"The Jews And The Kingdom"
What kind of kingdom did Jesus come into the world to establish? A proper answer from the Bible to this question will deal a deathblow to premillennialists and their dream kingdom. Did Jesus come into the world to restore the material kingdom to Israel, and sit on David's material throne in Jerusalem? If He did then He temporized with Pontius Pilate in the shadow of the cross and deceived him.
Pilate asked Him the direct question, "Art thou then the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered that He was, but immediately added, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom was of this world then would my disciples fight that I should not be delivered unto thee, but now is my kingdom not from hence." In this He disclaims any thought of establishing a material kingdom in Jerusalem, or anywhere else in the world. David's kingdom was an earthly kingdom, it was of this world, and if Jesus came to restore it, He came to set up an earthly kingdom, and what He said to Pilate was an evasion of the truth.
Did Jesus temporize in the shadow of the cross? Did He purposely mislead, and deceive, Pilate? Was His answer a clear evasion of the question in Pilate's mind? If not, then Jesus did not come to the earth to restore the kingdom to Israel in a material sense, or to resurrect the material throne of David. We know what the Jews expected of their Messiah when He came, and what Jesus' own disciples expected of Him until they were disillusioned on the day of Pentecost. They expected just what Brother Boll, and all other premillennialists, expect Him to do when He comes back the second time.
The Jews were mistaken; Paul declares that they were blinded, they misunderstood the nature of the kingdom that He came to the world to establish. But they understood it just like Brother Boll understands it today, or misunderstands it. Their misunderstanding caused them to reject the kingdom He did establish, and murder their King, and thereby lose their souls. Brother Boll cannot crucify the Lord again, but he can reject the kingdom, and lose his soul.
And he can divide, and rend, and tear, His spiritual body, and crucify it before the world, and keep men and women from accepting the kingdom today. It is as harmful today as it was then, and that is why Satan keeps it alive in the world. It keeps men out of the kingdom the Lord established when He was here, and keeps them looking for a dream kingdom that will never appear.
Brother Boll and others like him are the worst enemies the Jews have in the world today. He is promising them salvation after the flesh when the Lord comes, and tries to make Paul do the same thing in spite of what the apostle has said to the contrary. All Israel, with Brother Boll, means Israel after the flesh, in spite of Paul's statement that they "are not all Israel who are of Israel. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they children, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called." (Rom. 9:6-7.) They are called by the gospel, and they become children of God in Christ, Who is the promised Seed.
"He is not a Jew which is one outwardly--but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit." (Rom. 2:28-29.) "For if they which be of the law are justified, faith is made void, and the promise of none effect." (Rom. 4:14.) "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek--for ye are all one in Christ." (Gal. 3:26-29.)
I affirm that there is no promise to the Jews in the gospel after the flesh, not one. I challenge all the Bollites, Russellites, Webberites, Millerites, or any other Jew baiter on this earth to find one promise to the Jews in the gospel, after the flesh.
It is true that Jesus came to them first, but they received Him not. But to as many as did receive Him to them he gave power to become sons of God, even to them that believed. Of course, they thought they were already children of God because of their fleshly birth, but the Lord said they were mistaken. It is true that the kingdom was first offered to them, and for eight years the gospel was preached exclusively to them, but still they rejected Him.
Then He had said, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." From the day of Pentecost the apostles preached to Jews only, offering them salvation through Christ which was the Deliverer the prophets had promised would come, and whom the Jews crucified.
I am told that Paul said, "So all Israel shall be saved, for it is written, There shall come out of Zion a deliverer, and turn away ungodliness from Judah." Yes, Paul did say part of that. He said, "So all Israel should be saved," but the balance of that verse is a quotation from the prophet. But he has already told us that they are not all Israel who are of Israel, and he is not a Jew which is one outwardly.
That Deliverer is not one that was to come, but He had already come when Paul wrote this, and he was preaching to the Jews salvation through that Deliverer, and begging them to accept the Deliverer that had come. But they crucified that Deliverer because He refused them their temporal kingdom, and preached a kingdom that is not of this world. But as many as received Him were saved, and of those who believed not He said, "Ye shall die in your sins, and where I am you cannot come," and that is still true.
In this kingdom of God which He established, and which Paul preached in much tears, there were neither Jews nor Greeks, but all were one in Christ. The man who denies that the Deliverer has come to Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob is a plain antichrist, and repudiates the blood of Christ. Paul's only hope for the Jews was that he could persuade them to accept the Deliverer who had come, and be saved through His gospel, and he never at any time held out the least hope for them in any other deliverer.
They were broken off, but they can be grafted into the good olive tree again by faith in Christ. Not a Christ that is to come but a Christ that did come, whom they rejected. Unbelief in that Christ will break them off, and where He is they cannot come, but faith, in Him will graft them in again. What the Jews need to do is look back to, Calvary, and reverse the judgment they rendered there, and the man who promises them a deliverer to come is their enemy, and the enemy of that Deliverer that did come--they are antichrist.
Were the Jews right in expecting the Messiah to restore the material kingdom to Israel? If so, then Jesus was wrong when He said His kingdom was not of this world. David's kingdom was of this world; it was a kingdom like the other nations around them had, with a material throne, and a material king.
Jesus' kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world--it is a kingdom over, and above, all earthly kingdoms. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and His government is above all others. The old prophet said the mountain of the Lord's house would be established in the top of the mountains, or over all other governments, and above them. Paul said He was seated at God's right hand, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come.
Daniel said when He ascended on high, and came to the Ancient of Days, there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, and peoples, and tongues, should serve him. (Dan. 7:13.) Brother Boll and his brethren say Daniel was mistaken, He was not given the dominion and the kingdom when He ascended, but it will be given to Him when He leaves heaven again, and comes back to live upon the earth for a thousand years this time.
If the Jews were blinded when they expected a material king, and a material kingdom, Brother Boll is blinded today in the same identical way. If their blindness kept them out of the kingdom, and caused 'them to be lost, it will do the same for Brother Boll. It is the same old bait the devil used to catch the Jews that Brother Boll has swallowed, and the same old hook is inside the bait, the devil's hook.