CIRCULAR LETTER April 1997

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day,  and for ever” Heb. 13:8

CIRCULAR LETTER April 1997

Heartfelt greetings to all of you in the precious name of the Lord with the Word from Revelation 20:6:

"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

On very special occasions, we frequently find the word "blessed" in the Holy Scriptures, such as in Matthew 13, where the eyes and ears of those who see and hear are blessed. The Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount are well known to all of us. Whoever is blessed is wholly blessed. Soon the aforementioned scripture will find its fulfillment.

In this circular letter, I would like to remind you of the first witnesses, the men of the first hour of the "Day of Salvation," and the wonderful accounts that we can read. As contemporary witnesses, they described our beloved Redeemer and the redemption that was accomplished for us. The time around Good Friday and Easter is well suited, even if we do not celebrate any special days, to remind ourselves, as the Redeemed, of the completed work of Redemption.

To all who partake in the redemption, it has been revealed what and why it happened. The primary objective, that the Father manifested Himself in the Son, reconciled us with Himself (2 Corinthians 5, et al.), and established us in our original position as sons and daughters of God, as it is written: "'And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters', saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:18). So it is. Amen!

Since my predecessors in the apostleship have already written down all the essentials on behalf of their LORD, we can let the Scriptures speak to us. Our testimony is indeed the testimony of Jesus Christ and the apostles. We testify to what the Scripture testifies, for we have been begotten and born again from the same Word-seed through the same Spirit. The suffering and death of our LORD, His descent into hell, His resurrection and ascension have a special significance for His own in the plan of Salvation. We were in Him, experienced everything, because we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-5). We were crucified with Him. Through baptism, we are buried with Him in His death (Romans 6:4) and through His resurrection, we are brought into new life, as Paul writes: "… nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…" (Galatians 2:19-20).

It did not happen just for us, it happened with us. We have experienced what the words "It is finished!" mean, as long as we have accepted it in faith as a gift of grace. From a divine perspective, He presents the redeemed Bride Church as completely justified, without spot and without wrinkle, holy, blameless, and perfected before His face (Ephesians 5:25-27). The Redeemer, the victor of Golgotha, asserts His rightful claim over the blood-bought multitude. HE has truly defeated death, hell, and the devil; He has overcome and granted us faith as the victorious power, which has overcome the world in us and through us (1 John 5:4). The chosen victorious multitude is therefore fully and completely redeemed; it listens to what the Spirit says through the Word, is a bearer of all promises, and has thus partaken in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The final promise is: "He who overcomes, will inherit all things!" (Revelation 2 & 3).

Dear brothers, dear sisters, the Redeemed can identify with everything that has been so powerfully and accurately expressed. Here, everyone must ask themselves: 

• Do I find myself in the Word?
• How am I spiritually?
• What have I personally experienced with God?

May each individual truly experience that every Word, everything that has happened for us, also becomes a reality in, through, and with us, so that we, who now live at the end of the day of salvation, so close to the return of Christ, can be true witnesses through the experiences of salvation we have had.