From king Saul to king David.

Acts 13:20-23

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—” Acts 13:20-23

After the Israelites were brought from the wilderness, God gave them judges, and those judges are described in the book of Judges. Then the Israelites wanted a king to be like the Godless nations around them, so He gave them Saul. The intention of God was never to give the Israelites a king to rule over them, God was to be their King and Ruler. However, the leaders of the Israelites demanded a king and so God gave them Saul. As quoted, the leaders of the Israelites said, “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 Samuel 8: 6-7

Paul was exposing the Jewish rulers as those who rejected Jesus Christ in order to have their own nation as a Jewish culture. The Jewish people were too arrogant or prideful to allow Jesus to be Lord over them at the expense of disbanding the Jewish culture. They rejected coming to Jesus because of the teaching that there was neither Jew nor Greek in His name. The Jewish people rejected Jesus as their King 2000 years ago and now they have their own nation and “king” like all the other nations of the world. That nation is called the State of Israel which was established in 1948. Since that time, the Israelis have been in 18 wars, even a war in the very year they were gathered to Israel. Click here for a list of those wars.

If the Jewish people would have said “Yes” to Jesus 2000 years ago, the State of Israel would never have existed, and neither would their wars and conflicts. That’s because as Christians, we do not have a country on this earth to call our own, our nation is the New Jerusalem of the new heaven and earth. And Jesus is our King. Our Lord Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…” John 18:36

God gathered the Jewish people to the State of Israel as the place where He unleashes His judgment on them for rejecting Him as their King, as quoted, “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.” Ezekiel 22:19-21

After God removed Saul for his disobedience to His word [Saul was possessed by an evil spirit], He raised up David to rule over the Israelites. David was a man after God’s own heart who lived by the will of God. This is where Paul plainly says that from the lineage of David was raised up Jesus the Christ and Savior of Israel [and the world]. In other words, the Kingdom of God is not Israel, nor the Jewish culture, nor any other nation of this world, but comes through Jesus as King of our heart, mind, and soul.

The Kingdom of God is within us through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of inheriting the eternal New Jerusalem. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14 We are the “purchased possession” purchased by the blood Christ shed on the Cross to atone for sin. Our redemption comes when we are resurrected from the dead into eternal life.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1