The
kingdom of God (also called the kingdom of heaven) is the realm, visible or
invisible, temporal or eternal, where his will is done, and love, holiness,
truth, light, peace, joy and righteousness reign.
·
One day there will be a
·
There is an invisible, eternal
Now I ask you -
which of these two kingdoms
is the more worthy of proclamation?
I should point out that
I have not changed sides regarding mid-Acts dispensationalism. I am extremely
grateful that I was able to believe and be saved because of certain truths that
only became clear to me in the light of mid-Acts dispensationalism. But I have
since come to see that in our enthusiasm to sever our apostle’s gospel of the
uncircumcision from the twelve’s gospel of the circumcision, we have sometimes
imposed differences onto the scriptures that, though convenient, are false. You
will find challenges to some of these sacred cows of mid-Acts dispensationalism
throughout my writing.
Since
researching the article “What was this gospel of the kingdom?” in March 2011,
I have gained a better understanding of
the relationship between the ‘gospel of the kingdom’ preached during the Lord’s
earthly ministry and Paul’s ‘gospel of grace’ preached in his current mystery
program. Paul’s later gospel of grace should not be CONTRASTED with the earlier
gospel of the kingdom because Paul also preached the
“And now, behold, I know that ye all,
among whom I have gone preaching the
“And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own
hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching
the
Until
John the Baptist were the law and the prophets. Since
that time the
“Now after that
“The law and the prophets were until
Gospel
means good news. The
My
purpose in this study is to show that the Lord’s revelation of the mystery to
Paul did not inhibit him from preaching the
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall
not inherit the
Immediately
after the above words,
“All things are lawful unto me, but all
things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be
brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians
“But seek ye first the
So
we avoid sin, not because it is unlawful but because it is expedient to do so.
If we continue to sin we are again brought under the power of sin.
“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant
of sin.” (
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of
sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans
Is
Paul talking only about the
“For the
It
would seem not. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the
“If
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that
I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
The
“Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in
To
inherit this kingdom we will need to become 100% spiritual beings, with bodies
that are not flesh and blood, but celestial bodies like those of the angels.
“But they which shall be accounted worthy
to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the
dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more:
for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the
children of the resurrection.” (
“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another.” (1 Corinthians
You
have probably heard the widely held idea among mid-Acts dispensationalists that
the term ‘kingdom of heaven’ can only be applied to
The term ‘kingdom of heaven’ is synonymous with the term ‘
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to
enter into the
I am extremely relieved
that the above scripture exists. It is as though it was included to dispel any
attempts to place different meanings on the two terms by those who love to
corrupt simplicity with esoteric drivel. The Lord repeated the startling
declaration – “and AGAIN I say unto you”. In his first declaration he used the
term kingdom of heaven and by his grace he used the term kingdom of God the
second time around (with the added picture of a camel trying to get through the
eye of a needle to emphasise just how hard it is for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of God/heaven).
I understand that God
and heaven are different words and no doubt this is why some have seen fit to
force different meanings onto the terms. But the most important word in both
terms is KINGDOM. A kingdom is a REALM ruled by a king. The
When
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians
Obviously the Lord’s
Father has not died for it is he that translated us into his Son’s kingdom. God
the Father is alive and well and greater than the Son
“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go
away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I
said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” (
But the
“For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he
saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all
things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may
be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:27-28 AV)
“He that descended is the same also that
ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians
“And hath put all things under his
feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,”
(Ephesians
“For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man
This is why we now must
go via the Son if we want to come to the Father. The Father is reconciling all
things in heaven and earth unto himself, BY
THE SON. All things are in God but
not all things are currently reconciled to God, except those that are
reconciled by the death of his Son and saved by the life of his Son – those who
have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
“
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners,
“For he must reign, till he hath put all
enemies under his feet.” (1 Corinthians
“And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for
“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
1:19-20 AV)
Believers are IN the Father and IN the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Paul, and Silvanus,
and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord
Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace,
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1 AV)
How are we IN the Lord
Jesus Christ? The word declares that we are literally members of HIS BODY, of
HIS FLESH, and of HIS BONES;
“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”
(Ephesians
and that we have the MIND
OF CHRIST (the Spirit of God). It is by this mind of Christ that we
increasingly experience life as he experienced it when on earth – both the
suffering and the glory.
“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1
Corinthians
“But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1
Corinthians 2:14-16 AV)
It is by this mind or
Spirit, given to us by the Father, that we are translated into the kingdom of
his dear Son. The Spirit is a QUICKENING Spirit so the kingdom of his dear Son
could also be described as a realm of quickened experience or consciousness.
Even our mortal brains are quickened.
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead,
and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” (John
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth
in you.” (Romans
“And so it is written, The first man Adam
was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1
Corinthians
To be seated in
heavenly places is more than a positional truth. It is an EXPERIENTIAL truth.
We are seated in a higher consciousness – Christ consciousness.
“Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ:” (Ephesians 1:3 AV)
“And hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 2:6 AV)
All men are in God the
Father but not all men have the mind of Christ. Those who do not have the mind
of Christ are ‘without’ the church the body of Christ but are still in God and
will be judged by God.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply
they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of
us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your
own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:27-28 AV)
“But them that are without God judgeth.
Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (1 Corinthians
Believing in God the
Father, while remaining ashamed of his beloved Son, just will not do.
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which
is in heaven.” (
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and
of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his
own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (
It is said by some
mid-Acts dispensationalists that the church, the body of
This is a tricky issue.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians
Note that
“And Jesus,
which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the
“And this is the condemnation, that light
is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest,
that they are wrought in God.” (
So we are translated
into the
“What? know
ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for
two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But
he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:16-17 AV)
“For this cause shall a man leave his father
and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32 AV)
We are also one flesh
with the Lord - our bodies have become his bodies; though with all of the bad
habits that I still cling to, the Lord must find my body a hard place to dwell
at times.
“Know ye not that
your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then
take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot
is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.”
(1 Corinthians 6:15-16 AV)
“What? know ye
not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1
Corinthians 6:19-20 AV)
The church, the body of
“In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that
was made.” (
“Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him 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.” (Colossians 1:13-18 AV)
It pleased the Father
that in him should all fulness dwell. Only the Father is not under the Son’s
feet.
“For he
hath put all things under his feet. But when
he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all
things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may
be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:27-28 AV)
“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
1:19-20 AV)
The Lord informed
“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.
“And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of
God, and do it.” (
We are indwelt by the
Spirit of the King of truth, the Spirit of truth, who will guide us into all
truth.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to
come.” (
The Lord had explained
to his disciples that the Gentiles idea of kingship was not appropriate for the
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said,
Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise
dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But
it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be
your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many.” (
So the Lord is the King
of light and truth in this present age but our relationship with the King is
not that of his grovelling subjects, as in a typical Gentile kingdom.
“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not
what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have
heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (
As members of his body, filled with his Spirit and
speaking the truth in love, we are joint-heirs and are growing up into the head
– i.e. becoming joint kings of light and truth. We are in boot camp for trainee
kings of light and truth.
“Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have
reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also
might reign with you.” (1 Corinthians 4:8 AV)
“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up
into him in all things, which is the head, even
We are joint heirs of
his suffering and rejection, and of his glory.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with
“For he must reign, till he hath put all
enemies under his feet.” (1 Corinthians
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:
if we deny him, he also will deny us:” (2
When (and if?) we
graduate boot camp earth, the Lord will still be our King of kings. Who
IS the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
“That thou keep this commandment
without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which
in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the
light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to
whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” (1
Timothy 6:14-16 AV)
The combined title King
of kings and Lord of lords is only used in three places in scripture.
Here and in Revelation
So,
does the church, the body of
“Know ye not that
they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye
may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all
things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
(1 Corinthians 9:24-25 AV)
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
(2
And
we are all close friends and adopted brothers and sisters of the head of the
body, the King of kings.
“For ye have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans
“Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of
the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
(Ephesians 1:3-6 AV)
You cannot separate God
from his heavenly places. God is a Spirit and his kingdom is an invisible realm
to the lost, which are in spiritual darkness.
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (
Our spiritual eyes are
gradually (sometimes suddenly) opened to it, even while we are on earth, by our
hearing or reading of God’s word and BELIEVING it – the hearing of faith.
“Which things also we speak, not in the
words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.” (1 Corinthians
“This only would I learn of you, Received
ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so
foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made
perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that
ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by
the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:2-5 AV)
In the manifest heaven
above, the physical realm of stars and planets, are heavenly places that flesh
and blood could occupy if we had a fast enough spaceship. But flesh and blood
cannot inherit the
The created physical
heavens are due for demolition (not by a Vogon
Constructor Fleet J) after the millennial
kingdom so they will not be our eternal home. There is no guarantee that the
demolition will follow directly after the millennial kingdom although it seems
to do so in prophecy. After the earth is cleansed of
Although God is in
heaven he is not very far away for “in him we live and move and have our being”
(Acts
“The night is far spent, the day is at
hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the
armour of light.” (Romans
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians
We are already citizens
of the invisible kingdom of heaven otherwise we would not be in the middle of
the war in heaven.
“To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive
also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave
I it in the person of
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the
devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27 AV)
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.” (Ephesians
“In meekness instructing those that oppose
themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of
the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
(2
The kingdom is
presently only experienced by flesh and blood believers as a subjective or
spiritual kingdom. I say ‘only’ but this is no small thing. It is the precious
gem of the God-given spiritual experience that makes life worth living. As the
Spirit of Christ fills us and we can say with
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up
into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”
(Psalms 139:7-8 AV)
We and our environment
are imbued with
“And all that sat in the council, looking
stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” (Acts
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost,
looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing
on the right hand of God,” (Acts 7:55 AV)
In such a Spirit-filled
state we experience the truth that “by him all things consist”.
“For by him 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.”
(Colossians 1:16-17 AV)
The kingdom will later
be experienced as both a spiritual and political reality on earth – subjective
and objective. I use the term ‘objective’ with reservations. We always
experience everything subjectively. We can conceptualise objectively but can
only experience life subjectively. Only God has an objective overview and can
also see everything at once from all points of view.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?
and one of them shall not fall on the ground without
your Father.” (
“And the King shall answer and say unto them,
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (
“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in you all.” (Ephesians 4:6 AV)
The
above scriptures make it abundantly clear why the second great commandment is
like unto the first. The Father is in us all and we are all in the Father.
“And
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.” (
As
I will show below, the
“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.” (
But
the Lord has a kingdom in heaven and even while he is exiled from this world we
who belong to him are citizens of heaven, the kingdom of heaven.
“And hath raised us up together, and made
us sit together in heavenly places in
“For our conversation is in heaven; from
whence also we look for the Saviour, the
We
are citizens of the invisible heavenly realm above, in which we live and move
and have our being. Though for most of our time on earth we are “present with
the body and absent from the Lord”, as we become less concerned with the things
of this world, the
“Thou fool, that which thou sowest
is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not
that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some
other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to
every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there
is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of
fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another.” (1 Corinthians 15:36-40 AV)
“For we know that if our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If
so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this
tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but
clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath
wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the
earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst
we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith,
not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2
Corinthians 5:1-8 AV)
According
to the linear manner of events as we experience them on earth, a saved
believer’s dead body will be in the ground until the “dead in
“For the living know that they shall die:
but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the
memory of them is forgotten.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5 AV)
But
the saved are already participating in eternal life before they die. We are in
the Spirit, not in the flesh. We are already seated in heavenly places though
still encumbered with vile flesh and blood bodies.
“Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” (John
“There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
(Romans 8:9 AV)
“And hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in
“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself.” (Philippians
Our
glorification is declared in the past tense in the scriptures.
“Moreover whom he did predestinate, them
he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans
What
is impossible for us is possible for God. According to scripture Abraham had already
seen the Lord’s day, even though Jesus was not born on
earth until two thousand years after Abraham died.
“Your father
In
like fashion, the rapture may be hundreds of years in the future in our linear
time but in God’s eternal realm it will be less than a day away. All bets are
off once we enter the eternal, heavenly
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8 AV)
Because
we mostly dwell in the temporal, visible realm, we are prone to think of God’s
eternal, invisible realm as having similar properties to this realm. This is
probably why so many think that God needs some kind of ‘holding pen’ for the
souls of the righteous dead prior to the rapture.
At
this time I prefer not to confuse my imagination by making paradise a temporal,
temporary abode for the souls of dead saints.
The
eternal presence of the TREE OF LIFE identifies paradise with the
Surely
there is only ONE tree of life. Scripture puts the tree of life in the
“And out of
the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,
and good for food; the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9 AV)
Scripture
also puts the tree of life in paradise – the PRESENT paradise that was immediately
accessible to the Lord and the thief on the cross and was also immediately
accessible to Paul when he was caught up to the third heaven (probably during
what we call a ‘near death experience’).
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the tree of life, which is in the
midst of the paradise of God.”
(Revelation 2:7 AV)
“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43 AV)
“I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the
body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught
up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out
of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he
was caught up into paradise, and
heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2
Corinthians 12:2-4 AV)
But
wait, there’s more. Scripture also puts the tree of life in the FUTURE New
Jerusalem of the new earth and heaven of Revelation 21-22.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street
of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2 AV)
So
I have no scriptural reason to doubt that paradise is the same realm as ‘
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
(Ephesians 1:4 AV)
The millennial kingdom
(see Stage 3) is the kingdom that many mid-Acts dispensationalists are referring
to when they contrast the gospel of the kingdom with the gospel of grace.
“And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be
given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” (
“When they therefore were come together, they
asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Although
the Lord promised his apostles that they would sit upon twelve thrones in the
regeneration, he made no mention of when this was going to happen. (It is my
understanding that the regeneration is also called the “times of refreshing”
and that it will occur after the great tribulation and set the stage for the
millennial kingdom. The earth shall be miraculously returned to the beauty of
its youth and all living things, including humans, will be supernaturally regenerated.)
“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say
unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
The
times or seasons of
“Then answered Jesus and said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he
seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise.” (
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I
hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (
Therefore
it was not
“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.” (
A Christian friend has
one of those large mid-Acts dispensational charts on his wall. As scriptural
support that
“When they therefore were come together,
they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the
kingdom to
If the times or seasons
are in the Father’s power then it follows that THEY ARE NOT IN THE SON’S POWER.
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no
man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” (Mark
I was taught by
respected mid-Acts teachers that the Lord had it within his power to offer both
the spiritual and the physical kingdom to
This issue is of
crucial importance. Everywhere I hear mid-Acts people contrasting the gospel of
the kingdom with the gospel of grace. This contrast only works if
The reason this issue
is critical is because a right understanding of it restores the traditional
right division of the Bible into Old and New Testaments. The New Testament
begins where the preaching of the
“In those days came
If
“John answered, saying unto them all, I
indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of
whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire:” (Luke 3:16 AV)
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall
not inherit the
[Note that although
John proclaimed the coming of the new covenant, he was also aware that it would
require the “death of the testator (Hebrews
The Lord’s revelations
to Paul are precisely the ‘way of God more perfectly’ that was expounded by
“And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at
“Now some are puffed up, as though I would
not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will
know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the
When
“The next day
The term ‘kingdom of
heaven’ occurs 33 times in the gospel of
For example;
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (
“Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (
The “poor in spirit”
and “they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” are to look forward to
being resurrected back on earth, in flesh and bone bodies, in a kingdom (stage
3 below) ruled with a ROD OF IRON and surrounded by potential turncoats who
will rush to join Satan when he is released at the end of the millennium?
“And it came to pass, that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into
How do I know that
“For in the resurrection they neither
marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But
as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was
spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (
“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,
when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” (
The preceding
scriptures have established the whereabouts of
“The centurion answered and said, Lord, I
am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only,
and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers
under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he
cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he
marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That
many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.” (
The following scripture
involves Israel’s earthly kingdom and describes events that are also described
in Revelation 20, after the thousand years of Israel’s restored kingdom, at the
great white throne judgement just prior to the destruction of the first heaven
and earth.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto
a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it
was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels,
but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall
come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And
shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth.” (
The term ‘
“But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of
God, then the
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the
You would have to be particularly
dull of hearing to think that the above are referring to anything other than
the spiritual kingdom, the mind of Christ (stage 1 below), the kingdom which
those in darkness cannot experience and which is a foretaste of the heavenly
Jerusalem which is above (stage 2 below), from which the Lord descended to be
born here below in the likeness of sinful flesh.
“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (John 17:5 AV)
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh:” (Romans 8:3 AV)
“Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8 AV)
Does the following
saying bring to mind the restored, physical millennial kingdom, which will be
forcibly installed after great tribulation? Or does it sound more like the
subjective, spiritual kingdom (stage 1 below) – the kingdom of an individual’s
consciousness in which the word of God has been sown?
“Then said he, Unto
what is the
And does it also
compare to later statements by Paul about the form taken by those who are to be
clothed upon with an house from heaven fit for
“Thou fool, that which thou sowest
is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not
that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some
other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to
every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there
is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of
fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another.” (1 Corinthians 15:36-40 AV)
There are only a few
instances where the restored, physical kingdom is mentioned, or inferred, or
necessary for the associated saying to make sense. For example the following
saying only makes sense with regard to the prophesied tribulation and
restoration of the Davidic
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and
in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When
they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now
nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye
that the
There is no doubt that
the Lord was referring to the prophesied great tribulation, the future
redemption of
“And so all
But was the Lord
suggesting that this kingdom was nigh as he spoke? NO. He was saying that it WILL BE NIGH when the signs of the
great tribulation come to pass and when the Son of man comes in a cloud with
power and great glory.
Some
will say that if
“Even as
the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his
life a ransom for many.” (
The
Lord avoided any attempt to crown him a king in this world during his earthly
ministry.
“When
It
is also commonly taught that if establishment
“But this is that which was spoken by the
prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days
of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above,
and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun
shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and
notable day of the Lord come:” (Acts 2:16-20 AV)
He
quite understandably expected the great tribulation and the prophesied “times
of refreshing” and the restoration of
“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.” (Acts 3:19-21 AV)
“And I will shew wonders in the heavens
and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the LORD come.” (
The
present age of grace coincides with the latter end of the ongoing “times of the
Gentiles”, which (according to
“For these be the
days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give
suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress
in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the
sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and
The
signs in the sun and moon, which accompany the great tribulation, will follow
the times of the Gentiles. The present age of grace is at the latter end of the
times of the Gentiles and coincides with the ‘blindness in part’ of
“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.” (Romans
Peter
was as yet unaware that God’s hidden plan was to hold off his wrath on the
world as a whole (i.e. the great tribulation accompanied by the signs in the
sun and moon) for a long and unprophesied age of grace - though the Jews have
been feeling his wrath for nearly two thousand years. Many claiming to be
Christians have added to unbelieving
“Even so have these also now not believed,
that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.” (Romans
Once
the Lord had saved our apostle Paul, and set the dispensation of grace loose on
earth among us Gentiles, it became clear to the apostles that the times or
seasons of the great tribulation, and the restoration of Israel’s kingdom, were
perhaps a long way into the future and known only to God. The great falling
away and the man of sin must be revealed before that day.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That
ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 AV)
The
Lord clearly stated during his first coming ministry, that the earthly, physical
“Now to him that is of power to stablish
you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,”
(Romans 16:25 AV)
The kingdom that was truly nigh when
“And when
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees,
when the
The
“And after six days Jesus taketh with him
Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an
high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his
raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can
white them. And there appeared unto them
“There shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets,
in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” (
And
that the ‘kingdom of God of those who attain unto the resurrection of the dead’
(stage 2 below) is a real realm, was demonstrated most dramatically by the
resurrection of the Lord himself from the dead, and his subsequent appearance
to many of his followers.
“Him God raised
up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto
witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him
after he rose from the dead.” (Acts 10:40-41 AV)
The
Lord’s ascension to heaven was the first such ascension of those resurrected
from the dead. The living and sleeping saints will ascend in similar fashion at
the end of this age.
“And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their
sight.” (Acts 1:9 AV)
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians
And last of all, the Lord revealed the glory of his
celestial body to our apostle Paul. It is too bright to
look upon for us earth dwellers with mere terrestrial bodies.
“At
The
Lord was the ”firstborn from the dead” and the
“firstborn of many brethren” yet prior to this ‘first resurrection’ the Lord
had used a long past event to demonstrate that the dead are raised.
“And as touching the dead, that they rise:
have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him,
saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He
is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly
err.” (
How
could
“Your father
“And when he was demanded of the
Pharisees, when the
Fortunately
there is a piece of modern technology which serves quite well as an analogy or
example of how the
Most
people think that we are viewing or experiencing life directly, as the camera’s
eyes and ears do, but we are not. Our eyes and ears receive visual and audio
vibrations and we (our spirits) cannot see or hear what you might call our
unprocessed or ‘raw’ environment. (Note that the environment of our spirit
includes our own body). We always experience our processed and recreated
environment. What we call everyday experience of life is actually a recreation
in the ‘viewing screen’ of our brains. Ask any user of alcohol and/or drugs if their
experience of so-called reality is affected when the recreation process in
their brain is affected by alcohol or drugs. Ugly women are rated by male
drinkers on the basis of how much alcohol they would need to drink in order for
them to become beautiful. Our everyday waking experience of life is taking
place in the same realm as a vivid dream while sleeping.
So
there is this realm of unprocessed or ‘raw’ experience which provides our
senses the vibrations which our brain processes into what we actually
experience. Does this mean that we, our spirits, the experiencers of our lives,
are trapped inside our heads? This is where a neighbour comes in handy. True
‘spirit to spirit’, empathetic communication with our neighbour (true love) has
the potential to elevate both us and our neighbour ‘out of our heads’ and into
the
This
is why
I wish that for just one time, you could
stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time, you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you
And
why the second commandment is like the first.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second
is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none
other commandment greater than these.” (
And
why our apostle said:
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word,
even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Galatians
So
the law has the potential to translate us into the
“And when
But
we were unable to fulfil the law because our spirits were dead in trespasses
and sins. We became so adept at our lies of blaming others, self-pity and self-justification,
and so blind and defensive regarding our own selfishness and wickedness, that
our defenses became impenetrable to the light of truth – the light of seeing
ourselves from our neighbor’s point of view. So the law couldn’t save us. The terrible
power of darkness in our lives could only be penetrated by an even greater
power – the power unleashed by God when we believed the gospel of our
salvation.
“For our gospel came not unto you in word
only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye
know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5
AV)
Our
experience of so-called reality can now be greatly affected by the Word and
Spirit of God. Experience of life in which God not only exists but is
sovereign, and where “all things work together for good to them that love God”,
is very different to the experience of a life in which there is no God and it
is all a matter of ‘survival of the fittest’, or a life in which the devil
rules and hell doesn’t sound that bad anyway.
When
we “believe God” and “believe on the
“But the natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual
judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of
As
we “grow up into the head” of the body of
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid
with
How
can this be if our flesh and blood bodies are not yet in their coffins?
Colossians 3:3 only makes sense when we realize that when our spirits are
quickened with his Spirit, we are as dead as we are ever going to be. We are
hid with
“Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” (John
‘Incremental’ is an unsatisfactory word to describe
the progress of the
So the progress of the
God’s strategy appears to be in stages, the first of
which is the recruiting and accumulation of a living and sleeping army of
saints which will be gathered into the heavenly realm at the end of this age.
Stage two involves the recapture of the rebellious
heavenly realm by God’s angels under
Stage three is the recapture and refreshing of all the
earth and the restoration of
Stage four is the destruction of all of God’s enemies,
the destruction of the first heaven and earth and the creation of the new
heaven and the new earth. The climax of God’s absolute victory and
reconciliation of all things to himself is the coming down of his holy city, “
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 AV)
This is the present, spiritual kingdom that Paul preached
- the kingdom within us that can be experienced immediately. Righteousness,
peace and joy are experienced subjectively by those who are filled with the
Holy Spirit.
“For the
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is
excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians
The spiritual
It
is a subjective, experiential kingdom. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I can
assure you that all things you experience are in your mind – from the end of
your nose to the furthest star you can see on a clear night. The QUALITY of
your experience of all things depends upon the QUALITY of your motives and
deeds. You cannot walk in the light if your motives and deeds cannot also WALK
IN THE LIGHT.
“And this is the condemnation, that light
is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil.” (John
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you
before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such
things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 AV)
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 AV)
The
kingdom of God is the MIND OF CHRIST – the mind of a man without sin; a man
whose motives and deeds are PERFECT, the PERFECT love of God that died for us
when we were enemies.
“For if, when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.” (Romans
“Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form
of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8
AV)
“Herein is our love made perfect, that we
may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as
he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that
feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:17-18 AV)
We
are citizens of heaven residing in a Satanic world
system. The children of the kingdom living among the children
of the wicked one. Those born of the Spirit living
among those born only of the flesh.
“The field is the world; the good seed are the
children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;”
(Matthew
“But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born
after the Spirit, even so it is now.” (Galatians
“For our conversation is in heaven; from
whence also we look for the Saviour, the
It
is also the kingdom that subjectively travelled with Jesus and his disciples on
earth, so that he could instruct the twelve and the seventy to say to those in
the towns they visited that the kingdom of God was at hand, or nigh, in
proximity (in Jesus and his disciples) and in time (on the day of Pentecost in
the near future).
“And as ye go, preach, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7 AV)
“And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The
The
Spirit is the Spirit of truth so the kingdom is the kingdom of spiritual light
and truth.
“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him;
for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (
Stage
1 is the earnest (pledge and foretaste) of Stage 2 - when we shall be clothed
upon with our house which is from heaven.
“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring
to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do
groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for
the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the
Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home
in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:2-8
AV)
But
“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself.” (Philippians
The
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the
Corruption
cannot inherit incorruption. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and
it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2 AV)
The
“Then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and
so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians
Our
present corruptible flesh and blood bodies have a similar relationship to our
glorified bodies that seeds have to plants and trees. So we can look forward to
an extraordinary transformation.
“Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not
quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body
that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But
God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.”
(1 Corinthians 15:36-38 AV)
The
eternal heavenly
“But
If
we are to seek those things which are above then it is helpful to have some
idea of what they are. In
“If
ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which
are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1 AV)
“But ye are come unto
“And so all
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in
the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8 AV)
“That
was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was
in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” (John
1:9-10 AV)
“And I heard a
great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:3 AV)
So
the descriptions of the Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem give us further
information about the things in “Jerusalem which is above” that we are to seek.
“And out of the ground
made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good
for food; the tree of life also in
the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And a river went out of
“And
he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me
that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was
like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates
twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the
twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north
three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.”
(Revelation 21:10-13 AV)
“And
he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on
either side of the river, was there the
tree of life, which bare twelve manner
of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2 AV)
Because
“
“He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of
the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7 AV)
When
Paul was caught up to the third heaven he also described himself as “caught up
into paradise”. So “
“I
knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot
tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
such an one caught up to the third
heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I
cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians
12:2-4 AV)
My
earlier understanding was that we would only remain in Stage 2 for the duration
of the tribulation (less than seven years) but my understanding has progressed
to seeing that we will operate from this
The great
tribulation of this world should begin immediately after the rapture, because
the Holy Spirit’s role on earth will end for a time with the departure of the
church. In one fell swoop the Lord gathers all of the dead and living members
of the body of
“Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” (1
Corinthians 6:3 AV)
This
should also be the time of intensified war in heaven and the casting down of
“And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place
found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and
Perhaps
the glorified saints will do the judging and
“And no marvel; for
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians
The physical kingdom of
heaven on earth is best described as the millennial kingdom or
The Second Coming of
the Son of man will be the most extraordinary event that the world has ever
seen.
“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is
in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers;
believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth
even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (
The
Lord will return from the heavenly realm of Stage 2 (Sion) with all of his
saints.
“And so all
“ When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4 AV)
“To the end he
may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father,
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians
If
all means ALL then the Lord will
return with all of his saints since the world began – both Jew and Gentile.
“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the
Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with
it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and
he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
(Revelation
The
Gentile nations will finally be enriched by
“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?” (Romans
And
here is how it is possible with God. “These slain” of the whole house of
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I
myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (
“To whom also he shewed himself alive
after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God:” (Acts 1:3 AV)
so “these slain” of the
WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL shall be resurrected and returned to their earthly
promised land for the duration of the millennium. Sounds a bit spooky and
zombie-like, but here it is in the word of God.
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and
carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the
valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by
them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and,
lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon
these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus
saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into
you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh
upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live;
and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and
as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came
together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh
came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in
them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and
say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that
they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into
them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
The
resurrected “these slain” of the “whole house of
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and
that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:” (Job
“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of
them be, but life from the dead?”
(Romans
It
seems that
“And so all
The
‘latter day’ of these events must be prior to the millennial kingdom and
probably coincides with the first resurrection of Revelation.
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection: on such the second
death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of
I
understand the “second death” to be the eternal death in the lake of fire so
the ‘flesh and bone’ resurrected of
There
are Old Testament prophecies that declare that the kingdom shall stand forever
or unto a thousand generations. I believe that these prophets are seeing the
everlasting kingdom of the new earth and heaven (stage 4 below) as a
continuation of the millennial kingdom.
“He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word
which he commanded to a thousand generations.” (Psalms 105:8 AV)
“And in the
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for
ever.” (
The
Bible says it will happen and I believe it will happen. But I can’t for the
life of me come to anything like a coherent understanding of what FORM the Son
of Man, and all of the glorified saints he returns with, will take for the 1000
years.
The
resurrected Lord and all of his saints are clothed with celestial, angelic bodies
which are too bright for terrestrial beings to look upon. So what form will
they take upon returning to this terrestrial environment?
“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are
given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” (
“At
“There are
also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the
glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another.” (1 Corinthians
Resurrected
saints with glorified, spiritual bodies will neither marry nor be given in
marriage. But are we to understand that beings that are not flesh and blood
still eat and drink?
“That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom,
and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
“Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the
fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the
Perhaps
one day I will get a better understanding of these things. For now I have more
questions than answers.
The
twelve apostles of the circumcision have been promised twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of
“That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom,
and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
The
saints of the uncircumcision have been informed by the apostle of the Gentiles
that we shall judge the world.
“Do
ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” (1 Corinthians
6:2 AV)
How
this is all going to work is way beyond my wildest imagination but I would not
be alone in thinking that the saints (Jew and Gentile) will have angelic bodies
and powers when they return with the Lord. Because we will be “equal to the
angels” it seems reasonable to assume that we will take over the principalities
that
If
this is the case then we must presume that
“For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians
I
think the political system of the millennium has been foreshadowed by the rule
of
“And I will restore thy judges as at the
first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called,
The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” (Isaiah
As
Satan’s angels remain invisible yet control through individuals on earth, so it
is likely that the Lord’s judging saints will remain in heaven but control
through powerful judges on earth.
There
are already millions of the Lord’s people on earth as I write this - as he had
much people in
“Then spake the Lord to
The
saints should also be able to manifest on earth as supernatural beings should
they be required to - as Satan’s angels did in Genesis 6 and as other angels
and the Lord himself (as THE angel of the Lord) have manifested on earth
throughout the Bible. .
So
Sometime after the
millennium, all flesh and blood of the earth, that still prefer
“But the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second
death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of
My
understanding of these things is developing on a daily basis so I obviously
don’t have all the answers, and I doubt that any human being has. If the
dispensation of the fulness of times is all about reconciling all things unto himself, things which are in heaven and on earth, then it
must be that this process occurs prior to the destruction of the present
physical heavens and earth. I cannot say if this is referring to a brief
process of cleansing after the millennial kingdom or to
many thousands of years of the
“He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word
which he commanded to a thousand generations.” (Psalms 105:8 AV)
Either
way the grace age saints remain as heavenly, angelic people while all the
surviving people of earth come into the restored kingdom of Israel. All things,
in heaven and earth, are being gathered together in
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
on earth; even in him:” (Ephesians 1:10 AV)
“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
Although as yet I have
found no specific reference to it, the earthly kingdom saints will most likely
ascend to the third heaven prior to the destruction of this present heaven and
earth. Peter was given this word regarding the destruction of this present
heaven and earth
“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the
same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not
ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” (2
Peter 3:7-12 AV)
Paul
also declares that the present earth and heavens shall perish and be changed.
“And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the
foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They
shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou
art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” (Hebrews 1:10-12 AV)
Then comes that which is to my present understanding
the final increment of the
“Nevertheless
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 AV)
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a
pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is
new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write
upon him my new name.” (Revelation 3:11-12 AV)
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for
the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more
sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God
himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:1-3 AV)
A new dispensation of God was introduced
through the apostle Paul mid-way through the historical book of Acts. Critics
of mid-Acts dispensationalism point out that you have to “read between the
lines” in the book of Acts to come to such a conclusion. No you don’t. You just
need the tiniest little bit of common sense.
“But I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither
received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus
Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of
God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me
the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,” (Ephesians 3:1-3 AV)
Mid-Acts dispensationalism is so true that
we do not need to bolster it with any false teachings. One such false teaching
is that
This particular error has lead mid-Acts
people to conclude that the New Testament did not start with