Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P602 (01-28-21)
Synopsis
There are things that are taught in religion or major denominations that are just not in accordance with what is true. We believe it because it was taught to us, frequently enough that we do not even think to ponder over whether it is really true or not. A very good example of this is the false practice of confessing your sins before taking the Lord’s supper so as to not be taking the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner. Another example is this teaching that there is an age of accountability for salvation, that if you are under a certain age then you are not accountable to God for sin. That kind of question is in the same category as asking the question, “What about the heathen that has never heard?” And another question that often comes up is in regard to this supposed movie projection in heaven that presumably everyone’s sins will be projected so that all people and even angels will see. That simply is not true. There is no basis for that from the clear understanding of the gospel, with passages that clearly explain that He will remember our sins no more and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
Again, when you study the scriptures, you have to come to conclusions based on the clear understanding of the meaning of the word of God, in what the gospel of salvation really is. You start with what you do know, and do not create your own answers with your own understanding of things you are not certain or are unsure about.
So, take a look at the Lord’s supper. Do you ever need to confess your sins to God so as to be found worthy before the Lord? Were we ever worthy before the Lord? Who alone is worthy? Jesus alone is worthy. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
First, what is the context of that passage in scripture in 1 Corinthians 11, that so many misinterpret out of context, to come up with this misunderstanding of the Lord’s supper? Paul was addressing a practical matter of people eating all the food up and drinking all the wine before the rest of the body came. So who is being judged, and by whom? Those who were being gluttons were being judged by the rest of the body. All our sins were judged once and for all at the cross, when Jesus shed his blood to take away the sins of the world, never to see them again.
So what was happening? They were being judged by the rest of the body, and disciplined by the Lord, that their behavior is not in accordance with who they are. They needed discipline, to have their minds renewed, so as to be separate from the world in their thinking and attitudes, which God is at work in every believer with that purpose in mind, to live in the new way of the Spirit. Are they being selfish? That certainly is not of the Spirit, but the flesh. So, wait on one another and consider others more important than yourself. Why be judged by the world by such behavior? God has a new way of life for you to be living. So examine yourself. Are you being a glutton? So to solve this problem, eat at home before you arrive. Consider the poor and needy among you, and act in love.
The Lord’s supper is to be a celebration, not a mournful, dreadful event, introspecting over all your sins. It is to be a celebration of being a part of a new body, the body of Christ, where Christ lives in every one of us. That is the meaning of the breaking of the bread, that Jesus is no longer walking physically on this earth but is in every one of us by His Spirit. This is a celebration that Jesus initiated when He shed His blood on a cross so this new covenant was possible with men. So let us celebrate, and let us not hinder others from celebrating. What are you celebrating? New life in Christ Jesus.
Now, in regard to a baby or a young child who dies. What is the answer to that question? Well, we know that there is no other name under heaven by which man might be saved. So who can we trust to make the right decision on that? God alone is in that decision-making process. Is God perfectly loving and just? Yes. So we can trust God to make the right decision. And we leave it there. We do not make up religious practices such as sprinkling or christening an infant to ensure his salvation is secure, in case he dies young. The emphasis is misplaced in that manner, on what we do rather than trusting God alone. We leave such decisions in the hands of God, knowing that He is perfectly loving and perfectly just.
Now, when we fully understand the gospel, so many questions are answered and cleared up. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. There is no more judgment for sin. It has been judged. The verdict is guilty. The punishment is death and Jesus took it all. The only sin attributable to man is the sin of unbelief, the sin of the rejection of Christ who provided all this – redemption, forgiveness of sins, imputed righteousness, everything you need for life and godliness – for us.
This is what it means to be sinning against the knowledge of the truth. You are insulting the Spirit of grace, treating Jesus death on a cross as an unholy thing, when you are going back to the day of atonement to get your sins forgiven, going to a confessional booth or a priest to get your sins forgiven, or quoting 1 John 1:9 to keep short accounts with God so you can keep in fellowship with God. God is not keeping records of wrongs. He has already judged the sins of the world once and for all when He shed His blood on a cross. He is not going to shed His blood again. It is finished. It is over. He wants you and me to come to Him for the new life, eternal life, He came to give by way of His resurrection.
God Himself came to this earth, as God’s Son and fulfilled the law through walking in perfect love through His lifetime and having fulfilled the law was able to now uphold the law by taking upon Himself what was due to you and me, which is the judgment of death, and entering into our spiritual death with us so that we could enter into His resurrection with Him. Salvation is being saved from the consequence of sin, which is death, by the gift of God, which is the resurrected life in Christ Jesus. You are saved not by the death of Christ but by His eternal life lived in you.
Transcript
Steve from Atlanta, GA
Steve: In 1 Corinthians 11, where Paul says there were sickly among them, the ones who have died, can you relate to that please? Bob, I will not be able to stay on the line, but I have my radio on, so I can listen. It is on the latter part of 1 Corinthians 11 about the Lord’s supper.
1 Corinthians 11:30-32
30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
Bob: One of the most atrocities we have done in the Christian world is what we have done with the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper and the directives Paul gave is because of people, meeting together to take the supper and not waiting on each other and eating up all the food and drinking all the wine before the rest of the body gets there. As a result, read verse 21.
1 Corinthians 11:21
21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.
Bob: So they certainly were not just serving Welch’s grape juice.
1 Corinthians 11:22
22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in?
Bob: That was his solution to it. If you are hungry and you do not want to wait on people, eat and drink at home.
1 Corinthians 11:22
Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
1 Corinthians 11:22
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
Bob: He is not saying you are unworthy. You have never been worthy. Worthy is the Lamb, not the sheep. What is the unworthy manner they were partaking of in the Lord’s supper? Well, eating all the bread and drinking all the wine before the rest of the body shows up. A group of people shows up and all the food is gone and all the wine is gone, and there are some other people sitting there fat, dumb and happy, some of them stuffed and some of them drunk.
1 Corinthians 11:27-28
will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
Bob: That is not sitting around involved in introspection, with the organ playing and the lights dim, in order to confess all your unconfessed sins. It is to examine yourself before you eat the bread and drink the cup. Examining himself from what? Am I being a hog and a pig or am I waiting on my brother?
1 Corinthians 11:29
29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
Bob: Judgment from whom? Your sins have already been judged. This is judgment from the body. If you drove fifty miles to meet with People to People for the Lord’s supper, and here is this whole group sitting there who ate up all the food and drank all the wine, or grape juice, or whatever it might be, you would be judging us. You would say, “What is going on with these people? They are not considering the rest of the body of Christ at all!” He is talking about examining yourself. Are you waiting on other people, are your thinking of others over and above yourself, or are you just being a glutton? For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord is bringing judgment upon himself.
1 Corinthians 11:30
30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
Bob: Fallen asleep means passed out. Why are you weak and sick? What happens when you gorge yourself and drink too much? You get weak, you get sick and you pass out. You go to sleep. I have seen people do that in my assembly without doing that. But that is what he is talking about, as a result of eating and drinking too much, not waiting on the body.
1 Corinthians 11:31
31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.
Bob: Judgment from who? One another. Now when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined.
1 Corinthians 11:32
32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
Bob: That is what this book is doing. That is what this chapter is about, discipling the body, disciplining His body. How come? So we are not condemned with the world. So the world is not looking in and saying we are no different than anyone else. “Look at them, cold and drunk and not waiting on anyone else.” Were they waiting on anyone else? No. They ate up all the food and drank up all the wine.
1 Corinthians 11:33
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.
Bob: There is the conclusion. Wait on each other.
1 Corinthians 11:34
34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
Bob: Judgment from who? One another.
Bob: We have made a mockery of that. We take the Lord’s supper, dim the lights, play the organ, and get all the unconfessed sin out of our life. “Otherwise, you might bring judgment on yourself”, they say. Is that what this is about, that you might bring judgment on yourself from God? No, sins have already been judged.
Romans 8:1-2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Bob: I am glad you called, for that is a subject that needs to be covered every now and then, and gives me the opportunity to do so again. So I thank you for your call.
Roger from Oakland, CA
Roger: Thank you for your show. I came to Christ late in life. Listening to your show helped me a lot.
Roger: I am wondering about an age of accountability. As far as I know, Jesus started ministering in the temple when he was twelve. I heard it discussed, but no one has ever given me a number or a biblical reference to pin that down.
Bob: Well, Roger, that is because there isn’t any. There is no such thing as an age of accountability in scripture. It is because other people do not believe what God says. God says there is no other name under heaven by which you might be saved.
Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Bob: For anyone who is so young that they never had a chance to hear, then what do you do with them? So what you do with those types of things is if there is any other way of salvation then that is going to have to go into the hands of God, into the decision of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God. If I have a God, and you and I do, who is perfectly loving and perfectly just, then I can put that baby into his hands and trust God to make the decision that He makes on that.
Bob: It would be the same decision for somebody in a remote place who has never heard. I have no ideas. The issue is there is no other name under heaven by which you must be saved. If that is the case, then you put those people into the hands of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God and let Him make that decision.
Bob: Our role is to tell people who are hearing about the good news of the gospel. So, because we do not want to trust God with that, we come up with baby baptism and baby christening. We are sprinkling and dunking that and everything else under the sun because we think that will secure their salvation but that has nothing to do with salvation or anything. It is not biblical. What is biblical is to trust God with all your heart, mind and soul. That is what you do with those kinds of questions.
Roger: Trust the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. So whether twelve years or whatever age you still have to come to Christ with all your heart, mind and soul.
Bob: Absolutely. Again, a baby who is three months or six months or a year old, and then dies, where is that baby going to go? In the hands of God. That baby has gone into the hands of a perfectly loving and perfectly just God and I think we can trust Him to make the right decision on that.
Roger: Thank you.
Bob: Does that help you?
Roger: Yes it does. Hopefully my girls are listening on the radio. One is going to turn twelve in a couple of weeks from now. That twelve year cut off does not sound right to me.
Bob: It isn’t. It should have never been there.
Roger: They always tie to Jesus at twelve years old in the temple. Thank you, brother. We are praying for you. Financially, we will try to get you back on track.
Bob: Thank you. Bye bye now.
Wayne from Portland, TX
Wayne: I had a question on Romans 11. All Israel will be saved, a hardening of heart and blind to the Lord. Is God’s will on the Jewish people so the completeness of the Gentiles can come into the church? Then upon the completeness, ungodliness will be removed from Jacob. Does that mean an unbelieving Jewish person will one day come to the Lord, whether it be at the end of time or the Jews who have died so far? What does that mean exactly?
Romans 1:25
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,
Bob: I think it means exactly what it says. It means at that point of time in history, to not be ignorant to the fact that the Gentiles will be saved the same way the Jews are saved, which is by faith in Jesus alone. That is the mystery explained in Romans but also in Ephesians. That is what predestination is about, not about you;’s and me’s but Jews and Gentiles.
Ephesians 1:11-14
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.
Bob: He does not want us to be ignorant about this mystery. He is talking to the Gentiles who have become conceited for they are accepting the gospel and many Jews are rejecting it. So chapter 11 is putting them back in their place, that Israel has to experience a hardening in part, but only in part.
Romans 11:11-21
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Bob: Thousands of Jewish people come to the Lord every year. So Israel is experiencing a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles comes in. That is at the end of time. And at the end of time, those Jewish people on earth at that time will see Him as He is and look upon the one they have pierced, and then they will repent and they will be saved. That is what it is talking about, about the Jews in existence at the end times, after the age of the Gentiles has completed its course. God will come and offer His salvation once again to the leadership of Israel and to the people of Israel and it says they will turn to Him.
Zechariah 12:10-11
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Acts 1:10-10-11
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Wayne: Will there be an awakening of the dead for those who are past?
Bob: Not at all. Absolutely not. No such thing as that.
Romans 11:28-31
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.
Wayne: Is it not talking about all the Gentiles coming out of their graves?
Bob: Their hardening was because of their own stuff. God did not have to harden their heart. They hardened their own heart against Jesus.
Wayne: Did God not harden their hearts so the full number of Gentiles come in?
Bob: No, Wayne. It is like with Pharaoh. The same sun that melts wax hardens clay. The identical sun. It depends on what it is falling on. When the Son of God was there in Israel, if His message fell upon a heart of humility, they were saved. When the message fell on the hard Pharisees, it hardened it. God does not harden a person’s heart intentionally, as if saying, “I am going to harden your heart so you do not come to Christ”. The message hardened their hearts. The same message today is what hardens hearts as it relates to Christ Jesus. But when they see Him as He is, they will look upon the one they pierced and they will mourn. They will look upon the one they pierced and they will come. All of Israel will be saved at that time. It will be a wonderful time.
Bob: So when it talks about that God bound all men to disobedience so He can have mercy upon us all. Well, all of us were dead. All of us came into this world dead spiritually and His mercy was extended to all of us. How many receive His mercy? Only a remnant. Who does He have mercy on? Those who come to Him by faith. Who does He not have mercy on? Those who reject Him.
Wayne: Okay.
Bob: Okay, brother?
Wayne: Thank you very much.
Bob: Thank you very much, my friend. Good question, brother.
Wayne: Thanks.
Andy from Vancouver, British Columbia
Andy: I discussed Classic Christianity with a friend, and he does not agree that the sins of the world are put on the back of Jesus and he does not agree that the only sin that separates us from God is the sin of unbelief in Him. He was asking me, that when a non-Christian dies, then he is judged, then if sins of the world are put on the back of Jesus, then what is God judging him on then?
Bob: The only sin attributable to man, Andy, is the sin, and what you were probably saying to him, is the rejection of Christ who provided all this for us. That is what it means to be sinning against the knowledge of the truth.
Hebrews 10:26-29
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit
of grace?
Bob: To deny Jesus has taken away the sins of the world is to deny the gospel. To believe that Jesus only died for some sins is denying the gospel. The gospel is that the sins of the world could not be taken away any other way except through the blood of God Himself.
Hebrews 9:22
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Bob: That is why God Himself came to this earth, as God’s Son and fulfilled the law through walking in perfect love through His lifetime and having fulfilled the law was able to now uphold the law by taking upon Himself what was due to you and me, which is the judgment of death, and entering into our spiritual death with us so that we could enter into His resurrection with Him.
Romans 13:10
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 6:2-4
2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Bob: So the only sin that man will ever be judged for is the sin of the rejection of the Son of God. That is why Jesus said the world’s sin, singular, is unbelief in Me.
John 16:9 (TLB)
9 The world’s sin is unbelief in me
Bob: The sins of the world have been judged at the cross and the verdict was guilty, the punishment was death and Jesus took it all. That is why there is no condemnation awaiting us who belong to Christ Jesus is because the law of the Spirit of life, that is Him, replaced the law of sin and death. The only sin any man will ever be judged for is the sin of the rejection of the Son of God.
Romans 8:1-2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Andy: If an unsaved person is now being judged, will God show him everything he has done?
Bob: No. His judgment is you are not in the book of life. The great white throne judgment is, “Are you in the book of life or not?”
Revelation 20:11-15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Bob: Obviously if you have never received life, you will never be in the book of life. There is no judgment of sin. The sins of the world have already been judged. They were all judged at the cross, weren’t they?
Andy: Yes.
Bob: So there is no more judgment for sins. They have already been judged. The verdict was guilty. That is why we are born into this world dead and in need of life. The rejection of life means that we just remain dead. God does not send us to hell. We send ourselves to hell by refusing life.
Andy: You do not believe that when He comes to judgment that He will not show everything a person who has done?
Bob: No. There is only one thing He is interested in. “Did you accept My provision for your condition? What is there to judge us for? I sent My Son to take care of your problem and you rejected the Son.” There is the judgment. The judgment is, “You rejected My Son” and the judgment is that all who did will remain in hell throughout eternity. That is the judgment of God upon mankind, being so prideful that they reject the gift of God that was given to us in Christ Jesus. As it says in Hebrews, “made a mockery of the grace of God and treated it as an unholy thing, the grace of God”. So all of those things are an abomination to God, Andy.
Bob: It would be like if you saw mankind up there in Vancouver in the shape they are in, and the only solution to it is to send your son as a sacrifice. And you sent your son as a sacrifice and the people stuck their nose at him. I do not think you would be too happy with them. That is the same situation we have in salvation. There is only one sin that is attributable to man, that is the rejection of God’s provision for mankind. This is God’s testimony concerning salvation, that life is in His Son.
1 John 5:10-12
10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
John 20:21
21 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Bob: Those who do not have the Son do not have life. Those who do, do.
Andy: What does scripture mean where everything hidden will be made known, that everything hidden will be spoken of, that everything will be on a big screen for everyone to see?
Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Bob: If that is the case, no wonder nobody wants to go. That teaching is nonsense. It has been around for years. Everything you said and thought will be on that screen. If that is the case, who would ever want to go to heaven? So the angels and everyone else to see every thought you had? That is nonsense. But I do believe, but I do to have justification for it, but I do believe that there will be some people appearing before God and say, “I want to plead my case. I do not think I was not that bad.” He says, “First, let us see what your life is like.” For people like that, then maybe their life will be flashed before everyone to see, if they want to plead their case. I would not want to plead mine, would you?
Andy: What does scripture mean that everything will be made known?
Bob: Everything will be known if you want it to be made known. Andy, I do not understand why you cannot finalize something. Salvation is being saved from the consequence of sin, which is death. Now, did Jesus resurrection accomplish that or didn’t He?
Andy: Of course.
p>Bob: Then that is it. There is nothing else to think about along those lines. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. There is no more judgment for sin. It has been judged. The verdict is guilty. The punishment is death and Jesus took it all. It is covered and done. That is the end of that.
Romans 8:1-2
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Bob: So when talking about anything in the great white throne judgment, the people in the book of life are there in the book of life. The people who are not are not there. And people who are not there, I believe that if they want to plead their case, they will be able to plead it. Otherwise, you are just dead.
Andy: Okay. Thank you very much.
Bob: It would not be for living people at all.
Andy: Okay. Thank you very much.
Bob: Does that help, Andy?
Andy: Yes.
Bob: Okay, brother. It is good to talk to you. Good to hear from you.
Tom from Costa Mesa, CA
Tom: When Jesus returns from a thousand year reign, where is He going to be?
Bob: He will be in Israel like He said. Just as I left from here, that is where I am coming back.
Tom: What scripture is that?
Acts 1:10-10-11
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Bob: Again, Tom, as you read the last part of the gospel, you will see where Jesus met with His disciples and at the very last He says just as I departed from here, I will be coming back. Go through your gospel and read. I could look it up, but it is better for you to do it.
Zechariah 14:1-5
1 A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Tom: I know when the new Jerusalem is coming back from heaven. It is going to be different.
Revelation 21:1-5
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[Isaiah 65:17] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[Isaiah 25:8] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Bob: Jesus will be in Jerusalem. That is where He will be reigning from Jerusalem. He is not going to the United States. He is not going to Washington or New York. That is for sure.
Bob: He is not going to Washington for sure. He will be ruling right there from Israel. Really that is our home. That is why I say to people, if you ever get a chance to go, go. Literally you will be looking where you will be for a thousand years. You will be reigning with Him. I believe we will be reigning with Him from Israel.
Tom: There are so many of us. How will we all fit?
Bob: There will not be very many of us, brother. Not as many as you think.
Matthew 7:14
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Bob: Absolutely, brother. Thank you, pal.
