The Way to Live and Reign with Christ

© 2012 Jasper Life Publications Inc. Title of this volume: The Way to Live and Reign with Christ 1st Edition: March 2012 Translated with permission of Editora Árvore da Vida Published by Editora Árvore da Vida in Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, French, Italian and German.

All rights reserved by Jasper Life Publications Inc. 725 Viscount Road London, ON, Canada N6J 4G9 Phone: (519) 472-0350 http://jasperlife.com ISBN 978-1-926970-32-5 Printed in Brazil

Bible Quotations All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other versions of scripture are indicated as follows: NKJV NU‑Text New King James Version variations according to the twenty-seventh edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament and the United Bible Societies’ fourth edition ASV American Standard Version DBY Darby Translation lit.

Literal translation

CONTENTS Preface............................................................................ 5 1 The Kingdom of God and Lucifer’s Rebellion............... 7 2 The Restoration of Creation and the Need for Light.. 19 3 God’s Purpose in Creating Man and the Three Ages of Mankind................................................................... 37 4 The Origin of the King of the Kingdom of the Heavens ....................................................................... 53 5 The Standard of the Living of Those Who Will Reign with Christ......................................................... 73 6 The Most Important Item for the Practice of the Church............................................................... 95 7 The Reward of the Overcomers................................. 113

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PREFACE We thank God for the great mercy He has given us to provide one more publication of brother Dong Yu Lan! This book provides a summary of the revelations and the burden that the Spirit has dispensed through the author in recent months, in more than forty messages given in conferences held in 2009 in several cities in Brazil and other countries.

This content shows in a very sweet way the cooperation God expects from each one of us for the continuation of His work on earth. In a clear way, you will see how to prepare yourself to be not just a citizen of the kingdom of the heavens, but to be among those who will take the responsibility to rule with Christ in the coming age. A clear vision of this responsibility will certainly change your values and your Christian living.

Furthermore, you will see the importance of leaving the comfort zone of your Christian life lived under the “first day light” and receiving the “fourth-day light”. You will also see that receiving this “fourth-day light” causes each child of God to grow and to be fruitful in the spiritual life. Although it may seem too high a price to be paid to deny ourselves to do God’s will, you will notice that this is still relatively small compared to what God has prepared for us.

Finally, you will see all the requirements for one who wants to be an overcomer and the importance of shepherding and 5

caring for the people the Lord placed next to each one of us in the church life in order for the church to grow in life and number. Thus, the testimony of the Lord in each city will have a greater impact and as a result, little by little, all the earth will be actually under the divine government.

Read and enjoy!

The Editors S達o Paulo, February 2010.

Chapter 1

THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND LUCIFER’S REBELLION Creation and God’s Government The whole universe in its infinite complexity and beauty is the result of the divine creation, attesting to the existence of a powerful, eternal and sovereign Being. In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (1:20).

We also know that God has a kingdom that goes from eternity to eternity (Psa. 145:13). The kingdom of God is the realm of the government of God, where His will is done and His authority is exercised as He pleases (Psa. 115:3). All things came into being and were created according to this will (Rev. 4:11).

In Genesis 1:1 we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We do not know the exact time of the beginning referred to in this verse, or how many billions of years ago God created the heavens and the earth. Anyway, we know that God is the source of all things, that everything exists because of Him, and therefore, that everything is for Him (Rom. 11:36).

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The Way to Live and Reign with Christ

When creating the heavens, God also created many angels to execute His orders and to govern the creation (Psa. 103:1920). Everything was under God’s rule and in perfect order and harmony (Job 38:7). Among the angels in His service, God established the archangels Lucifer, Gabriel and Michael to rule over the other angels.

Lucifer’s Rebellion According to the book of Isaiah, God created the earth not to be in vain, but to be inhabited (45:18). But Genesis 1:2 says that the earth was without form and void. This indicates that something happened on earth after its creation. Between verses 1 and 2 there is a period of time that cannot be defined.

We can infer that it was at that time Lucifer rebelled against God’s authority and became Satan, God’s adversary.

Apparently, besides being established by God as the authority over other angels, Lucifer had a higher position than the archangel Michael. The Bible mentions that Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9).

Lucifer, also known as the morning star and son of the dawn (Isa. 14:12), was very beautiful and full of wisdom (Ezek. 28:12). He stood on the holy mountain of God, showing that he had a prominent position among the other angels. Moreover, he wore gold ornaments and was covered with precious stones (vv. 13-14). He was anointed as the cherub who covers, indicating that greater responsibilities had been assigned to him (v. 14). He was perfect in all his ways, that is, all things that he was entrusted with were carried out perfectly (v. 15), until iniquity was found in 8

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him (v. 15b). His heart was lifted up and he became proud (v. 17b). The book of Isaiah records that he said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (14:13-14). Because of his pride, he wanted to go against what God had ordained and thus violated His authority. Lucifer rebelled, influenced a third of the angels (Rev. 12:4, 7, 9), and was cast to the earth (Ezek. 28:17). Now we can understand why the earth was without form and void and became a chaos.

As the enemy of God, he usurped the earth and had the creatures living on it under his control in contrast to what God determined. The earth was then corrupted and is now under the control of Satan and his angels, who became the evil spirits, spiritual hosts of wickedness (Eph. 6:12). The creatures existing on earth at that time, affected by the rebellion, were submerged in the waters of the judgment of God; they lost their bodies and became demons (Matt. 8:31-32). Many fossils of these creatures have been discovered and studied by paleontologists. One was called Peking man for having been found in the Chinese capital. They also found fossils of dinosaurs—one whole skeleton was found recently in a deep cave in southern Chile.

The book of Job describes two types of terrible animals at that time: behemoth (translated as hippopotamus in many versions of the Bible) and leviathan (translated as crocodile).

The first ate grass and had a very large body, the second was a violent and proud animal, he despised what he saw in front of him and had tough skin as a shield (Job 40:15-24, 41). These animals were described in the book of Job to show that those who follow Satan become as proud as him.

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From Genesis 1:3 we have the record known as the seven days of creation, in which God actually came to recover the earth that was usurped and corrupted by Satan. So, at the end of the sixth day, God created man in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26) to have dominion over the fish of the sea (demons), over the birds of heaven (evil angels - Matt.

13:4, 19, 32) over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 20:2).

Praise the Lord, for man was thus created to defeat Satan and restore God’s rule and establish His kingdom come on earth.

The Danger of Self-Exaltation and Pride When observing the records of the cause and the consequences of the rebellion of Satan in the word of God, we must draw lessons for ourselves. The Lord is having special mercy on us by giving us understanding and wisdom in this issue. This is a privilege few sons of God enjoy.

One lesson is that we cannot take the path of self exaltation and pride as Lucifer did, who though he was the leader of the angels, longed for a higher position, wanting to be equal to God the Creator. As we saw, Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 show that he lost his place in heaven and was cast down to earth because of his pride and ambition. As the enemy of God, he usurped the earth, and had the creatures living on it under his control, in contrast to what God determined. That’s why today all the kingdoms and nations of this world are under the corrupt and unjust government of Satan (Luke 4:5-7; 1 John 5:19). The consequence is that the will of God is not done on earth as it is done in heaven.

We must take care that in our lives, particularly in our service to the Lord, we are not caught up by pride and ambition.

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The more one thinks he is better than others, the more proud he becomes. Eventually pride becomes an unquenchable, bottomless pit. If we have exaltation and pride in our hearts, we will be resisted and humbled by God (1 Pet. 5:5; Matt. 23:12; 2 Chron. 26:16-20). There are several examples in the Bible of people who have walked the path of pride and self exaltation and the end they had (2 Chron. 26:15; Daniel 5:20).

We must ask the Lord to prove our hearts and free us from pride (Psa. 19:13). May the Lord save us from the presumption of thinking that our own capacity, ability, strength, and the power of our arms, is what give us success to cooperate with Him in the execution of His work (Deut. 8:2, 11-17).

The Way to Be Exalted by the Lord We must walk the path the Lord has taken. Unlike Lucifer, the Lord Jesus, even being the very God and considering it not robbery to be equal with God, emptied and humbled Himself (Phil. 2:5-10). Although He was the Son of God, Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb. 5:8-9). In order to be the author of our salvation leading us to glory, He was perfected through sufferings (Heb. 2:10). This means that the Lord Jesus took a narrow path to deny His own will (Matt. 26:39) and to do everything according to the One who has sent Him (John 6:38; 7:16; Matt. 26:53). Because He was obedient and humbled Himself, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name. Similarly, if we are obedient to God and humble ourselves under His mighty hand, we will be used and greatly exalted by Him (1 Sam. 2:7-8; Luke 1:52).

God desires to restore His kingdom on earth. For this purpose He created man in His image and likeness, and blessed 11

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him, giving him dominion over all creation. God wanted man to receive His life and through this life, subdue Satan and the rulers of this world.

Unfortunately, as we will see in the following chapters, man failed to fulfill the will of God and was deceived and corrupted

by Satan. As a result, the earth and fallen humanity remained under Satan’s evil influence and dominion.

A Very Special Reward In order to restore the man He created and restore His kingdom here, God Himself became a man, Jesus, and lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. In order to redeem us from our sins and release His divine life, He died on the cross in our place.

Thus, after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the church age began. This is also known as the age of the spirit, a period that has already lasted nearly two thousand years. During this period, everyone who believes in Him receives the authority to be born again and become a child of God (John 1:12-13).

God’s desire is that all of His children may grow in the divine life to become His heirs in this age. They will be the overcomers, those who overcome the devil, the deceiver of the whole world, through the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and by not loving their own soul-life to the death (Rev. 12:9-11).

This age will have its end with the second coming of Christ when the Lord, together with overcoming believers, will establish His rule over the nations for a thousand years.

Through this government, God will fulfill His desire to restore His kingdom on earth.

Many children of God, however, do not know that to be an overcomer, to take part in the manifestation of the millennial 12

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kingdom and receive the reward of reigning with Christ, depends on how each person lives in the present age. When writing to the believers in Corinth, the apostle Paul said, “If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:14-15).

All of us who believe in Christ have eternal salvation, but the reward or punishment which will be given during the thousand years, depends upon our life and work today (Rev. 22:12).

In His second coming, the Lord will establish His judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10). For the believers, this judgment will be mainly as a test, an evaluation. The ones who are approved because of having done the will of God will receive a very special reward—living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6; cf. Matt. 24:45-47; 25:10, 21, 23). They are the ones who denied themselves in this age, grew in life, did not give up even when suffering, and have been conformed to the image of Christ. But those who are not approved will receive punishment, that is, will be disciplined and disqualified to reign with the Lord during the millennial kingdom: “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30; cf. 24:4851; 25:11-12).

This should strongly encourage us, the children of God, to be those who seek spiritual growth and have experience in the Lord’s work, doing business with our talents faithfully in order to receive this reward. Even if we are not a great apostle, if we are faithful in little, we can be a small servant whom the Lord will also entrust to rule over the nations. Because of this reward, we are willing to seek the things which are above and value the things of earth less, for when He appears we shall be 13

The Way to Live and Reign with Christ

manifested with Him in glory (Col. 3:1-4). Both wealth and position, whether in the secular or religious world, lose their appeal when compared to the glory which is to come.

We praise the Lord for revealing to us His will and eternal plan of receiving such a precious and heavenly reward. If we see this reward, we will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33).

Struggle to Enter into the Kingdom and Receive the Reward During the millennial kingdom, God’s authority will cover the entire earth. The vastness of the planet will be in need of rulers to represent God’s rule over these nations. The level of authority that each of these rulers will have, however, will depend on how much they have allowed the divine life within them to grow and how much fruit they have produced in this age (Luke 19:11-19). In other words, every child of God will be evaluated and then rewarded by two criteria—life and work.

This means that even among those who will reign with Christ, there will be some distinction, for some will exercise power and authority to a greater extent than others.

That is why the Bible says the kingdom of heaven is taken by force (Matt. 11:12). This indicates that the entrance into the kingdom of the heavens is conditional upon taking the initiative or having an active attitude towards denying ourselves (16:24). If today we strive to seek growth in life and to have experiences in the Lord’s work, He will approve us in the future.

Our goal must be the kingdom in the church today and to be prepared for Him to grow in life and bear fruit so that when the Lord comes, we are approved to reign together with Him. 14

The Kingdom of God and Lucifer’s Rebellion

Therefore, let us seek with all our strength to confirm the value of our faith, grow in life and bear fruit, so that our lives may be found unto praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Regarding this reward, the apostle Paul exhorted us not to cast away our confidence, not to turn back, but to persevere in doing God’s will (Heb. 10:35-36). He boldly stated that the sufferings of the present time cannot be compared with the glory to be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17).

The apostle Peter said that there is an inheritance reserved in heaven for us and encouraged us not to think as a strange thing the fiery trial which is to try us, but to rejoice, knowing that these sufferings are necessary to cleanse us and confirm the value of our faith (1 Pet. 1:4-7; 4:12). He reminded us of the need to make our calling and election sure so that the entrance will be supplied to us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom (2 Pet. 1:10-11).

The apostle John also gave us an encouragement when writing the words of the Lord: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev. 22:12). In some letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, John also mentioned this reward that the Lord promised to give to the overcomers: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10); “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations” (v. 26), and “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne” (3:21).

This shows us that the reward of overcoming is not about being mere citizens during the millennial kingdom, but to exercise authority over the nations and rule the earth together with Christ (Isa. 32:1).

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We still cannot fully understand what it means to enter into the kingdom to receive the reward, but we can mention what the Lord Jesus said to his disciples: “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

Assuredly, I say to you that He will make him ruler over all His goods” (Matt. 24:46-47). The Lord also said to the servants who were faithful to trade their talents: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (25:21, 23).

That is the reason why the requirements for those who will reign with Christ are high, as shown in Matthew 5, 6 and 7.

Several passages in both the gospels and in the epistles warn us not to live in a careless, sloppy way (Matt. 24:48-51; 25:11-12; 1 Cor. 3:14-15; 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-5), but to seek growth in the divine life, to be faithful and wise, and to walk the path that leads us to live and reign with Christ (Matt. 5:3; 6:33; 7:13-14; Luke 12:42-44; Col. 1:28-29; Rev. 20:4).

Examples of Those Who Lived to Reign An example of those who walked this way is the apostle Peter, who is certainly among those who are deemed worthy to sit on the throne that the Lord has prepared for those who will reign with Him. Throughout his life, he learned to deny himself and thus, matured in the life of God. He was transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. Every time he realized he had acted through his natural life, his self, Peter sought to repent from his words and actions. Certainly because of that, in his first letter, he talked about applying in our experience the “cleansing fire”. Just as fire purifies gold, the fire of the Spirit can remove the natural aspects of our natural life that are manifested through the constant light of the Lord. Thus, 16

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Peter was transformed by the Lord little by little, to the extent that in his second epistle he considered himself as a partaker of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4).

Besides him, the apostle Paul also sought to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. No doubt he will sit on one of the thrones with Him, as he said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).

We also believe that John, who learned to walk and live in spirit, will have his throne, for just as Peter, he was transformed.

Through his ministry, we are helped to take the word as spirit and life (John 6:63) and to practice the divine revelations given to the apostles Peter and Paul, and we are encouraged to return to what was from the beginning, the word of life which supplies and strengthens us to walk in light and love.

Do not think that it is impossible to be an overcomer. Just live by the light we receive from the experiences of the apostles Peter, Paul and John, to simply receive and practice the words of the Lord revealed to them. Although they have grown and matured in Christ, these three servants of God are waiting for us, so that together we may receive our crown and reign with Christ.

Transferred from the Kingdom of This World to Christ In Revelation, we see that, when the seventh trumpet is sounded at the end of the great tribulation, there will be great voices in heaven saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (11:15). “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who 17

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is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned� (v. 17). That will be the time set by God to cast Satan into the bottomless pit, and bind him there for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3) and transfer the government from the one that has usurped the earth to Christ.

May we be faithful to the purpose for which we were created, taking the path that Jesus took, that is, emptying ourselves out, denying the self, doing the will of God, and bringing His kingdom to the earth.

Thus Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, and we shall receive the reward of living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years.

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