Chapter 12: Building Foundations

Twelve men of faith emerged from the Town Hall meetings who were ready to follow Joseph and to assist in building the new Kingdom. Others from the town were shaken. The mayor and the old man representing the Town Council were shaken, fearful, and angry, for it appeared that their leadership positions, their reputations, and even the town itself was in danger of being overthrown. By whom? By an Indian tribe on whose land the town had been built!

On the other hand, the twelve stood on firm ground, resolved to begin the new work. “What would you have us to do?” they asked Joseph.

Joseph looked at them one by one and then said, “Do you have families? Where are your wives?”

“Yes, we are all married, except for Juan, because he is still young.”

“Have you kept them informed of the things you heard during the past two days?” Joseph asked.

They all nodded vigorously. “All except today’s message, of course,” one said. “No doubt they have felt the earthquake,” another added.

“Return to your family,” Joseph told them all. “Relate to them the things you have heard today. Reassure your wives that the earthquake is a good thing and that the mountain has been opened. The work that lies ahead requires you to be strong. To each of you I say, if your wife is fearful, or if she does not bear witness to the work that you are about to do, it is better to stay home and attend to your family.”

“Let us meet here tomorrow morning at nine o’clock. If your wives are in agreement, then let us begin this new work. We cannot do a new covenant work without them, for in this earthly realm, a man is incomplete without a woman, and in the spiritual realm there is no distinction between male and female.” ¹⁶⁴

“What about me?” Juan asked. “I am yet single.”

“You are yet young. There is still time to find true love. Yet even if you were to remain single, there are other ways to make up for this, for in the end, all relationships are based upon the marriage principle of the double witness. Do not concern yourself with this.”

“What about me? I am Maggie.” A new voice broke into the conversation. It was a young, but mature woman, and as she stepped forward, she added, “I want to follow you as well, but I am a woman and single.”

“If you have faith, and if the Creator has instilled in your heart the desire to be part of this work, you are welcome,” Joseph told her. “You have gifts and callings from the Creator that are unique to you alone, and we need a full variety of these gifts to be fully effective in this work.”

Joseph then instructed the group as a whole, “In the beginning, Earthyman was created both male and female. ¹⁶⁵ He was in the image of the Creator, who, lacking nothing, possessed all of the qualities and strengths that are unique to men and women. But the Creator saw fit later to separate Earthyman into male and female, ¹⁶⁶ and so by instituting marriage, he showed them how to become one through agreement. ¹⁶⁷ By this He showed the importance of the law of the double witness in building His Kingdom.”

He continued, “It was only after they sinned that the woman was instructed to be obedient to her husband. ¹⁶⁸ The Creator understood that the presence of sin and imperfection would cause men and women to disagree as their spiritual discernment abated and rebellion increased over time. For this reason, obedience to authority was mandated. Yet the ideal marriage relationship has always remained rooted in agreement rather than in obedience, for where there is agreement, authority becomes irrelevant, for no one needs to command another.”

“This is seen also,” Joshua explained, “in the nature of the Creator. The prophets call the Creator by different names, sometimes using a male name and at other times female. The Creator is both Yahweh and El Shaddai, male and female, ¹⁶⁹ alternately a mighty Father and a Motherly Nourisher and Provider for the needs of Her children. When the Creator separated the first woman from the first man, each was given different strengths. The man was given the ears of Yahweh, and the woman was given the ears of El Shaddai. As long as both heard the Creator’s voice, they found themselves in agreement.”

“We have never heard such things from our teachers in the past,” they responded.

“A new day is upon us,” Joshua said. “In times past the highest virtue that most men could see was obedience. Mankind was young and needed to learn obedience. But today we are preparing to build a greater Kingdom, one that is based on the new covenant. Our success depends upon going beyond obedience into the realm of agreement. All previous kingdoms have been based upon the first covenant principle of disciplining the flesh to make it obedient. Our Kingdom is greater.”

“Go now to your homes,” Joshua concluded. “Speak heart to heart with your wives. If you are not in agreement, you will be hindered in this work. There is always something that can be accomplished when husbands and wives do not agree, but agreement removes all hindrances except those restraints from the Creator Himself. Return tomorrow, if you will, and we will then take the next step.”

As the small crowd broke up, each making his way home, Joseph spoke to Joshua and me, “I must consult with my chief and inform him of today’s events, for I perceive that some will think that I am leading an insurrection. Each of us must also follow our own advice and consult with our wives. Meet me here tomorrow.”

Joseph turned and walked in the direction of his tribal village up the valley. Joshua said his good-byes as well and walked in the opposite direction.

As for me, since it was summer, I had no classes to teach at the University, and I had planned to enjoy a relaxing week fishing and hiking in the mountains. My wife had not accompanied me to the lodge, because although she likes it when I bring home fish, she does not enjoy fishing. I, on the other hand, find that even when the fish are not biting, I am able to communicate with the Creator in a relaxed atmosphere.

But events had taken quite a different twist. It seemed that the Creator had drawn me to the mountain by false pretenses. I had been called unexpectedly to become a fisher of men, ¹⁷⁰ not with rod and reel, but with strong nets of truths intertwined with love. So much had occurred in the past few days that I had neglected to keep my wife informed of these new developments.

Finding my truck, I returned to the lodge, went to my room, and enjoyed a lengthy telephone call to my wife. She was excited that the time to build the Kingdom had arrived. “Yes, of course, I want to come. I will leave in the morning and see you tomorrow evening,” she said enthusiastically.

Having settled this issue, and because there were still many hours left in the day, I decided to go up the mountain to investigate the large crack that had opened up during the earthquake. I walked alone, and I guessed that the people were too fearful to trust the mountain. They had been leery of the mountain before, but the earthquake today had struck fear in their hearts.

As I walked along the winding path, the forest seemed to be alive, swaying their branches in agreement with the gentle breeze. Colorful birds sang as they searched for food. Enthusiastic bees hummed in joyful monotones. Squirrels played and chased each other up and down the oaks. Nature had no fear of the mountain, and, in fact, all the living creatures seemed to understand the large, glowing crack as a declaration of a glorious jubilee.

It took about two hours to reach the outer edge of the large split rock. As I approached it, I heard the sound of water, and when I looked inside, I could see a lake forming in the depths of the mountain. The water level was rising slowly as it swirled and gurgled. If this were to continue, I thought, it would not be long until the water would spill out of the crack and flow down the mountainside, joining the natural river in the valley far below.

“Anava,” the deep Voice called from the crack.

“I am here,” I responded.

“I have called you to bring forth fruit and to be part of a great work. Are you yet in agreement with what I am doing?”

“Yes, my King,” I said.

“I do nothing without first revealing My plan to My servants and prophets in the earth. ¹⁷¹ Do you know why?” He asked.

“No, sir,” I replied.

“I reveal My plan in order to obtain a double witness in the earth. Though I have the power to do all things by Myself, it is in My nature to do all things by a double witness. My servants and prophets are those who hear My voice and are able to declare My words in the earth. When someone on earth bears witness to My word in heaven, it is established. In every age I have raised up Amen people who are one with Me. As they agree with My word and become My voice in the earth, My Kingdom is built.”

“Declare My jubilee,” He continued. “Bear witness of the will of heaven and bring it into the earth.”

I turned to face the valley below and shouted as loud as I could: “Hear, O earth, it is the Creator’s jubilee! He has spoken, and I say Amen!”

“This word,” said the Voice, “will not return to me void, nor will it fail, but it will surely accomplish that which I have spoken and which you have seconded. ¹⁷² I called many others to do this, but they did not agree with My word. But I have built redundancy into every aspect of creation, and so it is with every word and decree spoken from heaven. Every word that I speak goes out to more than one person, and when the appointed time arrives, at least one releases it into the earth.”

“Go now and continue the work,” the Voice concluded. “Call disciples and train them to be apostles. Let everyone do according to his or her calling, for each has a word of faith, and when they truly know that inner word, and know who they are, they will be able to say Amen to it.”

I knew I was being dismissed, and reluctantly, I turned to walk back down the path toward the lodge. Yet I knew that something important had been accomplished here, for every word spoken in agreement with the Creator is a vital part of the new creation, because it is built by faith through true and faithful witnesses.

Footnotes

164. Galatians 3:28
165. Genesis 1:27
166. Genesis 2:21-23
167. Genesis 2:24
168. Genesis 3:16
169. Exodus 6:2, 3, which says literally, “I am Yahweh; and I appeared unto Abraham… as El Shaddai, but by My name Yahweh was I not known to them.”
170. Matthew 4:19
171. Amos 3:7
172. Isaiah 55:11