Reach for the Stars! ~ Bill Britton ~ Chapter 6

He Will Restore

There is to be a restoration! Praise God! Of this there is no doubt. No devil in hell, no theological disputer, no fearful doubter can destroy that truth. The very return of Jesus to this earth depends upon it. For we read in Acts 3:21 that Jesus must remain in heaven "until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets". That word restitution means: "to restore", and that same Greek word is used only one other place in the Bible, in Acts 1:6 where the disciples asked Jesus if He was going "to restore" the kingdom at that time.

Notice that the King James translation does not say that Jesus returns after all things have been restored, but at "the times of restitution". Since no one translation gives us all the beauty and power and truth contained in the original language of scripture, let us look at a few other translations to get a more complete picture of this scripture. In the AMPLIFIED New Testament we read: "Whom heaven must receive and retain until the time for the complete restoration of all that God spoke". Yes, it is to be a COMPLETE restoration! WUEST Expanded translation of the New Testament says: "it is a necessity in the nature of the case for heaven indeed to receive (Jesus) until times when all things will be restored to their pristine glory". Yes, praise God, His creation had a pristine glory which we know nothing about, for we have never seen it. But it shall be restored! The MOFFATT New Testament says that the Lord will send Jesus Christ back to earth, "who must be kept in heaven till the period of the great Restoration." Yes, we are living in the last days, the times of The Great Restoration. And it is not done in one minute, or one day, but it is a PERIOD of restoration. WEYMOUTH’S New Testament calls it "the times of the reconstitution of all things." KNOX says "when all is restored anew". RIEU says: "until the whole world is re-created." The N.T. in Basic English says: "when all things are put right". The LIVING LETTERS translation puts it: "until the final recovery of all things from sin". So by the mouth of eight more witnesses have we established the truth that there will be a time when all creation will be restored to it’s original glory, and that this will be a complete work, and that all things will be made right. And during this time of reconstruction or restoration, Jesus will return from the invisible realm of heaven where He now is, to the visible realm of this earth where He will be seen in His body.

The Need for Restoration

First of all, we see a terrible lack of things being right, or in divine order. There is a divine order for creation, for life on this earth. There is a proper order for animal life, vegetable life, and human life. But all things are out of order, in terrible chaos. The curse must be lifted, every enemy put under our feet. Divine order for the universe must be restored. All creation is groaning and crying for release from the curse of decay and death. And everything hinges on that body of Sons that are to be manifested in a perfect state of divine order. Books could be written about all that is to be affected by this great restoration, and the manifestation of the Sons, but I must limit this message to the restoration of the true church of Jesus Christ, His Body in the earth.

Compare the condition today of the Church in general (or that which calls itself the Church), and the picture found in Ephesians 5:25-27: "Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Glory to God, what a Church! A blemish speaks of a flaw in the basic structure of the material or garment. A spot is dirt or filth from the outside that has been imposed upon the garment, even if the basic structure of the garment itself is perfect. A wrinkle could be in a clean and perfect piece of material, and speaks of the lack of perfect straightness in it’s setup or structure. Today we see all these things in the church systems, even the best of them. But His Church in Ephesians has been washed, cleansed, and sanctified. When men speak of "coming out of the Church" today, and that the "Church age" is about over, they are talking about the systems of men, and not about this glorious Church without spot or wrinkle. For this is His Body, and it is eternal. The true Church is not an "age", it is a spiritual organism, manifesting Christ through the ages. We are being brought INTO this Church, not out of it. The systems of men are passing away, and there is to be a great restoration of His Church. The whole creation cries out for it.

Romans 8:18, 22 tells us that there are sufferings in this present time, but they are not worthy to be compared with the GLORY that is to be revealed IN US! It goes on to say that all creation waits for the manifestation of the Sons of God, BECAUSE at this time creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, and restored to it’s pristine glory. It says inverse 23 that we also who have the Holy Ghost groan within ourselves, waiting for this to take place. Now if there was a perfect and glorious Church already in the earth, we would not be groaning by the Holy Ghost in us for it to be brought into being. There is a great need for restoration. This is an indisputable fact. No scripture is available that tells us about a need for the Church to escape from this earth in a "rapture". Jesus prayed (John 17:5): "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."

The Promise of Restoration

He promised it to Abraham. In Hebrews 11:8-9 we see Abraham going out in obedience to the call of God, into a land of promise, always looking for a city built by God Himself. He was not satisfied with the earthly conditions as he found them in his day. But God had given him a promise, praise God, and it says that Isaac and Jacob were heirs with him of the same promise. They saw the promises of God afar off, were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They declared plainly they were seeking a country.

The promise of this glorious kingdom was given to David. 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 tells how God spoke to David through the prophet and promised to establish a kingdom and a throne. God promised that His House would be built and established. He said nothing about this being done up in heaven somewhere. He promised that this would come through the seed of David, of his sons. Hebrews chapter 2 says that we don’t "yet" see this throne or dominion established on this earth, but we see it fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

The Restoration was promised to the prophets. EZEKIEL saw it in the glory of a restored Temple. When he went to Babylon with the Captives, the temple at Jerusalem was in smoldering ruins. No hope that their enemies would ever allow them to get strong enough again to rebuild the Holy City and the Temple. But there in a captive land, Ezekiel had visions of God, and he saw the temple restore, and the glory of God returning to it in a greater way than ever before. He saw a restored ministry, ministering unto the Lord in the Holy of Holies, wearing their garments of glory.

HAGGAI, who was a prophet of the restoration following the Babylonian captivity, saw that the glory of the latter house would be greater than the glory of the former. ZECHARIAH, another prophet contemporary with Haggai, saw the cleansing of the Priesthood, and the casting down of the accuser of the brethren. JOEL was allowed to see the harvest restored, and the glory of God’s great Army. The world had never seen the like of such a people as Joel saw in the Spirit. DANIEL saw the glory of the "Son of Man", and saw him overcome all the forces of this world system with it’s powers of darkness. Daniel saw the restoration of that glorious Manchild company to a place of dominion and authority. ISAIAH saw the glory of Zion, and the blessings of the Kingdom age under the government of our Lord and His Christ. JEREMIAH saw the fall of the Babylon system. In Jeremiah 50:28, 46 we read: "The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of His temple. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations." Jeremiah saw the Sons of God as the weapon God would use to destroy Babylon… 51:19-20… "The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of His inheritance; for the Lord of hosts is His name. Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms.

Restoration of Our Inheritance

Jeremiah saw the return of Israel from Babylon, a wonderful picture of the restoration of the Church. In chapter 32 of Jeremiah we see a story of how God gives the prophet a promise of the land being restored. He tells Jeremiah to buy a piece of land, although it is going to be unoccupied and worthless for 70 years. He tells him to take the evidence of the purchase and seal it in an earthen vessel as proof of his possession. This is to be a sign that the land of promise, the inheritance, shall again be possessed in it’s fulness by the people. Verses 14-15 says: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land." And in verse 42… "For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans (Babylon)".

So now we see that God says that it is He that has subjected the creation to this vanity, and that it is He that shall restore. So it does not depend upon you or I, friend, although God in His grace has been pleased to use us as instruments in His plan.

And now we see the spiritual fulfillment of this parable or promise given to Jeremiah, in the New Testament in Ephesians 1:13-14… "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory." To get a richer and fuller picture of that verse we go to the Amplified New Testament where it says that we "were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit. That Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance--the first fruit, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage--in anticipation of it’s full redemption and our acquiring complete possession of it, to the praise of His glory".

Notice that the deed to Jeremiah’s possession in the land of inheritance was sealed and placed in an earthen vessel. 2 Corinthians 4:7 tells us that "We have this treasure in earthen vessels". So we see that the New Testament explains that the Holy Ghost has been put in an earthen vessel, and this has been sealed as a guarantee of our receiving the fulness of our inheritance. Now Pentecostal preachers may object to the idea of a restored and perfect Church (though I don’t know why they should). They may preach against an Overcoming Army putting all enemies under their feet on this earth. They may warn their people against listening to preachers that tell them they can be and will be filled with all the fulness of God. They may doubt and scoff, but every time they speak in tongues, or give an interpretation or prophecy, or any other manifestation of the Spirit by which they have been sealed, they are manifesting the guarantee that all the above is true, and that God will bring it about in the fulness of time. So preachers (and all you pentecostal people as well), if you don’t believe in the restoration of the inheritance, and our obtaining full possession of our promised land, then don’t be a hypocrite… quit speaking in tongues or manifesting the "guarantee". The vessel is sealed, and you can’t get away from it. Glory to God! No wonder I get edified and become so happy talking in tongues. What a promise! What a glorious Redeemer!

The Purpose of Restoration

The primary purpose of the restoration is the vindication of God’s wisdom in making Man as He did. He has an eternal purpose in Christ, and the bringing about of this purpose involves the restoration of God’s glorious Church. In Ephesians 3:10 we read that Paul was given grace to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all men see the fellowship of this mystery, "to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God."

In Ezekiel 32:16-38, we hear God telling the prophet how that His people had failed Him and profaned His name among the "heathen". Therefore He let them be captured by these same heathen, and go into captivity. What a picture of mankind, God’s crowning creation, profaning His image in the sight of the fallen angels, principalities and powers, demons and devils. So God has permitted mankind in general to be taken captive by the powers of darkness, and thus we see the reason for the world being in the awful condition it is in today, subjected to death, sorrow, pain, sickness, and sin.

But then we hear the promise of God to bring them out of that captivity, to restore them to their former glory, and even beyond that. But He makes it plain that Israel did not do the restoring, nor did they deserve it. He did it, in order to sanctify His name and His wisdom in the sight of the heathen, the powers of darkness. He says (verse 36): "Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate; I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it." So we see that Israel is restored while heathen are still round about her. There will be no ultimate binding of Satanic forces and powers until God has restored the Church His Body to a greater glory than it has ever known before. Satanic powers shall see this done, in spite of all their efforts to stop it, THEN shall they be put under feet, defeated and bound forever. Praise God, what a Plan!

This Church, His Body, is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all (Ephesians 1:23). He deserves a Body that is strong, victorious, pure and glorious. He will not have an eternal Body that continues to do things "in part" (1 Cor. 13:9-10). But the perfect must replace the part. The glorious must replace the spotted. This will come about during the times of Restoration, at which time Jesus shall return to this earth realm, first of all to be seen by and manifested in His sons in this earth. I do not pretend that this short message shall in any way fully explain the ultimate of God’s program and plan for the ages to come. I am only dealing with the Restoration of the Church and creation, at which time the Lord shall return from heaven (Acts 3:21).

The Nature of the Restored Church

This Church will be reproductive. It has the power of creation, the power to reproduce itself. And this shall be done, until all the world has been re-birthed into the image of Christ. Today we see an imperfect Church, receiving an imperfect seed from an imperfect Ministry, and bringing forth imperfect Children who are all their life time subject to death, as well as to chastisements and scourgings to bring them into Sonship. Of course we know that the true Word of God is perfect, but if the Ministry were preaching that perfect word, they would all be speaking the same things. And this shall be done. For God will restore His Church till it is without spot or wrinkle, having no blemish. And He will restore His ministry until we have a ministry that brings forth the Word without error or mixture. I realize that’s hard to believe, but it’s going to be so just the same. Then when a perfect ministry puts a perfect and pure Seed (or Word) into a perfect Church, then the world will be evangelized completely with converts that are birthed out of darkness right into the likeness and life of God. So now God is interested in restoring the true Church and the true Ministry, and the evangelizing of the world will come naturally… or should I say supernaturally?

Will Wee See the Restore Church?

This restored and perfect Church, His Body, is expressed on earth in local assemblies. These are assemblies where there is no division, no sectarianism, where all see eye to eye. These are places or gatherings where we can worship God as He intended us to worship. Scattered across the face of the earth, these assemblies have perfect unity, edifying one another, loving one another. The old system of churchianity, the Babylon system of sectarianism, is fallen. No more will people gather to the old harlot. She is finished. Her flesh is burnt with fire.

What we see now are local assemblies or gatherings with imperfect people not yet fully delivered from the Adamic nature, preaching imperfect revelations while working under an imperfect order. Yet all the time, these imperfect ones are crying to God for divine guidance, and moving toward a Great Restoration of all that is perfect and pure. And I’m for them! Call them old order if you will. Stay at home, read your Bible or watch your T.V., and keep declaring that you will not be a part of that which is yet imperfect. As for me, I am joined by the Spirit to those whose hearts are pressing on in God, and when the Restoration is complete and the Church is perfect, I expect to be a part of that also. We are NOT part of the old harlot system of religion. We are pressing on to the fulness of God. If you have divine revelation, don’t keep it to yourself. No man liveth unto himself. Be a part of what God is doing. Give us your strength and fellowship. Let us go on together.

That which God is bringing forth will be perfect, it will be sinless, deathless, and gloriously victorious! The restoration of this glorious Church, of God’s Kingdom to this earth, is what brings back the King! You want Jesus to come again? Then open your heart for all that God is doing in this hour. Malachi chapter 4, and Matthew 17:11 tells us that there is a ministry that shall come and restore all things. Matthew 6:10 lets us know that God’s Kingdom shall surely come to this earth life, to this physical realm. Believe it! It’s truth, and it’s Life! There will be a full Restoration! Glory to His great Name!

Restored Worship

Not only is there to be a restored and perfect Church, but the true ministry is to be restored also. We had it in Jesus Christ. In Him we see a Shepherd King who had a heart for God’s people, and authority to do something about it. This is the ministry that God will restore to His Church. And true worship will be restored. There has been a trend back to true spiritual worship by the saints who are pressing toward Sonship, while at the same time the Apostate church has gone in the opposite direction with programs, entertainment, formality, jazz bands, and even rock and roll dances in the church to attract the people. But the world has yet to see the true worship as God has planned for His people to enter into. This will be part of the Great Restoration.

There will be a restored Righteousness. All forms of self righteousness will disappear. All sin and uncleanness will be removed from His Body. Then shall that scripture come to pass: "Be ye holy, even as your Father in heaven is holy". And with this will come a restore Dominion over all the works of God’s hands. God prepared this from the beginning, but man lost it. And thank God that it was lost on that realm of the soulish man. For it shall be recovered, or restored, on a much higher plane of a life-giving spiritual realm.

Praise God that we are living in the times of this Restoration. It is the greatest Day in the history of Man. Even those who have gone ahead by way of the grave are coming back to take part of this great program of God. This is not some form of spiritism, but it is just plain Bible fact that when Jesus returns to this visible earth realm, those that are passed on will He bring with Him. Glory to God, what a reunion! We have always pictured this as some sort of gathering in the sky, somewhere about a million miles or so out in space, I suppose, but I have good news for you… It’s going to be far greater and more glorious than that! Not only you and I, but all creation as well will be thrilled with what God brings about in this great and glorious Restoration! It is at hand. The Word of God, as well as the witness of the Spirit, makes us to know that this is not for some other generation. It is now! It is here! Be ready! Prepare yourself! Cast aside all doubt and fear! Flee from the bondage of Babylon! "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land."

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