Tag Archives: New Covenant

What is the Millennium Reign of Christ?

Posted on 04/04/2025 | Leave a comment

The phrase ‘the millennium reign of Christ on earth, is a form of eschatological speculation that contradicts the Church’s historical teachings on the nature of Christ’s reign. The apocalyptic passage of Revelation 20:4-6 is usually quoted by many teachers in support of this idea These writers include the popular online series ‘Got Questions?’.

These people claim that Jesus Christ will return and will establish Himself as king in Jerusalem, literally sitting on the throne of David.  They quote Luke 1:32–33 as one of their proof texts:

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

No mention of Jerusalem here! He will reign not just on earth but in heaven for ever and ever. And we Christians today are enjoying His reign! For we are the true ‘Israel of God’ as Paul declared (Galatians 6:16).

Sending His disciples He said “all power is given unto me in heaven and earth.” (Mat 28:18)

Rev 1:5. John wrote: he is the ruler of all the kings of the world.

Rev 11:15 . . . . the seventh angel sounded  . . . . saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever'”.

Daniel 7:27: And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Revelation 20 just does not connect with the idea ‘while Christ reigns over the earth.’ It says ‘They reigned with Christ for a thousand years.’ Yes, but on earth? No. They have died and they have received their resurrection and will reign with him where He is, in heaven. (Revelation 20:4-6)

See John 14:3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Let’s interpret the obscure, apocalyptic passages of scripture by text that is perspicuous—a sound hermeneutic. Jesus has ascended and is reigning now and is seated at the right hand of God. To say He will take up residence in earthly Jerusalem is junk theology—believed by millions in a cult.

These teachers claim that unconditional covenants demand a literal, physical return of Christ to establish the kingdom.

These covenants don’t ‘demand’ a physical return. A physical return cannot be proved. Why do people think He would be optically ‘seen’ at His coming in judgment hidden in clouds of glory? He whom no one can see and live? Christian, we walk by faith, not by sight!

He told Pilate ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’

They claim that the Abrahamic covenant promises Israel a land, a posterity and ruler, and a spiritual blessing quoting Genesis 12:1–3. But what does it say:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God covenanted with Abraham (you/thee, sing.) not Israel. All people will be blessed because of Abraham’s seed, which is Christ! See Galatians 3:7-9:  Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

They claim that the Palestinian covenant promised Israel a restoration to the land and occupation of the land (Deuteronomy 30:1–10).  

True. But then the passage goes on, see verse 18: But if to other gods and [you] worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

They made the wrong choice, again and again and again. Consequently, they were certainly destroyed when Judea, Jerusalem and people were ravaged by the Roman armies in 66-70 AD after the real Jewish followers of Christ had escaped just as He instructed them. “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written. (Luke 21:20-22).

They also claim that the Davidic covenant promised Israel a king from David’s line who would rule forever—giving the nation rest from all their enemies (2 Samuel 7:10–13).

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

That was fulfilled at the birth of Jesus as we saw above in Luke 1:32–33.

See also Daniel 7:13-14: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.

In conclusion, let me say that this whole idea we have looked at here, rather briefly, is not reflected at all in the pages of the New Testament. Their proof texts are mostly from the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation.

All of this goes along with the obsession millions have about the nation-state of Israel founded not by God Almighty but by politicians and global elites like the wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish banking family Rothschilds.

We are the people of God as Peter wrote to congregations of Jews and Gentiles (1 Peter 2:9).

Repeating, God covenanted with Abraham (Gen 12:1-3):

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Today, we believers in Jesus are that ‘great nation’, not the Israeli state. We are blessed and will be a blessing, and all peoples on earth are being blessed by us!

Let’s do it!

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Peter and His End Times Teaching

Posted on 30/03/2025 | 3 comments

Peter wrote: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Peter wrote this letter to Christian believers living in various places, scattered throughout Pontos, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These were real places in the Ancient World. It’s interesting if you check Acts chapter 2 you find those same places mentioned among the many other regions, from which people had come to Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. Acts 2 describes how on that day the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.

So Peter was addressing some of those same people who had heard him proclaiming on that day some 25 or 30 years previously. These would have gone back to their homelands and no doubt bore witnesses for Jesus by the power of the Spirit where they lived.

He encouraged his readers, both Hebrew and Gentile believers, to prepare for a most important, earth-shattering event that was soon to take place. Terrible judgment was about to come on many Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. The temple and the Jewish religion known for centuries, Judaism, would be destroyed and replaced by a new creation. This would also seriously impact them and many traditional Jews where they lived.

Although Peter wrote that they were born again and their inheritance was safe in heaven, he said to them that their salvation was the future –it was ready to be revealed! When? In ‘the last time’. What?

Yes, the last time or the end of the age.  That’s not the end of history or the end of the world but the end of the Mosaic era, the Old Covenant, and the Jewish sacrificial economy. He wrote they are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

The New Testament teaches that salvation was not complete until the return of Christ: . . . so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. (Hebrews 9:28).

You see, this strongly reflects the Old Testament type of the high priest’s role on the Day of Atonement and his safe exit from the Temple to appear to those Jews who eagerly awaited him (Leviticus 16). God had accepted the sacrifice! In the same way, when our Great High Priest, Jesus, appears a second time, Christian believers are assured of their complete salvation. Until He appears again, believers are waiting.

In the gospel of Luke, we read So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near (Luke 21:28).

‘All these things’ included Jerusalem ringed by armies, great tribulation in the land wrath against the Jews and the coming of the Son of Man in judgment. Jesus was addressing His disciples 2000 years ago (not us today). If those things did not happen then completed salvation did not happen!

If Christ did not return, then your salvation is incomplete and no one has yet gone to heaven.  Jesus had told Peter on the Mount of Olivet that all things which were written would be fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed and that included His coming again. See Luke 21:22: For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written.

Then Peter wrote: In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy 1 Peter 1:6-8)

Though they were excited and joyful, they would suffer for a little while until the time when Jesus was revealed. They were suffering persecution most likely from Jews who had rejected Jesus.

Peter says at the coming of the Son of Man, after ‘a little while (not 2000 years!) these believers will offer up praise, glory and honour. At His coming the dead will be raised! (1 Corinthians 15:52-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).  Their Jewish persecutors judged! This has happened long ago.

Since resurrection begins only at the Second Coming, the ‘End’, so if the Son of Man did not come no one yet has been resurrected. The dead remain in Sheol.

But, dear reader, where do you believe that you go at death? Heaven, yes!

Well, I have good news for you! Jesus DID return in clouds of God’s glory 2000 years ago and that means your salvation is complete! Sheol has been emptied.

Peter wrote, Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)

Peter said they are to set their hope on the grace to be brought to them at the revelation of His coming. Peter expected His coming was soon for them. Do you honestly think that they were disappointed, left utterly without any hope? No grace brought to them? Of course not!

You may not have known it, dear reader, that your salvation is complete! Because He came!

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Peter’s Jerusalem Temple Speeches

Posted on 23/02/2025 | Leave a comment

In this article we look at part of Peter’s great speech recorded by Luke in Acts 2:14-21. This event was the inauguration of the New Covenant which took place in Jerusalem during the Jewish feast of Pentecost when thousands of Jews from many countries joined the locals. The New Covenant means the END of the Old Covenant! Forget Israel. Forget Jerusalem!  Luke 2:14-21:

Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.  These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, said God, I will pour out of My Spirit on 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 show 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 the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved”.

V 16. Joel’s prediction

Peter was referring to the phenomena of supposedly drunken people which was the evidence of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the 120 disciples gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. He affirmed that “this” supernatural phenomena was the fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28) in the Old Testament. Fulfilment means fulfilment. Done.

The Book of Acts goes on to this describe how was fulfilled: God certainly poured out his Spirit on all sorts of people–sons and daughters prophesied, young men saw visions and old men had dreams: Even on servants and handmaidens, God poured out His Spirit in those days. Luke describes many stories of miraculous healings and many other astounding gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This was the inauguration of the New Covenant which we enjoy to this day with the continued pouring out of the Holy Spirit. It was the birth of the movement we call Christianity. It marks the change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. And from a focus on the Jews and Israel as a piece of land to the true focus of the Israel of God—the ekklesia, spiritual Israel. This is exactly what Jesus spoke about to the Samaritan woman in John 4:

“. . .  it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.  . . . .   But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

V 17. the last days. The biblical writers used these expressions “the last days” or “the end” to mean the last days of the Jewish economy and the end of the Mosaic religious era and the time of the second coming of the Son of Man and the day of God’s wrath.  They did not mean the end of the world. Not the end of history.

Vs 19-20. Some think that verses 19 and 20 are describing the results of global nuclear war as they believe they are living in the last days. They are sorely mistaken because the New Testament records that Jesus promised his disciples that he would come again before his generation has passed away as recorded in Matthew 16:27-28 and 24:34).

These verses 19-20 describe the signs of the coming of the Son of Man in the familiar terms of judgment using non-literal expressions.  This was a common motif we find in the Old Testament prophets —the collapsing of cosmic entities in their judgment prophecies, e.g. Isa 13:10, 19:1,24:18-20, 34;8-15, Ezek 32:7–8; Joel 2:28).

These cosmic signs are not descriptions of the results of global nuclear war or the end of the world. These would take place ‘before the great and notable day of the Lord comes.’ So what great and notable day is this? The answer is found in the next chapter of Acts (3:18-21).

We find Peter addressing another crowd curiously attentive after the healing of the crippled man and the ensuing sensation:

But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.  Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.

Fulfilling the prophecies. Because God now at last was fulfilling the prophecies told about Jesus, this was the most significant time in Jewish history and for the whole world as well. All was fulfilled! (also see Luke 21:20-22).

Repent. Their repentance would guarantee the presence of the Lord in their lives. No more squeezing stale refreshment from the Law or the sacrificial system. Now they would experience wonderful refreshment from the presence of the Lord in their lives. Relationship not religion.

God will again send you Jesus. God will again send Jesus to redeem them. Peter addresses them, ‘you’ (not us today). He wil gather his people back to himself and that will be the completion of His atoning sacrifice. See Hebrews 9:11-15 and 27-28: He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. His re-appearance means completed salvation—just as the appearance of the Jewish high priest on the Day of Atonement meant the sacrifice was successful.

He must remain in heaven until. So there was still more to come for those believers—God will again send them Jesus for the final restoration (Greek apokatastasis), completion, or filling up of all things, as God promised long ago through his prophets (Deut 18:19).

For us today as we read Luke’s account this apokatastasis is long past. For He did return as He promised His disciples (Mat 10:23, 16:27-28, 24:30-34. This assured His people of a completed atonement.

If you doubt His second coming then you should be pleased that He came 2000 years ago to complete your salvation. Good news!

But if Jesus did not come in the generation of Peter and his listeners, then that’s bad news—you still await the consummation, your completed salvation.

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Jesus came—Period

Posted on 27/01/2025 | Leave a comment

This will be brief.

Please look up and study very carefully these three passages from Matthew’s Gospel.

Firstly, Matthew 10:23. Matthew 16:27 to 28 and Matthew 24 :32 to 34.

And when you’ve studied these carefully, perhaps you will come to a different opinion when you can understand that Jesus came back within the generation of his peers.

The alternative is that Jesus was mistaken. That was the view of the esteemed C S Lewis—see his book “The World’s Last Night”. It is also the view of many liberal scholars and Islamic writers.

This discredits Jesus.

No. Christ has already come back long ago. He came at the ‘end of the age’ i.e., the end of the Jewish (Mosaic) age or the end of the Old Covenant.

It was NOT the end of the world or the end of history. It was the end of Judaism.

Jesus came when Jerusalem and the Holy Temple were utterly destroyed (the great tribulation). It was a divine visitation or Parousia. 

The very novel ‘rapture’ doctrine was created around the 1830’s by an exclusive Brethren Englishman, John Nelson Darby and propagandised by an American criminal called ‘Dr’ Cyrus Schofield who created the Scofield Reference Bible. Today millions of ‘Bible believing’ people believe this Satanic teaching. It is against the Kingdom of God and leads to pessimism and a ‘I wanna get outa here’ mentality.

Read Matthew 23 37-38 where Jesus addressed, castigated the Jewish leaders:

“As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.”

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Who are the people of God?

Posted on 16/01/2025 | Leave a comment

God’s promise to Abraham came true for us down to this very day. For we who follow Jesus are the true people of God. We are Abraham’s descendants.

We are the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). The ὅσοι [‘as many as’] refers to the individual Christians, Jewish and Gentile; and ‘Israel of God’ to the same Christians, seen collectively and forming the true messianic community.” (Word Studies in the New Testament vol. 4, p. 180). It seems clear that in this verse Paul cannot be pronouncing a benediction upon persons who are not included in the phrase “as many as shall walk by this rule” (i.e., the rule of boasting only in the cross). The entire argument of the epistle prevents any idea that here he would give a blessing to those who are not included in this group. And Paul wrote: “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise”. (Galatians 3:29).

Jesus said to unbelieving Jews (Mat 8:11-12).  “I tell you this that many Gentiles will come from all over the world –from east and west–and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites–those for whom the Kingdom was prepared–will be thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

See also 1 Peter 2: 4-10: . . . . . .  for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” These terms chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession, reflect Deuteronomy 7:6, 10:15, 14:2. Under the New Covenant the same applies to all believers in Christ.

And see 1 Thessalonians 1:3-4. We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.

Replacement theology

We who insist on the above are often accused of ‘replacement theology’. I do not believe that any group has replaced “Israel”. I believe in a transformed people of God–Israel transformed at Pentecost, the remnant, all Jews from all nations of the Dispersion.

Paul wrote It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. (Galatians 3:15).

And Galatians 3:6-9: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

And again (Galatians 3:26-29: For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you (Gentiles). 

Looking at Romans 11 in the light of the above

Yes, ‘the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable’ (11:29), and “all Israel will be saved’ (11:26). Yes certainly that is true as long as it is understood that REAL Jews as Paul defined in Romans 2:26-29 (see more below). As I noted above, Paul wrote that all believers in Christ crucified are the Israel of God! (Galatians 6:16). We, both believing Jews and Gentiles, are the transformed Israel together! Thus all Israel will be saved.

Paul quotes Isaiah and God’s covenant prophesied by Isaiah (59:20-21) with Israel. So it was not ethic Israel but spiritual Israel (11:25–28). “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins” says the Lord. This is a wonderful covenantal promise about our redeemer coming buying back repentant Israelites—this is the gospel story. And His Spirit will not leave them, and nor will His (Jesus’) words (Matthew 24:35).

Does this Covenant promise the idea of inheriting the land? No. It does not suggest that the promises of the Old Testament are intended for ‘ethnic’ Jews, but are available to all Jews who believe in Christ. Because of their disobedience and idolatry (Deuteronomy 30) ‘ethnic’ Israel has lost its place as the chosen people of God.

The New Testament does not anticipate the return of ethnic Jews to the land of Israel as part of the fulfilment of God’s promises. Instead, it focuses on the gathering of God’s people from all nations, as seen in Revelation 7:9 (from every nation and tribe and people and language) and Matthew 24:31, where the gathered people are a Jewish-gentile community redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

So who are REAL Jews? Paul tells us in Romans 2:26-29: if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people?  . . . . . . For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Will the Jews literally inherit the Promised Land? Moses prophesied that if Israel as a nation repented they could be regathered to the land. Then they weregiven a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster (Deuteronomy 30:15).

Unfortunately they made the wrong choice. And many continue that in wrong choice to this very day, whether they live in the nation we know as “Israel” or elsewhere. The letter to the Hebrews addressing Christians talks about entering the ‘rest’ by faith, spiritually—not a literal land. See my article here . . . . . .

See also Matthew 23:34-38. “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.  As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.  And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Notice carefully verse 29. There is a way back for any Jew but he must welcome Jesus as sent by the Lord!

They may be grafted back again if they turn from their unbelief (Romans 11:23): But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 

Romans 11:30–36 does not teach about a kingdom with both Jews and Gentiles as distinct populations within the people of God. That would be a totally abhorrent idea for Paul (Galatians 3-6, Ephesians 2-3).

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Gleanings from The Letter to the Hebrews: The Final Days—Part 3

Posted on 18/12/2024 | Leave a comment

Recapping

These Jesus’ followers were new Christians though they still identified as Jewish. They were the true people of God but were suffering, opposed, persecuted by apostate Jews, who refused to accept Jesus. 

Remember, the letters in the New Testament were not written to us today but they can still be very important for us—audience relevance is important.  This letter is full of warnings and for today’s Christian this is just as relevant.  So let’s again plunge into some important passages.

Hebrews 10:1

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 

The whole Mosaic system was only a shadow, not reality. Now these “good things” had come for these first century believers by virtue of Jesus’ perfect self-sacrifice. Why would they ever go back to a dim preview having to repeat sacrifices every year, all utterly failing to cleanse worshippers?

Why then do many Christian believers today support the return of this system—focusing on modern Israel, on the rebuilding a new temple and re-introduction of the sacrificial system? This is NOT Christian. This is idolatry! Christ alone must be our focus. He alone is able to provide perfect cleansing for our sins. To bless “Israel” is to reject Christ—to turn our backs on him.

Hebrews 10:14

For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

Think of it! His one offering forever made them and us today perfect! Forever perfect in his sight—past tense. This wondrous fact, despite our ever-present need to reject sin, as we “are being made holy”—our constant sanctification process. Amazing grace!

Hebrews 10:36-38

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.  “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

Our author encourages his readers to have patience and endurance in doing the will of God. He reminds them (not us) it will only be a little while when the coming one will come and NOT delay and they will receive all that he has promised! Even though they have received so much in his atoning death and resurrection, there is more to come when Jesus returns!

Were these first century believers disappointed? I think not! They would have experienced their completed salvation, the assured finishing of the atonement (see last post, Hebrews 9:28). Jesus had come as promised (see Matthew 10:23, 16:17-18, 24:34).

Now, let’s imagine for a moment that he did not come. Imagine you were one of the first century believers and as the last few in your community passed away and Jesus had not returned as expected. You are horrified. Suddenly you realise Jesus was a false prophet. You feel the horror, the torment and the abandonment of all you had been taught. Your teachers had been deceived, had believed a lie. Your hope dashed to pieces. You realise the ‘gospel’ was a myth, a fairy tale. You abandon making any disciples. All over the Roman world heart-broken ‘believers’ stop meeting together and sharing good news. The way, the truth and the life comes to an end forever.

If Christ had not already come you and I would not be sharing in Jesus’ blessing would we? Get it?

So does this not demonstrate that Jesus has already returned a second time?

Hebrews 12:22-24

. . . .  you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

Our author encourages his readers to realise that even before Jesus comes they have come to so much. What a list! This is for us today too. Let’s be encouraged. Note the past tense “have come”!

The way they have come is by faith (Hebrews 11). Not by a physical mountain, a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, as the Israelites had at Mount Sinai. This is nothing like a physical or bodily “catching-up” (a rapture) into the heavenly realm. It is a participation in Jesus by faith. Note the past tense “have come”!

They had come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Contrast this with the Zionism we see today, focussed on an earthbound Jerusalem, the city of false gods.

They had come to the glorious company of thousands of angels. Angels are there for them and us. They are servants—“spirits sent to serve and care for people who will inherit salvation.” (Heb 1:14)

They had come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. The word assembly (Greek ekklesia), a non-religious word, horribly translated ‘church’. They and we are called ‘God’s firstborn’ meaning the privileged ones who inherit God’s Kingdom.

They had come to God himself, who is the judge over all things, to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who are perfect, to Jesus our mediator and to the sprinkled blood—forgiveness instead of vengeance. 

So much fantastic blessing for them and for us!

Hebrews 12:27-29

When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also. This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.  Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.

The expected shaking was in the future for these 1st century believers. Our author recalls Haggai 2:6. “For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land.”Now that prophecy was about to be fulfilled for them “in just a little while”—not after 2000 years!

Hebrews 13:14.

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

Here again we have the phrase ‘to come’ translating the Greek word mello meaning “about to come”. These 1st century believers were expecting their permanent or lasting home soon!

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Gleanings from The Letter to the Hebrews: ‘The Final Days’—Part 2

Posted on 09/12/2024 | Leave a comment

Recapping

These Jesus’ followers were new Christians though still identified as Jewish. They were the true people of God as all “who remain confident in their hope in Christ. They were suffering, opposed, persecuted by apostate Jews, who refused to accept Jesus. 

Remember, the letters in the New Testament were not written to us today but they can be very important for us.  This letter is full of warnings and for today’s Christian this is just as relevant.  For “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). So let’s dive into some important passages.

Hebrews 6:2

You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Our author tells his readers to move on from such “basic principles” as the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. These are three elementary matters frequently ignored by believers today. I spent 3 years in a theological college without hearing anything about any of these three matters. Yet the New Testament has much emphasis on these. The “Hebrews” must move on from these to spiritual maturity. How many today ignore these basics let alone moving on to spiritual maturity! Why are so many today still “babes in Christ” (Hebrews 5:12)?

The practice of laying on of hands is generally confined to “charismatic” people, in healing the sick (James 5) or in the giving of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 1:6). But God says it’s basic! It should be everyday practice!

The resurrection of the dead is something no one seems to talk about these days. Maybe people don’t like to talk about death. But this also something very basic—it’s milk for babies! Paul has a very long passage (1 Corinthians 15) and Jesus spoke about it as coming after death (Mat 22:30). “Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back” (1 Corinthians 15:23 NLT). Was Paul thinking that these first-century believers won’t be raised for another 2000 years? Of course not! That’s absurd. At the beginning of this letter he told them “Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.” (1 Cor 1:7-8 NLT)

Rarely do we hear a sermon on eternal judgment. What happens after death and resurrection is important for all believers. Very often one of us will say that the idea of standing before the Lord and having Him evaluate our lives is a very sobering thought. No matter how confident a person may be in this world, it is hard to see how any of us could be confident on that day. But our author, Paul and other apostles said we can have confidence (1 John 2:28)!

Hebrews 6:13-15

 . . . . .  there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number. Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

This is a reminder how that promise to Abraham came true for us down to this very day. For we who follow Jesus are the true people of God. We are Abraham’s descendants. Jesus said to unbelieving Jews “I tell you this that many Gentiles will come from all over the world –from east and west–and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites–those for whom the Kingdom was prepared–will be thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12). And Paul wrote: “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise”. (Galatians 3:29)

Hebrews 8:13

When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

God made the Old Covenant already obsolete 2000 years ago. Out of date. Why then are so many believers today so focussed on the nation called Israel? There cannot be two Covenants. There can only be one. Only one people of God. We Jesus people are the Israel of God receiving the blessing of God, not today’s nation state called Israel (Galatians 6:16). Christians should not support this Israel state which is no more worthy than any other state.

Be aware that the today’s “Israel” was established with the backing of the atheistic, Ashkenazi-Jewish, Rothschild family that decided to create the country. In 1917, the Rothschild’s used their money, power, and influence to strike a secret deal with the British government for the establishment of the modern state with the name Israel.

The word ‘soon’ is the Greek engys which means imminent, soon to come to pass. For Christians in the first century what was coming soon was in the near future. But for us today we do not live in the Old Covenant. We enjoy the New.

Hebrews 9:26-28 

. . . . .  But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.  And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

Jesus was born at “the end of the age.” This “end” was the end of the Jewish age, the Old Covenant age, not the end of the world! As Peter wrote “God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.”(1 Peter 1:20). That age ended after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70.

Jesus first appearing was but once to put away sin by his offering up of himself. Done! But there was more to do so he must come again—complete salvation to all (then) who were eagerly waiting for him”!

Under the Old Covenant when the Jews saw their high priest enter the sanctuary on their behalf, they waited expectedly for his reappearance. When they saw him emerge alive, that was a welcome sign that he and the sacrifice which he presented had been accepted by God.

In the same way, Jesus’ return was proof that his offering was accepted by God. If you believe that Jesus has not already come, then rejoice for you have received full salvation because he has already come! Now that’s Good News!

Suppose he didn’t come back in his own generation as he promised (Matthew 24:34). That’s what most evangelicals believe—still waiting after 2000 years. If that is so then salvation would not be complete for anyone! Right?

The term “salvation” here is meant Christ’s completed salvation, his finishing of the atonement, the great high-priest of our salvation having appeared victorious in the Heavenly places.  Salvation is a multifaceted concept, encompassing deliverance from sin, Satan, death, and God’s wrath, ultimately leading to union with God and glorification.

The Jews believed that the end of the age would be the end of the Jewish economy and the close of their civil and ecclesiastical state. According to Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for a future time; It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” So the Jews were expecting their Messiah “for a future time, at the end” and it will not be delayed. The first believers just had to wait patiently—it would not be delayed. It is absurd to believe they are still waiting after 2000 years.

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Israel today

Posted on 08/11/2024 | 2 comments

Teri Kempe wrote an article for the Daily Declaration Australia. see https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2024/11/05/why-do-people-hate-jews-and-israel/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_source_platform=mailpoet&utm_campaign=your-daily-digest-newsletter-total-posts_2

Here are my comments.

There are too many criticisms I could make of this article. However I will limit these to just two or three.

The state known today as “Israel” is NOT God’s chosen instrument. Of course, under the Old Covenant through Israel all the nations would be blessed by the seed of Abraham. The promise was made to Abraham and because we believe in his seed Jesus (Mat 3:9, Rom 4:13-25, Gal 4:28-31), we enjoy living in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Lord Jesus. See Galatians 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

In the New Covenant documents the people of God are those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-10 , Titus 2:14, Heb 3:6, Heb 8:13). Jesus said to the people of Israel their end had come (Mat 21:43, 23:29-38).

From the time of Christ’s crucifixion in 30 AD to 70 AD, God gave the disobedient Hebrews 40 years to repent and accept Jesus as the Messiah. Paul explained why God patiently waited (Rom 11: 28-31). Then 40 years later all unbelieving Jews perished.

Yes, many Christians have accused Israel of genocide against the people of Gaza and Lebanon and for good reason. See e.g., https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/col-macgregor-the-top-priority-for-israel-is-to-make-gaza-unlivable-expel-all-survivors/

As Christians, we have a divine calling (Isaiah 62:6-7) . Under the New Covenant. Our divine calling is to follow Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit and make all his disciples, “teaching them to follow all that I commanded you.”

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Gleanings from Hebrews: Meeting Together

Posted on 04/11/2024 | Leave a comment

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews was a Hebrew Jesus follower, a leader or apostle in the new Jesus movement that was created in the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit in about AD 33 (Acts 2).

The letter was written sometime around AD 62-66. Hebrews 1:2 calls it “the last days”, an expression meaning the End Times, that is the last days of Israel as the people of God. 

It was written when Jesus’ followers were new Christians though still identified as Jewish. They were the true people of God, people “who remain confident in their hope in Christ” (Hebrews 3:6). These believers were opposed and persecuted by those fake Israelites, who refused to accept Jesus (Hebrews 10:32-36) and as a consequence were under the judgment of God.

Please note, Hebrews was not written to us but it can be useful for us, it can be very important for us.  The letter is full of warnings not to fall away—important for us today.

Many passages in this letter affirm that the recipients were the real people of God who met together and not those who rejected Christ

But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ”. (Hebrews 3:4-6) Thus God says all who remain confident in our hope in Christ are the true people of God! This is true for us today despite those who hold the ridiculous myth that Israelites are “the people of God”.

See also Hebrews 3:13-14:  You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 

These readers were expecting his soon, second-coming Kingdom. See Hebrews 9:27-28: . . . . after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.

It’s important to see this letter was not written to us. Though not to us, it can be very important for us.  The letter is full of warnings not to fall away. For today’s Christian this is just as important.  For “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb 13:8).

Now looking at Hebrews 3:13-14:  You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 

For those first believers, it was still “today” because “tomorrow” they expected Jesus’ return, and the age to come! But for us today, the Word of God still insists that we warn each other every day.

Now let’s look at Hebrews 10:24-25.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Our author here emphasizes the importance of community and mutual encouragement among those Century 1 believers, and especially because the Lord’s coming for them was imminent.

For us today, we may not be expecting the Lord’s soon coming as they did, yet what God says here is critical to be applied.

Ask yourself.

Do you, does anyone, today seriously consider ways to motivate fellow believers to such acts when gathered together? No, hardly ever. People leave that up to their pastor or minister. You may legalistically attend “church”. But the Lord wants us to meet together (Grk ekklesia) rather than attend a ‘service’ or organisation. In church services how can we possibly encourage one another, sitting in pews and relying on a minister? Satan has convinced today’s churchgoers to be inactive—many waiting for some mythical soon ‘rapture’ event.  Many churchgoers just sit, observe or go to sleep in church services. Whereas these first century believers were to be salt of the earth and the light of the world as Jesus taught and eagerly awaited his imminent return.

This is the main, if not the only, passage in scripture that clergy use to urge people to “come to church”. The sole one! And then what to pastors do? They do everything and the people do nothing.

Again see Hebrews 12:15. Here’s another ‘each other’ just one of about 100 :  Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.

God’s word commands us to act and make arrangements to care for one another in our believing community. How do we do that? Certainly not by relying on the gifting of some overworked pastor.

So how can we today obey God’s word and actually do as he says?

There is no better way than to meet together in an informal setting of fellowship and community and allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be present.

You can start meeting with one other believer and Jesus promises to be with the two or three! Matthew 18:20

You can start or join a home church—look up www.oikos.org.au, people who “see a movement of God where simple churches are started in houses, cafes, work places, clubs, parks, markets, schools – making Jesus accessible to every Aussie and impacting every corner of our nation”.

We can use the phone to exhort and pray. We also can use email posts and social media, ‘Zoom’ sessions as many believers do.

But let’s do it!

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Expecting Jesus?

Posted on 29/01/2024 | 2 comments

What do you expect –what do you imagine the Coming of Jesus to be like?

Did you know that there are over a hundred passages by New Testament authors that anticipated Jesus’ return? Were the apostles mistaken? Many sceptics think they were misled.

Here’s one: C.S.Lewis, the famed Christian apologist wrote: “the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, ‘this generation shall not pass till all these things are done.’ And He was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.” From The World’s Last Night

So what were Lewis and other sceptics expecting? And what are you expecting?

Perhaps you, like countless others, expected the wrong thing and thus concluded that He has not come as promised after 2000 years?

Just like the Jews they expected Jesus to come in a physical body appearance. And He didn’t. Nor did He promise to come like that.

The Jews also thought He was literally coming to stand and physically rule on the earth, a deliverer from the Roman occupational forces. That’s why they rejected the teachings of the apostles. And He didn’t come like that nor did He promise to do so.

Perhaps you thought He should come with visible signs like “the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken” (Mat 24:29).

Well the fact is that sort of terminology was understood by Jews who knew their scriptures to mean judgment upon a nation—the collapsing of cosmic entities is a common motif in judgment prophecies, e.g. Isa 13:10, 19:1,24:18-20, 34;8-15, Ezek 32:7–8; Joel 2:28 Acts 2:19-20.

Should we interpret the Bible “literally” in every instance? No. We must interpret each text as it was intended to be understood in its context and as understood by its original audience, the Jewish apostles.

The fact is most people fail to understand that His coming was a coming in judgment against the unbelieving Jewish generation who had perverted God’s word and rejected Jesus’ claims and teachings. This is clear from  passages like Mat 23:29-39, 1 Thes 2:19f.

But Jesus also taught many times that there would be much more to His Coming than merely the judgment upon Israel. His Second Coming in judgment would be the fulfilment of the eschatological promises to Israel.

The Old Covenant Age ended in AD 70 with the destruction of the temple. All the genealogical records were destroyed along with the temple. That day, the nation of Israel ended and the whole system of temple sacrifices for sin with it and forever. It was the end of the age—not the end of the world.

Today, many Christians expect the same sort of future return of Christ that the Jews expected for the second coming of Elijah—that is, a literal physical return in his previous body. This is a mistaken expectation.

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