Category: earthly kingdom / Millennial Reign of Christ

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing #2

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:21-23 KJV).

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

“Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell;
Jesus, our Emmanuel!”

The first time in history that the Bible records angels singing joyfully, it was when they watched the God of the Bible create the heaven and the earth. The book of Job, chapter 38, verse 7, says in retrospect, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Now, some 4,000 years later, in the books of Matthew through John, the angels are singing because God the Son has become a Man, the God-Man.

Without the incarnation, the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14), the God of the Bible would be distant and cold. He would have no intimate relation to us. There would be no manifestation of the invisible Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost would just be immaterial Beings. But, the incarnation made Jesus Christ the most unique Person in all of the universe. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

There is no other Being who is both fully God and fully man, total man and yet total God, untainted humanity and undiminished deity. The angels had never seen such a Person. They saw what God was doing and they took great value in it. They certainly did not understand what we know today, but they knew enough to sing and rejoice.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did Jesus Christ quote Deuteronomy during His temptations?”

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing #1

Monday, December 3, 2018

“And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him” (Hebrews 1:6 KJV).

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

“Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!”

Angels are very strange, and thus, often misunderstood, creatures. They are like humans in some respects but also drastically different from us. According to today’s Scripture, angels have a capacity to find worth in, and hence worship, their Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father, according to the book of Hebrews (today’s Scripture), does not consider His Son an angelic being but rather Someone apart from the angelic host, Someone worthy of their worship.

Psalm 103:20,21 says: “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.” And Psalm 148:2, “Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.” In the spirit of these verses, the writer of the book of Hebrews penned what he did in today’s Scripture.

The angels knew that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, had finally become flesh, and He could now fulfill the Old Testament prophecies going all the way back to Adam—chiefly, God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly kingdom. On the night of Christ’s birth, Luke 2:13,14 says: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.” In perfect accordance with the book of Psalms, the angels filled the night sky of Palestine and joyfully sang to praise the Lord of glory! (What that massive angelic choir sounded like to human ears, we can only wonder!!)

Let us, by faith, join that angelic host in praising the Lord of glory!

What Child Is This? #4

Sunday, December 2, 2018

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms” (Psalm 95:1,2 KJV).

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

“This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.”

As the shepherds and angels gathered around Baby Jesus’ manger, we can only wonder what immense joy filled their hearts. In that world of old—plagued by the same basic problems of our modern world—He was a Beacon in the dark and a Solace in the misery. They undoubtedly sang right in the midst of all those farm animals! They were so thrilled to see God working in their presence. They were now standing before His baby crib!

Sinners today are greatly encouraged—yea, urged—to come by faith to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, right this moment. They are not to come by faith to His crib, for He is no longer a Baby. Rather, they are to come by faith to His cross, where He gave up that life for us! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). What we need to do is rely exclusively on Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, His shed sinless blood and His resurrection, as sufficient payment for our sins.

As with Jesus’ birth, for those who do not want to see anything, they do not see anything. Those who see are people who want to see. It has nothing to do with God hiding anything from anyone. What did Jesus tell the Jews? “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17).

Although Jesus Christ is not physically here today, we can still haste to bring Him laud. We can praise Him highly in a public context. First, we can believe on Him and His finished crosswork. Then, we can tell others how they too can be saved through Calvary!

ATTENTION: Our new seven-hour Bible study series—“The Feasts of JEHOVAH”—is now available on YouTube. These lessons are approximately 65 minutes each, totaling 7 1/2 hours. They are quite advanced, as they build on our five-lesson series “Israel’s Covenants” I taught a month ago. It is best to watch all seven videos in order, as they are progressive. May you be edified, encouraged, and enlightened! Enjoy!! Praise our Lord Jesus Christ! Watch them here.

What Child Is This? #3

Saturday, December 1, 2018

“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20,21 KJV).

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

“So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.”

While commonly assumed the wise men came to visit Baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem, a careful study of Matthew chapter 2 shows us that they met Jesus in Joseph’s house in Nazareth, when He was as much as two years old (verse 16). The Bible never specifies “three” wise men or three “kings,” either. Regardless of their number, these wise men, Gentiles from the East, came to Jerusalem looking for Israel’s King. Upon hearing the wise men, King Herod and all of Jerusalem were “troubled” (verse 3). Israel should be ready to receive her Messiah-King, but she is not. Gentiles are seeking Israel’s King, and they, the Gentiles, are ready! How odd!

The wise men learn that Israel’s Messiah was born in Bethlehem-Judah (verses 4-6), but a “star” (angel) leads them to Nazareth (verses 7-10). Verse 11: “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Jesus is a King, so the wise men have brought gold to Him. They have brought Him frankincense because He is a Priest. Myrrh has been brought to Him because He is a Prophet. Gentiles treat Israel’s King with more respect than Israel does!

Nothing has changed today. Some reject Jesus Christ while others accept Him. The songwriter, as does this author, urges people to accept Him!

When Death Loses

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54 KJV).

Friends, it (unfortunately) appears that death wins, does it not? Loved ones leave us; we leave them. Yet, God’s Word speaks of the day when, “Death is swallowed up in victory….”

Isaiah 25:8 prophesies of Jesus Christ’s Second Coming: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” The Lord GOD—Father God—will wipe away all tears from their faces via bodily resurrection. Shortly after Christ’s Second Coming, He will physically resurrect the saints of the ages in Israel’s program (Revelation 20:1-6).

When describing our resurrection at the Rapture, the catching away of the Church the Body of Christ, the Apostle Paul quoted Isaiah. While Isaiah 25:8 is not fulfilled at the Rapture, our resurrection is similar to the believers’ resurrection that will transpire after the Second Coming to establish God’s earthly kingdom.

Today’s Scripture in context: “[51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. [54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

“[55] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Refuge! #7

Sunday, October 14, 2018

“Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares” (Numbers 35:11 KJV).

Look closely! Could there be something prophetic here?

To spare Israel absolute annihilation, God graciously provided a loophole in the Mosaic Law. If one ignorantly killed another, the slayer could flee to a city of refuge and escape the avenging relative’s hand. The deceased person’s relative could not harm him in that special city.

Similarly, prophetically, the Antichrist is the avenger of blood, coming to punish national Israel for rejecting her Messiah (Jesus Christ) (Isaiah 10:5,6; John 5:43). Thankfully, individual Jews can flee to a (figurative) “city of refuge.” The Little Flock will survive God’s judgment: membership therein (via water baptism) is protection from “the wrath to come” (Matthew 3:1-12; 1 Peter 3:20,21).

Throughout early Acts, God the Holy Spirit constantly indicted Israel for killing her Messiah. They were worthy of His wrath! However, He downgraded the charge from murder to manslaughter. Israel was spiritually ignorant when she crucified Jesus, thus allowing her opportunity to flee to refuge—Israel’s believing remnant. In Acts chapters 2-5, Israel was offered a renewed opportunity of repentance.

“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 6:18-20). Believing Jews in Israel’s kingdom program have “fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Having trusted Jesus as Messiah, they will enter His earthly kingdom when He returns to redeem them nationally at His Second Coming (cf. Hebrews 12:25-29).

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zechariah 13:9).

The Hottest Places in Eternity #4

Thursday, September 27, 2018

“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city” (Mark 6:11 KJV).

Are there degrees of punishment in Hell and the Lake of Fire? Indeed!

According to the Bible, at least two factors determine the degree of eternal judgment each damned soul experiences. Firstly, every lost soul will be accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ as to how much divine revelation he or she had. This naturally includes how much revelation was rejected and actively contradicted.

All will have the testimony of creation to condemn them. Romans 1:18-21: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 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: 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.” (“I did not know there was a God” will not be a valid excuse!)

Furthermore, all will have the witness of conscience to doom them. Romans 2:13-15: “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; )….” (“I did not know right from wrong” will not be an effective defense either!)

As today’s Scripture says, all damned souls will also have the testimony of Scripture to punish them. The more they heard God’s Word, the worse their eternity….

The Hottest Places in Eternity #3

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city” (Mark 6:11 KJV).

Are there degrees of punishment in Hell and the Lake of Fire? Indeed!

Luke 16:19-31 describes a most horrible place. Nevertheless, damned souls face an even worse fate. Hell is a temporary jailhouse, a spiritual place where unsaved souls suffer until the Great White Throne Judgment. They are already guilty sinners, condemned to bear forever the wrath of an offended, righteous God. Now, they await their sentencing—the Lake of Fire, the universe’s maximum-security prison!

After our Dispensation of Grace terminates with the Rapture, Israel’s seven-year Tribulation runs its course, Jesus Christ returns to Earth at His Second Coming, and He reigns for 1,000 years. Revelation 20:11-15 picks up the Bible timeline thereafter.

“[11] And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. [14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Notice verse 13. “Death” is all lost people who have not yet physically died. “Hell” is all the unsaved of the ages who have physically died (they will be bodily resurrected—see verses 5-6). These two classes will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to give an account for their deeds, after which He throws them into the Lake of Fire….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “‘Thou shalt not kill?’ or ‘Thou shalt not murder?’”

Translated Judgment #6

Friday, September 21, 2018

“In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe” (1 Corinthians 14:21,22 KJV).

While it is commonly overlooked, today’s Scripture describes God’s righteous judgment on a certain group of unbelievers. Who are they? What is God’s message to them? Who is delivering that message?

Here are two simple Bible verses that will revolutionize the way you view God’s Word. “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22). “Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (John 4:48). Signs are Israel’s national heritage (see Psalm 74:9). When we come to today’s Scripture, we thus see that one of these “signs” is the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues: “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not….” The unbelievers during the Acts period were the nation Israel (Acts 9:23,24; Acts 13:45-48; Acts 17:5,13; Acts 18:6,12; et cetera).

In Isaiah’s day, Israel hearing foreign languages meant that her LORD God’s judgment had fallen on her for her unbelief and disobedience. Similarly, Israel hearing the gift of tongues working amongst Paul’s Gentile converts signified to Israel that her God was now operating in the world without her. It was a drastic change in program. God had taken the spiritual gifts—what had belonged to Israel—and given them over to the Gentiles. The gift of tongues operated amongst Paul’s Gentile converts so as to provoke to salvation in Christ the unsaved Jews scattered around the world.

The gift of tongues was not meant to be entertainment (as the Corinthians were using it—see 1 Corinthians chapter 14), but rather a clear testimony to Israel. It was important that the Corinthians correct their abuses of this most special spiritual gift. Today’s Body of Christ would do well to take heed to these verses, and address and fix their misunderstandings and misuses of spiritual gifts….

Bible Q&A #535: “Who are the ‘Grecians’ in the Bible?”

Translated Judgment #5

Thursday, September 20, 2018

“In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe” (1 Corinthians 14:21,22 KJV).

While it is commonly overlooked, today’s Scripture describes God’s righteous judgment on a certain group of unbelievers. Who are they? What is God’s message to them? Who is delivering that message?

The spiritual gift of tongues, as the God of the Bible operated it, was the speaking of human dialects never formally learned. Rather than studying the language at school for years, those carried by the Spirit of God were automatically fluent in the foreign tongue. It was God reversing the language confusion He caused the idolatrous nations at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

Zechariah 8:20-23 promises that God, one day, will enable the Jews to speak all the world’s languages so Israel can be His kingdom of priests. In the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, Israel will share God’s Word with the nations: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”

Acts chapter 2, the Day of Pentecost, was a reversal of the language confusion at Babel. Israel here saw the spiritual gift of tongues operating in her midst. Then, most strangely, in mid-Acts, it left Israel and began working among Paul’s Gentile converts…..