Just What Do You Mean...The Kingdom of YEHOVAH God?

Is it the CHURCH? Is it something "set up in the hearts of men"? Is it the British Empire? Is it "the good within you"? Is it "the Millennium"? Each of these is widely taught -- yet NONE is right! The shocking TRUTH is here made plain!

Why cannot the churches agree on what is the GOSPEL? Yeshua the Messiah came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. Yet few preach about the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God today, for they have lost all knowledge of what it is!

A prominent evangelist said to a worldwide radio audience that the Gospel of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is not for us today. Some denominations proclaim a "Gospel of Grace"; some what they call a "Gospel of Salvation"; some a gospel about the Messiah; some a social gospel; some the "Science of Mind" or "Religious Science."

Some churches claim either that their particular denomination, or "Christianity" as a whole, constitutes the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. Not one is right! Could anything seem more incredible? Yes, to the mind reared in this world's concepts, one thing is, indeed, still more incredible! And that is the PLAIN TRUTH about what the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God really is!

The truth is not merely surprising -- it is shocking -- staggering! Yet it is truly GOOD NEWS -- the most glorious GOOD NEWS ever to enter human consciousness!

What is the one and only Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah? THE WORLD DOES NOT KNOW! It has not been preached for 18 1/2 centuries, strange as that may seem. Look into your BIBLE. Look at it from the very beginning!

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ" you'll read in Mark 1:1. "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15).

It is necessary to believe that GOSPEL to be saved! And how can you believe it, unless you know what it is?

The Messiah went everywhere preaching the GOOD NEWS of the KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD. He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD. He sent out seventy men preaching, and commanded them to preach THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD (Luke 10:9). He sent the apostles, on whom the Church of YEHOVAH God was founded, to preach only THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD (Luke 9:1-2).

The Apostle Paul preached THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD (Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:28, 31). And YEHOVAH God Almighty, through Paul, pronounced a double curse on man or angel that would DARE preach any other Gospel! (Galatians 1:8-9.) Why, then, do so many DARE to preach so many other gospels? The good news of THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD is something you must understand, and BELIEVE, in order to be saved! Yeshua the Messiah said so! You had better be finding out what it is!

You have probably heard men speak of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God something like this: "By Christians everywhere working together to bring about world peace, tolerance and brotherly love, the Kingdom of God may at last be established in the hearts of men."

Because they rejected the Messiah's Gospel almost 2,000 years ago, the world had to supplant something else in its place. They had to invent a counterfeit! So we have heard the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God spoken of as merely a pretty platitude -- a nice sentiment in human hearts -- reducing it to an ethereal, unreal NOTHING! Others have misrepresented that the "CHURCH" is the Kingdom. Others confuse it with a millennium." Still others have, in our century, claimed the British Empire is the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. How DECEIVED CAN THIS WORLD GET?

The apostle John, who lived during and after the time of the Messiah, knew that the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was a REAL kingdom -- a government ruling over literal PEOPLE on the earth. Yeshua the Messiah brought additional knowledge about it that John might not have known. Still, John knew there was going to be a real, literal Kingdom of YEHOVAH God ON THE EARTH!

John was one of the sons of Zebedee -- a fisherman of Galilee -- and of Salome who was probably a sister of Mary, the mother of the Messiah. He grew up in Galilee and was a partner with his brother and with Andrew and Peter in the fishing business on Lake Tiberius. He was -- along with Andrew -- a disciple of the noted prophet John the Baptist (John 1:34-40). He accompanied the Messiah on his first tour of Galilee and later, with his partners, quit the fishing industry to become a disciple of the Messiah. Later on in life, John was exiled to the island of Patmos -- a penal colony off the coast of Turkey. According to early tradition the text of the Book of Revelation was given to him here in a vision, which he promptly put down in writing.

John wrote, in chapter 13, about a frightening beast that came up out of the sea, which had "ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were TEN royal crowns....To it the dragon [Satan] gave its power, its throne and great authority" (Revelation 13:1-2). In the vision John was instructed as to the MEANING of the great beast that came up out of the sea --

John didn't have any human ability to interpret dreams or visions -- any more than the Chaldean magicians in the Book of Daniel. But he knew full well that "there is a GOD in heaven that revealeth secrets" and makes known to His servants what shall occur in the time of the end.

First, YEHOVAH's purpose was to reveal to those with the wisdom to see, through the apostle John and others, that there is a GOD in heaven -- that YEHOVAH GOD IS SUPREME RULER over all nations, governments, and kings -- that YEHOVAH God RULES THE UNIVERSE!

Many nations knew only about the huge assortment of pagan demon gods they worshipped. They knew nothing of the true living ALMIGHTY God. Like people and rulers, even today, they did not know that YEHOVAH GOD is the living, REAL, active, RULING -- and GOVERNING PERSONAGE who actually and literally governs not only what is on earth, but the ENTIRE UNIVERSE!

The whole purpose of John's vision was to reveal YEHOVAH'S GOVERNMENT -- the fact that YEHOVAH God RULES -- the truth of THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD -- the very thing that is the one and only true GOSPEL OF YESHUA THE MESSIAH! And, secondly, to reveal -- preserved in writing for us TODAY -- what is to happen "in the latter days" -- probably within the next few decades OF THE 21ST CENTURY!

This is no dry, dull, dead writing for a people of almost 2,000 years ago. This is LIVING, TREMENDOUS, BIG NEWS for OUR DAY! It is advance news for us, NOW. News before it happens -- of the most colossal event of all earth's history likely to occur in your lifetime -- during the very next few decades!

This is THE TRUE GOSPEL! It is the very Gospel the Messiah preached! It is intended for you and me of Israel TODAY! It is vital that you UNDERSTAND!

We must remember that the Bible interprets itself, so the TEN HORNS of Revelation 13:1 are explained to be TEN KINGS who will have kingdoms that will align themselves with the beast power in the last days. WHO, then, are these ten last-day kingdoms? Once again -- let the Bible interpret itself! In Psalm 83 we find mentioned a confederacy of ten kingdoms or nations that try to "cut them [Israel] off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more" (Psalm 83:4). Doesn't this sound awfully familiar? Psalm 83 goes on to NAME these kingdoms -- notice!

The territories occupied by the nations/tribes named in Psalm 83 are roughly as follows: Edom in modern Jordan: Ishmaelites in modern Saudi Arabia; Moab in modern Jordan; Hagrites -- the territory bordering modern Jordan and Saudi Arabia; Gebal -- probably modern Golan Heights and nearby in Syria; Ammon in modern Jordan; Amalek in the modern Sinai peninsula and the Negev; Philistia -- modern Gaza Strip, part of the Palestinian authority; Tyre in modern Lebanon; Assyria -- modern Syria and Iraq.

It's significant that the nations described above are all ISLAMIC NATIONS (the FALSE PROPHET of Revelation 13:11 and 19:20). It's also interesting that the only list of 10 confederate nations or tribes anywhere in Scripture is in Psalm 83. These are the ten horns mentioned in Revelation 13.

Now what about the SEVEN HEADS or HILLS of Revelation 17:7 (and also verse 3)? While this could be equated to the seven hills that Rome was built on, it is really referring to the SEVEN FORMS OF GOVERNMENT that Rome had passed through since her founding. The seven heads, seven hills and seven kings mean the seven forms of government that Rome -- from its inception -- was to pass through. The text says that they are SEVEN KINGS or KINGDOMS -- i.e. GOVERNMENTS.

The prophecy John received in vision notes that FIVE are fallen or IN THE PAST, and that ONE is, or EXISTS, at the time John wrote down the vision on the island of Patmos. It follows, then, that the FIRST SIX forms of government were a matter of historical record to all living in John's generation.

The simple facts of history are not a mystery, and therefore should easily be found in historical literature contemporary with the same time period in which the Book of Revelation was put into writing. This, in fact, is the case. The changes in government -- numbering SIX from the beginning -- are clearly outlined in the works of two of Rome's leading historians -- Livy (59 B.C to circa 17 A.D.) and Tacitus (56 A.D. to circa 118). These classical historians give the six forms of government up to their own time as follows --

LIVY	TACITUS
1. Kings	1. Kings
2. Republic	2. Republic
3. Council of 10	3. Council of 10
4. Tribunes	4. Military Triumites
5. Dictators	5. Dictators
6. Imperial (Principate)	6. Imperial

Tacitus, in the opening of his Annals of Imperial Rome, gives the outline to his time -- notice!

These two sources are in agreement with the extensive histories of Rome -- both contemporary with the Empire and later. There is absolutely NO REASON to suppose that these were not well known facts of history at the time of the apostle John. All the educated people of the time knew that Rome had passed through FIVE FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, all of which were in the PAST just before New Testament times -- and that a NEW form of government (the SIXTH) was subsisting from 30 B.C. through the whole of the New Testament period and beyond.

The fact that five forms of government had fallen and the Imperial form was the sixth would be known to John. However, he, John, could not have known that there would be a SEVENTH and that it would finish the transition of power as far as the Roman government was concerned. Nor could he have known that following the seventh head a CORRUPT RELIGIOUS POWER would assume the authority of one of the first seven -- which had a deadly wound -- and then it would become the EIGHTH form of Roman government, which is what John predicted as a result of the vision he received.

People today, like the people in John's generation, seem not to think of YEHOVAH God as a RULER -- as the Supreme One who GOVERNS -- as the Head of GOVERNMENT. The Eternal was revealing Himself through John -- as He had done through the prophets of old -- and through the Bible to you and to me TODAY -- as a SOVEREIGN, ALL POWERFUL, GOVERNING GOD who is to be obeyed!

It is a fact of history that what was revealed to John actually occurred. The SIXTH form of government did indeed receive a DEADLY WOUND -- as outlined in Revelation 13:3! The IMPERIAL form was destroyed by the Barbarian invasions and though Rome was occupied by them for a time, it was superseded by government from Constantinople through dukes in Ravenna -- called the Exarchate of Ravenna in historical writings.

This "SEVENTH HEAD" was superseded by the PAPACY which assumed the power to become the eighth head and adopted the Imperial form of government which, though having been wounded to death was now REVIVED in the Papacy itself.

These symbolic "heads" -- and their correspondence to actual kingdoms of history -- establish the divine nature of the Book of Revelation and assure us of YEHOVAH God's hand in the course of history and its ultimate outcome.

The WOMAN or WHORE of Revelation 17 pictures a great religious power that gives birth to other false religions and works against the TRUE religion of YEHOVAH God! This woman is in CONTRAST to the woman of Revelation 12 -- who is arrayed with the sun and moon and has twelve stars on her head. There she represents the TRUE church of YEHOVAH God which issued forth the Messiah to the world. The scarlet woman (or WHORE), on the other hand, is a picture of the FALSE church that issues forth other false churches.

This scarlet woman is also called "the GREAT CITY" that rules over the kings of the earth." This is not the city of Rome itself but Vatican City IN Rome. She is the whore of Babylon riding the power of the Roman Empire and became the beast as the EIGHTH form of Roman government at the same time. The Vatican is the city that makes no pretensions about her claim to the right to govern kings and kingdoms. This she has never repented of.

John mentions that the TEN HORNS -- or ten kingdoms of Psalm 83 -- are "to be of one mind." The word mind, in this instance, means "point of view" or "opinion." What "point of view" or "opinion" is that? THE POINT OF VIEW OF ISLAM! These ten kingdoms will be motivated by their common adherence to the tenets of Islam and its founder Muhammad! In reality, there is the same basic motivating force behind both the woman and the ten horns -- that of SATAN THE DEVIL!

Did you notice? The above passages are speaking of KINGDOMS. They are referring to kingdoms that bear rule over the people on earth. They are speaking of GOVERNMENTS! They are not speaking of ethereal sentiments "set up in the hearts of men." They are not speaking of churches. They are speaking of the kind of GOVERNMENTS that bear RULE and AUTHORITY over nations of PEOPLE here on this earth. They are literal. They are specific. There is no misunderstanding, here, as to what is meant by the word "KINGDOM."

But what is a KINGDOM? Primarily, it is a GOVERNMENT -- a NATION and the GOVERNMENT which rules it. And especially in this Biblical sense, there is the DUAL sense of the NATION, including all its subjects or citizens, and the GOVERNMENT by which it is ruled. Again -- in BIBLE usage, a Kingdom is often a family from a single parent grown into a NATION.

If we leave out any one of these vital requisites, we do not have, and cannot BELIEVE, the true GOSPEL for this time. We must know whether the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is here now, or coming later; whether its territory is THE EARTH, or up in heaven; whether it is a literal kingdom of human mortals, or a kingdom of immortals; whether it is literal or figurative, real or unreal. And on many of these things, a great many people are ALL CONFUSED!

There is no misunderstanding the interpretation in the Book of Revelation. YEHOVAH GOD gives His own interpretation through the apostle John. The seven heads of Revelation 17 represent GOVERNMENTS -- real, literal KINGDOMS.

They represented a succession of governments ruling the Roman world. First were the kings of Rome. After them -- later, in time sequence -- was to come a second, then a third KINGDOM or government -- the Council of 10!

Then, in Revelation 17, the fourth head, or the Military Triumites was the next form of Roman government in line -- followed by the Dictators and the Imperial form of government.

Verses 10 and 11 of Revelation 17 clearly state that the SEVEN HEADS are seven governments or kingdoms. Five are fallen -- that is, in the past. One is or remains at the time of John's vision, that is, the IMPERIAL form. One more is yet to come -- that is, the Exarchate of Ravenna through which, after the fall of Rome in the West, Rome was ruled from Constantinople.

The Exarchate did not continue a long time but was, in fact, absorbed into what became the PAPAL STATES, the first to be so added. The Papacy, therefore, is obviously the EIGHTH form of Roman government. The Papacy is of the seven because it continues the IMPERIAL form of government. This figure of being the eighth head is another figure of the Papacy -- but of the political power rather than FALSE RELIGION pictured as the WOMAN or WHORE.

The TEN HORNS featured in Revelation 13 and 17 are pictured as the TEN KINGDOMS of Psalm 83 that will conspire against Israel. They continue one hour -- a short time -- until being consumed by YEHOVAH God after they go to war against Israel and the returned Messiah! Finally, "the beast (the leader of the Roman Catholic Church) and the false prophet (the leader of the Islamic nations of Psalm 83) [will be] both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur" (Revelation 19:20).

Now -- Revelation 14:1! Read it! Get your Bible. See it with your own eyes in your own Bible. Here, in PLAIN LANGUAGE, is YEHOVAH God's explanation of the time-frame involved --

Here we see the returned Messiah on Mount Zion in Jerusalem IMMEDIATELY AFTER the two beasts have appeared on the world stage. So the time-frame is clearly at the time of the end in the story flow -- IN OUR TIME -- probably in the next few decades!

"After these things" -- after the defeat of the ten-nation Islamic confederacy and after the fall of the Vatican and Roman Catholicism -- "I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, saying, 'Halleluyah! ADONAI [YEHOVAH God], GOD OF HEAVENS ARMIES, HAS BEGUN HIS REIGN!'" (Revelation 19:1, 6).

Now here we have described SEVEN forms of government that Rome, from its inception, was to pass through. Revelation 17 shows that after the fall of the original Roman Empire there would be a SEVENTH HEAD or government known as the Exarchate of Ravenna. This "seventh head" -- as we have seen -- was superseded by the PAPACY which ASSUMED THE POWER to become the eighth head and adopted the IMPERIAL FORM of government of the sixth head which, though having been wounded to death, was now REVIVED in the Papacy itself. Later, this "eighth head" would make an image to the beast which became The Holy Roman Empire.

The seven heads have come and gone. The EIGHTH HEAD is still with us -- awaiting the ascendancy of the ten horns or kingdoms that will form a confederacy -- led by the false prophet -- to attempt the annihilation of the people of Israel. When these prophecies are fulfilled, the GOD OF HEAVEN WILL SET UP HIS KINGDOM!

Compare with Revelation 17. Here is pictured a church. Not a small church -- a GREAT church. She rules over "many waters" (verse 1) which are described in verse 15 as different nations speaking different languages. She posed as the Church of YEHOVAH GOD -- which Scripture says (Ephesians 5:23; Revelation 19:7; Matthew 25:1-10, etc., etc.) is the affianced "bride" of the MESSIAH, to be spiritually MARRIED to him at his second appearance.

But she has committed fornication. How? By having direct political union with HUMAN GOVERNMENTS of THIS WORLD! She "sat on" (Revelation 17:3) the last two of the seven governments of Rome and "the image of the beast" -- called the "Holy Roman Empire." She RULED OVER the human kingdoms -- as a common-law and unmarried "wife" ruling her paramour "husband" -- a totally unnatural and ungodly relationship.

She first controlled and then absorbed the power of the Roman Empire, then dominated the scattered remnant kingdoms of fallen Rome. She worked against the true church, and at the time of the end will collaborate with the ten Islamic nations to attack Israel and persecute YEHOVAH's people Israel. It is to endure but a very short time. It is to FIGHT AGAINST THE MESSIAH at His SECOND APPEARANCE! That will be its END.

We see it in process of rising, now. Therefore we are CLOSE to the coming of YEHOVAH God and the Messiah! We are now very near the END of this world! When YEHOVAH God comes, He is coming as KING of kings, ruling the whole earth (Revelation 19:11-16); and His KINGDOM -- the KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD -- will CONSUME all these worldly kingdoms.

Revelation 11:15 states it in these words: "'The kingdoms of this world are become THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; and He [YEHOVAH God] shall reign for ever and ever!"

This is THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD. It is the END of present governments -- the governments that rule Russia, China, Japan, Italy, Germany -- yes, and even the United States and the British nations. They then shall become the kingdoms -- the GOVERNMENTS of YEHOVAH God, then KING of kings over the entire earth.

This makes completely PLAIN the fact that the KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD is a literal GOVERNMENT. Even as the "seven heads" or governments were KINGDOMS -- even as the Roman Empire was a KINGDOM -- so the KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD is a government. It is to take over the GOVERNMENT of the NATIONS of the world.

When he stood, on trial for his life, before Pilate, "Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art thou a king then? The Messiah answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world." But Yeshua also said to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world" -- (John 18:37, 36). His Kingdom is of THE WORLD TOMORROW!

Have you not read what the angel proclaimed to Mary, the mother of the Messiah, prior to His birth? Yeshua told Pilate he was born to become a KING. The angel of YEHOVAH God said to Mary: "...thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the THRONE of His father David: and He shall reign over the House of Jacob forever; and of His Kingdom there shall be NO END" (Luke 1:31-38).

These scriptures tell you in plainest language that the Messiah was born to be a KING -- that he is going to RULE (under YEHOVAH God) over the House of Jacob forever -- that his kingdom shall rule eternally.

But all this is only part of the fantastic, amazing, actually SHOCKING TRUTH about the KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD.

The KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD will rule over the peoples and nations of the earth. Yet these mortal peoples and nations will NOT be the Kingdom, not even in the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. They shall be merely RULED OVER BY IT! We still have to learn OF WHAT, or OF WHOM it is composed. Can YOU, as an individual, ever become a part of this Kingdom?

In the Messiah's day, the religious leaders knew he was a Teacher commissioned by YEHOVAH God to preach YEHOVAH'S TRUTH. They branded him a false prophet, heretic, and seditionist. Yet they knew his was the voice of YEHOVAH GOD!

One of them, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, occupying an office of authority over the Jews, came secretly by night to see the Messiah.

"Rabbi," said this Pharisee, "we know that thou art a teacher come from God" (John 3:2). Yes, we Pharisees, he said, know that! He did not say "I know it." He said "WE know" -- we Pharisees! They knew he spoke the TRUTH -- yet they not only rejected it, they crucified him!

But Yeshua hewed straight to the line! He told Nicodemus about THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD. He told him some things you need to UNDERSTAND!

Notice! "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Yes, notice! The Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is something that CAN be seen, but only by those who have been "born again." It is something others cannot see!

But what about the CHURCH? Can carnal people who make no claim to having been "born again" SEE a CHURCH? Of course! But they cannot see the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God! So SAID THE MESSIAH! Then, if you believe the Messiah, the CHURCH cannot be the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God!

Notice further: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (verse 5). The Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is something that can be entered into -- BUT, only those "born of water and of the Spirit" can enter into it!

Notice further! In the resurrection chapter of the Bible, we read: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (I Corinthians 15:50). The Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is something no human, of flesh and blood, can enter or inherit!

Now do flesh and blood people enter into the CHURCH? if so, then the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God cannot be the CHURCH -- for the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is something flesh and blood humans cannot enter into!

What do you think the "Church" is? Is it the building? Flesh and blood people can and do enter buildings and cathedrals called "churches." Is it the converted PEOPLE? Flesh and blood people can and do enter into the membership of any group of PEOPLE that may call itself the church. But flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of YEHOVAH GOD -- so the CHURCH is not the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God!

Now some think the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is some ethereal sentimental feeling or something set up in men's hearts. If so, then the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God enters into mortal man. But these plain scriptures clearly say that it is men of Israel after they are no longer flesh and blood -- but resurrected into spirit-composed bodies -- who can enter into the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. It does not enter into men. Men of Israel enter into it -- after resurrected in glory -- after they are no longer "flesh and blood."

Is it the "god within you"? No, it is not something that was born inside men of Israel, or has ever entered into men of Israel -- it is something the Israelite man may enter after he is "born again.

What about the British Empire? Well, I have been pretty well all over the British Isles, Canada and New Zealand -- and all of the multi-thousands I have seen there were flesh-and-blood humans. They did enter the former British Empire, now the Commonwealth -- but they cannot enter the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God, in their present flesh-and-blood life. So the British Empire (or Commonwealth) cannot be the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God!

But, someone misunderstanding the scripture may ask, "Didn't Jesus himself say that the Kingdom of God is 'within you'?" In the 17th chapter of Luke, verse 21, King James translation, is a MISTRANSLATION which has led some to suppose the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is some thought or feeling or sentiment within man.

Let's take a good look at this. First realize, if it does say that, it is contradicted by all the other scriptures I am giving you in this article. If the Bible does contradict itself, you can't believe it anyway -- so then it still would prove nothing.

He was speaking to the unconverted, carnal, hypocritical, lying Pharisees. Notice, "He answered them, and said..." It was the Pharisees who asked him the question. Were they in the CHURCH? No, never! If one thinks the Kingdom is the CHURCH -- and the Kingdom was "within" the Pharisees -- was THE CHURCH within the Pharisees? Such an assumption is rather ridiculous, now, isn't it?

Notice again, precisely WHAT THE MESSIAH SAID. Remember the CHURCH had not yet been set up. Yeshua did not say "the Kingdom of God shall be set up in your hearts." He said none of the things people interpret into this verse. He said to the Pharisees "the Kingdom of God IS" -- present tense is, NOW! whatever he was saying the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is, he made it present tense, not future.

Luke wrote these words, originally, in the Greek language. The Greek words he wrote were translated into the English words "within you." But, if you have a Bible with the marginal references, you will notice that this is alternately rendered "in the midst of you," or "among you." "The context indicates that this indeed is the better translation. If your Bible is a Moffatt translation, you will notice that the translation recognized that the Messiah was talking of his reign or rule, at the head of government.

This is the Moffatt translation of the same verse: "He answered them, 'The Reign of God is not coming as you hope to catch sight of it; no one will say, "Here it is" or "There it is," for the Reign of GOD IS NOW IN YOUR MIDST.'" The Revised Standard translation renders it "the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you." All these translations render it present tense.

The Messiah was not talking about a church soon to be organized. He was not talking about sentiments in the mind or heart. He was talking about his REIGN, as the Messiah! The Pharisees were not asking him about a church. They knew nothing of any New Testament church soon to be started. They were not asking about a pretty sentiment. They knew, from the prophecies of Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, that the Messiah was to come. They overlooked completely the prophecies of his first appearing as the "Lamb of God" to be slain for the sins of Israel -- being born as a babe, growing up, being rejected and despised by them, as recorded in Isaiah 53. They looked only to the prophecies of his second appearance as the all-conquering and ruling KING of Israel.

But they even had these prophecies distorted in their minds. They looked for him to come as a purely Judahite Messiah, to liberate them from the Romans, and reversing the situation so that the Judeans would be masters over the Romans. They looked for a limited Judahite Kingdom, located in only a small part of the world, with the Messiah ruling and letting the Judeans lord it over the Romans.

This the Pharisees anticipated as the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. They had an erroneous conception of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God -- but at least they did know it was to be a REIGN -- a physical GOVERNMENT.

The Messiah set them straight. He explained that it would not be a local, or limited Kingdom for the Judeans only. It would not be merely one of many human and visible kingdoms which men could point out or see, and say, "This is it, here"; or "that is the Kingdom, over there"

However he, himself, was born to be A KING of that Kingdom, as he plainly told Pilate (John 18:36-37). The Bible uses the terms "king" and "kingdom" interchangeably (see Daniel 7:17-18, 23). The KING of the future Kingdom of Israel was, then and there, standing in the midst of them. And in the language in which he spoke to them, that is precisely what he said -- as the marginal rendering and other translations state.

Yeshua went on, in the following verses, to describe his second appearance, when the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God shall rule ALL THE EARTH. In Luke 17:24 he refers to lightning flashing, just as in Matthew 24:27, describing his second appearance to RULE over the House of Jacob. Verse 26 -- as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Messiah comes in power and glory as a Ruler under YEHOVAH God. Verse 30 -- the day when he is revealed.

Plainly, the Messiah was not saying that the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was within those Messiah-hating, hypocritical Pharisees. Nor was he saying that the Church would be the Kingdom.

Yeshua distinctly said that those Pharisees would not be in the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. To them, he said: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye [you Pharisees] shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets [of Israel], in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:28-29).

The Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is something men (and women) of Israel shall ENTER -- at the resurrection of the just! Yet Abraham is not there yet (see Hebrews 11:13, 39-40).

But one may ask, did not Yeshua the Messiah say the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was "at hand"? Yes, we quoted this, in the beginning of this article, from Mark 1:15. This naturally led some to mistake what he said, and what he meant, and assume the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was established and set up during the Messiah's ministry. Thus some supposed it was the Church.

But the Messiah did not say the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God had been established. It was now being preached (Luke 16:16). He did not say it was already here. Yeshua, himself, corrected this false notion. Will you read this IN YOUR OWN BIBLE? Will you then believe Yeshua the Messiah -- or will you call him a liar and believe so-called "Christian" traditions of men? Will you believe your BIBLE?

Notice -- read it in your own Bible: Yeshua "added and spake a parable... because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear" (Luke 19:11). WHY did the Messiah speak this parable? Because some, even then, mistakenly thought the Kingdom should immediately appear -- because some thought it would be THE CHURCH!

Now continue: "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return" (verse 12). The Messiah is that "nobleman." He is speaking of his ascension to the throne of YEHOVAH God His adoptive Father, in heaven. Notice, he went there to be given rulership in the Kingdom -- to receive his portion of the Kingdom.

Notice, too, he is to return, when he has received it! He has not yet returned! Other scriptures explain this. We will turn to them a little later.

But continue: "And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." The original 12 tribes of Israel had been divided into two nations, immediately after the death of King Solomon. The nation Israel rejected Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and set up Jeroboam as their king. They made the city of Samaria their capital. But the tribe of Judah seceded from Israel, in order to retain Rehoboam as king, and Jerusalem as their capital. Then the tribe of Benjamin joined them, and many Levites. The northern kingdom then became known as the TEN TRIBES.

Now Yeshua the Messiah was born of the tribe of Judah. The promise of the "Sceptre" -- or kingly tribe, from which the Messiah was to be born -- was divinely given to Judah. Consequently, when it is stated that the Messiah "came unto His own, and His own received Him not," it is speaking of his having come to the Judahites of the Kingdom of JUDAH, dwelling then in the Holy Land, with its capital still at Jerusalem. At that time the TEN TRIBES had migrated from Assyrian captivity northwest across Europe. They were far away, had lost their identity, were speaking a different language. It was then 700 years after their captivity and removal from the Northern Kingdom (Samaria).

And so the nobleman's citizens who rejected him were the Judahites at Jerusalem and dwelling in Palestine. And notice, the Messiah is here talking about a KINGDOM which is a literal GOVERNMENT. His citizens would not accept him as KING -- they refused to have him REIGN over them. That is not CHURCH language -- that is civil government language!

So it becomes plain that the ten servants of the parable, to whom he gave the ten pounds, represent the TEN TRIBES, who had become known as the LOST Ten Tribes. After the Judahites rejected the Messiah, he sent his original apostles (and later, Paul) to the "LOST sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL" -- and the term "House of Israel" always applies, after the division, to the ten-tribed kingdom -- never to the Kingdom of Judah -- or, as often called, the House of Judah.

Continuing the parable, spoken because some thought the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was immediately, then, in the first century, to appear: "And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading" (Verse 15). When the Messiah returns, we of Israel shall all be called before the Judgment Seat of the Messiah -- to give account!

Now notice in verse 17, the one who had gained ten pounds is given authority to RULE CITIES -- "have thou authority over ten cities"! To the one who had gained five pounds, he said, "Be thou also over five cities." This is speaking of the SECOND APPEARANCE OF THE MESSIAH -- and of his delegating authority to rule to the saints of Israel converted during this Christian era, between the Messiah's first and second appearances on earth.

This parable, then, was spoken to make clear to us that the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is a literal GOVERNMENT, to be set up AT THE MESSIAH'S SECOND APPEARANCE -- and not before! The CHURCH, then, cannot be the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. But the true Church of YEHOVAH God, composed of ONLY Israelites, is to be changed, by a resurrection and instantaneous change from mortal to immortal, INTO the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. The Church, when all its Israelite members have been changed to immortality, shall BECOME the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. But it is not, now, the Kingdom!

Now read the description of the Messiah actually receiving authority to RULE a kingdom within the world-ruling Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. He is the nobleman who went to heaven to receive this kingship, and to return. The Prophet Daniel recorded the setting up of this kingdom -- at the Messiah's coming. This was recorded in the second chapter. Notice now chapter seven:

The Messiah continually referred to himself as the "Son of man" -- all through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Messiah ascended to heaven in clouds (Acts 1:9). He ascended to the very throne of YEHOVAH God in heaven (Mark 16:19). Now continue:

That is plain! The Messiah ascended to the throne of YEHOVAH God in heaven. YEHOVAH God is Sovereign over the entire universe. This vision shows YEHOVAH God Almighty, adoptive Father of the resurrected living Messiah, conferring on the Messiah dominion. Dominion means sovereign or supreme ruling authority. Also given to him was "A kingdom." Where is that kingdom to be? It says "He shall reign over the House of Jacob forever..." (Luke 1:33). The people, and the nations of Israel, speaking different languages within that kingdom, are HERE ON EARTH. He is given dominion over the House of Jacob (Israel) for ever!

Now will you read, in your own Bible, Acts 3:21? It says the heavens have received the Messiah UNTIL -- not permanently, just until a certain time. Until when? Until the times of RESTITUTION of all things. Restitution means restoration to a former state or condition. It is speaking of restoring YEHOVAH's laws, YEHOVAH's government -- of restoring happiness and universal PEACE.

In the 6th chapter of I Corinthians, the apostle Paul admonishes the congregation of Israel in Corinth by saying: "Do you not know that the SAINTS [of Israel] will judge the world?...Do you not know that we [the SAINTS of Israel] shall judge angels?" (verses 2-3). Notice, also, Hebrews 12:28 -- "Therefore, since we [the SAINTS of Israel] are receiving a KINGDOM which cannot be shaken..."

Notice it! Not only is the Messiah to rule -- but the saints of Israel -- that is, converted true Israelite Christians -- those begotten as sons of YEHOVAH God -- are to take and possess the Kingdom! They are to rule under, and with YEHOVAH God and the Messiah! In the New Testament it is recorded that converted saints of Israel are co-heirs with the Messiah!

Now read about the this in verse 21 of Daniel 7: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, UNTIL [note, another 'UNTIL'] the Ancient of days [YEHOVAH God] came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints [of Israel] possessed the kingdom."

The saints of Israel -- then no longer human flesh and blood, but immortal -- are to possess the Kingdom, at the coming of the Messiah and YEHOVAH God Himself!

Yeshua the Messiah makes that plain. It is the Messiah who is speaking in Revelation 3:21, and 2:26 and 27: "To him [of Israel] that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne." The Father's throne is in heaven -- where Yeshua the Messiah is now; but the Messiah's throne, in which the saints of Israel shall sit with him, is the throne of David, in Jerusalem. (Luke 1:32).

Further: "And he [of Israel] that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron."

After his resurrection, at the very hour of his ascension to heaven, the Messiah was explaining to his disciples how they would receive the inspiring God-begetting POWER of the holy spirit on the approaching day of Pentecost.

His disciples wanted to know whether the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was to be set up at that time! The CHURCH was established on that approaching day of Pentecost. Was that CHURCH, then, to be the setting up of the Kingdom?

"Lord," they asked, "wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

The commission he had given the CHURCH was to preach his Father's Gospel to all the Israelites in dispersion. They were to receive the holy spirit, begetting them as saints -- as Christians -- putting them into YEHOVAH's CHURCH. This would infuse them with the power to carry out the mission of the Church. But it was NOT the setting up of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. Of that they were not to know the time.

Just what did the Messiah mean, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons"? He explained it another time. It is recorded in Matthew 24:36. There he was speaking of the end of this world, and his second appearance:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." He was speaking of his second appearance, and setting up of the Kingdom, the time of which no man knows, but only the Father.

However, though we do not, even now, know the day or the hour, we do know, from YEHOVAH's prophecies, that it is today very near! Notice this, in Luke 21:20-28. He had been foretelling events leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Then, jumping to the time of the end, he said -- "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth DISTRESS OF NATIONS, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

This world trouble began in 1914, with World War I. There was a recess from 1918 until 1939. We are in a second recess now -- and we are witnessing the rapid increase of Islam throughout the world along with the resultant terrorism against the State of Israel and the nations of the West. But now we have nuclear energy. We have hydrogen bombs stock-piled in such power and volume that they could blast all human life off this planet several times over. There are two other destructive weapons today in existence, either of which could erase humanity from the earth. One Islamic nation already has the atomic bomb and another is well on the way to having its own.

Today world-famous scientists say only a super world-government can prevent world cosmocide. Yet MEN cannot and will not get together to form such a world-ruling government.

It's time we face the hard, cold, realistic FACT: humanity has two alternatives: either there is an Almighty, all-powerful GOD who is about to step in and set up THE KINGDOM OF YEHOVAH GOD to rule all nations with supernatural and supranational FORCE to bring us PEACE -- or else all human life would be obliterated.

If the deceived religionists, who think the CHURCH is the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God, were right, and there is not going to be any supernatural and all-powerful WORLD GOVERNMENT which is the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God, then humanity is utterly without HOPE. All human life is in danger of extinction.

Where is your trust -- in the Word of YEHOVAH God, or in paganized, empty, deceiving teachings falsely labeled "Christianity" -- inherited as "Christian tradition" -- which says the CHURCH is the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God; or, that the Kingdom is merely a meaningless, frothy and ethereal sentiment "set up in our hearts"? It's about time you come to know who are the false prophets, and WHO is speaking the true Word of YEHOVAH God faithfully!

Hope if Israel Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
www.hope-of-israel.org

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