HAGGAI 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
GOD SAID HE WOULD REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID
AMOS 9:11. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.
ACTS 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up.
Now, we know that the tabernacle of David was located on Mount Zion. As we, the Church, move on from Pentecost to Zion, a whole new realm of God opens up to us:
HEBREWS 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
The Scriptures tell us that when the Lord builds again the Tabernacle of David, He will manifest Himself to the Church and the world in a new way:
PSALMS 102:16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
18. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
When we understand this background, we will begin to see what God has in store for the end-time Church.
THE RESTORATION OF THE FIRST DOMINION
MICAH 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. 8. And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
TO THOSE IN ZION WILL COME THE RESTORATION OF THE FIRST DOMINION.
What is the restoration of the first dominion?
GENESIS 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.
Man was originally endowed with great dominion in and over the earth. This dominion was over the entire earth: animal, vegetable, mineral, and spiritual.
PSALMS 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5. For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
The word angels in this verse is the Hebrew word elohiym, meaning God. The translators had a problem doctrinally with this, so they translated it as ANGELS. What this verse literally says is this: Thou hast made man a little lower than God. This is a rank far greater than angels.
PSALMS 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet.
This is an incredible statement; God put all things under Adam’s feet. Adam and Eve had been entrusted with the title deed to this earth, with the mandate to bring heaven to earth.
Before this, Lucifer had sought to exalt himself above God, but it was never God’s intent that angels would be higher than God. Lucifer resented this and the pride of his heart deceived him into thinking that he could overthrow God; for this, he was cast out of heaven. When God gave Adam the jurisdiction over this earth, Satan greatly resented this too and sought a way to take it from Adam, which he did. After the fall of Adam, Satan held the title deed to the earth. He now had dominion over the earth, and with this, he gained a new name or title:
JOHN 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not…
LUKE 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
The Glory of the Latter House
THE DOMAIN OF THE EARTH WAS HIS BY LEGAL RIGHT
However back in Eden God had said this:
GENESIS 3:15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
SATAN’S HEADSHIP WOULD BE CRUSHED
JOHN 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.
JESUS WAS SAYING THAT BY HIS DEATH HE WOULD CAST SATAN OUT OF HIS POSITION IN THE EARTH
I JOHN 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
HEBREWS 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
JESUS TOOK BACK THE DOMINION OF THE WORLD AND THAT DOMINION WAS TRANSFERRED TO HIS SONS
LUKE 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
The problem is, the church has never entered into this, mainly because of unbelief.
God had said that He would rebuild the Tabernacle of David and when He did, the first dominion given to man would be restored. We have not yet seen this; the dominion that Adam had was given to him by God and was all-inclusive in terms of his rulership over this earth. This dominion and rulership were not given to angels but to man and it will always be in the hands of redeemed mankind:
HEBREWS 2:5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 6. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7. Thou madest him a little lower than the God; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.
10. For it became him, for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. We are being trained for rulership, to reign with the Lord in the coming Millennium reign of Jesus in this earth:
HEBREWS 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.
JESUS NOW WAITS FOR HIS SONS TO FINISH THE JOB
HEBREWS 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
THIS GENERATION WILL SEE MICAH 8:4 FULFILLED
MICAH 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
The whole of creation is waiting for the sons of God to take their place and to take dominion over this earth.
Dominion over Death, Disease, Demons, and Nature.
God said this to Moses:
DEUTERONOMY 11:25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: [for] the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
God said without a vision the people perish. If you don’t believe this kind of dominion is possible, then for you, it is not. We have not arrived yet, there is much more land to possess.
The Promised Land was a picture of walking with God in complete rest and peace, ruling and reigning with Him, as Co-Creators and Co-Rulers in His kingdom, Father and Sons unlimited.
You can only possess what you can see. If you can’t see it, you can’t enter into it; but if by revelation you can see it, you can enter into it, because revelation from God carries with it all that is required to enter into it. With the revelation, there is released the power to succeed, to enter in.
JOHN 11:40. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
A New Paradigm
HAGGAI 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
With the dawning of the New Millennium, the earth found itself amid the most significant set of changes since the Church was birthed at Pentecost. There is a move of God taking place in the earth today that is not localized to any particular culture or any ethnic or racial group and, for the most part, is hidden as God prepares those who are destined to be a part of this great kingdom wave. It is not limited to any particular economic segment in the world.
God is breaking out of traditional boundaries. He is breaking out of the set paradigms of the church. A Paradigm can be defined as a mindset that conditions all of our responses and behavior patterns. The new thing that God is doing cannot be limited to the term “revival”. It is much deeper than revival.
ISAIAH 48:6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare [it]? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. 7. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
This reformation that is beginning is far greater than the reformation of the 16th century. It will profoundly change the way the world views the church. Our understanding of what the church is about will be revolutionized.
The structure, government, and purpose of the church are about to be changed.
HEBREWS 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27. And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
The CONTEXT of these verses of scripture is the End-Times
These verses describe a shaking of everything that is not built or initiated by God. This melt-down will remove all man-made initiatives in the church and will bring in a new era called the Kingdom Era.
The Prophet Habakkuk Prophesied of these days
HABAKKUK 1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 3. Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Habakkuk was prophesying about his day, BUT the main import was for OUR DAY NOW
Note the characteristics of the days of which Habakkuk speaks:
Days of violence.
Days of increased iniquity, strife, and contention. Days when the law-makers cannot handle the breakdown occurring in society.
Days when wrong judgment is given at courts of law.
Habakkuk was crying out to God for a move of God that would change those things.
In verse 2:14, Habakkuk draws from Numbers 14:21 concerning the Glory of the Lord:
HABAKKUK 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
He is pleading with God to fulfill His sworn promise – that of His Glory filling the earth:
NUMBERS 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. He is calling out to God to fulfill His word. When suddenly the prophetic anointing comes on him and he cries out:
HABAKKUK 1:5 behold look among the nations and watch, and be astounded for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
Habakkuk saw down through time to our day and he is so astounded by what he saw, he said this:
HABAKKUK 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Then God speaks to him and says: Habakkuk, this is for a divinely appointed time. Write it down; make a record, for it will come to pass:
HABAKKUK 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. It will come at the End.
The word end is a Hebrew word that means extremity or at the end of a designated time. We read in the book of Daniel that at the end – the end of the age – certain things will happen:
DANIEL 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
8. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
God said to Daniel that certain hidden truths and mysteries would not be opened to the church until the TIME OF THE END.
Haggai said: LOOK TO THE NATIONS! What did Haggai see?
He saw something happening on a global scale that astounded him. He saw whole nations being impacted by the power and grace of God. This was completely unknown in his day when the Jewish nation was the only nation that God was relating to in any major way.
The rise of the Apostolic
The Apostolic has a full view of God’s plan, how the nations are a part of it, and how it all fits together. The Apostolic spirit and ministry understands the plans and purposes of God, has the ability to put it together, to see the overall picture, to coordinate it, and to keep it on track.
The Prophetic is calling forth the army of the Lord; The Apostolic will put the army in order and will know the strategy of the Lord which will enable the army to accomplish the purposes of God in the earth.
The Apostolic function is that of a Wise Master Builder
As the Apostolic ministry arises, nations will begin to be impacted as the greatest revival and harvest the Church has ever seen begins to unfold. This harvest will be so great that we, just like Haggai, will be astounded.
A Kingdom Mindset
HAGGAI 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. God clearly stated that the glory of the latter house would be greater than the former.
The early church was glorious but compared to the end-time church, it was just a mere silhouette of what the end-time church is destined to be.
The Church can be divided up into two groups: Kingdom Builders and Empire Builders.
Empire Builders build their own little kingdoms.
True Kingdom Builders build the Kingdom of God.
1) Kingdom Builders are love based
Kingdom Builders ask: how can we serve you, how can we help you? Their focus is on the advancement of the Kingdom of God, not on their own kingdom. Their concept of the Church of Jesus is different; their desire is to help and bless the Kingdom of God. They are more interested in how they can bless and build the Kingdom of God at large rather than their own local church. Kingdom Builders have a different mindset; they see beyond the local parish. They are not building their church; they are more concerned about building His Kingdom.
2) Kingdom Builders live and breathe the great commission.
They see a global harvest. They see the Nations. Their creative entrepreneurial spirit seeks greater ways in God to reach the Nations.
To become a Kingdom Builder you have to cease being an Empire Builder. It is so easy for ministries to fall into the trap of being caught up in building their own little kingdom.
As churches grow larger, it is very easy for pastors to build a little empire around them that eventually swallows them up in the mechanics of running it.
A recent survey showed that over 60% of pastors surveyed spent less than half an hour per day in prayer. This is not meant as a criticism of pastors.
Marks of a Kingdom Builder
1. Being free from a competitive spirit.
How often, when ministries gather together, the first question asked is: how big is your church? This question often reveals an underlying attitude of a competitive spirit. Building the church is not a competition to see who does the best. In fact, Jesus said that HE WOULD BUILD HIS CHURCH.
2. A willingness and desire to build the kingdom of God wherever we find it, including churches other than our local church.
3. Willingness and desire to financially bless other ministries and churches.
4. Being genuinely happy when other churches are growing when yours is not.
5. Being free from ministerial jealousy.
When the shift from building your own empire to building the Kingdom of God occurs, many of these aforementioned deadly traits just fall away.
Ambition, pride, jealousy, and competition need to be eradicated from our personality for us to make it into the endtime glorious church that God is building.
HAGGAI 1:3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4. [Is it] time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house [lie] waste? (God’s House) 5. Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 6. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages [to put it] into a bag with holes. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
9. Ye looked for much, and, lo, [it came] to little; and when ye brought [it] home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that [is] waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. (Empire builders) 10. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed [from] her fruit.
2:3. Who [is] left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? [is it] not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? (Compared to the end-time church)
This passage of scripture is often used in the context of the need to build the local church as a priority and putting our personal interests secondary. However, primarily it is talking about building the Kingdom of God. Pastors need to see this passage of scripture in the light of building first the Kingdom of God before our local churches; in other words, having a Kingdom Mentality.
IF YOU BUILD FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, GOD WILL BUILD YOUR LOCAL CHURCH.
This is primarily a mindset, a new paradigm that we must make a shift to; it is an attitude, a new way of living and thinking.
A new financial release is coming
HAGGAI 2:4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
6. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire (Hb: wealth)of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Habakkuk said:
HABAKKUK 1:5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for [I] will work a work in your days, [which] ye will not believe, though it be told [you].
HAGGAI 2:8 The silver [is] mine, and the gold [is] mine, saith the LORD of hosts. 9. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
The financial release is coming like never before in the history of the church. This release will be so great that the world will be amazed at this phenomenon.
HOWEVER, to be a part of this financial release, we have to qualify. God is not about to release finance for you to build your own empire. Finance will be released to build what He, the Lord, is building. This financial release is to build His House, His Kingdom. Do you qualify?
These Kingdom Builders are going to find each other
A repositioning is taking place. People with the same spirit are finding each other. There is a linking-together of ministries with a kingdom mentality and spirit. This will form a great worldwide harvest net.
MATTHEW 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48. Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49. So shall it be at the end of the world.
This Reformation will push those who will flow with it out of a parish mentality and into a Global Context understanding.
PSALMS 102:13 Thou shalt arise, [and] have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
15. So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16. When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.