Category: earthly kingdom / Millennial Reign of Christ

The “Friends” of Jesus #1

Monday, August 18, 2025

“And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself” (Mark 3:21 KJV).

With “friends” such as these, did Jesus need enemies? (NO!)

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus has healed a man in the synagogue (verses 1-5). That man had a withered (dried out, disabled) hand, and Christ cured him on the Saturday Sabbath as a sign of His Kingdom’s “Sabbath rest.” Outraged that Jesus had worked (provided medical aid) on the Sabbath, here is apostate Israel’s response: “And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him” (verse 6).

Verses 7-12 continue the narrative: “But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.”

With crowds of people gathering and growing larger and larger, the Lord retreats into a mountain with a select few and ordains the 12 Apostles to be with Him, to preach, to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils (verses 13-19). As Jesus and those 12 enter a house (verse 19), the multitude re-assembles to become a nuisance, thus preventing Him and the Apostles from eating in peace and quiet (verse 20). Today’s Scripture, found nowhere else in the Holy Bible, states: “And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.” His friends label Him as a crazy man, a nut, an individual outside of His wits….

Peter’s Vision of the Unclean Animals #9

Sunday, August 17, 2025

“On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,…” (Acts 10:9,10 KJV).

What can we really learn from this Bible passage?

Before Peter went to the Gentiles in Acts chapter 10, God had already broken down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile with Paul’s salvation and commissioning in chapter 9 (check Acts 9:15,16; Acts 22:13-15; Acts 26:17,18). Israel had already fallen in chapter 7 and was now diminishing for the rest of Acts (Romans 11:11-14). With the Lord sending Peter to witness a drastic change in program at Cornelius’ house, Peter can now come to Paul’s defense 10 years later at the Jerusalem Conference.

Acts chapter 15: “[7] And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. [8] And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; [9] And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. [10] Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? [11] But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

Peter recognized Cornelius and those other Gentiles were saved without keeping the Law of Moses and without submitting to physical circumcision. This knowledge allowed Peter to defend Paul’s Gentile believers as not required to be physically circumcised or keep the Law of Moses to be saved (check Acts 15:1-5). The unusual words heard and unexpected events associated with Peter’s visit with Cornelius and other Gentiles at Caesarea, demonstrate how there has been a change in prophecy—and this makes it easier for the Little Flock to see how mystery now works with Paul’s ministry. Using dispensational eyes, we appreciate how this was God’s design in arranging the meeting between Peter and Cornelius all along.

Peter’s Vision of the Unclean Animals #8

Saturday, August 16, 2025

“On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,…” (Acts 10:9,10 KJV).

What can we really learn from this Bible passage?

Read Acts 11:1-3: “And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.” Once Peter left Cornelius’ house in Caesarea and returned to Jerusalem, the other Jewish Apostles and the rest of the Little Flock castigated or fussed him. They knew their commission about Israel first (Acts 1:8) and they understood how they were not to reach Gentiles until Christ came back to reign (Matthew 28:18-20). How dare Peter minister to those uncircumcised non-Jews!!

In Acts 11:4-17, Peter narrates the account in great detail—starting all the way back with the “unclean animals” vision he received in Joppa, to the words of God he heard about not calling anything “unclean,” to the visitation of the three men Cornelius had sent from Caesarea to him, to what he learned from Cornelius face-to-face about what Cornelius saw and heard from the angel, to what confirmation Peter and the other believing Jews witnessed in Caesarea (the Gentiles being baptized with the Holy Ghost).

On the defensive, all Peter can say in conclusion is (verse 17): “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand [prevent, hinder] God?” Now, verse 18: “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Like Peter, the Little Flock cannot make sense of what happened—but they cannot deny it either. They rejoice. Indeed, though national Israel is unbelieving, Gentiles have believed under Peter’s ministry.

Several years will pass before it is clear to all of them….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #14

Thursday, July 24, 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? (NO!)

Re-read today’s Scripture in context one final time: “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.” Christ was not implying an invisible, spiritual reign in the hearts of men. Instead, He explained how a literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom would not arrive so late in His earthly ministry. National Israel had already scorned Him for three years, so He was now heading to Calvary’s cross. One day, He would return in power and great glory to reign literally and physically and visibly in the Earth (Luke 17:24; Luke 19:11-15), “But first must he suffer many things [crucifixion], and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:25).

Contrary to what Amillennialists declare, today’s Scripture and its context is not an invisible, spiritual kingdom (“Jesus reigns in the hearts of men”). As touching the prophetic program, “the kingdom of God” is His literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom. Otherwise, the LORD’s promise to King David is a lie, for the Davidic Covenant cannot be fulfilled (Isaiah 9:6,7; Jeremiah 23:5,6; Daniel 2:44,45; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 1:6; Acts 2:29,30). Contrary to what textual critics tell us, “The kingdom of God is within you” is not a mis-translation of our King James scholars. Its wording underscores Israel’s need to have faith in God’s words first. Lost Israel such as the Pharisees had to accept Christ by faith (“within you” meaning “within your souls”) before they could see and enter His literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom (check John 3:1-8). Yet, the unbelieving Pharisees had reduced Christ’s role to mere political deliverance, seeing no need for their spiritual salvation (forgiveness of sins).

Finally, to believe our Dispensation of Grace fulfills Luke 17:20,21—“Jesus reigns invisibly in men’s hearts today”—is to destroy the dispensational distinctions in Scripture. It is also why modern “scholars” tend to “re-translate” the Authorized Version here. Lacking dispensational eyes, they tell spiritual lies. Avoid them!

The Kingdom of God is Within You #13

Wednesday, July 23, 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?

The Bible opens, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Sin corrupted both realms: Satan contaminated the Heaven using his fallen angels and polluted the Earth utilizing sinful man. Creation is in rebellion. The Holy Scriptures are the record of God restoring both Heaven and Earth to Himself, that He fill each sphere of influence with His life, thereby achieving His eternal purpose.

“For by him [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: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:16-20).

Father God will use Christ’s shed blood to redeem two groups. One is His earthly people, the nation Israel, whom He will fill with His life and then install in the offices of Earth’s governments. (If Amillennialists are correct—if there is no literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom—God will never be able to recover Earth from Satan’s influence!) The other is His heavenly people, the Church the Body of Christ, whom He will fill with His life and then install in the offices of Heaven’s governments.

As touching the ages to come, see Matthew 25:34: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:….” God had that kingdom in mind going all the way back to when He placed Adam on the Earth, proving Christ’s kingdom in prophecy is literal, physical, visible, earthly.

We summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #12

Tuesday, July 22, 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?

Due to a miserable (!) failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth, today’s Scripture and context (verses 20,21) have been twisted out of shape to teach something they do not teach and never did teach. They do not describe God’s current dealings with man at all, but typify what He did with Israel in time past. Peter’s ministry—an extension of Christ’s earthly ministry—concerns Israel rising to kingdom glory, God’s salvation and blessing going to the world (Gentiles) in Israel’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom (Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 2:32; Luke 24:47; John 4:42; Acts 1:6; Acts 3:24-26). However, Paul’s ministry is God’s salvation and blessing going to the world (Gentiles) through Israel’s temporary fall and without her kingdom (Romans 11:11-14). Though Christendom has neglected it for 20 centuries, we dare not miss this important distinction!

Just because God did something in time past does not mean He is doing it in the but now, and just because He is doing it in the but now does not mean He will keep doing it in the ages to come. Though He is not growing His earthly people (Israel) now, Romans 11:25-29 indicates He will return to that after He closes our program and completes us the Church the Body of Christ: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

We are not Israel, and we have not replaced Israel, so we are wise in our own conceits (we think we are someone we are not) if we believe we are Israel or that we have replaced Israel….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #11

Monday, July 21, 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 Peter’s sermon directed to unbelieving Israel: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began…. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Acts 3:19-21,25,26). See Israel’s rise to kingdom glory!

Contrast this with Paul’s words: “I say then, Have they [Israel] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:…” (Romans 11:11-13). See Israel’s fall!

With much of Christendom regarding Paul as “the twelfth apostle” (Paul being Judas Iscariot’s successor) or Paul being an extension/supplement of the 12 (Matthias being Iscariot’s replacement), they have blended whatever God is doing in the “but now” with what He did in “time past.” Hopeless confusion has resulted, for they believe, “There is but one gospel in the Bible,” “only one church in the Bible,” and so on. This is not “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). It is mixing distinct information God has separated—and then changing or denying verses because they know of no other way to resolve the incompatibilities. That is exactly what happened with Luke 17:20,21 (today’s Scripture and its context). Nothing is wrong with the Scriptures; what is incorrect is our traditional approach to them….

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….