Category: Salvation

The Kingdom of God is Within You #10

Sunday, July 20, 2025

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

Is there really a “mis-translation” in the King James Bible here?

Read the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, Luke 13:6-9: “He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.”

National Israel refused to repent and trust Jesus as Messiah-King (Gospel of the Kingdom) during His three years of earthly ministry, so Father God gave a one-year extension of mercy. The kingdom is delayed in prophecy, His return not occurring until at least one more year after His Ascension. In early Acts, He would have come back in flaming fire and vengeance within eight years or so after Calvary (Daniel’s 70th Week included) (see Acts 7:55,56; cf. Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34-36; Acts 3:19-21). Note how Spirit-filled Peter recognized Christ was resurrected “to sit on [David’s] throne” (Acts 2:29-32; cf. Acts 1:6).

Moreover, there is a second delay in Christ restoring Israel’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom—a mystery (secret) postponement connected to Paul’s ministry. That Pauline aspect is seldom recognized. Since what God is doing now through Paul’s ministry is not what He did before Paul, denominationalists soften those differences like this: If there is no literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom now—and it has been 2,000 years since Christ’s earthly ministry without such a kingdom—there must have never been any promise of restoring that literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom. WRONG!

Paul’s ministry is “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest…” (Romans 16:25,26). What God is doing today in the mystery program is totally separate and distinct from the prophetic program. It is the unbelief that remains the same….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #9

Saturday, July 19, 2025

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

Is there really a “mis-translation” in the King James Bible here?

To put it as succinctly as possible, “the kingdom of God” is the realm or sphere over which God has influence. It excludes unbelievers, Satan, and fallen angels. The expression is found in both Pauline and non-Pauline Bible verses. As touching us in mystery, we the Church the Body of Christ are “the kingdom of God.” In the prophetic program, however, the term takes the form of a literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom—and this is because Israel is God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly people. In today’s Scripture, Jesus tells the Pharisees they need to have faith in Him before they see His literal, physical, visible, earthly kingdom founded. They must have God’s influence in their hearts (“the kingdom of God is within you”—today’s Scripture) before they observe with their physical eyes how He demolishes earthly governments.

Read Luke 17:20 again. By looking for a literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom at so late a time during Christ’s earthly ministry, the unbelieving Pharisees (who have failed to receive Jesus by faith) and the rest of lost Israel have opened themselves up to the deception of the Antichrist’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom that will counterfeit and come before Jesus Christ’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom.

That is the warning of Luke 17:20-25: “…The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.”

Again, Calvary is just weeks away, which postpones the kingdom….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #8

Friday, July 18, 2025

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

Is there really a “mis-translation” in the King James Bible here?

Believing Israel—the Messianic Church, Little Flock, or believing remnant—received Messiah-King Jesus by trusting Him in their heart (“the kingdom of God is within you”). They had already admitted their sin problem and believed in Him for redemption. However, unbelieving Israel sought mere political deliverance, not spiritual salvation. This was the Pharisees in the context of today’s Scripture. Their self-righteousness did not allow them to believe they had sin or needed spiritual salvation! Now that they refused to trust Him in their heart, He would not reign literally, physically, and visibly (David’s throne restored—see Acts 1:6) until after they formally rejected Him at Calvary’s cross.

Read Luke 7:19-35. John the Baptist, whom King Herod Antipas had imprisoned (Luke 3:19,20), could not understand why the Lord Jesus had not yet rescued him by overthrowing that evil ruler. The answer is simple: apostate Israel’s unbelief postpones God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom. With John the Baptist (Messiah’s forerunner or announcer) about to die by beheading, and Messiah Himself preparing for His crucifixion, there will be no literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom until Messiah returns to His Father in Heaven to bring His kingdom back to Earth at His Second Coming.

Skip ahead to Luke 19:11,12. Jesus declares He is departing to His Father to receive the kingdom but He will come back with it: “And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Verses 13-14 cover His ascension (His leaving Earth) all the way to His Second Coming. His return is verses 15-27, with Jewish unbelievers destroyed when He comes back.

The key to today’s Scripture is verse 25: “But first [before His return to rule as King] must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.” Again, the tree of Calvary must precede the throne of David….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #6

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

Is there really a “mis-translation” in the King James Bible here?

It was not simply God would become a man, Jesus Christ incarnated, to instantly sit on David’s throne. The nation Israel was to receive Him in faith first. Yet, for three years, only a believing remnant trusted Him. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13).

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). This believing remnant would inherit the kingdom, not the entire nation (which was comfortable in unbelief!). By the time of today’s Scripture, Israel’s unbelieving religious leaders were already plotting Jesus’ execution. “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him” (Matthew 12:14). “And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him” (Mark 3:6). “And they were filled with madness [craziness!]; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:11).

Re-read today’s Scripture and context: “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (verses 20,21). After almost three years of earthly ministry during which they relentlessly rejected Him, refusing to have Him reign over them as Messiah-King, why would they suddenly be looking for a literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom? It was obvious He would first have to die on Calvary’s cross as a rejected monarch (check Luke 9:18-22,31,43-45; Luke 11:53,54; Luke 18:31-34). The kingdom would be delayed until after His crucifixion—not cancelled.

Hearts of unbelief such as this resulted in His literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom being held off until His Second Coming….

Wages #3

Monday, July 7, 2025

“And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14 KJV).

What can we learn from the Bible about “wages?”

Since the ancient Roman army sometimes paid its soldiers in the form of fish (food rations), the Greeks used the word “opsonion” (from “opsarion,” meaning “fish”) to mean “salary.” (“Salary” itself, interestingly enough, is from the Latin [“sal”] for “salt!”) Thus, this was the very term in the Greek New Testament that our King James translators thrice rendered “wages” (Luke 3:14; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 11:8) and once rendered “charges” (1 Corinthians 9:7).

To best appreciate the sense of “wages,” we should see how it stands in opposition to “gift.” Romans 6:23 again: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “Wages” is payment for service rendered or work performed. “Gift,” however, is something unmerited; it cannot be earned, but is simply what one person (out of goodness or kindness) offers another person. “Wages of sin” balances “gift of God.” Sin gives us what we deserve, but God gives us what we do not deserve. In fact, “gift” in Greek is “charisma,” based on “charis” (“grace”).

Romans 6:23 is simple to understand if want to understand it. The Christian life will fall apart—it will die, or cease to function—if we work or try to perform (“for the wages of sin is death”). However, God’s gift to us—what we do not deserve and what we cannot offer work for (or perform enough to merit)—is eternal life (“but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”). Eternal life is God’s very life, and that is the heart of victorious grace Christian living. It is Christ who works at Calvary, not we (Ephesians 2:8-10).

“What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:21-23).

Wages #2

Sunday, July 6, 2025

“And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14 KJV).

What can we learn from the Bible about “wages?”

Encouraging his converts to “bring forth fruits meet/worthy [suitable, proper, fitting] for/of repentance [a change in mind]” (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8), John the Baptist directed soldiers to treat people decently, not to unjustly blame anyone of wrongdoing, and be happy with their “wages” (today’s Scripture). Historically, the Roman government did not necessarily pay its soldiers in the form of currency or money. Sometimes, it was fish, salt, grain, fruits, or meat. This was what they worked for, their salary. The soldiers would naturally be inclined to complain, but they were to be content with whatever form of payment they received. “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges [wages]?…” (1 Corinthians 9:7). The soldier does not work for his government for free!

As touching sanctification or being set apart unto God’s purposes, we read of how “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Notice how “wages” is plural. Sin has a payday—more than one payday, actually, with more than one type of salary (multiple deaths). Whether a soul’s separation from God that can be remedied by faith in Christ as personal Saviour, or a soul’s separation from God in Hell and the Lake of Fire that can never be reversed, or the Christian life ceasing to function, or a soul’s departure from the body upon physical death, sin will pay back the sinner many times!

Since the Corinthians were carnal (fleshly, worldly), and their false teachers had a tendency to accuse Paul of greediness (the love of money), the Apostle thus took no salary from the Corinthians—though he deserved to be paid as an apostle (check 1 Corinthians 9:1-18). When too busy with ministry work to make tents to support himself in Corinth, he received “wages” or donations from other churches (2 Corinthians 11:7-12). “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges [wages]? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?” (1 Corinthians 9:7). Again, no soldier works for his government works for free, so neither should an apostle!

Let us expand upon this even more….

Liberated to Serve

Friday, July 4, 2025 🇺🇸

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13 KJV).

Today, as we in the United States celebrate the 249th anniversary of our nation’s independence, we invite our Christian brethren worldwide to rejoice with us concerning our freedom in Jesus Christ.

When we proclaim Romans 6:14—“Ye are not under the law, but under grace”—people tend to assume “loose living.” Does “grace living” really mean we can now live any way we want? Lest anyone be misled in that regard, God the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write in the next verse, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid [May God never let that happen!]” (Romans 6:15). Grace living is not Law-keeping, but it certainly is not Law-breaking either.

God still cares how we live, albeit He is not operating the “weak and beggarly” system of “bondage” (Law) that He once did with Israel (Galatians 4:9). God proved to the entire world that since Israel could not keep His commandments perfectly, no other sons of Adam (the Gentiles) could either: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them [Israel] who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world [Gentiles] may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19).

We sinners cannot keep the Law. However, God in His grace provided us a way to escape that condemnation by sending Jesus Christ to offer Himself on Calvary’s cruel cross to pay for our sins. By simple faith in Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the fully-satisfying payment for our sins, we can now be “made the righteousness of God in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can be delivered from the penalty of sin (hell and the lake of fire) and the power of sin (flesh-walking).

Why are we Christians free? To selfishly live any way we want? NO! Today’s Scripture says we are liberated to now serve others, especially our Christian brethren, just as Jesus Christ selflessly served His Father and selflessly died on our behalf. That is grace living!!!!

Please see our 2011 Fourth of July Bible study “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land,” which can be watched here or read here.

Wisdom for Life #12

Thursday, July 3, 2025

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

Read Romans chapter 1: “[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; [19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. [20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,… [25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen…. [28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [worthless, unapproved] mind, to do those things which are not convenient [proper, fit];….”

For the first 2,000 years of human history—Adam to Abraham—the nations of the world had free or unrestricted access to the LORD God, the Creator God (there was no Israel or Judaism then). Those nations willingly scorned that spiritual light to take up man’s “wisdom,” which ultimately resulted in God creating Israel—a special nation through which He would reach the world. Alas, for almost 2,000 years, Israel also overwhelmingly rejected God’s words so as to accept man’s “wisdom,” so He gave them to us the nations (and especially the Church the Body of Christ). Howbeit, for 2,000 years now, the nations and the Body of Christ have also predominantly ignored those words in favor of man’s “wisdom.”

Dear brethren, may we by faith in sound Bible doctrine, break that endless vicious cycle of foolishness, and hold fast true wisdom for life!

Wisdom for Life #11

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

Read these words from Ephesians chapter 3, verses 9-11: “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:….”

Paul aimed to make all men see what is “the fellowship of the mystery”—this “fellowship” being the Church the Body of Christ, a secret God did not reveal until his ministry. If the members of the Body of Christ would simply walk by faith in “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2), Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, then they would be God’s “manifold [multifaceted] wisdom” for both people and angels to see. Alas, because of sin or “fleshly wisdom” (2 Corinthians 1:12), there is more manifold foolishness amongst God’s people than manifold wisdom!

“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28,29). Paul and his ministry companions preached Christ, teaching every person in all wisdom—spiritual wisdom—because that would make those people “perfect [mature, lacking nothing] in Christ Jesus.” We as believers in Christ should thus heed the exhortation issued in Ephesians 5:16-18: “See then that ye walk circumspectly [looking around, cautiously], not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;….”

Let us now summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Wisdom for Life #10

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

Here are the first seven verses of the Book of Proverbs (outlining its purpose): “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Precious few have ever been taught that Proverbs is not a set of principles without a dispensational context. It is a Book of great prophetic significance for Israel. Check chapter 1, verses 8-19, which are a veiled reference to Calvary. Verses 20-33 point to John the Baptist’s preaching, as well as Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) and the horrors of the Antichrist’s diabolical schemes. Yet, whether prophecy or mystery, today’s Scripture is still true and is always true, because these verses are transdispensational. Paul definitely agrees with trusting in the LORD as opposed to trusting in our “wisdom.”

Whether prophecy or mystery, sinful man, filled with Satan’s life, needs God’s power in order to be filled with God’s life. Once the sinner trusts the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for his or her sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4); he or she becomes a vessel of the Holy Spirit who can then be filled with Jesus Christ’s life as that saint walks by faith in an intelligent understanding of God’s words to and about the Church the Body of Christ. Passages such as Romans chapters 12–16, Ephesians chapter 4, and Colossians chapter 3, can then serve as replacements for the evil deeds of Romans chapter 1.

This is true wisdom for life….