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Month: August 2019

Rejoice: The KING of Kings is Coming!

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #133 ~

While you live on this earth, don’t ever put your hope in the leaders, but trust in God, and look forward to the coming of Christ the King, and that time when He will literally be reigning over this world. As we get closer to the end of this age, we will continue to see Presidents and Prime-Ministers leading their countries and then, according to God’s sovereign plan, the Antichrist will rise up to rule the world. This most hateful and lawless dictator will greatly persecute God’s chosen ones, but his time will be short, for it won’t be long before the King of kings returns to rapture and rescue the Christians, defeat this devilish man, and begin His 1000-year reign. Christ the King is coming! There’s no doubt about it, for God has truly and repeatedly told us so in His Word. Might your heart be abounding with hope as you read the following verses about our coming King and His glorious reign on this earth.

* Psalm 2:6 – “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
* Psalm 22:28 – “The kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations.”
* Psalm 24:24 – “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.”
* Psalm 45:6 – “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”
* Psalm 47:7 – “The Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.”
* Psalm 72:8,11,19 – “May He rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth… Let all kings bow down before Him, all nations serve Him… May the whole earth be filled with His glory.”
* Isaiah 9:6-7 – “A Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over His kingdom.”
* Isaiah 43:15 – “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”
* Jeremiah 10:6,7,10 – “There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed, it is Your due… the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.”
* Jeremiah 23:5 – “The days are coming when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as a King and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.”
* Ezekiel 37:22 – “I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be king for all of the them.” 
* Daniel 2:44 – “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom… it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.”
* Daniel 7:14 – “To Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom will not be destroyed.”
* Micah 5:2 – “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”
* Zechariah 14:9 – “The Lord will be King over all the earth.”
* Malachi 1:14 – “‘I am a great King and My name is to be feared among the nations.” 
* Matthew 6:9-10 – “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
* Matthew 19:28 – “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
* Luke 1:32-33 – “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
* 1 Corinthians 15:24-25 – “Then comes the end, when He (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when He has abolished all rule and authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.”
* Revelation 5:10 – “You have made them (believers) to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
* Revelation 11:15 – “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” 
* Revelation 19:16 – “On His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’”

Let me summarize what God is saying. About 2000 years ago, Jesus came to this earth as a Savior, but He will be coming back as a King. This coming King is a descendant of King David, and therefore, will be both God and man. After the end of this age, after the defeat of the Antichrist and other earthly kingdoms, God the Father will install His Son, Jesus Christ, as King, at which time He will set up His kingdom on this renovated earth. Yes, Jesus Christ is King forever, but we are speaking here of a specifically designated 1000-year period when He will reign as King over the entire earth. Jesus will be a great King, a righteous King, a powerful King, a wise King, a glorious King, the King of kings.

All believers from this present age will be glorified at the time of the rapture, and will reign with Jesus Christ during the millennial kingdom. Christ’s throne will be in Jerusalem and from there, He will reign over Judah and Israel, and every nation and person in the whole world. Note that the 12 apostles will have specific ruling authority over the nation of Israel. God’s glory will be clearly and wonderfully seen throughout the world during Christ’s reign as King. During His millennial kingdom, Christ will defeat all His enemies, which includes death. Christ, at the end of His 1000-year earthly reign, will hand over the kingdom to His Father. Then the eternal kingdom will begin………

P.S. Hurricane Dorian, a major and potentially catastrophic hurricane, is ready to strike the state of Florida. Indeed, this storm is from the hand of God, and for the purposes and glory of God. I encourage you to read Job 37, which is, in my opinion, the best chapter in the Bible about God’s perspective on weather and storms. I have also written a number of posts related to hurricanes, for as we have in the days ahead plenty of time to prepare for the coming hurricane, so too in these end-times, we have plenty of time to prepare for the coming of Christ. Here are two good posts to read: The Alarm Is Ringing! Wake Up America! The Storm is Coming! and A Big Storm is Coming, and I Don’t Mean Hurricane Irma.

Christ’s Kingdom is Coming!

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #132 ~

It’s all about God’s kingdom and God’s glory, right? Of course it is! That’s the way it always has been and that’s the way it will always be. “The Lord is King forever and ever… I will praise Your name forever and ever… Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Psalm 10:16; 145:2,13). From Genesis to Revelation this is what we need to know and be excited about. Since the beginning, God has been building His kingdom, and everything is going precisely according to His plans. “His kingdom endures from generation to generation… He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.” Daniel 4:34-35, Psalm 33:10-12

Most of the Old Testament is about God building His kingdom through Abraham and his descendants, through the Israelites. They had some success, and a lot of failure, but God was sovereign, working all things according to the purpose of His will – and His kingdom kept growing. We know that God also had the future in mind, for an important aspect of the Old Testament are the promises He made to His people about the coming Messiah, the coming King, and His coming kingdom on earth. Now this Messiah and King refer to the same person, to the Son of God, the One we call Jesus. Psalm 47, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 53

At the perfect time, this Jesus, this Messiah, was born, the Son of God also becoming the Son of Man. When Jesus was grown up, He announced that the kingdom of God was at hand, and that’s because He was the King. But His primary purpose at that time was not to establish His kingdom on earth, but to die to pay for the sins of ones God had chosen to save. And that’s what Jesus did, fully satisfying God’s justice, enabling God to have mercy on sinners. All people who repent of their sins and believe that Jesus suffered and died for them, thereby paying the penalty for their sins, are born again, forgiven, and spiritually enter into the kingdom of God. Mark 1:15, John 3:3

Sadly, most of the Jews rejected Jesus, for they didn’t want Him to be their Savior, they just wanted Him to be their King. But this rejection of Jesus was all part of God’s divine plan, for the church then became His means to build His kingdom. Since that time and up to the present day, this gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached all over the world (Acts 1:8). Might we be like Paul, who was “solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus” (Acts 28:23). It’s now close to 2000 years after Christ’s 1st coming, and we should be thrilled that hundreds of millions of people have experienced the gracious love of God, having been rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the Kingdom of God’s Son (Colossians 1:13). During this entire church age, Jesus Christ has been faithfully building His church, thereby, building God’s kingdom, not in a physical way, but in a spiritual way. Jesus said it this way, “The kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21

But this is not just a church age, it’s also an evil age, for there’s calamity, deception, distress and hate all around the world. Godless people are fighting against God, wanting power and control for their own glory, but not for His glory. They are not seeking God’s kingdom, they want their own little kingdom. But God has purposed and planned to send His own Son, the King of kings, to establish His kingdom on earth, and He will not be thwarted, He will not be stopped. Psalm 2, Revelation 11:15

Since we live in the end-times, we know we will soon “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27). The first thing to happen at Christ’s coming is that Christians will be raptured, safely and quickly taken up from the earth to be with Him. Immediately after that, God will pour out His wrath, justly punishing the unbelievers still living on earth. Then a remnant of Jews will be redeemed, at which time Christ the King will return. “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives… the Lord will be King over all the earth.” Zechariah 14:4, 14

What God promised again and again, will finally come true. We need to wake up and be excited about what God is doing, for it won’t be long before we see Him fulfilling His promises. This evil age that’s been going on since the time of Adam and Eve, along with this church age, will soon and suddenly come to an end. Not long after that, we will see our King wisely, lovingly, justly and perfectly ruling over the earth. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, and “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.” Philippians 2:10-11, Habakkuk 2:14 

During the millennial kingdom age, this earth will be dramatically, wonderfully, beautifully and magnificently different than now. Everything, spiritually, physically, relationally, and socially, is going to change for the better. That’s because Jesus Christ will be completely in charge of His earthly kingdom for 1000 glorious years, and we, being perfect, will be perfectly ruling with Him. Might we be seeking God’s spiritual kingdom, praying for His visible kingdom to come, waiting for the return of the King, and saying, “Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:10, 14, 33

P.S. Your understanding of God’s kingdom is very helpful for you being able to see the big picture, and your role in God’s work in the world. Therefore, I would encourage you to read two previous posts about God’s kingdom, The Kingdom of God and Kingdom Instructions for the Church.

Reasons to Rejoice About the Age to Come

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #131 ~

I hope you aren’t sleeping. I pray you are wide awake, spiritually speaking, and know that this present age will soon and suddenly end, that Jesus Christ will rapture the Christians, pour out His wrath, redeem a remnant of Jews, and then reign over this earth. In other words, Christ is coming back to take up the saints, take out the enemy, and take over the world. In last week’s post, I focused on the millennial kingdom, when Christ will be reigning over this world, and you, being glorified, will be worshiping Him, serving Him and reigning with Him. But much more needs to be said:

* You will be serving God on a renovated earth, one much better than this sin-cursed world. Romans 8:21 says, “The creation itself will be set free from its corruption into the freedom of the glory of God’s children.” Acts 3:21 talks about the “period of restoration of all things.” Psalm 98:8 says, “Let the mountains sing together for joy.” Isaiah 65:25 tells us, “The wolf and the lamb will feed together.” Not only that, but non-glorified people will live a lot longer on this restored earth, for Isaiah 65:20 says, “The one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.” This means there will still be sin and death. Nevertheless, how wonderful it will be during this magnificent kingdom age, for we will serve God in a more glorified place, witness peace on earth, and hear great multitudes of people praising our King (Psalm 67:3-4). Then it will get even better, far better, for after this 1000-year kingdom age (Revelation 20:1-6) comes the eternal kingdom, a perfect and most glorious age, when there will be “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” Revelation 21:1  

* You will be with your loved ones who knew the Lord. The Thessalonian believers were sad, for they feared they would never see deceased fellow believers again. But Paul told them not to grieve like the world (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). Yes, you can be sad when a Christian friend or family member dies, but don’t be too sad. Whether by death or by rapture, you will soon see them again. You must understand that relationships continue from earth to heaven, from this age to the next age. Why would God place you with certain Christians on earth, but then never, or rarely ever, want you to see them in the coming ages? Your hope is that you will have heart-satisfying and God-glorifying fellowship with Christians you knew on earth, and a great number of others.  

* You will have a home in your Father’s house. Jesus tells us that He will come again and receive us to Himself, and then take us to our heavenly home (John 14:1-3), one that will be infinitely better than any of our earthly homes. It will be perfect, immaculate, beautiful and relaxing, personally prepared for you, and ideally suited for worship and fellowship. You see, during the millennial kingdom age, we will be glorified and need no sleep. That being true, it may mean we will serve Christ on the earth during the daytime (being “in charge of many things” – Matthew 25:21), and then jet off to worship God and fellowship with saints in our heavenly home during the rest of that 24-hour day.  

* You will be with newly saved Jewish believers during the millennial kingdom. With all that has been said about Christians being with Christ during the millennial kingdom, it must be remembered that a large remnant of Jewish people will be saved at the end of Daniel’s 70th week, and these believers, along with 144,000 more, will be with Christ in the city of Jerusalem, and in the nation of Israel (Romans 11:26-27, Revelation 7:4-8). Hundreds of Old Testament verses speak about the future of these Jewish people (Ezekiel 37:21-28). How all the glorified believers will interact and work with these Jewish believers during the millennial kingdom is not completely known. But it has to relate to the wonderful future God has for you, part of this described in Romans 15:10, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people (Jewish believers).”

The New Testament epistles are about the church, about our present and future lives. Ephesians 1:10-11 speaks about our future, “He made known to us the mystery of His will… with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and the earth. In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Do you see this, that God has revealed to us the mystery of His will, that all things will be summed up in Christ, and that we will receive a glorious inheritance? Our future will be very, very good, incredibly and perfectly good. 

Ephesians 1:20-21 tells us about the authority of Christ “in this age but also in the one to come.” Now this age to come is the millennial kingdom age. Then Ephesians 2:7 sums up our future by saying, “so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” “The ages to come” is referring to the millennial and eternal ages. What God has planned out for us is unbelievable, beyond comprehension. I hope you see that you are a very rich kid, blessed way beyond anything you could ever imagine. Our heavenly Father is so loving, so kind, and so generous. Be praying that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). And make sure you love Him and live for Him during this age, and be looking forward to worshiping and serving Him in the coming kingdom ages.

P.S. We are looking at our future, a most wonderful subject for each Christian to understand and be excited about. When you get time, read the article, “Being in Heaven with Jesus, and the Believers, and in a New Glorified Body”, and the post, “Unfinished Business.” You will find them very instructive and very encouraging.

“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done”

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #130 ~

Life can be hard, very hard, sometimes seemingly impossible. There can be personal struggles, family conflicts, work difficulties, church problems, physical ailments, and even great persecution. What can encourage you and help keep you going is knowing and experiencing the love of God. In this post, my primary focus is how God will show you His love in the future, what we call hope. I’ve talked a lot about this hope, because far too many Christians don’t know much about it. Hope for your life is essential. It’s like flour for a cake, for if you don’t have flour, you are not going to have a cake. And if you don’t have hope, your Christian life will be flat, without the purpose, direction, drive and energy God wants you to have. Today I want to look at a major part of this hope, the millennial kingdom. What does God want you to know about it?

* The millennial kingdom will last exactly one thousand years, a fact which Revelation 20 repeats six times. Compared to the length of your present life on earth, this next age will last a very, very long time. To illustrate – if you live to the age of 80, your life during the millennial kingdom will be 12.5 times longer than your present life on earth. Or think about it this way – 80 years is only 8% of 1000 years. Revelation 20:1-7

* Jesus Christ will reign as King over the earth during the millennial kingdom. When you think about many of the bad leaders in today’s world, this is extremely good news, for we will soon have a perfect Ruler, one who is holy, powerful, loving and sovereign over all things and all people. Yes, Christ is King now, but He’s behind the scenes. But then, He will be King in a visible, personal, direct, and most glorious way. Zechariah 14:9, Psalm 2:7-9

* Satan, that most evil devil, will be gone from the earth, locked up for the entire 1000 years, which means he will have absolutely no influence on this earth. He won’t be prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. He won’t tempt anyone to sin. He won’t have his forces of darkness on earth, and therefore, won’t be able to unleash his demons with all their sinful schemes and false teaching. Revelation 20:1-3

* All believers from this present age will possess brand new bodies, like that of Jesus Christ, Himself. These will be powerful bodies, immortal bodies, glorified bodies, and spiritual bodies. Completely free from sin and all manners of corruption, these perfect and magnificent bodies will enable you to be and do all that God wants. 1 Corinthians 15:40-42, Philippians 3:20-21

* All glorified believers will be perfectly worshiping Jesus Christ. Can you imagine being able to always love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength? Think what it will be like to worship the Lord, to sing to Him and give Him all the honor, praise and glory that He deserves. Think about being part of a heavenly choir that is perfectly and harmoniously singing praises to our Lord, Savior and King. “Sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth.” Psalm 47:6-7, Revelation 5:13

* All glorified believers will be perfectly serving Jesus Christ. You will be able to serve Christ during this kingdom age in much greater and more productive ways than you are doing now. “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:21) “You will be in authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17). “He who keeps my deeds to the end, to Him will I give authority over the nations” (Revelation 2:26). I am really looking forward to this time when we will, effortlessly and wholeheartedly, be working for Christ, fulfilling His purposes, and bringing Him glory. Ephesians 2:7-10

* This kingdom age will be a good age. Now we live in an evil age, which is the way it has been since Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin. During this entire age, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). But once Jesus Christ begins ruling, it will be a good age, for Satan will be gone, and the work, holiness, goodness and glory of Christ will be profoundly seen, dramatically affecting the whole world. Not only that, but you, I, and a great number of glorified believers will be assisting Christ, reigning with Him, serving Him, and fulfilling His purposes. Galatians 1:4, Revelation 5:10  

* There’s this present age, the coming millennial kingdom age, and then the eternal kingdom age. Do you see that we are getting close to the end of this age, and will soon be living during the millennial kingdom age? Be encouraged and very thankful that God “has raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6-7). Let’s pray: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven… For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:10, 13

P.S. This post is for everyone, for we all need godly hope. But in particular, I am thinking of those who are hurting, who are ill, who have chronic ailments, who need present grace, but also, need the hope of future grace. Might we live for the Lord today, but be looking ahead to the glorious future that He has for all who believe in Him. There is more on this next week.

The Right Way to Think About Your Life

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #129 ~

How you think about your future dramatically affects how you live your life in the present. Some people don’t think much at all, with the result that their minds are empty, or are filled with worthless things. (Psalm 119:36-37). Others think in sinful and worldly ways, in ways that aren’t pleasing to God (Ephesians 4:17-19). There are those who live in the past, proud about what they did, or mad about some real or supposed injustice, but we are to forget what lies behind (Philippians 3:13). There are those who are worried, fearful and anxious about what might lie ahead. They have the “what ifs”. (Matthew 6:34). Then there are some so focused on the future that they are not living in the present. Many of these are dreamers (Ecclesiastes 11:4), people who have not learned how to live today in light of the future, their life on earth and life in heaven.

That last sentence gives the key as to how we are to think about our lives, that we need hope, that we need to live today in view of the future God has for us. Thinking like this gives us the big picture with the right mindset. And only God’s word can give us this perspective, this overview of our life. There’s the soul-soothing, 2-part perspective of Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” There’s the eternal perspective of Romans 8:30 – “These whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Many other verses summarize our lives, and in particular, express the hope that God has for us: Philippians 1:6, 3:12-21; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 15:20-28 

Then there’s Colossians 3:1-4, one of my favorites. It instructs you to set your mind on things above, on things of God, on things talked about in His Word. You are not to set your mind on things of this world, and be worldly. You are to live for Christ, and you are to think about the future, when Christ will be revealed, and you will be raptured. You are to also think about being revealed with Him in glory, when you will reign with Him during the millennial kingdom. This is the right perspective, a godly perspective, living for Christ today, and looking forward to living for Him in the future.    

The reason I write about hope is because Christians need hope. As you know, all successful people have hope. A person working at a job looks forward to getting paid. A student studies hard and expects to get good grades. An athlete practices with a view of winning the next game. A Christian serves the Lord, knowing it will result in blessing in this age and in the ages to come. As a child of God, you have to have hope, which means you need to know and be convinced of what your Father tells you in His Word about your future.

What is this hope? Well it’s not just thinking about the rapture, and the events leading up to it. That thinking is incomplete, and sadly, many Christians have this short-sighted mindset. It’s also knowing you will see Jesus for the first time, and be with Him forever. It’s knowing you will be glorified, and receive a brand new body. It’s knowing you will never be sinful, sad, sick, tired, or in pain again. It’s knowing you will be with believers, especially with loved ones you knew on earth. It’s knowing you will be in heaven, in a perfect place, and in a perfect home. It’s knowing you will be perfectly serving Christ during the kingdom age. It’s knowing that you will love God like never before, praising Him and singing to Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

I think about these things. Now I don’t think about them all the time, but they are on my mind every day. I have to say, I really look forward to this wonderful future; I get excited about what God has in store for me; and I long for that time when my hope will become reality, when I will leave this earth and this evil age, and be in heaven with Jesus.

I want to say a few more things about the future, specifically the time between now, 2019, and the age to come, that magnificent millennial kingdom age.
* I think about how we now live in the end-times, which means it won’t be long before the return of Christ and the rapture of the church. In my opinion, it’s not a few years from now, and not centuries from now, but decades from now. Matthew 24:33
* I think about the upward call, meaning I will either die and be with Jesus in heaven, or be raptured and then be with Jesus in heaven. Philippians 3:14
* Throughout history, believers have been dying and going to heaven, and a great many have already been there hundreds and even thousands of years, but that won’t be true for us. The fact that we live in the end-times means we won’t be staying in heaven very long before we come back to earth with Jesus Christ and the other believers, and begin our 1000-year reign with Him. Reigning with Him will be glorious! Isaiah 6:3

We should be thrilled and thankful that now is our time to live. Might we be thinking and living like Paul, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead… toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14). “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

P.S. This post, like many others, is about hope. In conjunction with this post, it would be helpful for you to read the post, “You Need Hope To Get Through Life,” and the article, “You Have To Have Hope!”