2nd Coming of Christ 3: Bethlehem, Nazareth and Capernaum
(week 35/08)
Olubi Johnson
In our last articles, we saw that the 2nd coming of Christ is in 3 sections:
1. His coming in us in perfection and fullness for the discipleship of the nations fulfilling Matthew 24.14 and 28.18-20.
2. His coming for us at the ‘rapture’ in different orders of resurrection.
3. His coming with us for the millennial reign.This week we want to look in more detail at His coming in us in perfection and fullness (please study this hyperlink carefully to understand perfection principles, ‘cleansing’ and ‘manifesting’ perfection) because this is what is immediately imminent.
The way Christ will come in us in perfection and fullness follows the same pattern He came into the earth in perfection and fullness:
i. He was conceived in the womb of a virgin and born as a baby.
ii. He grew into maturity.
iii. He was made manifest by the power of Spirit without measure.
Christ will come in us in perfection and fullness following this same pattern:
i. As wise spiritual virgins (Matthew 25.1-13) He will be conceived in us by a revelation of perfection and the principles of how to attain it.
ii. As we act on the revelation of perfection and its principles we will experience ‘cleansing’ perfection and grow to maturity in perfection.
iii. As we attain this maturity God will anoint us with the Spirit without measure (John 3:34) so we will do the works Jesus did and greater (John 14:12) and so be made manifest to our generation as He was to His.
These 3 stages happened at Bethlehem, Nazareth and Capernaum:
- Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2.4-7).
- Jesus grew up in wisdom and stature in Nazareth (Luke 2.51-52).
- Jesus began to manifest the Spirit without measure from Capernaum (Matthew 4.13), after the turning of water to wine at Cana (John 2.11)
Prophetically and symbolically:
- Bethlehem means the ‘house of bread’: it is a church that preaches and teaches the Word of perfection: the bread of Life that will get us spiritually ‘impregnated’ with the revelation of perfection and as we act on it we give birth to the experience of ‘cleansing’ perfection.
- Nazareth means the ‘guarded one’: a place in which God keeps us guarded, hidden and protected as we grow and mature in perfection so we will not be distracted by premature manifestation of spectacular power, fame and prosperity. The Nazareth years are the silent, hidden years of great internal growth in wisdom and stature, but no great outward spectacular show of power.
- Capernaum means the ‘village of comfort’: where the Comforter the Holy Spirit dwells permanently manifesting the power and the glory of God on a consistent basis so manifest the Christ in us to our generation.
For Christ to come in you in perfection and fullness you must:
- Go to ‘Bethlehem’ a house of bread to birth and experience ‘cleansing’ perfection, having been ‘impregnated’ with the revelation of perfection and it’s principles of operation.
- Go to and stay in ‘Nazareth’: a guarded place for your spiritual growth being in subjection to ‘Mary’ and ‘Joseph’ your spiritual parents.
- Operate out of ‘Capernaum’ as a base: living in the constant manifest presence of the Holy Spirit.
In our experience today ‘Bethlehem’ and ‘Nazareth’ are places where you can get impregnated with the revelation of perfection and practice perfection principles; where these things are taught and practiced to birth and experience ‘cleansing’ perfection. Usually ‘Bethlehem and ‘Nazareth’ may be the same place: These may not necessarily be physical locations, but spiritual ministries through books, tapes, television or the internet through which you can feed on and practice the bread of life.
‘Capernaum’ is the spiritual experience of ‘manifesting’ perfection which you take with you wherever you go.
So for Christ to come in you, locate a ‘Bethlehem’ and ‘Nazareth’ feed on the Word there until you get pregnant and birth ‘cleansing’ perfection and then stay there ‘guarded’ under covering as you grow into ‘manifesting’ perfection!