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In September of 2025 I taught a two part series¹ titled Why Paul? What is the Mystery and what's so important about dispensational distinctions? Three very important questions. If anyone cannot answer any of those three questions, there is probably nothing they could do to better facilitate their understanding of what God is and His Word have to say about issues of salvation, about the Christian life and about what God is actually doing today. Nothing they could do that would be better able to facilitate their understanding of those things than to review that series.

That series¹ can be heard on our website or on our YouTube channel, and a transcription of that series can also be read and downloaded from our website. website. That series is also available in booklet form which can be obtained from our literature ministry. I ended that series with a brief commentary on what I referred to as Paul's three greatest fears in Second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 3 and 4. Those three fears are that Satan is able to beguile people today into accepting and living their lives according to what Paul says are another Jesus or another Spirit or another Gospel. And I pointed out how that these three fears of Paul are the result of failing to understand the importance of dispensational distinctions.

Then in February of 2026, I taught a follow up two part series² titled Gospel Perversions and what is Satan's Role in Promoting Them? That series was based on what I stated was probably the Apostle Paul's greatest fear in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, which was that someone today would be beguiled by Satan into accepting another Gospel. Another Gospel, which Paul refers to in Galatians chapter 1, verses 6 through 9, as a perverted gospel. A perverted gospel in the sense that it would not have the power to result in salvation. It would not have the power to result in individual justification unto eternal life for anyone today. In that series, the most important thing I attempted to convey was that it is Satan's goal to do everything he possibly can do to prevent you, to prevent me, to prevent anyone from understanding and responding to the only gospel message which does have the power to save a person today.

And that gospel message is the Gospel of the Grace of God, which was given by God to Paul, the Apostle Paul, and which is even referred to in the Bible numerous times as Paul's Gospel. That series² can also be heard on our website or on our YouTube channel, and a transcription of that series can also be read and downloaded from our website. website. That series is also available in booklet form, which can be obtained from our literature ministry. And the two part message which I'm going to begin today is going to kind of expand on that theme of what gospel message people today might be beguiled into accepting and which will undermine their chances of obtaining salvation. Because there are multitudes of people today who will insist that there is only one gospel message in the Bible.

These are people who would base their Christian lives and their personal salvation on the gospel message which was preached by Jesus and his followers in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and then even on into the Book of Acts. People who erroneously presume that the church of today, the Body of Christ, began at Pentecost and that there is only one gospel message of salvation in the Bible. So the title of this message is Why you can't follow Jesus according to the gospel accounts today. And what you're going to see is that in this church age of today, there is no one who ever has, nor who ever possibly can follow Jesus according to the doctrines and instructions which were taught by Jesus and his followers in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and in Acts. All based on the erroneous assumption that the church began at Pentecost and that the Body of Christ today is a continuation of the nation Israel.

So that is what we'll begin looking at, looking at that Gospel which was referred to in the four Gospel accounts and in early Acts during the days of Pentecost. Now it's interesting that the word gospel does not even appear in our Bibles until you come to the Gospel account of Matthew. In fact, in my Bible, and probably in most Bibles, before you even get into the text of the Bible, you come to the book heading which says The Gospel According to Matthew or the Gospel According to Mark. When you get into the actual text of the Bible, the first time you see the word Gospel, it describes the beginning of the ministry of Jesus to the nation Israel. And this is how it reads in Matthew chapter 4, verse 23.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. Now the second time the word gospel appears in the Bible is in Matthew 9:35 where it says, and Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. And then the third time the word gospel appears in our Bibles is in Matthew chapter 11, verse 5, where we have this interesting interaction between Jesus and some of the disciples of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is actually in prison at the time. And John is naturally wondering why he's in prison. If Jesus is the long awaited for Messiah, if Jesus is Israel's Messiah who is destined to come to set the nation free from all of her enemies, why does someone as important as John the Baptist find himself in prison at this time? That's a reasonable question. So John could use a little reassurance at this time and he sends two of his disciples to speak with Jesus about what is actually going on here. And the conversation between Jesus and the disciples of John goes like this.

Matthew 11 beginning in verse 2. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said unto him, art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. What were the things that Israel was hearing and seeing? Verse 5. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. So in this passage we have Jesus himself reassuring those disciples of John that he is indeed the Messiah who they have been waiting for for over 1500 years, and that he has indeed been preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of the kingdom, to the people of Israel. And what you want to see from all three of these passages referring to the gospel of the kingdom which was being preached, is that this gospel, this particular good news, included the healing of every sickness and of every disease among the people to such an extent that the blind received their sight, the lame could walk, the lepers were cleansed, and the deaf could hear, and even the dead are raised up.

So what is this? Why does Jesus say this in this conversation with the disciples of John? In Matthew chapter 11, Christ is quoting from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 35, verses 5 and 6, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.

And what's the significance of this prophetic prophecy? The significance of all this good news associated with the gospel of the kingdom is that when you see these things happening, you will know that Israel's Messiah has arrived and that the reality of Israel's long awaited for prophesied kingdom is at hand. With the coming of Israel's king, the kingdom was ready to become a reality. Now, if that is true, and it is true, then anyone who contends that there is only one gospel message in the Bible, anyone who believes that there is only one gospel message and who believes that the Body of Christ, the Church of today, has replaced Israel, well, they have a real problem on their hands because we are the sickest country on the planet with a spiraling decrease in life expectancy and especially infant mortality and at least one chronic disease in over 60% of every person in the United States today, including our children.

But then someone is probably going to say that, well, this was Christ who was doing all these things. Would you expect anything less from Christ? I mean, Christ could perform any miraculous thing that he wanted to perform. But these miraculous events were not limited to the Messiah. Turn back in Matthew to chapter 10, where Christ gave His disciples their first commission.

And look at what he says to them there. It says, and when he called unto him his 12 disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. That's Matthew 10:1, drop down to verse five. These 12 Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of Samaritans. Enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils freely, Ye have received freely give. But now someone is probably going to say, well, that was done by Christ and his followers before the crucifixion. The church today can't be expected to do these things.

You can't expect that all these miraculous healings are things which the church of today are supposed to be able to form. But why not? If the church of today has replaced Israel, and if the Church of today began at Pentecost, why would the church today not be able to duplicate all those miraculous healings? And I can ask that question because the Bible says that they could do all those things after Pentecost. Turn with me to Acts 2, and look at verse 43 there, Acts 2:43.

And fear came upon every soul, and many signs and wonders were done by the apostles. Well, what kinds of signs and wonders were the apostles doing? Look over in Acts chapter three, beginning in verse one. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple, at the hour of prayer being the ninth hour. And a certain lame man from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple, who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he leaping up and walked, and with them entered into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

So Peter heals this lame man. Verse 7 and 8 describe how the feet and the ankles of this lame man received strength, and that he leaped up and walked into the temple, praising God. Well, that sounds pretty much just like how Christ described what he was doing in his conversation with the disciples of John the Baptist back in Matthew 11:5, doesn't it? And the healing of this lame man was not just a single isolated healing. Go on over into Acts, chapter 5.

We'll begin there in verse 12. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest durst no man joined himself to them, but the people magnified them, and and believers were the more added to the Lord. Multitudes both of men and women, insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow them. There came also a multitude out of the cities, round about unto Jerusalem, bringing forth sick folks and them which were vexed with unclean spirits. And they were healed every one. Verse 16 says that they were healed every one. No incomplete healings, no failures, 100% cure rate. This is what was routinely taking place with the Messianic church, which began at Pentecost. And I call this the Messianic Church for a very specific reason.

This Messianic church in Acts is not the church of today, it is not the Church, the Body of Christ. And in part two, next week I'll be explaining why I can say that. Now, if the Body of Christ, the Church of today, is Israel's replacement, and if that church began at Pentecost, why is it that nobody can go around doing these things today? I'll tell you why. Because the Body of Christ, the Church of today, is not Israel's replacement, and it did not begin at Pentecost.

And because all these miraculous healings associated with the good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom have nothing to do with the Body of Christ, the Church of today. Now there's this interesting little verse back In Isaiah, chapter 8, verse 18, which says, behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders where? in Israel. is what it says. And it's really that simple. And the only way you can circumvent that truth is to go to all of these verses and attempt to make them mean something other than what they clearly say. We just looked at Matthew chapter 10 where Christ gave his apostles their first commission, and I would like for us to take another look at that commission in Matthew 10 and at some other commissions which Christ gave to his apostles.

Because when we do that, we're going to see another reason why it is not possible for the Church of today, to fulfill those commissions. The commission in Matthew 10 begins in verse 5 and it continues on through the entire rest of the chapter. When you analyze that commission, you find that this commission never actually progressed beyond verse 16 or possibly verse 20. If you were to include what happened with the apostles and the believers in Acts chapter 1 through 7, the rest of the commission in Matthew 10 will not become a reality until Israel's Prophetic Kingdom program resumes in the future after the rapture of the Body of Christ takes place. But it's very helpful to understand that each gospel account, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John contains a commission for Israel.

So there are four commissions given to Israel in addition to that original commission which Christ gives them here in Matthew chapter 10. Each of those four commissions is associated with a particular time period during the progression of Israel's prophetic Kingdom program. Now, for anyone who's interested in hearing an in depth explanation of all four of Israel's commissions, that information is in a two part series³ titled Israel's Commissions, which can be heard on our website website or on our YouTube channel. And if you want to search that out, that series on the commissions was given on June 30th and July 7th of 2024.

Now in Acts chapter one, at Pentecost, Peter and the apostles were functioning according to the commission which Christ gave them in Luke 24:49, where Christ said to them, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. And of course, that power is a reference to the Holy Ghost, which will be empowering Peter and the apostles in Acts chapters one through seven. Then immediately before Christ's ascension, which is described there in Acts 1:9-11, immediately before that, Christ added some additional instructions to that commission in verse 8, where he said to them, but ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, just as he said in Luke chapter 24, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Now, to those who contend that God has only one continuous program running throughout the Bible, they will say that the Body of Christ, the church of today, which they contend is about to begin at Pentecost in Acts chapter two, and that because God has only one continuous program running throughout the Bible, they will say that this commission now applies to the Church of today.

If you really believe that God has only one continuous program running throughout the Bible, what other conclusion can you come to? There is no other conclusion you can come to. The only conclusion you can come to is that the Church, the Body of Christ, the Church of today, is going to pick up where Peter and the Apostles left off in Acts. But the only way that you can come to that conclusion is if you insist that the commission which Christ gave to them does not really mean what it says, that you cannot take it literally. And that is always a very, very dangerous road to go down, because the commission means exactly what it says.

And the Church of today has not, will not, and cannot fulfill this commission unless we all go to Jerusalem and present the gospel of the kingdom and everything associated with that Gospel, and get everyone in Jerusalem to respond accordingly. After taking care of Jerusalem, then we can all go out and take care of all Judea, that area immediately surrounding Jerusalem. And then when we've got all of Judea taken care of, then we can move on out to Samaria. And then when we've covered Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, do you know what we've done? We've essentially covered the entire land which had been promised to Abraham as what is commonly referred to as the Palestinian covenant.

And let me just say at this point that this is exactly what Christ was attempting to accomplish in the book of John at his first coming, wasn't it? That's pretty interesting. And of course, Christ never accomplished that, did He? No. Why?

Because the nation of Israel would not have him at his first coming. Israel would not have Christ as their Messiah and King at his first coming. But that will not be the case at Christ's second coming. And it's going to be Israel who will accomplish this, not the Church of today. They will accomplish these commissions.

It's going to be Israel who will accomplish all of this after Christ's second coming. And that's why in Acts chapter 2, Peter quoted the prophet Joel on the day of Pentecost. Because it's the prophet Joel who says back in Joel 2:32, he says, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said. And in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

That has never happened. That is a future event. And it all begins in Jerusalem, then Judea and then Samaria. And remember that initial commission which Christ gave to his apostles in Matthew 10 that we've looked at a couple times now? In that commission, Christ gave them some very interesting and very wonderful news in verse 23 where he said to them, but when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another. For verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come. So what's he saying there? What does that mean? It means that in the future, when Israel's Kingdom program resumes and when Israel begins their Acts 1:8 commission, they will not even have covered all of the cities in Israel before Christ's second coming occurs. And after Christ's second coming, what's going to occur next?

The millennium. The millennial Kingdom. And in the millennium, what will Israel be doing then? They'll be fulfilling the last part of the Acts 1:8 commission, going to the uttermost part of the earth according to that commission which you can read about in Matthew 28:18-20, the so called Great Commission, Israel's Great Commission, fulfilling that ultimate goal of the Abrahamic covenant, whereby through Israel all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Now I hope that you and our listeners can see that all of these verses fit like a glove.

For Israel according to the Bible and how all this has nothing to do with the church of today, because our commission is an entirely different commission. Our commission is a ministry, the Ministry of reconciliation to the world, which you can read about in 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21. So you need to understand what our commission is and what the difference is between ours and Israel's. But what do those who contend that God has only one continuous program running throughout the Bible, what do they do? What do they do with this Acts 18 Commission?

Well, as I said, they will say that the verse does not really mean what it says, that it's not meant to be taken literally, that Jerusalem actually represents your hometown. That's where you would logically begin your ministry, and that Judea represents those communities which surround you, and that Samaria represents those folks who we usually don't associate with, like those in Israel's program, who could not stand to associate with the Samaritans at the time. And then that we should be doing something to reach the uttermost parts of the earth, supporting missionary work or something along those lines. Now, all of that is not a bad plan. It's an excellent plan.

The problem is just that our message is not the same message, and that our Gospel is not the same gospel, and that the wrong message and that the wrong Gospel has eternal consequences for those who hear it. They will never be granted eternal life according to the Gospel of the kingdom. And this is also, by the way, why we see Peter and the Apostles remaining in Jerusalem throughout the book of Acts, in Christ's commission to his apostles in Matthew 10:23. What were Christ's instructions at that point in Israel's history? Christ said to them that when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another.

But that's not what Peter and the apostles did, was it? Why not? Because in Acts 12:2, King Herod kills the apostle James. Now they're even one apostle short. In Acts 12, verse 3, the very next verse, King Herod apprehends Peter and throws him into jail, from which he is miraculously freed by the angel of the Lord.

They're clearly being persecuted in the city of Jerusalem, but they never did flee the city of Jerusalem. Why not? Because those instructions in Matthew 10:23 were instructions to be followed later on during the tribulation after deliverance had already been established in Jerusalem. And because they understood that it was their responsibility to establish that deliverance in Jerusalem first, just as the prophet Joel had written in Joel 2:32, so they remain in Jerusalem for the rest of their lives, not knowing when their prophetic kingdom program might resume again.

What I'd like to do now is to go over a number of the classical passages in the Bible, passages that describe what it is going to be like here on the earth when the gospel of the kingdom reaches its ultimate goal. We'll begin this in Isaiah 2. You'll want to follow along with these prophetic passages. Isaiah 2:2 reads, and it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem and continuing on in verse 4 and he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into preening hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. So, just to point out some of the highlights, here we have many people from many nations coming to the mountain of the Lord to learn about the ways of the Lord and about the law of the Lord, and there are going to be no more wars among the nations. Is that the situation we see ourselves in today?

Turn over to Micah, chapter four, beginning in verse one. But in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say, come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths for the law you see, it's the law again shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem and he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Almost the same things we read in Isaiah chapter 2, isn't it?

Notice that both passages speak about the mountain of the lord, and notice that both passages say that the Mountain of the Lord centers around the city of Jerusalem, not our hometowns. Now, to those who contend that the church of today has replaced Israel or that we today are actually in the kingdom today and that Jerusalem really represents our hometowns, well, my question for those folks who actually believe those things, my question to those folks would be, where is this location, this bastion of flourishing Christianity to which people from all nations are flowing to be taught the law and the ways of the Lord? Is it in the United States of America?

Or is it in your hometown? Or might it be one of the countries on the African or Asian continents where people who profess to be Christians and who truly are Christians are being murdered by the thousands because of their faith? Is that where it is? Where is it? Let's look at this one more time in Zechariah towards the end of the New testament.

Zechariah chapter 8, beginning in verse 20. Thus saith the Lord of hosts. It shall yet come to pass that there shall come people and inhabitants of many cities. And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying, let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and, and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts. In those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew saying, we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Is that what we see going on today?

You know, there are some people who are probably going to say that these prophecies, these things that we've looked at, they've already been fulfilled that we essentially saw these things taking place during the reign of King Solomon. I actually heard a Bible teacher on WYLL Radio, the same radio station on which we broadcast our messages, heard this teacher explaining to one of his listeners how that dispensational distinctions can be completely dismissed based solely on the fact that these passages, these passages that we've just looked at have already been fulfilled during the reign of King Solomon in 1 Kings, chapters 6 through 10. Well, there are two huge problems associated with that erroneous presumption. Number one, Israel's prophesied kingdom is repeatedly taught throughout the Bible to be a never ending kingdom. And number two, the prophetic passages which we've looked at so far were written a long, long time after King Solomon's kingdom came to a ruin.

But I want you and our listeners to see some more about the prophesied kingdom. Turn back to the prophet Isaiah, chapter 60. Isaiah chapter 60 starts there by saying, arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. And you're going to see that this is Israel, verse 2. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people. But the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and see all. They gather themselves together, they come to thee. Thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see and flow together, and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged. Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee to Israel. The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. Everywhere you look there is this clear distinction between Israel and the Gentiles, because this is when Israel's prophesied kingdom finally becomes a reality. And the rest of the world, the Gentile world, everything outside of that kingdom is described as being in gross darkness.

And they are going to need to be educated. That's why all those people we've seen in the previous passages are compelled to come to the mountain of the Lord at Jerusalem to learn about the ways of the Lord. Continuing on here in verse nine, surely the isles shall wait for me and the ships of Tarshish first to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel. Because he hath glorified thee. He's glorified Israel.

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister under thee. For in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee. Verse 10 says, in my wrath I smote thee. Over the course of 1500 years, since the nation of Israel began, their overall course was that of progressive apostasy, idolatry, and rebellion against the Lord, ultimately resulting in their captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, even eventuating in the murder of their prophesied Messiah. But all that is going to be different when Israel's prophesied kingdom program resumes again.

It's going to be like this, verse 11. Therefore thy gates shall be opened continuously, and they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought for the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish. Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. So here we learn that those nations who will not acknowledge the authority and the importance of the Lord, and what the Lord will be doing at that time, that those nations are going to suffer some serious consequences.

Verse 14 the sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee. All they that despise thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet, and they shall call thee. The city of the Lord. The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. All those nations which had previously been a continual thorn in the side of the nation of Israel will then be bowing down at the feet of the of the nation Israel.

Do you see any nations bowing down at the feet of Israel or at the feet of that which calls itself Christianity today? If you think that the church of today has replaced Israel.

Continuing on in verse 18 violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory the sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall all be righteous they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. No more violence in the land of Israel, and the days of mourning will be over, and Israel will be occupying the land forever. Is that what we see today?

You don't see these things anywhere. Now, to those who still contend that the church of today has replaced Israel, or that we today are actually in the kingdom today, and that Jerusalem really represents our hometowns, well, my question for those folks remain where do you see all this going on today? And just a little bit more from the prophet Isaiah, moving on into Isaiah chapter 61, now beginning in verse 5 and strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the aliens shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye Israel shall be named the priests of the Lord, men shall call you the ministers of our God. Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves So another question which those who contend that the church of today had replaced Israel, or that we today are actually in the kingdom today, another question they need to answer is, what is the sense in which we are now the priests of the Lord?

The reality is that we are not, but those in Israel's prophetic kingdom program will be, because that has been the Lord's destiny for those Jews in the kingdom ever since Exodus 19:5-6, where the Lord established Israel's ultimate destiny was to be a kingdom of priests, just as this prophetic passage in Isaiah predicts that they will be.

Now I want to wrap this up by taking you to the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel is such an interesting book of prophecy. If you were to pick up in Ezekiel 37 and read from there to the end of Ezekiel in chapter 48, twelve solid chapters of information, you would see that this section of Ezekiel provides a chronological progression of events that would be part of Israel's future from the time in which the life of the nation Israel is revived. In chapter 37 when Israel's prophetic kingdom program begins again to the establishing of the kingdom. And these chapters give you a detailed look at many of the things that will be characteristic of and taking place in that kingdom.

So let me very briefly outline those chronological events. In chapter 37 you see that prophetic picture of the life of the nation Israel being revived, signifying the resumption of Israel's prophetic kingdom program. What do you see there? You see the dry dead bones of the nation Israel coming together again with life being breathed back into them. In chapter 38 you see a prophetic picture of the nations that it will be coming from the north and from the south, and who will be coming up against the nation of Israel at some point after the nation of Israel is up and functioning once again.

And then as you continue on in chapter 38 you see the beginning of a detailed description of the final battle of Armageddon spoken of in Revelation 16:16 and in several other passages in the book of Revelation. In chapter 39 you have a continuation of that detailed description of the battle of Armageddon. And then you come to the seven month cleanup of the land after the battle. The land needs to be cleansed just like the people needed to be cleansed. And the cleansing of the land is in prison preparation for Israel's kingdom.

In chapter 40 there begins an incredibly detailed description of the Millennial temple. It's describing the measurements of the gates of entry that will surround the temple. It describes the sizes of the outer courts, the sizes of the various chamber rooms that will be part of the temple complex with their windows and their decorations. It describes these things. It describes the tables of hewn stone on which sacrifices are going to be slain and burnt, and all of the tools.

It describes the tools that are going to be used to do all this. And it goes on to describe where the rooms will be for the singers of the temple and for the priests who will be ministering in the temple. In chapter 41, the precise measurements of the temple are given and the measurements of the many doors in the buildings associated with the temple are given. And it tells us in verse 16 that all these rooms for the singers and for the priests will actually be three stories high.

In chapter 42, there are the precise measurements for the courts within the temple complex and further descriptions of the three stories of the chambers for the singers and for the priests, and how all the walls will be decorated. It describes how the walls are going to be decorated. In chapter 43, you have Ezekiel's prophetic description of the Lord Jesus Christ returning to the temple, entering the temple by way of the east gate, and the subsequent filling of the temple with the glory of the Lord which had left Israel back in early chapters of Ezekiel. And Ezekiel tells us what the Lord will be saying at that time. In verse seven, where the Lord says to Ezekiel, son of man, the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever in my holy name shall the house of Israel no more defile neither they nor their kings by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places.

And then in verse nine, the Lord says to Ezekiel, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. What is that? That is the seventh and final feast of the Lord from Leviticus, chapter 23, the reality of the feast of tabernacles. Then verse chapter 43 goes on to describe the altar upon which the burnt offerings and the sin offerings and the peace offerings would be administered. In chapter 44, the Lord continues to speak to Ezekiel and reviews all of the previous abominations that the priests had done prior to the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the Lord assures Ezekiel that nothing like that will ever occur in this millennial temple again. And then the rituals for these priests of the future are all described. Now, let me just interject here that many folks have an extremely difficult time accepting the fact that there should be all these priests and all these sacrifices associated with the millennial temple after Christ's second coming, that all these things should have been done away with forever after Christ's crucifixion on the cross. But there is a verse here in chapter 44 that begins to give you some insight into why all these things will be and that verse is verse 23, which says, and they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. There is going to be an educational process going on here, and not only will all these things be teaching the people of Israel these things and the subsequent generations of the people of Israel, but this is also going to be part of the education of all the nations that will be coming to the mountain of the Lord to learn about the ways of the Lord and about the seriousness of sin and about everything that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished and did for the benefit of all humanity. Just as those passages describe that we looked at in Isaiah, Micah, Zechariah.

In chapter 45 the Lord gives Ezekiel the location and the dimensions of the land where the houses of the priests and the prince will be when they are not actively ministering in the temple. And the Lord gives Ezekiel a description of the protocols for the priest, the protocols that they will be following as they administer the feasts and offerings at that time during the millennium in the future. Chapter 46 describes the worshiping of the Lord by the Gentiles who will be coming to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, just as we read in those passages in Isaiah, Micah and Zechariah. And it describes the offering that will be prepared on behalf of those Gentile people. In chapter 47 you see this fascinating description of the river of water that will be flowing out from the temple with trees on either side of the river, whose fruit and leaves will be for the healing of the nations, exactly as it is described by John centuries later in Revelation 22:1-2.

Then the chapter goes on with a description of the boundaries of the promised land that will be divided according to the twelve tribes of Israel, and which, interestingly, will be occupied by certain strangers to the land. And those strangers is a reference to certain Gentiles, certain Jews, Gentiles, who will also be allowed to reside in the kingdom, like the Roman centurion in Matthew whose servant was healed by Christ. That's Matthew 8, 5 through 11. Christ says he's going to be in the kingdom and others like him. And then finally, in chapter 48, the Lord gives Ezekiel the borders of the land which the priests and the prince and each of the twelve tribes of Israel will inherit.

And the book of Ezekiel ends by saying that the name of the city from that day shall be "The Lord is there". Immanuel.

Thrilling, to say the least. Now, for anyone who's interested, E.W. Bullinger actually drew a schematic of the temple, the whole temple complex, the layout of the promised land, as all these chapters have described.

Now, the point of looking at all these things we've looked at in Ezekiel is if we as members of the church today have replaced Israel, what is the sense in which we are fulfilling these prophecies today? It becomes an exercise of absolute absurdity. Absurdity to think that somehow there is a sense in which we are fulfilling these prophecies. And you can go just about anywhere in the prophetic Scriptures. We only looked at a few things.

You can go anywhere in the Scriptures and find passages just like we've looked at and analyzed here in Ezekiel and Isaiah and Micah. And the reality is that if we have replaced Israel, then at least 90%, 90% of what we read in our Bibles cannot be taken literally. And that 90% of what we read in our Bibles does not really mean what it says. And I'm sorry, folks, but that is not how the God of this universe is going to communicate and deal with us, not in matters of this importance. And anyone who cannot accept that will become exactly what II Timothy, chapter 2, verse 15 says they will become. And that is a workman who is going to be ashamed, thoroughly ashamed, if they happen to be saved. And my guess would be that most of them are. Well, praise God for that. They're not going to lose their salvation. There's no way they can lose their salvation. But they will be ashamed of the time and the efforts that they have devoted to something which is of no value in the end.

So I think we'll stop here for today. But next time in part two of this study, we'll continue looking at why it is not possible for the church, the Body of Christ, today, to follow Jesus Christ according to prophecy as he is presented and as Christ and his followers present the gospel of the kingdom in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and in Acts 1:8. And we'll be looking at the single most important reason, the single most important reason why the Church of today cannot do this.

So let's end with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word. Your word is just an endless treasure mine. And we pray that those who hear this message, that the listeners of this message who do not understand dispensationalism will understand that we don't want to present these things just to prove that we're right and they're wrong. This is so that they can begin to enjoy the realities of what you and Paul have described as the mystery, to understand what God is actually doing today and to be partakers of that. And we thank you so much that the issues of salvation, individual personal salvation, are so clear in your Scripture, that simply by trusting what Christ has done, the gospel of the Grace of God as you describe it, that by simply believing in Christ's finished work, we can be saved and be partakers of what you will be doing with us in the heavenly places. We thank you in Christ's name. Amen.