called His elect.

Since “God is a Spirit,” it takes faith to enter His Spiritual realm (John 4:24). It takes belief. It takes belief that the sin in our life is dead. And it takes belief that we have now a new, sinless heart. Belief. “For they that come to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

We are born into this old 3-D life with a selfish, sinful heart. To be a part of God’s plan, mankind must surrender to God. He then will give them an escape from the earthy, sinful life.  

The old heart must go. But how does one get rid of it? God has provided passage into a new life! First, we must learn about and then believe in the sin sacrifice that the Father has provided. Our sacrificial Lamb is known as Jesus Christ in English speaking countries, but His Hebrew name is Yahshua. He is the Son of God, our Savior.

How does he save us? Christ took all of mankind’s sins upon Himself. When He died on the cross, our old sinful heart died with Him! Then we were buried with Him. Then the Father raised Him from the dead. When He was raised, then we were “raised to walk in a newness of life,” too.    

The Apostle Paul Explains

“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin” (Romans 6:3-7 NLT).

This is how sin is conquered. It has already been defeated! This is true repentance from sin. This is our testimony. We need only to believe it and walk in it.

When you believe, you are walking in the doctrine of Christ. Repentance and Belief are the first two doctrines that the apostles walked in. Through believing this, you now are continuing in the truth that the apostles had.

But this is only the beginning of spiritual growth. This is only 30-fold fruit bearing. Our destiny is to sit with Christ on His throne. It is to bear 100-fold fruit. To see what 100-fold fruit bearing looks like, look at the lives of the early apostles. They healed the sick and raised the dead, and they taught righteousness.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…” (Acts 2:42). Christ’s seven doctrines are His major teachings. We will continue in Part Two next time. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy, with free shipping, of my book The Apostles’ Doctrine. Send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com Yes, it is free. Christ took money off the table.]

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Sitting on Christ’s Throne–The Second Conditional Promise

The first conditional promise brings on the abiding of God within us, with the power that Christ and his apostles had. This enables us to receive the second promise: to rule with Him in His soon-coming Kingdom.

When conditions are met, the second promise takes us to the throne of God. Not to just view it, which would be enough for me, to just see Christ in His glory. But to be invited to sit on Christ’s throne! Next to Him! He has promised us to be seated as a monarch with living authority, working with the King Himself! He has promised us a seat on His throne upon His return to earth. He sees us as benevolent viceroys, a “royal priesthood,” (I Peter 2:9).

This is what Christ is offering to His elect—if the conditions are met. He has promised this royal seat with Him if we meet the conditions. But do we, the ones He has chosen, believe this? Very few, if any, speak about it. With this conditional promise, He has forced us to make a choice—to dwell in the 3-D world as little vulnerable babies in Christ or walk down the royal road to immortality, just like the apostles and prophets did.  

So, what are the conditions for receiving the second promise?

The body of Christ in this last church age of Laodicea has got some repenting to do. Sitting with Christ on His throne is promised to those who overcome. They must overcome being lukewarm (Rev. 3:15-16). They act like they don’t need God’s plan and purpose.      

Here are Christ’s words: “You are neither cold nor hot…because you are lukewarm…I will spue you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16). These are self-proclaimed Christians He is talking to.

Christ does not like His followers lukewarm. And what makes them lukewarm? Christ explains: “Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” We as a nation have become fat. Both spiritual pride and materialism permeate everything in this last age of the church. “The deceitfulness of riches” deceives the church into thinking that they do not need God’s deeper walk.  

Christ will tell us what to overcome, and how to do it. “So, I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also, buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see” (Rev. 3:18 NLT). He is the only One who sells these spiritual commodities. The world does not have them. They are selling a different gospel.

God’s Rebuke

To do these things, one must endure His rebuke and chastening. We must be “zealous and repent.” Repent from what exactly in this context? We must repent from laissez-faire lukewarmness of desiring the earthly things and turn to the spiritual by buying from Christ the gold, the white raiment, and the eye salve. “Gold” is faith purified by trials; “white raiment” is the righteousness of the cleansed ones; the eye salve is the unction of truth so that we may see into His heavenly spiritual dimension, where everything is possible. The elect will study these out. [See Gold Tried in the Fire–Overcomers and the Time of the End | Immortality Road.]

The Promise: To sit on the throne with Christ! Many are called to this honor of becoming a son or daughter, manifested in power and glory as Christ is. Sadly, few will answer the call.

The Conditions: Repent of lukewarmness. Buy from Christ the spiritual gold, white raiment, and eye salve. It is called “buying the truth with sacrifice.” And it starts with study and prayer. The hungry will get on fire to learn of Him and make the spiritual changes He desires for us. Lukewarmness will evaporate in His fire. To sit on Christ’s throne with Him is a stupendous future that He has promised us. We can meet the conditions. We must meet them—for His sake and the Kingdom’s sake.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Two Ways to Prove that You Really Love Christ

Then Comes the Abiding

How does the abiding come into us? God promised that He would abide in us after certain conditions were met. It is a conditional promise. We are not talking about doing something to attain salvation. As a child of the King, we already have salvation. But to grow past spiritual childhood, to have the Spirit grow in us and dwell in us—that is conditional. Christ is saying, “If you really love Me, then you can manifest the agape love that I am. But you must prove to Me that you love Me.”

Two Ways to Prove that We Love Christ

At this growth level, Christ is trying our hearts, to see if He can trust us with His deepest secrets. He desires a clean vessel to pour His Spirit into.

Christ is looking for two criteria. Christ explains the first one: “If a man love Me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come into him and make our abode with him (John 14:23). “If a man love Me…” Here is the first condition. The person that loves Christ will “keep His words.   

If we love Christ by keeping His words, then the Father will love us. And the godhead will come and stay and dwell within us. This is the abiding.

The Father Himself has promised to live in us—if we keep Christ’s words! As we have seen before, the word “keep” is translated from the Greek word meaning “to guard, to preserve.” And the word “words” comes from the Greek word logos, which is the plan and purpose of God spelled out from the beginning. We know that Christ is the Logos, the Word “made flesh” that dwelt among us and still does in the Spirit. Christ is the Purpose enacted for us all to see.

We are told to guard, protect, cherish, and preserve His words, the Logos. We are to watch and guard His eternal purpose, which was with God in the beginning. And His purpose is this: God is reproducing Himself. When we guard the Logos, the Father will love us, and God will abide, stay, and remain in us. That is the abiding.

Why isn’t this happening much more often in the world? Because before you can guard and preserve His eternal plan and purpose, you must know what His plan and purpose is. We are talking about “knowledge of the holy.” Those that love Christ will learn of the Logos.

And that brings us to the second way we show Christ that we love Him. You remember the story. The risen Christ has appeared to the disciples on the shores of Galilee. He asks Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” And Peter says “yes” three times. After each “yes,” Christ says, “Feed my lambs…feed my sheep…feed my sheep.” Christ was saying, “If you love Me, you will be feeding my lambs and sheep” (John 21:15-17).

But feed them what? We are to feed them the truth contained in the Logos. And the Logos is the very “mind of Christ.” From His mind comes His thoughts that reveal His plan and purpose. He wants to use us. Consequently, the Father will prune us like a vine, that we may bear more fruit.

Finally, we love Christ by guarding and protecting the truth, which is the Logos. We must cherish His mind, for it contains the boundless expanse of Love for us His people. He is the hidden treasure that is more precious than gold, diamonds and rubies. We love Him when we feed His lambs and sheep the vision found in His magnanimous heart. It is the vision of hope that He may abide and dwell in us forever.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Guarding the Logos

As Christians, we have feelings for Christ. We see His love for us, and it touches our hearts. But do we love Him the way He desires us to? Let us learn from the Master Teacher how to love Him more deeply.

Christ said, “If a man love Me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23). Let’s dive a bit deeper. Let’s focus on the words “keep” and “words.”

“Keep” is translated from the Greek word that means “to guard from attacks.” The word “words” is translated from the word logos. This is the same “logos” used in the famous verse of John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Logos…and the Logos was God.” The logos is the mind of Christ. It is His thoughts and words of His purpose and plan.

Therefore, Christ is saying, If a man loves Me, he will guard the logos; he will guard the Word, the mind of Christ, from any assaults from the enemy. He will stand guard against any attack on His thoughts and His mind. Guarding the logos means not allowing the enemy to sully His purpose and plan.

Starting with Our Own Minds

And it starts with us. First, we must start by guarding our own minds from the attacks of the devil. This entails putting on the “whole armor of God.” We, with the Spirit’s help, must start “casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor. 10:5). This is guarding the Logos.

Since we are to have the same mind of Christ, we are to guard His thoughts that are developing within our own mind. We do this through purging and pruning away old false concepts about Him. We then begin to share the truth by the Holy Spirit. This truth is found in His thoughts concerning His kingdom.

The mind of Christ is the Logos. It is the whole plan and purpose of God. We are to guard this truth, this Logos, in our own minds and then protect it as we grow spiritually for His sake. He said, “If a man loves Me, he will keep [guard] my words [logos]…” He is saying, The person who loves Me will watch, guard and protect the Logos. He will stand watch and guard the mind of Christ. By this, we show Him our belief and dedication to His cause. This is us abiding in Him.

When we guard the Logos, then something wonderful happens. Christ says, “And My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him” (Jn 14:23). This is God abiding in us.

First, it is us abiding in Him. This opens the door to Him abiding in us. Again, this glorious presence happens when Christ sees us guarding His logos, when He sees us “keep His words.”     

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[If you have read this article to the end, you must like the content. Please hit the like button; I’d like to know how many have read these words of truth. Yes, the Spirit is taking us into deeper living water. He did say that the Spirit of truth “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This essay will soon become a chapter in the new book that we are working on, called The Abiding. I hope you enjoyed the preview. Meanwhile, get all crazy and make a comment or send me an email. Tell me what you think about it. Ask a question. Start a dialogue. I would love to know better the “few there be to find” life (Mat. 7:14).]

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Partaking of the Divine Nature by Adding to Our Faith

We are called and chosen by God to be “partakers of the divine nature.” He has given us these “exceeding great and precious promises.”

He has promised us that we can become just like Christ and His apostles. What we are going through at present is not “worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). God foreknew us and predestinated us “to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren.” He then called us and justified us, and he will glorify us (8:29-30).

Those of us with this vision in mind receive this destiny through believing His promise. This is being “partakers of the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4). For this all to happen, God requires that we “give all diligence” (1:10). It is not a cakewalk; it takes a striving and a fighting “the good fight of faith” (I Tim. 6:12).

To secure the promises, we must diligently add to our faith seven major facets of Christ’s divine nature: virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience/endurance, godliness, brotherly love, and agape love (II Peter 1:5-8).

The Spirit through the apostle Peter says that by adding these seven attributes we can make our “calling and the election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.” There is no other way in scripture that lines it out like Peter does here. He knows; he was there with Christ for most of the miracles. In fact, he worked miracles himself several times.

We will add these things to our faith, if we study them out. Those that study will make “their calling and election sure.” They will grow spiritually and mature like Peter did. They will “bear fruit” like he did. And those who study all this out, and take it to heart, “an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ/Yahshua.” (II Peter 1:11).

This “entrance” is the “narrow gate” and the “open door.” If we study and add the seven additions to the faith, he has promised to grant us an entrance/door/gate that opens into the Heavenly Spiritual Dimension.

[It has been my great honor to have been used by our King to write a textbook that specifically teaches the seven additions to the faith. The title of the book is The Additions to the Faith. It is a 290-page trade paperback, and it does not cost you one dime. It is free with free shipping. Several have wondered how I do this without charging. God has granted me the finances to publish these books. I started a truly non-profit publishing company twenty-five years ago. Some put a $20 bill in the offering tray. My offering is to send a book to my fellow Christians. We must remember that Christ took money off the table. We, therefore, should not sell His holy words. “Buy the truth; sell it not.” Order a copy today by sending me an email. Send your name, mailing address, and title of book to: wayneman5@hotmail.com ]      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Catching Bigger Fish for Christ

Christ has invited us to become fishermen. He does not want us necessarily to catch fish in the sea; He wants us to catch men. Christ likens men to fish. In this analogy, He has some followers as fishermen and some as fish. He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

In Christ’s kingdom, there are three levels of spiritual growth attainable with God’s grace and mercy—children, young men, and fathers (I John 1:12-14). The spiritual fathers have “known Him that is from the beginning.” Those who will become fathers like Paul, Peter, James, and John—they are the big fish. We need these future sons of God who will arise in power and do the “greater works” than even what Christ did.

So, How Do You Catch the Bigger Fish for Christ?

You use bigger bait.

Continuing the analogy, more questions surface. What bait should we choose to catch a “big fish”? And how much of that bait should we use?

In fact, what is the bait? The bait is Christ’s words of truth. The amount of truth [the bait] depends upon the person’s spiritual growth. He wants us to feed them with spiritual food that meets their need. You feed a kitten milk; you feed its mother meat. Spiritual discernment is needed. Remember how He admonished them: “Don’t cast your pearls before swine…” It is difficult for novices in the word to handle the heavier truths, much less Satan’s thugs who are always around to mug you.

To “fish for men,” we need to know where someone is spiritually. Throwing big bait into a pool of tiny perch will not do. As we know from previous studies, Christians will grow and bear fruit in three levels: Thirty-fold, Sixty-fold, and 100-fold fruit bearing (Matt. 13:3-23). 30-fold fruit is borne by babes in Christ and little children of God. They believe God for personal salvation. This is a good start, but most little children of God stay on this level where they are mostly alive for what they can receive from God. You can hear it in their prayers; they want to be blessed by Him. This is categorized as “Knowing.” These are the children.

I have said it many times. We are to keep growing “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  That we henceforth be no more children…” And who are the children who are not yet mature in the spiritual growth cycle? It is those who are “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” Deceivers have sowed seeds of false teachings; children cannot discern the good from the bad. But many shall grow into the maturity that the apostle Paul is referring to (Ephesians 4:13-14).

Doing

60-fold Christians are those who have been taught more truth about the Son of God and His Kingdom. The truth is that God wants them to be the channel of His blessings and not the object. They begin to awaken to His desire for them to be “doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving themselves…” (James 1:22). The truth about Christ’s purpose and plan is the bigger bait that is offered to them by the fishers of men, who are the teachers sent by Yahweh.

Those foreordained by God to grow into 60-fold fruit bearing will accept and desire and latch on to the bigger bait. They will begin to see the deeper teachings of truth, and they will be drawn to it. They will see that by doing the deeper truths they will grow spiritually. This is part of fishing for men. And these doers of the word will grow into the 60-fold level of growth known as “Doing.”

The bigger bait is the deeper truth which solves the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” The big fish are those foreordained by God to respond to Him. They may grab the line and get hooked and try to run away from God like Jonah did for a season, but after God reels them in, they will do grand and glorious works as a testimony that the Father is real.

Some May Think This Is “Out There”

Some may not like this fish analogy. But they are Christ’s words, not mine. He wants us to fish for men, not minnows. This notwithstanding, He wants us to win souls for His sake. So how do you win someone who is destined to bear 100-fold fruit. Some will reach maturity and be like Paul, Peter and John? The answer: You cast out the biggest baits, the deepest truths. You cast before them the big truth that Christ has a plan to fulfill His purpose. And His purpose is to reproduce Himself in and through us. The “us” being those chosen by Him to become His manifested sons and daughters who will rule with Him on His throne during the 1,000-year reign of Christ. These will bear 100-fold fruit. This is “Being.”

Fishers of Men

Once landed, the big fish analogy is transposed into another extended metaphor: To become fishers of men. These future 100-folders “are the called according to His purpose.” These that He knew before, “He also did predestinate.” He gave them a destiny “to be conformed to the image of His Son” They will be just like Christ: that He might be the “first born among many brethren.” Those bearing 100-fold fruit believe that they have been predestinated, then called by Him and then justified, and then He glorified them. This has already happened in the mind of God (Romans 8: 28-30; Ephesians 1:4-5).

This vision of manifested sonship, 100-fold growth, is the “big bait.” Fully grown sons and daughters of God are His body with power. This vision contains the deep truths that the “big fish” are hungry for. When you arrive in these deeper waters, humility is needed, for this is heady stuff.

Christ sees us as already mature, for He “calls those things that be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). Therefore, Christ’s big fish are the Christians who have passed the stage and growth where they are not in this race to receive something for themselves. Rather they want to not just attain knowledge and things, but they desire to do and obey Christ’s new commandments. One of them is this: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” {Send for my book The Eleventh Commandment. Free with free shipping. Send your name, mailing address and name of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com}

Obeying this commandment—“Follow me”—brings us closer to Him, for Christ said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (John 15:10). [There’s The Abiding—the new book that the Spirit is writing through this vessel.]

Abiding/continuing/staying in His love! What a promise our Head has given us! To stay in the kind of incomparable love that Christ is! We can abide in Him and He in us! And then His love will flow through us to His people, and He will show Himself that He is alive by the movement of His Spirit—through us! Those whom He has chosen will think on these things, for they are His thoughts, not our thoughts.

When we think on His purpose, when our thoughts about His kingdom are first and foremost in our meditations, when we give His testimony—from the cross to the Throne with us seated with Him—This Is the Spirit of prophecy! These are the things in the future that His true prophets speak of. “The testimony of Jesus/Yahshua is the spirit of prophecy.” God’s prophets today speak of Christ’s testimony as to the fulfilling of His purpose and plan. In the meantime, we will follow Him, and He will help us become “fishers of men.”   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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WAR! Good God, Y’all! What Is It Good For?

“Absolutely nothing!” answers the choir resolutely.  

I get Edwin Starr’s sentiment. War. I hate it. I was in a big one. Vietnam. It was sickening to see and hear the dying young men, day in and day out. And for what? Of course, most are going to agree that there is absolutely nothing that war is good for. But according to the Spirit in the prophet Isaiah, God sees it differently.

I have learned that war is history’s twisted tale. And war is like tribute that must be paid for a tribe to move into supposed greener pastures. But the pastures putrefy in the slosh of conflict. And the pride and hubris of the leaders won’t let them pause and think about what they are unleashing on the people.

Wars—A Sign of the End Times

Christ speaks of “wars and rumors of wars.” He is talking about wars that have a connection to ­the Holy Land. As you know, war is raging in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon. Rumors abound about a regional war between Iran and their proxies and Israel and the U.S. Today’s middle east wars and rumors of a wider war are imminent. Israel at war is one of the major signs that we are living in “the time of the end.”

Christ was teaching His disciples at the temple. They asked Him what we are asking Him today, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world” (Matt. 24:3). The first sign was not to be deceived by counterfeit false prophets (vs. 4-5).

The second sign was about war. “And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Mark 13:7-8).  

Wars in and around the Holy Land must take place, says Christ. Must? To Get to Christ’s return and the end of the world system, there must come wars and more wars. So don’t be troubled, Christ is saying; wars must happen. “These things must come to pass” before the end comes.

But, why? These many wars shall happen because Yahweh has ordained it. Seeds of hatred have been sown. They must come to harvest. God wills these things to be. For the wars all over the world will help prepare for Christ’s return as King of God’s Kingdom. The wars will also bring on the end of the present world system. God gives a clear picture of how He will use war to prepare the way for Christ’s return.

Yahweh Foments the Wars

The Spirit of Christ in Isaiah reveals it in detail in a prophetic picture called “the burden of Egypt” in chapter 19. “Egypt” is universally recognized as a symbol of the world. Isaiah 19 is an extended metaphor of how the whole world will disintegrate at the time of the end through the wars that God allows. We see in 19:1 that Yahweh is directly involved in fomenting wars in the world. Yahweh is a Spirit that “shall come into Egypt.”

Yahweh will enter the minds of the peoples of the world. The result? “The idols of Egypt [the world] shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.” God will shake it up. A man’s idol is who or what he is in awe of. But God will shake the people’s confidence in whom or what they have trusted. He will do it through His presence. The people of the world will have their hearts melt in fear.  

God will challenge and shake up their whole belief system. “And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom” (v. 2).

God will do this. And all this turmoil, commotion, and war will cause the world’s spirit to fail and be emptied of its efficacy and strength. The world system and its leaders and followers will be consumed by war and its fears. For God “will destroy the counsel” of the world. Entities that were trusted will fail. “And they shall seek to their idols, and to the charmers” and to all the purveyors of peace. But to no avail. War will have consumed all reason.

Then Yahweh will deliver the world [Egypt] “into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them…” (verses 3-4). This is obviously a reference to the “man of sin,” the counterfeit world savior, the anti-Christ, the head of the one world government as seen in Revelation. How could the anti-Christ take over and rule the earth? Through national exhaustion caused by incessant war! It has always been “divide and conquer.”

However, by Yah’s great mercy, we see at the end of the chapter how the whole world transitions into blessed territories under the rule of Christ the King. It ends in a picture of reconciliation for the world and its nations, under the wings of God. After the establishment of His government throughout the earth, He will say to the nations, “Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance” (Isa. 19:25). Assyria is the work of His hands!  

All these wars and the strife they cause is all orchestrated by God himself: “The work of my hands.” Through the fiery crucible of war comes God’s destiny for the nations, a glorious lasting peace throughout the earth, headed by the Prince of peace, the Son of God and the world’s Savior. HalleluYah!

Man has his own noble thoughts about war. But we must remember what He said. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD [Yahweh]”. The good news is that we can make our thoughts His thoughts by “casting down imaginations…and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor. 10:5).

All this is why wars “must come to pass” before Christ returns to establish His Kingdom.     

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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In the Beginning Was the Seed—Part One

(Every garden begins with a seed. The Spirit is saying, Come with Me and dig deep in the garden of God)

We must “dig deep” because the garden holds a secret. But the garden gate is locked; we need the key. Christ is the key to the mystery of the locked garden gate. Christ’s words enfold this truth: “The parable is this: the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11).

Seed = Word. Word = Seed. Therefore, “In the beginning was the Word [Seed]…And the Word [Seed] was God” (John 1:1). And the Seed was God. In the beginning of all things was the Seed. And those that are His have been “born of that incorruptible seed, the word of God” (I Peter 1:23).

We now believe that the Seed, the Son of God, died, was buried, and was raised from the dead. Our belief in Him generates a new birth of that same Seed/Word in our hearts. We have that same seed in us. We are created in His image–both physical and spiritual. Like a garden seed is programmed to die, be buried, and spring to life, so it is in the spiritual realm.

What do seeds do? They grow. They are designed to spring to life and grow. Be it animal, vegetable, or spiritual, we are all designed to grow from a seed. In the Holy Bible, Christ and his apostles have commanded us to do certain things to spur on this growth.

The book The Additions to the Faith deals primarily with one of His commandments: “Add to your faith” the seven additions of the divine nature (I Peter1:5). Your faith is really His faith. There is only one faith (Eph. 4:5). Faith is the seed-beginning of all potential spiritual growth. It takes believing the word/seed faith, having not seen the physical evidence.

We should pause before exploring the seven additions to our faith. We must hold this truth tightly. The faith we have now from God is Christ’s actual faith/belief system. Christ believes  His own plan to spread agape love all over the earth in human beings.

God’s purpose is the reproduction of Himself, which is Love. He does this by using the age-old Law of Harvest: Each seed bears its own kind. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7 NASB). Spiritually speaking, we reap what we sow. But this sowing and reaping has nothing to do with Christians giving money to evangelists and believing that they will gain a return of money “one hundred-fold.” This prosperity doctrine is insidious. It preys on desperate people who fall into the trap of always looking after the flesh, thereby missing the Holy Spirit.

The Law of Harvest has to do with spiritual growth, as well as physical. Christ said, “The words I speak they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). There is no spiritual growth except through a germinated seed. The seed is the word of God. Then the word, like Christ, is made flesh in our mortal bodies. But the seed must be sown in good ground, in a “good and honest heart.”

Spiritual growth is how much of God’s Spirit of love grows in our hearts. He wants us to bear the peaceable fruit of righteousness in a fully mature growth which Christ calls bearing 100-fold fruit. To bear this amount of spiritual fruit, we must “know him that is from the beginning,” the beginning of all things. “Beginning” is from the Greek word arche. This “arche/beginning is not a recent, little beginning. It is big and deep and goes back before the worlds were framed by the word of God. The same word is used in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word.” Or, we can now say, “In the beginning was the Seed.”

This study gives us the key to the garden gate. This study about the Seed/Son opens it. And it gives us knowledge on how to enter the 100-fold fruit bearing growth. For knowing Christ from the beginning is the key.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy of The Additions to the Faith, with free shipping. Just send your name, the name of the book, and your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com ]

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Thoughts on Death and Life–He Is Trustworthy

(From a journal entry, 5-30-19)

Humans are the only beings that contemplate their fate after death. Even the self-described atheist fears death. If it is not a door to another destination, why fear death?

Of all the living, it is mankind that wonders about eternity and their place in it. Where do I fit in, he asks himself. Why did I as a youth believe I would live forever and never die? Why did I act like I was an immortal one—only to splash down into the mud of mediocrity?  This dethrones our high thoughts—thoughts of a Christless immortality, which come from the good/bad cycle and the wretched throes of war and peace and abundance and famine.

Of all the living, only humans ponder eternity. The human is the only species that is wired with waves of eternity’s thoughts. The singsong cadence of the lives of mortals—living today, dying tomorrow—confuses them when clothed in their first earthen body. They do not know when mortality’s final trip is scheduled.

But we who have died and have risen with Christ have taken the first step on the way to immortality. He has promised us passage into His immortal kingdom. He has promised us a new spiritual body, free from the physical decay of our weakening “mortal coil.” HalleluYah! Praise Yah for His “way, truth and life.” He is the answer to all questions.

The Father plans to “gather together in one all things in Christ.” That means things in the heavens and earth. He has predestinated you and me to fulfill His purpose of spreading His love in a sublime oneness. He is working it all out through His will (Eph. 1:10-11).

It is all Him, brothers and sisters. Christ is the head; He is running the whole shebang. It is His feast and festival; we are the invitees. He is “the feature; we are just the trailer.”

All Human Beings Should Trust Him

The earth we stand comfortably on is hurling through space around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour. We are spinning at about 1,000 miles per hour (How fast is Earth moving? | Space). Yet we do not feel it; we do not see nor hear anything about these astronomical speeds. It is a well-planned miracle that our Creator has done for life on earth. He has provided the perfect amount of gravity to counterbalance the speeds we travel. We trust Him to continue providing for us.

Death and eternal life. There is no death without first a life being taken. And there is no eternal life without death being conquered. Christ is the “resurrection and the life.” He is trustworthy. It is our honor to serve Him. 

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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