During the last dispensationalism study, it was mentioned that Paul’s ministry was primarily for non-Jewish Christians. However, this does not mean that Paul did not minister to the Jews ever, it was just a tiny part of his ministry. We see these glimpses of Paul’s ministry toward Jews whenever there is a mention of physical dealings (which should match the spiritual dealings God had with the Jewish people). This being said, one should keep in mind that Paul’s ministry was not entirely Christian. An example of Paul’s Jewish ministry is found in Acts 19.
The Physical Jews vs. the Spiritual Christians
Notice that the Jews here receive the Holy Spirit through the physical laying of hands, not spiritually as do the Christians.
Acts 19:1-6 “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”
“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.”
If Paul was ministering to the Jews spiritually, then they should have already received the Holy Spirit simply by believing. Charismatics and Calvinists use this verse as proof that believing in Jesus is not enough to receive the Holy Spirit and that they have to do other physical things in order to receive the Holy Spirit. What they fail to understand is that Paul was speaking to disciples, fellow Jews that were still dealt with physically.
“And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
Here we see that the people in question are receivers of John’s baptism, which prepared the way for the Messiah. This water baptism had the physical confession of sins, the physical baptism, and the physical works of repentance required for Jewish salvation.
“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”
This makes it abundantly clear that whenever physical doctrine was mentioned (i.e. laying of hands, physical water baptism for repentance, speaking in tongues, etc.), it was exclusively for the Jewish people and not for the spiritual Christian church. Familiarity with the covenants as well as dispensationalism helps in deciphering what parts of Scripture are intended for the physical Jews or spiritual Christians.
Another example of Paul ministering to the Jews is the book of Hebrews. We know this because Paul’s intended audience for this particular book is stated in the title: the Jews. Again, it is important to stress that although Paul did primarily minister to non-Jewish Christians, he still ministered to the Jews, albeit not very much. This is why dispensationalism is needed to identify the correct doctrine for both Christians and Jews.
Hebrews 1:2“Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”
The key words “last days” indicate what time period and to whom specifically, this verse applies to; the Jews during the Tribulation. If you are familiar with the covenants then you are already going to expect physical dealings with the physical nation of Israel in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 2:5 “For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
Here we see that the context of what Paul is speaking about will happen in the future. Given that we already know Paul is speaking to Tribulation Jews (Hebrews 1:2), we know that God is going to be dealing physically with these particular Jews, which again, involves a physical salvation plan.
Now, many churches today quote the following verse, saying that a Christian is not really saved if they are not truly repentant.
Hebrews 6:4 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,”
If the people in question have the Holy Spirit.
“If they shall fall away,”
If they fall away (leave the faith),
“to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
They blaspheme and opened up the crucifixion of Christ again.
Basically speaking, if you fall away you lose your salvation given that it is impossible for your repentance to be renewed. Many cults use this verse incorrectly but this can be avoided if you know your covenants. By knowing the covenants you know that this verse is in the context of the last days, the Tribulation time period for the Jews (Hebrews 1:2) so it is not going to apply to the Christian Church.
The following verse is also taken out of context and mistakenly applied to the Christian Church.
Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.“
If you sin after you are saved, you go to Hell.
However, if you are familiar with your covenants and this type of language (who it is intended for) you know that because we are in the book of Hebrews and have identified that this takes place in the future, it is a message intended for physical Jews during the Tribulation time period. Something else to note is that during the time of Paul’s ministry, God was not done dealing with the Jews but gradually switched from Jews to Christians, which makes this period transitional. Because of this, you will see a lot of Christian doctrine in Hebrews and the book of Acts.
Acts 16:30 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. “
Believing in Christ was enough to be saved in this verse, not a mention of having to do anything else to receive salvation is found here.
Acts 13:39 “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
Notice that Paul preached that they were saved by believing in Christ, not by practising the physical law of Moses.
Hebrews 10:10-12 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:”
The idea that our salvation through Christ is final and that we have no need to offer sacrifices for the cleansing of sins is Christian doctrine.
There are many other examples of Christian doctrine sprinkled in texts that are supposedly Jewish only, those of which are the following:
- Hebrews 9:14-15
- Hebrews 12:2, 23-24
3 Factors to keep in mind when reading transitional books
Now, when you compare the book of Acts and Hebrews to Paul’s other 12 epistles addressed to non-Jewish Christian Churches, it is clear that the majority of his ministry was geared towards the Christian Church with glimpses of Jewish doctrine. This is difficult to believe if you do not apply the basic teachings of dispensationalism where we have to identify the correct group of people, time period, etc. in order to obtain the correct interpretation of chapters, a passage, and sometimes, a verse.
*Note: As we have seen before, a verse can be split up into two different doctrines for two different people in different time periods, hence, why dispensationalism is important for correct doctrine.
Knowing the covenants is also important for this as well. That being said, this transitional period is expected to contain Jewish doctrine as well as non-Jewish Christian doctrine.
We also have to take into consideration that whatever is written is led by the Holy Spirit even though the author might not understand what they are writing. This is understandable in the sense that God can be talking to one group of people and then switch to talking to another group of people in another time period, sometimes in the same verse. So we have to understand that God is the one that is speaking, not man (the vessel). This is why man has to use dispensationalism because we are not God in that we can be directing our words to different people in different time periods.
Differing meanings of the ‘last days’ and ‘the day of the Lord’
Now, the coming of Christ and the day of the Lord were two events the Old Testament Jews were expecting from a physical (OT) perspective. They believed that they would have a physical Messiah that establish a physical kingdom reigning as a physical king. What they failed to realize, however, was that their Messiah was going to be a suffering Messiah. During Jesus’ time period, the Jews that were converting into Jesus’ disciples believed that the coming of Christ and the day of the Lord would happen any time soon. They believed that the end-time events would happen soon, that Christ would set up His kingdom and that there was going to be a rapture for the Jews. However, this was not so as Paul introduced the Christian rapture and Judgment seat of Christ for Christians as happening before those physical events.
2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
Here, we see that the day of Christ is also referred to as ‘that day’. Now, let’s see what the context of ‘that day’ and the ‘day of Christ’ is.
2 Timothy 4:8 “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Here we see that Timothy describes a judgement where he receives a crown, which we know, is the Christian judgement or the Judgement seat of Christ as ‘that day’ is also mentioned here. So, this ‘that day’ and ‘the day of the Lord’ both refer to the Judgement Seat of Christ.
Let’s look at another verse that describes the Christian rapture.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.”
Now, the Old Testament Jews believed that their physical king and Messiah would bring them their physical kingdom, which they believed was not Jesus. Meanwhile, the Jews that were converted to the teachings of Jesus and His disciples expected their rapture to happen in the near future and receive their physical kingdom through their physical Messiah. However, Paul introduces a new idea.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
Here we see that it is the Christians that are being raptured.
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
This further describes the rapture.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.“
So we see that Paul referred to the ‘day of the Lord’ and the coming of Christ as the Christian rapture and the Judgement seat of Christ. Now, this becomes a problem when we recall that Jesus had mentioned that the end times rapture was for the Jews waiting for their messianic king, not non-Jewish Christians. There is no mention of Christians waiting to receive a physical kingdom in the world but an anticipation to see Jesus face to face. So how is it that there is a rapture for both groups? The answer is simple once we acknowledge the fact that God can be talking to multiple groups of people at once for a particular event, such as the day of the Lord and the coming of Christ. This is where dispensationalism comes in handy to identify who He is talking to and at what time period. This means that God ordained a rapture for the spiritual Christians and a rapture for the physical Jews in the Tribulation. There is no contradiction when we say there is a rapture for both groups.
1 Corinthians 15:21-24 “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead“
The dead are resurrected.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
All of us were resurrected from the dead when we became alive in Christ.
Now, take notice of the following two verses which it shows multiple raptures.
“But every man”
When every person is resurrected,
“in his own order:”
there is an order to their resurrection.
“Christ the firstfruits;”
One rapture, the resurrection of Jesus.
“afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”
Two raptures, the Christian rapture.
“Then cometh the end,”
This ‘end’ refers to the Tribulation time period where the Jews will get raptured, three raptures.
“when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
If you keep reading, the immediate rapture that is described, specifically in verses 51-57, is the Christian rapture, meaning that the Christian rapture, as stated in verse 23, comes before the Jews’ rapture. This is also how you debunk a tribulation rapture for Christians, by knowing that there are different raptures for different covenants.
So, the Christian rapture is not a part of the Jew’s tribulation and we see this in the following verse.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-9 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
Through this verse, post-tribulation proponents will say that this is the Christian rapture, however, take a look a the context of the following verses.
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.“
Here we see that the Christians’ rapture will not overtake them suddenly, it will not come as a surprise as the rapture for the Jews will be.
“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.”
Christians are not overtaken unawares by the rapture.
“But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Christians are not appointed to wrath.
So, the Christian Church is not to be taken unawares by the rapture and is not appointed to wrath. Now, let’s compare this to the Jew’s rapture and the Tribulation.
*Note: Matthew 24 will not be compared here but if you want to make sure that Luke 21 is speaking about the Tribulation and the Jews’ physical kingdom, please see the aforementioned chapter.
Luke 21:21-27,34-36 “Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
“Then let them which are in Judaea“
Jews are mentioned here.
“flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”
Here we see that this Tribulation time period where the Jews flee is one of vengeance or wrath. Christians are not mentioned here.
“But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days!”
During ‘those days’ or the Tribulation days.
“for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.”
This Tribulation time period is called wrath, but recall that Paul said that Christians were not appointed to wrath in 1 Thessalonians 5. Thus, when Paul talks about the Christian rapture it is not going to be during the Tribulation.
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;”
The mentioning of Jerusalem coupled with the fact that this verse matches the contents of Matthew 24 once again affirms that it is talking about the Jews during the Tribulation.
“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.“
Jesus comes down at the end of the Tribulation with the post-tribulation rapture for the Jews.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”
Notice that the ‘days of the Tribulation’ refers to the people who are part of the ‘drunkenness’ and are taken unawares, unlike the Christian church which Paul said they weren’t a part of.
“For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.”
Again, the Tribulation is described as something that occurs suddenly, which matches Paul’s description of the Tribulation.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Notice that you can escape the things happening in the Tribulation if you are not taken unaware, are not part of those drunken in the night, and are not appointed to wrath, which means that Christians do not go through these events. Thus, this Christian rapture that Paul talks about has to occur before the Tribulation.
Now, with all of these things in mind, the day of the Lord and the day of Christ can refer to different events intended for different people in different covenants. This means that whatever Paul or the Apostles say about these two events will contain different meanings for the Christians and the Jews respectively. Specifically, if you look at the context surrounding ‘day of Christ’ you will find that it points to the Christian rapture and has nothing to do with the Tribulation whereas ‘day of the Lord’ is mostly geared toward the Jews during the Tribulation. That being said, there have only been one or two times where the ‘day of the Lord’ is the same as the ‘day of Christ’, which we saw in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3. Generally speaking, concerning the day of Christ and the day of the Lord, there is a difference between them when found in Paul’s epistles.
Physical Signs and Wonders and the Transition from Physical to Spiritual
Acts 10:44-46 “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,”
These verses here show that non-Jews received the gift of the Holy Ghost as well as signs and wonders. Now, recall that the physical signs are for the Jews but here we see that Gentiles also partook in the physical signs. Is this a contradiction? No, because God was not yet done with the nation of Israel. Verse 45 states that ‘those of the circumcision’ were present when the Gentiles received the gift. Not only that, Peter, a Jew ministering to the Jews, was there. This further supports the fact that physical signs are only for Jews, in that the non-Jews could only partake in those signs and wonders if a Jew is present, as we see in this passage. Not only that, even in Paul’s ministry, which was primarily geared toward non-Jews, did he do signs and wonders. This was because he was a Jew himself and God was not done with the Jews yet.
Romans 15:18 “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
Notice that the Gentiles partook in signs and wonders only because Paul, a Jew, ministered unto them. Now, recall that God had warned the Jews that He was going to switch over to the Christians gradually. This means that these signs and wonders would also gradually fade away near the end of Paul’s ministry. This next verse makes it very evident that signs and wonders are not for Christians but for the Jews.
1 Timothy 5:23 “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
Paul tells Timothy to take medicine for his infirmities.
2 Timothy 4:20 “Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.“
Later on, Paul says that he, who was able to heal the sick, left Trophimus sick. This is because it was nearing the end of Paul’s ministry, where signs and wonders were fading, meaning Paul could no longer heal anyone. We know this because before, the healings were immediate and one hundred percent successful because it was God’s power.
Philippians 2:25-27 “Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.”
Paul was so worried because Epaphroditus was sick unto death. Now, Paul would not have been this worried if he still had the power to heal his friend. Instead, Paul relies on God’s mercy to heal his friend, much like us Christians today. This is why we also pray for people to be healed. It is not through healers that people are healed but through God’s mercy.
Now when Jesus and His apostles were healing, while people were stricken with grief, Jesus told them not to cry because He and His apostles could heal people even from death. This is such a contrast to Paul and his friend Epaphroditus, which proves that signs and wonders were gradually disappearing throughout Paul’s ministry and were gone towards the end of it.
Matthew 10:1 “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.“
Everything was healed here by the Apostles and medicine was not required for any ailment unlike with Paul’s friend toward the end of Paul’s ministry.
Matthew 10:5-6 “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel“
Jesus did not want them to go to the Gentiles because it was still primarily Jewish at the time, meaning that the signs and wonders were one hundred percent operational, meaning that it was going one hundred percent toward the Jews. This is different from Paul’s ministry which was transitional and becoming more and more Christian, which means that signs and wonders were not one hundred percent operation but rather fading because it was becoming more Christian. This is why it makes sense why Paul was worried for his friend and why he recommended medicine; Paul no longer had the power to heal him.
Now, we recognize that during Paul’s ministry there were some physical signs and wonders happening. Paul even wrote a Tribulation epistle the book of Hebrews, which contained physical salvation, meaning this was in the context of the Jews. However, we see that the transition from Jew to non-Jew is about to end because the signs and miracles becoming more and more scarce.
1 Corinthians 12:13,27“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. “
Notice here that because Paul’s ministry was primarily for non-Jewish Christians, the Holy Spirit was given via a spiritual baptism when one becomes the body of Christ. This is different from the Jews in that they received the Holy Spirit only through physical means like water baptism and the laying of hands. This is not the case here as only a spiritual baptism is mentioned.
Now, how does one become the body of Christ?
Ephesians 3:6 “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”
We become the body of Christ when we are saved by our faith in the gospel and, in turn, we receive the Holy Spirit.
As previously mentioned, Paul’s ministry primarily dealt with the non-Jewish Christian Church. That being said, he is going to preach a spiritual kingdom, not a physical kingdom for the Jews and we see this in the following verses.
Romans 14:17-18 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.”
“For the kingdom of God“
Kingdom of God (non-Jews), not kingdom of Heaven (Jews)
“is not meat and drink;“
This further serves as evidence that the kingdom of God is not physical as it mentions that it is not physical things (meat and drink).
“but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
The kingdom of God is spiritual.
“For he that in these things serveth Christ”
Christians are in the spiritual kingdom of God
“is acceptable to God, and approved of men.”
We are in the kingdom of God because of John 3:3. Now those who are born again by the spirit are in the kingdom of God.
This doctrine is very important for Christians to know because it separates us from Tribulation doctrines that would apply to the Jews. Many cults today do not know this distinction and wrongly apply strictly Jewish doctrine to themselves. Therefore, it is important to know that spiritual is Christian while physical is Jew.
*Note: John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”