The Body of Christ

By D. K. Henry

March 15, 2000

Good Morning, sometime ago I had a dream/vision in which Christ, Yahshua came into the room and sat down at a table opposite me and we talked about my sin.  One thing that impressed me was that he came without his body.  His head was complete and I could look directly into his eyes but his body was just a dotted outline that I could see through.  He picked up and set down things with his dotted line hands but you could see right through them.  Afterward when pondering what I had seen and heard I realized that he is working every day preparing his body.  So this morning we will talk about that body.

Since the time of the prophets we have had advance written accounts of most major events and important persons in scripture.  The scriptures foretold in great detail the coming and travail of Yahshua who is the head of the Body of Christ.  He was first mentioned as the seed of the woman in Genesis.  Later he was described under several different names such as, a prophet, my servant, my Son, the Branch, the root of Jessee, the Prince.  When we put all of these accounts together we have a composite picture of Christ and his mission. 

The next most important person after Christ is that corporate Body of Christ that is mentioned several places in scripture but very poorly understood by most church people.  Much of the misunderstanding is because his body is described in scripture under several different names and often confused with the Bride of Christ, which is a very different group.  The Body of Christ is a very small masculine group while the Bride of Christ is a very large feminine group. 

Some of the names given to the Body of Christ in scripture are, the 144,000, the over comers, the first fruits company, the Benjamin company, the man child.  Also many allegories about the Body.  

Micah 5:1-3, “Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel: whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.  Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.“  In this scripture it is obvious that the he mentioned is Christ so who is the she that is in travail and why is he waiting for her to be delivered?

Note that he, (Christ) is giving up the smiters and holding something in abeyance until the she, which is in travail, has delivered.

Revelation 12:1-5, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pain to be delivered.  And there appeared another wonder in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” 

The woman is identified as Israel by the logo of the sun, the moon and the twelve stars that Jacob identified as being his family back in Genesis 37:9-10, so who is the man-child that she brings forth and why is the dragon so intent on destroying this man-child?  Also note that this man-child is delivered during a period of great pain and travail for the people of Israel. 

Most all churches will tell you that this man-child is Christ, which is not true.  Christ is telling the story.

This man child is the corporate Body of Christ and he is waiting for his body to be birthed so when he returns in person it will be with his body.  Then he will deal with the smiters.  On resurrection day Christ was birthed into the spirit realm and he is waiting for his body to be birthed into the spirit realm where they will be like him and be his brothers.  They together will rule the nations with a rod of iron. 

See Revelation 2:26-27, “ And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON: AS THE VESSELS OF A POTTER SHALL THEY BE BROKEN TO SHIVERS: even as I received of my Father.”  His body, the overcomers, will rule with him.

We have seen the Body of Christ called a man child and also the overcomers so now let us look at the 144,000.

Revelation 7:1-4, “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.  And I saw another angel/messenger ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, til we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.  And I heard the number of them that were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

Note that they were sealed with the seal of the living God and he put it in their foreheads.  What is the seal of the living God?

Revelation 14:1-4, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount of Zion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth.  These are they which were not defiled with women: for they virgins.  These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.  These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.”  When he says redeemed from among men he means out from among men, that he is choosing one here and one there out from among men. Here they are called the 144,000 and also the firstfruits company.

Also note that the angels were/are holding back the winds of war until the last of them are sealed. 

An item of great importance is the seal of the living God, his name, written in their foreheads.  This is a sign of paternity, sonship, you give your family name to your sons; your daughter takes the family name of her husband.  These are sons birthed into the spirit realm under the marriage covenant made at Sinai and they are brothers to Christ.  Yahweh’s name written in their foreheads says, these are my sons.

Note that these sons are birthed out of Israel who is the Bride of Christ and then they return as the Body of Christ, the groom company, to marry the Bride.  Isaiah 62:5, “For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons (the manchild) marry thee.”

Note if you drop down to Revelation 14:9-11, you will find that the mark of the beast is his name, also written in ones forehead.

Also note that all of the sealing has to take place prior to the releasing of the winds of war, that great and terrible day of the LORD.  Thus time is running out for the sealing of his Body.

Christ who is the head of the body was the first one of the 144,000 sealed.  John 6:27, Christ talking about himself, “For him hath God the Father sealed.”

Isaiah 52:7, describes the feet of this body. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that sayeth unto Zion, Thy Elohim reigneth.”  The feet of this body are those who have been sealed but are still walking around with their feet on the ground.  Most members of this corporate body have gone on to their reward but the feet company are just now being sealed and will be perfected through obedience to suffering during the long night of Jacobs trouble.  The feet are birthed last.

The natural realm is a reflection of the spiritual realm so just as there is procreation in the natural realm so there is procreation in the spiritual realm.

 John 3:6, “That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit (the Holy Spirit) is spirit.”  This says that there is birthing into both realms.  It is the only way to enter into either realm.

John 3:5, “Except a man be born - - - of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  We have to be birthed into the kingdom, family, of Yahweh.  This scripture indicates that one parent of the person being born into the spiritual realm will be the Holy Spirit.  God’s Holy Spirit is Yahweh himself who is masculine and the spirits of all Adamkind are feminine.  That is why he married the whole house of Israel at Sinai.  To be born into God’s family as sons our feminine spirits must conceive to his Holy Spirit.  The only way that we can develop that necessary close relationship in the spirit is to walk in the spirit as he is in the spirit.

The sealing of the spirit is spiritual conception.  Christ was the first one of the 144,000 sealed and he so stated in John 6:27.  Christ was sealed in the Jordan River when John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him and remain.   Christ received the seed of eternal life at that time and the heavens were opened to him.

John 5:26, “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.”  Christ was born sinless as the seed of the woman, but he had to receive eternal life.  He received that seed of life when he was sealed in the Jordan River.  His feminine spirit conceived to the Holy Spirit at that time. 

Then in John 10:10, he made the statement, “I am come that they might have life,”  He had received that life from the Father and now was talking about sharing it. 

In John 6:27 Christ states that because he has been sealed by the Father he will be able to give everlasting life to others.  This ties the sealing of the spirit with receiving eternal life.  There are those who have received the seed of life in the here and now who will be birthed into the spirit realm at the first resurrection just as Christ was birthed into the spirit realm on his resurrection day.

The Body of Christ is the only group who receive the seed of spiritual life this side of the grave.  They will gestate it in this life and be birthed into the spirit realm at the first resurrection.  Then they will have a thousand years to fully mature after their birth.

There is natural life and there is spiritual life, there is natural death and there is spiritual death.  We tend to confuse these two very separate kinds of life and death. 

We were all born into this world spiritually dead and we will stay dead until we receive spiritual life.  That is why we call this life the “First Death” as compared to the Second Death.  Yahshua mentioned the two types of life and death several times.

Matthew 8:22, “Jesus said unto him, follow me and let the dead bury their dead.”  He meant let the Adamic man, who is walking around spiritually dead, bury the naturally dead person who is in the box. 

John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life, (spiritual life) he that believeth in me, though he were dead, (spiritually dead, but believing) yet shall he live, and whomsoever liveth (has spiritual life now) and believeth in me shall never die.”  The entire sentence is written in the present tense and is talking about people who are walking around on this earth.  Note, believing is not enough; we must also receive that seed of life.  He is not talking about the grave.  All of the disciples who received the seed of life in the upper room have all gone to their graves.  They will be birthed into the spirit realm at the time of the first resurrection while most people will wait another thousand years to the general resurrection.  Those who are spiritually alive will hear that trumpet blast and come forth; the rest will not hear that trumpet.

Most preachers do not understand this scripture so they cut the sentence in half and apply the first half to the natural and use it at Funerals and throw the second half of the sentence away.

John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead (Spiritually dead) shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”  He is not talking about resurrection, he is talking about the sealing of the spirit and that it is about to start.  It started in the upper room. 

The sealing of the spirit is conception in the spirit and the rest of your life is a gestation period where one grows and is perfected through scourging, suffering and chastisement.  Anyone who thinks that Yahshua is just sitting somewhere up on a throne has never met him.  He is busy every day working with those who he has chosen to be his Body and rule his kingdom. 

Yahshua’s Apostles were sealed, conceived to the spirit, in the upper room when Yahshua breathed upon them and said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.”  Every one of them was changed after they received that infilling of the Holy Spirit.  Peter the coward became a spiritual giant.  Paul was sealed and conceived when Ananais laid hands upon Saul of Tarsus and prayed and the Holy Spirit fell and Saul became Paul the Apostle who gave us two thirds of the New Testament.

Most members of this corporate body have gone on to their reward but the feet of this body are still being sealed and they will be perfected during the turbulent days that lie ahead so it behooves us to cast off all earthly weights and walk in the spirit as he is in the spirit. 

After we get into the long night of Jacobs trouble there will be no more sealing until after the marriage of the Lamb, only the perfecting of those already sealed.  The whole body will be birthed into the spirit realm as the Body of Christ at the first resurrection.

The birthing of the Body of Christ will be that very momentous event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, which is usually called the second coming of Christ.  Some even call it the Rapture.  Actually it is the first resurrection, his coming to retrieve his body and take it with him, back into the spirit realm where he will present his brothers to his Father.  Later he will return with his body for the marriage of the Lamb.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, Verse 14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”  When our bodies died our spirits returned to Yahweh, here he is bringing back those who sleep in Jesus for resurrection.

Verse 15, If we paraphrase verse 15 it says that we, which are alive, spiritually alive, and remain, the foot company of the body, will not precede those who sleep in Jesus.

Verse 16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ (those who sleep in Jesus) shall rise first: (The spiritually dead will not hear that trumpet call and will sleep on for another thousand years.) 

Verse 17, “Then we which are alive (spiritually alive) and remain, (the foot company) shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so will we ever be with the Lord.”  His Corporate Body will be joined with He who is the head and they will set up his kingdom.

If we take a look into the New Heaven and the New Earth we find this picture.

Revelation 22:3-4, “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God, and of the Lamb, shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be written in their foreheads.”

They are sons!

Blessings,

DK

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