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 speak 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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