Two Myths About the Kingdom of God

Well, Happy Sabbath again. Brethren, thank you, Mr. Blakey. He makes it look so easy. On that one note he held it so long, I was gasping for air by the time he was done with that. Thank you so much. It adds a lot to our worship and our service here. Well, Happy Sabbath once again, in a very short period of time, we will begin to observe the fall holy days. Less than two weeks away, the Feast of Trumpets will be celebrated. The fall festivals have a different theme than the earlier holy days, so let's review those very quickly. In God's holy days, as instructed in Leviticus 23, it starts out with a series of holy days that are in the spring and early summer.

We know of them as the Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the Day of Pentecost. Those are all made possible by the first coming of Jesus Christ. And the purpose of those holy days is to show and reveal the process that the elect would experience throughout history, being prepared in their lifetimes to serve with Jesus Christ in the millennium and beyond. And it pictures the elect accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, the power of forgiveness and grace, overcoming with the gift of God's Holy Spirit. And that prepares the elect chosen from the foundation of the world for very special assignments.

So this is the first part of God's plan. It's about preparing a people and preaching the gospel, all made possible by the first coming of Jesus Christ. Again, salvation, forgiveness, overcoming through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then there's quite a space of time between Pentecost and the Feast of Trump. It's a very large gap of time on the original Hebrew calendar. And that was the picture of the fact, that large gap of time, that no, Jesus Christ through prophecy was never intended to come back in the generation of the original disciples.

It wasn't his intent to come back within a hundred years of the first time that he came to this earth. No, that approximately 2,000 years would elapse from the time that he was on earth, and the first time he came and became a Savior.

And his second return, when he would return to earth, as pictured by what we call the fall holy days, and they are, of course, the Feast of Trumpets, we'll be celebrating in less than two weeks, the Day of Atonement. And the Feast of Tabernacles immediately followed those seven days. By the eighth day, what we traditionally also refer to as the last great day.

All of the fall holy days are made possible by the second coming of Jesus Christ. So again, the spring holy days in Pentecost are made possible by his first coming, by him coming as a Savior, as the Lamb of God. And Trumpets and Atonement, Tabernacles, the eighth day are all made possible by his second coming. And the fall holy days are about the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, and all that follows the return of Jesus Christ himself, the Messiah.

That's the second part of God's plan, and it's about establishing a kingdom without end. Good news, very encouraging. And until we understand and appreciate those holy days as outlined in Leviticus 23, we cannot know the plan of God, the plan that God has had since the foundation of the world, all revealed in each and every one of those holy days listed.

So we're entering the fall holy days, the time, the pictures, the return of Jesus Christ, and all the events that occur afterward. But unfortunately, many sincere individuals have created myths about the Kingdom of God, and that's what I would like to talk about today. I would like to discuss two myths that have taken on a life of their own that I often hear people say about the Kingdom of God, or read about the Kingdom of God.

And I think it's so important as we begin to celebrate the fall holy days, which are all centered around the return of Jesus Christ, the establishment of that kingdom, that we don't fall prey to these myths. So I'm going to give two of them today. Here's myth number one. Myth number one is that after Christ returns, the world is immediately renewed and at peace, and all problems are solved, and sin is abolished. I'm going to read that again.

Myth number one. After Christ returned, the world is immediately renewed and at peace, all problems are solved, and sin is abolished. Well, brethren, change is a process, not an event. Character and human nature doesn't change instantaneously. As a matter of fact, to build character, you cannot force the building of character.

People have been, people are, human beings always will be free moral agents who grow and change slowly. You cannot legislate righteousness. Righteousness comes by choice. Character is developed by trial and acceptance and internal growth. You cannot force the development of character. Let's go to Isaiah 30 and 20. Take a look at a scripture here that talks about how people will learn the ways of God in the millennium, in the thousand year period.

Isaiah 30 and 20. If you will turn there with me. The prophet Isaiah wrote, chapter 30, verse 20. And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, and certainly the people on this earth will go through very terrible and tragic circumstances. We know them as the tribulation and the day of the Lord spoken of in the book of Revelation. Yet he talks about what's going to occur after that period of time. Yet, there's a transition there. Your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes will see your teachers.

He's speaking to the physical people who will survive and live within the kingdom of God those first one thousand years. The teachers are the spiritual sons of God who trained, who trained in this time and overcame through the power of the Holy Spirit and endured into the end and prepared themselves to serve as teachers.

Teachers and mentors and coaches, priests, administrators to the people who will be left in the world at that time. And unlike the world today, they won't be in a corner anymore. You know, if you were to boldly say that people should not be committing adultery, not only would you be laughed at, but you would probably be marginalized. Imagine going on CNN, being in an interview, and saying, well, I think it's a sin for people who commit adultery. Why? You would immediately be ridiculed and marginalized. You would probably never have anyone from our mainstream media interview you again, because they would consider you a buffoon.

You're not a teacher. They think you're a fool teaching those kinds of things. Worship of one God. Prayer? Studying your Bible every day? They would think that you're religious. They would think there's something wrong with you. These people, this guy, actually believes in God. What a nutcase! So that's the way it is in our world today, where if you're a person of faith, you are marginalized, ridiculed, and pushed off to the side.

It says, your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. So even though the teachers will be spiritual beings transformed at the return of Jesus Christ, in what is known as the resurrection at that time, the first resurrection, they will still be able to manifest themselves into flesh, so that human beings can relate to them, can relate to us, and talk to us, and have a conversation, and learn from us. So your eyes will see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand, or whenever you turn to the left. So when someone begins to go off straight, there will be a teacher who will say, wait a minute. Now think about the consequences. If you do this, then it's going to lead to this, and it's going to cause you pain. Or it's going to hurt people you love. So think about, stop, look before you leap, and think about the consequences of where you're headed. Verse 22, you will also defile, or in other translations, ruin, destroy, the covering of your graven images of silver, and the ornament of your molded images of gold.

You'll throw them away as an unclean thing. People will throw out the former gods that they worship, or the former concepts they had of worshiping God. Or some people who will be materialistic will say, this stuff didn't serve me well. I shouldn't worship things. I shouldn't worship stuff. And so they will reject that. They'll throw them away as an unclean thing. You will say to them, get away.

So people will reject the false religious ideas that were carried over from the previous world and say, I don't want to have any part to do with that. Get it out of my sight. Get it away from me. Verse 23, then he will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground and bread of the increase of the earth. It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed in large pastures.

Then in verse 24, it says, Likewise, the oxen with the young doggies that work the ground will eat cured fodder. So this is a land of peace. Animals are gently grazing out in the fields and feeding and doing what young animals do, continuing which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan. So they'll be fed. They'll be content. In verse 25, getting back again to an allusion to the great tribulation and day of the Lord that preceded this, there will be on every high mountain and on every high hill rivers and streams of waters in the day of great slaughter when the towers fell. So previously, there will still be a remembrance of what that experience was like. Verse 26, Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, and as in the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of his people and heals the stroke of their wound. So what's this talking about here? This is telling us that there's a process of change that's being described here. Teachers are visually educating others, especially those who are going astray. Slowly, the land is being healed. The heavens are being healed. The environment, the land is being healed. People are being healed. You know, when you dress a bruise, it takes time for that bruise to heal. It heals gradually. It changes color from dark purple, and over a period of time, it gets back into your natural skin tone.

The people who have survived the Great Tribulation in the Day of the Lord will live in a world that had been environmentally devastated. They will have experienced the horrors of world war. Most of them will suffer a type of post-traumatic stress disorder. They'll need caring teachers who love them, who are there to heal them, who are there to coach them. This will not be an easy world for them to live in because of what they experienced. I had a close friend whose father was in World War II.

His father was always an introverted, quiet man. He was an alcoholic. I asked my friend once, I said, what's with your dad? He said, my dad was never right when he got back from the war. He saw things, my mother said, he saw things that literally changed him for the rest of his life. He saw horrors and experienced things that changed him. He would never talk about the war.

When my mother would ask him, or I would ask him, he would never, ever talk about and experience from the war. All he would do would drink to cover the pain. That's post-traumatic stress disorder, is what we call that today. There are going to be millions of people who live in that world who are going to be seen in their own lives.

Some of the most horrific, terrible events that's possible for a human being to experience. It's going to be a difficult generation. And of course, they will have children. And each generation afterward in the kingdom will do a little bit better. But human cultures and family dysfunctions are deeply ingrained in humanity. It will take time and patience, diligent teaching, and great effort to create a godly culture and establish the kingdom throughout the earth.

The elect children of God are not a spiritual SWAT team. This is part of the myth that the people have. That Jesus Christ is coming back with a rod of iron, and that the children of God are a spiritual SWAT team. And anywhere that there's a problem, they will descend with their helmets on and their spiritual ramparts. And they will break bones. And they will do all of these things to force the earth to peace.

To force people to obey God's law. And brethren, that simply is not true at all. God's elect are not God's spiritual SWAT team. They're not sent to crack a whip or beat people with rods or demand immediate compliance. We just read here in Isaiah 30 that they are patient teachers working with people, encouraging people, helping people. Another part of that myth is that an immediate earthly transformation focuses on Jesus Christ coming with a rod of iron.

It's one of their favorite scriptures. They use, and it's mentioned in Revelation 12 and verse 5, Revelation 19-15. And it is implied by some, because they read those scriptures, that Jesus will simply beat people and nations into submission. But if you look at those scriptures in context, which is the way that we should look at all scriptures, you will see that Jesus only uses that rod of iron as he returns as the conquering king of kings, arriving with his armies to put down the nations fighting against him at his return.

He's arriving at a time of crisis in the earth. He has to intervene, as it says in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 22. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. So when you read about Jesus Christ as a warrior, as a conqueror, with a rod of iron, understand that in context, that that is him naturally responding to a time when people have gathered together to challenge his authority.

Let's now go to Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. See how Revelation presents Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. If there's any book that would present Jesus Christ as the lion of Judah or some ferocious animal, it would be the book of Revelation. But aside from a few isolated instances, the term that's used as Jesus Christ mostly throughout the book of Revelation may surprise you. Revelation chapter 5 beginning in verse 6. John wrote, And I looked and behold in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb, as though it had been slain.

So the wounds of the Lamb of God, we know, of course, that Jesus Christ was crucified. In this vision, John sees Jesus Christ represented by a gentle, patient, caring lamb. And there were even the scars of his crucifixion on that lamb, having seven horns, meaning all powerful, and seven eyes, meaning to be able to see everything, all knowing, omnipotent, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth.

Here's what the Believer's Study Bible says about this verse. Quote, Expecting to behold a kingly and ferocious lion, John turns to observe a lamb.

This is the Greek word. This word for lamb is arneion. You know how many times this is used in the book of Revelation? Twenty-nine times Jesus Christ is referred to by this word in the book of Revelation. So you see, yes, Jesus Christ arrives to earth to display the wrath of God on a wicked culture and nations who have gathered together to war against him. This is the time of crisis. He, indeed, is an all-powerful warrior. However, understanding that for the moment, and that situation in context, it's a mistake to think that Christ is a punishing warrior beyond the destruction that occurs when he first arrives on earth and defeats those armies who are gathered against him. When that crisis is over, the same Jesus Christ, the same temperament as the man who walked on this earth and taught and forgave and was so patient with the foibles and the failings of the people around him, that same Jesus Christ will be king of kings and rule over the nations of this earth. Let's go to Matthew 13 and verse 31 and see something else that we can learn about how the kingdom of God grows. How it expands and how it grows. Matthew 13 and verse 31.

Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. Now, it's not the least of all seeds that exist in the herb world. What Jesus Christ meant is it's a very, very tiny seed compared to most other plants.

Continuing, but when it has grown, this tiny, tiny little seed, when it has grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. That is gradual growth, starting out from something that is infitesimal and very small, just like the capital of Jerusalem would be when you look at it in contrast to how big the world is, something that's very small and it grows and grows and grows until it has influence on everything. Let's take a look at another example he gives us here. Verse 33, another parable he spoke to them, The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it was all leavened. We know from the negative aspect of leavening that we realize in the Holy Days, the days of unleavened bread, that you put a little bit of leaven in something and it slowly spreads and it influences everything in that environment. Everything in the bowl, everything in the tray becomes leavened. All of that bread, all of that starch. These parables all have a similar theme. The kingdom of God starts very small, represented either by a tiny seed or a little lump of leavening, and from the smallest of beginnings, they don't take over immediately. No, from the smallest of beginnings, they grow and slowly become dominant and have a positive influence on everything. The same is true in the establishment of the kingdom of God on this earth.

Let's go to Numbers, chapter 29 and verse 12. Take a look at some sacrifices here from the Old Covenant and see symbolically what these animal sacrifices may tell us, may reveal to us about the kingdom of God, about the 1,000 year millennium on earth. Numbers, chapter 29, beginning in verse 12.

Numbers, chapter 29 and verse 12, these were specifically sacrificial instructions. In this case, on the Feast of Tabernacles, it says, You shall have a holy convocation. That's the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. You shall do no customary work. You shall keep a feast of the Lord for seven days. You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, as a sweet aroma to the Lord. Thirteen young bulls, I want you to zero in on that for a minute. Thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year shall be without blemish.

So these instructions here in Numbers, chapter 29, beginning in verse 12 here, all the way to verses 35, were for sacrifices that were to be made in each day of the Feast of Tabernacles and the eighth day. We just read about those for the first day. God instructed, you may not realize this, but God instructed 189 animal sacrifices to be made at the Feast of Tabernacles alone. That is more sacrifices than all of the other holy days combined. Of course, sacrifices were offered because of what? Sin. Exactly. So let's briefly see what happens on the other days of the Feast and see if we can detect a pattern represented by these offerings. Again, the first day there were 13 young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs. Verse 17. On the second day, 12 young bulls. All right, from 13 to 12.

Verse 20. On the third day, 11 bulls. Verse 23. On the fourth day, 10 bulls. Even though I'm a product of the Cleveland school system, I detect a pattern here. Verse 26. On the fifth day, 9 bulls. On the sixth day, 8 bulls. On the seventh day, 7 bulls. That was verse 32. Now look at verse 35, the eighth day.

There were 7 bulls the day before. There were 13 bulls on the very first day. Getting back here in verse 35. One bull, one ram. Every day earlier there had been two rams. Seven lambs every day earlier there had been 14 in the first year without blemish. So what do these scriptures indicate? Symbolically, what can these declining number of animal sacrifices teach us? Well, what they can show us is that the kingdom proceeds slowly, and it matures, to encompass the entire earth. And as it does so, there's less need for sacrifice as the values of God, as the law of God begins to permeate the corners of the earth, and the millennium proceeds. There's less need to account for sin as humanity gradually embraces the values of God and lives by the law of God. But I want you to notice that even on the eighth day, some sacrifices are still required. The very fact that Satan is temporarily released in Revelation 20 to deceive the nations, and almost instantly, Gog and Magog, rebel after the one thousand years have ended to attack the saints in Jerusalem. This shows, this act, recorded in Revelation 20, shows how deeply entrenched the sins of humanity are, and the great amount of work the children of God have ahead of them in the world tomorrow.

So, the myth, brethren, that somehow Jesus Christ returns, the world is instantly at peace, everybody accepts God's law, sin is abolished, and everyone lives happily ever after throughout the millennium, is a myth. The kingdom of God is an active government in process. God does not wave a magic wand to eliminate sin. That only happens in Disney movies. The kingdom of God is about growth. It's about the ultimate conversion of humanity. It's about transformation. Punishment is only used as a last, as a final resort, like what will occur to nations who don't send representatives to the Feaster Tabernacles in Jerusalem, as outlined in Zechariah 14. You do get to the point that if you don't listen, you'll have to feel. But God uses punishment as the last, as the final resort. He doesn't use punishment as part of his standard operating procedures.

The ultimate punishment of eternal death will be used as a last resort. We call that the Lake of Fire, the third resurrection. It will be used as a last resort to those who have been patiently given plenty of time, plenty of opportunity to accept God's grace and to repent and to receive God's Holy Spirit.

And after plenty of time and patience and teaching, unfortunately, if they reject that, then they will receive the ultimate punishment.

But we should not believe in a myth that the kingdom of God, those 1,000 years, will be a time of perfection, will be a time in which the world will be without sin, will be without problems.

How else could Gog and Magog immediately, after the thousand years Satan is let loose to deceive the nations, they immediately respond and march towards Jerusalem to attack the saints of God?

It's only after these things occur. It's after the 1,000 years have ended. It's after Satan is let loose for a short while. It's after the rebellion of Gog and Magog. It's after the Lake of Fire and what we traditionally call the Third Resurrection that will punish those who absolutely refuse to obey God.

It's after those things, when you get to Revelation 21, that discusses a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more sin.

Not until then.

So again, number one was after Christ returns, the world is immediately renewed in it peace. All problems are solved and sin is abolished.

That was myth number one. Here's myth number two. And this is one that I hear about and read about quite often.

The main focus of the kingdom will be on the restoration of the physical nation of Israel. The main focus of the kingdom will be on the restoration of the physical nation of Israel.

Now, there is no doubt that a significant event after the establishment of the kingdom of God is that God will gather the descendants of Israel, the physical descendants of Israel, from the ends of the earth and will bring them together and institute a new nation of Israel.

This is what the Old Testament prophets spoke about. Jesus spoke about that as well. He even promised that his disciples would sit on twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel.

He mentions that in Matthew chapter 19 and verse 18. However, to believe that the main focus of the kingdom will be on a physical nation is the myth, the heart and core of what the new covenant is all about.

Yes, God loves Israel, and he will keep all of the promises he made to Abraham. But this fact does not mean that the main focus of the kingdom of God is about the physical restoration of any nation.

The spiritual always supersedes the physical. Eternally, the spiritual always remains while the physical eventually burns away. As Peter talks about in 2 Peter chapter 3 with a fire. There will come a time when everything physical will melt away.

What will remain is that which is spiritual. Let's go to Galatians chapter 3 and verse 13 and see what Paul instructed about what the focus of the main purpose of the kingdom of God will be on. Who it will be on and what it will be about. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 13. Paul writes, Galatians chapter 3 and verse 13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. So Jesus Christ became sin for us. We broke God's law. The punishment of violating God's law is death. That was the curse that was hanging over all of our heads. Jesus Christ paid that price through shed blood. He willingly accepted being crucified, hung on a tree, nailed on a tree, so that our sins could be forgiven. Verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. The blessing of Abraham? Huh? Well, he'll explain that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak in the manner of men, though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls it or adds to it. I'm going to read verse 15 from the New Century Version. Brothers and sisters, let us think in human terms. Even an agreement made between two persons is firm after that agreement is accepted by both people. No one can stop it or add anything to it. So what he's saying is this God's promise to Abraham is as good as gold. It was an agreement between two people. It's a promise God keeps all of his promises. That's what Paul is saying. Now to verse 16.

So let's find out where God said this to Abraham. I'm going to encourage you to hold your place in Galatians if you have one of the little ribbons or a piece of paper or bulletin or something to put in there. Hold your place in Galatians, but turn with me to Genesis 22 and verse 18. We want to see where Paul himself is referring to. What he means. So we're going to go to Galatians 22 and verse 18. God said to Abraham, in your seed, and Paul points this out and says, notice it's singular. That's how Paul describes this. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. The same statement is made in Genesis 26 verse 4 and Genesis chapter 28 verse 14. The same statement, and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. And Paul said, we just saw that in Galatians chapter 3, that the seed that he was actually referring to was Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ would be the savior of all humanity, and by his life and death and resurrection, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. So Paul says the fact that the word seed is singular is no accident because it refers to one person.

It refers to Jesus Christ, who as savior would be a blessing to everyone who lives on the earth. Jew, Gentile, male, female, rich, poor, doesn't matter your situation. At the point that this promise was made to Abraham, by the way, there is no person or nation called Israel.

His grandson's name would be Jacob, and his name would be changed to Israel, but at the time this promise is made, there is no Israel yet. So now let's go back to Paul's letter to the Galatians and see what else Paul tells us about this situation. Galatians chapter 3, and we're going to pick it up here in verse 27. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 27. He says, For as many of you, as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. You know, if you wake up in the morning, you might put on a garment. You're a little cold, you put on a garment. That garment envelops you. You're protected. It covers you. It shields you.

And what Paul is saying here is that when you have been baptized into Christ, Christ shields you. He envelops you. He's part of your life. His spirit. And the spirit that he shares with the Father comes inside of you, and you share that gift of that spirit together. He says, Paul, there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus, and if you are in Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. What he's saying here is that when you were called and you received God's Spirit, it no longer matters if you were a physical descendant of Israel.

It doesn't matter anymore if you are a Gentile, if you're male or female, if you were slave or free. Do you know what all of these characteristics are?

They're all physical. That's what they are.

And Paul is saying, as far as spiritual equality and God calling us, it doesn't matter the physical qualifications or characteristics that we have. Paul is saying there are no distinctions when you are in Christ. Abraham's true seed and the heirs of the promise of God are those who have put on Christ.

It doesn't matter what your physical lineage is. That's because physical lineage has no meaning any longer.

He says later in chapter 6 and verse 16, Now, all of this, of course, is aside from our knowledge and understanding of who Israel is today.

Those are all relating to physical promises, physical blessings that nations of this earth, like the United States, experience today. And that's fine. Or physical curses, as we're beginning to see in our country and upon our land. Those were physical promises made to Abraham. What Paul is talking about is the spiritual promise made to his singular seed, Jesus Christ.

That's what Paul is talking about here. Romans 9 and verse 3, if you'll turn there with me. He begins to think about his fellow Israelites who don't get it. They're not accepting the gospel message. And it's grieving him. It's really weighing heavy on his heart and his mind.

But as heavy as it's weighing on his heart and his mind, he wants the brethren to know in Rome who the true children of promise are. So he begins this discourse. Again, we're going to pick it up in Romans chapter 9 and verse 3. He says, Here's all the blessings that God gave the physical descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises, whom are the fathers, and from whom according to the flesh Christ came. So the patriarchs were Israelites. Jesus Christ was an Israelite. So Paul lists all of these advantages and blessings that God gave to the physical descendants of Israel, who, speaking of Christ, who was overall the eternally blessed God, amen. So Paul is grieving here for his fellow Israelites, to whom so much was given from God, but they were rejecting Jesus Christ as the Savior, as the Messiah that had been promised.

As Paul acknowledges the patriarchs, the prophets, Moses, Jesus Christ himself were Israelites. He loved his people so much that he said he would accept condemnation himself from God if it would help his fellow Israelites to have their mind opened. That's how much he loved his own people. The Greek word here is anathema. When it says, I wish that I myself were a curse, the Greek word is anathema. I wish that in the eyes of God, if I could, that I would be anathema if it would make it possible for my brothers, my Israelite brothers, to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That's how important it is to him. I want you to notice what he says beginning in verse 6. He continues.

Not Ishmael. You know, Ishmael was also the son of Abraham. Ishmael was the older brother. But God didn't choose Ishmael. God chose Isaac. Verse 8, that is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

I'm going to read verse 8 over again because it is so powerful. Paul is saying it does not matter about your physical lineage. It doesn't give you any superiority. It doesn't give you any advantage. What matters is God choosing you and making you his child. Here's verse 8 again. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. So any Israelite who did not accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, though he may be a child of the flesh of Abraham, he is not a child of God, is what Paul is saying.

But the children of the promise are counted as the seed. I'm going to read this again, these two verses from the New International Version. It is not as though God's word has failed, for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. What Paul is saying here is that your spiritual calling is greater than having a physical relationship with God or being a physical descendant of Israel. The fact that God chose you and you have been called is far more important and valuable to God. And God does the choosing. For example, God chose Isaac, he didn't choose Ishmael. God chose Jacob, he didn't choose the older brother Esau. God chooses and rejects whoever he wants. And it's not about some right of being the eldest. It's not about some right of being the firstborn. It's about whom God chooses. And, brethren, God chose you.

So, the New Covenant is about the true spiritual children of God called according to God's promise to Abraham rather than the physical descendants of Israel. When God called you, when he gave you the gift of his Holy Spirit, you became an heir of the promises to Abraham.

You became the elect child of God. You became the children of promise at that time. Our final scripture today, 1 Peter 2 and 4. You'll turn there with me our final scripture. 1 Peter 2 and 4.

Just so we understand that this wasn't something that only Paul taught and understood. It's certainly something that Peter understood as well. Peter writes here in chapter 2 and verse 4, Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house. You know, God had a physical house. He called it the house of Israel. And that's good and that's fine.

And he gave them a covenant and he gave them many promises. And in the kingdom of God, those promises that he gave to them because of the obedience of Abraham will come to fruition and to complete conclusion. And that's wonderful. That's the physical house of Israel. But God has a more important house. It's the spiritual house of Israel.

And it has nothing to do with who your great-great-grandfather was. It has nothing to do with what your DNA says. It has everything to do with God calling you out of this world and saying, I want you, I'm offering you my way of life, are you going to respond? That's what it's all about. You're being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, quote, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, to you who understand and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, to you who have repented of your sins, to you who were baptized and received the gift of God's Holy Spirit, and said, I'm putting my hand to the plow and I'm never looking back to you who believe he is precious, but to those who don't believe they're disobedient. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble being disobedient to the word to which they were also appointed. But you are a chosen generation. You see, you're not here because of nepotism. You're not here because you were related to somebody. You were chosen, your generation, not because of who you are, but because you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and you begin to follow God's way of life. You're a chosen generation. You're a royal priesthood, not like the physical nation that had a corrupt priesthood.

And if you look over and over again, the prophets condemning the priests and priests stealing from the people who would bring them offerings, and the sons of Eli committing unspeakable acts to the women of the community, Eli doing virtually nothing over it. If you look at the history of the physical house of Israel, you see a corrupt human carnal priesthood.

But he says, because Jesus Christ dwells in you, you're a royal priesthood. They were a nation that violated God's law from the moment they came out of Egypt until the very day they went into captivity and virtually all the time in between. They were a corrupt nation, a sinful nation. Peter says here, you are a holy nation because the Spirit of God dwells in all of us. His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Verse 10, who once were not a people, but now the people of God. You once maybe were just Gentiles, or you were just some lonely male, or you might have been a slave, or you might have had all of these mere physical characteristics, but now you are the people of God, who has not obtained mercy, but now has obtained mercy. So we went from being pitiful, worthless, useless, with a death sentence on our heads, to being the people of God, forgiven, and granted God's mercy, granted God's love. Again, God has a spiritual house composed of all peoples who have accepted his calling and have become his own special people.

So the focus on the kingdom of God will be the salvation of all peoples.

As the old man Simeon stated when he held the Christ child in his arms in the temple, he said this. This is from Luke chapter 2 and verse 30.

He said, So the purpose of the kingdom of God is to bring a light of revelation to the Gentiles and also to restore the glory of the people Israel. You know, Jesus Christ only preached the house of Israel. He did not fulfill this prophecy the first time that Simeon spoke. This was a prophecy for the second time that he would return, the main focus of the kingdom of God.

The purpose of the physical house of Israel will to be as an example to the physical peoples of the earth. It will be a small model of what God's bigger, more important spiritual house is doing. What they will be doing all over the world, teaching, caring, healing peoples and teaching them to have a relationship with their creator.

The establishment of Israel will be a very important fulfillment in prophecy and they will have the opportunity to become the kingdom of priests and a holy nation that God offered in Exodus chapter 19 and verse 6. That they rejected. They never fulfilled their potential. God says, I'm going to give you another chance to fulfill your potential.

However, the main focus of the millennium will be to bring the knowledge of God and salvation to the ends of the earth.

What a powerful message! How inspiring! So, as we begin to think about the fall holy days, please remember and not believe in these two myths. Myth number one, after Christ returns, the world is immediately renewed and at peace. All problems are solved and sin is abolished. And myth number two, the main focus of the kingdom will be on the restoration of the physical nation of Israel. Have a great Sabbath day!