Category: earthly kingdom / Millennial Reign of Christ

A Perpetual Marriage

Friday, September 21, 2012

“And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD” (Hosea 2:19,20 KJV).

The nation Israel is engaged to the LORD, but the wedding is postponed….

In the context of today’s Scripture, the LORD is sending the prophet Hosea, who preached circa 785–725 B.C., to warn Israel of His impending judgment. “For [Israel] hath committed great whoredom, in departing from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2). Pagan idol worship abounds in Israel, and it has for centuries. Spiritually, Israel is “playing the harlot” (Hosea 2:5): she was the LORD’s wife, but now she is an adulterous wife by worshipping other gods.

God’s wrath came on apostate Israel! Eventually, the Assyrians captured and deported Israel’s ten northern tribes (722 B.C.), and the Babylonians captured and deported Israel’s two southern tribes (606–586 B.C.). From the time of these deportations to our present-day, the Jews are scattered worldwide, still waiting for their Messiah to come the first time and rescue them (sadly, they are blinded, unaware that their Messiah, Jesus, came 2,000 years ago).

But today’s Scripture is a gleam of hope for Israel: after God would judge her, He would restore her to Himself (Christ’s Second Coming to establish Israel’s kingdom). After our Dispensation of Grace ends (rapture), God will return to dealing with Israel, and she will be saved (Romans 11:25-29; cf. Hosea 2:23). Peter writes to future Israel: “which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God…” (1 Peter 2:10). Had God not interrupted Israel’s program with our dispensation, Israel would already be married to the LORD!

Israel was unfaithful to God, but never has God been unfaithful to Israel. At Christ’s Second Coming, He will fulfill His promise (today’s Scripture) to Israel. Via the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:8-13), Israel will be rejoined to the LORD, forgiven of all her sins. She will be married to the LORD forever, living with Him in her Promised Land forever (Isaiah chapters 61 and 62). Wow!

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! 🙂

The Great LORD God #4

Friday, September 7, 2012

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV).

As King David of old praised his LORD God, so do we!

David rightly understood that his God, the God of Israel, was incomparable, Someone who could do and did “great things and terrible [so wonderful that they caused terror!]” (verse 23). David knew that God was forming the nation Israel, a special people separate from the Gentile (non-Jewish) world. God had “redeemed to [Himself] [Israel] from Egypt, from the nations and their gods” (verse 23). The nations’ “gods” were nothing but idols of wood and stone, but Israel’s God, JEHOVAH, was supreme, and David in today’s Scripture praised the great LORD God because He was the great LORD God.

But God, long after David had passed away, would do something else, something just as “great and terrible [awesome]” as forming the nation Israel. Now that God has revealed the mystery program through the Apostle Paul’s ministry, we better understand God’s will than David did. Not only would God redeem a people, Israel, from the pagan Gentiles, He would redeem a second group of people from the pagan Gentiles—us, the Church the Body of Christ—who would do in the heavenly places what Israel would do on earth.

God has two “peculiar” people in His Word: the nation Israel (His earthly people) and the Church the Body of Christ (His heavenly people). “…[T]ell the children of Israel;… if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine”(Exodus 19:3,5). Regarding us, the Body of Christ: “…[T]he 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 2:13b,14).

Who could devise such an unfathomable plan for the earth and the heaven? We join David in saying, “Only the great LORD God….”

The Great LORD God #3

Thursday, September 6, 2012

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV).

As King David of old praised his LORD God, so do we!

Today, in the form of the Holy Bible, we have the complete revelation from God. David, however, had a limited understanding of God’s plan for creation. Throughout the “Old Testament,” the Four Gospels, and the early Acts (pre-Acts chapter 9), God was revealing the prophetic program, “that which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Essentially, that program involved God establishing an earthly kingdom through the nation Israel (herein lies the Davidic Covenant spoken of in the context of today’s Scripture; verses 12-16).

However, God was also withholding some information, deliberately keeping it secret. Then, He revealed that information to the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:1-11). God the Holy Ghost subsequently moved Paul to write that information in his epistles, Romans through Philemon. This is the mystery program, “that which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest” (Romans 16:25,26a).

David in today’s Scripture thanks and praises the LORD for His mighty works, how He has “[made Himself] a name” by forming the nation Israel (verse 23). But David had no idea that God had another mighty work in mind—He was just keeping it secret until Paul’s ministry! The great LORD God would do something even greater than what David understood: He would form another agency, the Church the Body of Christ, which would accomplish in the heavenly places what Israel would achieve on earth.

Saints, David rejoiced after only hearing about what God was doing with Israel on earth; he had no knowledge of us, the Church the Body of Christ, or what God would do with us in the heavenly places. We should praise the great LORD God even more than David did, for we now have the Holy Bible, the complete revelation of God’s will… for the earth… and the heaven….

The Great LORD God #2

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV).

As King David of old praised his LORD God, so do we!

The prophet Nathan has just relayed God’s Word to King David, the Davidic Covenant (verses 12-16), God’s promise to make one of David’s descendants an everlasting King of Israel. Today’s Scripture is a portion of a prayer that David offers to the LORD, thanking and praising Him for what He has done for him and Israel thus far, and what He will do for them in the future (verses 18-29).

David, once a lowly shepherd boy (1 Samuel 16:11), is now the mighty king of Israel. Moreover, his “house” (royal lineage) will transcend the eons of eternity: Jesus Christ, David’s descendant, will establish His earthly kingdom at His Second Coming, and He will reign over Israel forever (Luke 1:31-33).

Israel, once a group of about 75 people (Exodus 1:5), left Egypt being at least two million strong: when viewed from a distance, the Jews “covered the face of the earth [horizon]” (Numbers 22:5)! In David’s day, about 500 years after departing Egypt, they have multiplied even further.

Notice the verse following today’s Scripture: “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?” (verse 23).

Moses told Israel: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people” (Deuteronomy 7:6,7).

Lowly David, weak Israel, made mighty by the great LORD God.

The Great LORD God

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV).

As King David of old praised his LORD God, we should more!

In the context of today’s Scripture, God has spoken to the prophet Nathan, and Nathan is to repeat God’s message to King David (verses 5,17). Essentially, God will establish an everlasting royal bloodline using King David. God’s Word to David is: “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowls, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (verses 12,13).

While certain portions of this “Davidic Covenant” describe David’s son Solomon, other parts foretell of Jesus Christ, who is also a descendant of David. David does not understand all of the ramifications of this promise, but in today’s Scripture he praises God for the limited information God has revealed to him. How much more should we praise God, since we now have further revelation than David had!

This promise to David is actually the establishment of the bloodline through which Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah-King, will eventually be born (about 1,000 years later). Luke 1:31-33 explains: “JESUS… shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

The great LORD God who made this promise to David over 3,000 years, will finally fulfill it, after our Dispensation of Grace, and after the seven-year Tribulation. At Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, He will establish God’s kingdom on the earth: “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one” (Zechariah 14:9).

And thus will begin the everlasting, earthly reign of the great LORD God!

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!

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.

Israel’s Three Prophetic Baptisms #5

Saturday, July 14, 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).

Do we in the Dispensation of Grace have any relation to the three baptisms of today’s Scripture?

BAPTISM #1: WATER BAPTISM

Water baptism is perhaps the most controversial Bible topic (someone once aptly termed it “religious TNT!”). Christendom argues more about water baptism than anything else. For salvation, or for a testimony only? Sprinkling, pouring, or immersion? Adults only, or infants too? What type of water? Priest or preacher? What words should be said when its administered? How many times forward? Backward?

The above confusion regarding the doctrine of water baptism is immediately dispelled when we, “Study to shew [ourselves] approved unto God, [workmen] that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). When we study God’s Word dispensationally, we understand that all of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us.

We are the Church the Body of Christ, so we must be careful to never confuse ourselves with the nation Israel (which the professing “Church” has done for almost 2,000 years!). All this talk in religion about “following Jesus in believers’ water baptism” is predicated on the false presumption that Jesus was water baptized as our example. Actually, He was setting an example for Jews, His kingdom of priests, who needed the Old Testament priests’ ceremonial washing to enter His earthly kingdom (John 1:31).

Water baptism does not belong in our dispensation: Paul wrote, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel…” (1 Corinthians 1:17). There is “one baptism” for our Dispensation of Grace (Ephesians 4:5). What is it? “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13). When someone places his or her faith in Jesus Christ alone as personal Saviour, the Holy Spirit places that person into the Body of Christ. There is no water or preacher/priest involved in our baptism.

Israel’s Three Prophetic Baptisms #4

Friday, July 13, 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 Israel’s three prophetic baptisms listed in today’s Scripture:

  1. John’s water baptism: John the Baptist preached, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [approaching, near]” (verse 2). The first step in anointing believing Jews to become priests in Christ’s kingdom was to have them wash with water like Israel’s priests did before entering the ministry (Exodus 29:4). Israel needed to prepare for her coming Messiah (Jesus) by confessing her national sins (breaking the Old Covenant) and being water baptized of John.
  2. The Holy Ghost baptism: Israel’s Messiah Jesus will baptize her with God’s Holy Spirit (Acts chapter 2). This was the second and final step in anointing believing Jews to become God’s priests. After washing with water, Israel’s priests were anointed with oil (Exodus 29:7). Oil in Scripture is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the “anointing” that believing Jews received on Pentecost (John 7:39 cf. 1 John 2:20,27).
  3. The fire baptism: A Jew needed both John’s baptism and the Holy Ghost baptism in order to function as a priest in Christ’s kingdom: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This is why water baptism was necessary for salvation in Israel’s program (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). Any Jew who refused the two above baptisms would receive the fire baptism, God’s wrath. Unbelieving Jews would never enter Christ’s earthly kingdom, previously perishing in the fire baptism (Christ’s Second Coming, and eventually hellfire). Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:16-21 indicate this fire baptism would have occurred shortly after Acts chapter 2 (the Holy Spirit baptism). However, God interrupted and temporarily suspended Israel’s program: our Dispensation of Grace postponed this fire baptism, which is yet future (notice Israel’s prophetic timeline of Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:16-21 knew nothing of our dispensation occurring between baptisms 2 and 3).