{"id":19252,"date":"2019-09-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-072\/"},"modified":"2019-09-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T05:00:00","slug":"the-coming-kingdom-072","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-072\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Kingdom 072"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[470],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19252","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-the-coming-kingdom","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"The Coming Kingdom 072","sermon_date":"20190904","sermon_month":"9","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":7025,"sermon_slides":7026,"sermon_mp3":7027,"sermon_id":"94191624295480","series_or_event":470,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"1:6","sermon_transcript":"The Coming Kingdom #72\n\nIs Kingdom Now in Revelation\u00a0 1:6\n\nDr. Andy Woods\n\nSugarland Bible Church\n\n9-4-2019\n\nLet's open our Bibles to the Book of Revelation 1:5,6.\n\nWe find ourselves in chapter 20 of my book, The Coming Kingdom<\/u><\/strong>. This subject has been a passion of mine for a long time so I am glad that I have the opportunity to write the book and to teach it to people. \u00a0My book is not the important book, the important book is the Bible.\u00a0 My book is just a topical study of the Bible about the Kingdom.\n\nWe started this study in 2017.\u00a0 I'm hoping to finish this off this quarter so we can start a new subject in 2020.\u00a0 The kingdom takes us into the whole Bible.\u00a0 Part 1 asks, What Does the Bible Say About the Kingdom<\/em>?\u00a0 That is the first major section of the book, and we talked about how the kingdom developed in the Old Testament and New Testament was offered to Israel on a silver platter in the first century.\u00a0 Israel rejected the offer of the kingdom making the kingdom in a state of postponement, not<\/em> cancellation.\u00a0 If that model is true, why is it that so many say that we are in the kingdom now?\u00a0 That took us to\u2026\n\nNumber 2 where we looked at the Main Problem with Kingdom Now Theology.\u00a0 They are basically changing what the Old Testament primarily reveals about the kingdom.\u00a0\u00a0 No longer is it an earthly kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem, but a mystical spiritual reign of Jesus in the Church.\u00a0 There must be passages they use to support that view, and that took us to \u2026.\n\nNumber 3.\u00a0 What passages to Kingdom Now theologians use to promote this idea, and I think this will takes us 2-3 weeks to finish.\u00a0 We are finally getting to \u2026.\n\nNumber 4. Why does it matter? The subtitle of my book is What is the Kingdom and How is Kingdom Now Theology<\/em> changing the focus of the Church?\u00a0 Once the Church starts to view itself as the Kingdom, and this is something that the Church has done all the way back to Augustine in the fourth century, it is a radical change as to what the purpose of the Church is.\u00a0 What you see today is the social justice movement wanting to bring social justice to the earth \u2014 these different evangelical churches.\u00a0 Basically, they are talking about progressive politics.\u00a0 They all today argue that they can do that because they're bringing in the Kingdom. It is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Church is.\u00a0 If you start thinking that the Church is the Kingdom, it is a game changer in that it changes the purpose and function of the Church.\u00a0 Those are the topics we will get to in a couple of weeks in Question #4:\u00a0 Why does it matter?\n\nBut we did not quite finish up last spring, Question #3:\u00a0 What are the passages that people use to argue that we are in the Kingdom now?\u00a0 You may recall spending a lot of time on this looking at passages from Christ\u2019s ministry, from the Book of Acts, from Paul.\u00a0 We finished up last time with passages from the general letters, 1 Peter which we ended with last time, and just before that we looked at the Book of Hebrews.\u00a0 What we will do here is to look at some passages in the Book of Revelation, which you are already experts on because you have been tracking with us on Sundays where we have been studying that book.\n\nWhat are the passages that Kingdom Now theologians use from the Book of Revelation to support the idea that we are currently in the Kingdom?\u00a0\u00a0 Rev 1:6, 9, 3:7, 5:5, 15:3<\/u>.\n\nOnce we finish these, I will give you three non-biblically, non-text based, miscellaneous arguments that people use to argue that we are in the Kingdom?\u00a0 Chapter 21 in my book, The Coming Kingdom<\/u><\/strong>, if you want to read ahead, and that will go by quickly, then we will be into Part 3 where it will get really interesting because you will start learning why all this information matters.\n\nTonight, let's start looking at passages from the Book of Revelation that people use to argue that we are currently in the Kingdom.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, Rev 1:6, \u201cAnd He has made us to be a kingdom, priests<\/u><\/strong> to His God and Father\u2014to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.\u00a0 Amen.\u201d\u00a0 People see that expression, \u2018Aha, He has made us a kingdom of priests so we must be reigning in the Kingdom\u2019 \u2014 that\u2019s the thought process, and one of the major problems with that is that people get very impatient with the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 One of the things to discover about the Book of Revelation is its own interpreter.\u00a0 According to John Walvoord, there are 26 symbols in the Book of Revelation that are identified in the same context.\u00a0 The dragon, for example, would be satan per Rev 12 that calls him both the dragon and satan, so I don't have to use my sanctified imagination to figure out who the dragon is.\u00a0 The Book of Revelation is its own interpreter.\n\nI think we can do that with Rev 1:6 but don't just build your house on that verse alone; be patient with the Book of Revelation and allow it to unfold.\u00a0 Then you will start to see that later in the book, it will start to interpret for us words or phrases that are used in the earlier part of the Book.\n\nFlip over to Rev 5:10 and see if this doesn\u2019t shed some light on the issue of the kingdom of priests. \u00a0Rev 5 comes after Rev 1.\u00a0 Rev 5:10, \u201cYou have made them to be (here is the same vocabulary) a kingdom and priests<\/u><\/strong> to our God; and they will reign [basileu\u014d<\/em>] upon the earth [g\u0113<\/em>].<\/u><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 So, Rev 1:6 tells us that as the Church we are a kingdom of priests, this is our identity.\u00a0 You may not feel like a priest and like you are part of a Kingdom but that is the identity that God gives to you the moment you trust in Jesus as your personal Savior.\u00a0 Then the question is, and people say that we must be reigning now.\u00a0 That isn't what the rest of the Book of Revelation says.\u00a0 It says, \u201cthey will reign [notice the Greek word for reign: [basileu\u014d<\/em>]<\/u><\/strong> upon the earth<\/u><\/strong>.\u201d\n\nSo, notice that Rev 5:10 fills out the notion of a kingdom of priests and tells us when we will reign and where we will reign.\u00a0 When you look at the verb in the phrase, \u2018they will reign<\/u><\/strong>,\u2019 what tense is that verb in?\u00a0 Future tense, so when it says, \u2018they will reign<\/u><\/strong>,\u2019 it obviously means that we aren\u2019t reigning now.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say in Rev 1:6, \u2018you are reigning.\u2019 Nor does Rev 5:10 say it; it says, \u2018you will reign<\/u><\/strong>.\u2019\u00a0 Notice where we will reign:\u00a0 up in the clouds somewhere?\u00a0 It says, \u2018upon the earth.<\/u><\/strong>\u2019\n\nOur destiny as children of God is to rule and reign one day in the future on planet earth over this terrestrial ball that we call earth.\u00a0 Our destiny is to reign alongside Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Not because He needs our help, but He shares His delegated authority with us, and we will help Him administer and reign over the earth.\u00a0 So, you may be in a low-level job or in some place in life where you don't see yourself as important or significant or that you are making a difference, but the reality is that your current position is very temporary.\u00a0 The day will come when you will be elevated along with Jesus Christ over the whole earth.\n\nThat is the basis of Paul\u2019s exhortation to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 6.\u00a0 They were fighting with each other as Christians do fight with each other.\u00a0 Paul\u2019s point is \u2018don't you recognize who you are; that you are destined for authority; that you will one day judge the angels?\u00a0 If so, then you can surely handle these minor squabbles of this life.\u00a0 I like to throw in quotes of others, but before I do, when is this reign going to be established?\u00a0 When you go the Second Advent to the right on that chart, [see slide: Prophecy Panorama<\/strong>], that is, in between the Second Coming and the Great White Throne Judgment, is the Kingdom which will last for 1,000 years.\u00a0 That is what Rev 5:10 is speaking about.\u00a0 So don't just come into the Book of Revelation and grab a phrase such as \u2018we are a kingdom of priests\u2019 and apply it any way you want; you must pay attention to how that phrase is used elsewhere in the book and to what it is alluding.\n\nI like to include quotes of others, so you don't think that I'm just making up doctrines.\u00a0 One of my mentors, Stanley Toussaint, who is now with the Lord, as a matter of fact, I dedicated this book to him because he influenced my thinking on the Kingdom more than any other human being who has ever lived.\u00a0 I don't know what it is about my wife, but she has an ability to tell when someone is ready to die, possibly because of her nursing background.\u00a0 So, if my wife thinks you are ready to die, you may be.\u00a0 This has happened multiple times in our lives, where we've been at the Pre-Trib group, and she said, \u201cYou really need to go up to Dr. Toussaint and give him a copy of your book.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cI'll just give it to him next year.\u201d\u00a0 She replied, \u201cThere may not be a next year.\u201d\u00a0 Sure enough, that night on his way home, if I have that story right, he began to have heart issues and was rushed to the hospital.\u00a0 His health began to deteriorate and fortunately, because of my wife, he had a copy of my book and he had gone through it.\u00a0 Even though his health was deteriorating, he sent me an email about how much he appreciated the book and what it meant to him that I had dedicated it to him.\u00a0 He thought the book was very thorough in terms of its comprehensiveness; that it was very complete.\u00a0 Then he died.\u00a0\u00a0 So, I don't know \u2014 if Anne says you are ready to die, get your spiritual house in order.\u00a0 She has sort of a sixth sense.\n\nDr. Toussaint, who I hold in high esteem and quoted in the book as saying, \u201cThe explanation of this verse [Rev 1:6] is found in Rev 5:10 (NASB), which anticipates the future reign of believers with Christ.\u201d\u00a0 Rev 5:10 interprets Rev 1:6 for us.\n\nAnother verse that Kingdom Now theologians use is Rev 1:9. \u201cI, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the <\/u><\/strong>tribulation and kingdom<\/u><\/strong> [basileia<\/em>] and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 What people say here is that John was a partaker in tribulation that was happening to him on Patmos so in the same way he must have been a partaker in the Kingdom because the verse says, \u201cI, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the <\/u><\/strong>tribulation and kingdom<\/u><\/strong> [basileia<\/em>]\u2026\u201d \u2014 so John is a partaker in the Kingdom, we are partakers in the Kingdom, therefore, the Kingdom is here right now.\u00a0 Once again, you can\u2019t just identify kingdom by how it is used here, you must identify it by how it is used elsewhere in the Book of Revelation because this book is self-interpreting.\u00a0 Keep tracking the concept of the Kingdom from Rev 1:9 into Rev 5:10 where we already learned that we will be a kingdom of priests and we will<\/em> reign upon the earth.\u00a0 The noun \u2018kingdom\u2019<\/em> is not used, but the verb is used, coming from the same root.\u00a0 The noun is [basileia<\/em>]; the verb is [basileu\u014d] \u2014 <\/em>same root noun form; the verb form clearly puts the Kingdom in the future and on the earth.\n\nThis thought is so foregone to Protestant Christianity, I don't know how it will ever be recovered.\u00a0 Your average Christian thinks that when they die, their whole existence will be celestial, in heaven.\u00a0 In fact, look at how we evangelize people: \u2018Hey, when you die and go to heaven, why should God let you into heaven?\u2019\u00a0 We erroneously think that the whole future relates to being in heaven.\u00a0 That isn't what the Bible says.\u00a0 It says that we will be in the Father\u2019s House for seven years, and by the way, the Bible doesn\u2019t say that the houses we will be in, John 14:1-3, are many mansions.\u00a0 That is what the KJV says, following Tyndale.\u00a0 Tyndale, following the Latin Vulgate created in the fourth century, because Latin has a word that sounds very similar to \u2018mansions\u2019<\/em> in English.\u00a0 Tyndale put into his English translation \u2018mansions\u2019<\/em>; the KJV followed Tyndale, so the KJV says \u2018mansions<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 Thus, it has led people to believe they will have mansions in the sky.\u00a0 Keith Green, the singer, had an entire song about it that went something like this, \u2018But if God created the world in six days, and He has been working on my mansion<\/em> for the last 2000 years, and this world is so wonderful, think how big my mansion<\/em> is going to be.\u2019\n\nThe problem is that the Greek text does not say \u2018mansions<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 It says \u2018mone<\/em>,\u2019 which indicates an inn or a watch house.\u00a0 An inn is a place where you stay temporarily, so why is it that we are brought into the Father\u2019s house, not into mansions, but into inns, for seven years?\u00a0 Because our ultimate destiny is not heaven but the earth.\u00a0 Rev 5:10 says this.\u00a0 We will be ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ on this earth, and your average Protestant doesn\u2019t really understand that; they think of mansions in the sky going to heaven.\u00a0 But the celestial realm is only temporary; our ultimate destiny is here on the earth.\n\nThis is what the Book of Revelation explains.\u00a0 That is why there is so much information in the Book of Revelation about satan, the current ruler of the earth, being evicted because while we are with the Lord in our inn or temporary dwellings for seven years, the Tribulation is happening on this earth, and satan is being evicted, and the earth is being prepared for the reign of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 We are coming back with Him from the Father\u2019s house to the earth to rule and reign alongside of Him.\u00a0 This is what Rev 5:10 talks about.\n\nWhen Rev 1:9 uses the word, \u2018kingdom<\/em>,\u2019 we aren\u2019t free to just go into that word and throw in any definition we want to; we must look at how the word is unpacked subsequently in the Book of Revelation.\n\nIs the KJV a good version of the Bible to read?\u00a0 Yes, but it is wrong on certain points; this is what makes us not KJV only<\/em> here; there are people out there who believe that the KJV is the inspired version of God.\u00a0 The KJV is very good, it is like the NASB, but it isn't perfect either.\u00a0 KJV is very good, but it is merely a translation and the translators goofed up with that word, \u2018mansion\u2019<\/em> in John 14:1-3.\u00a0 I have to say this publicly because I have a lot of KJV only people on our YouTube channel, who want to rake me over the coals because I'm not KJV only.\u00a0 I am trying to explain to you why I am not KJV only; it is only an English translation.\u00a0 In any translation from the Greek into English will have problems.\u00a0 It may be right 99% of the time, but do not put the KJV translation on equal par with the Word of God.\u00a0 None of this was in my notes but the unction of the Spirit came over me, and I felt like I had to say that.\n\nThen keep tracking the word, kingdom<\/em> and go to Rev 11:15, which says, \u201cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; <\/u><\/strong>\u2026\u201d Why does it say that?\u00a0 Because satan is being evicted from the premises, and God\u2019s kingdom, which will last 1,000 years on planet earth is getting ready to touch down here.\u00a0 So, the 1,000-year kingdom is certainly on the horizon.\n\nWhen John says in Rev 1:9 that he is a partaker of the Kingdom, he isn't saying the Kingdom is here now, he is saying that he is a citizen or a participant in the Kingdom which is coming.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t reach that conclusion by only studying Rev 1:6 or Rev 1:9; you must let the remainder of the Book of Revelation interpret itself because it is self-interpreting.\n\nHere is Dr. Robert Thomas, and if you are down to your last shekel and want to buy a commentary on the Book of Revelation, the two I recommend to you are John Walvoord\u2019s commentary which is very good, and Dr. Robert Thomas\u2019 Commentary two-volume set on the book of Revelation.\u00a0 If you had both of those commentaries, you would have the best there is on this book.\u00a0 You have heard me disagree with some of these commentaries.\u00a0 They are only commentaries, and we don't place them on the same level as divine inspiration; same truth with the KJV of the Bible.\n\nSo, Robert Thomas observes concerning Rev 1:9, \u201cLittle difference of opinion exists over the meaning of basileia<\/em> [kingdom<\/em>] in 1:9.\u00a0 It is the millennial kingdom described more fully in Rev 20.\u201d\n\nThe great Bible study methodology coming out of this is that when you are coming to a phrase in a book, be patient and let the rest of the book unpack that phrase for you.\u00a0 If you do that, then you will get the right interpretation of Rev 1:6,9.\n\nGo to Rev 3:7; a third passage from the Book of Revelation used by Kingdom Now theologians, and that verse says, \u201cAnd to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:\u00a0 He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David,<\/u><\/strong> who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that Jesus is here portrayed as He speaks to the Church of Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation as holding the key of David.\n\nOne of my big disagreements with the current trajectory of Dallas Seminary is the dominant view that is taught there concerning the kingdom, called \u2018already, not yet.\u2019\u00a0 We are partially in the kingdom now.\u00a0 Jesus is reigning from David\u2019s throne, they will tell you, although that reign will be completed when He reigns from David\u2019s throne one day in Jerusalem for 1,000 years.\u00a0 \u2018Already not yet\u2019.\u00a0 \u2018Well, aren\u2019t we \u2018already not yet\u2019 at Sugarland Bible Church?\u00a0 No, not in that sense.\u00a0 In fact, if we were to ever embrace that view, we would be contradicting our own doctrinal statement which, like Dallas Seminary, places the Kingdom totally in the future.\u00a0 See our position statements of faith to see this.\u00a0 In fact, before we had a youth pastor, we were sending out resum\u00e9s, when I first got here, for potential candidates.\u00a0 One guy came down the pike and everyone liked him, and we had to put the brakes on that because he was an advocate of the 'already not yet' view of the Kingdom.\u00a0 If we had hired him, we would be communicating to everyone that we don't care about our own doctrinal statement.\u00a0 So, we didn\u2019t hire that candidate.\u00a0 That is the 'already not yet' doctrine.\u00a0 It is interesting that Dallas Seminary\u2019s doctrinal statement reads just like ours does.\u00a0 The difference is that they are ignoring their own doctrinal statement, and we are embracing ours.\u00a0 Progressive dispensationalism, so called, 'already not yet', loves Rev 3:7 where it talks about how Jesus is holding the key of David to the church of Philadelphia.\u00a0 In their minds, it means that Jesus is ruling in a Davidic sense, now.\u00a0 We don't believe that He is ruling in a Davidic sense now.\u00a0 We believe that we are the church age which is an interruption in God's Kingdom program through Israel.\n\nDarrell Bock, one of the progenitors of progressive dispensationalism, uses this verse to support his 'already not yet' view of the Kingdom.\u00a0 He says, \u201cThe rule is extended from the Father to the disciple through the Son, the one who in Revelation 3:7 says he has \u2018the key of David.\u2019 \u2026 Here Jesus refers to himself as \u2018the one who has the key of David,\u2019 a phrase that contains a present participle\u2026\u2019the one who has\u2026\u2019 (I agree that this is a present participle, indicating, according to Darrell Bock), \u2026This is currently held Davidic authority.\u00a0 So, because He is presently holding the key of David, in the present tense, according to that participle, in the mind of Darrell Bock, that means that Jesus is now reigning over a spiritual form of the Kingdom over the church.\n\nHow would I respond to that use, or I will put it this way, an abuse of Rev 3:7.\u00a0 I would give three answers:\n
    \n \t
  1. What does \u2018holding a key presently\u2019 really mean?\u00a0 It grants admission to somewhere.\u00a0 Because I have the key to my car, I can get in and out anytime I want.\u00a0 But is that the same thing as saying that I am now in the car?\u00a0 Those are obviously two different things that Darrell Bock doesn\u2019t distinguish in the quote above.\u00a0 Anyone with any common sense can admit that just because you have a key to something or some place that gives you access to it, doesn\u2019t mean that you are currently in that place. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t mean that you are currently in your car even though you are presently holding the key.\u00a0 Do you follow?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nSo, it is rather shocking to me that these arguments take on strength in the world of scholarship, yet to me, common sense allows one to see right through that. \u00a0This is most likely a reference to Isaiah 22:22 where there was a servant named Eliakim, and he was the one who had the key to Hezekiah\u2019s treasures.\u00a0 \u00a0The verse says, \u201cThen I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut\u2026\u201d. That is likely what Jesus is drawing from in Rev 3:7 when He describes Himself as holding the key of David.\u00a0 But Eliakim holding the key is not the same thing as saying that he was actually inside the Temple treasures of Hezekiah.\n\nSome examples where people hold keys, yet the key is not the same thing as possession of something or physical entrance into something or place.\u00a0 Remember what Jesus said to Peter in Matt 16:19, \u201cI will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;<\/u><\/strong>\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Did Peter use those keys?\u00a0 Yes, he did.\u00a0 He unlocked the door to the very first Jews getting saved in the church age.\u00a0 Because of Peter\u2019s evangelism, 3000 Jews were won to Christ.\u00a0 So, Peter took the key in Acts 2 and turned it and opened admission or access into the kingdom in Acts 2.\u00a0 He did the exact same thing in Acts 10 because Peter is the guy who led the first Gentile to Christ, Cornelius and his entire entourage, so when Jesus says \u2018I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven,\u2019 Peter used those keys at least twice in Acts 2 and Acts 10, bringing the first Jews and Gentiles to Christ in the church age.\u00a0 When he won these people to Christ in Acts 2 and Acts 10, did they enter heaven at that point?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 They were still on the earth and that is why Philippians tells us that as Christians, our citizenship is in heaven, and we are eagerly awaiting that, aren\u2019t we?\n\nSo, just because someone has used the keys and opened the pathway to heaven to the Kingdom, is not the same as being currently in the Kingdom or in heaven.\u00a0 Simply holding the keys does not prove anything in terms of the presence of the kingdom.\u00a0 It proves that the power to enter the Kingdom at some point is now yours because you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nThat is why, to the church at Philadelphia, Jesus keeps talking about evangelistic doors.\u00a0 He says that He holds the key of David which opens doors in Rev 3:7. Then in Rev 3:8, he says, \u2018\u201cI know your deeds.\u00a0 Behold, I have put before you an open door<\/u><\/strong>\u2026\u201d\u2019 There was a church in Los Angeles that was pastored by the late J Vernon McGee (on the radio), called the Church of the Open Door.\u00a0 Why was Philadelphia given an open door, \u00a0or what does an open door even mean?\u00a0 It is an evangelistic opportunity.\u00a0 Jesus says, \u2018I have the keys, and like Peter, I'm giving you the keys, and you're going to be able to lead people into a relationship with Me, which gives them access to heaven one day; access to the Kingdom one day.\u2019\u00a0 He isn't saying that you are in heaven now, nor is He saying that you are currently in the Kingdom.\u00a0 That is how the concept of open door is used repeatedly in the New Testament.\u00a0 Notice:\n\n1 Cor 16:8-9.\u00a0 I'm trying to point out that the idea of keys does not mean present<\/em> possession<\/em> of the kingdom; it means access<\/em> to the kingdom one day. Notice how Paul uses the expression, \u2018open doors<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cBut I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.\u201d\u00a0 I like the last phrase.\u00a0 \u2018Gee whiz, I thought when God opened a door for me, I wasn\u2019t supposed to have any problems; that I would be on Easy Street since God opened a door for me.\u2019\u00a0 I have been around ministries, where if they have the slightest setback or friction or problem, they conclude that God hasn\u2019t opened that door.\u00a0 That isn't what Paul says.\u00a0 He says that there is an open door for me, and satan is trying to stop me via opposition as I am going through the door.\u00a0 If you sense opposition in your life regarding something that God has called you to do, don't automatically conclude that God hasn\u2019t opened that door for you.\u00a0 You will notice that \u2018open door\u2019<\/em> here is referred to as an evangelistic opportunity.\n\n1 Colossians 4:2,3\u2014the same thing. \u201cDevote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned.\u00a0 Paul wants a door opened for evangelism.\u201d\n\n2 Cor 2:12. \u201cNow when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord...\u201d What had God given to the church of Philadelphia?\u00a0 He had given them an open door<\/em> to win converts for the coming kingdom, not to establish the Kingdom of God on earth but to win the converts for the coming kingdom.\u00a0 I reached that conclusion by putting all of this data together.\n\nThat is why Jesus is holding the key; He is holding the key of David.\u00a0 Present tense participle: it doesn\u2019t mean that the kingdom is here; it means that doors will be open for the church of Philadelphia to win converts for the coming kingdom.\u00a0 Consistently, that is how keys and doors are used throughout the New Testament.\n\nBy the way, what is interesting about Rev 3:8 is that He says, \u201cI know your deeds.\u00a0 Behold, I have put before you an open door <\/u><\/strong>which no one can shut [notice the next phrase] because you have a little power,\u201d \u2026 Does that make any sense?\u00a0 If I was God I would give the biggest door of opportunity to the people with the most<\/em> power, and here, God opens the door for little Philadelphia who had the least<\/em> power.\u00a0 Why would God give the greatest opportunity for those with the least power?\u00a0 Those with the least power are more likely to trust in God when they walk through the door rather than doing things their own way.\u00a0 You will see this repeatedly in the Bible that when God sets out to use someone, He isn't necessarily looking for the best, smartest, most talented and gifted; He often tries to use the person who is least<\/em> qualified because He knows that this person will have to depend upon Him with the opportunity that He gives.\n\nBut it is clear that when you start going through the entire paragraph that they're winning citizens for The Coming Kingdom.\u00a0 In Rev 3:11, He says, \u201c\u2026I am coming quickly [to Philadelphia], hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.<\/u><\/strong>\u201d\u2026 That is talking about the Judgment Seat of Rewards which is not past, not present, but future.\u00a0 Therefore, He must be talking about winning people as citizens of, not a kingdom that is here now, but of the coming kingdom.\n\nSee Rev 3:12, the promises continue to Philadelphia.\u00a0 See the present tense of all the verbs used.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026I will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God<\/u><\/strong>,\u2026\u201d Those who were won to Christ by Philadelphia, did they become a pillar in God's Temple right then and there?\u00a0 No. \u00a0He was obviously talking about a future reality for them one day.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him<\/u><\/strong> [notice future tense] the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God<\/u><\/strong>,\u2026\u201d Study the New Jerusalem in the Bible and you will discover in Gal 4:26 that the New Jerusalem is in existence right now because the present tense is used to describe the New Jerusalem.\u00a0 Right now, up in the heavens, the New Jerusalem exists; it is just not fit to come to planet earth yet.\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 Because this earth is corrupted by sin.\u00a0 Only when God destroys this earth and replaces it with a new heavens and a new earth, will Rev 21:1, the New Jerusalem, which currently exists, will finally descend to the earth.\u00a0 The New Jerusalem wouldn\u2019t even be welcome today because satan is running everything.\u00a0 Satan must first be evicted, then we must go through the entire Millennial Kingdom, and then this world, as we know it, must be destroyed by fire.\u00a0 Then the New Jerusalem, that currently exists in heaven per Rev 21:1 will descend to the earth.\n\nSo, when the Bible makes statements like, \u2018there will be a pillar in the Temple of My God\u201d and talks about their participation in the new heavens and new earth, it is obviously not talking about present realities.\u00a0 We aren\u2019t in the new heavens and new earth currently, nor are we a pillar in the Temple of God.\u00a0 So, when He is saying, \u2018I've set before you an open door<\/em>,\u2019 He is not talking about the present manifestation of the Kingdom on earth.\u00a0 He is talking about winning the opportunity is given to Philadelphia through evangelism and ministry opportunities to win souls for the coming kingdom.\n\nThat is totally different than what Darrell Bock is saying.\u00a0 Darrell Bock is saying that because Jesus is holding the keys, present tense, we are in the Kingdom now.\u00a0 I'm trying to show you that this is not the best understanding of these verses.\n\nDr. Robert Thomas, in the very good commentary on the Book of Revelation, puts it this way concerning Rev 3:7, \u201cAs the root and offspring of David, Christ in the fullest sense controls the entrance to David\u2019s house [the key words are italicized], which ultimately<\/em> refers to the Messianic Kingdom [future, although Jesus has given us current opportunities to win souls for the coming kingdom]. \u2026He is the genuine Messiah, and in the coming<\/em> reign of glory His power to open the door to His own and close it to the self-styled \u2018children of the kingdom\u2019 is established (italics added<\/em>).\u00a0 Dr. Thomas is basically saying that the kingdom is future.\n\nRev 3:7 is not at all contextually talking about a present manifestation of the Kingdom.\u00a0 It is talking about the ministry opportunities that God gives to Philadelphia and to us to win souls for the coming kingdom; winning a soul for the coming kingdom is not the same thing as saying that we are in the Kingdom now.\n\nThe first problem with their use of Rev 3:7 is (See Slide on Three Responses to \u201cKingdom Now<\/strong>) Theology\u2019s use of Rev 3:7:\n
      \n \t
    1. A key merely grants the right of future admission rather than arguing that it is a present manifestation of the Kingdom.<\/li>\n \t
    2. Jesus' heavenly position (Rev 3:21) disproves a present Davidic enthronement<\/u><\/strong>. Where is Jesus right now?\u00a0 He is at the right hand of the Father.\u00a0 Rev 3:7 ultimately is followed by Rev 3:21. Verse 7 must be interpreted by verse 21, which describes the two thrones. \u00a0Jesus says to Laodicea, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant [future tense of did\u014dmi<\/em>] <\/u><\/strong>to him to sit down with Me on My throne,<\/u><\/strong> as I also overcame and sat down [aorist tense of kathiz\u014d<\/em>] <\/u><\/strong>with My Father on His throne<\/u><\/strong>.\u201d Notice two thrones are mentioned here.\u00a0 One is Christ\u2019s throne in Jerusalem on the earth.\u00a0 He is not seated on that throne right now because He describes that throne with a future tense verb.\u00a0 So which throne is Christ now on if He is not on His throne? He is on His Father\u2019s throne.\u00a0 Is He on that throne now? Yes, He is because He uses the eros tense, \u2018sat down\u2019<\/em> when He describes His present position in heaven.\u00a0 Once the Davidic kingdom starts, Jesus will no longer be at the Father\u2019s right hand.\u00a0 He will be on His own throne over Jerusalem on planet earth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nRev 3:7 is being interpreted to argue that the Davidic reign has started.\u00a0 Darrell Bock is saying that because Jesus [present tense] is \u2018holding the keys,\u2019 the Davidic reign has started.\u00a0 If so, then He wouldn\u2019t be in heaven; He would be on the earth.\n\nThe Davidic reign, once it starts, will be a very real, literal Jesus\u2019 reigning on planet earth.\u00a0 It will be so physical that you can probably approach Him and shake His hand, and you won't even have to give a campaign contribution for the privilege.\u00a0 That is always how the Davidic reign is spoken of.\n\nWhen Darrell Bock says that we are now<\/em> in the Davidic reign, he is changing what this prophecy says; he is making it a heavenly reign when the Bible, from cover to cover, screams that it will be an earthly reign.\u00a0 See the problem?\u00a0 In other words, I can't interpret Rev 3:7 as a present Davidic reign when Rev 3:21 says that Jesus is not in the right place for the present Davidic reign.\u00a0 Tell me if you think this is earthly.\u00a0 This is the first time that the Davidic promise is really given concerning a Davidic king and kingdom.\n\n2 Sam 7:12-16, \u201cWhen your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant<\/u><\/strong> after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.\u00a0 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 I will be a father to Him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the son of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.\u00a0 [Here Saul is being contrasted with David.\u00a0 Was Saul a real earthly king?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 So, this heir coming from David\u2019s line in what is known as the Davidic Covenant, must also be a physical earthly descendant as well with an earthly throne]\u2026\u00a0 God speaking to David, Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.<\/u><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David<\/u><\/strong>.\u201d\n\nDavid, said to the Lord that he wanted to build him a house and the Lord responded, \u2018No, you're not going to build Me a house; I will build you a house.\u2019\u00a0 David wanted to build the Temple but God wouldn\u2019t allow him because he had blood on his hands, so his son, Solomon, ended up being the one to build Him a house, as he was not a man of war.\u00a0 In fact, in the name, \u2018Solomon<\/em>,\u2019 you will recognize the word, \u2018Shalom<\/em>,\u2019 which means peace in Hebrew.\u00a0 So, the privilege to build the Temple went to Solomon.\u00a0 David comes to God in c. 1000 BC and informs God that he is going to build Him a house; a Temple, and God says, \u2018No, your son will do that but, in the meantime, I will make you a promise of a house, not a Temple, but a dynasty.\u00a0 From your own lineage will come an eternal, forever throne.\u2019\u00a0 That is why in Matt 1, genealogically, Jesus is traced back to the lineage of David.\u00a0 Matt 1 shows that Jesus is the One who will inherit these promises.\u00a0 When you interpret these passages, it isn't talking about heaven; it isn't talking about Jesus at the right hand of the Father, it is talking about something on the earth.\u00a0 So, what Jesus possesses now sitting at the right hand of the Father is wonderful, but it isn't the complete package of every time Jesus is going to get.\u00a0 That is why in Rev 3:21, Jesus is distinguishing His Father's throne from His own throne.\u00a0 His throne is the fulfillment of 2 Sam 7:12-16 \u2014 earthly.\n\nSo, until Jesus takes His seat on that throne, you cannot say that we are in the Davidic reign, unless you want to change every time the was said back here.\u00a0 If you want to know what Jesus is doing now, He isn't functioning as King, He is functioning as High Priest after the order of Melchizideck.\u00a0 He is doing a lot of great things for us, but ruling and reigning over planet earth, is one thing He is not doing.\n\nJohn Walvoord says of 2 Sam 7:12-16, \u201cThe covenant with David is not only given twice in its major content\u2014namely, 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17\u2014but it is also confirmed in Psalm 89\u2026\u201d [\u2018Gee, Pastor, I\u2019d like to go home tonight and read the major passages of the Bible that refer to the Davidic Throne and the Davidic Kingdom\u2019.\u00a0 Great!\u00a0 Glad you are interested; those are the 3 passages above.\u00a0 Read those three chapters and you will understand the Davidic reign:\u00a0 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17 and Psalm 89] \u2026\n\n\u201c\u2026In this and other Old Testament references there is no allusion anywhere to the idea that these promises are to be understood in a spiritualized sense as referring to the church or to a reign of God in heaven.\u00a0 Rather, it is linked to the earth and to the seed of Israel, and to the land\u2026There is no indication that this kingdom extended to a spiritual entity such as the church or that the throne in view is the throne of God in heaven rather than the throne of David on earth\u2026Such a situation does not prevail in this present age and is not related here or elsewhere to the reign of Christ from the throne of His Father in heaven.\u201d\n\nWhat Jesus has now doesn\u2019t fit the promises so Jesus up in heaven simply holding keys is not a sufficient reason to argue that we are in the Davidic reign now.\u00a0 He is in the wrong place for that Davidic reign to occur.\n\nPsalm 2:6-9 clearly puts the Davidic reign on the earth, and this is at the beginning of the reign:\u00a0 \u201cBut as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion<\/u><\/strong>, My holy mountain.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:\u00a0 He said to Me, \u2018You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.\u00a0 \u2018Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations<\/u><\/strong> as Your inheritance [the nations are on the earth], And the very ends of the earth<\/u><\/strong> as Your possession.\u00a0 \u2018You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.<\/u><\/strong>\u2019\u201d\n\nNotice all of the references to earth, earthly<\/u><\/strong> regarding the Davidic reign.\n\nIsaiah 11:4 says of the Davidic reign:\u00a0 \u201cBut with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 And He will strike the earth<\/u><\/strong> with the rod of His mouth.\u201d\n\nSo, is Jesus holding the keys of David in heaven?\u00a0 Is that describing the Davidic reign?\u00a0 It cannot be because Jesus is in the wrong position for the Davidic reign to occur.\u00a0 Instead, what those keys are talking about is granting access to people to become citizens of this coming kingdom.\n\nWe will stop with this third problem with Darrell Bock\u2019s interpretation of Rev 3:7:\n
        \n \t
      1. The active presence of the church\u2019s enemies (Rev 3:9) disproves a present Davidic enthronement.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 In Rev 3:7 where Jesus is holding the keys is followed by Rev 3:9. This verse describes the church at Philadelphia having very real enemies.\u00a0 When the Davidic reign starts, what will happen to God's enemies?\u00a0\u00a0 They will be made His footstool!\u00a0 Psalm 110:1-2,5-6 says, \u201cThe Lord says to my Lord:\u00a0 \u201cSit at My right hand Until<\/em><\/strong> I make Your [where is Jesus?\u00a0 At the right hand of the Father.\u00a0 Is He there forever?\u00a0 No, because of that word, \u2018Until<\/em><\/strong>\u2019]\u2026Your enemies a footstool<\/u><\/strong> for Your feet.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0[Where Jesus is now.\u00a0 Until the Davidic reign starts when Jesus is no longer seated on the Father's throne but on His own throne on the earth.\u00a0 When that happens]\u2026 \u201cI will make Your enemies a footstool<\/u><\/strong> for Your feet.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Enemies won't be a problem once the Davidic reign starts].\u00a0 \u201cThe Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, [the Father saying to the Son]\u2026 \u201cRule in the midst of Your enemies.\u201d The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings<\/u><\/strong> in the day of His wrath.\u00a0 He will judge among the nations,<\/u><\/strong> He will fill them with corpses, <\/u><\/strong>He will shatter the chief men<\/u><\/strong> over a broad country.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nSo, when the Davidic reign starts which is what Psalm 110 predicts, the enemies of Christ and of the Christian will no longer be a factor; they will be totally subdued.\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 is that what was happening presently for the church of Philadelphia?\u00a0 Were their enemies subdued as Jesus was holding the keys of David?\u00a0 Not at all.\u00a0 Rev 3:9 says that they were being harassed by a very real enemy, I think, unbelieving Jews, called the synagogue of satan.\u00a0 The church of Philadelphia could not have been experiencing the Davidic reign even though Jesus was presently holding the key of David because the church\u2019s enemies were free and active.\u00a0 When the Davidic reign starts, all of the enemies of God and of the believer will be completely, totally subdued!\u00a0 In fact, look at Rev 3:9 in the original, there are three future tense verbs here describing the subduing of the enemies one day.\u00a0 \u201cBehold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie\u2014I will make [make<\/em>\u2014Greek in the future tense] come [come<\/em>\u2014in Greek is future tense] and bow down at your feet, [bow<\/em> down<\/em> in Greek is also future tense]\u2026. So, because it is put in the future tense, obviously the synagogue of Satan was not subdued; they would be subdued one day, but they weren\u2019t subdued presently, they were free and active.\u00a0 Therefore, Rev 3:7 in no way, shape or form could be the Davidic reign because if it was in place, the enemies of God would be subdued, and clearly this isn't the case here in Philadelphia.\n\nJesus is holding these keys: Philadelphia, [present tense participle], and everyone says the Davidic reign has started. I am saying NO! Because the keys don't mean that you are in the car; it means you have access to the car, number 1.\n\nNumber 2, if the Davidic reign had started, Jesus would not be in heaven but would be on earth.\u00a0 Rev 3:21 which follows Rev 3:7, describes Him in heaven.\n\nNumber 3, if the Davidic reign were in force, then the church\u2019s enemies would be subdued.\u00a0 Prophecy after prophecy says that the church\u2019s enemies were not fulfilled there in Philadelphia.\n\nThe next time we are together, we will keep marching through these passages and we will be looking at Rev 5 with a fast look at Rev 15:3.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t