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Life like everything else in nature is governed by a set of rules without which chaos would dominate our very existence. The omniscient God apparently knew this and understood that for anything to be ‘self sustaining’; it must be anchored on a solid foundation built on unbreakable laws. All through the first chapter of Genesis, we read the statements “and God said let …” repeated several times. Obviously, it was not just empty banter evidenced by the creation that resulted from it. Every time He spoke those words, they carried the weight and power of the king (Ecclesiastes 8:4); they became law.
Psalms 33:9 states; for he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. Every law that God spoke into existence stands till this day, it is unchanging, unfailing and unending. As men, we are only beginning to understand a tiny fraction of these laws. Yet we have used that knowledge for oppression, designing all manner of evil and building weapons of mass murder. We will take a look at some of these laws and how they affect our security.
The Laws of the Kingdom
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? – Job 38:33
In Job 38, God rebukes Job and asks him a series of questions to help him reflect on his humanity. The passage lists a series of natural events that are established by God’s power beyond the influence of man. Verse 33 is one of my favorite Bible passages, and it implies that there are ordinances (laws) that govern the establishment of heaven (physical or spiritual).
Heavenly laws
Through science, we have an understanding of some of the laws that govern the universe, our planetary system and atmosphere. We know how these laws affect our solar system to influence our lives here on earth. We understand the solar flare phenomenon and petrified about the swap in the earth’s polarity predicted to occur this century. NASA is constantly probing space and scanning for meteors (and Martians) that may pose a threat to human existence.
Scientists are not deluded into concluding that the present knowledge of our earth and solar system is complete. Little though we may know, one thing is certain; the physical ‘heaven’ has great influence on the physical world (earth).
The beauty of creation is that everything on earth is a reflection of both physical and spiritual heavenly models. If you think this parallel relationship between the physical and spiritual is a figment of my imagination, consider this passage;
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. – Romans 1:20
The physical (clearly seen) declares the spiritual (invisible things). This is not just as a means for God to be revealed to non-believers, but for believers to know him more. In Psalm 8, the psalmist said when I consider the heaven, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that you even bother with him or visit him?
Heavenly Laws govern the earth
Heaven and its constellations reveal the absolute greatness of its maker, a fact known to all except hardcore atheists. Job 38:33 above goes a step further by revealing that the laws that govern the heavens also govern the earth.
Let me illustrate by using the physical example of the earth and sun. In the ‘heaven’ the planets in our solar system are kept in orbit by the law of gravity. While on earth, the same law of gravity keeps us from flying off the face of the planet. This is despite the earth spinning at 1000 miles/hour around its axis and 67,000 miles/hour around the sun.
Science teaches us the heliocentric system with the sun occupying the hottest point at its center and providing all the energy to the earth. On earth, guess where the hottest part is? At the center, and where do we get our energy from? The ground beneath, it nourishes us (Genesis 1:29-30). We learn pretty early that the higher you go, the cooler it gets and the thinner the air gets due to these laws. Physically, the heaven is the model upon which the earth was built, and spiritually, Job 38 indicates that the same applies.
I know there will be people who will disapprove of my use of science analogies. We need not fear science anymore than we fear the arts. All knowledge comes from God and the things that are made known to us are for use to improve our lives.
Even the apostle Paul used a basic knowledge of anatomy to illustrate membership and ministry functions in the body of Christ (1Corinthians 12:14-31). He used the physically seen world to reveal the spiritually hidden reality (see figure 3 below). However, I am aware that there are those that believe the earth is flat. I base my model above on the heliocentric system that is taught as part of the official academic curriculum.
The heavens and the earth are mirror images that reveal one another. Likewise, the spiritual and the physical realms are mirror images reflecting and influencing one other
The heavens and the earth are mirror images that reveal one another(Romans 1:20, 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Colossians 1:15-16). Understanding one will empower us to influence the other. Likewise, the spiritual and the physical realms are mirror images reflecting and influencing each other.
Other Laws
Let us briefly consider a few more of these physical and spiritual parallels. If we physically stop eating food, we starve, stop growing and eventually die; if we stop studying the word of God, spiritually, we starve, stop growing and eventually die (1Peter 2:2).
When we play with bug infested materials, we physically get sick; if we play with sin (spiritual bug), we get sick in our inner man. This parallel of sickness and sin is used by Yeshua;
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. – Mark 2:17
The key to financial prosperity in the world is not to stash your money inside a mattress, but to send it away by investing to yield profit. Spiritual prosperity comes by giving (Luke 6:38), Cast your bread upon the waters for after many days you will find it, needless to say very soaked and bigger (Ecclesiastes 11:1); For it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). By so doing, you lay up treasures for yourself in heaven.
Eternity
It often helps to look at eternity through the eyes of a man living temporarily in a foreign land. He is aware that his present state is for a time only, so he endures what he can while remitting his money to his family in his home country. This is a scenario that is played daily by immigrants in developed countries like Canada and the USA.
The Bible calls us strangers in this world (Hebrew 11:13, 1Peter 2:11) and our home is with God and His family of saints (Ephesians 2:19). In John 14:2, Yeshua tells the disciples about mansions in Gods house and how He is going to prepare a place for us there. Haggai chapter one however tells us that first we must build God’s house, then God will build ours.
Giving to the stranger
God encourages us to give because through this, we also receive. There is the story of a retired couple that found a hungry stranger on their doorstep. They gave him some food and on leaving gave him the little money they had left. The stranger left, thanking them with the words God bless you. They later received anonymous checks in their mail every Christmas for 5 years and suspected it came from the hungry stranger they fed.
Spiritual wire transfer
It is always a blessing to give for God will bless us in this life and in eternity. What these passages together suggests is that there is some kind of divine ‘electronic’ wire transfer and resource conversion system operational in God’s kingdom through which believers convert earthly resources into eternal treasures (Revelations 14:13). If this were so, then there must be some hierarchical order perhaps similar to the one existing among angels? People who remit more are ranked higher than those who remit less.
Revelations 20:4-6 talks about a special group of overcomers who have the privilege of partaking in the first resurrection. They become priests and reign with Christ for a millenium. The rest of the dead including the other dead in Christ are not yet resurrected. Their privileged position was not given them as a birthright, but they earned it by what they endured for the sake of God’s kingdom. They obviously have seniority since; the Bible states that these have automatic immunity from the second death. You can look at them as the first tier of saints, the best of the best; so they get drafted first while the second tier wait their turn.
They gave their all
Why is this important? There is one thing common to all those who partook of the first resurrection, they gave their all, for many, their very lives for the gospel of Christ. If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, you must be the least (Matthew 23:11, Mark 9:35, Luke 22:26), be like a child (Matthew 18:4) and give your all (Matthew 19:27-30). Please understand that I am not referring to just money here. I am referring to committing our entire existence to The Most High and His kingdom. It involves our time, energy, words, family and ambitions. Seeking God’s will with all our heart should be our primary priority. Everything else in life is secondary.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33
Endure persecution
I remember the early days of my convertion from Islam. A friend of mine whom I esteemed highly faced persecution at that time. On a certain day while fellowshiping on campus, her father showed up and physically dragged her out of the congregation. He proceeded to beat her up all the way to her hostel that was a short distance away. This was in Africa where you are allowed to discipline your child. So, the father had not committed any crime by beating her.
In keeping with the culture, she did not lift a finger to protect herself, but endured the roughening for a while. After her father left, she simply got up and returned to complete the service. That simple action left a lasting impression on me. Amazingly her father became a believer and later a pastor. If she had caved in that evening, perhaps her father would have remained outside of the faith.
So dear friends if you want to prosper in the things of God and obtain eternal life? Cast your bread upon the waters, give your all and grab the kingdom with both hands (Matthew 19:21). That is the spiritual parallel of prosperity.
Physical to spiritual crossover
One great thing about these parallels is that there are crossovers between the physical and the spiritual. An understanding of this crossover rule is key to setting the dominion of heavenly laws in our lives today. I illustrate using Genesis 5:24 where we learn of Enoch who walked (uprightly) with God and he was not, because God took him away. His physical relationship, his physical obedience and servitude, all were rewarded with an unprecedented transportation into the realm of the spirit. He was the first to break the physical to spiritual transit barrier without passing through death.
Another example of a crossover is seen in Genesis 6:8 at a time when evil multiplied on the earth and fallen angels married and procreated with earthly women, Noah found grace in the eyes of God. He was a just man, he was perfect in his generation and he walked with God. His act of spiritual worship was rewarded with physical salvation in the ark as well as spiritual salvation in eternity.
Thirdly, Abraham obeyed God and it was counted to him for righteousness and he received the promise of Christ through who every nation on earth is blessed. The acts of physical obedience of these three men was counted for faith in Hebrews 11:5-10 and they obtained a spiritual reward.
Finally, Jacob understood the principle of visions and its power to determine destinies. He therefore laid a rod before the best cattle during birth and so all the strong calves became his (Genesis 30:41-42). It is amazing how much power we can release into our lives and situations by just positioning ourselves according to God’s principles and ordinances.
Knowest thou the Laws of heaven?
The big questions now are these; do you know the ordinances of heaven? Can you bring its dominion on earth? Do you understand the laws that govern the kingdom of God? Can you bring the influence of that kingdom into our world of men? There is a huge difference between understanding the beauty and glory of the heavens and understanding the laws upon which their foundations are laid. The children of Israel understood the acts of God (Psalm 103:7); they had seen His miracles, experienced the demonstration of His might in battle and knew He hates sin (though not why). Moses on the other hand knew God’s ways and understood the principles through which God relates to man.
Seek the Principles of the kingdom
When we study the Bible, we should painstakingly seek to find the keys to understanding crucial principles of the kingdom. For as many as have been doing this, you will have experienced moments when there is a sudden illumination in your heart. You see the scripture sometimes so clearly that you instinctively know what the next verse will reveal even before you read it. Some describe this as the unveiled (open) face experience (2 Corinthians 3:18), but I also like to call it the dropping key experience due to its sometimes startling suddenness and the knowledge that you have found a hidden key to understanding the principles of God’s Kingdom. The first time I experienced this, I virtually saw a key drop in the spirit.
Mathew 13:44 describes the kingdom of God as treasures hid in a field, it is so priceless that a man aught to sell everything else to buy this land.
As we tarry in His presence, may our eyes and hearts be opened to see the eternal treasures hidden in His Word, and may our prayer and desire be to see His will done on earth as it is in heaven.
Other articles you may like
God the biologist; the Genesis of Science
Yorubas;the lost ancient Hebrew Israelites