On Friday, September 28, we celebrated the Grand Opening of the Heritage Grand Hotel and Conference Center. It was three years to the day from when we closed on the former PTL property. On Monday, November 5, MorningStar passed its third and final public hearing on the rezoning of the property to allow for the completion of the historic 21-story high-rise on the property. This is a major breakthrough, but why is this building "historic?"

The PTL property, which was once the third biggest attraction in the U.S. and was called "the second most famous address in the world," became the most visible symbol of the failure of modern Christianity. The unfinished 21-story tower was a centerpiece in the trial of Jim Bakker that sent him to prison with a forty-five year sentence. The Lord seems to specifically address this situation in Luke 14:28-30:

Of course, the Lord was speaking about a general principle here, but it seems to address the tower on the former PTL property, which continues to loom as a point of ridicule against the church. Therefore, when it is completed it will be a powerful testimony of the Lord's power of redemption and restoration.

Many Christians have seen the whole property as a prophetic symbol of the state of Christianity. This is true. This is not just us trying to magnify our purpose here, but it is the testimony of Christians all over the planet. It will also be a testimony that Christianity is in much better shape than even many Christians believe.

A Prophetic Picture

When we purchased the property, which included the 21-story tower, we were told that it had been condemned and had to be demolished. This is precisely the resolve of many, even in our own country, concerning Christianity—it has been condemned and needs to be removed from the earth. Christianity is about to be revealed to be in better shape than anyone, even Christians, now perceive. The latter glory of this house will be much greater than even the early church.

I never questioned that the 21-story tower had been condemned until some of my prophetic friends, such as Bob Jones and Leonard Jones, started saying that it had to be finished. Finally, I agreed to do some research to see if it was possible to save it and discovered that it had never been condemned. Even so, there were many rumors, supposedly even from those who had worked on it, that it had not been built well, and had such serious problems that it would never pass inspection. We hired a firm that was respected as the best engineering group in the South, and they concluded that it was not only well built, but still in such good condition that they called it "miraculous."

So much for rumors! As we have continued to investigate this building, we have discovered that its condition is even better than we first thought, and all of the surprises in the building have been positive ones. Because the building had never been given a Certificate of Occupancy, to complete it we would have to bring it up to the new higher seismic standards, at what we estimated to be a cost of about 18 million. Upon further investigation by a second firm of engineers, it was concluded that when it was first built it was built to standards far ahead of the times, and they considered the previous engineering some of the best they had ever seen. Now it seems only a little more will need to be done to bring it up to the present standards, which could cost less than a million.

My point is that every rumor about this building has proven to be untrue—the same is true about the state of Christianity. Certainly, when billions of people are involved in anything, some are going to mess up and some are going to be messed up, pretenders. We are told that "every time" the Lord sows wheat in a field that the enemy comes along and sows tares, or false wheat that is noxious, "in the same field" (see Matthew 13:24-30). The enemy has a strategy of mixing in his people with God's people, and then exposing his foul ones to make everyone think that this is the way all Christians are. The Lord allows this to test His own people, which is why He says to let the wheat and tares grow up together. At the end of the age, they will be separated, but for now they are serving a purpose.  

The tower presently looks in bad condition on the outside, with even some of the brick facade falling off. However, the damage is really superficial, just as the church is much stronger on the inside than many perceive, even if the outside looks in bad condition presently. Soon this building will be one of the most beautiful around, and so will the church be seen differently soon. The building is strong and well built, and so is the church.    

Jim wrote a book entitled, I Was Wrong, and for a long time he never started a sermon without first apologizing for the shame he felt that his mistakes had brought on the body of Christ. I appreciate the way he has handled this, but I also know that almost every rumor we have heard about the things that were done wrong by the PTL ministry, upon just a little investigation they begin to unravel—even the main points of Jim's trial for fraud, which some of the top legal professors in the country now teach as "a miscarriage of justice."

We do need to learn from those mistakes and not cover them up, but we also need to learn not to base our opinions on rumors, the secular media, or even the world's system of justice. I have been all over the world and have never seen a system of justice as good as the one we have in the U.S., but it is not the kingdom of God and very often does not get things right.

The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 6:5-6, "I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?" Paul goes on to rebuke the Corinthians for not having any judges even though they are called to judge angels. The lack of true judges in the church has been the greatest cause of the shame that has come on the body of Christ in our time as well.

As I write this, six major Christian ministries are being investigated by the U.S. Senate. I do not know whether these are guilty or innocent, but I know I do not trust the spirit that is behind this investigation. Even so, the Lord is obviously allowing this or it could not be done, so why is He allowing this? Just as the Lord allowed the heathen nations to attack and oppress Israel at times to wake her up so that she would return to the Lord, the Lord often allows the heathen to attack His people to wake us up.

If the church had the judges that she is supposed to have, the U.S. Senate would not have anything to investigate. This is not to presume that the accused are guilty or innocent, but we must learn to "judge ourselves lest we be judged" (see Matthew 7:1). Of course, the present fractured and divided state of the church prevents this, but it will soon become essential that we no longer remain fractured and divided so that the Lord's standard of righteousness (doing things right), and justice, the fair treatment of all, so prevails in the church that the world will beat a path to the door of the church, seeking justice and standards of what is right and wrong.  

The main case against Jim Bakker was for fraud in selling something he did not have. The unfinished tower was evidence that Jim was at least trying to build more facilities for these people, but because it was not allowed as evidence at his trial, it remains in the minds of many as evidence of the injustice of Jim's conviction which even secular law schools have called "a miscarriage of justice."

As Jim once told me, he may not have been guilty of what sent him to prison, but he was guilty of other things, and it was God who sent him to prison, not man. He believes God actually sent him to prison for his own sake. Jim learned some priceless lessons in prison, which if we would learn from, maybe it would save many others from having to learn them the hard way as Jim did.

Even so, Jim Bakker is not the same person he was at the head of the PTL ministry and Heritage USA. Heritage International Ministries is not the same either. Both have a different message and mission. When the tower is finished, it will be a prophecy that the future will be different from the past.

When we had the ribbon cutting ceremony on September 28, I don't think anyone was expecting the kind of anointing and presence of the Lord that we felt there. Even people who were there for the conference and stayed in their rooms said they felt a wave of the Holy Spirit go through the building when I cut the ribbon. Some of the people there from the different Chambers of Commerce even asked me what it was that they felt. I confess that I, too, was shocked by the strong presence of the Lord there. This New Year's Conference we have invited Jim Bakker back for "a spiritual Grand Opening" that I am quite sure is going to be even more powerful.

I know the Lord does not dwell in temples made with hands anymore, rather in His people, but there is a manifest presence of the Lord growing at Heritage that is palpable. There is no doubt that the latter glory of this house is going to be even greater than the former, because it is a symbol of one of the deepest issues on God's heart—redemption and restoration.

Our Purpose

Restoration is the basic theme of all but six chapters in the Bible. It is the main purpose of God on the earth until the earth has been fully restored from all of the consequences of the fall of man. This is why something restored can have a greater glory than something just built, as the Lord declared concerning the restored temple in Jerusalem in Haggai 2:9: "The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former," says the Lord of hosts, "and in this place I will give peace," declares the Lord of hosts."

It is noteworthy that when the Lord declares this He uses His title, Email refirecenter@morningstarministries.org   Phone 800-542-0278   Address Heritage International Ministries
375 Star Light Drive
Fort Mill, SC 29715   Website www.HeritageInternational.org  

Also, if you are planning on coming to this New Year's Conference, please register just as soon as you can, and book your hotel rooms at the Heritage Grand because we are booking up fast. To register and book your rooms please contact:

Email	mpiservice@morningstarministries.org
Phone	800-542-0278
Address	Heritage International Ministries 375 Star Light Drive Fort Mill, SC 29715