Did you know that believers are assigned ranks in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Jesus alluded to this when he spoke of John the Baptist.
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”—Matthew 11:11 (NIV)
We started out in a good place. We were made a little lower than God. We were created to have dominion over all of God’s creation.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? ** Yet You have made him a little lower than God,** And You have crowned him with glory and honor. ** You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,** All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.”—Psalm 8:4-8 (AMP)
Because of sin, we lost our position of authority over God’s creation. Adam and Eve were demoted and driven from the Garden of Eden. Satan, who himself had been demoted from his position as archangel in Heaven (Ezekiel 28:12-19), stepped into the void created by man’s demotion and usurped authority to position himself as the god of this world.
Through Jesus’ substitution and sacrifice for us on the cross, God’s authority was restored to all those who believe in Jesus. Believers will eventually judge angels, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:3, and those in the highest ranks of God’s Kingdom will be entrusted with authority to rule over nations.
“And he who overcomes (is victorious) and who obeys My commands to the [very] end [doing the works that please Me], I will give him authority and power over the nations; And he shall rule them with a sceptre (rod) of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, and [his power over them shall be] like that which I Myself have received from My Father”—Revelation 2:26-27 (AMPC)
Promotions and Demotions Are Common in the Kingdom of God
As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are now assigned a rank in the Kingdom of Heaven. Based on how you live your life, you can improve your rank and be promoted.
In His role as supreme judge, God promotes and demotes people according to His will, as we see in Proverbs 75:6-7:
“For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up. But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.” (AMPC)
We may be surprised by the ranks that are assigned to some people in the Kingdom of Heaven. As Jesus said,
“But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”—Matthew 19:30 (KJV)
If we didn’t catch this the first time, this declaration is repeated in Matthew 20:16 and in Mark 10:31.
If the position you will occupy for all eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven is being determined now, wouldn’t you want to do whatever you can to improve your position and ranking while you still have a chance?
Have a Close, Personal Relationship with Jesus
The entire chapter of Matthew 25 describes promotions and demotions in the Kingdom of God. First, Jesus tells us the parable of the ten virgins in which the five wise virgins are welcomed into the wedding feast, but the five foolish virgins are locked out of the wedding feast with this response from the Lord:
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].”—Matthew 25:12 (AMP)
The common teaching in the Church is that all believers will be part of the Bride of Christ, but why would Jesus marry someone with whom He has no close relationship? If these foolish virgins—who represent a large number of believers—will be locked out of the wedding feast, they will certainly *not *be part of the Bride of Christ.
Having a close relationship with the Lord will bring promotion in the Kingdom of God. Likewise, not developing a close, personal relationship with God will lead to demotion in God’s Kingdom.
Jesus declared this also in His Sermon on the Mount.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them publicly, **‘I never knew you; **depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’”—Matthew 7:21-23 (AMP)
Jesus spoke again of promotions and demotions in the Kingdom of God in Luke 13:25-30:
“When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.” (NLT)
The Song of Solomon was given to us by God as a guidebook to help lead us into a close, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. This book describes the stages of development in a growing, intimate relationship with Jesus Himself. This is the guidebook written to take us into the fulfillment of the first and greatest commandment—to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength!
Humble Yourself
In Rick Joyner’s book, “The Final Quest,” he described a spiritual experience in which he journeyed from the outskirts of Heaven, where those in the lowest ranks dwell, and was slowly directed closer and closer to the very throne of God, where those in the highest ranks of Heaven sit on very high thrones with Jesus Himself.
Along the way, Wisdom gave Rick a very plain mantle of humility, telling him that he will not be able to see very well without it.
At one point, Rick walked past a group of believers in a great hall in Heaven who all honored him by bowing down as he passed them. Rick felt uncomfortable to have these believers—who were far more glorious than anyone on earth—bow down to him. But it was explained to him that these glorious believers had bowed down to him because he wore the mantle of humility. This mantle is worn by those in the highest rank of honor in Heaven.
Finally, Rick was allowed to view the thrones of highest honor and rank in the Kingdom of Heaven. These are the thrones reserved for those who overcome, as described in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Rick saw that these thrones are all a part of the throne of Jesus Christ Himself, as Jesus tells us in Revelation 3:21:
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (NKJV)
As Rick stood in the presence of The Lord Himself, he looked over these most glorious thrones in the Kingdom of Heaven, which are reserved for those in the highest ranks in God’s Kingdom. Rick noticed that though many of these thrones were already filled, many were empty.
Then the Lord spoke to Rick.
“These thrones are for the overcomers who have served Me faithfully in every generation. My Father and I prepared them before the foundation of the world. Are you worthy to sit on one of these?”
When I confessed that I was not worthy, the Lord asked, “But do you want this seat?” “I do with all of my heart,” I responded. The Lord then looked at the galleries and said, “Those empty seats could have been filled in any generation. I gave the invitation to sit here to everyone who has called upon My name. The seats are still available. Now the last battle has come, and many who are last shall be first. These seats will be filled before the battle is over. Those who will sit here will be known by two things: They will wear the mantle of humility, and they will have My likeness.” (Joyner)
Rick’s personal revelation seems to agree with what Jesus told us in Scripture.
“At that time the disciples came up and asked Jesus, Who then is [really] the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
**“**And He called a little child to Himself and put him in the midst of them,
“And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].
“Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 18:1-4 (AMPC)
The account in the Gospel of Luke reinforces this with a little different wording.
“But a controversy arose among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in excellence, worth, and authority].
“But Jesus, as He perceived the thoughts of their hearts, took a little child and put him at His side
“And told them, Whoever receives and accepts and welcomes this child in My name and for My sake receives and accepts and welcomes Me; and whoever so receives Me so also receives Him Who sent Me. For he who is least and lowliest among you all—he is [the one who is truly] great.”—Luke 9:46-48 (AMPC)
Reference:
Joyner, Rick. The Final Quest (The Final Quest Series Book 1) (p. 61-62). MorningStar Publications. Kindle Edition.
