What it means to have your feet prepared with your combat boots and ready for walking in the Spiritual Warfare. Part 2. The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.
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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!
Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).
1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]
If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:
John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]
Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: "14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV
Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:
Study to show yourself approved to God!
Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
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STUDY TITLE:
What it means to have your feet prepared with your combat boots and ready for walking in the Spiritual Warfare. Part 2. The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.
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Terms & Abbreviations used:
PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth
BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible
What it means to have your feet prepared with your combat boots and ready for walking in the Spiritual Warfare. Part 2. The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.
We begin with the principle that when the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected, three days after the Cross, He was on the earth for 40 days and then He ascended to the right hand of God the Father.
1CO 15:1-8, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
Then in 1CO 15:21-28, For since by a man {came} death, by a man also {came} the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then {comes} the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.
When the Lord Jesus Christ arrived in the presence of God the Father, He arrived as the conquering general. At that time it was quiet on the earth because Satan and the fallen angels were all in the triumphal procession as captives. As captives, they were probably accompanied by the elect angels because angelic assemblies always included all angels. So, that there was a moment on the earth when things were pretty quiet because all the demons were paraded by the Lord Jesus Christ as He sat upon that throne.
Then they went back to their activities on planet earth because they will be executed as it were at point b the Second Advent which is operation footstool.
At which point they will be incarcerated for 1,000 years before their final judgment.
REV 20:1-3, And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
REV 20:7-8, And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
Our Jesus Christ has already had part one or the first part of the Triumphal Procession. It started but, it won’t be over until the Second Advent.
The Doctrine of the Triumphal Procession.
Point 1. Background and Preparation for the Triumphal
Procession. We begin with the fact that there are five different crowns in the Word of God that correlate with the different crowns of the Roman military.
These Crowns are given at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The Crown of righteousness this crown is awarded at the judgment seat of Christ to the Church-age believer who fulfills the predesigned plan of God by the advance to spiritual maturity. This believer has advanced from spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering to attain spiritual independence or autonomy and from there he goes through spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing all the way to attaining spiritual maturity.
This is given to mature believers with emphasis on their attainment of spiritual maturity in the PPOG. It emphasizes functional virtue directed toward man and circumstances and the fulfillment of the Royal Family Honor Code. The believer who wears the invisible uniform of honor (EPH 6) will receive the crown of righteousness. The function of impersonal love is the manifestation of the invisible uniform of honor. The crown of righteousness is given for your virtue, honor, integrity, passing momentum tests, and fulfillment of the Royal Family Honor Code.
2TI 4:7-8, I have fought an honorable fight [advance to spiritual maturity]. I have completed the course [execution of the PPOG]. I have guarded the doctrine [as #1 priority]. In the future there is reserved for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me in that day, and not only to me, but to all [winners] who have loved his appearing.
He perpetuated spiritual self-esteem all the way to spiritual maturity. This crown is presented to those believers who advance through the three different stages of spiritual adulthood. Accompanying the crown of righteousness is a tremendous amount of extra privileges, blessings, and opportunities both in time and then in the eternal state.
The Crown of life - awarded to the Church-age believer who in spiritual maturity passes evidence testing. By passing evidence testing, the mature believer has glorified God to the maximum and so will receive the crown of life. Evidence testing is administered by Satan as an extension of the angelic conflict; JAM 1:12, Happy is that person who perseveres under testing, for once he has passed the [evidence] test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
This tells us that happiness is not confined to prosperity or to having things going your way. The happiness provided by Bible doctrine exists under the greatest categories of adversity. The Crown of life is awarded to all members of the Royal Family of God who utilize the problem solving devices and advance to spiritual maturity and then use +H to pass evidence testing.
The Incorruptible Crown - given to those who mastered the O.S.N. through dedication and devotion to the PPOG. These are the believers who were discipline, faithful, dependable, and self-motivated. They didn’t look for excuses not to give, serve or be faithful to Bible class. They fulfilled their obligations even when they were not present.
The Crown of Rejoicing - given for being a soul winner - 1TH 2:19, For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
These individuals were accurate in their communication of the Gospel. They were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
As the apostle Paul said in ROM 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
They are willing to lead others to the grace and truth found in the Lord Jesus Christ. They led many to the righteousness found in the Word of God.
DAN 12:3, And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
They are said to be filled with life and wisdom.
PRO 11:30, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.
The Crown of Glory - is awarded to pastors who faithfully study and teach bible doctrine to their congregation, doctrine by which the pastor and positive members of the congregation will attain spiritual maturity.
There are four categories of Pastors in the Church age.
1) The cosmic pastor, who lives in cosmic one and two, is distracted by social action, crusader arrogance, and is totally disoriented to reality. He is very arrogant, self righteous, and ignorant of doctrine.
2) The baby pastor high profiles his own personality while low profiling the Word of God. He only evangelizes and gives moral lectures.
3) The adolescent Pastor teaches some truth but is distracted by various forms of high profile. He is selling his own personality (rather than teaching doctrine) by visiting the sick, calling on the congregation, conducting programs.
He can be a pseudo intellectual, a crusader, a bleeding heart, self righteous, a pleasing personality, or arrogant. He appeals to those with negative volition toward Bible doctrine. He doesn't have the time to study.
4) The mature pastor through personal study and teaching advances to spiritual maturity in The PPOG and is leading his congregation there. He has fulfilled the concept of the function of metabolization of doctrine. Motivational virtue toward God, i.e., personal love for God. Functional virtue toward man and circumstances, i.e., impersonal love for all.
He emphasizes doctrine and is a prepared person academically, knowing where he stands theologically. He focuses on the message, not his personality.
He is described in HEB 6:10, For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.
The motivation for the pastor is occupation with the Lord.
1PE 5:1-4, Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd [our Lord at the Judgment seat of Christ] appears [rapture], you [faithful pastors] will receive the unfading crown of glory.
PHI 4:1 personalizes this concept: Therefore, my brethren, loved ones [congregation who is respected for their faithfulness], deeply desired ones, my happiness and my crown, keep on being stabilized [winners of the crown of righteousness].
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who have attained spiritual maturity are the crown of glory for the pastor. The pastor’s boasting or crown of glory is received because certain members of his congregation do two things by listening to the teaching of the word: They take the giant step to spiritual self-esteem, and they take the victory step to spiritual maturity where they can receive evidence testing to glorify God to the maximum.
The happiness of the pastor comes from the positive response of those who are faithful to the teaching of the word of God. The pastor’s happiness is different from that of anyone else. Believers with P.V.T.D. are the basis for the pastor receiving the Crown of Glory.
The danger to the Pastor is given a warning in 1CO 9:24-27, Do you not know that those who run a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self discipline in all things. They do not receive a perishable crown but an imperishable crown. Therefore, I do not run without a goal. I do not box like a person beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and keep it in training, lest having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."
The ultimate decoration: The order of the Morning Star.
The winner who receives the above crowns not only has vast estates in the eternal state, but he receives this decoration and others that go with it. This decoration is taken from and named after our Lord’s third Royal Patent, King of kings, Lord of lords, the bright morning star. Mentioned specifically in REV 22:16
and 2PE 1:19.
The order of the morning star is given to winners as the highest of all decorations in escrow blessings given by God. It is a part of the new order of chivalry in the eternal state for the royal family. This decoration is awarded for the maintenance of spiritual maturity in what may be called an ultra supergrace status. This decoration is mentioned as a part of escrow blessings for the eternal state in REV 2:26, 28 “furthermore, the winner, even he who keeps My assignments [execution of the PPOG] until the end [perpetuation of spiritual maturity through evidence testing], to him I will give authority over the nations. furthermore I will give to him the order of the morning star.”
The mature believer will be a king over a Gentile nation and rule during the Millennium. Receiving this decoration is the highest manifestation of
glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church-age. This same title was given to Him at the ascension and session and is related to both the strategic victory and tactical victory of the angelic conflict.
REV 22:16, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to declare these things to you for the churches; I am the root [Jesus Christ as eternal God], and the descendent of David [Jesus Christ in hypostatic union], the Bright Morning Star [His title for the first and second advents].
NUM 24:17, His title is related to his strategic victory, I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not near. Behold, a star [Christ as the morning star] shall come forth from Jacob [first advent] and a scepter shall rise from Israel [second advent].
MAT 2:2 is a reference to the morning star related to the first advent, MAT 2:2 Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.
Bible doctrine is related to Christ as the morning star in 2PE 19-21, and the morning star has come up [second advent].
2PE 1:16-19, For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the majestic glory, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
The order of the morning star is named after our Lord’s royal title and is given for historical impact in the Church-age. It authorizes the recipient to reign with Christ in the Millennium and hold the highest privileges for all eternity.
These believers can eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God, located in the New Jerusalem. There are at least seven privileges that accompany the order of the morning star.
1. The Uniform of Honor, being invisible and worn in the soul, is exchanged at the judgment seat of Christ for the translucent uniform of glory worn over the resurrection body. It was first modeled by Jesus Christ on the mount of
transfiguration, MAT 17:2, And His clothes became white as light.
The uniform of glory is given as a translucent light which covers the resurrection body, REV 3:4-5, they will walk with Me in whites...
2. The name of the winner appears on the honors list, and he is presented in the court of heaven during the tribulation on earth. Only those on the honors list are taken to heaven and presented to God the Father. The honors list is made up of those believers who make Bible doctrine their highest priority daily.
REV 3:5, Thus the winner shall be clothed in white garments and I will never blot out his title [the winner is knighted at the judgment seat of Christ] out of the book of life. In fact I will acknowledge his title in the presence of my father and before his angels [a formal presentation].
3. A new order of knighthood and eternal order of chivalry will be added to the believer's name in the Lamb's book of life forever, REV 2:17 cf COL 3:4-6.
The new knighthood is given to the winner, REV 2:17, “To the winner, I will give him blessing from the hidden manna [escrow blessing for time and eternity]; also I will give him a white pebble [a decorated resurrection body, God's final vote of justification they voted with colored pebbles in the ancient world] and on that white pebble has been inscribed a new title [your royal patent in the eternal heraldry] which no one knows [you are an anonymous hero during the Church-age].”
4. The winner will rule with Christ during the Millennium. There are at least seven different approaches with regard to ruling with Christ.
a) The A Fortiori approach, ROM 5:17, “For if by the transgression of one spiritual death ruled by that one, much more, they who receive in life this surplus from grace [escrow blessing] and the gift of righteousness, much more, they shall rule through that one Jesus Christ.”
b) The sarcastic approach, 1CO 4:8, You are already filled [with private sins]; you have already become rich [but not from escrow blessing]; you have become kings without us. How I wish you really had become kings, so that we might also rule with you.
c) The eternal security approach, 2TI 2:12, if we endure [perpetuation of life in the PPOG], we shall also rule...
d) The parable approach, LUK 19:12ff especially vv. LUK 19:17, 19, Take charge over ten cities = rulership.
e) The direct approach, REV 3:21, “The Winner, I will give to him the reward of sitting with Me on My throne, as I have won and sat down with my Father on His throne.”
5. The winner's name is recorded in the permanent historical record section because of his invisible historical impact during the Church-Age, REV 3:12a.
The impact of the winner is anonymous as far as the record of history is concerned, but not as far as God is concerned.
The mature believer's historical record will be recorded forever in the heavenly temple.
Each pillar will have the record of his life as a winner.
REV 3:12, “The winner, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Furthermore, he will never again vanish [go outside] from history. Also I will emblazon on him the title of My God, and the name of the city of My God.”
This will be his pass to enter the eternal city, the New Jerusalem, a satellite city suspended above the earth in the atmosphere or in space. The temple of My God is the eternal record center in the future. This temple of God will be the historical textbook of the true heros of history. The mature believer as a part of the pivot is the true impact on history.
In GAL 2:9 the mature believer is currently called a pillar of the church.
6. The winner receives his own coat of arms of glory, REV 3:12b.
7. The winner has special privileges related to the tree of life, the gazebo of the garden, called the paradise of God.
You are a member of a special club with special parties to which only you are invited; you're a member of the paradise club forever, REV 2:7,14.
REV 2:7, “To the winner, I will give to him the privilege of eating from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.”
REV 22:14, “Blessed are they [winners] who have washed their robes [rebound], that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city [New Jerusalem].”
The tree of life is the ultimate in eternal reward and blessing.
The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.
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