“9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:9-10, KJV)
When Jesus began His ministry about AD 27 He repeated John’s declaration that the kingdom was at hand (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15). He taught His disciples for three and a half years (the first half of the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy) exhorting them to seek the reign of heaven (Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31), teaching them the correct meaning of the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5-7), and sent them out to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt. 10:5ff) , those spiritually “lost” Jews who were living in the 1st century AD both in Jerusalem, and in all of the cities of the diaspora throughout the lands of the ancient Middle East and eventually into western Asia.
Jesus specifically told His twelve disciples that they would not finish going through those cities before He came again.
“…for verily I say to you, ye may not have completed the cities of Israel till the Son of Man may come.” (Matt. 10:23, YLT)
In other words, those twelve disciples He named in Matt. 10:2-4, those twelve who lived with Jesus in the 1st century AD were the ones who were sent out to all of the cities of the Jews (the lost sheep of Israel) who were sending their tithes back to Jerusalem every year. And, Jesus told those twelve disciples they would not finish their mission through those cities before He returned.
The kingdom was declared to be “at hand” in the first century AD! Jesus told them repeatedly that it was coming soon, that He was coming soon; that the kingdom was near. His ministry on earth was to complete the plan of salvation, and to prepare them for the full establishment of His kingdom and His reign. His kingdom was about to take over from the old Mosaic covenant, and was fully established when that covenant was abolished.
“4 for if, indeed, he were upon earth, he would not be a priest — (there being the priests who are offering according to the law, the gifts,
5 who unto an example and shadow do serve of the heavenly things, as Moses hath been divinely warned, being about to construct the tabernacle, for `See (saith He) thou mayest make all things according to the pattern that was shewn to thee in the mount;’) —
6 and now he hath obtained a more excellent service, how much also of a better covenant is he mediator, which on better promises hath been sanctioned, ….
in the saying `new,’ He hath made the first old, and what doth become obsolete and is old [is] nigh disappearing.” (Heb. 8:4-6, 13, YLT)
When Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed in AD 70, the old covenant was completely abolished. The new covenant of the gospel of Christ was firmly, legally, and forever set in place. Jesus’ second appearance promised in that generation was an appearance of judgment just as John the Baptist had foretold.
““You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?…11 `I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,
12 whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather his wheat to the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.’ (Matt. 3:7, 11-12, YLT)
That baptism, or immersion with fire was not a promise of salvation, but the promise of YHVH’s judgment and destruction upon all those unbelieving scribes, & Pharisees, all those Sadducees who had plotted to kill and caused the crucifixion of Christ, the promised Messiah.
“27 `For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work.
28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.’” (Matt. 16:27-28, YLT)
Coming in his reign, that is coming in His kingdom, coming in His glory, and sitting upon His throne.
`And whenever the Son of Man may come in his glory, and all the holy messengers with him, then he shall sit upon a throne of his glory; (Matt. 25:31)
His kingdom is already here. Jesus has been reigning at the right hand of the Father since His ascension. His return was to destroy that old system of animal sacrifices which would never take away sin. He made all things new (Rev. 21:5) with the abolishment of that old temple, under His gospel, because His sacrifice was the last blood sacrifice that YHVH would ever again accept for forgiveness of our sins. The new covenant replaced the old, and His reign is now forever.
Therefore, as His kingdom is already established, and has been in existence since AD 70, then are we today to still pray for His kingdom to come? What we call the “Lord’s prayer” was given to the disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry before His crucifixion. First audience perspective applies. The time in which Jesus spoke is important.
May I suggest that we adapt that prayer to the reality of His existing kingdom today? Could we instead say “Thy kingdom is forever,” or “Thy kingdom flourish,” or “Thy kingdom shine throughout all the lands”? Isn’t it better to acknowledge that His kingdom is already within us, is already here with us (Rev. 21:1-3) and accordingly offer a prayer that affirms His reign?
We are not the disciples of the first century AD that were looking ahead to His kingdom. We are the disciples that know His kingdom is already here. Our prayer should be shouting it.
“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name,
[Thy kingdom is forever], Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
Shredding The Veil 
Would it be correct to say Gentiles do not exist today?
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Yes, that is correct. The word “gentile” is defined as a nation. The land of Israel was one of the nations in the OT, but God distinguished between Israel and the other nations when He would compare them to “the nations”. The Jews would use the term as a derogative lifting themselves up above “the nations” around them. Under the gospel of Christ, there is no difference between the nations any longer, as all nations are welcome to come to God through His Son Yeshua. Technically, ppl of other nations were always welcome as there was a method under the old Law to allow proselytes to convert to Israel’s Law.
The reference at Rev. 21:1 to “no more sea” means that there is no more distinction in God’s eyes between the lands / countries after the destruction of the temple in Rev. 19 & 20. In His prophecies God used the word “sea” as a metaphor for the nations that were outside of Israel, saying that they would come up against Israel “as a flood.” Since the temple was destroyed in AD 70, all nations can now flow to His kingdom / Zion (Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1). So, no more sea means no more difference between any of the nations, as all are now under Christ. Now, and ever since His crucifixion there is only those who believe, and those who do not. We are either in Christ, or we are not in Christ.
Those who are not in Christ are outside His capital city of the spiritual New Jerusalem in His spiritual kingdom of Zion (Rev. 21:10ff).
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Could you direct me to the section here where you discuss Michael in Revelation 12 ? This is probably the most confusing portion of Revelation for me. I am reluctant to take a stand either way, regarding Michael’s identity. I don’t want to misidentify Jesus. I am open to the possibility that Michael is Jesus, but I’m also not ready to commit to that belief. I’m on the fence.
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Pls read the Signs of Revelation – Part II from Feb 2017, It goes over the nature symbols in God’s prophecies. Also Part V from Mar 2017 which goes over the animal symbols the beasts and the dragon. But, the reason Rev. 12:7 is puzzling to ppl is b/c they are using a literalist perspective. vs. 7 contains many symbolic and metaphoric elements. Michael = Christ, the warrior of His ppl (one of His names – Dan. 12:1), as the Messenger (Angel) of the Lord in the OT; “heaven” is the metaphoric symbol of the ruling authority of the Sanhedrin council in Jerusalem / Judea, as well as the Roman Caesars that ruled over & appointed the high priests in Judea in the 1st century; the dragon being that tyrannical symbol from the OT for despotic evil rulers such as Pharoah; and the “messengers” translated incorrectly as “angels” include the earthly human teachers of Christ’s disciples & apostles opposing the agents of the Jews and the Romans who were persecuting the saints during those last days of that old Mosaic covenant.
John’s prophecy in Rev. is highly symbolic and contains a lot of hyperbole. Must be read with the knowledge of OT prophetic language. There was no literal war in the heaven above where God sits on His throne. To believe otherwise is to suggest God is not in complete control. IT is always unbelieving men, agents of rulers who set themselves against God. The battle is always here on earth with evil fighting for control over the righteous saints of God.
Recommend a good discussion of Michael as the pre-incarnate Christ here: https://www.durkac.com/michael-the-archangel-jesus/ (I am not in complete agreement with some of the author’s statements regarding “Satan” in this article, but overall I agree with the correlation from the OT verses.) And, another discussing the uses in the OT for the Angel of the Lord here: https://christiandefense.org/general/the-preincarnate-christ-as-the-angel-of-the-lord-yhwh/
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Hello,
I have a question. What are Christians waiting for now in our present time? Is the earth simply going to self-destruct and then that will be the end of everything?
Thank you, Jennifer
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Welcome, Jennie. I recommend you begin reading the posts at the bottom right margin for It’s Not The End of the World. We are not supposed to be waiting for anything, b/c Christ has already done everything to fulfill the prophecies of “the end”. The end was never about the end of the physical world, but only the end of the old Mosaic covenant, and the old animal sacrificial temple in Jerusalem. God called the old covenant “heaven and earth” as it was the covenant that would testify against them. Read Deu. 4:26, and 31:26 which ties them / defines them. The covenant is His creation, and He used creation language for both the old and new covenants.
We are living now under the gospel of Christ which is the new covenant, the new heaven and earth God established once Jesus became the last blood sacrifice He would ever again accept for forgiveness of sins. We must read His word from the first audience perspective to be able to understand what the scriptures mean. Too many today are reading the scriptures from the wrong perspective and have greatly misunderstood and twisted God’s word into a false dogma. Please read “Perspective” at the top margin.
So, in our present time we are to live our lives according to His gospel, raising our children to know Him, telling others of the hope that is within us, helping others as we are able, and staying faithful unto death. All who are faithful unto death are then changed in the twinkling of an eye, and taken up to heaven, gathered together will all the other saints that have gone before us. We greatly rejoice that we now tabernacle with Him through His Son’s sacrifice, being covered by Jesus’ passover. We do not have to fear anything.
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Cindye Coates has an excellent book out now called the Fulfilled Prophecies of Jesus in Matthew 24. I think you would like it.
Best & Merry Christmas!
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