SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/14/2017 11:23 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 The Kingdom will Come
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 3:19c
Message of the verses: “in
order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord:”
We mentioned in our
last SD that Peter is talking about the kingdom age that was promised to
Israel, and that was promised in the Old Testament, and in the book of Revelation
the number of years is given which is 1000 years thus it is called the
Millennial kingdom. I also mentioned
that I was going to quote some verses from the Old Testament that speaks of
this time. John MacArthur writes “The
kingdom will be a golden age of blessing for Israel (and believing Gentiles),
surpassing even the time of David and Solomon’s reigns. Isaiah 11:6-10 describes the peaceful rest of
the kingdom in these familiar words:
‘6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down
with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their
young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The
nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put
his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy
mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters
cover the sea. 10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of
Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will
be glorious.’
“Isaiah 35:1-10 add,
‘1 The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will
rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus 2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice
with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The
majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, The majesty
of our God. 3 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. 4 Say to
those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will
come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save
you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind
will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame will
leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters
will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. 7 The scorched
land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of
jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8 A highway will be
there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean
will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools
will not wander on it. 9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go
up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10
And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And
sorrow and sighing will flee away.’
John MacArthur goes on
to talk about something that is very important:
“The kingdom will not come about through human efforts, but ‘will come
from the presence of the Lord.’ He will
bring it to pass according to His own sovereign will. Revelation 5 presents the scene in heaven
when the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, takes the title deed to the
universe. The unfolding of the scroll
(chapters 6-19) describes His method of retaking of what is rightfully His from
the usurper, culminating in the coming of the King (Rev. 20:4-6).”
I spoke about the
views of those who are Covenant Theologists in our last SD, and they do not
believe that God will give the kingdom to Israel and therefore do not want to
talk about anything that is in the book of Revelation. Revelation is a difficult book to understand,
but the word Revelation means to open up to understand something, and it also
gives a blessing to those who read the book:
“Blessed is he who
reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things
which are written in it; for the time is near (Rev. 1:3).” Why would God want to give a blessing to
those who read a book that cannot be understood?
Peter tells his listeners
that it was because of their lack of repentance, and because they were
responsible for putting to death the Lord Jesus Christ that the kingdom was
postponed. I realize that this was all
in the plan of God, but that does not deny the fact that these people were
still responsible for their actions.
Think about Judas as it was prophesied that he would betray the Lord,
but that is exactly what he desired to do, and therefore was responsible for
his actions.
Jesus spoke of the
fulfillment of His sorrowful prophecy in Luke 19:41-44 “41 When He approached
Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42
saying, "If
you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!
But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 “For the days will come upon
you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you
and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your
children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another,
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."”
In 70 A.D. the first devastating divine judgment for Israel’s rejection
fell upon them as Titus and the Roman Legions came and destroyed Jerusalem and
the second temple as Jesus said would happen.
MacArthur concludes
this section: “Peter’s hearers paid a
fearful price in time and eternity for their rejection of God’s repeated calls
for repentance. But ‘God has not
rejected His people whom He foreknew’ (Rom. 11:2). The kingdom, though delayed at least two
thousand years, will yet come when Israel is converted. Zechariah 12:10-13:1; 14:1ff. prophecy the
day of salvation for the Jews and the subsequent coming of the King and His
kingdom.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I am
thankful that when the Lord gives a promise that He will fulfill it even though
at times it takes a while for it to happen.
However in heaven’s time it has been only two days since the Lord went
back to heaven. Peter tells us this in 2
Peter 3.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust that the Lord will use me to get this
message out to those whom the Spirit draws to hear it as it goes out all around
the world.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Damascus” (2 Kings 5:12).
Today’s Bible question: “Who was
Saul’s older daughter?”
Answer in our next SD.
9/14/2017 12:02 PM
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