Godsloveandlaw's Blog

In the very beginning, there was a spiritual war between two brothers (Abel and Cain). We know that one worshipped God in the way the Lord had instructed — by blood sacrifice. The other thought to do it his own way –by fruits of the earth. One accepted, one rejected.

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”( Genesis 4:1-7)

Recently two brothers had a discussion on loving our Lord. Let us pick up the discussion.

Bro B — My brother, how are we to love the Lord? Is there somewhere in the Word that the Lord tells us plainly how to love Him?

Bro. R — We put Jesus first in all things. We base our life upon Him and spread His Gospel

Bro. B — Actually there is a specific place where He tells us “how” to love Him. It is found in John 14:15 and says “If you love Me, keep My Commandments (Entole).”

Bro. R — Listen my brother, Jesus had lots of Commandments, and that means we must obey them, that is all that is saying.

Bro. B — No, the word “Commandment” there in greek is “Entole” which is used to describe the holy 10 Commandments. For instance in Luke 23:56 it says – “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” The Sabbath here is called an  “Entole”– one of the 10 Commandments. Therefore the Lord is saying in John 14:15 to keep His holy 10 Commandments and they are to be obeyed if we want to show we love Him.

Brother R — Jesus clarified His Commandments and said that they are now just two, read the following —

“Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”(Matt: 22:35-40)

Brother B — If that is so and the Apostles were understanding your belief, then why did they obey the Sabbath right after Jesus died? And why did they hold up the burial Of Jesus for obeying the Sabbath?

Brother R — (no response to the questions) I love you brother

Brother B — Let’s “love” each other in Christ ok? If we truly love Him we love Him as He said, not as we want to. This lesson is told of in the very beginning by Abel and Cain.

Brother R — I will pray for you brother as I see you are under bondage.

Brother B– Bondage? Sorry but you are failing to rightly divide the word of truth. If I am under bondage then Jesus is under bondage as HE said to obey the 10 Commandments.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” ( 2 Tim 2:15)

Brother B — Think about it brother, you would not steal, murder, bear false witness, or break the holy 10 Commandments, now that you are a converted Christian, right?  Then why would you think it’s ok to keep 9 of them and be free to break one — the Sabbath? So Jesus came and died on the cross to break us free from one Commandment? That is not “rightly dividing the word of truth”.

Then the discussion ended. Sadly, today we see the old lesson of Abel and Cain repeated. One brother wants to love Jesus as HE said, the other wants to as he thinks right. One will be accepted, one will be rejected.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

The following is a good study guide of the Kingdom, how it begins soon in the Holy Land. This phase of the Kingdom is not well understood among the SDA, yet it is in the Bible.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
KINGDOM OF GLORY
(Outline # 7)
Meditation: COL 76-77

INTRODUCTION: Most SDAs are aware of the establishment of the kingdom of glory
but believe it begins with Christ’s 2nd advent and continues to the
New Earth. Although God’s kingdom of glory includes the millennium
(1,000 years) and the New Earth, the Scriptures clearly reveal that it
will begin partially before the 2nd Advent. The object of this study is to
establish this and show how, why, and where this kingdom will be
established.

1. The Old Testament Church Expected The Kingdom Of Glory
   Read: Isaiah 9:6,7
   The Jews expected the Messiah to establish the kingdom in their day.
   With the promise of the birth of the Messiah (Christ) also came the
   promise of the establishment of His kingdom.
2. 
   The Apostles Expected The Kingdom In Their Day
   Read: Acts 1:6,7
   The Lord did not say that the kingdom was not to be established, but
   that it was not for them to know the times or the seasons. The Jews
   and the Apostles had studied these promises and were expecting
   Christ to set up his kingdom of glory at that time. This indicates that
   the kingdom will be established subsequent to the time of the
   Apostles.
3. 
   The Kingdom Of Glory Established In The Latter Days
   Read: Daniel 2:44
   
   a. Here we see that the Kingdom is to be established in the days of
   the ten toe kings (our time – 1T 361). We conclude that the
   promise to restore the Kingdom to Israel is to be fulfilled during
   the present world. We must therefore now be looking for its
   establishment. Not Before our present world or After, but IN —
   DURING our present world.
   
   b. We also note that the stone is the same as the kingdom because
   they both smite the image. The stone —144,000. (See outline on
   Daniel two).
   
   c. We note that the stone was a kingdom before it smote the
   image. (See verse 44) “…and it [the kingdom] shall destroy all
   these kingdoms…” This proves that the kingdom is established
   before the finishing of the gospel and the 2nd advent.
   Read: PK 19
   
   The ancient people of God were to extend the borders of their
   kingdom to embrace the whole world. God intended that the earth
   was to be filled with righteousness from border to border.
   GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE FOR ISRAEL TO BE FULFILLED WITH THE SDA
   CHURCH
   
   Read: PK 713, 714
   
   Even though ancient Israel did not fulfill this commission, God’s word
   cannot return to Him void. Thus what ancient Israel failed to do, it will
   be accomplished through the Israel of today. All the covenant
   promises made to ancient Israel will finally reach their fulfillment
   through the SDA church—modern or spiritual Israel. (For further proof
   see PK 22, 299).
   Read: Psalm 105:8-11
   This verse describes what the covenant is and definitely reveals that
   God will remember it forever. The covenant states that “unto thee will
   I give the land of Canaan.”—The kingdom established in Palestine.
4. 
   The Kingdom Established In The Latter Days In The Land Of Canaan
   Read: Jerimiah 30:3,24
   
   a. Note that this promise of restoration is Unconditional, and that it
   includes the return of ISRAEL and JUDAH (all 12 tribes) to the land
   of their fathers (Canaan/Palestine). We also note that this is to be
   fulfilled in the Latter Days (verse 24).
   
   b. When Jeremiah was writing only two tribes existed as a nation.
   The ten tribes had been scattered many years before in 721 B.C.
   Up to this day they are completely assimilated among the
   nations. Thus Jeremiah could not have been referring to his time.
   Neither could his prophecy be speaking of the identifiable Jews
   of today found in Palestine and other parts of the world, since
   they too are descendants of the two tribes—Judah. Jeremiah
   refers to all 12 tribes returning to the land of promise.
5. 
   Who Are The Early Morning Laborers?
   Read: Jeremiah 23: 5-8
   This promise is also Unconditional and refers to all 12 tribes (Israel and
   Judah) in the Latter days.
   Read: Hosea 3:4,5
   Here we see that after many days of obscure wondering, without
   their own government (king, or prince), and without the temple and
   its services (sacrifice, ephod, teraphim, etc), all the tribes (“children of
   Israel”) will return [to the land of their fathers] and establish a
   kingdom.
6. 
   What Will The Pre-Millennial Kingdom Be Like?
   Read: Isaiah 11:1-12
   This passage could NOT be referring to Heaven during the millennium
   or to the New Earth because:
   
   a. There will be no gentiles to seek the kingdom.
   
   b. No such gathering described in verses 11, 12, will take place in
   heaven or the New Earth.
   
   c. will be No births from the time Christ returns, through th
   1,000 years (millenium) and throughout the New Earth. Hence,
   there will be no children in the earth made new. Therefore, this
   passage unequivocally proves that this event is pre-millennial.
   (See Luke 20:27-36; 1SM 172, 173)
   
   d. Therefore, Isaiah here must be speaking of a time when there will
   be gentiles seeking to join God’s kingdom, and a great
   gathering from various nations, and when sucking, weaned, and
   little children exist. Thus it must be pre-millennial. It cannot be
   Heaven or the New Earth. We note, too, that there are no
   conditions to this prophecy.
7. 
   The Kingdom And The New Heart Experience
   Read: Ezekiel 36:17-37
   Here we see that God is to cleanse His people from their sins. Hence
   only those who have embraced the righteousness of Christ will inherit
   the land. The kingdom is to be a witness to the heathen. This is the
   grandest object of the Pre-millennial kingdom.
   Further Proofs: Read: Zech. 8:1-8—There will be no old men and women, or little
   children in the new Jerusalem.
   Read: Ezekiel 48:1-16—This passage describes new and unfulfilled setup of Palestine. Thus it has to be in the pre-millennial phase of the
   kingdom.
   Note, too, that in verse 8 it mentioned a sanctuary or temple, but
   there will be no temple in the New Earth (Rev. 21:22). So, we see
   again that this has to be pre-millennial.
   (Jer. 31:8-12, Amos 1:14,15; 9:9-15, Micah 4:1-4, Hos.l:10,11; 2:18, Ezek.
   34:11-13,15; 37:16-22, Gen 49:10, Zech 2:1-12.)
   
   CONCLUSION: We have seen that the Kingdom of God has a very small beginning.
   However, it is to grow and extend its borders, just as God had
   intended for ancient Israel. We have also found that internal
   conditions are to be different from those of any previous earthly
   kingdom, because it is based upon the reign of Christ’s righteousness
   in the hearts of His people. It is to be a kingdom of believers and it will
   begin before our Lord returns in the clouds of glory.