This study was first taught on June 4, 2017

Topic: What Kingdom? Which Israel? What Timing?_4: The Natural v. The Spiritual_2_Which Israel?

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Background
Still on the question Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the timing for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, last week, we began to look at the natural v. the spiritual aspects of it, as it relates to the question, but this time, based on the response of the Lord, as enunciated in Acts 1:7-8. We observed that while Jesus’ disciples’ question was about a natural time of restoration to a natural kingdom of a natural Israel, the Lord’s response, and communication on the matter, was based purely from a spiritual perspective. Indeed, while Jesus’ disciples were asking about a natural time of restoration of the kingdom to Israel, the Lord was talking of time in a spiritual sense; while they asked about a natural rule, reign, and realm or kingdom, the Lord was referring to a spiritual rule, reign, and realm or kingdom; and, while they were referred to natural Israel, the Lord was speaking of a spiritual Israel. Such misrepresentation of spiritual for natural, we noted, is very common, especially, when people try to interpret Scripture apart from the Holy Spirit. Such was the case of the Pharisees, who wanted to know when the kingdom of God would come in Luke 17:20.

We said that in this world, there are not only natural forces at work, but also spiritual forces; and that, the spiritual forces influence and control the natural or physical world, as we saw from the horns and craftsmen of Zechariah’s vision, and the ‘princes’ of Persia, Greece, and even Israel, in Daniel’s revelation. And last week, we noted that although King Saul was still the king of Israel in the natural, the mantle of leadership had shifted in the spiritual, to 17-year old David, who alone could defeat Goliath in the natural—Goliath, being influenced in the spiritual by satanic forces, whose goal is to attack, oppress, and conquer the people of God! So, we dug deeper into the natural versus spiritual aspects of the questions, “What Kingdom? Which Israel? What Timing?”, which we have been considering, and, we focused on the aspect of time.

Looking at the Lord’s response to the disciples’ question, we saw that the Lord emphatically asked them not to concern themselves with the matter of “times and seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (see also Deuteronomy 29:29). We noted that as it relates to time, God speaks as though a matter has already occurred, whereas, in reality, the matter may be a long way from occurring (Romans 4:17). This we evidently saw from God’s message to Daniel on the 70-7s (or 490 years), of which 69-7s have already been accomplished, and 1-7 remains still! We also saw that when Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, even though he lived another 900+ years after eating of that tree in the natural, he died spiritually the moment he ate of the tree, and sin entered all men from that time forward—a natural event, with far greater spiritual repercussions (much the same way that Jesus’ natural death on the cross, brought spiritual deliverance from captivity to sin caused by Adam’s action)!

So, we asked: “Since the time of God’s restoration of the kingdom to Israel is not known to man, what then must we do?”; and the Lord’s answer to us, is:
1. Don’t waste time probing into when the kingdom will be restored back to Israel.
2. Rather than worry about the time of restoration, wait patiently for God’s timing.
3. Waiting patiently does not mean waiting aimlessly, hopelessly, and passively; rather, our waiting must be with anticipation, expectation, and actively. Thus, we should get busy doing the work of God—preach the good news of the kingdom, and do all that the Father asks you to do.
4. In getting busy, we should not get carried away with what the world is offering; neither, should we allow ourselves to be seduced into wanting to possess everything we see; nor, should we be boastful of who we are or have become, and what we have acquired and achieved. Also, in getting busy, we should not be busy with irrelevancies (being “busy here and there”), but we should focus on doing God’s work and fulfilling His Will here on the earth!
5. We must remember Lot’s wife: even though she escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, nonetheless, never made it to safety, because she looked back. We likened Lot’s wife looking back to holding on to the world; thus, teaching us that we should let go of the world, hurts, hang-ups, hang-overs, ungodly habits, and anything that can make us want to look back—indeed, looking back is the first step to turning back!
6. We must have at the back of our minds that the Lord’s last command was “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15); not return ye—although we may take a break to rest, but we must “Go ye” afterwards!
7. Finally, we must pursue, purity—a life of holiness manifested by our total obedience to God and His word; humility—manifested by meekness; and, charity—manifested by our love for the brethren, and for all men (while not condoning their sins)!

Scripture Text(s)
Acts 1:6-8; John 10:16
Having established the spiritual aspect of the Lord’s response to the issue of time or timing, we shall now press on with “the natural v. the spiritual” as it affects another aspect of the question which the disciples asked Him. May the Holy Spirit grant us understanding of the implications thereof, as we study, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
In our second scripture text, we see that the Lord alluded to another sheepfold which must be brought in under one Shepherd, so that there will be only one flock. That other sheepfold is clearly, the Gentiles, who must be brought into the sheepfold of Israel. So, we seek to answer the question, “Which Israel?”
Ezekiel 37:15-27; Genesis 12:1-3; Galatians 3:25-28; Isaiah 42:6-7; 56:1-8; Acts 10:9-20, 44-48; Ephesians 2:11-19; Romans 11:1-25; 2:25-29; Philippians 3:17-21; Ephesians 3:1-10; John10:16; Acts 1:8.

Conclusion
From the time of Adam, Abram, and Old Testament the prophets, God had in mind, to bring the Gentiles into His fold, family, household, or, nation. Unfortunately, most people did not understand God’s plan. And even after revealing it to some, they found it hard to assimilate—accept and integrate! The truth is, God’s eternal plan was for peoples of every nation and tongue to be part of His kingdom. And the Church is the ‘container’ within which all those who, through faith in Jesus Christ, come to God, are kept—this is the household of God; the new Israel of God—the spiritual Israel (Genesis 32:24-28; Revelation 5:1-5).

The mystery of God bringing all peoples into one sheepfold was not only revealed to the New Testament apostles and prophets, but they were also given the task of telling the whole world about this mystery and to bring in as many as receive the message into the Church, through baptism. Therefore, in the Church of God, there is no enmity between Jews and Gentiles, indeed, all who believe in Christ; there are no second-class citizens; and, there is no discrimination of one group against the other! Thus, the manifold wisdom of God is displayed by the Church of God, when peoples of all tribes and tongues assemble under Christ to worship God in spirit and in truth; even though their natural tribesmen may indeed be at war! Hence, the Church does not and should not participate in any form of discrimination, but they are to go all over the world, and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, inviting all and sundry into the glorious kingdom of God without barriers of any sort other than that they follow the word of God and are led by the Spirit of God! This also, is our assignment, of which the Lord spoke in Acts 1:7-8, and I paraphrase, “It is not for you to know the times and seasons which God has put in His own authority, but you go, and tell everyone, everywhere, about the good news of salvation to all men, regardless of tongue, tribe, skin colour, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, and so on. And you shall be adequately equipped for this task, when the Holy Spirit, the Promise of the Father, which I had mentioned earlier, comes upon you. When that happens, begin to spread the message first in Jerusalem, and then in all Judea and Samaria, and then, spread out to the ends of the earth; but make sure that all peoples everywhere hear about this message, and get an opportunity to come into the household of God, otherwise the end will not come!”

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