Increase of the Kingdom

Generation

INTRODUCTION

Increase of the Kingdom is a continuation of our messages and books on the Kingdom. Our first book released in the previous decade was The Kingdom in Motion, followed by The Order of the Kingdom. In ten years, the urgency of this message has only increased in my spirit, as I believe it becomes more and more timely with each passing year. I feel strongly about the message of the Kingdom; it is not a message about religion, but rather a message regarding experience that will eventually become a lifestyle or culture, shaping the world around us. Jesus taught about the Kingdom more than any other subject.

In this book, I will rely on three foundational scriptures, beginning with Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The second foundational text is found in Matthew 6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. The third verse is found in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 20:1, and is the anchor throughout the book: And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. As is customary in my books, there will be many Biblical references throughout, but these three will serve as the foundation for this particular Kingdom message.

Isaiah is probably the most well-known of the Old Testament prophets, as well as the most significant. Much of his writing throughout the sixty-six chapters of his book pertains to the Messiah. Isaiah is filled with Messianic references—His message as well as His destiny and purpose. Chapters 1–39 reflect the temperament of the Old Testament, but the final 27 chapters, 40–66, are congruous with the New Testament books from Matthew through Revelation and are extremely relevant to the message of the Kingdom.

In Chapter 66 of the book of Isaiah, the prophet spoke of a nation being born in one day. Though interpretations abound, I believe this verse means that the Kingdom of God will be implemented in a specific season. Isaiah 9:6 tells us, For unto us a Child is born and unto us a Son is given. And the government will be upon His shoulder. Children are born and sons are given, and we cannot establish the Kingdom of God without government. The ruling government is the administration that establishes the laws and is given the power to legislate what happens in the country. Verse 6 of Isaiah 9 continues, And His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

This book, Increase of the Kingdom, is based on the very next Scripture, Isaiah 9:7: Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal, the zeal of the Lord will perform this. We see here a significant prophecy regarding the increase of His government and peace; there will be no end to it, and upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, ordered and established with judgment and justice even forever. As the first coming of Jesus was prophesied, and it did happen, then we must also believe that the second part of this prophesy has come, will come and is coming. This is the point of our focus: The Kingdom of God within the earth is going to be significant.

As we begin to work with the Book of Revelation, I want to deal with a viewpoint which is eschatological in nature. Eschatology is the teaching of the last days and the return of Jesus. There are many schools of thought regarding the last days. One belief is that Jesus will rapture (catch away) the church, and, following the rapture of the church on earth, there will be a demonic reign of terror. Traditionally this belief has three divisions classified as: pre-tribulation (the church will be raptured before the Great Tribulation begins); mid-tribulation (the church will be taken before the most heinous of judgments are released); or post-tribulation (the church will endure the Great Tribulation). The Great Tribulation has been known as a period of seven years in which the wrath of God will be poured out upon the earth. Following the tribulation, Jesus will return with His Church and will set up a thousand years of peace on the earth, known as The Millennium, while at the same time, satan will be cast into the bottomless pit.

Another school of thought, which I tend to lean toward, is based upon a different Biblical worldview. This school of thought asserts that a generation will emerge upon the earth which will become so ingrained with Kingdom principles, with Kingdom behavior and Kingdom lifestyle that they will release in the earth the dynamics of the Kingdom of God and literally displace the power of the devil. He will then be replaced so powerfully that the culture of the enemy and the demonic, luciferian dogma will be powerless in the earth for a thousand years. It is from this viewpoint that I want to discuss Revelation 20.

John, the Revelator, said, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. The word angel is messenger or, in this instance, apostolic messenger. The Bible says in Matthew 16:13–19, Peter said, ‘Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God,’ and Jesus said, ‘Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you but my Father which is in Heaven.’ Peter, as the apostolic messenger was given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever he loosed on earth was loosed; whatever he bound on earth was bound. So Peter bound some things in the earth with the keys he was given.

Now we understand, …an angel came down from heaven… who was an apostolic messenger with the keys to bind things. He held the keys to the bottomless pit as well as a great chain in his hand. The chain here is the three-fold cord. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, now abideth faith, hope, and charity…—the three-fold cord chain—the power of faith, the power of hope, and the power of love. He’s holding this in his hand; and he’s going to chain this devil, bind him, and remove the culture in the earth. Now watch—the generation emerges and laid hold of the dragon, the old serpent, the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years. The word bind here is not necessarily tie as when the apostle was told, What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven…. This indicates that what comes out of the culture out of the prophetic mouth of believers actually binds a demonic system.

From the time satan deceived Eve to the time that Jesus came and bruised the head of satan, a period of 4000 years, satan ruled the earth. But as the believing generation arises, this demonic system is bound and cast into the bottomless pit. This doesn’t necessarily mean hell. Anything that’s bottomless means it has no foundation. So, satanic dogma has no foundation—he’s bound and cast into a system that has no foundation. He is cast into a system that keeps spiraling and going downward because it has no foundation.

Why? We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. A generation will emerge that’s built on the foundation of apostles and prophets; and once it does, the church will be established in a very significant way. The generation of the Kingdom people who are on the earth will be so convinced, so empowered with Kingdom principles that its behavior, its lifestyle, and its culture will literally replace demonic culture.

When Jesus came, He gave power to His church, saying, Upon this rock, I will build my church. For the last 2000 years, the church has been established in the earth. Now, please realize there’s a difference between the Church and the Kingdom. The Church is the legal and legitimate tool through which the Kingdom of God is established. Jesus preached the Kingdom; Paul preached the Kingdom; and all the apostles of God preached the Kingdom. It is clear in Matthew 24:14, This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the earth; then shall the end come. Until the gospel of the Kingdom is preached, the end is not coming.

A generation will emerge that will not only preach the gospel of the Kingdom but also they will live it, testify and spread it. And when that generation comes, everything we see of satanic influence, satanic behavior, everything we see as satanic, and every demonic stronghold will be displaced and will be cast into systems that have no foundations—the bottomless pit. Verse 3 says You will cast him into the bottomless pit and shut it and seal him where he will deceive the nations no more for a thousand years. The capability to seal him is by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 1:13, In Him you also trusted…having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. It is the earnest or first fruits of our inheritance. This seal of the Holy Spirit, which is going to be the empowerment structure for believers, is going to keep the devil bound for one thousand years.

Most believers who are reading this book have prayed prayers of binding the devil and loosing things in the earth; however, the best way to make that happen is to begin to live the life of the believer. There are three ways in which we move the devil:

We rebuke him. We speak it.

We displace him. We bring apostolic and prophetic rank into a place or atmosphere to move him out.

We replace him. We receive systematic teaching where a seed is sown which grows into an experience. Mark 4:29–32 relates that the seed of the experience of God goes throughout the earth:

But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. And he said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. (ESV)

Our responsibility is not only to displace the devil but also to replace him. We must remove him completely by bringing the Kingdom of God into full manifestation.

First Corinthians 12 states we are all members of one body, and Christ is the head. The head is in place, but we as the body have not yet been the significant force He could work through. Ezekiel 37 describes the valley of dry bones which depicts a place of worldliness. The members of the body begin coming together as the prophetic word is released. Once this happens, the headship of Christ shall bring the increase of His government which shall have no end. The government is going to be on the shoulders of his body, the church, and it will displace the force of the enemy.

Following are ten points concerning the way the Kingdom of God functions:

The nature of the Kingdom is increase.

The dynamic of the Kingdom is that everything gets better.

The power of the Kingdom is force.

The culture of the Kingdom is service.

The order of the Kingdom is structure.

The anointing of the Kingdom is gifts.

The success of the Kingdom is generational dominion.

The currency of the Kingdom is faith.

The strength of the Kingdom is unity.

The access to the Kingdom is in understanding mysteries.

Through the course of this book, each of these ten thoughts and ideas will be developed. Understand that the foundational truth these ten points rest upon is found in Luke 17. Luke 17:20 states, And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, ‘The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; neither shall they say, go here or go there, for behold the Kingdom of God is within you.’ The Kingdom of God does not come with observation, but rather it is within us and must be activated.

One of my favorite pastimes, especially when traveling, is to sit in airports and watch people. I was in Abidjan recently; and each morning, I would go out early in the morning to sit in the foyer of my hotel and just watch people. Now there are various peoples in the region who have been separated geographically by demarcations of the French and British. There are people from the same cultures or tribal groups who were separated several centuries ago; yet they retain similar behavior and mannerisms. The languages, however, in different regions are influenced by the culture.

As I observe them in the airport, it is easy to assume which country each person is from, but until I actually interact with them, I cannot know their country of origin for certain. I cannot determine their tribe or ethnicity simply by observation.

Jesus said the Kingdom of God is the same way—it does not come by observation, but by demonstration. We have been given the tools to activate the culture of God in the earth. When Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you, He meant that the potential for the culture of God to dominate the earth is within every one of us. Within us is the potential to be successful, the potential to be prosperous, and the potential to bring elevation in the earth; and that potential was placed there by God. Understand, however, and remember: It does not come by observation; it comes when we activate the Kingdom of God within ourselves.

Increase is in us because the Kingdom of God is within us. Structure, order, and power are within us because the Kingdom of God is in us. Let’s look at the Kingdom message beginning with Adam who came into the earth as the son of God. If God is the King of the universe, what would you call the son? You call him a prince, Prince Adam. When a prince comes into a kingdom domain through birth, it means that at some point, the prince has the potential to become the king.

It’s unusual for a prince to be a king when his father is still alive. One of three things has to happen for that to occur:

The father has to die to make the prince the ruling monarch.

The king, the father, has to abdicate his throne and give it to his prince.

The father has to allow his son to create another kingdom, and they both reign as kings over their individual kingdoms.

God is King of the whole earth. He is King of the universe. When God birthed His son, Adam, in the earth, He gave dominion over the earth to Adam. He created the Kingdom of