Ephesians 1:17-18 KJVS
[17] That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: [18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

This verse like many others in the New Testament electrified me in the past and beckoned me to further investigate the meaning thereof. The obvious approach is to investigate the word inheritance and heir. When you do, you find that the body of Christ is Abraham’s seed, and heir to the promise God made to Abraham, that he would inherit the earth, Ga 3:29 , Ro 4:13. In Eph 1:18, Paul prays that God the Father of glory Himself, gives you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In short, the knowledge of Jesus Christ goes hand and hand with the mystery of God, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:25-27 KJVS
[25] Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; [26] Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: [27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

This verse is a companion verse to Eph 1:18, and many times when the word glory as used in the New Testament scriptures it is referring to God’s glory on the earth, the thousand year Kingdom of God. It is curious for me to hear other Christians mentioning dying and then going to heaven, as if that is the end point of it all. There are few scripture verses in the New Testament that shed light on this belief. It is written in Re 6:9-11, that the souls of those who were slain for the word of God are kept under the altar in heaven. If you read the verses in context, it could suggest the souls were animated for a short period of time, white robes given them, and then told to rest a little while longer.

Revelation 6:9-11 KJVS
[9] And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: [10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? [11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.

Souls under the altar in heaven sounds like the altar is a repository of sorts for deceased souls of those who were slain for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Which is suggestive that there is no conscience awareness while a soul is in heaven awaiting the first resurrection. But it is hard to separate what is figurative and what is literal in the book of Revelation and the same holds true for the parable of the rich and poor man that appears in Lk 16:19-31. Most times when I cite Revelation 20:6, that clearly states that the body of Christ is going to rule and reign with Jesus Christ for a thousand years, it seems like it has no impact on the Christian I am conversing with. That is because God the Father himself has to enlighten a persons eyes to see His calling. As a side note it also appears that the man child is resurrected first and woman that gave birth to him is given wings and flies off into the wilderness for 3 1/2 years, Re 12:14. Is the man child the body of Christ? Many believe so. Jerusalem is the mother of us all, Gal 4:26, and yet it states in Re 12:17 that the dragon made war with the rest of her seed. There are some interesting distinctions raised in the word of God that a wise man not seek to formulate into doctrine and would be smart to take a wait and see approach. Is this distinction regarding the seed of the woman because many are called but few are chosen, Mt 22:14? Over the years I have known many Christians who were very aggressive in their attempts to bring people to Christ. It is as if they feel, by their own powers of persuasion and willpower, a person can be drawn by them into the kingdom of God. But as you see that is not the case, John 6:44. God does the drawing. The revelation of Christ in you the hope of glory and all the implications thereof, does not happen all at once. We know only in part, at first, seeing these matters as through a darkened glass, 1Co 13:12. But as time goes on we grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and then see more clearly and embrace the hope of the calling, Php 3:14, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Which is to rule and reign over the nations of the world, in righteousness, with Jesus Christ for a thousand years from the nation Israel, Re 20:6. A person does not come by this knowledge easily so one must heed the advice Paul gave to Timothy and study to make himself approved, 2Ti 2:15. Approved for what? The high calling of God in Christ, the first resurrection. In your study of the Word you would do well to stay clear of wind of doctrine of men and learn from the scriptures.

Ephesians 4:14 KJVS
[14] That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

The Strong’s definition for the Greek word translated sleight in the above verse has interesting connotations.

Definition
dice playing
metaph. the deception of men, because dice players sometimes cheated and defrauded their fellow players

To cheat by deception in a dice game is motivated by the desire for monetary gain. I would imagine the motive behind the deceptive wind of doctrines of man are for the same reason. Coupled with the desire to rule in this age, 1Co 4:8. The concept of the casting of dice brings to mind another verse and word associated with the casting of dice that has direct bearing on the topic of this post.

Ephesians 1:11 KJVS
[11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The Strong’s Concordance definition of the Greek word translated as ”
Inheritance” in the above verse.

Strong’s Number
G2820
Original Word
κληρόω
Transliterated Word
klēroō

Definition
to cast lots, determine by lot
to choose by lot
to allot, assign by lot
on to another as a possession
in NT: to make a lot, i.e. a heritage, private possession

This Greek word is only used once in the New Testament and has a large impact on the doctrine of predestination. Those who are to rule and reign with Jesus Christ were chosen by God with the casting of lots or by random chance before the foundation of the world, Ro 9:16, Eph 1:4. It is radom chance because God is not a respecter of persons, Acts 10:34. I have given this much thought over the years and the only conclusion I come away with is that history as we know it, and the role the vessels of mercy play in history, are all predetermined by God to fulfill His purpose in this earth. The realization of the thousand year Kingdom of God is part of the purpose that God intends with the body of Christ. A common thread running through most of my articles is that we are being made mature or are being made perfect by God for this inheritance Col 1:12. But the overall end goal is to present all men perfect in Christ, Col 1:28, so that God can be all in all, 1Co 15:28. Of which the body of Christ plays a important role as priest and kings with Jesus Christ in the age to come.