Chapter 1
This is such an exciting time for the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The earnest of our expectation is upon us. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is at the door of civilization and He is about to make His grand arrival for the second time.
In the gospel of John 16:23, Jesus told His disciples that when the day of His return comes, it will be a time of unprecedented joy. Jesus said in that day whatsoever you shall ask the Father in His name, He will give it to you.
You may think life is good now, but as my mother always says, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Just wait until there is no evil in the world. The Bible says that there will be joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Right now, we have the confidence that God hears us when we pray and grants us the petitions that we ask of Him. However, there are some things we ask the Lord to do that He doesn’t do immediately or at all. I have learned that God sometimes purposely withholds some things from us because they will work to hinder us instead of helping us.
In the Millennial Reign of Christ, there shall be nothing that God will withhold from us. The blessings of the Lord will be “Yes and Amen.” We will have the same testimony King David had in Psalm 23 when he said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not want.”
No longer will there be an adversarial presence in the world trying to cause us harm. Neither will there be any proverbial wolves dressed up in sheep’s clothing threatening our lives. It will be a time of complete joy and perfect peace. The Bible says it will be such a tranquil time on earth that one of the greatest predators, the lion, will lay down with the lamb.
The Millennial Reign of Christ will be a perfect utopian society where the love of God will reign supreme in the earth. The harmonious relationship that God once shared with mankind will be completely restored. The writer of the book of Hebrews in chapter 4 and verse 3 refers to this special time as the “Rest of the Lord.”
The first time when the incarnate Christ came down from heaven to earth, He came in the form of a little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. He was given the name of Jesus and He sojourned among us for 33 years before He suffered from an “untimely” death, even the death of the Cross. Jesus’ vicarious death on the Cross may have been untimely according to man’s understanding, but it was right on time according to God’s will. Jesus’ death on the Cross made it possible for mankind to enter the rest of the Lord.
In all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) we learn that Jesus was prosecuted and sentenced to die for a crime that He personally did not commit. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus didn’t even try to defend Himself or plead His innocence? Why, one may ask? Because He understood that He was not being tried or punished for His own sin, for the Bible says that He has none. But He was doing so on behalf of the whole world, giving mankind an opportunity to be restored back to sweet communion with God the Father (II Corinthians 13:14).
After His death, Jesus did not stay dead, but He ascended into Heaven to assume His rightful position on the throne at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus then sent the Holy Spirit back down to the earth enabling the Believer to effectively indoctrinate the world that there is one True and Living God existing in three persons. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The love that God has for mankind is incomprehensible and the one thing He requires of us is to simply believe it and embrace it (John 3:16).
Why was it even necessary for Jesus to leave His home in Glory to come down to the earth and die for our sins? The Bible gives us the reasoning in the book of Genesis chapter 3. There was a breach in the relationship between God and mankind that occurred. Adam and Eve violated the trust of God by eating the forbidden fruit. This violation became known as the sin of unbelief. In John 16:9, the scripture says that the initial sin that mankind was guilty of committing was unbelief.
Before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God had already warned them in Genesis 2:16 that death would be the penalty if they ate it. However, they were deceived by the devil to believe that they would not surely die if they ate the forbidden fruit. Well, they did so, and this act of rebellion against God caused all of humanity to suffer from their actions. As a result, mankind would now be born with a spiritual impairment to please God, coupled with an unyielding desire to please ourselves.
This was the beginning of the sin nature and look how it has mushroomed into a three headed monster. The power of sin has waxed so great, that only God Himself can deal with it. So, in order for this breach, which was caused by the sin of unbelief, to be mended and for mankind to regain the trust of the Lord, we must do our first works over again. What is mankind’s first work? Jesus tells us in John 6:29, “BELIEVE”. To believe that God is the Author and Finisher of everything. To believe that God’s word is true. To believe that God is a Rewarder to them that diligently seek Him. And lastly, to allow our belief in God to produce the fruit of righteousness.
This may sound relatively simple to do, but what makes it somewhat challenging is man must now contend with the sin nature that lies within. The sin nature, also known as the carnal man, which lies within the soul of every human being, must be brought under subjection in order for us to please God. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:7, that the carnal mind opposes God, it doesn’t respect or regard the laws of God. This creates such a conflict that the Apostle Paul wrote about it in Romans 7:19, “For the good that I would do, I do not: but the evil which I would not do, that is what I do.”
When God created man, he was created in the image of God. The sin nature was not active upon the creation of mankind. It remained dormant inside of Adam and Eve until they rebelled against God. Upon doing so, the sin nature was activated within them both. God says in Genesis 3:22, “Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil.” We now must choose between that which is good or evil.
The sin nature (carnal mind) as I previously mentioned makes matters more complex for us. It doesn’t encourage us to believe in God, nor to do His will. In fact, it does the exact opposite. The scripture says there is enmity or bad blood between God and the carnal mind (Rom. 8:7). It’s the very thing that causes mankind to desire to carry out our own will over the will of God.
If a person is to be successful in doing God’s work in the earth, he or she must first be born-again. That means you must first sincerely believe and embrace God’s redemptive plan of salvation and you must repent of your sins. Once you have done this and have committed your life unto God, you are officially a part of God’s family.
This is where the work of Christ comes in. For ages mankind tried to please God wholeheartedly, but we continued to come up short. We were trying to please God by upholding His laws in our own strength, but we were unsuccessful in doing so. Romans 8:3 says, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sent His only begotten Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Jesus gave us the power that we needed to overcome the sin nature (carnal mind) and the devil. Both of which, serve as a hindrance to us doing the work of the Lord.
The Bible refers to this overcoming power in Isaiah 10:27, as God’s anointing. The purpose of the anointing has become greatly misconstrued by many in today’s church. The cause and effect of the anointing is not simply to make people emotionally excitable or to cause them to dance, although both are a part of the Christian experience. But the purpose of the anointing is to make us overcomers, so we can be an effective witness for our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” The anointing is the only thing that has the power to set the mind free of unbelief and quicken the heart of mankind to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The work that Jesus Christ gave the Church to do before He ascended into heaven has been going on for over 2,000 years. Christianity was first perceived as heresy. The Faith has endured much persecution and adversity since its inception, however, it continues to grow.
Even the leading search engine named Google, declares Christianity to be the largest religion in the world. How is that even possible, when everything was going against the growth of Christ’s doctrine? The Bible asks the question, “Is there anything too hard for God?”
Friend of God, we can get ready, the Lord is about to move to the next chapter in this saga called life. God is the God of order. Nothing happens by chance or accident. The Bible lets us know that God has a predetermined purpose for mankind that was conceived in the heart of the Lord before the foundations of the world were laid. God has a timeline concerning the events that will take place in the earth. This timeline began when God said in Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light” and it has progressed until today.
We are currently living in the dispensation of Grace (Ephesians 3:2), also known as the Church Age. Bible scholars consider this to be the sixth dispensation on the timeline of God. A dispensation is a measurement of time, like a day or year. It is said that there are seven dispensations in all that comprise God’s timeline for humanity. This implies that there is only one more dispensation that must take place, which is called the Messianic Reign or the Millennial Reign of Christ.
We are living in a very peculiar time as we transition from the Church Age to the Age of Messiah. Like when the Jews had to transition from the Age of the Law to the Age of Grace. It wasn’t easy. Some never did embrace it. Nevertheless, the Church Age still became a reality. The Millennial Reign of Christ is upon us and the Bible speaks about this special time in detail in the book of Revelation 20:1-7. We will discuss this special time on God’s timeline for humanity a little more closely in chapter 4.
Jesus lets us know in Matthew 24 of the indicators that will alert us that this special time is drawing near. He tells us that when the proverbial fig tree, which is symbolic of the nation of Israel, begins to blossom again, then you can know that Jesus is on His way back. The return of Christ doesn’t necessarily mean that this will be the end of the world as some suppose. Yes, it will be the end of time for the unbeliever, and it will be the end of mankind trying to govern God’s world without acknowledging Him. The time has come for God to show us how this world should be governed—in Righteous. The “last days” will precedes a time of unprecedented joy for the born-again believer. In John 10:10, the Bible speaks about something called the “Abundant Life.” This is what God has prepared for the righteous that have waited patiently for this Great Day.
The Coming of Christ will be the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ which the Bible says will last for 1,000 years. The scripture tells us that the half has not been told what God has in store for the righteous. When Jesus comes to rule and reign on the earth it will be a Great Day!
In Matthew 24:32, the Bible refers to this special time as “Summer.” In effect, the good times which Revelation 21 speaks of is about to be fulfilled.
The thing that somewhat complicates matters for some is the seven years prior to the return of Christ will be a time of great suffering for the unsaved, the false Christians and the unbelieving Jews. The Bible defines it as the Tribulation Period. A detailed description of the events that will be unfolding on the earth at this time are outlined in the book of Revelation chapters 6-18. This time period is also referred to as Daniel’s 70th Week in the book of Daniel 9:24.
There will be much bloodshed and loss of life. Death never renders any happy feelings whenever it shows up on the scene. In fact, it is a very sobering time whenever someone dies. But if you are a born-again believer, see that you are not greatly troubled by the events that will be unfolding in the earth. It does not directly pertain to us. The Bible tells us that these things must be before the coming of the Lord.
Ironically, we can rejoice because it further intimates the fact that our redemption draws near!
I will often speak of the date May 14, 1948 throughout this book. It is the day that the nation of Israel came back together, after being displaced for almost 2,000 years and was again recognized by the world as a sovereign nation. The Jews labeled this historic day as JERUSALEM DAY and they have been celebrating it every year since.
However, the years following Israel’s rebirth were not easy. They had to fight constantly with the surrounding Arab nations just to maintain their sovereignty. In 1967, the rising tensions finally culminated into the Six Day War where the Nation of Israel was favored as the losers. Nevertheless, God confounded the wise and supernaturally gave the Jews the victory over their Arab neighbors and established them as a force to be reckoned with in the region.
Despite Israel’s newfound victory in the region defending their Sovereignty, the world’s community of nations failed to recognize the city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol. For the following 69 years the United Nations (UN) refused to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capitol city of Israel. Most, if not all, of the world’s Israeli embassies have been located in the city of Tel Aviv. What message would it send if the world refused to recognize Washington, D.C. as the capitol city of the USA. Well, that is the same message that the nations of the world have been sending to Israel for the past 69 years.
Then out of nowhere in November of 2017, the Lord caused Donald Trump, the president of the United States to recognize the city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol. Although the majority nations of the world were not happy about President Trump’s decision, it did not change. I believe President Trump’s rationale was why keep playing these games? Everyone knows that Jerusalem is the capitol city of Israel so why not honor this. In 1995, the U.S. Congress passed a bill called the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which stated that the city of Jerusalem was to be recognized as the capital city of Israel. The bill also declared that the American embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem within five years. However, President Clinton did not support the Jerusalem Embassy Act for political reasons and as a result he ended up signing a waiver every six months just to delay the move. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both said on the campaign trail that they supported the Jerusalem Embassy Act and would be moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but they both reneged on their commitment and continued the tradition of signing the waiver every six months of their presidency to delay the move.
In the 2016 US Presidential election, President Donald Trump made a campaign promise that he was going to honor the Jerusalem Embassy Act and move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He described Jerusalem as the "eternal capital of the Jewish people.” But once he won the presidency, President Trump did just like his predecessors before him and signed a waiver of the Jerusalem Embassy Act, delaying the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem once again. The White House said that the signing of the waiver would help them negotiate a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. They promised a move would come at a later date. But just like previous administrations they really had no intentions of addressing this. This was like a proverbial slap in the face of God. But this time the will of man would not truncate the will of God.
On December 6, 2017 President Trump shocked the world and formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and stated that the American embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a couple of years. But God put things on a fast track and the US Embassy was moved to Jerusalem by May 14, 2018 in honor of the 70th Year Anniversary of JERUSALEM DAY. Wow!
I do not believe that President Trump fully understood the significance of what he was doing. Neither do I know what his personal reasons were for doing this, but I am thoroughly convinced that this was indeed the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in my eyes. This bold and audacious move caused the world to begin to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. On May 14, 2018 Israel celebrated JERUSALEM DAY for the first time in 70 years where the world was forced to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.
This was prophesied in Jeremiah 29:10, that after 70 years God promised the children of Israel that He would perform His good word toward them. That scripture had a double reference. Of course, there was an immediate application to the text that found fulfillment thousands of years ago in the lives of the Jewish people. But there was a prophetic arm to the text that would find fulfillment in our lifetime. My friend, we are witnessing the Bible being fulfilled right before our eyes.
There is a reason why it is such a big deal that Jerusalem be declared Israel’s capitol. The Nation of Israel is recognized as God’s ancient people in the earth. The nation was not formed by a band of settlers that laid claim to this parcel of land on their own volition. Genesis 12 lets us know that God Himself was responsible for Israel’s existence and He gave them this land.
Furthermore, in II Samuel 5:7, King David declared Jerusalem to be the City of God. It was also referred to as the City of David and Zion. Their existence and the ownership of the land that God gave them literally affirms the existence of God. The world and the devil both know this, but they do not want to acknowledge it.
If mankind refuses to acknowledge that all of the land of Judea was given by God to the Jewish people, then they would be justified in refusing to acknowledge the existence of God or they can try to confine Him to the spiritual world only. However, God can’t be confined. He is omnipresent. God can be found any and everywhere. Not only does He exist in the spiritual world, but His presence in the natural world is undeniable. For all of the naysayers, God is about to reveal His glory in the earth in a real and tangible way for all to see.
I know the body of Truth that’s presented in this book isn’t easy to digest; in fact, the Bible refers to it as a mystery. What do we know about mysteries? They are very difficult and sometimes impossible to understand. I Corinthians 2:7 says, “we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”
The Lord’s Church is special. We have been chosen by God to represent His Name in the earth. He has revealed His mysteries unto us. Without the Age of the Church none of us who are not of Jewish descent would be a part of God’s family. The Church is God’s prized possession. Revelations 7:9 speaks of the Church when it says that we consist of all nations, kindreds and tongues.
The Lord’s Church shall never cease to exist. However, the work that Jesus initially assigned to the Church to do according to Matthew 24:14 has just about been fulfilled. Now the Light of God’s Glory is about to shine again upon the Nation of Israel for a season. This is a reality that most churches do not readily want to accept. Why? Because the Church Age is basically all that we know. It’s sort of like those Jews who were born under the Law. It was difficult for them to transition from the Age of the Law into the Age of Grace. They were taught that you were saved by performing works of righteousness. But the doctrine of grace teaches us our works of righteousness are as filthy rags.
The law teaches that there must be a sacrificial offering for the atonement of our sins. The Age of Grace says that we do not have to kill a sacrificial lamb anymore and spread the blood over the door. Someone has taken the place of the lamb, His name is Jesus, the Great I AM.
Jesus? The Jewish carpenter? Joseph and Mary’s baby? We can now look to Him to deliver us from our sins? Seriously? This makes little to no sense in the natural realm, but this teaching did not emanate from the natural realm. It came from the supernatural. Without exercising the tenets of faith, mankind can’t comprehend the supernatural. It often goes against the grain of human rationale.
Whether the Church is prepared or not for the return of Jesus Christ, He’s coming back. The return of Christ completes the gospel message. The gospel message doesn’t stop at the resurrection of Jesus. But after Christ rose from the dead, He appeared unto His disciples and instructed them to preach this gospel to the entire world. Jesus then instructed them that once this message of redemption has gone around the globe, He would return.
Many have become so enthralled with carrying out their own personal agendas, even if it is done in the name of Christ, that they have lost focus of God’s ultimate agenda which is, “Thy Kingdom Come.” Many church folks have become more concerned with receiving the temporal blessings that accompanies the Faith, rather than being in possession of the eternal things of God. There is nothing wrong with desiring temporal blessings, but we should never allow them to become the primary focus of our Faith.
Many Christians will deny that this has happened to them, but the hidden desires of the heart are always revealed by the fruit of our doings. I’m sure they didn’t start off with temporal blessings being the primary focus of your Faith, but somewhere along the way they got off track. Galatians 5:7 says, “Ye did run well, but who did hinder you that ye should did not obey the truth?”
Then you have those religious organizations that claim to be aware of the times in which we live, while they are seeking for ways to commercialize the coming of the Lord to benefit them in a monetary way. The devil is so cunning, he will try anything to divert our attention from the return of the Lord.
Do you remember when Jesus came on the scene as an adult? He came preaching grace, grace, grace. Essentially, He was telling them that the time had come for there to be a shift from the old way of doing things. Jesus preached the grace of God, whereas they had grown accustomed to hearing about the doctrine of works. Jesus made it very clear that He was not coming to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.
One day Jesus went into the Temple and He was outraged by what He saw. So much so, that He started overturning the tables and rebuking them for turning the House of Prayer into a den of thieves (Matthew 21:13). They had gotten so caught up in their service to the institution of religion that they began to preclude God from their religious works. Many had developed a form of godliness, but they denied the power thereof. Sound familiar?
The sad part about the Church not recognizing that the return of the Lord being imminent, is this is supposed to be the earnest of our expectation. The hope of the Faith that lies within the heart of every believer centers around the return of the Lord Jesus to the earth. The devil is trying everything within his power to try and make us miss it. The devil is a liar! He will not succeed.
This special time is what the Apostle Paul was referring to when he said in I Corinthians 2:9, “that eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of men the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.” In short, “The Best Is Yet to Come.”
The fact of the matter is that God has prepared something so awesome for the Church that we should be overflowing with joy! The reward of the Lord is about to be bestowed upon His people and the devil has sown tares among the wheat to try and divert our attention from the plans of God, but as I said earlier, the devil’s plans won’t work.
There is overwhelming evidence that the return of the Lord is near. The time for Jesus to establish His kingdom on earth is upon us. Jesus said in Matthew 24:43, that His coming will be like a thief in the night. He also said, that we that are saved will know when the time of His return draws nigh. The return of Jesus is going to become so evident that many will come to the faith before the return of the Lord.
There is some unfinished business that Jesus must settle. Do you remember the conversation that Jesus had with Pilate before His Crucifixion? In the gospel of John 18:33, Pilate asked Jesus was He the King of the Jews? Jesus said He was, but He said My kingdom is not of this world. He said 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. Notice how Jesus used the word “NOW.” In other words, He acknowledged that I know it doesn’t appear like I’m a King right now, but the time is coming when I will be honored as the King of the whole earth. When Jesus makes His arrival upon planet earth for the second time He will not come as a helpless baby, born in some remote stable on a Judean hillside where only a few people witnessed His birth. This time He will come with all power in His hand and He will be acknowledged as the King of kings and Lord of lords where every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord.