VICTORIOUS

PROCLAMATION

R. B. THIEME, JR.

R. B. THIEME, JR., BIBLE MINISTRIES

HOUSTON, TEXAS
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This book is edited from the lectures and

unpublished notes of R. B. Thieme, Jr.
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© 2002, 1977, 1972 by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.
First edition published 1972. Third edition published 2002.
Second impression 2006.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or
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permission in writing from the publisher.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible,
© 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 1-55764-034-3
Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

The Angelic Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Divine Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Angelic Infiltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Superrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Divine Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Divine Judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Divine Promise Fulfilled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Compartments of Hades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Victorious Proclamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Grace of God in Salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Grace of God in Positional Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Mechanics of Victory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The Victorious Believer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Appendix: Doctrine of Operation Footstool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Scripture Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Preface

Before you begin your Bible study, if you are a believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the
Father.
If we confess our [known] sins, He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our [known] sins and to cleanse us from all
[unknown, or forgotten sins] unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, filled with the Holy Spirit,
and ready to learn Bible doctrine from the Word of God.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
[the filling of the] spirit and [biblical] truth.” (John 4:24)
If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as
your Savior, the issue is not naming your sins. The issue is faith alone
in Christ alone.
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who
does not obey [the command to believe in] the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)
T HE WORD OF GOD is alive and powerful, sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and the marrow,
and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)
All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
that the man of God might be mature, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3:16 –17)
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
(2 Tim. 2:15)
T HE A NGELIC C ONFLICT
U N D O U B T E D L Y T H E M O S T S T A R T L I N G E V E N T ever to be ob-
served in the angelic realm was the creation of man. Here was an in-
ferior form of creation who, unlike angels, could not travel through
space, who was limited in power and vision, and who was confined to
one small planet; yet this creature was made in the image and likeness
of God (Gen. 1:26a–27).1 The angels saw immediately that mankind
possessed one characteristic in common with them—volition—the
power to choose for or against God.
The entire angelic creation had previously made their choice, as re-
vealed by the two opposing categories of these supercreatures, elect
and fallen (Mark 5:1–19; 8:38; 1 Tim. 5:21). When Satan exercised

1. “Image” is the Hebrew word {elec (tselem). It conveys not a physical, visible structure,
but a “shadow image,” something invisible but real. God created human beings with an
invisible soul endowed with certain rational, moral, and relational capacities patterned
after His own real, but invisible essence. “Likeness” is tUm:D (demuth), a “pattern” or
“model,” and emphasizes that man’s personality is derived from his soul essence. Even
with identical essence, the billions upon billions of human souls exhibit many types of per-
sonalities, even as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have Their own individuality. See R. B.
Thieme, Jr., The Origin of Human Life (Houston: R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries,
1994, second impression), 3–6. Hereafter, cross-references to my books will cite only au-
thor, title, date of publication (in the first reference), and page(s).
2 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

his volition and decided against God (Isa. 14:12–15; Ezek. 28:15),
one-third of the angels chose to follow him (Rev. 12:4). For an un-
known period before the advent of man, the conflict raged between
those angels who followed Satan and those who chose for God.
Since Satan and his angels have been sentenced but not yet cast
into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41), two conclusions can be drawn.
First, Satan must have appealed his sentence. In fact, the titles as-
cribed to the super-angel after his fall lead to this conclusion: }f+f&
(Satan), “Satan,” and dia b/ oloj (diabolos),“the devil,” mean “adver-
sary, accuser, attorney”—one who goes to court and appeals (Zech.
3:1–2). Satan objected that God’s sentence was unfair: “How can a
loving God cast His creatures into the lake of fire?” He impugned the
character of God.
The second conclusion is that man was created by God as an an-
swer to Satan’s appeal. Created lower than the angels (Ps. 8:3–5; cf.
Heb. 2:7), mankind would be the extension and resolution of the heav-
enly conflict. Like the angels, humanity was endowed with free will,
and that free will would be tested to see whether man would reject
God. Consequently, man would come under the close scrutiny of both
the elect and fallen angels (Job 2:1–3; Luke 15:7, 10; 1 Cor. 4:9).
Human history would demonstrate to Satan and his fallen minions that
all of God’s decisions are perfectly just and right, consistent with all
the attributes of His essence.
God cannot change His character to accommodate any creature,
whether angel or man. God loved the angels, but God cannot love in a
way that is inconsistent with the other attributes of His character. Man
would show Satan and his angels how a loving God can save a fallen
creature and still maintain His righteousness.
As soon as man was created, God displayed His infinite grace by
providing everything that man would need.2 He also set up a test to
make it possible for man to exercise his volition (Gen. 2:17). The ques-
tion is sometimes asked, “Why did God prohibit the eating of one tree?
Why did He set up any prohibition at all?” The prohibition was to give
man the opportunity to make a choice for or against God. However,

2. Grace is all that God is free to do for man on the basis of the propitiatory work of
Christ on the cross. Grace is the title for God’s plan for mankind; His policy, function,
modus operandi, and modus vivendi. Grace is the genius of God and the expression of His
love, consistent in every detail with the demands of His righteousness. See Thieme, Plan
of God (2003).
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 3

God does not coerce love or obedience from His creatures. Man’s voli-
tion is truly free to choose to obey or disobey God’s mandate.

T HE D IVINE P ROMISE
The third chapter of Genesis reveals that man chose against God
despite the perfect environment and provision God had given him in
the Garden. At the very moment the choice was made, Satan became
the victor in the first battle of the conflict here on earth. He immedi-
ately seized control of this world and of man (2 Cor. 4:4). The only
hope for man, which is found in Genesis 3:15, is also God’s solution
to the angelic conflict. God made a gracious promise as He sentenced
the serpent.
“And I will put enmity
Between you [Satan] and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Gen. 3:15)3
Here is the greatest example of the love, righteousness, justice, and
grace of God. Man had just sinned. Man had fallen. Man had turned
this little planet over to Satan. Because man deliberately rebelled
against God’s command, Satan had won a major round. It appeared as
though the situation had reached a stalemate—not only for man, but
for the entire conflict. Yet God established a beachhead by this fantas-
tic promise! “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And
between your seed and her seed.”
“Her seed,” a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ at the point of His
incarnation, is the first messianic title and the first promise of the Sav-
ior. The seed of the woman stresses the virgin birth as the means of
bringing the Savior into the world without a sin nature. Because the
sin nature is passed down in procreation through the male, Jesus
Christ is without inherent sin and without personal sin.4

3. All Scriptures in this book are quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).
Bracketed commentary reflects amplification of the NASB translation taught in Bible class
lectures (available on MP3 CD and tape from R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, Houston,
Texas).
4. Thieme, The Integrity of God (2005), 60–88.
4 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

“He shall bruise you on the head.” The seed of the woman, the
Lord Jesus Christ, would bruise or literally crush the head of Satan.
Since the serpent now crawls in the dust, his head is vulnerable and
crushing this vital part is fatal to him. This verse predicts the ultimate
defeat of Satan which will take place at the Second Advent of Christ
(Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:9; 20:10). Even before salvation was declared,
the final victory over Satan was announced.5
“You [Satan] shall bruise him [Christ] on the heel.” The debased
serpent reaches no higher than the man’s heel, yet when the venomous
snake strikes this lower extremity, the poison spreads throughout the
man’s entire body. Hence, the bruising of the Lord’s heel anticipates
the cross where Christ would bear in His own body the judgment for
every sin in the human race (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24).
Because man exercised his free will in negative volition, he had
forfeited his relationship with God. Mankind was in no position to re-
verse his decision unless God should mercifully intervene. This is why
Genesis 3:15, which is the first mention of the Gospel in the Bible, is
one of the key passages in the entire Scripture. God’s grace provision
was revealed as the God-man-Savior, Jesus Christ, who would come to
earth and provide the solution to the problem of man’s sin. Satan un-
derstood this, even though many people today do not.
When God committed Himself to this promise, the entire destiny of
the human race, the ultimate result of the battle between fallen and
elect angels, and the perfect character of God were put on the line.
Would God keep His promise? If God cannot keep a promise, then His
character would be flawed and He would not be God. There would be
no hope for mankind or for any other creature.
Down through the ages men believed this promise, right up to the
coming of Christ at His first advent. They demonstrated their faith by
offering animal sacrifices to God. The blood of bulls and goats could
not save man from even one sin (Heb. 10:4), but every time a man of-
fered an animal sacrifice, even if it were only a pigeon, he was saying,
“I have believed Genesis 3:15.” Today, when anyone accepts Christ,

5. The strategic victory of Christ is in two phases. The first is His death, burial, resurrec-
tion, ascension, and session at the Father’s right hand as the King of kings and Lord of
lords. In the second phase Christ returns to earth at the Second Advent to overthrow Satan
and be crowned the ruler of the world.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 5

he is saying, “I believe John 3:16.” When anyone puts his faith in

Christ, he is eternally saved.
However, Satan reasoned that if man went negative and sinned as
he had, then God would be forced to withdraw the devil’s sentence to
the lake of fire. Surely, thought Satan, God would not wipe out man-
kind which He had created expressly to demonstrate His perfect char-
acter. And if man would be spared, so too Satan and his followers.
This was the issue when God set up another tree, the cross. Satan
immediately understood his vulnerability and began to plot how to ne-
gate the strategic victory that Christ would win by dying on the cross.
The devil commands a tremendous host of angels, some of which were
delegated to frustrate the possibility of Christ’s coming in the flesh. If
Jesus Christ did not become true humanity, there could be no salvation
for man.
There were moments in the history of mankind when it appeared as
though God could not and would not keep His promise. For example,
when it became apparent that the seed of the woman was to come
through the line of Abel, the younger of Adam’s first two sons, Satan
inspired Cain to murder his brother. This first attempt by Satan to pre-
vent the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 was thwarted when the line of
Christ was transferred to Seth. But Satan would launch numerous
other attacks aimed at obstructing the First Advent.
Although God made the promise to come and pay the penalty for
sin, which is spiritual death (Rom. 6:23),6 deity is subject neither to
spiritual nor physical death. As eternal God, He cannot die; as immu-
table God, He cannot change. How, then, can this conflict ever be re-
solved? How can man be brought back to God? The answer: Without
compromise to His deity God must take on true flesh and blood. In-
deed, God the Son agreed to fulfill the Father’s plan by ‘clothing’
Himself with a human body (Phil. 2:5–8; Heb. 2:9–14).7
There are four reasons why Jesus Christ became true humanity.
The first reason was to be the Savior and go to the cross. Second,

6. Spiritual death is separation from God and the inability to have a relationship with
Him. The humanity of Christ suffered substitutionary spiritual death when He was judged
for sin on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). See Thieme, The Blood of Christ (2002).
7. The union of two natures, divine and human, in the one person of Jesus Christ is called
the hypostatic union. These natures are inseparably united without loss or mixture of sepa-
rate identity, without loss or transfer of properties or attributes, the union being personal
and eternal.
6 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

Jesus Christ was to be the Mediator. Before man can have a relation-
ship with God, he needs a go-between who is equal with both the
Godhead and with man. The Mediator, then, must be God and man in
one person (1 Tim. 2:5–6). Third, Jesus Christ was to become a priest.
Since man is a sinner, he requires an acceptable priest to represent him
before God and that priest must himself be a man. Jesus Christ ful-
filled this function and became the “great high priest” (Heb. 4:14).
Fourth, Jesus Christ is to reign as the Son of David (Luke 1:31–33).
Down the road of human history God would make some amazing
promises to David. He would say, “I will raise up your descendant
after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his
kingdom. . . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever”
(2 Sam. 7:12b, 13b; cf. Acts 2:29–32).
For these reasons it was imperative that Jesus Christ be vested with
true humanity. But it would be impossible for Christ to become a man
unless an unbroken lineage of true humanity existed on the earth. That
may seem to be a strange statement, but it is apparent from the sixth
chapter of Genesis that Satan conceived an ingenious scheme to cor-
rupt the genetic integrity of the human race. His strategy was to
change the nature of mankind into half-human, half-angelic beings
through an angelic infiltration of the human race.
The invasion recorded in the first ten verses of Genesis 6 is the most
formidable attack ever made upon man’s so-great salvation. It was so
successful that the line by which Jesus Christ could enter the world was
narrowed down to eight souls—the family of Noah. Had it not been for
the Flood, this satanic attack would have turned into a decisive victory
for Satan. True humanity would have become extinct on the earth and
Jesus Christ could never have been born in the lineage of Adam.

T HE A NGELIC I NFILTRATION
Genesis chapter 6 opens with a brief account of the antediluvian
population. Apparently, a population explosion after the Fall resulted
in more women than men.
Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the
face of the land, and daughters were born to them. (Gen.
6:1)
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 7

The word “men” is the generic term referring to the entire human
race. While “daughters” describes literal females, this expression
means more than that: It is an idiom indicating an excess of beautiful
women.
That the sons of God [{ihole:)fh-y"n:b, bene-ha-Elohim] saw
that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took
wives for themselves, whomever they chose. (Gen. 6:2)
The Hebrew word bene-ha-Elohim, translated “sons of God,” ap-
pears only four times in the Old Testament: Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; and in
this verse. Another Hebrew word has also been translated “sons of
God,” but bene-ha-Elohim is always and invariably used for angels,
never human beings. In the New Testament, “Son of God” is a title for
Jesus Christ, while “sons of God” refers to believers (John 1:12).
However, since “sons of God” in the Old Testament is used for angels,
both elect and fallen, the question here is, which kind of angel is in
view?
Jude 6 and 1 Peter 3:19–20 link fallen angels “who once were dis-
obedient” and “did not keep their own domain” with the angels in
Genesis 6:2. These were the same satanic emissaries who were in-
volved in the assault on the “daughters of men” and were then im-
prisoned (2 Pet. 2:4). These intruders would become the recipients of
the victorious proclamation of Jesus Christ while they were incar-
cerated.
The Word of God is not written to satisfy the curious, but to reveal
God’s plan and purpose for man. Deductions can often be made from
what is revealed. However, what took place prior to the seduction of
the women is only speculation. Perhaps the idea of the infiltration oc-
curred to Satan when he began to notice that some of his angels were
‘peeking over the clouds and whistling’ at the beautiful “daughters of
men.” So Satan called a planning session and briefed his selected
agents on the method of launching the attack that was designed to pre-
vent the Savior from coming into the world. “They took wives for
themselves, whomever they chose” literally means that they cohabited
with the women on earth.
Immediately, certain questions arise concerning the physical possi-
bilities and capabilities of such a plan. First, are not angels invisible to
the human race? The answer to this is yes! Their bodies are composed
of light. However, they can also transform themselves to appear to
8 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

human beings and also to look like them. These fallen angels pre-
sented themselves to the “daughters of men” as strikingly attractive,
masculine human beings.
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given
in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (Matt. 22:30)
This verse raises a second question. How is procreation possible
between angels and human beings? Before the Flood, angels could
procreate! After the Flood, the possibility of intermarriage and pro-
creation between angels and mankind was removed, and those who
had been so involved were either destroyed or incarcerated.
At this point in Genesis 6, God the Holy Spirit interjects a com-
ment and issues a warning:
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive [His con-
victing ministry] with man forever, because he also is
flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and
twenty years.” (Gen. 6:3)
This verse orients the reader to the time—120 years before the Flood.
The Holy Spirit would continue right up to the last day to entreat man
to be saved.
Before the Flood, the Holy Spirit had a threefold ministry. First, He
restrained sin so that the human race could survive and have the op-
portunity to hear the Gospel. Second, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of
common grace provided Gospel information to the unbeliever so that
he might make a decision necessary for salvation.8 The Holy Spirit
communicated the Gospel to mankind through the message of a man
called Noah (2 Pet. 2:5).
The third ministry of the Holy Spirit was His regenerating work by
which every believer was born again. At the moment a person ex-
presses faith in the coming Savior, he passes from spiritual death to
spiritual life.
Before and after the Flood, the Holy Spirit continually seeks to
convince the unbeliever to believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. The

8. Common grace is the general blessings from God to all mankind including: the benefits
of the natural bounties which sustain all life on earth, and the Spirit’s function as a human
spirit (lost at the fall of Adam) so that the spiritual information of the Gospel is compre-
hensible to the unbeliever. See Thieme, The Barrier (2003), 8–10.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 9

doctrine of common grace asserts that the Holy Spirit has been con-
victing unbelievers since the beginning of time in regard to the Gos-
pel: “concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment” (John
16:8–11). The “sin” is rejection of Christ, “because they do not be-
lieve in me”; “righteousness” is the imputation of divine righteousness
to those who believe in Him (Rom. 4:5); and “judgment” will be
meted out to those who reject Him.
Those who refuse to accept Christ’s work on their behalf stand on
their own merit, and their works, not their sins, will condemn them to
the eternal lake of fire (Rev. 20:11–15). Why? Jesus Christ has paid
for every sin. Therefore, sin is no longer an issue. The only issue in
salvation is, “What do you think about the Christ” (Matt. 22:42).
Without the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, mankind could not be
saved; without His restraining ministry, the human race would perish.
Notice that Genesis 6:3 says man, not angels. Angelic salvation had
already been settled. Every angel had made up his mind long before man
was created. Their eternal status would never be changed. Fallen angels
will always be fallen, and holy or elect angels will always be elect. The
Holy Spirit is striving with man in time “because he also is flesh.”

The Superrace

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also

afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters
of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the
mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Gen. 6:4)

As a result of angelic procreation with humanity, a superrace

emerged. This progeny called “Nephilim,” literally “fallen ones” in the
Hebrew, is sometimes translated “giants” in the English. However,
they are more than just giants. They had fallen from the human race in
that they were no longer true humanity. They were half-man and half-
angel, creatures of remarkable strength and brilliant intellect.
The next phrase explicitly states the origin of the Nephilim: “and
also afterward [literally, “because”], when the sons of God came in to
[cohabited with] the daughters of men.” The children which the
women bore to these angels became “mighty men who were of old
[antiquity], men of renown,” that is, famous men of heroic status.
10 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

All ancient literature contains stories of heroes—mighty men who

performed unusual, extranatural, or supernatural feats. They were all
described as half-human and half-god, demigods. In Greek tradition,
Zeus, the chief god, was said to be the father of most of them includ-
ing: Orpheus, Thesseus, Cadmus, Perseus, Jason, Hercules, Castor, and
Pollux. Although this literature is called mythology, it is not entirely
mythical. It is based on the factual events of Genesis 6. As time went
on, the stories were embellished and transformed by vivid imagination.
The half-angelic, half-human superrace completely took over and
corrupted the human race of the antediluvian civilization except for
Noah and the seven members of his family.9 Noah and his family were
not involved in this angelic corruption because they were born-again,
super-grace believers.10 God protected them physically from the super-
race, who were exceedingly warlike and brutal. Eventually, for the
preservation of true humanity, it was necessary for God to destroy the
Nephilim.
Only twice in the history of the human race does God destroy every
unbeliever in order to preserve the promise of salvation. First, in the
devastation of the Flood, and second, at the future Second Advent
when all unbelievers will be removed, leaving only believers to enter
the Millennium.11 God always keeps His Word regarding the promise
of Genesis 3:15 as well as resolving the issue of the angelic conflict.

9. There are four civilizations which overlap the dispensations and must be distinguished
from them. Each civilization begins with believers only and divine blessing; each termi-
nates with divine judgment and the destruction of all unbelievers: (1) The antediluvian
civilization—from Adam to the Flood; (2) The postdiluvian—from Noah to the Second
Advent; (3) The millennial—from the Second Advent until all unbelievers are cast into the
lake of fire; (4) The eternal—from the creation of the new heavens and new earth and di-
vine blessing without end.
10. Termed “greater grace” in James 4:6, supergrace is the initial stage of spiritual ma-
turity. As a believer grows in his knowledge of Bible doctrine he eventually breaks the
maturity barrier. With capacity of soul from doctrine, the mature believer can be blessed
even in the devil’s world, thus glorifying God. Continued intake of doctrine perpetuates
growth beyond supergrace to ultra-supergrace where even maximum satanic and human
pressure against him only intensifies the mature believer’s happiness and occupation with
Christ. See Thieme, Reversionism (2000), 9–10.
11. The Millennium is a literal period of one thousand years beginning after the Second
Advent of Jesus Christ in which He will fulfill all unconditional covenants to Israel, reign
on the throne of David, and establish worldwide peace and perfect environment. See
Thieme, The Divine Outline of History: Dispensations and the Church (1999, second im-
pression).
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 11

The Divine Evaluation

In Genesis 6:5–7, God expressed His attitude toward the ante-
diluvian civilization and toward the superrace in particular.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on
the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart
[mentality of the soul] was only evil continually. (Gen. 6:5)
Man’s evil had reached the saturation point because of this cross-
breeding with fallen angels.12 The mixture gave mankind extranatural
stature and power that intensified the function of the sin nature.13 Evil
entered man’s soul and became a strong “deluding influence” (2 Thess.
2:11). His thinking was totally engulfed in malignant, satanic concepts.
The individual was continually under the influence of Satan’s cosmic
system (1 John 2:15).
God revealed His own attitude toward this incorrigible wickedness.
And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the
earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (Gen. 6:6)
“Was sorry” means “to change the mind.” But God is immutable, and
He does not change. Why then is the Lord said to have changed His
attitude toward the creation of man? This is an anthropopathism which
ascribes to God human thoughts, emotions, and attitudes He does not
actually possess in order to reveal and explain divine policy and deci-
sions to the finite mind of man. Throughout the Scripture, God often
reveals Himself in this language of accommodation so that man might
have a frame of reference for infinite God or an otherwise inscrutable
or complicated policy of God.
In verse 6 the anthropopathism expresses what God thought about
man’s choice and about man’s losing the first battle with Satan. “He
was grieved in His heart.” God was not pleased with the evil rampant

12. Evil is the manifestation of Satan’s cosmic system—his orderly, cohesive, and multi-
faceted system of thinking which includes a purpose, policy, and structure of authority.
Evil reflects the subtlety of Satan’s genius; sin and human good are part of his policy.
Satan uses evil to corrupt the human race and gain control of the world he now rules (John
12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4). See Thieme, Reversionism, 14–19.
13. The sin nature is the center of man’s rebellion toward God. The sin nature is trans-
ferred genetically as a direct result of Adam’s first sin, and thereafter resides in the cell
structure of the human body of every human being except Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:6; 7:5, 18).
12 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

on the earth, but God did not suddenly change His plan. In eternity
past God designed the plan of grace to deliver man from the spiritual
dilemma he would create for himself in the Garden and restore to him
what had been lost.
But first, God must demonstrate to man the extreme consequences
of his negative choice.
And the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have cre-
ated from the face of the land, from man to animals to
creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that
I have made them.” (Gen. 6:7)
God stated in no uncertain terms His plan to destroy the antediluvian
civilization. However, there was one exception.
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen. 6:8)
One man had exhibited positive volition. Noah understood the as-
surance of Genesis 3:15. “Favor” means that Noah believed in the
promised Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He had discovered and ex-
ploited the grace of God to the maximum.
Noah further understood that if God did the most for him at salva-
tion, He would do much more than the most to protect him in the
devil’s world (Rom. 8:32). God supplies the logistical support and
doctrine for the advance to supergrace and ultra-supergrace.14 Because
Noah was a believer, he was the recipient of everything necessary to
withstand 120 years of intense satanic pressure. He leaned completely
upon the Lord’s matchless love, unerring justice, and perfect grace.
The next verse is the divine record of Noah’s family history.
These are the records of the generations [family history] of
Noah. Noah was a righteous [justified] man, blameless in
his time [genealogy]; Noah walked with God. (Gen. 6:9)
First, Noah and his family were justified before God. Justification is the
judicial act of God that imputes His perfect righteousness to everyone
who believes in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24, 28; 1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 2:16–17).

14. Logistical grace includes food, shelter, clothing, environment, transportation, and even
guardian angels for sentry duty to keep the believer alive in spite of the hazards of life.
Spiritual provision is the Word of God, the communication of Bible doctrine by the pastor-
teacher, and the local church as the classroom for learning doctrine.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 13

God pronounces the believer vindicated because he possesses God’s

righteousness. Justification is not an experiential act or condition of per-
fection, but a legal or forensic position which takes place before the bar
of God’s justice. No believer is justified because of any works he has
done or any merit of his own, but because Jesus Christ took mankind’s
place and was judged for all sins on the cross.
Second, Noah had a spiritual life: He “walked with God.” As a
super-grace or an ultra-supergrace believer, God’s Word was more
real to Noah than any circumstance of life. He personally withstood
the satanic scheme to corrupt him, and through his dynamic spiritual
leadership his family was also protected from the angelic incursion.
Noah’s genealogy was uncontaminated by cohabitation with fallen
angels and he represented true humanity in the human race. Between
Adam and Noah there was an unbroken line of pure humanity.
This is one of the major reasons why the genealogies of both the
Old and New Testaments are extremely important. They demonstrate
that at the point of the virgin birth there was an undefiled line of hu-
manity extending from Adam to the virgin Mary. Whenever the an-
gelic infiltration may have begun, in Noah’s father’s or grandfather’s
day, his forebears had all resisted. There was not one blot upon his
family escutcheon.
Noah and his family were the only human beings on the face of the
earth who remained uncorrupted by the Nephilim or by evil. Noah’s
three sons would continue the pure human lineage.
And Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham,
and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of
God, and the earth was filled with violence. (Gen.
6:10–11)
“Corrupt” indicates that true humanity had nearly vanished from
the earth. The period was characterized by bloodshed and warfare. The
extreme violence was one of the earmarks of this evil race. Apart from
the Tribulation,15 this was the worst period of unrestrained evil and
violence the world will ever encounter.

15. The Tribulation is a period of seven literal years which completes the Age of Israel,
immediately following the Rapture of the Church and terminating with the Second Advent
of Christ. See Thieme, The Divine Outline of History, 71–74.
14 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt;

for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (Gen.
6:12)

The Divine Judgment

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come
before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of
them [Nephilim]; and behold, I am about to destroy them
with the earth.” (Gen. 6:13)
God revealed to this mature believer His plan for the human race, a
plan which called for judgment and cleansing. “The end of all flesh”
announces the termination of the antediluvian civilization and the de-
struction of that evil generation. Since destruction seems incompatible
with a God of love, the maudlin, sentimental liberal rejects the God of
the Old Testament as cruel and bloodthirsty. This notion originates
from Satan himself.
Why did God destroy this first civilization? The predominance of
iniquity, the presence of the superrace, the temporary success of the
satanic invasion, the lack of restraint on the sin natures in a time of
enormous population expansion all add up to maximum evil on the
earth. When there is a rampant malignancy of evil, God must cut away
the evil in order to preserve the remnant of believers.
God’s decision to destroy the Nephilim was perfectly compatible
with His love, righteousness, justice, and grace. God’s judgment was
the means by which He could keep the promise of Genesis 3:15.
Otherwise, all humanity would be tainted with the fallen angelic strain
and Christ could not have come in the flesh and won the strategic vic-
tory of the angelic conflict. Not only was the Flood divine judgment
on a degenerate civilization, but it was also the frustration of the sa-
tanic plot through the preservation of true humanity in Noah’s family.
To demonstrate that the antediluvian populace had no desire what-
ever for a relationship with the Lord, God gave them a grace period of
120 years. Every individual had ample time to make up his mind. At
the end of that period only eight people had made a choice for God.
Everyone else had rejected the Lord or was tainted by cohabitation
with fallen angels.
When the promise of the Flood was fulfilled and the superrace and
unbelievers annihilated, God judged those fallen angels who were
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 15

guilty of the infiltration. The details are revealed in two New Testa-
ment passages.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast
them into hell [tartarow / , tartaroo] and committed them
to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment. (2 Pet. 2:4)
The context of 2 Peter chapter 2 is a warning to believers against
false teachers. To affirm the certainty of eternal judgment for the false
teachers, the Holy Spirit cites three past examples where God judged
certain groups who were in total degeneracy (2 Pet. 2:4–6). The fallen
angels of Genesis 6 were the first example. “If God did not spare” is a
first class conditional clause in the Greek meaning that He did not
hesitate to judge the fallen angels just as He will not hesitate to judge
false teachers.
In the days of Noah, God exercised force in order that the human
race might be saved. God makes every provision for His plan includ-
ing protection of His plan.16 God protected the line of true humanity
through whom Christ would come into the world by drowning the
Nephilim in the Flood and casting “into hell” the angels that sinned.
Both the human race and God’s plan have been protected many times
by the severity of God’s judgment.
In 2 Peter 2:4 the angels are not cast into hell but, literally into Tar-
tarus. The Greeks thought of Tartarus as a subterranean place lower
than Hades where divine punishment was meted out.17 Tartarus is a
place of torment, of temporary fire, of suffering. Part of divine judg-
ment is burning and pain; part is thick darkness.

16. This plan of grace includes three phases. Phase one is salvation; Christ paid for all sins
so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life (John 3:15). Phase two is the believer
in time; the provision and the techniques of the Christian way of life, revealed by the prom-
ises and doctrines of the Word. The techniques of the Christian life include: (1) rebound
(citing your sins privately to God, 1 John 1:9); (2) faith-rest (mixing the promises and doc-
trines of God’s Word with faith, Heb. 4:1–2); (3) the filling of the Spirit (the believer’s di-
vine dynamics employed through rebound, Eph. 5:18); (4) living in the Word (the consistent
intake of doctrine, 1 Tim. 4:13); and (5) occupation with Christ (spiritual maturity—
supergrace and ultra-supergrace, Col. 3:1–2; Heb. 12:2–3; 1 Pet. 1:8). Phase three is the be-
liever in eternity; absent from the body, face to face with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).
17. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Chris-
tian Literature, 2nd ed., F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker, ed. (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1979), 805.
16 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

The angels in Tartarus are at present “reserved,” or literally

“guarded” for judgment. In other words, they are not yet in their final
state. God confined them in a temporary prison where they will remain
until He is ready for their final judgment. There is a time coming
when God will bring them out of Tartarus and cast them permanently
into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20). In the meantime, they are
out of circulation, no longer able to observe what is taking place in the
rest of the universe.
God not only neutralized Satan’s forces that corrupted the human
race, but He also destroyed their progeny.
And did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a
preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He
brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. (2 Pet. 2:5)
No evil generation can exist indefinitely without divine judgment.
However, grace always precedes judgment. During the 120-year grace
period for the antediluvian civilization, Noah consistently and continu-
ously evangelized. Yet no one responded to the faithful proclamation
of the Gospel.
The angelic infiltration and incarceration is mentioned again in the
Book of Jude.
And angels who did not keep their own domain [original
status], but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in
eternal bonds under darkness [u p( o / zo f/ oj, hupo zophos]
for the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)
Along with the judgment of the fallen angels, two other judgments by
God are cited in the context of Jude: believers, as illustrated by the
Exodus generation (Jude 5) and unbelievers in the Abrahamic genera-
tion (Jude 7). A segment of the population was destroyed in all three
of these judgments. But only the reference to the angels in Jude 6 is
pertinent to Genesis 6.
“Did not keep their own domain” means that the fallen angels did
not stay in their own divinely designated sphere of relationships and
activity. They forsook their own kind to procreate with humans. Their
action violated divine law. God always keeps creatures within the
framework of their own kind: angels with angels, humans with hu-
mans, animals with animals. For the protection of the human race, God
maintains this separation (Gen. 1:21, 24–25; Lev. 20:15–16).
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 17

Since these celestial beings did not “keep” their proper place, they
are “kept” in another place—Tartarus, their custom-made prison. Tar-
tarus is described here by an unusual Greek phrase: hupo zophos,
“under darkness,” a total absence of light. Why is this specifically
mentioned? Angels cannot be killed as was the Exodus generation in
Jude 5 or the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in Jude 7. There-
fore, God’s judgment renders them completely immobile and blacked
out. They are “kept in eternal bonds under [the authority of] dark-
ness,” awaiting their final “judgment of the great day.”
When all the verses pertaining to the angelic infiltration are com-
pared, it is clear that the devil knew if he combined the human race
with the angelic race, there would be no salvation. Furthermore, he re-
alized that if God could not keep His promise to Adam’s race of a
Savior, God would be a liar. This situation would be a victory for
Satan. Consequently, Satan who is more clever than any other created
being, man or angel (Gen. 3:1), did all in his power to prevent true hu-
manity from continuing on the earth.
After his audacious scheme was aborted by the Flood, Satan con-
tinued to seize every opportunity to destroy God’s plan. Upon the an-
nouncement that the Savior would come from the line of Abraham,
Satan attacked this specific target. When God revealed that the Savior
would come through the tribe of Judah, the archfiend turned his atten-
tion in that direction. From that time on, the Jews would be the special
object of Satan’s attacks.18 Yet despite his unceasing efforts, Satan
could not thwart the coming of Jesus Christ as true humanity, the eter-
nal King and Son of David, to provide the solution to the sin problem.

T HE D IVINE P ROMISE F ULFILLED

For Christ also died [a p) oqnh s/ kw, apothnesko] for sins
once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might
bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but
made alive in the spirit. (1 Pet. 3:18)
The crucifixion of Christ is the focal point of history for mankind
and the initial stage of the strategic victory of the angelic conflict.
Christ, the seed of the woman, the unique Person of the universe, died

18. Thieme, Anti-Semitism (2003).

18 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

on the cross as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for the sins of the world
(Heb. 7:27; 9:12).
The Greek word apothnesko is the strongest word for death—to die
by utter separation. This characterizes Christ’s spiritual death on the
cross which is the basis of man’s salvation. He suffered separation
from God the Father (Matt. 27:46), during which time the Father im-
puted the sins of all mankind to Christ and judged them. The spiritual
death of Christ is explained in two passages.
He [the Father] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be
sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)
And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by
His wounds you were healed. (1 Pet. 2:24)
The death on the cross was as unique as the Person who was hang-
ing there. No one in all of human history has ever or will ever suffer
more intense anguish than the Lord Jesus Christ when He became
man’s substitute and bore the sins of the world—“the just [righteous]
for the unjust [unrighteous].” In His deity He was absolute righteous-
ness; in His humanity He was impeccable. Therefore, the meeting of
man’s sins with the God-man’s righteousness was not only the most
excruciating agony ever endured, but the supreme example of unde-
served suffering. Yet the spiritual death of Christ was the means of our
eternal salvation and broke the back of Satan in the angelic conflict.
One of the great satanic counterattacks in the Church Age is the at-
tempt to add conditions to the cross.19 The saving work of Christ on
the cross was unique and perfect in every way. Christ’s work fully
achieved its objective; it was efficacious and complete. That is why
He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Nothing can be added to what
Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.
Yet people are constantly trying to add their own works to His mag-
nificent sacrifice. They want to be baptized, join a church, feel sorry
for or renounce their sins for salvation. But the Bible says, “Believe in
the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31b). Salvation is

19. The Church Age is the current dispensation which began on the day of Pentecost, fifty
days after the crucifixion of Christ, and will terminate with the resurrection or Rapture of
the Church (Eph. 1:10; 2:1–5, 8–9; Col. 1:25–26).
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 19

faith plus nothing. Anything added to faith is works and negates the
faith (Eph. 2:8–9). Faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the
cross is the sole access to God the Father.
The literal translation of the next phrase of 1 Peter 3:18 is “having
been put to death in the sphere of His body.” This emphasizes the two
deaths of Christ on the cross. His spiritual death occurred when He
was judged for sins, and His physical death occurred when He dis-
missed His spirit.
The final phrase, “made alive in the spirit,” refers to the resurrec-
tion of Jesus Christ from physical death. Both the Holy Spirit, as the
agent of resurrection, and the Father had a part in raising the humanity
of Jesus Christ from the grave (Acts 2:24; Rom. 8:11). The strategic
victory of the angelic conflict was sealed by Christ’s resurrection. This
decisive victory also brought Him from abject humiliation to maxi-
mum glorification.
When Christ completed His earthly mission on the cross, He said,
“Father, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT” (Luke 23:46). His
human spirit ascended into the presence of the Father in heaven.
Christ’s assurance to the dying thief, “Today you shall be with Me in
Paradise” (Luke 23:43), indicates that His soul descended to Paradise
where the Old Testament saints resided until the time of His resurrec-
tion. His body went into the grave (Luke 23:53). After His resurrec-
tion from the grave, Jesus Christ made a trip to Tartarus, one of the
most unusual trips in all of history. In this He was assisted by the
Holy Spirit.

T HE C OMPARTMENTS OF H ADES
The full import of the Lord’s unique visit cannot be fully under-
stood without picturing the underworld as it existed prior to the resur-
rection. Unfortunately, the translators of the English Bible have con-
fused the issue by rendering several different Hebrew and Greek
words simply as “hell” when they actually refer to different places.
In the Hebrew lO):$ (sheol) is sometimes translated “hell” and
sometimes “the grave.” The parallel Greek word # d(/ hj (hades) is al-
ways translated “hell.” But Sheol or Hades is the general designation
for the abode of the dead, both believers and unbelievers, before the
resurrection and ascension of Christ.
20 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

Hades contains four compartments: Paradise (para d/ eisoj, para-

deisos), derived from a Persian word meaning “Garden of the King,”
also called Abraham’s bosom, which is the Jewish designation (Luke
16:19–22); Torments (ba s / anoj, basanos, Luke 16:23–25); Tartarus
(ta r/ taroj, tartaros, 2 Pet. 2:4); and the Abyss (a b
)/ ussoj, abussos,
Luke 8:31).
Paradise was the section where the souls of all believers of the Old
Testament resided after death. When Christ said to one of the crimi-
nals crucified next to Him on the cross, “Today you shall be with Me
in Paradise” (Luke 23:43), He was identifying this compartment as His
temporary residence after physical death. When the resurrected Christ
ascended to heaven, He brought with Him the souls of all believers
who had died up to that time. He transferred them from Paradise to
heaven (Eph. 4:8–10).20

20. At the ascension of Christ, Paradise was transferred to its present location in heaven
(2 Cor. 12:4).
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 21

No human being ever went to heaven until Christ entered into the
presence of the Father as a resurrected Man. If Jesus was accepted in
His humanity, that would mean the Father had accepted His sacrifice
for sin. Only under these conditions could believers be admitted into
the abode of God. Upon the entrance of Christ into heaven, the Father
said, “Sit at My right hand” (Ps. 110:1a; Heb. 1:13). The substitution-
ary sacrifice was approved; Christ had opened the way for believing
mankind to enter into the presence of holy God (Heb. 8:1; 10:12–20).
Believers who die in the Church Age go directly into the presence
of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Eventually, at His second advent, they will
return with the King of kings to glorify Him in His kingdom. They and
all believers are eternally exempt from divine judgment (Rom. 8:1).
The second compartment, Torments, is a temporary fire for the
souls of unbelievers. Between Paradise and Torments was “a great
gulf fixed” (Luke 16:26, KJV) so that none could pass to the other side.
Now that Paradise has been emptied, Hades and Torments are actually
synonymous. But the rendering of both as hell creates confusion be-
cause there is yet a final hell designated as tepoT (tophet) in Isaiah
30:33, and ge e/ nna (gehenna), “lake of fire.” The lake of fire will not
be occupied except by the “beast and the false prophet,” the dictators
of the revived Roman Empire and Palestine in the Tribulation (Rev.
20:10), until the second resurrection.21 Then, all unbelievers will be
raised, judged according to their works at the great white throne, and
sent to their final punishment (Rev. 20:11–15).
The third area, Tartarus, is the prison of the fallen angels involved
in the satanic conspiracy of Genesis 6. They were the only angels who
had not been watching the activities of the Son of God on earth and,
therefore, were not aware of the defeat of Satan. They still entertained
hopes that their wiley leader would emerge victorious in his battle to
keep Christ from going to the cross and in triumph would free them.
But it was not to be. After the three days and three nights in the grave,
Jesus Christ went to Tartarus in His resurrection body to issue a victo-
rious proclamation to the “spirits now in prison.”
The fourth compartment, the Abyss, is the jail for certain rebellious
fallen angels who have been incarcerated since the infiltration of
Genesis 6. It is also called “the bottomless pit” (Rev. 9:1–2). When
our Lord was dealing with the demon-possessed man of Gerasenes

21. Thieme, Armageddon (2002).

22 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

across from Galilee, a dialogue between Christ and the demons

ensued. In Luke 8:31, they begged Him not to order them into the
Abyss. The Abyss is also the location of the demon king and at least
one demon assault army.22 During the Tribulation, they will be re-
leased to assist Satan and become part of the administration of pun-
ishment to unbelievers (Rev. 9). Following the Tribulation and the
Second Advent of Jesus Christ, Satan and his demons will be bound
for a thousand years in the Abyss (Rev. 20:1–3). The angelic conflict
will then be restrained while Christ rules the earth in the perfect en-
vironment of the Millennium.

T HE V ICTORIOUS P ROCLAMATION
In which [by means of whom, that is, the Holy Spirit]
also He went and made proclamation [khru s/ sw, kerusso]
to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient.
(1 Pet. 3:19–20a)
Jesus Christ proclaimed or announced a certain doctrine to all the
fallen angels incarcerated in Tartarus. The content of His proclamation
is suggested in 1 Peter 3:18. This was a testimony relating to the Gos-
pel, but He did not declare the Gospel as such. He informed these
fallen angels that they had failed in their attempts to destroy true
humanity and that God’s plan had progressed through every satanic
attack. Christ declared that He had gone to the cross as planned.
The sudden appearance to these spirits of Jesus Christ in a resurrec-
tion body was the visible evidence of His strategic victory in the an-
gelic conflict. The penalty of sin had been paid. Thus, any man who
believes in the Son of God for salvation enters into a relationship with
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for all eternity.

The Grace of God in Salvation

The 120 years before the Flood was one of the most extraordinary
demonstrations of God’s grace in the annals of history. The victorious
proclamation was a declaration of that grace to the spirits in prison.

22. Thieme, Satan and Demonism (1996), 10

 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 23

When the patience [makroqumia / , makrothumia] of God

kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction
of the ark [kibwtoj/ , kibotos], in which a few, that is,
eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
(1 Pet. 3:20b)
During those 120 years, the superrace heard the top evangelist of
all time—Noah, “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5). While
Noah proclaimed the message of salvation through faith alone in
Christ alone, God waited. God’s makrothumia, “patience,” stems from
His grace. God allowed enough time to pass for the development of
positive or negative volition toward the Gospel. For 120 years God
withheld judgment on the antediluvian civilization while the ark was
being constructed and until all had a chance to respond to the Gospel.
All humans are sinners, pathetically disqualified from a relation-
ship with holy God and as hopelessly lost as anyone in the ante-
diluvian civilization. Adam’s decision in the Garden, Satan’s coup
d’etat, had cut mankind off completely from God and caused man to
follow Satan rather than God. Yet God did something for lost, sinful,
evil humanity that no human could ever earn or deserve. God provided
everything for mankind to be reunited with Himself. That was the su-
preme manifestation of the love of God.
God’s plan to redeem sinful mankind from the slave market of sin
began with the promise of Genesis 3:15.23 The plan continued with the
destruction of the superrace in the Flood which protected the line
through whom the “Lamb of God” would finally enter the world as
true humanity. And when the Savior did come, He submitted to the
cross and paid the penalty for every sin ever committed or that ever
will be committed (John 1:29).
People may ignore God or may hold the name of Jesus Christ in
contempt, but He died for them. He took their place. As long as they
live, He extends to them the gracious invitation:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

23. Thieme, Slave Market of Sin (1994).

24 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

“And the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast

out.” (John 6:37b)
This is the matchless grace of God.
There is a priceless nugget in Isaiah concerning the amazing grace
of God: “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you” (Isa.
30:18a). While this passage is addressed to the nation of Israel, the ap-
plication is to anyone. If a person is without Jesus Christ, he is with-
out eternal life and without hope. He is under the penalty of sin, and
possesses no relationship with God and no way to gain the approba-
tion of God. Yet the Lord is waiting to give him fantastic blessing.
God is waiting to extend His grace. How can it be obtained?
“For [you see] God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten [uniquely born] Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
The crowning demonstration of God’s love and grace was the cross
where the penalty for sin was transferred to Jesus Christ as man’s sub-
stitute (Rom. 5:8). All personal sins—past, present, and future—of
every human being were imputed to Him once and for all and judged.
The righteousness of God the Father was propitiated, or satisfied, by
the sacrifice of Christ when He received the imputation and judgment
of all those sins (1 John 2:2). The justice of God is free to forgive any-
one who believes in Christ through faith alone. This is salvation ad-
justment to the justice of God. At the moment of salvation the believer
receives the imputed righteousness of God (1 Cor. 1:30).
Every believer in the Church Age is preserved forever by relation-
ship to Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 3:20b the Greek word kibotos, “ark,”
does not mean a sailing vessel, but rather a chest used to preserve
treasures. While Noah’s ark had the perfect dimensions for a sea-
worthy ship, the emphasis in this verse is on the grace of God preserv-
ing His own people as one would store valuables in a treasure chest.

The Grace of God in Positional Truth

Those who entered the ark were believers. The flood waters were
the instrument of destruction for the unbelievers, but the ark was the
means of physical deliverance for the believers (1 Pet. 3:20). This de-
liverance foreshadowed the baptism of the Spirit in the Church Age.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 25

And corresponding to that [the ark as a type], baptism [of

the Holy Spirit as an antitype] now saves you—not the
removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal [pledge] to
God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 3:21)
Every analogy is a comparison of two things or concepts—a type
and an antitype (instead of the type). The type in the Old Testament il-
lustrates the antitype in the New Testament. The historical ark is the
type while the doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the antitype
pictured by the ark. Just as the ark was the refuge from the judgment
of the flood waters, so the baptism of the Spirit and union with Christ
is the guarantee of deliverance from future judgment. The believer is
secure for all eternity in union with Christ.
In the Church Age the baptism of the Spirit places every believer in
union with Christ at the moment of salvation (Acts 1:5; cf. Gal.
3:27).24 In this union every believer is identified retroactively with
Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection which provided salvation. “Our
old self,” the sin nature, “was crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6). Also
every believer is currently identified as no longer “slaves to sin”—the
power of the sin nature that once ruled the believer’s life before salva-
tion is broken, and he is now in a position to live the spiritual life
(Rom. 6:4b). The baptism of the Spirit is the only baptism that saves
(Acts 11:15–17; 1 Cor. 12:13).
Water baptism does not save. The unbelievers who were immersed
in the flood waters were drowned. The eight believers in the ark were
secure from the judgment of the Flood (Rom. 8:1). The baptism of the
Spirit, not water baptism, represents salvation for the believer. Water
baptism merely illustrates the baptism of the Holy Spirit and union
with Christ.
To demonstrate that he is not referring to water baptism in this verse,
Peter adds a negative and a positive explanation. This baptism is not a
bath, but the guarantee of “a good conscience.” Even though the soul is
saved, the sin nature is still active—a condition that renders a good con-
science before God impossible. But positional truth solves this dilemma.
Since every believer is in union with Christ and shares everything He is
and has, a good conscience does not depend on whether he sins or does

24. Thieme, Tongues (2000), 30–36.

26 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

not sin after salvation.25 It hinges on his union with Christ. No one is ac-
ceptable to God on the basis of his works, his morality, or his ability,
but he is acceptable because of who and what Christ is (Eph. 1:6).
Through resurrection Christ made the victorious proclamation;
through resurrection Christ made it possible for the believer to be in
union with Him and, thereby, to be delivered in the angelic conflict.
Moreover, His resurrection, ascension, session, and glorification at the
Father’s right hand is the means of elevating every believer in the
royal family of God to a position of superiority over angels (Heb.
1:13–14).26

T HE M ECHANICS OF V ICTORY
Who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heav-
en, after angels and authorities and powers had been sub-
jected [subordinated] to Him. (1 Pet. 3:22)
After Jesus Christ went to Tartarus and made His victorious proc-
lamation, He embarked on another journey from earth to the third
heaven where He was seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb.
1:3–4). At this point everything was assigned to be under His authori-
ty: the “authorities,” fallen angels under Satan’s command; and “pow-
ers,” Satan himself as the ruler of this world and the head of all fallen
angels (Eph. 6:12). This subordination of Satan and his fallen angels is
the victory of the angelic conflict.
During the Church Age there continues to be angelic opposition to
the plan and purposes of God because He permits the angelic conflict
to run its course in human history. However, when Satan has done his
last and worst, these enemies will be defeated at the Second Advent of
Christ when Operation Footstool is launched from heaven (Heb.
1:13).27 Then, the “authorities and powers” will once and for all be put
under His feet.

25. In union with Christ the believer shares His eternal life (1 John 5:11–12), His right-
eousness (2 Cor. 5:21), His sonship (Gal. 3:26; 1 John 3:1–2), His heirship (Rom.
8:16–17), His election (Eph. 1:4), His destiny (Eph. 1:5), His priesthood (Heb. 10:10–14),
His sanctification (1 Cor. 1:2, 30), and His royalty (2 Pet. 1:11).
26. The royal family of God is the corporate body of Church Age believers who are re-
lated to the King of kings, Jesus Christ, through regeneration and union with Him.
27. See Appendix.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 27

“THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER

HIS FEET.”
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is
not subject to him. But now we do not yet see [o r( a w / ,
horao] all things subjected to him. (Heb. 2:8)
In the meantime what can the believer do in the devil’s world where
rebellion and insubordination are rampant against both the laws of di-
vine establishment and against Bible doctrine?28 The answer is found in
Hebrews 2:9–16 in which attention is directed from the antagonism of
the satanic enfilade to the certain victory of the spiritual battle.
But we do see [ble p/ w, blepo] Him [emphasis on the hu-
manity of Christ] who has been made for a little while
lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suf-
fering of death [qa n/ atoj, thanatos] crowned with glory
and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death
for everyone. (Heb. 2:9)
In Hebrews 2:8 the verb horao, “to take a panoramic look,” en-
visioned the current status of the angelic conflict: Satan is the present
ruler of this world and all things are not yet subordinated to the Lord
Jesus Christ. In contrast blepo in verse 9 is used technically for a look
which discerns something of paramount importance: Doctrine projects
the mind’s eye beyond this temporary battlefield to the ultimate vic-
tory of Christ and to what believers have in Him. The cross broke the
back of Satan. The cross also provided the basis for entrance into the
plan of God and living under optimum blessing from God, even in the
devil’s world.
Since man was created to resolve the angelic conflict, man must
fulfill his role. God, in His sense of humor and grace, chose to resolve
the prehistoric contest by raising a lower creature to a position higher
than angels through one Man who was inferior to no one. The first
man, Adam, fumbled the ball, but the Last Adam, Jesus Christ,
scooped up the fumble and ran for a touchdown.
During the brief period of His incarnation, Jesus in a mortal body
was inferior to angels. In that status He was qualified because of His

28. The laws of divine establishment are principles ordained by God for the survival, sta-
bility, protection, and perpetuation of the human race, believers and unbelievers alike, dur-
ing human history.
28 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

stainless character and perfect life to go to the cross and suffer spir-
itual death (thanatos) as a substitute for sinful man. This is the reason
why Christ became a man and not an angel. From mortal humanity at
the virgin birth to resurrected humanity at the ascension and session,
the metamorphosis of the Lord Jesus Christ portrays His total victory
in the angelic warfare and the ultimate triumph of regenerate human
beings who are in union with Him.
Glory and honor belong eternally to the deity of Christ, but through
resurrection, ascension, and session His humanity was glorified and
became superior to angels. The God-man, the Son of David, the Son of
Abraham, the Son of God will one day remove Satan, the usurper, and
rule the world forever as the King of kings and Lord of lords. But the
cross comes before the crown.
Neither the concentrated might of Satan nor the arrayed combat
power of the vast corps of fallen angels was able to prevent the ascen-
sion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though all hell opposed Him, He ar-
rived unscathed in the third heaven where God the Father welcomed
Him as the God-man and seated Him in the throne room in heaven.
The Lord’s glory at the Father’s right hand opened for every believer
the avenue of the super-grace life and points onward to the glorious
consummation when Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will
be crowned by the Father as the ruler of the world for the Millennium
(Rev. 19:6, 16).
Since Christ tasted spiritual death for everyone—the doctrine of
unlimited atonement,29 He could now bring many sons into heaven.
For [ga r/ , gar] it was fitting for Him [God the Father], for
whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their
salvation through sufferings. (Heb. 2:10)
“For,” the illative use of the Greek particle gar, designates the rea-
son for the humiliation of Jesus Christ. While the Father, as the author
of the divine plan, is the originator and cause of all things, He assigned
the Son to be the one to execute both creation (Col. 1:16) and salvation

29. Unlimited atonement is the judgment of Jesus Christ on the cross as a substitute for
every sin committed by every member of the human race in history (2 Cor. 5:19; 1 Tim.
4:10; 1 John 2:2). The cross made salvation available to all, but did not assure salvation
to anyone. Only the person who expresses faith alone in Christ alone is eternally saved.
See Thieme, Heathenism (2001, second impression), 12–14; Slave Market of Sin, 41–42.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 29

(Acts 4:12). Therefore, the Father’s purpose was to bring Christ to the
objective of the cross in order that this unique Crown Prince might re-
ceive a kingdom. As the Prince-Leader of the Church, Christ is the Ad-
vance Guard leading into glory “many sons,” believers of the Church
Age, members of the Body of Christ, a kingdom of royal priests, a
royal family, who will in the future become the Bride of Christ (Eph.
1:22–23; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 19:6–8). When His Body, the Church, is
completed, the next step is Operation Footstool in which the Last
Adam, the Groom of the Church, the Prince-Leader of salvation, over-
throws Satan and assumes His rightful place as the Supreme Ruler.
For both He [Jesus Christ] who sanctifies and those who
are sanctified [Church Age believers] are all from one
Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them
brethren. (Heb. 2:11)
What a shock it must have been to the recalcitrant angels to hear
that Christ is not ashamed to acknowledge regenerate mankind as His
“brethren.”
Saying,
“I WILL PROCLAIM THY [the Father’s] NAME TO MY
BRETHREN,
IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION [Church] I WILL
SING THY [Christ’s] PRAISE.” (Heb. 2:12)
This quote from Psalm 22:22 anticipated the session at the Father’s
right hand, at which time Christ is promised a Bride as well as the fu-
ture rulership of the world through Operation Footstool. The longed-
for Bride becomes a reality at the Rapture, but His kingdom must wait
until the Second Advent.30 His Bride is now being formed during the
Church Age. Then, throughout the Tribulation historical events will
pave the way for the Second Advent of the King of kings.
In the meantime Christ has provided a heritage for His brethren left
behind in the devil’s kingdom. This legacy is the content of the Bible:
the content of the plan of the Father and the mind of Christ (1 Cor.
2:16) in permanent written form. Believers in the Church Age respond
in praise to Jesus Christ. Even more will the Bride sing praises when

30. The Rapture is the resurrection of all dead Church Age believers and the removal of
all living believers from the earth at the end of the Church Age immediately before the
Tribulation begins (1 Thess. 4:13–17).
30 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

she beholds her Groom in the fullness of His glory. As far as the angels
are concerned, His victorious proclamation announces the progress of
Operation Footstool and the certain doom of Satan and his minions.
And again,
“I WILL PUT MY TRUST [peiq/ w, peitho] IN HIM.”
And again,
“BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN
ME.” (Heb. 2:13)
The second and third quotes taken from Isaiah 8:17–18 present the
two sides of the angelic conflict as it relates to the Church Age. The
first quote explains the human side: “I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.”
Each person who believes in Jesus Christ enters the angelic conflict
and becomes a part of the Bride and of Operation Footstool. The rare,
future perfect periphrastic form of peitho emphasizes the permanent
future results of becoming the Bride. Believers in union with Christ
will share in the conquest of the fallen angels as God the Father
throws them, as it were, at the Lord’s feet.
The second quote explains the divine side: “I AND THE CHILDREN
WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.” So that He should not be alone, God has
given the royal family of Church Age believers to Christ as His own
possession. Just as God anticipated the first Adam’s need of a wife
(Gen. 2:18), so God the Father prepared a ‘wife,’ the Bride or Church,
for the Last Adam, Jesus Christ.
Since then the children [regenerate members of the
human race] share in flesh and blood, He Himself like-
wise also partook of the same, that through [spiritual]
death He might render powerless him who had the power
of [spiritual] death, that is, the devil. (Heb. 2:14)
Jesus Christ was true humanity, “flesh and blood,” yet without a
sin nature or the imputation of Adam’s sin. Through His spiritual
death on the cross, He resolves the angelic conflict and sets the stage
for Operation Footstool. The “power of death” which Satan holds from
Eden to the Second Advent of Christ refers to his dominion over those
who are spiritually dead.31 All members of the human race are born

31. Satan has the power of physical death only when the sovereignty of God permits him
to exercise that power.
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 31

physically alive, but, at the same time, spiritually dead; hence, through
physical birth every person enters the kingdom of Satan.
Since the fall of Adam, Satan holds man in bondage through spir-
itual death as a kidnapper might retain custody of his victim until re-
lease is obtained. Jesus Christ provided that release through His saving
work on the cross. The spiritual death of Christ propitiated the justice
of God the Father concerning the sins of mankind (Rom. 3:25) so that
anyone who believes in Christ is reconciled to God and delivered from
the ruling power of Satan to become the servant of Christ.
And might deliver those [from Satan’s kingdom] who
through fear of death were subject to slavery all their
lives. (Heb. 2:15)
Satan’s kingdom is made up of frightened people who have no se-
curity. Fear of death continually stalks them until a relationship with
God is established, and through doctrine they come to appreciate their
new position in Christ. In reality it is spiritual death which shackles
the unbeliever and, unbeknownst to him, is the true basis for his fear.
Fear is not only a mental attitude sin, but a cowardly state of mind
stemming from a lack of absolutes. Only as a person is related to the
absolutes of salvation and Bible doctrine will he possess the assurance
of a sound mind which casts out fear (2 Tim. 1:7).
The maturing believer’s deliverance is in seven progressive stages:
salvation through regeneration; freedom from the power of the sin na-
ture through spirituality in the Christian life; deliverance from the in-
fluence of evil through spiritual growth; deliverance through dying
grace or through the Rapture, whichever occurs first; deliverance
through a resurrection body; deliverance in the Millennium; and deliv-
erance in the eternal state.
For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He
gives help to the descendant of Abraham. (Heb. 2:16)
Man rather than angels was the issue in determining the outcome of
the angelic conflict. Therefore, at the cross Jesus provided salvation for
man, not for angels. As a result, man who is inferior to angels becomes
superior by virtue of that salvation. Furthermore, God receives the glory
by taking a base creature and lifting him to an exalted position in Christ.
Jesus Christ turned certain defeat into triumph and won back the
victory that Satan captured in the Garden. At the same time, by His
32 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

spiritual death, He made it possible for every person who is of Adam’s

race to have a relationship with God by a simple act of faith in the fin-
ished work of Calvary. Jesus Christ gained more than man lost in the
Garden.

T HE V ICTORIOUS B ELIEVER
Now what does all this mean to the believer at this moment?
Should any believer ever become despondent or discouraged, upset or
confused in life? Should he harbor a guilt complex because of some
sin? Should he think of himself as having failed beyond hope? What-
ever the problem, it makes no difference—God is willing and waiting
to pour out grace blessing to every believer.
The essence of God is the key to all blessing in time. Grace and
blessing always function from love, righteousness, and justice. But
blessing is realized only as the believer adjusts to the justice of God
through rebound.32 When the believer rebounds, God is free to forgive
sins confessed (or named) and restore him to fellowship (1 John 1:9).
The believer has instantaneously adjusted to God’s justice. Then em-
powered by the filling of the Holy Spirit he can assimilate Bible doc-
trine. When the believer is in fellowship and advancing in the spiritual
life, there is no compromise to God’s justice and His love fulfills the
special-blessing paragraphs which His omniscience designed in eternity
past. Otherwise, when the believer is out of fellowship and fails to ad-
vance, God’s justice must adjust to him in divine discipline (Heb. 12:6).
No one can adjust to God’s justice on his own merit or works; he
can only adjust to God’s justice on God’s merit. In two instantaneous
adjustments, His grace supplied salvation and rebound; in the gradual
adjustment of spiritual growth, He prepared the “grace apparatus for
perception” (GAP). This is a nonmeritorious system of spiritual com-
prehension empowered by the filling of the Holy Spirit which enables
every believer to understand, learn, and apply the whole realm of

32. Rebound is the grace provision for the carnal believer to recover the filling of the Holy
Spirit through naming personal sins to God the Father; the method of restoring the believer’s
fellowship with God to resume the spiritual life (1 Cor. 11:28; 1 John 1:9). See Thieme, Re-
bound and Keep Moving! (1993, second impression); Rebound Revisited (1995).
 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION 33

Bible doctrine, regardless of education or human IQ.33 GAP includes the

pastor-teacher for the communication of doctrine, the local church as
the classroom for learning doctrine, the Holy Spirit as the teacher of
doctrine, and the human spirit for the transfer of doctrine into the right
lobe where it can be assimilated, categorized, and applied to experi-
ence.34 A believer cannot advance in his spiritual life without Bible
doctrine.
GAP functions on free will, and it must be exercised daily to con-
tinue spiritual growth. The believer’s capacity for life, happiness, and
love; his orientation to life; and his ability to withstand the onslaughts
of the devil depend on Bible doctrine. Without a command post of
doctrine in the soul he will succumb to reversionism and become a
casualty in the angelic conflict.35
The angels who are still able to observe the struggle in the arena of
human history between reversionism and supergrace, carnality and
spirituality, error and truth, suffering and triumph, are learning of the
love, righteousness, justice, and grace of God by watching the believer
(1 Cor. 4:9; Eph. 3:10). The believer learns of grace as the expression
of God’s love from Bible doctrine. When the Apostle Paul came to the
place of unbearable pain, frustration, and trial, he prayed three times
that his “thorn in the flesh” be removed. What was the answer? The
most sublime exhortation in all the Word of God. The Lord said to
him, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9).
When anyone, angel or man, sees a believer totally adjusted to the
justice of God and oriented to grace, moving right on through adver-
sity without panic or falling apart, but letting “endurance have its per-
fect result” (James 1:4), then God is glorified and the believer is
blessed. God is able to shower His grace upon the believer in a fantas-
tic way, and, in effect, his life will be a “victorious proclamation” to
angels as well as to men.

33. Thieme, Reversionism, 3–7, 10–13.

34. The “heart” or right lobe is the mentality of the soul. Just as the physical heart is the
pump that circulates blood throughout the body and thereby supports physical life, so the
right lobe of the soul circulates Bible doctrine supporting the spiritual life of the believer.
Ibid., 6–7.
35. Reversionism is the progressive recession of the believer to the modus operandi of the
unbeliever through perpetual carnality and rejection or neglect of Bible doctrine. Rever-
sionism does not imply loss of salvation.
Appendix

DOCTRINE OF
OPERATION FOOTSTOOL

I. Definition: Operation Footstool is the termination of the strate-

gic victory of the angelic conflict by which the Lord Jesus
Christ returns to the earth to establish His kingdom and to re-
move Satan and all fallen angels. Operation Footstool consti-
tutes a coup d’etat whereby Satan loses the rulership of the
world to the Lord Jesus Christ (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:13; 10:13).
II. Israel, under the fifth cycle of discipline (that is, the destruction
of a nation due to maximum rejection of biblical principles,
Lev. 26:27–39), no longer represents Christ on earth during the
Church Age.
A. Israel is replaced by the Church in the Church Age (Eph.
1:22–23; 4:4–5; 5:23–24, 30–32; Col. 1:18, 24; 2:19) and by
the 144,000 Jews in the Tribulation (Rev. 7:4).
B. Because of the session of Christ, the angelic conflict has in-
tensified during the Church Age (Eph. 6:11–13).
III. The Body of Christ, the Church, is being prepared on earth by
means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in which every believer
is entered into union with Christ (1 Cor. 12:12–14; Col.
2:10–12).
36 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

IV. When the Body is completed, it is removed from the devil’s

world by means of the Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51–57; 1 Thess.
4:16–18).
V. After the Rapture, the Church becomes the Bride of Christ (Rev.
19:7).
VI. Once in heaven, the Bride is prepared for the wedding supper
which will occur at the Second Advent (Rev. 19:8–9).
A. The Bride enters into ultimate sanctification by receiving a
resurrection body like Christ’s (1 Cor. 15:51–57; Phil. 3:21;
1 John 3:1–2).
B. The Bride, in receiving a body like Christ’s body, no longer
possesses a sin nature (Phil. 3:21; 1 Thess. 5:23).
C. The Bride is cleansed from all human good (1 Cor. 3:12–15).
VII. The Bride returns with Christ at the Second Advent (1 Thess.
3:13; Rev. 19:11–16).
VIII. Then follows Operation Footstool.
A. First is the triumphal procession in which all fallen angels are
disarmed by Jesus Christ and publicly displayed (Col. 2:15).
B. Satan is imprisoned for one thousand years (Rev. 20:1–3).
C. Church Age believers cast fallen angels into prison (Zech.
13:2; 1 Cor. 15:24–25; Col. 2:15).
IX. The removal of Satan and all fallen angels plus the rulership of
Christ changes the environment of the earth.
A. Religion is eradicated (1 Cor. 10:20–21).
B. False doctrine is removed (1 Tim. 4:1).
C. Spirituality changes to include ecstatics, since Christ is per-
sonally on earth (Joel 2:28–29).36
D. Perfect environment will exist on earth until Satan is re-
leased to foment the Gog Revolution (Rev. 20:7–10).

36. Thieme, The Divine Outline of History, 74–77.

Scripture Index

O LD T ESTAMENT

GENESIS 6:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 6:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1:24–25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 6:10–11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1:26–27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3 .......................... 3 LEVITICUS
3:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 20:15–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3:15 . . . . . . . . . 3–5, 10, 12, 14, 23 26:27–39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 8, 10, 15, 16, 21
6:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2 SAMUEL
6:1–10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9
6:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOB
6:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6:5–7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2:1–3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
6:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 38:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
38 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

PSALMS EZEKIEL
8:3–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 28:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
22:22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
110:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 35
JOEL
ISAIAH 2:28–29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
8:17–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
14:12–15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ZECHARIAH
30:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
30:33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 13:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
 Scripture Index 39

N EW T ESTAMENT
MATTHEW 2:29–32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
11:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
22:30 ...................... 8 11:15–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
22:42 ...................... 9 16:31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
25:41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 4, 16
27:46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ROMANS
3:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
MARK 3:25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5:1–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
8:38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
LUKE
6:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1:31–33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 25
8:30–31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
8:31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
7:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
15:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
7:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
15:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
8:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 25
16:19–22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
16:19–31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8:16–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
16:23–25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8:32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
16:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21
23:33–46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1 CORINTHIANS
23:43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20
1:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
23:46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 24, 26
23:53 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
JOHN 3:12–15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 33
1:29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 10:20–21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 11:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 24 12:12–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
6:37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 12:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
12:31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 15:24–25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
14:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 15:51–57 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
16:8–11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
16:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2 CORINTHIANS
19:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 4:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 11
5:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 21
ACTS 5:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 5:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 18, 26
2:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 12:1–4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
40 VICTORIOUS PROCLAMATION

12:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 4:16–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
12:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 5:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

GALATIANS 2 THESSALONIANS
2:16–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1 TIMOTHY
3:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2:5–6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
EPHESIANS
4:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2 TIMOTHY
1:22–23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 35 1:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2:1–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2:8–9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19 HEBREWS
3:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 1:3–4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4:4–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 1:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 26, 35
4:8–10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 1:13–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5:23–24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 2:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5:30–32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 2:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6:11–13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 2:9–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 2:9–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
PHILIPPIANS 2:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2:5–8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
COLOSSIANS 2:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 4:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 4:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1:25–26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 7:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2:10–12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 8:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 9:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 10:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 10:10–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
10:12–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1 THESSALONIANS 10:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 12:2–3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4:13–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 12:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
 Scripture Index 41

JAMES 3:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 36

1:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 5:11–12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
JUDE
1 PETER Book of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 17
2:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 16
2:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 17
2:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5, 18
REVELATION
3:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 19, 22
7:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3:19–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 22
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 24
9:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
12:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3:22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
12:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
19:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2 PETER 19:6–8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 19:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 19:8–9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 15, 20 19:11–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2:4–6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 19:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 16, 23 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
20:1–3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 36
1 JOHN 20:1–7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 32 20:7–10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 28 20:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 21
2:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 20:11–15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 20, 21
NOTES