Amillennialism

Part 4a3


24.  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 


1a. I agree with the customary interpretation that the time regarding the seventy weeks being equal to 490 literal and total years. I disagree that they are not consecutive.  They are.  


1b. The city of Jerusalem, though once holy, is holy no longer. (Matthew 5:35, Galatians 4:21-31) Why, because Jesus departed the temple just as God left the 1st temple DESOLATE. (See Ezekiel 10, 11:22-25) Jesus will never return to a temple made with hands. (Acts 7:48) The 490 years are history.  Jesus left their house, which was once His. (Matthew 21:13, 23:38,39)  
  
1c. Consider also that the 6 things upon which the 70 weeks are determined are SPIRITUAL things, not natural.  (transgressions, sins, iniquity, righteousness, vision/prophecy, and the most Holy)  Each of these were accomplished during the time of our Lord’s 1st coming.  But our Dispensationalist friends simply cannot have that and so -- presto!  They take the last two and thrust them 2020 years into the future.  In fact they still have not come to pass!  These men tell us  that the 5the event; the sealing up vision and prophecy will not occur until after the 1000 reign of Christ is complete!  Additionally, Dispensationalists are unhappy with the text regarding the 6th determining event and so must add the word, P - L - A - C- E to the tail end of the given phrase, “the most Holy”, who is Christ. (Mark 1:24, Acts 3:14, 4:27) And so, with a wave of their magic wand they change a Person (Christ) into a thing; (the 3rd temple) and a Who becomes a what.  If I were Dispensationalists I would fear adding to the Word of God.


This movement of items 5, and 6 to the future has no biblical warrant.  They do this because they must do it.  They cannot have the 490 years just be 490 years.  No, there must be a gap, who knows how long between the 69th and 70th seven.  Why, when there was no gap between the 6th, 7th and 8th, or the 61st, 62nd, or 63rd, when Daniel’s prophecy was broken up into three time periods; the 7 weeks, the 62 weeks, and the 70th week?  Let’s consider another prophecy in Daniel’s book to get a picture of what this would look like.  The dream is Nebbie’s Metal Man taken from Daniel chapter 2.  You know the story.  Nebbie sees a terrible image of a man with a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet/toes of iron mixed with clay.  There is no question that Babylon is the head, (605-539 BC - 66 years) Medo - Persia the chest and arms, (539-331 BC - 208 years) Greco/Macedonia, the belly and thighs, (331 - 168 BC - 163 years) and Rome the legs of iron. (168BC- 476AD/538 AD) Remember, the angel told Daniel there are only four beasts, which correspond to the 4 metals. (Daniel 7:17) 

My friend, do you see the problem? The head, chest, and belly are proportional to one another in size relative to the number of years of their reign or empire.  In other words, although the image was terrible or frightening; it was no caricature; that is all head or all belly.  But when you get to Rome (the legs) all proportionality is thrown out the window for it is “all legs”.  In fact the legs (643 years or 705 years) are approximately 1 ½ times as long as the whole upper body. (66+208+168= 442)  And if we look at the feet/toes in the Dispensationalist model they are another 1500 years, approximately, making them about twice as long as the legs.  This cannot be. This is not terrible but a laughingstock.  Later in the series on the King/Kingdom Set Up I will disclose to you the actual years of this statue in keeping with proportionality and the scripture.   

Part 4a5

27.  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.  


1a. Before I begin, I cannot stress enough the exact polar opposite interpretations that Amills and Dispensationalists give to this verse and the one previous. It is indisputable that Messiah is the subject in verse 26. ‘The prince’, however, was locked up in a prepositional phrase being chained to and therefore subject to “the people”.  The phrase “of the prince” is simply a description for the subject, “the people”, much like “of the wrath” and “of her fornication” are descriptors for the wine of Mystery Babylon. (See Revelation 18:3) So it is apparent that the prince is not the subject in verse 26; the people are.   Now, people are more than one.  But the prince is only one.  The people cannot be a he as they are a them -- a plurality.  So the only he that could possibly be the subject and in the process confirm the covenant, cause sacrifice and oblation to cease, and make [it] desolate is Messiah the Prince, not the prince of the people.  


Now, please recall how the Dispensationalists tacked on the word ‘place’ at the end of the phrase, “the most Holy”.  We now see clearly why they needed to do this regardless of what grammatical gymnastics they would be forced to perform in order to accomplish it.  We will explain the Dispensationalist position on this verse, and then the Amill position.          


1b. Let us now consider the parties who are supposedly signatory to this covenant that the antichrist supposedly confirms or supports.  They are the Arab countries or Muslim nations perhaps in alliance with Russia one hand hand, and the nation of Israel on the other.  Again, the Doctrine of Imminence is thrown out along with the bath water.  What do I mean?  Israel did not become a nation again until 1948, and the old city of Jerusalem did not come under Israel’s control until 1967.  If the pre - tribulation rapture takes place prior to the antichrist being revealed in the confirming of the covenant as Dispensationalists say there could be no such rapture until 1948, or 1967 as there was no nation of Israel to be party to it at that time.  Think about that.    


Lastly, there is no 3rd temple yet constructed on the temple mount in order to begin again the authorized animal sacrifices, nor for the Dispensationalist antichrist to sit in, which according to them he does 3 ½ years after he confirms the covenant with Israel and the Russian/Muslim coalition.  Immediately upon the close of those 3 ½ years he supposedly brings a halt to the formerly authorized reinstituted animal sacrifices and instead demands worship for Himself.  As mentioned several times before, the true temple of God is not dead rocks but living stones.  Therefore, it is impossible that II Thessalonians 2:1-10 is referring to a man-made or physical temple.  That temple is called the temple of God.  Recall the Presence of God filling the OT man-made Tabernacle in the wilderness, and the 1st man-made Temple in the days of Solomon.  


What am I driving at?  The true temples of God are always consecrated.  Zerubbabel’s Temple was consecrated with the Presence of the Son of God, Himself.  When He departed, that man made building became desolate, indeed as the GLORY had departed.  Beginning with Pentecost the true temples, all they who believe, are filled with the Spirit of God, the True Presence -- the true glory.  No man made temple may NOW be made desolate.  No Consecration = No Desolation.  These things being true Jesus could never return in a pre - tribulation rapture.


Allow me at this juncture to inject a very damning quote straight from the Dispensationalist rulebook with my emphasis "If prior events are required before the rapture, then the rapture could not be described as imminent.  Thus, if any event were required to occur before the rapture, then the concept of imminency would be destroyed."  Thomas Ice, Associate Professor of Religion, and Executive Director of the Pre -Trib Research Center at Liberty University from his article, "Imminence and the Any-Moment Rapture" 


But we have 4 events that must take place per our Dispensationalists’ friends own time-line; the reemergence of the nation of Israel (1948-1967), the rise of the European Union (1957-1981), the confirmation of the treaty with Israel and the Muslim coalition by the antichrist (??) and the erection of the 3rd temple on the temple mount (??)  Who can deny by the Dispensationalists’ very own rule book that their 'truth’ of an imminent pre - tribulation rapture is hereby destroyed?   
    
1c. Now the amill position on verse 27 is simple and follows the rules of grammar.  The He referred to is Christ.  The covenant He confirms with many is the New Covenant in His blood with all who believe.  The phrase “for one week” is the 70th and last week which ended 3 ½ years after His crucifixion. Christ caused the end of sacrifice and oblation at the cross “in the midst of the week.”  Hebrews, chapter 10 with my emphasis: 5. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:  6. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.  7. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.  8. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;   9. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.  10.By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  
1d. Please reread Hebrews chapter 9 and ponder verse 26.  Consider the veil of the temple being rent from top to bottom.  This abolished the OT priesthood.  (Mark 15:38, Hebrews 9:3) NT Living temple stones are now raised up to offer spiritual sacrifices.  (I Peter 2:5)  My Dispensationalist friends try to pacify their consciences with the horror of renewed animal sacrifices with the word of their prophet Scofield.  No doubt, says he that this is merely a memorial.  I would boldly remind my Dispensationalist friends and Scofield’s ghost that Christ, Himself initiated His own Memorial; For said He, “This is My Body, This is My Blood.  Do this in remembrance of Me” (I Corinthians 11:23-26) Now to wrap up my take on Daniel.  The phrase overspreading of abominations is not the antichrist making a 3rd temple of stone desolate by demanding worship within its confines.  Rather, they are the many abominations of the Jews which they exacted upon the soul of the meek and lowly Jesus which only after previously weeping bitter tears for her obstinate and wretched condition finally gives her up whereby the cry is wrenched from Jesus’ lips, BEHOLD YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE!  The 491st straw had been laid on the back of Jesus.  The temple, city, and nation were left desolate.   This sentence is to remain in effect until the very end of the world.  We will revisit and tie up this thread in Part 5, The King/Kingdom is Rejected, & Israel is Cursed.  Now on to Part 4b, The Sign the King/Kingdom is Come where we examine and prove the spiritual nature of Jesus’ kingdom.  

To be continued…………..  (LORD WILLING)

Fantastic stuff Bro.
Have you read any Kim Riddelbarger?

Thank you for the kind word, brother.  I have come across some things by Dr. R. including on this forum.  Most of my reading on millennium was from the Standard Bearer back in the day.

Part 5.2




In Mark 10, Jesus sends forth the 12 to preach the identical gospel He and John had preached giving them the same power and authority His Father had given Him.  (See also Mark 3:14,15)




7.  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 




8.  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.




These first 3 signs in verse 8 above (healing, cleansing, and raising) which Jesus also performed, appear at first blush to merely pertain to the natural, temporal body.  This of course is true, but more importantly, they also point to something much greater; to that which is spiritual.  Please read Isaiah 29:18,19, 32:3,4, 35:1-10, 42:1-9, 50:4,5, 53:4-6, and 61:1.  Although Christ healed the physical bodies of the people there was much more to it than meets the eye.  For example, in Mark 2:1-12, at the commencement of His ministry, Jesus heals a man “sick of the palsy” so that “he immediately arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all '' at His Word.  But before healing the man, Jesus, having seen the faith of his friends who brought him, tells the paralytic, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”  So we see the causal relationship with sin and sickness from the very beginning.  Those ‘stuck in the mud’ scribes who witnessed this miracle, however, could not bear it, nor bring themselves to hear the Prophet of whom Moses spoke, though He was standing in their very midst.  (Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Acts 3:22,23, 7:37) They proved unmoved by the heavenly logic of Jesus’ response in addition to the miraculous power He demonstrated only to complain later that Jesus ate with publicans and sinners;  oblivious to the fact that the sick need a doctor, just as the sinner needs repentance,  again equating the two as one. (Please see Mark 2:16,17, and John 5:16-47, 9:24-34)      




Knowing now the causal relationship between sin and sickness we can now add to our knowledge to prove that the kingdom Jesus came to establish which was whispered in the days of the patriarchs, quietly promised in David’s day, prophesied aloud by the Law and the Prophets, proclaimed en masse with the the gospel with signs accompanying it during the initial days of Jesus’ ministry, exclaimed with shouts of adoration and praise at His triumphal entry at the end of His ministry, furthered with the apostlolic ministry of gospel and miracles in the 1st century and now realized without signs in this our day in the 21st is a SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.   




We look now to the main head in this 5th installment taken from Luke 11 with my emphasis.




19.  But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.




And from Matthew 12 with my emphasis. 




28.  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 

Part 5.3To illustrate, recall Abraham’s response to Dives who requested that Lazarus be sent to his brothers so that they too would not come into the same condemnation and torment as he did after their death.  Abraham said, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither shall they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:25-31) A natural, bodily miracle NEVER SAVED A SOUL. Although many believed on Jesus after He raised Lazarus from the dead, some remained in unbelief, and the nation as a whole called out for His crucifixion.(John 11:45,46) It is the preaching of the gospel that saves along with repentance and belief, irrespective whether miracles are performed. (Romans 10:8-15, John 10:41, Luke 20:1-19) Recall that Jesus stated that it was a wicked and adulterous generation that sought a sign.  


Go back with me in time to the Children of Israel during the 10 Plagues of Egypt, and their subsequent 40 years of wandering in the wilderness; when they drank water from a rock, and were fed manna from heaven.  Recall also how their clothes did not become threadbare nor the souls of their shoes wear out.  Who ever since the beginning of the world witnessed more miracles than they?  Yet for all those supernatural wonders wrought by Moses, unbelief kept all but a handful out of the Promised Land. (Numbers 14:20-35, Hebrews 3:7-19) That was the Law, now let’s examine the Prophets. Recall Gehazi, the servant of the prophet, Elisha.  He no doubt was acquainted with the double portion of the Spirit given to his master, (II Kings 2:9-15) and no doubt witnessed the healing of a water spring, (II Kings 2:19-22) the tragic death of 42 young children at the cursing of his master, (II Kings 2:23,24) the total annihilation of Moab’s army through a spirit revealed plan, (II Kings 3:10-27) the multiplication of olive oil, (II Kings 4:1-7) the prophecy and fulfilling of a miraculous birth of a child, (II Kings 4:12-17) the later raising of that child from the dead, (II Kings 4:18-37) the healing of a poisonous broth with meal, (II Kings 4:38-41) the multiplication of bread and corn, (II Kings 4:42-44) and finally the healing of Naaman the leper. (II Kings 5:8-14)  Yet, despite all this, Gehazi longed for natural rather than for spiritual things.  He was at last found out to be an unbeliever and was struck immediately with Naaman’s leprosy at the word of the prophet just as Ananias and Sapphira were struck with death for lying to the Holy Ghost at the word of the apostle. (II Kings 5:20-27, and Acts 5:1-11)     

Part 5.4

Besides all of this, a healing, cleansing, raising, and a casting out may become lapsed or forfeited as they are not permanent.  Jesus had healed an impotent man that had been in that condition for 38 years.  Yet, when Jesus found him later in the temple He told him, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5:1-15)  Remember all those who were brought back from the dead, died again whether they were raised by an OT prophet, Christ, or a NT apostle.  Lastly, recall that a devil previously cast out may return with 7 others to repossess that person.  Hear Matthew 12 with my emphasis. (See also Luke 11:24-26 
44.  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out: and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 
45.  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.  
The key to these verses is the 44th where the devil, upon a restless search at last returns to find his former house empty, swept, and garnished.  Yes, this house may now abhor and repudiate what it once held dear but no new spiritual furniture has been moved in to replace it.  While the trash may have been taken out, no anointing oil of the Spirit has exacted its sweetness upon this once filthy and corrupt domain. True, this house was garnished, even decorated to a “T” but it was not dedicated or consecrated so that the Sacred Dove of Peace, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit should reside there.  Remember, Jesus cast 7 devils out of Mary Magdalene. (Mark 16:9)


So what am I driving at?  Yes, sin may have been the root cause of a bodily malady back in Bible days, (and possibly still today) but spirit possession was and still is a far greater tragedy.  Indeed, today you may have a withered hand, a deaf ear, a mute tongue, lame legs, and blind eyes; yes, even the dreaded disease of leprosy and yet be true subjects in the Kingdom of Christ.  This, however, is not the case with devil possession.   Some of you may have heard the old expression, “you can take the boy out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the boy.”  In other words, the “good” nature of a man remains the same regardless of his current  surroundings.  This may be fine and dandy in the natural world, but it does not hold true in the spiritual realm.  Christ certainly has power to remove the Strong Man (which that man does not), but more importantly He MUST ALSO move the man out of that country, that is spiritually speaking the devil’s domain, (which that man cannot do) or he will lapse into a worse condition. 


Hear Jesus’ words from Matthew chapter 12. (See also Mark 3:27)


29.  Or elso how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house.  

This is why the death and resurrection of Jesus was an absolute necessity.  He had to fulfill the 6 spiritual requirements of Daniel 9:24, so that the kingdom could come. This is exactly what occurred at the cross as we have pointed out in an earlier installment.  The Strong Man was bound by Christ during His earthly ministry with the Power of His Word, totally vanquished at the cross and finally and forever triumphed over at His resurrection.  When Christ ascended on high He led captivity captive, that is, He broke open the prison house of the Strong Man and loosed the bands of sin and death, the epitome of man’s diseases of which devil possession, leprosy, blindness, lameness, etc, were but shadows.  Now resurrected, and having defeated death and the grave ALL POWER in heaven and earth is now given to Him.  He then sat down on the throne of His father, David ruling over the house of Jacob, forever.

Part 5.5

My friend the king is spiritual.  He is God, therefore divine, as well as man.  And if the king is spiritual Who fulfilled 6 spiritual requirements for that kingdom of righteousness, so too must be His kingdom.  And if the kingdom is spiritual, so too must be its gospel.  And if the gospel is spiritual, so too must be the miracles that accompanied it.  Furthermore, if the gospel is spiritual so too must be its requirements for entering into its kingdom. (repentance and belief) And if the requirements be spiritual so too must be the subjects who cannot enter without possessing said requirements. But how can a natural man, a sinner, render those spiritual requirements, or give those credentials?  The short answer is: He cannot.  It is impossible for him to do so.  


Recall that we were formerly without hope, and without God. (Ephesians 2:12)

Recall that we have all gone astray.  We have all turned to our own way. (Isaiah 53:6)

Recall that we were taken captive by Satan according to his will. (II Timothy 2:25,26) 

Recall that we were blinded by the god of this world. (II Corinthians 4:4)  

Recall that we esteemed the Savior as undesirable; one to despise and reject. (Isaiah 53:2,3)


My brothers and sisters, Christ had to overpower the devil within and bestow upon us a new redeemed nature AND also take us out of the kingdom of darkness.  This regeneration (making alive, the resurrecting our spirit) occurred at the very same moment, or simultaneously, causing us to confess the Lord Jesus at that precise moment of our conversion and salvation.  In other words we are first regenerated, but once made alive we immediately believed.  Why was this necessary?  First, because we never saw any danger in our situation as it was in line and therefore palatable with our fallen nature.  Secondly, we despised and hated the man Who was chosen by God to be our redeemer.  Once acted upon by the Holy Ghost, however, we saw the grievous error of our way; in the love of our sin, and hatred of our Savior.  We were only made willing in the day of His [God’s} power. (Psalms 110:3)  Glory to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world!   Let’s now take a look at Ephesians, chapter 2 with my emphasis.  


1    And you hath he quickened [made alive] who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

3.   Even when we were dead in our sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

6.   And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained before that we should walk in them. 


Did you perceive what you read? You were fashioned, or formed, not just at your natural conception and birth, but more importantly at the New Creation when you were born from above.  In other words your new nature is created by God, and not you.  Sir, ma’am I know this may be hard to taste and swallow, so I will ask you a simple question.  If you had absolutely nothing to do with your natural or first birth here below, what makes you think you had anything to do with your 2nd birth which is from above and spiritual? (James 1:18, I Peter 1:23, Romans 9:15,16)  

Sinful man will always try and take some kind of credit for his salvation.

"I chose God"
"I chose to believe in, and love Jesus"

My question is always.... if the perfect man is revealed to you... can you choose not to love him?

If God gives you the understanding of scripture's overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus... can you choose not to believe?

The answer is no.
We owe our salvation to God alone. All glory to him.

I did not choose God, He chose me.

Part 5.4

Allow me now to bring forward one of my favorite scriptures in the whole Bible which is material to our current discussion on the timing and nature of the kingdom taken from Colossians 1.  


13.  Who [God the Father] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 


Paul wrote this epistle from a Roman prison in 64.  Jesus’ kingdom is NOW PRESENT, commenced after His glorious resurrection and ascension back to the Father and put on full display at Pentecost, not 2000 years or more into the future.  And this kingdom is spiritual in nature having nothing to do with the flesh.  This is why the casting out of demons by a Savior, and not the crushing defeat of mortal armies in battle by a general is the sign that the king and kingdom of God/heaven had at last come to men.  Think about that a little while.         


Before wrapping up, allow me to ask again the question I put forth at the start of this installment.  Who are the blessed of Matthew 5:3-11?  If you answered the spiritual, you would be correct.  But the Jews of Jesus’ day were carnal, not spiritual.  Recall that when Jesus fed the 5000 they wanted to seize Him by force in order to make Him their king.  But Jesus hid Himself. (John 6:14,15) Why?  Because His kingdom was not of this world.  It was not founded on natural things, nor was it constructed of those things which perpetuate the life of the flesh.  Recall that the men of Noah’s and Lot’s day (types of the last day of time) ate, drank, married, were given in marriage, builded, planted, bought and sold until the day their world was destroyed. (Matthew 24:36-39, Luke 17:28-30) These activities are not sinful in their proper sphere. But when they become the ‘be all, end all’ they have usurped the place of the true spiritual priority, and so are.  


We who are truly risen with Christ seek those things which are above.  Our affection is set on Christ in heaven, not on things in this life, below.  (Colossians 3:1,2)  What are those heavenly things?  Paul tells us the kingdom of God is not meat and drink (things that perpetuate the natural existence) but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  (Romans 14:17)


Lastly, Jesus taught those whose belly He filled not to work for the food that perishes, but rather for the food He gives which endures unto everlasting life. (John 6:26:27)  Jesus is THE BREAD OF LIFE WHICH CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, WHICH IF A MAN EAT HE SHALL NEVER SEE DEATH. (See John 6:1-40)  But the Jews murmured at Him for saying He was the true bread which came down from heaven and could not understand His speech concerning the eating of His flesh and blood.  Many of his own disciples left Him after these words, so much so that Jesus asked the 12 if they also were going to abandon Him.  We have the same situation here as we had with the paralytic Jesus healed.  He told that man his sins were forgiven when healing his natural body.  This drove the Jews mad with anger.  So also were they likewise driven when Jesus told them He was the BREAD OF LIFE!  If they had taken the time to think through the ramifications of healing a paralytic and feeding 5000 men with a few loaves and fishes, their concerns would have vanished.  But no.  They were carnal fleshly men and as such viewed everything through that lens.  It has become blatantly obvious that the kingdom Jesus was instituting and the kingdom the unbelieving Jews were expecting were two different things. They are further away as the east is to the west if that were possible.  (See John 6:41-71) . 


Having looked at natural food, let us now finish our work with a look at the natural water.  Is Jesus merely one to quench the thirst of mortals?  No!  He told the Samaritan woman at the well that whosoever drinks natural water from a well would thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that He  gives would never thirst again for it would be a well of water springing up from within Him unto everlasting life. (John 4:13,14) See also John 7:37-39.  After the woman had left Jesus told the returning disciples that His own daily bread or food was working the will of the Father.  I have meat to eat that you know not is what He told them. (John 4:32-34) Even the disciples were fixated on the natural interpretation and so missed his meaning entirely.  


Allow me to leave you with my last words from Jesus the King from John 6:63.  




Our next segment in the series is entitled, The king/kingdom rejected and Israel cursed.

To be continued…………. LORD WILLING

We have now arrived at a crucial juncture in this series.  It has been made plain that the kingdom that Jesus came to bring was strictly of a spiritual nature, having nothing to do with the flesh, nor that which maintains or perpetuates the natural life.  It has also been made clear that the Jews in Jesus’ day were in expectation of the EXACT OPPOSITE to that which Jesus was preaching; one in which their physical demands would be abundantly provided for; an Old Covenant 2.0 on steroids, if you will.  Although Dispensationalists tell us that Jesus came to bring THE SAME KINGDOM the Jews expected, nothing could be further from the truth.  He did no such thing, or if He did they would have IMMEDIATELY accepted His terms.  He did not refuse to be their king; rather He refused to be their KIND OF king.  This is proven when He withdrew from the multitude when He perceived they would take Him by force to be their king.  


Brother, Jesus did not come to feed or heal men’s bodies; but their souls.  Sister, He did not pierce the vail of this terrestrial plane to redeem us from mortal men; but rather, from spiritual wickedness in high places.  Allow me once again to remind you that the king is spiritual.  He is God, therefore eternal and divine, the God/man.  And if the king is spiritual Who fulfilled 6 spiritual requirements for that kingdom of righteousness, so too must be His kingdom.  And if the kingdom is spiritual, so too must be its gospel.  And if the gospel is spiritual, so too must be the miracles that accompanied it.  Further, if the gospel is spiritual so too must be its requirements for entering into said kingdom. And if the requirements be spiritual so too must be the subjects who cannot enter in without being in possession of said requirements. 


At this time we come to unpack the main points of contention between the Amill, and the  Dispensationalist positions concerning the kingdom.  We begin without further ado.  Amill’s teach that the kingdom is spiritual as we have abundantly proven; proclaimed by John the Baptist and Jesus, rejected by the Jews, received by Jesus at His resurrection/ascension and commenced from heaven.  Our Dispensationalist friends, on the other hand, contend that the kingdom was earthly, or physical, and merely offered to the Jews with the final word of acceptance or denial lying within their sole power and discretion, and upon being rejected, said offer was withdrawn and postponed until the very end of days by God, Himself.    


We move on to investigate whether the kingdom was a regal proclamation; to be immediately and joyfully received, or merely an offer to be accepted or denied solely at the whim or caprice of the junior contracting party.  Allow me to now to set before you once again, the glorious prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 as interpreted by the apostle, Matthew found in chapter 21.


5.  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.       


The midst of Daniel’s 70th week had at last come.  We know Jesus came as described, on a donkey and colt.  If He came as described so that the scriptures could be fulfilled, how could He come if He was not THE KING?  Do you see any offer here to be accepted or rejected?  There is none.  Hear how Mark, Luke, and John interpret this prophecy with my emphasis.
The faithful “house of Jacob” are fully cognizant as to what is unfolding before their very eyes.  It is the fulfillment of God’s word to David in II Samuel 7:12-16, and I Chronicles 17:11-14.  Did the people consider this to be an offer to be given a thumbs up or thumbs down?  No, indeed.
Luke  19:37-40.  And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38.  Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39.  And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 
40.  And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Can you just imagine this scene being played out?  The disciples knew what was happening and rejoiced greatly.  The pharisees also witnessed the very same spectacle and instead of praising God called upon Jesus to rebuke His disciples.  Did Jesus comply?  No, He said the very stones would cry out if these held their peace.  So, who would you believe; the disciples of Jesus the Christ, or the false disciples of Moses, the pharisees.  This is proof positive that Jesus NEVER, EVER put the kingdom on hold.  Hallelujah to the Lamb of God, King of Israel!  
John 12:13.  [Much people] Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. 


The Son of David was at long last in their midst!   How could the faithful refrain from stooping to lay palm branches in the path of the King while at the same time lifting their voices on high? 

The “common people” who heard Jesus gladly were endowed with a God given faith to believe.  They knew the scripture.  They knew the timing.  But David was not here.  Ah, but the Son of David was.  They comprehended the truth of the personal promise to David, while the Jewish leaders could not. The kingdom of heaven belonged to such as these.  (Matthew 5:2,3, Mark 12:35-40) The argument that Jesus was merely contracting with the Jews of His day is full of subtlety (and I use that term purposefully) for there never was a contractual offer to be accepted or rejected, but rather a declaration to be immediately and joyfully received.  Further, there could be no viable contract as the terms as defined by the High contracting party had been mis  - construed by the junior party; making any agreement null and void on its face.  There was no requisite meeting of the minds; hence there could be no binding contract.  And because there could be no contract with the 1st century Jew, neither could there be one with their 21st century counterpart regardless whether they be descendent, successor, or assign, at any time there  after.  It follows, therefore, that if there was no genuine bona - fide offer, neither then could there be a postponement or withdrawal of said offer in the future.   No consent = No contract.  

6b
In other words, the true issue at hand is not what the writers of the OT law, and prophecy saw and wrote, and what Dispensationalists cling to as truth, but what Jesus and His 12 apostles interpreted those scriptures written by Moses and the prophets to actually mean. (Luke 24:32, 44,45, John 14:26,16:13)  If you get nothing else out of this series, get this.  The OT said Elijah would come before Jesus.  He did.  And Jesus said that Elijah was John the Baptist. 


We come now to the 2nd issue; that of rejection of the kingdom.  We are told by our friends of the Dispensationalist persuasion that the refusal or rejection of the kingdom by the Jews took place between Matthew chapters 10- 14 and is supposedly proven by Jesus’ word to Peter in Matthew 16 that upon His confession, “thou art the Christ”  He would begin to build His church, thereby laying aside, or withdrawing the offer of the kingdom and thereby postponing it until some time in the far flung future, known only to Him.   Along with Jesus’ strict orders forbidding any man to confess Him as the Christ this would be all the proof we Amill’s should need to come around to the Dispensationalist way of thinking, right?  Not so fast. The kingdom was not rejected by the Jews so as to be withdrawn by Christ and postponed as we have seen.  Man is not given a choice as it was no offer.  Hear God the Father thundering from His throne from  Psalms 2:6,7, “Yet [despite all what men do to the contrary] have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.  I will declare the decree; the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.  Dispensationalists are fond of calling this period known as The Church Age as “the great pause” or “parenthesis”.  I will have you know that the Church Age is neither a pause or a parenthesis; neither is it an apostrophe, a comma, an ellipse or a semi -colon.  It is the eternal plan of God which marches along on time and goes along unhindered and unimpeded by men.  (Daniel 4:35, Romans 11:33-36) We will explore Psalms 2:6,7 and the ancillary NT scriptures regarding it along with related topics to The Kingdom Set Up, Instituted, & Commenced in our next segment.  Spoiler alert:  Did you notice in the Psalms 2:6,7 scripture just above that the resurrection and kingdom are simultaneous? Please review this scripture.   


But what saith the scripture regarding the novel interpretation of withdrawal and postponement?  Well, after Jesus’ supposedly abandoned the kingdom of heaven for the church we find Him still teaching THE VERY SAME THING!  He preaches the Parable of the Wicked Servant (which is likened to the kingdom of heaven) in Matthew 18:23-35, the Parable of the Householder (which is like to the kingdom of heaven) in Matthew 20:1-16, and the Parable of Marriage of the King’s Son (which is like to the kingdom of heaven) in Matthew 22:1-14; all three highlighting, not the church, but rather the kingdom of heaven AFTER the Matthew 16 watershed. Jesus uses the same language in these supposed post “offer” scriptures that He utilized in the supposed pre “offer” scriptures.  This should be a convincing proof to all that the kingdom was not withdrawn.  


Moreover, Jesus preaches that His disciples were to become as children, for of such is the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 19:14; again after the Dispensational watershed moment of Matthew 16.   Why would He teach His disciples this if in fact the church was then being built and the kingdom of heaven put on hold?  Why would he speak well of eunuchs who made made themselves such for the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 19:12, if the church was not synonymous with it?  Why would Jesus aim and discharge His first “woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!,” on them who “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men”, who neither went in themselves, nor suffered them “that were entering to go in”?  How could the pharisees shut up what Christ had already supposedly closed?  Here again is an obvious proof that Christ had not withdrawn the kingdom.  Lastly, consider this oxymoronic statement that Jesus made if the kingdom of heaven is not in complete harmony with the church.  It is taken from the Dispensationalist playbook in Matthew 16:17-19.  After Peter’s confession and Christ’s word to him about the church, Jesus states the following: “and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”   What need had Peter for the keys of a withdrawn and postponed kingdom which would not come for three millennia?  Again, the answer is obvious.  The kingdom was never withdrawn or postponed.   This is self-evident, or should be to all who have eyes to see.

Allow me now to take a step back to cite a few examples of the Jew’s rejection of Jesus.  I do not have time or space to chronicle each and every passage.  Allow the following scriptural examples to suffice: We see His rejection by His immediate family, (John 7:5) His home-town neighbors, (Luke 4:16-30) His friends, (Mark 3:21) His outer disciples, (John 6:53-66) the scribes (Luke 6:7) pharisees, (Matthew 12:14) Herodians, (Mark 3:6) lawyers, (Luke 10:25) the sadducees, (Matthew 16:1-4)and the High Priests. (John 11:45-56) The scriptural record is clear.  He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.  He came unto His own and His own received Him not.  But some received Him, and these became the beneficiaries of the kingdom, becoming by faith, the very sons of God. (Isaiah 53:3, John 1:11) Upon His non-acceptance by the nation of Israel at the triumphal entry mercy and grace were exhausted and this rejection of Jesus by the Jews turned out to be the last straw; the 491st to be laid on the back of the lowly, King Jesus.  He had forgiven 70 X 7.  His actions matched His words to Peter. (Matthew 18:22) But the Father had had enough of their treatment of His Son and now the Jews would receive the full measure of the nation’s rejection of the prophets of God, and the God of the prophets. (Matthew 23:29-36, John 12:35-50) No longer would they be overcome and scattered with a promise of a return.  They were now cursed.          

Part 6c

But some will say, what about those scriptures stating that God would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse them who cursed him”?  Yes, God did promise Abraham this very thing back in Genesis 12:3 when He told him to leave his native land and go to the land God would show him.  But Abraham is no longer alive in body traversing the earth in search of this land or city.  (Hebrews 11:8-10, 12:22-24)   He is in full possession of them and has been for 4 full millennia.  A question for you:  If every blasphemy spoken against the Son of man will be forgiven, what think ye of the blasphemy against a mere mortal?  (Luke 12:10) A few more will counter with the following: What about the verse that says “he that toucheth [for harm] you [Israel] touches the apple of God’s eye”? (Zechariah 2:9)  Again, I admit that this was truly prophesied; but 500+ years before the birth of Jesus Christ.  Dispensationalists are famous for digging up and resurrecting OT passages that have already served their appointed time and purpose only to be brought forth again from the dead to be magically fulfilled in the NT.  Beware of them.  This is their Modus Operandi.  Don’t be deceived.  Israel, as a nation is cursed.   


Allow me to prove my point that Israel was cursed with their 491st rejection of Jesus.  Do you not remember that before entering the city the next day after His triumphal entry that Jesus cursed the fig tree?  And after so doing it withered away. (See Matthew 21:20,21) The fig tree is representative of the nation of Israel. (See Joel 1:6,7, Mark 13:28)  This is incontrovertible.  This is illustrated for us by the Holy Ghost in Luke 13:6-9.  The owner of the vineyard is God, the Father.  The Dresser of this vineyard is Christ, His Son.  The fig tree is the nation of Israel.  Christ’s ministry lasted for 3 ½ years.  This ministry was directed primarily to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:6, and 15:24) It is clear that as a nation Israel bare no fruit just as its forebears, and that tree was cut down in 70 AD, never to be wet again with the dew of heaven in order to send forth any future green shoots proving its vitality. No, Israel, as a nation was dead.  (Daniel 4:22-26, Matthew 23:29-39, and John 12:36,37) 

Consider the 3 Parables Jesus spoke after cursing the fig tree.  They are The Parable of the Man with 2 Sons, (Matthew 21:28-32)The Parable of the Householder’s Vineyard,(Matthew 21:33-46) and The Parable of the Marriage of the King’s Son, (Matthew 22:1-14)  Woe, woe, woe unto them!  What response did the pharisees give to Jesus’ question regarding what the lord of the vineyard would do to the wicked husbandmen (the chief priests and pharisees)?  “He will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen which shall render him the fruits in their seasons”. (Matthew 21:41 with my emphasis) In the midst of these damning parables, however, Jesus tells the chief priests and elders of the people that God was taking the kingdom from them and giving it to another nation that would bring forth the fruits of it. (Matthew 21:43).  He did not say merely another far flung future generation of the same people group, but rather another nation altogether.  Who is this nation?  They are the people who were not formerly a people. (See Hosea 2:23, I Peter 2:9,10, and Romans 9:23-29)    

Part 6d
After these three parables and the subsequent total smackdown of the pharisees, Herodians, sadducees, and lawyers who all tried to trip Him up He gives His final scorched earth denunciation of the scribes/pharisees, and upon completion, He departs.  (Matthew 22:15-23:39)    As mentioned in an earlier segment this departing of Jesus from the Temple was in essence the same as God departing the temple in the Book of Ezekiel; with one caveat:  He would never return.  The Jewish people missed the time of their visitation. There would not be another.   


As we begin to wrap up, allow me to bring forward an interpretation of the scriptures regarding the cursing or laying aside of the nation of Israel; one which you have likely never heard before, but in complete harmony with what has already been put forth.  Neither have I seen it and so with humility do I leave it at your feet for your further research as there is nothing new under the sun.  It is found in Jeremiah 31, the chapter that the New Covenant is mentioned in.  After fleshing out the details of the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit tells us this with my emphasis: 


35.  Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves roar; the LORD of hosts is his name: 
36.  If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.   


So what’s the fuss?  The sun gets up and shines every day; the moon and the stars, likewise.  But where was the nation of Israel between 70 and 1948?  The sun, moon, and stars were still shining in their courses above.  However, the nation was not.  It ceased to be a nation.  And it ceased to be a nation by scriptural definition F -O - R- E - V - E- R.  And when you look at the apocalyptic language of Mark 13, and Luke 21 you will understand when this phenomenon took place.  While I do not have time to exegete these chapters we know that the Abomination of Desolation, the sign of the evil to come upon Jerusalem, is clearly interpreted by Luke to be the Roman army which did not leave one temple stone upon another that was not thrown down. (Matthew 24:15,16 Mark 13:14, Luke 21:20,21) Knowing that the Abomination of Desolation is joined at the hip with The Great Tribulation we begin to understand Jesus’ words from Mark 13. 


24.  But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25.  And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.


You see, it was after the tribulation of 70 AD that the celestial lights prophetically went out and ceased to shine.  This was the sign that Israel from that moment ceased to be a nation, forever.  Man’s later laws, or decrees; whether they be the Balfour Declaration, a Jewish Law of Return or a United Nations Mandate cannot overrule the Word of God.  Yes, men say Israel is a political nation; but they are not a nation before God.  Please notice the words of Jeremiah 31:37.  They do not say that “all the seed of Israel'' would be cast off.  That would only occur “if heaven above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath.”  Jeremiah 31:37.  God has not cast away every Jew, just the nation. (Romans 11:1) Some, I hope, no many I trust will be saved once the fulness of the Gentiles have come into the kingdom and so they too shall take their place in the fruitful olive tree.  But we must not countenance their fleshly, cherished earthly 1000 year kingdom nor the Dispensationalists efforts to bring it to pass.  Keep in mind I am a biblicist; not a preterist, dispensationalist, nor an idealist.  Full preterism is heresy.  
Should you have any comments, questions or criticisms of any part of this work, particularly the final portion of this current installment please contact me @ manovclay1@gmail.com.  

To be continued…………..(Lord Willing)

We now come to part 2 of this segment, “The Kingdom Set Up”.  It goes without saying that something which is first set up is the beginning and not the ending.  We determined by scripture that Jesus’ kingdom was begun at His resurrection per Psalms Chapter 2, (Acts 13:33).  In an earlier segment we had brought home this very truth. (Daniel 7:13,14, Acts 1:9-11, Revelation 12:5,10) With this in mind I submit Chapter 2 from the Book of Daniel with my emphasis.    

40.  And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 

41.  And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 

42.  And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43.  And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44.  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.

Notice if you will that there are only four (and no more) kingdoms, and it is agreed on all hands that the fourth kingdom is Rome, albeit in another form now than it’s 1st century predecessor.   The 7 heads of Rome are not men, but rather 7 forms of government, the last being the 8th in an alliance with “the 10 kings” who finally turn on Babylon the Great. (Revelation 17:16) Nero, therefore, cannot be the  king who is [now] as Preterists are so fond of telling us.  No, the 6th king is the form of government that began with Caesar, Augustus.  But we are not talking about  Rome’s kingdom but Jesus Christ’s so I will not delve into the meanings of verses 40 - 43. 

In verse 44 above we have before us not the final delivering up of the kingdom to the Father by the Son at the close or end of His prophetic and symbolic yet very real 1000 year reign, (at the time of the Second Coming) but rather the initial setting up of that kingdom for the Son by the Father which had its beginning with His resurrection from the dead and the pouring out of the Holy Ghost. (I Corinthians 15:24) But what kings could possibly qualify to make the claim that the kingdom was set up during their time?  As stated in an earlier segment, the EU is the hands down and odds on favorite of many Dispensationalists.  But again, there is doctrine destroying baggage that comes along with that supposed front runner.  If the 10 kings come from the EU, Imminency is thereby destroyed as Christ could not come in a Pre - Trib Rapture until the EU was formed in 1957, or until the 10th nation came into its fold in 1981; an epic fail, indeed.       

We continue now to revisit a subject I mentioned back in Chapter 4 and to which I hinted at on the 1st page of this current work.  No doubt it sounded strange to you.  I am speaking of the 700 year reign of the 4 empires of Nebbie’s Metal Man. So how did I arrive at that specific number?  The Babylonian Dynasty flourished for a total of 66 years, from 605 - 539 BC, while the Empire of the Medes and Persians held sway from 539 until 331 BC, or 208 years.   This in turn was followed by the world - wide dominion of the Greco/Macedonians beginning in 331 and reaching unto the year 168 BC, or 163 years.  There is little or no argument relative to these dates and corresponding years.  The fur flies, however, when we come to Rome, the fourth kingdom.  Again, there is little or no disagreement on having Rome begin her superpower status in 168 BC.  The debate, however, rages on the end date for the Imperium Romanum or what some Dispensationalists call the Revived Roman Empire.   In order to keep continuity with the entire written text of Daniel 2, and a head to toe proportionality with the terrible image, however, we have only one option that does not undermine either.  I submit to you that the period represented by the Legs of Iron lasted for a period of 195 years, from 168 BC until 27 AD. 


Why?  As you may know, 27 AD is the year Jesus began His ministry by stating the time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand. (Mark 1:15) The 10 toes of the feet on which the image received its fatal blow by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands are the 10 emperors who ruled from 27, the year Jesus began His ministry, until 95, the year the NT Canon of the Word of God was completed; a total of 68 years. The kings of those days were Tiberius, who ruled 14 -37, Caligula, who ruled 37 - 41, Claudius, who ruled, 41 - 54, Nero, who ruled, 54 - 68, Galba, Otho,  and Vitellius who ruled  from 68,69, Vespasian, who ruled 69 - 79, Titus, who ruled 79 - 81, and Domitian, who ruled 81 - 96. These 68 years from 27AD to 95 AD when added to the other empires of Babylon, Medo/Persia, Greco/Macedonia, and Rome =700.  The scripture is specific.  It is during the days of these [10] kings that the Kingdom of God is set up.  


While not symmetrically perfect, the size of the legs, and feet/toes compared to that of the head, chest, and belly/thighs I have proposed are more or less proportional one to one another relative to the number of years of each empire’s reign.  In other words, although the image was terrible or frightening; it was no caricature; that is all head or all belly.  But when you get to Rome in the Dispensationalist model all proportionality is thrown out the window for it is “all legs”.  In fact, Dispendationalists tell us that the Roman legs represent the period of years from 168 BC until 476 AD, or 538 AD depending on which camp of Dispensationalism you may be in.  That would make the legs about 1 ½ times as long as the whole upper body! (66 Babylon head+208 Medo/Persia chest/arms +168 Greco/Macedonian belly thighs = 442) If we look at the feet/toes in the Dispensationalist model they add another 1500 years, approximately, from 476/538 to 2021+ making the feet and toes about twice as long as the legs!!  This cannot be. This is not terrible but a laughingstock.  And if the toes are in fact some future European Union, rather than the 10 Caesars of the 1st century those toes must be severed from the feet of the image or those feet would be 3 ½ X the size of the entire image relative to time!!!   So much for the EU or any 20th/21st century kings being confused with the 10 toes of Nebbie’s image.  To remain true to the text and the proportionality of Nebbie’s Metal Man the 10 kings must be the 10 Caesars.   


As we begin to button up this segment allow me to make a needed pitstop prior to heading for the finish line.  Christ, as the newly set King is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands; the stone the builders rejected, Who smashes the metal image on its feet and toes bringing an end to man’s rule from earth and upon the set up of His kingdom ushers in the true New Order of the Ages, a spiritual age directed from heaven.  Now as then, however, Christ continues to be the object of the supplanted rulers’ rage, vain imaginations, and rejection.  The temple builders of our day; the speculative Free - Masons still reject the cornerstone which is made the head of God’s holy Temple.  How do I know?  First, their main tenant is belief in a single deity, where any deity at all will do nicely.  Secondly, They believe they are the stone company, the 5th empire, with the demonic task to bring in their own world order (look at the back of a dollar bill) of “the fatherhood of god, and the brotherhood of man”.  This plan cannot succeed, for just as the wicked rulers did only what God’s hand and counsel determined beforehand to be done in Jesus’ day, so it is today in our own. (Acts 4:28) But listen.  God is no longer laughing at men as   His laughing days are over.  He will one day vex all those who oppose His King/Kingdom in His hot displeasure unless they repent and Kiss the Son, the King. (Psalms 2:5, 9-12)   


As we bring Chapter 7 to a close, permit me to lift the curtain just a bit on our 2 remaining segments.  The next, our 8th, will be an in-depth look and fleshing out of Jesus’ Words contained in Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27, where He stated that some in the audience He was then speaking to would not die until they had seen the Kingdom come with power.   We will discover that the mainline Dispensationalist interpretation of these verses leaves much to be desired and will not stand the test of their own cherished literal, grammatical, and historical hermeneutic.  Additionally, we will take a brief look at Daniel 2:35, where the stone cut out without hands becomes a great mountain [kingdom] itself and fills the whole earth.  


Our last in the series, #9, is slated to be an address of objections against the Amiil kingdom position, and a review of the greatest arguments in its favor followed by some fitting final words.  One of the objections we will address is the following:  If Jesus is truly reigning, why is there still sin, disease, and death?  Another is how can Satan go about as a roaring lion if he is a defeated foe?  I leave you with a question I asked in an earlier segment.  Who reigns now, if not Jesus?   


To be continued (Lord willing)

Chapter 8a



Allow me to give you an example.  There is a great but needless debate on the meaning of “the abomination of desolation” in Matthew 24:15, and Mark 13:14.  Much has been made of going back to the lesser light of the OT Book of Daniel, which we must do, but in the proper order.  If we stopped there we would have missed the greater light of Luke 21:20 where “the abomination” is equated with the Roman army.  A text without the full context thus leads to the false pretext that a man sitting in a temple in Jerusalem demanding worship is somehow the Abomination of Desolation. This is why we compare individual scripture with all of its counterparts.  Here are the 3 pertinent synoptic scripture couplets grouped together with MY emphasis for our study.  I will defend the biblicist position by grouping them and then breaking them down to examine their individual components and then put them back together again to view them as a whole.  In the next segment I will go on offensive and attack the ists’ position concerning these same verses and finally defend the biblicist position of King/Kingdom as we bring forth the original Title Deed.     


Matthew 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works.  

Matthew 16:28  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till  they SEE the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 


Mark 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 

Mark 9:1  Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they HAVE SEEN the kingdom of God come with power. 


Luke 9:26  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. 

Luke 9:27  But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they SEE the kingdom of God.  


Looking at the 1st of the 2 verses by each gospel writer we find the Son of man coming with His angels and the glory of the Father with a “reward” given to “every man” according to Matthew, while Mark and Luke state it is given to those who were “ashamed of Jesus and His words.”  While Luke highlights the subjects; the “whosoevers”, Mark hones in on the particular time in which these whosoevers lived. They were the “adulterous and sinful generation” of Jesus’ day. There is a very simple synthesis for all 3.  Matthew was concerned with the maximum coverage or the big picture; the headline, taking in saved and unsaved alike, for all time.  Luke, however, was aiming at a more specific catch in the body of the piece; the sinners in every generation, while Mark is focused on a pinpoint cast for those of Jesus’ own day constituting the fine print.  


Regarding the 2nd of the 2 verses we find Luke and Matthew are virtually identical, but Mark opens a window of heaven on the subject the others do not.  Look hard at the verse from Mark just above.  What do you see?  Instead of the subjects being merely “some” of those then present which should not taste of death, Mark informs us that the “some” is “of them”, not only a smaller part of the total audience present, but rather a separate or distinct group from the others.  But who are meant by these “of them” in Mark?  We do not know, but it turns out we need only dial back 1 verse to find our answer.  Let’s look at both verses from Mark together again.  

Chapter 8 b


Mark 8:38  [Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words] in [this] adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Mark 9:1  Verily I say unto you, That there be some [of them] that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. 


Yes, the phrase [of them] is certainly pointing back to the subject, the “ashamed of Jesus and his words” which is linked to “this adulterous and sinful generation”; the Jews of Jesus’s day.   

We now know the spiritual inclination of the “some of them”.  They are not saved but sinners.  So the next question which naturally arises is this: Is the coming of Jesus in Matthew 16:27, Mark 8:38, and Luke 9:26 the same coming of Jesus/the kingdom in the very next scripture of Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27?  Again, if we just made a haphazard stab at both scriptures we might come to this conclusion.  But scripture will not uphold it in the least.  Why?  


First, if Jesus meant that some would not die until they saw Him/His kingdom coming and this event is in fact identical to His 2nd Coming we would have 2000+ year old men walking around.  Imagine that; men 2x as old as Methusaleh!    But scripture nullifies this possibility, for Moses wrote that God semi - capped the lifespan of men at 70 or 80 years. (Psalms 90:10) Could it be this scripture is speaking of another death?  Before we answer that question, allow me to continue with another proof that disqualifies the 2nd Coming from being the event Christ had in view in Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27.  That scripture is hiding in plain sight.  There, near the close of Passion Week and after the Jews’ had laid their 491st straw upon the back of Jesus He tells 4 of His disciples during the Olivet Discourse in the year 30, after He had uttered our scriptures from Matthew, Mark, and Luke above, that only the Father knew the time of Jesus’ 2nd Coming; as the Father had put the times or the seasons in His Own hand. (Matthew 24:36, Acts 1:6) So, if Jesus did not know the return time of His 2nd Coming when He spoke these words how could He make the statement that some would not die until they saw the Son of man coming in His kingdom if the 2nd Coming is the fulfillment of these scriptures? 


Knowing the answer to our last question we will move on to pose 5 more from our 2nd scriptural couplet passage; 3 from the left side of the verse ledger, and 2 from the right side. Q1: Why the need for the preface verily, or truly?  A1: Jesus used this phrase, and sometimes doubled it for his listeners to further emphasise its significance.  Because God could swear by none greater He sware by Himself. (Hebrews 6:13) In other words, Christ the Lord; He Who is THE TRUTH; having no other means to convey the great importance of this message home to the heart and conscience more readily or more powerfully began with TRULY, I THE TRUTH, say unto you. 


Q2: Who are the “some” of them standing there?  A2: As you know, this has already been answered by Mark, “the some” being those in 29 who were ashamed of Jesus and His Word.  But allow me to bring in the Apostle, John, and although not of the strict synoptic persuasion he too corrobborates his 3 brothers’ testimony in his own account giving us a still fuller explanation. He writes that upon hearing Jesus teach on the spiritual nature and essence of His Words regarding His body and blood, many of His own disciples were stupefied. (John 6:53-60) They murmured at this Word of God.  They were offended.  They were ASHAMED. (John 6:61,62) And further, upon hearing Jesus’ soul searching Word that “some of them did not believe” which was immediately followed up by the doubled down free - will destroying caution that one could only come to Jesus if it had been previously given him to do so by His Father, many went back and followed Him no more. (John 6:37, 64-66) With the atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife Jesus turns to the 12 and asks, “will you also go away?” (John 6:67)

Chapter 8 eWhy is this important?  Go back with me to Nazareth and listen to Jesus’ sermon given to His home - town neighbors at the beginning of His ministry.   Upon receiving the scroll of Isaiah, and finding the pertinent chapter He reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”  He then reads salvation verses to the people but closes to begin His sermon before reciting the passage regarding the taking of vengeance. (Luke 4:16-30, Isaiah 61:2) But, why?  The time for judgment had not yet come.  Jesus’ earthly mission was to set the captive free, to save and not to damn. Yes, Jesus got very angry with Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and yes He fumed against the hard hearted in the synagogue, (Mark 3:1-5, Matthew 11:20-24)  but it was only after the final set in stone resistance to that mission did the subject of judgment finally dominate His message.  We pointed that fact out in a recent segment whereupon the Jews at His triumphal entry threw down the proverbial gauntlet by casting the 491st straw upon the back of Jesus.  That final rejection of the Son of God ushered in the 3 Judgment Parables: The Man with Two Sons, The Husband Man and His Vineyard, and The Marriage of the King’s Son. (Matthew 21:28-32, 33-46, 22:1-14)  It was only after this that the Messiah cried out, “your house is left unto you, desolate.”  Recall also that Isaiah described the Messiah as one who would not break the bent reed; neither would He snuff out the smoking flax. That is till.  Until, when?  Until the time finally came when the hearts were so hardened, and the consciences so seared there was no turning back.  


So when did or when will this occur?  Remember, we have already proven that if the “coming” in the 1st verse in our scriptural couplet is referring to the 2nd Coming, the “coming” in the 2nd verse cannot be.  So what other possible biblical “comings” are there?   We now take up questions 4, and 5 on the right side of the verse ledger, the other side of that word, till.  Q4 was this: How do we define “seeing”?  A4: Since the subjects “some” [of them] were still in their natural bodies and found to be sinners, they were seeing with the natural eye, as there is no indication of a trance or vision. But think about this for a brief moment or two.  They who very well may have been among the 5000 and/or 4000 men recently fed with a few barley loaves and fishes at the Lamb of God’s compassionate and miraculous hand would also taste of the biting fruit of starvation from the Savior turned Adversary and drink to the very dregs the embittered cup of thirst from the Savior turned Tormentor.  They who very well may have been eyewitness to 1 or more of the 3 bodily resurrections Jesus performed would soon see their own family members and then themselves fall without hope of rising again at the cruel hands of the Roman Grim Reaper during The Great Tribulation.  The gospel of the kingdom which they heard but rejected which contains the phrase, “blessed are the peacemakers” would now come back to haunt them and echo again and again down the corridors of their minds as they come to the full on realization that the scripture is speaking of them when it thunders, “there is no peace, sayeth my God to the wicked”.  And finally, instead of the pleasant aromas of myrrh and cassia, the perfume of the King of kings they now take in with every breath the omnipresent stench of human waste as well as the nauseating and putrid smell of rotting flesh and blood. (Psalms 45)   


Now for Q5. How are we to understand the phrase “the Son of man coming in his kingdom?”    After all, that is the question.  A5: Simply put, Jesus “came” to Jerusalem in 70 AD the very same way He came to them in 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzer destroyed Jerusalem the 1st time.  Let’s look closely at Joel, Chapter 2.  In this chapter, Joel describes the particulars of “the day of the Lord”; the destruction of the city.  He introduces a great and strong people; none being like them before or after, and then goes on to elucidate their military prowess in great detail. (verse 1-9)  And then we find that ominous verse we introduced in a recent segment; the withdrawal of light from the sun, moon and stars; prophetic language utilized to describe the complete and final fall; not merely of the city of the great king, and house of God, and not only the entire nation of his chosen people, the apple of His eye, but the whole OT economy; people, priesthood, sacrifice, temple and land. (verse 10)  And then the Lord utters his voice.  Where?  He gives command BEFORE His army; His great camp. (verse 11) Notice that word, before.    God is not trailing that army, and crying after them to cease and desist.  No, rather, God is leading the charge and giving the battlecry!  But who is this camp and army?  Let’s allow the scripture to answer for itself in its own contextual setting.  It is the northern army. (verse 20) And who is that army?  They are the Babylonians.  This should not surprise us for even the great King Nebuchadnezzar was called the ‘servant of the Lord.’  (Jeremiah 25:9, Ezekiel 26:7) And just as the Babylonians wielded the engines of war and drew the sword of God’s judgment from its sheath in 586 BC upon the Jews, so too did the Roman Legions do the same some 650 years later in the year 70; all at the behest and express command of God, Almighty.  

see chapter 9 coming soon i hope

Hey Bro.....just wanted to let you know that I'm reading every word of your book and I find it extremely edifying, and look forward to each installment.

I have been ammilenialist since my conversion but have recently been studying the olivet discourse and book of revelation....and find myself taking an orthodox preterist stance on them. In summary, that Daniel, the olivet and revelation have fulfillment in the 1st century, although certain chapters of Rev pertain to the whole of the church age and final consumation of the Kingdom.

I notice in some of your chapters you seem to distance yourself with the "preterist" view. In your summary of the olivert discourse you see all fulfiled in Jeru 70AD....which I would see as orthodox preterism. You have not talked too much about Rev. so I'd be interested your viewpoint. At the moment I find myself in general agreement with your book.

So would I be right in saying your definition of "preterist" would be those who hold to the heretical idea that there is no prophecy at all left to be fulfilled, specifically the bodily 2nd coming?

Or are there aspects of orthodox preterism that you take issue with?

Dear sir, I believe The Olivet Discourse is about 70 ad predominantly.  Daniel 9:24-27 is about Jesus.  Some would say I am preterist.  But the 2 scriptures in Acts I mention will not allow the possibility of full on preterism.  The times of restitution of all things (the new body) in conjunction with the last enemy (death) being placed as a stool under Christ's feet occur at the last or the 7th trumpet blast. This is not 70, but the end of the world. This is what Christ is anticipating, the collection of His bride and the annihilation of His enemies.  If you like I can send a link for the book. (70 pgs)