Category: heavenly kingdom

He is Not Done With Us Yet!

Sunday, January 31, 2016

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:21-24 KJV).

God cannot use us in heaven until He is done with us on earth!

Recently, a Christian brother was telling another believer and myself that he was ready to go home to heaven. He was tired of the struggles and troubles. He longed to meet a certain loved one in heaven. But, he explained how he was able to share the Lord Jesus Christ with a lost person not long ago. It was then that the thought struck him. God had not taken him home yet because He was still using him for His glory!

Beloved, the same could be said all of us. Our time, talent, prayer lives, material goods, and so on, we can all use them to further the name of Jesus Christ in some way or another. First Corinthians chapter 12 describes how one Body of Christ is actually many members working together. All parts are needed. Sadly, a lot of Christians wrongly believe it is not their responsibility to share Jesus Christ with others. They think that it is the “pastor’s job,” the “evangelist’s job,” and the “Bible teacher’s job.” If that were true, I am quite sure all the non-pastors, all the non-evangelists, and all the non-teachers would have been taken to heaven by now!

Our Apostle, Paul, in today’s Scripture, wanted to “be with Christ,” which is “far better.” It was better than a prison in Rome. Yet, he put aside his selfish desires. He preferred to stay on Earth, for many people still needed to benefit from his ministry. There were still sermons to be preached, more Scripture to write, more people to meet. Yes, we all long to go to Heaven, but until we find ourselves there, may we be content staying until Father is done with us on Earth! 🙂

Joy to the World! #4

Monday, December 14, 2015

“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalm 45:6,7 KJV).

The final verse of the classic Christmas carol highlights today’s Scripture.

“He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.”

When Satan’s reign on Earth and in Heaven concludes, voices in heaven cry out, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). Hebrews 1:8,9 quoted today’s Scripture as true of Jesus Christ’s righteous reign. Notice how Father God addressed Jesus as “God.” Human history has never experienced a global, benevolent, theocratic monarchy. For the first time ever, all power in Heaven and Earth will be consolidated forever in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:8-10). All governments in Heaven and Earth will be cleansed of evil. By faith in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, we will participate in that operation of God (Colossians 1:16-22). We will reign with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6,7)!

Zechariah 14:9: “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” Daniel 2:44: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” And, Jeremiah chapter 23: “[5] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. [6] In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Indeed, there will be such joy! Jesus Christ glorified forever, in Heaven and Earth! 🙂

Joy to the World! #3

Sunday, December 13, 2015

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

The third verse of the classic Christmas carol highlights today’s Scripture.

“No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.”

God’s Word to Adam just after he sinned included the following pronouncement, “…[C]ursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee” (Genesis 3:17,18). This is part of the “bondage of corruption” of which Romans 8:21 speaks. Sin tainted creation. Thorns and thistles began to grow, making Adam’s labor in the field even more grueling. Paradise was indeed lost… but not forever!

When God created the heaven and the earth, He selected a special location on Earth as His home. Exodus 15:17,18 say: “Thou shalt bring them [Israel] in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” Isaiah 40:22 says God “stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.” While Adam’s sinful actions delayed God’s earthly kingdom, God would take care of those mistakes and still accomplish His original intention.

Israel’s mistakes further delayed God’s earthly kingdom. However, God will restore Earth’s ecology to its original, pre-Fall (pre-sin) conditions. This is true especially of Zion, Jerusalem, which will be the global and universal capital city. There will be joy and gladness, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. All believers in heaven (Body of Christ) and earth (redeemed Israel) will join the angels in song. The curse has been lifted, and Jesus Christ has been exalted (Isaiah 11:1-9)!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “‘The fulness of the Gentiles’ and ‘The times of the Gentiles’—same or different?”

Satan and Dispensationalism #24

Thursday, October 29, 2015

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Colossians 1:25,26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible Study enables us to see and appreciate the final revelation from God. Satan is thus utterly embarrassed!

Lucifer was (still is as Satan) the wisest creature. However, that which is created can never be greater than its creator. God knows Satan’s thoughts, but Satan knows not God’s thoughts. While the triune Godhead revealed Their will for the earth and Israel, They kept something secret. Satan was intelligent, but not omniscient (all-knowing); some things were completely unknown to him. The triune Godhead skillfully let Satan participate in Calvary’s crosswork. After Calvary, the Godhead revealed Their original purpose in Calvary.

Had Satan really known what God would do through Christ’s finished crosswork, Satan would have done everything he could to prevent Calvary. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 2: “[6] Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: [7] But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: [8] Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Colossians 2:14,15: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Through Christ’s shed blood, all sinners can now be reconciled to God. In the future, Israel’s New Covenant can be established, to save her from her sins and make her God’s earthly kingdom of priests. Moreover, the direct divine revelation given to Paul is that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is how (now, in our Dispensation of Grace) all people—Jew or Gentile—can by faith join the Church the Body of Christ and form God’s heavenly kingdom.

Paul and Dispensationalism #16

Sunday, August 23, 2015

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11-14 KJV).

What else can the Apostle Paul teach us about dispensational Bible study?

Christian people rarely ask, “Why Paul?” (Because most have never asked that question, they do not recognize Paul’s special ministry, and lacking that understanding, they cannot and do not understand their Bibles!)

Jesus Christ had already selected, trained, and commissioned 12 apostles. Why the need for another apostle? Peter and the 11 had to convert all of Israel first (Matthew 10:5-7; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8), and then redeemed Israel would preach to and convert Gentiles in Christ’s earthly kingdom (Zechariah 8:20-23; Matthew 28:18-20). When Israel refused to be converted nationally and become God’s kingdom of priests in early Acts, God through Paul’s ministry turned to the Gentiles without Israel’s rise to kingdom glory (Romans 11:11-13). Up until Paul’s ministry, God had never had a spokesman to all nations. Paul’s ministry was to all peoples, all nations, without distinction (Romans 1:5,14; Romans 11:32; Romans 16:26; Ephesians 3:9).

In the prophetic program God has formed (and will form) a “peculiar” people—the nation Israel—who would (will) work with Him in accomplishing His will in the earth (Exodus 19:5,6). Now, in the mystery program, today’s Scripture says that God through Paul’s ministry is forming another “peculiar” people—another group belonging to Him, another group that accomplishes His will. The Church the Body of Christ, His heavenly people, also redeemed from sin by Christ’s shed blood. Now that we are part of God’s family via the Body of Christ, we will accomplish God’s will in the heavenly places for eternity (Ephesians 2:6,7).

Hence, today’s Scripture says that we are “looking” for the day when “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” brings us up into heaven (Rapture), fully equipping us to do good works in heaven!

Peter and Dispensationalism #4

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

What can the Apostle Peter teach us about dispensational Bible study?

Today’s Scripture is startling for two reasons. Firstly, most people do not know it is in the Bible. Secondly, when they do read it, it is hard to believe because of what it teaches. Peter, at the end of life, still had difficulty understanding Pauline truths. Dear friends, could the Scriptures be any plainer? Peter and Paul preached different Gospel messages and separate doctrines. Had the same divine information been committed to both Peter and Paul, Peter would not have written about “the wisdom given to [Paul].” What Peter did understand was that the Lord Jesus Christ had revealed special information to Paul, and Peter knew he (Peter) had not received that information.

Peter and Paul had different audiences, so different dispensations were committed to their trust. Peter focused on prophecy, God’s earthly kingdom established via His earthly people, the nation Israel. Paul focused on mystery, God’s heavenly kingdom established via His heavenly people, the Church the Body of Christ. Combining these two programs and agencies causes unanswerable confusion. Sound familiar? Peter said—2,000 years ago—“unlearned” and “unstable” people were “wresting” Paul’s epistles and “the other Scriptures.” They were perverting God’s Word, making it say something it never said, thereby making the Bible fit their opinions, thereby maintaining a religious tradition, thereby hiding Paul’s special ministry and doctrine, thereby “destroying” their spiritual lives. Sound familiar?

Most church leaders today have a great hatred toward dispensational Bible study. Very rarely do they embrace and teach Pauline theology. It is so contrary to what they want people to do in their denominations (follow the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, early Acts, and Hebrews through Revelation), these ecclesiastical leaders do practically anything and everything to suppress the truth of God’s Word rightly divided. Sound familiar?

Knowing Dispensational Bible Study

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Yea, “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness” (verse 16).

When you look at the professing church, so-called Christianity, do you wonder why there are so many varying ideas? Why the major and starkly different views about salvation from sins, water baptism, confession of sins, end-times, tithing, spiritual gifts, prayer, Sabbath-day keeping, and living as a believer on a daily basis? Amazingly, the Bible teaches assorted views about all of these topics!

In heaven, there will be no such confusion, denominationalism, lost people pretending to be Christians, and false teachers. In heaven, how will God settle all the confusion? Simply put, He will use today’s Scripture, applying it to every issue and belief. He will thus rid the Body of Christ of “profane and vain babblings,” its doctrinal ungodliness!

Throughout human history, God has spoken different things to different people: these various sets of divine instructions are “dispensations.” The doctrine that God wants us to believe and follow today is “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2). Our dispensation was given to the Apostle Paul, God’s spokesman to us (Romans 11:13). We must “rightly divide the word of truth,” taking special care to separate Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, from the rest of the Bible. In Paul’s 13 books alone, we find our doctrine, identity, duty, walk, and destiny as members of the Church the Body of Christ. Via the mystery program (Romans 16:25,26), God will use us in the heavenly places for His glory (Ephesians 1:20-23). The remaining 63 Bible books are the prophetic program (Acts 3:21), God’s plans to form and use Israel for His glory on the Earth (Exodus 19:5,6). We study all of the Bible, but we do not confuse ourselves with Israel. We do not grab her verses and force them into our dispensation.

God will end the confusion one day, but His Word rightly divided allows us to end the confusion right here and right now! Will we be brave enough to toss out our denominationalism, fickle opinions, and traditions of men, and embrace God’s pure Word?

For more information about dispensational Bible study, you may see: https://333wordsofgrace.wordpress.com/whats-dispensational-bible-study/.

Knowing Your Purpose

Saturday, July 11, 2015

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11 KJV).

Yea, “For by him [the Lord Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

Usually, the origin of life is reduced to a naturalistic, rationalistic “random mutations resulting in molecules to man,” or “primordial soup to highly-evolved apes.” However, when we come to the Bible, there is absolutely no room for mindless evolutionary theory and universal unpredictability. The heavens and the earth did not suddenly appear without cause or design. Unless we have a mind game to play in order to ease our guilty conscience, we will simply believe today’s Scripture. All things were created by and for Jesus Christ.

The word “things” here in the context are positions of government. It was in God’s grand design to make offices of government to control the heavens and the earth. Angels were created to function in heaven and humans were to function on earth. That entire unit was to operate to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator (Ephesians 1:9-11). However, Lucifer led an angelic rebellion to corrupt heaven with sin and he influenced Adam to corrupt earth with sin.

In the Bible, God formed (and will form) the nation Israel to restore His authority in the earth (Exodus 19:5,6). Today, however, God is forming the Church the Body of Christ, which He will use to reconcile the heavens to Himself (Ephesians 1:20-23). Our purpose today, until heaven, is to glorify Jesus Christ on earth.

Nevertheless, our sin problem must be dealt with first. We need to be redeemed from Satan’s control and his policy of evil. Dear friend, you can spend your earthly lifetime looking for meaning, value, and security in fame, fortune, drugs and alcohol, education, sex, to no avail. You have a hole in your heart, a void that only Jesus Christ can fill. Search no further than your Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ!

* NOTE: Tonight, July 11th, at 7PM Central U.S. Time, the 2015 Summer Family Bible Conference will begin in St. Charles, Illinois. This grace Bible conference will continue until Thursday, July 16th. It will be streamed live online, so you are highly encouraged to join us for two-dozen wonderful studies in the King James Bible rightly divided! For times, topics, speakers, and the video feed, visit http://understandgrace.com/conference/summer-family-bible-conference/.

Another Jesus

Sunday, April 12, 2015

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached… ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4 KJV).

Who is this “other Jesus?”

The other day, I was sharing the Gospel with a dear man. As I began to introduce him to the Bible, he said that all Christian ministers, regardless of denomination, preached the same Jesus Christ. Their sermons all “sounded pretty much the same.” Dear friends, in today’s Scripture, Paul corrected such erroneous thinking.

If Paul admitted that he feared the Corinthians would accept someone who “preached another Jesus,” then surely, “preaching Jesus” is not necessarily good. For example, cults and world religions preach Jesus according to their theological bias; they do not present the full picture of Jesus Christ as found in the Holy Bible. They highlight His good deeds, remember His kindness, and admire His wise sermons. But, they do not see Him as the Son of God, the only Saviour. Furthermore, they may not even believe He was crucified and resurrected! Certainly, these people are “preaching Jesus” to some extent, but they are not preaching the Jesus of the Bible.

When Paul talked about “preaching another Jesus” in today’s Scripture, he was referring to someone who did not “preach Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25). There are two ways to preach Jesus Christ using the Bible—according to prophecy (non-Pauline Bible books) and according to the mystery (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon).

While most of today’s “Christian” preaching is derived from Matthew through John, we do not find our salvation in those books—Jesus did not die until the end of those books! If we want to learn Jesus Christ’s ministry today to us Gentiles, not His ministry to Israel (Matthew through John), we have to go to Paul’s epistles. There, we find Jesus Christ crucified for our sins, buried, and risen, to be the Head of the Body, for the purpose of reconciling the heavenly places unto Himself. That is Jesus whom Paul preached, and let us not embrace another Jesus!

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder #2

Thursday, April 9, 2015

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 KJV).

The second verse of James Milton Black’s classic 1893 hymn “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” highlights today’s Scripture.

“On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”

One day, when no one else wants to trust Jesus Christ as his or her personal Saviour, “the fulness of the Gentiles [will] be come in” (Romans 11:25). The Church the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace will be complete: Paul’s Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) will no longer be a valid Gospel message. Once our mystery program ends with the Rapture (today’s Scripture), Israel’s prophetic program will resume where God paused it 2,000 years ago with Saul’s conversion in Acts chapter 9.

“Our gathering together unto [Christ]” (2 Thessalonians 2:1) is a most joyous hope, comforting bereaved and weary Christians: sadness and suffering permanently ends, a reunion with loved ones in Christ, and meeting Jesus Christ Himself! This world ending for us that we enter the heavenly places and fulfill God’s will there. The Rapture is much more than an escape from Earth. It is an appointment to keep in the heavens!

These weak, flesh-and-blood bodies cannot function in outer space. So, God will give all deceased Christians resurrected glorified bodies, and He will give us (living Christians) new glorified bodies as well (1 Corinthians 15:35-55). These new bodies will be just like Jesus’ resurrection body (Philippians 3:20,21), unlimited by time and space (meant to function in heaven). One day, I will be there, when all the saints are called up yonder to fill the heavens with Jesus Christ’s glory (Ephesians 1:18-23; Ephesians 2:6,7)! Will you?