By Ron McGatlin
(Note from Ron: If some of this important writing is new to you or does not seem to fit in your box, please be patient and do not throw it away quickly. Please read to the end before tossing it. If you cannot receive it now, please put it on the shelf in your heart and allow time for the Holy Spirit to confirm or deny it. – Thank you, Ron)
Perhaps the most significant shift since Pentecost is now taking place in the Body of Christ. It is possibly the most significant move of God in the last 2000 years. The order of church as we have known it is changing.
One of the comments heard often coming from prophets that are seeing the shift is that they do not know exactly what it looks like. Yet all would probably agree that there is a significant shaking of all that can be shaken on earth.
How severe will the shaking be?
What will happen to me and my family during this time of shaking?
What will the governments of nations look like?
How perilous will it really be?
Probably no one has clear answers to these serious questions.
With the light of spiritual revelation and God’s wisdom that is available to those who love God above all else, we can know some specific answers to some other even more important questions such as:
Where is all this going?
Why is the church worldwide being targeted with vicious persecution?
Why is God allowing these things to happen?
Even many who are aware of the major shift taking place may not yet be sure about where this is all going.
The Quiet Beginning of This Shift
In the 1980s, a major millennial shift quietly began among a scattering of unknown men across the world. Later I miraculously found out about some of these men of God that experienced the same revelation that I received in the same time frame. They were low profile and had no connection or contact with one another. These men were mature chronologically and spiritually. Most had gone through all the recent moves and restorations of God in the church up to that day. God opened the eyes of these men and lifted the cover from the powerful gospel of the kingdom that had been covered for two thousand years. The gospel of the kingdom has now been quietly spreading like yeast in dough, mostly unseen, and from person to person through organic networking.
From the quiet reseeding of the gospel of the kingdom that began in the 1980s, it continued to spread as the powerful revivals and spiritual outpourings of the 90s prepared the people to receive more from God. In the 2000s the sprouted seeds grew and many men and women of God began to proclaim and demonstrate the portions of the gospel of the kingdom that they had received. The same powerful message that Jesus and His disciples first planted over two thousand years ago is now being widely proclaimed across the world. Generations of people are being prepared to experience the fullness of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Much of the existing church that is structured from the past is not yet aware of what God is doing.
The enemy is aware of what is happening and is furiously trying to destroy all the babies and children of these generations in an effort to stop the move of God. Every person who is part of the kingdom of God reality that is coming forth to these generations are becoming targets for annihilation, if the enemy can find an opening to get to them. The enemy is killing as many babies and perverting as many children as possible in an attempt to stop the kingdom generation of people. All of the persecution designed to kill, steal, and destroy anything of Jesus on the earth will only serve to purify the true kingdom age church of God. Priorities will drastically shift to the true values of God. The King and His kingdom will be the number one focus of life among the generations of pure-hearted holy people of power in the kingdom age church of Christ Jesus.
The church systems that in the past ruled with authority over people are finishing their season as the new kingdom of God reality comes forward. The authority of the past church systems is rapidly fading from effectiveness in the Body and in the world. The great shift of our time has to do in part with church system’s governments and functions being changed into the glorious church “ekklesia” of the kingdom of God age. The kingdom “ekklesia” (the gathering of called out ones) is becoming the “basileia” (kingdom) of heaven on earth.
The Church System Authority and the Kingdom of God Authority
To understand the difference in the two let’s begin with a brief look at the roots and development of the religious church system authority. The church system’s structure was never God’s perfect design for the people of God after the time of Christ Jesus. The first century church that the disciples of the Lord knew was nothing like the church systems that began developing shortly after Paul and the other disciples left.
Around the third century the church became infiltrated with pagan practices and ruled over by politically inspired hierarchical systems of men. The leadership of Christ in the Holy Spirit that had ruled in the first centuries left the corrupt church. Man reinstated the Priest system and produced many religious laws or rules for the people. The divine authority that was in the early disciples was gone and man developed church system authority and called it “God Ordained.”
The politically oriented corrupt leadership of the church that was void of the Holy Spirit began to reach back to the other side of the cross and brought forward a lot of what God had ordained for the Old Testament time before the coming of Christ Jesus.
In the Old Testament day the Priest were established to serve as a mediator between God and man. There was a distinct separation between the priesthood and the rest of the people. The Priests did all of the God stuff, and the people only brought the proper sacrifice for the Priests to offer. Specific rules and rituals were carried out religiously with the people. There was a distinct group of men set aside to rule in the places of worship. Only the set apart Priests were to do the stuff. All of this looked forward to the coming of Christ, and all of it was to be done away with after the cross. The church of Jesus Christ was to be the kingdom of God come to earth fulfilling and ending the Old Testament religious types and shadows.
The church systems to this day have continued to replicate this out-of-order authority structure with many minor variances. Today in church systems, local churches, and ministries the same structure of men ruling over men through a system of “clergy” over “laity” continues to be the backbone of most church governments and functions. This may have many names and forms but is deadly to the functionality of the New Testament kingdom of God reality. The name may change from denominations to apostolic networks or associations or whatever. However, if in fact it is a hierarchy or pyramid of men ruling over the people of God, it is working in the old clergy over laity error that has been prevalent since around the third century.
(Please don’t go yet. Let’s look briefly at the reality of the kingdom church government and function.)
In a natural earthly kingdom, the king is sovereign. The king has complete authority over everything and everyone in the kingdom. Since the king cannot possibly be everywhere to see over and manage all things, he appoints people to manage specific portions of his domain, according to his desires and instructions. Each subject reports to the king, either directly or through an appointed overseer who manages a specific area and answers to the king for the subjects under his oversight. The king delegates his authority to an overseer person because the king cannot be present with all of his subjects individually. A natural or earthly kingdom is like the Old Testament rule of the people. It required delegated authority to function.
In the kingdom of God as in any kingdom all authority over all that is within the kingdom rest in the one KING.
The kingdom (government) of God is very different in some ways from an earthly kingdom. The kingdom of God on earth is the kingdom of heaven ruling on earth. It will always operate from the same reality that it does in heaven. The spiritual from heaven created the natural and has complete authority over it.
Here are the BIG differences -
First the kingdom of God from heaven on earth is a spiritual kingdom.
God is SPIRIT! God’s Son was with God in the beginning and was part of creating all that is created. The Son of God with God was SPIRIT before coming to earth to take on a human body in order to redeem, restore, and reclaim all that was lost in the first Adam.
All authority in heaven and on earth is given to Christ Jesus the King. Jesus is the only HEAD of the church and the only KING of the kingdom.
All power, all love, and all wisdom is given to Christ Jesus, the SPIRIT KING of earth and of all creation. Father God and the Son are ONE (John 17:21-22).
King Jesus knows what is best to do in every situation and has the power to do it and the love to make it be the best it can be for all His people on earth.
We are the subjects of His kingdom on earth. We are spirit beings with a soul and body. As spirit beings in a human body we have the potential to be one Spirit with Christ Jesus and carry out His will by His power here in this natural earth.
Unlike the natural king who had to delegate his authority to someone to oversee for him, King Jesus and the Father, in the Holy Spirit, can become one Spirit with us and abide in us to bring forth His own authority. There is no need for men with delegated authority to try to rule the church and subsequently the world. SPIRIT GOD will rule His kingdom in and through His Body and Bride on earth. This is the reality of Christ in you the hope of glory (Col 1:27).
Christ Jesus is still seated at the throne of God, and we are seated with Him there in the Spirit. Jesus was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to the Father. As a “life giving Spirit.” (1 Cor 15:45) Jesus returned to His disciples at Pentecost, just as he said He would, to abide in them by the Holy Spirit to do the greater works in His Body on earth (John 14:12) (John 14 15-20) (John 17 20-23).
While in His incarnate body on earth, Jesus was a man in one place at one time. As Spirit God, He can be anywhere and everywhere all at once. He is both at the throne and on earth indwelling His people.
This is not saying that there is no future bodily return. This is saying that He came as Spirit to establish His kingdom now in us and subsequently into the world. We literally can rule and reign as kings and priests with Him now on earth as we no longer live but the life we now live is His life in us (Rev 1:6) (Gal 2:20).
This is also not saying that there is no place for leadership and leaders in the Body through whom Christ functions. It does mean that we must come to understand the difference in Headship and leadership. More on true kingdom church leadership next time.
Kingdom authority is the authority of Christ Jesus in the Holy Spirit living in His people ruling and reigning on earth as kings and priests.
Yes, as you imagine there is much more to this wonderful kingdom reality for each of us to experience in this life now and in the life to come. The Kingdom Growth Guides are a very good source of moving from religion into intimate relationship in the emerging kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.