There is a theological principle called “The Principle of First Mention.” This establishes that when something is first mentioned in Scripture, it is with a revelation of its main purpose. For example, pray and prophet are both first mentioned in the same verse, Genesis 20:7. This implies that prophets will also be devoted to prayer. 

         The first mention in Scripture that God has a house is in Genesis 28:17. Here Jacob has a dream of ladders that reach into heaven, and the messengers of God are ascending and descending upon the ladders. This implies that a basic purpose of...

         As we covered last week, this life is a war for a great purpose. As I John 5:19 states, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Jesus purchased the whole world on the cross, and He is coming to take it back. He has delayed doing this for the sake of those He has called to reign with Him in the age to come, which will be for the time of the “restoration of all things.” 

         Jesus did not just redeem us, but also the whole world. The Father...

         We are in a war. That should not surprise us because we have been in a war our whole life, as has every other human being to live since the fall in the Garden. It never stops, it only changes forms. As we are told in I John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” We’ve been in a war from the day we were born and were dropped behind enemy lines. 

         The whole world may lie in the power of the evil one, but...

         One of the most effective military strategies is called concentration of forces. This strategy is used to create a breakthrough in enemy lines because once their lines are penetrated they must retreat to keep from being surrounded. A force in retreat is then far more vulnerable as they must try to fight off the attack while moving backwards. This gives the attacking force an opportunity for total destruction of the enemy force. This strategy is just as effective for destroying our spiritual enemy’s strongholds.

         This is also an effective strategy for overcoming personal strongholds of sin...

         In Daniel 2 we are told of a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had of a statue that represented all of the present and future empires of man that would rise on the earth. At the end of the dream a little stone strikes the feet of this statue and it crumbles. The little stone then grows into a mountain, and keeps growing until it covers the whole earth. This was an accurate foretelling of how history would unfold in this age. At the end of this age all of the empires of men will crumble, but...