The parable of the pounds gives us an account of our Lord’s dealings with His children according to their faithfulness during the period of His absence. In verse 22, the King James Version speaks of the wicked servant; however, the word wicked  is very misleading because the majority of commentators have seized upon that word and made the servant to be a lost person. Such is not the case. This servant in the parable of the talents and kindred servants in other similar parables are comparable to the five foolish virgins, who typify unprepared and unfaithful Christians. They are the ones who will forfeit their place in the coming kingdom of our Lord, though they themselves will be saved, “yet so as by fire” (I Cor. 3:15).

Now let us consider briefly this parable of the pounds. Christ was just leaving the home of Zacchaeus where, in response to the criticism of His enemies, He gave utterance to His mission: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The Lord connects His mission directly with His return to heaven and the commissioning of His servants to carry on His work. The disciples had a mistaken idea that the kingdom of God was to immediately appear; so this parable was spoken to correct the error in their thinking and to give a very clear picture of the task for Christians to perform during this dispensation. He describes Himself as a Nobleman who is to go away into a far country, receive a kingdom, and then return. The kingdom was not established while Christ was here on earth; neither has it been established since His return to heaven. But when the time comes for the establishment of the kingdom, Christ will receive it from God the Father, and will then return to the earth for its establishment.

The Nobleman of the parable is described as having called His ten servants to Him and delivered unto them the ten pounds, with the command, “Occupy till I come.” A pound is a unit of monetary value, worth about $2.68 today. One must have appreciation for the significance of numbers in Scripture to understand the teaching of our Lord. Ten is the number of ordinal perfection; whereas, seven is the number of completion or perfection pertaining to spiritual things. Ten symbolizes completion as pertaining to earthly things. The significance of the ten servants is that He called ALL His servants to Him and delivered unto them all His business, with the command to keep busy with His business until He returned. Now do not forget that His business was to seek and to save that which was lost.

This is a picture of the present dispensation. Christ is in heaven to receive a kingdom; and until He returns, all Christians are to be busy. The primary work of Christians is reaching the lost for the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 15, we learn that He is to return after He receives the kingdom. The first thing He does when He returns is to call all His servants before Him to give an account of their stewardship.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (II Cor. 5:10 , 11).

All of this takes place at the judgment seat of Christ, which occurs when we are caught up in the air to meet the Lord. This is where judgment begins, at the house of God (I Pet. 4:17). This is the Lord judging His own people (Heb. 10: 30, 31). No one appears before the judgment seat of Christ except Christians. God does not mix His judgments but deals with each class separately; therefore one should realize that all three servants are called to an account here, else they would not appear at this same time.

The first servant reports that his pound has gained ten pounds and is rewarded by being given authority or rulership over ten cities during the millennial reign of Christ. (Ruling and reigning is one of the rewards for faithful Christians.)

The second servant reports that his pound has gained five pounds and is rewarded by being given authority and rulership over five cities.

The third servant reports that he has done nothing but keep his pound hidden in order to preserve it intact for the Lord. In effect he says: “I am saved, and I know I cannot be lost; therefore, I did not deem it very important to worry myself about trying to do something during your absence.” But the Lord calls him a bad servant. He is not a bad man, but, as a servant of Jesus Christ, he would not do what he was supposed to do.

How like so many Christians of today: saved, and know they cannot be lost but frankly admit that all they want is to get to heaven by the skin of their teeth — no rewards, no honor, no recognition from the Lord Himself. Such a statement can be attributed only to their ignorance of God’s plans and purposes for Christians during the millennium.

This third servant is as truly a servant of Christ as the other two, but he has no reward or position of trust and honor during the millennium; and Jesus says to take the pound away from him and give it to the servant who has gained ten pounds.

Now note verse 27. Those who do not receive Christ as Saviour and who will not acknowledge Him to be the King of kings (that is, those who are lost and brought before Him) are slain. This is the second death — separated from the Lord forever.

Beloved Christians, quit boasting of the fact that you are a one-pound or a one-talent Christian, remembering that such, if found unfaithful, will be in the group who will shed tears that will not be wiped away until the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ. Get busy witnessing for the Lord and win some of the rewards which our Lord Himself has so graciously offered.

A.E. Wilson

Royce Powell will broadcast from 5:00PM till 5:30PM and A.E. Wilson will broadcast from 5:30PM till 6:00PM every Sunday.

Thank you for helping support this ministry and, continue to pray that God will allow us to add more stations in the future.

Arlen Banks

If you live in Chattanooga, TN you can now tune in each Sunday morning at 6am on WLMR 1450am.  

Thank you for your help in supporting these new stations and keep praying that the Lord will add more in the future.

Arlen Banks

May our Lord bless you and your journey to a more mature knowledge of the Word of God. Amen.

Arlen Banks

If you would like two listen to Royce each week just send me an e-mail and I’ll try to add KOTH to a station near you or, you can listen online here at KOTH. Just click on the “Listen Live” button on the left of this screen each Sunday at 2pm Eastern.

I plan on adding Arlen Chitwood to the radio schedule in mid 2011.

Thanks for listening!

Arlen Banks

 The Word of The Kingdom

Preached by: Arlen Banks

Philippians 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. KJV

We know that Paul is not speaking to the lost here, because of the intro in Philippians 1. Paul is speaking directly to the brethren (saved people). So then why would Paul say, “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead”? Is Paul suggesting one might not be resurrected from the dead, even if they were saved? NO! Paul is speaking of a better resurrection, a resurrection that is followed by the reward of glorification; this glorification is rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This glorification is the same glorification that Christ now has at the right hand of the Father. This glorification Christ now has came after His resurrection, after 40 days! For one to “attain” this glorification one must do as Christ did; SACRIFICE! In Romans 12 we are told to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service” . Paul is speaking of the flesh here in Romans 12 and he’s saying, keep the flesh alive, but sacrifice its desires.

Matthew 16:24 Jesus says “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”. Jesus then says in Matthew 16:25 “ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul”? KJV

Here Jesus is speaking of crucifying the soul (life), when He says “take up his (your) cross”. Jesus is not speaking to the lost. When Jesus says “if you save your life you’ll lose it” He’s not saying you’ll lose your salvation, Jesus is saying you will lose a certain reward if you don’t take up your cross. He is saying, if you live for yourself now, and choose not to sacrifice, you will lose a certain reward that awaits you. Jesus says if you lose your life (deny yourself and take up your cross), you will find it in the world to come (the next age).

What is this “certain reward”, and when is it rewarded? This “certain reward” is the Wedding Garment; the Wedding Garment is a metaphor describing the covering of light that will cover those who were faithful to the end of the race (this life). This covering of light that is rewarded to the faithful, is the same covering (glorification) Jesus now has. This covering of light will be rewarded at The Judgment Seat of Christ. Only those that are faithful to the end will receive this reward, this is why we must work, and the hardest work you will ever do for the Lord is to sacrifice YOUR SELF WILL! We must die daily, and we will not know till the end if we receive this reward; the covering of light, (Glorification), (The Wedding Garment). To attain this resurrection Paul is speaking of in Philippians 3:11, anyone who is saved (part of the Body of Christ) must do these two things; present your body as a living sacrifice, and take up your cross to crucify your soul (life), to attain this resurrection Paul speaks of in Philippians 3:11.

What do I mean by crucifying your soul (life)? I mean to let go of your old sin nature, and crucify the old man or woman in you, deny the things of this world, and follow Christ. You’re now asking, how do I get started? First confess your sin to our High Priest, Christ Jesus and then, ASK FOR FORGIVNESS.
Paul said in Philippians 3:11 “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead”. Paul is saying no matter the cost in this physical life, I will sacrifice my life/soul, and body to “attain” a resurrection like the resurrection of Christ Jesus. To receive the fullness of His glory sooner rather than later.

My friends, that is my goal as well. I know I’ll be with Jesus no matter what, BUT, I want to be ready to meet Him and, I want to be prepared to meet Him. I want to be granted, the Wedding Garment. I want to be granted the fullness of His glory, sooner rather than later, and I pray the same for you, Amen.

Gehenna is derived from the Old Testament (Valley of the sons of Hinnom) that was located south of Jerusalem. Gehenna is figurative of a state of age lasting punishment, and it is used as a metaphor, directed to only, saved people. It does not imply that Christians will be thrown into The Lake of Fire, and contrary to popular belief Gehenna is not the Lake of Fire! Gehenna is a metaphor describing destruction (loss) at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The other 5 times Jesus mentions Hell, it’s translated from the Greek word (Hades). Hades is in the heart of this Earth and it is a place of torment for the soul of lost people. Hadees is a prison for the lost until the day of their judgment, at The Great White Throne Judgment which happens at the end of the Millennium. If you don’t see the translations correctly, you will have much confusion, and that is why certain denominations teach that you can lose your salvation.

In conclusion, anyone who believes that they will lose their salvation because of something they have done, are saying that they can undo THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST, and that they are responsible for finishing what Christ started.

God created Adam to rule the Earth, but Adam could not rule with out a wife, so God took a small portion of Adams body (a single rib) and built Adam a bride. God then presented the woman (bride) to Adam so that she could rule along side of him. Adam is a type of Christ, and Eve is a type of the Bride of Christ. As Eve was formed from a small portion of Adam’s body, so shall the Bride of Christ be formed from a small portion, of His body. God will then present the Bride to His Son King Jesus, and she will rule along side of Jesus in the millennium. This is an ordinance set forth from the beginning. Adam had to have a bride to rule the Earth, but Satan deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, and that disqualified Adam from ruling because he willingly ate the forbidden fruit with out being deceived.

1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Adam ate the fruit out of love for his bride, and he willingly gave his life for Eve, because he new that God would save her. Jesus gave His life for His bride as well, because he new that His Father would save her as well. This is the reward (inheritance) we are working for in this present age. We are working for the wedding garment that is granted to the Bride only. We’re not working to be saved, Jesus already did that for us, but we must be prepared to stand before the Lord to be rewarded (granted) to ware the wedding garment.

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

The reward in 1 Cor. 3:14, 15 is the wedding garment, and the loss is no wedding garment. But all believers will be in the Kingdom, but not all will make the Bride.

Genesis 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. KJV

The reason these angels wanted to have children with human women was to pollute the blood stream of humans so that “The Seed of the Woman” would not be born. Who was (is) that seed? Jesus Christ. Why would these angels want to stop Jesus from being born? So Satan would remain their king, and if that happened these angels would escape their judgment (The Lake of Fire).

Our Lord reveals the entire prophecy of what (who) will destroy Satan, in Genesis 3:14, 15. You must realize Satan is fighting for his life, and so are the angels who followed him. This is a cosmic battle that can only be understood by the guidance of The Holy Spirit of our God.

Now the Giants (Nephilim) are another part of the history of the world, that has been turned into mythology. My opinion is this: Mythology may not be myth at all.