Category: Christ’s earthly ministry

The Remaining Two-Thirds

Saturday, September 29, 2012

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34 KJV).

On average, you will spend one-third of your life sleeping. Of what will the remaining two-thirds of your earthly life consist?

In the context of today’s Scripture, it is noontime, and Jesus is tired from traveling, so He rests in Samaria by sitting on Jacob’s well (verses 5,6). His disciples have gone into nearby Sychar to buy food, and while He waits for their return, He speaks with a Samaritan woman who comes to draw water from the well (verses 7-26). (The Samaritans are not full-blooded Jews, so they and Israel usually do not associate with each other; see verse 9.)

As their conversation proceeds, the Samaritan woman learns that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah (verses 25,26). She quickly goes to the city to tell them of Jesus, and she comes back to Jesus with additional Samaritans (verses 28-30). Before they come to Jesus, His disciples finally return, and urge Him to eat (verse 31). The Lord replies, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of” (verse 32). His disciples then ask in verse 33: “Hath any man brought him aught to eat?”

Today’s Scripture is our Lord’s answer. The very thing for which He lives is not physical food: “My meat is to do the will of him [God the Father] that sent me, and to finish His work.” Our Lord has in mind the salvation of these Samaritans: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (verse 35). Essentially, He is saying, “Look at the harvest of those souls!” (cf. Matthew 9:36,37). Later, many Samaritans believe on Christ, and He dwells with them two days (verses 39-43).

Saints, our Lord was consumed with fulfilling the work to which His heavenly Father had appointed Him. Can we say that about the remaining two-thirds of our lives? Are we walking by faith in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, allowing God to fulfill His will in us? Or, are we spiritually sleeping, doing nothing (Ephesians 5:14)?

My Kingdom is Not of This World? #1

Sunday, September 23, 2012

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36 KJV).

What did Jesus mean when He spoke today’s Scripture?

Within Christendom, there is a strange doctrine that, because Jesus Christ’s kingdom has never been established literally, visibly, and physically on earth, it must have been a “spiritual kingdom,” an invisible kingdom “in the hearts of men.” Today’s Scripture is often twisted to promote this warped theology. Such nonsense is the result of a failure to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), a negligence to understand and believe the Bible dispensationally.

“JESUS… shall reign over the house of Jacob [Israel] for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:33). Did this ever happen? No. Jesus Christ came to earth and left 2,000 years ago as Israel’s rejected King: He never did rule Israel, for Israel declared in John 19:15: “We have no king but Caesar!” So, how can Luke 1:33 say Jesus Christ will rule Israel “for ever?”

Dispensational Bible study relieves us of confusion and consternation. Luke 1:33 is to be taken literally, but it is to be believed dispensationally. Israel’s prophetic (kingdom) program, the program to which Luke 1:33 belongs, is currently suspended. God is not restoring the earth’s governments today. Instead, He is forming the Church the Body of Christ, a heavenly people whom He will use to restore the heavenly governments in the ages to come (see Colossians 1:16-20).

While our Dispensation of Grace is operating, Israel’s kingdom program is delayed. Once our dispensation ends (at the rapture), then God will resume Israel’s program and Christ will return at His Second Coming to fulfill Luke 1:33 (establishing His literal, physical, visible earthly kingdom).

Returning to today’s Scripture, what then did Jesus mean there? His kingdom is a literal, physical, visible kingdom, so how is it “not of this world?” We will study the Scriptures for the answer.

Tell Them Who He Is!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

“And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10 KJV).

Who is this which was aforementioned, and why is it such a shame that the inhabitants of Jerusalem asked, “Who is this?”

“And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway [immediately] ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them” (verses 1-3).

“All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet [Zechariah 9:9], saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass” (verses 4,5).

Verses 6-9: “And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”

Jerusalem’s residents then ask, “Who is this?” Not only are they ignorant of Zechariah 9:9, the prophecy Jesus Christ is fulfilling, but they also willingly ignore the multitudes proclaiming who Jesus Christ is, recorded in Mark 11:10—“blessed be the kingdom of our father David”—and Luke 19:38—“Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Jesus Christ was Israel’s long-promised King, but unbelief kept most of them from seeing it (twice). Even today, unfortunately, most church members echo about Jesus Christ, “Who is this?” May we continue to study and believe the King James Bible rightly divided, so we can tell them who He is! 🙂

Many Coming and Going

Saturday, September 1, 2012

“And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:31 KJV).

Today’s Scripture testifies that ministry work in the Lord, although joyous and rewarding, can be extremely time-consuming, demanding, and exhausting.

The book of Mark focuses on Jesus Christ as God’s Servant, what He did (that is, the miracles He performed). In the context of today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus and His apostles have preached, performed miracles, and travelled to such an extent that they have not even had time to eat! The Lord knows He and His apostles need a “lunch break,” so He invites them to come with Him into a “desert” (lonely, private) place to rest. “And they departed into a desert place by ship privately” (verse 32). Jesus Christ and His apostles need rest, so they attempt to quietly sail away! Will they escape?

Nevertheless, “And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him” (verse 33). The people see Jesus and His apostles floating away, so they run ahead of them, and meet Him and His apostles on the other side of the shore! Jesus and His apostles will get no rest.

“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd [cf. Matthew 9:36; Matthew 10:6]: and he began to teach them many things” (verse 34). “And when the day was far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:” (verse 35). Now, it is nearing evening, Jesus is still teaching, and He and His apostles still have not eaten! (Here, Jesus feeds the 5,000 with the two fishes and five loaves of bread; verses 36-44.)

Saints, ministry is very strenuous, but let us not grow weary. Yes, we do take time to rest, but may we never permanently rest! 🙂

A Competitor Who Could Not Be Eliminated

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

“And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him” (Luke 19:47,48 KJV).

The Lord Jesus Christ is “bad for business.” Israel’s crooked religious leaders need to quickly get rid of Him: He has caused their funding to run dry and now He is challenging their “authority!”

Today’s Scripture is quite comical, and once we understand its context, we cannot help but smile. The Lord Jesus has just exposed and thrown out the dishonest individuals who were selling overpriced goods in the Temple (verses 45,46), and this greatly angers the money-hungry chief priests, scribes, and chief of the people. Now, in today’s Scripture, these religious leaders are frantic—Jesus has got to go! He has not only removed their source of income, but now He is teaching in the Temple everyday!

These religious leaders conspire to kill Jesus, but there are hindrances. God the Father is not ready for Jesus to die, and Jesus’ audience is so fascinated with the doctrine that He is teaching, that the religious leaders cannot take hold of Jesus without making a commotion. Thus, throughout Luke chapter 20, these religious leaders utilize many ploys to publicly discredit Jesus, to hopefully “outsmart” Him with a question and thus silence Him before His audience.

On several occasions, these religious leaders proceed to ask Jesus captious questions, inquiries designed to trap Him in His speech (Luke 20:1,2,20-22,26-33). Finally, “Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. And after that they durst [dare] not ask him any question at all” (verses 39,40). These religious leaders hated Jesus for exposing their hypocrisy and Bible ignorance. Though they fervently tried to silence Him, He had put them to complete shame: ultimately, they could do nothing but agree with Him and remain quiet.

God’s Word is always a threat to religion, so let us not be surprised or discouraged when religionists treat us as they did our Lord Jesus Christ. 🙂

God Has Already Spoken to Us

Sunday, August 5, 2012

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:19-21 KJV).

Does God communicate with us through hunches, feelings, emotions, visions, dreams, and “soft, still” voices in our heads? These are subjective: they are tentative because they vary amongst individuals. We need an objective standard, something trustworthy and unchanging—God’s written Word, the Holy Bible.

God did communicate with man via theophanies (God appeared in a physical body and spoke to people; Genesis 3:8,9; Genesis 18:1; et al.). Through angels, visions/dreams, supernatural spiritual gifts, and prophets, He relayed His messages to people (Daniel 9:22,23; Matthew 1:20-24; Acts 10:3; 2 Corinthians 12:1; et al.). But, according to 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, these temporary things—partial wisdom and partial knowledge—were done away when complete wisdom and complete knowledge were brought in.

When was complete wisdom and complete knowledge brought in? As soon as God’s written Word was completed (nearly 2000 years ago), God’s will was fully revealed to man. In the King James Bible’s 66 books we know everything that God wants us to know. Visions, apparitions, “prophetic words” from a preacher’s lips, and angelic appearances are not God’s methods of communication with us.

In the context of today’s Scripture (verses 16-18) the Apostle Peter recounts the time on the Mount of Transfiguration when he, James, and John saw Jesus Christ in His glorified form (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). But Peter says we have “a more sure word of prophecy.” The Bible is more reliable than experiences we can see with our physical eyes.

We have God’s revealed and written Word preserved in English in the King James Bible. The Bible is the Final Authority, not religious tradition or a preacher’s hunches.

The Detail of the World’s Chief-of-State #2

Friday, August 3, 2012

“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53 KJV).

At His First Advent, Jesus Christ did not fight back, nor did the angels rescue Him from enduring Calvary’s cross. Now, at His Second Coming, the World’s Chief of State returns to earth…. with the angelic armies!

In hindsight, we understand that the Old Testament spoke of two comings of Christ, as 1 Peter 1:11 delineates: “the sufferings of Christ” (His First Coming in meekness to die) and “the glory that should follow” (His Second Coming in wrath to reign). Jesus Christ, had He asked His heavenly Father, would have been rescued by tens of thousands of angels (today’s Scripture). Nevertheless, He permitted His arrest, and crucifixion on Calvary, because the Old Testament prophecies regarding His suffering had to be fulfilled first. Now, the prophecies concerning His majestic return to earth to reign are awaiting fulfillment (see Zechariah 14:1-21).

“The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels…” (Psalm 68:17; Psalm 68 deals much with Christ’s Second Coming in wrath). “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels…” (Matthew 16:27a). “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matthew 25:31). “And the armies which were in heaven followed him [Jesus Christ] upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:14).

The prophet Enoch lived over 5,000 years ago (Genesis 5:18-24), but we only read of the (interesting) message he preached, in Jude 14,15: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these [the wicked], saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints [“holy” angels], to execute judgment upon all, and to convince them that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against.”

Rest assured, those angels mentioned in today’s Scripture will come and fight!

The Detail of the World’s Chief-of-State #1

Thursday, August 2, 2012

“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53 KJV).

God the Father could have sent tens of thousands of angels to rescue His Son, Jesus Christ, from being arrested and eventually crucified, but those angels were never sent. Why?

Judas Iscariot has led a “great multitude” of Roman soldiers, Israel’s chief priests, and Jewish elders to arrest Jesus (verses 47-49). Immediately after Judas identifies Jesus by betraying Him with a kiss, the mob grabs Jesus. Then, someone with Jesus panics, draws a sword, strikes a servant of the high priest, and cuts off the servant’s right ear (the servant probably ducks to avoid decapitation!) (verse 51). (The one wielding the sword is the Apostle Peter; John 18:10.)

Jesus scolds Peter: “Put up thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). In Luke 22:51, Jesus says, “Suffer [Allow] ye thus far.” Jesus forbids His disciples to defend Him: He is letting them arrest Him. Why does Jesus not fight back? Jesus says in today’s Scripture that God the Father can send over “twelve legions of angels” to defend Him (a Roman “legion” consisted of 5,000–6,000 soldiers, amounting to as many as 72,000 angels!) (To imagine the power of such an army, consider that one angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night [2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles 32:21]). But God the Father never sent “bodyguard” angels to rescue Jesus at His arrest. Why?

John 18:11 explains, “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” Jesus submits to His heavenly Father’s will, allowing Himself to be taken captive by the Roman soldiers and the Jews. God the Father wants Jesus Christ to “drink” of the cup of His wrath against sin (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; cf. Revelation 14:9,10). There is no way around it: Jesus knows He has to die, so He does not fight back… yet….

Sound, But No Sound Doctrine

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

“And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me” (Acts 22:9 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul is giving his testimony to Israel, yet according to Bible critics, this verse “contradicts” another verse. Rather than “correcting” the Bible, as some modern translators have done, we let the Bible correct us… and it will teach us a valuable doctrine!

Today’s Scripture explains that those traveling to Damascus with Paul (at that time Saul) did not hear the voice of Jesus Christ, who appeared to Saul in Acts chapter 9. Yet, when we read Acts 9:7, the Bible seems to say the opposite: “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” Well, which is it? Did they hear (Acts 9:7), or did they not hear (Acts 22:9)? A lost person once tried to use this very argument against me in a desperate (and unsuccessful) attempt to discredit the Bible because it challenged his denomination!

Certainly, God’s Word has no mistakes (otherwise, He would be a liar!). If we consider John 12:28,29, resolving this apparent discrepancy actually teaches us something: “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.” Here, Jesus, standing on earth, is speaking to His Father in heaven. Notice that His Father gave an intelligent response: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Yet, some of the audience heard thunder, a mere noise: they did not hear anything intelligent.

So, those traveling with Saul did hear the sound of Jesus’ voice, but they did not hear the actual words (that is, understand what was spoken). Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 really complement one another, teaching us that people can hear God’s Word being read or spoken, but they are willingly too blinded by sin to hear His actual words with understanding (Isaiah 6:9,10; Matthew 13:13-15; Acts 28:24-27).

Israel’s Three Prophetic Baptisms #8

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” (Matthew 3:11 KJV).

Let us review why Israel’s three prophetic baptisms do not apply to us:

  1. John’s water baptism: God the Father sent John the Baptist to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). John preaches to Israel, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [approaching, near]” (Matthew 3:2). John’s water baptism is to prepare Israel to become a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5,6; cf. 1 Peter 2:5,9), since Israel needs the Old Testament priests’ ceremonial washing. Jews who listen to John’s message and experience his water baptism form “the little flock,” the believing remnant of Israel that will inherit Christ’s earthly kingdom (Luke 12:32).
  2. The baptism with the Holy Ghost: On Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), Jesus Christ baptized that “little flock” (His apostles and disciples) with God’s Holy Spirit. This was to empower them to continue what He (Jesus Christ) had begun during His earthly ministry (that is, lead Israel to faith in Him as their Messiah-King; Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8).
  3. The fire baptism: Jews who refused the two above baptisms would receive the fire baptism, God’s wrath. Unbelieving Jews would never enter Christ’s earthly kingdom. They would perish in the fire baptism (the Tribulation, Christ’s Second Coming, and eventually hellfire), as described in Matthew 24:36-42, Luke 17:26-37, and Revelation 19:11-21.

When we understand that the three “baptisms” in today’s Scripture are unique to Israel’s prophetic kingdom program spoken by the Old Testament prophets (Acts 3:21), and that we Gentiles in the Dispensation of Grace live in the mystery (secret) program which God hid from the Old Testament prophets (Romans 16:25), it becomes apparently clear that we are totally isolated from Israel’s baptisms. When we understand that Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13), we follow his epistles Romans through Philemon, and faith does not lead us to practice Israel’s water baptism, seek Israel’s “Pentecostal power,” or fear Israel’s Tribulation.