The Kingdom is at Hand part 4

Rick Joyner. July/August 2023

Each month, as I write this article for The MorningStar Journal, it seems the signs of the coming

kingdom have increased faster than the previous month. The day is surely near when this will

no longer be a message about the coming kingdom of God but the announcement it is upon

us! This is the seventh and last trumpet to be sounded in Revelation, which is “Our God reigns!”

A WORD FROM

RICK JOYNER

Of course, “every eye will see Him,” so we won’t need

an announcement, but this will be a proclamation of sheer

joy since it has finally come. As the times become more

intense, everything we say and do will have greater

significance, as will our faith. Faith is the currency of the

kingdom, so just as the currency of any nation that

ascends increases in value, so will our faith.

When asked about the signs of the end of the age, most

of what the Lord discussed were troubles on the earth. He

said it will be the greatest time of trouble the world has ever

known. One major thing we can do now to prepare for this

is to resolve to trust in the Lord and His coming kingdom

more than we fear anything the world can do to us.

Through this trust, we can build an unconquerable fortress

for ourselves, our loved ones, and others.

As the signs of His coming kingdom increase, let’s

focus our attention on the most important sign—His

presence. Even the chaos increasing in civilization is a

sign of His presence: “the mountains will melt like

wax at the presence of the Lord” (see Psalm 97:5).

Mountains are symbols of governments in Scripture, and

today we are seeing even the most strong and stable

governments melt like wax. This not only testifies to the

instability of the greatest works of men but is also a sign

of His growing presence.

“And His voice shook the earth then, but now He

has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not

only the earth, but also the heaven.’

“This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the

removing of those things which can be shaken, as of

created things, so that those things which cannot be

shaken may remain.

“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which

cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we

may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence

and awe” (Hebrews 12:26-28).

This shaking the whole earth is beginning to experi-

ence is the Lord clearing the land for what He is about to

build—a kingdom that cannot be shaken. That which has

already been built on this solid foundation will not be lost

but will become part of the highway we must build to

prepare for the Lord (see Isaiah 40:3). So, now that

everything is shaking, let’s look to stand upon what is not

being shaken.

If anything in the natural world was stable, it would be

the laws of physics, but now even these are being shaken.

With each new discovery, it is now apparent that these

laws are and were at best only partially right. As we are

told in I Corinthians 13:9, “we know in part,” and this is

proving true in all things.

The Kingdom is at Hand (PART VII)

6 JULY/AUGUST 2023 THE MORNINGSTAR JOURNAL

Einstein’s theory of relativity first proposed the existence

of black holes, yet he never believed they existed because they

so profoundly violated the laws of physics they “knew” at the

time. Evidently, the laws of physics are not as comprehensive

as we thought.

Stephen Hawking wrote the equations that “proved” the

existence of black holes and helped open the doors to

quantum physics and mechanics. Many of those theories

have since been mostly proven, but we still cannot figure out

how they connect to other physical laws.

Then, the date and age of the physical universe seemed

overwhelmingly confirmed, until James Webb’s telescope

peered close to what we thought was the “big bang,” or the

beginning of the universe. Expecting to see stars beginning to

form, we instead saw mature galaxies. Of course, this threw a

big wrench in our understanding of astronomy and physics.

In short, we tend to think we know more than we do.

Even our most sure “laws” are constantly being challenged by

new discoveries. However, there is one constant every new

scientific discovery confirms—the Word of God. His sure

Word has never changed and never will (see II Peter 1:19

KJV). It is a rock that has never been shaken.

So, while everything else is being shaken, why not put

more trust in His Word? His Word is absolute, and it

determined all the other laws we are still pondering. The wise

will resolve every day to strengthen their knowledge and

grow their faith in God’s Word.

The Word commands us to “cultivate” our faith (see

Psalm 37:3). Cultivation involves preparing soil, providing

water, weeding, and watching until fruit is borne. Do we care

enough about the words He has given to us to do this?

In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus three questions

which resulted in His discourse about the end of this age.

Jesus had just told them about the coming destruction of

Jerusalem and the temple, so their first question was, “When

will these things happen?” (see Matthew 24:3)

Their next question was, “What will be the sign of Your

coming?” (see Matthew 24:3) The Greek word translated

“coming” here is parousia, which means “presence.” To be

present is very different from coming. A different Greek

word for “coming” is used elsewhere concerning His second

coming, like in Matthew 16:28: “till they see the Son of

Man coming in His kingdom.” This word is erchomai. So,

when the disciples asked about the sign of His “presence,”

this clearly preceded His coming. Christ’s second coming will

be the ultimate event at the end of the age, which is why

they asked in Matthew 24:3, “What will be the sign ... of

the end of the age?”

To distinguish between these two Greek words in the

New Testament could modify many people’s eschatology, or

theology of the end times, because they obviously speak of

two distinct events. If we could read the New Testament in

Greek, uncluttered by our eschatology, we could see that the

presence of the Lord will come on the world for a time, and

that this will precede the Lord’s second coming.

His parousia, or presence, is to prepare the way for the

Lord’s coming. This will include the time of the harvest, the

reaping of the earth, and the collapse of man’s kingdoms (see

Daniel 2). This is the time we are now entering.

Most biblical prophecies concerning His parousia do not

set a specific time but show an unfolding over time. His

erchomai, however, is set for a specific time. This distinction

seemed to be understood by His disciples when they asked

Him the three questions.

Not distinguishing the time of His presence from His

coming has confused many people. His parousia is not, nor

does it supplant, His literal second coming. Instead, it is a

special time to prepare the way for Him to come and to

establish His kingdom on the earth.

Since the disciples asked these three questions at the same

time, many throughout the ages assumed they were asking

the same question. They were not. Likewise, some wrongly

assumed this entire discourse was about the destruction of

Israel and the dispersion of the Jewish people, which oc-

curred in AD 70. It clearly was not.

Some of this confusion occurred because this was the end

of the age of the Jews and the beginning of the “times of the

Gentiles.” For nearly two thousand years, the Lord had dealt

nearly exclusively with the Jewish people. Since then, the

THE MORNINGSTAR JOURNAL VOLUME 33 • NO 7 7

Lord has dealt mostly with the Gentiles. The end of the time

of the Gentiles will not usher in another time of the Jews,

but rather the Jews and Gentiles coming together “into one

new man” (see Ephesians 2:15).

In Romans 9-11, Paul made clear some issues about the

relationship between Jews and Gentiles which, if understood,

will eliminate much confusion. The Jews are the natural seed

of Abraham. The Gentiles are the spiritual seed of Abraham

who were grafted into this tree when the Jews were seemingly

cut off. These “wild” branches did not displace the natural

branches. At the right time, the “natural branches” will be

grafted back in, and the two will become one.

Some of the contradictions in eschatology can also be

eliminated by an understanding of Romans 9-11. However,

like other truths, this can only come by revelation of the

Holy Spirit. In God’s wisdom, He seemed to conceal this

until it was almost time for it to happen. He did the same

with the beginning of “the time of the Gentiles.” The Lord

told His disciples the gospel would be preached to the

Gentiles, and this was clear in biblical prophecies, but they

could not understand it until Peter had the vision and went

to Cornelius’ house.

Similarly, today, most of the natural seed, even if they

believe in Jesus as their Messiah, only see the earthly Jerusa-

lem and fail to comprehend the New Jerusalem coming

down from heaven. Likewise, most Christians only see the

New Jerusalem without seeing the purpose of God for the

natural seed or natural Jerusalem. However, we expect this

will soon change. Neither can fully understand God’s

purposes without seeing both the natural and spiritual seeds.

Abraham’s seed is both earthly and heavenly, which is why

the Lord compared it to the sand on the seashore and the

stars in the heavens. God loves the earthly and physical and

the heavenly and spiritual. He made man to be a bridge

between the two, which will be fulfilled when the natural

and spiritual seeds of Abraham are made into “one new

man,” which will reveal what the new creation will be like.

God made the natural and spiritual realms to be vitally

connected. When His kingdom comes, mankind will be

restored to how they were created before the fall. Man was

created to have fellowship with God, who is Spirit. There-

fore, man has a great spiritual void which can only be filled

by God. When our reconciliation with God becomes

complete, the spiritual realm will become far more real to us.

Of course, we keep growing spiritually until we become

more at home in the spiritual realm, while we are still at

home in the natural realm.

Paul made clear in Romans 9-11, the promises God made

with the natural seed were not nullified but completed by the

New Covenant, just as Jesus came not to do away with but

to fulfill the law. The law was the “tutor” to lead us to Christ.

It brought the consciousness of sin. We cannot repent or be

reconciled to God without knowing our sins and transgres-

sions.

This important tutor taught us that walking by the law

was beyond human ability and therefore could not make us

righteous. This made us completely dependent on the cross

and what Jesus did as our only hope of salvation from our

sins. Thus, turning to Christ is compared to dying to the law

and becoming married to Christ (see Romans 7:4). Likewise,

returning to the law is considered spiritual adultery, because

we are turning away from Christ, our righteousness, and

returning to our former relationship under the law.

Jesus fulfilled the law and replaced all its commandments

with two—love God and love your neighbor. If we do these

two, we keep all the others because, if we love God, we will

not worship idols, and if we love our neighbors, we will not

envy, steal, kill, or otherwise do harm.

Our fallen human nature does not know how to love, so

we can only love Him and others by abiding in Him. Since

we depend on His Holy Spirit to love and do everything else

we are called to do, we become more dependent on Him as

we lose trust in our earthly, carnal nature. By this we are

transformed from the earthly to the spiritual.

“In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the

mystery of His will, according to His kind intention

which He purposed in Him with a view to an administra-

tion suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the

summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens

and things on the earth” (Ephesians 1:8-10). All things

will be summed up in Christ, and the entire purpose of this

age is for us to be conformed to His image, so we can be that

bridge that brings others to Him for the same purpose.

Everything in the old covenant pointed to Christ;

everything in the new covenant is fulfilled in Him. We are

reconciled to God through Christ, and we live a life that is

pleasing to Him by abiding in Christ, not in our own

strength, wisdom, or perceived goodness.

8 JULY/AUGUST 2023 THE MORNINGSTAR JOURNAL

We must also settle, once and for all, that there is no way

to do this except through Jesus. To presume otherwise is the

epitome of human arrogance. We cannot be more prideful

than to reject God’s provision for our redemption and

reconciliation through His Son and the unfathomable price

He paid, or to think we don’t need His provision and can

do this without Him.

When the natural seed of Abraham is grafted back in, it

will be by their recognition of “the one whom they

pierced.” Those who are forgiven much for rejecting the

One through whom all their promises were made, love

much. Since the church cannot come into its fullness

without this grafting in of the Jews, praying and looking for

this should be a high priority of all believers.

Neither can we fully comprehend the biblical prophecies

concerning the end of this age without understanding this

joining together of Jews and Gentiles “into one new man.”

This can only happen when this ultimate racist barrier

between Jews and Gentiles is overcome. This is essential for

this bridge between the natural and spiritual to be com-

pleted, and why Paul said their acceptance would result in

“life from the dead” (see Romans 11:15). In other words,

when this happens, resurrection is upon us, and the

kingdom of God will come.

So, in identifying the signs of the end of this age, which

are now unfolding, let us not forget that Israel is one of the

major signs of the times. It is that “fig tree” the Lord said

would sprout (see Joel 2:21-23; Matthew 24:32-33). Let us

pray for the peace of Jerusalem and seek the salvation and

fullness of their destiny, since our destiny is vitally linked to

theirs.

The spiritual seed cannot see the destiny of the natural

seed without being humble about their role, nor can the

natural seed see the destiny of the spiritual seed without

being humble about their role. Humility will be required on

both sides, and since God gives grace to the humble, this

will bring essential grace to both. Such ultimate grace will

be needed for these times.

In His Service,

Rick Joyner

I Corinthians 15:58