As 2022 closes out, its a good time to look back as well as figure out the direction for this blog over the next year. Part of that is a decision about either keeping things at status quo, making more of an investment, or taking the blog site down and saving money. It is expensive to keep the blog going.

I really don’t have much of a following, but acquiring a following has never been the goal per se. I have been trying to fill what I think is a hole in Christian teaching: the Kingdom of God. There is very little teaching about the Kingdom within the church. Lack of clear biblical teaching causes ignorance, misunderstanding, false teaching, and even heresy to spread. Its way past time for God’s people to get into the Word of God.

The primary topic of the bible is, arguably, the Kingdom of God. God’s purpose has always been to establish it. He created us for it. For believers, it is our destiny. Salvation is for that very purpose – that we would have eternal life in an eternal Kingdom, all available to anyone who will repent and place their unqualified trust in Jesus Christ. All of human history from the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden to the final kingdom – the Kingdom of God – from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22 is the path back to the Kingdom.

Sadly, most true Christians have no idea about the Kingdom. When I was saved, nobody told me what I’d signed up for. Nobody gave me any information about the glorious reality of the Kingdom. Everything in western Christianity seems geared to the present reality on earth and building the earthly kingdoms of men, with no sense of the majesty, awe and wonder of the Kingdom of God.

I have often wondered why the teaching about the Kingdom of God was not one of the first things a new believer received. In my experience having been a member of many different types of churches in many different places, I have never encountered a focused teaching about the Kingdom of God. In scripture, it really is the “elephant in the room”. But pastors typically focus on how to live as Christians and barely mention the Kingdom of God. This, to me, is unacceptable – but then most things in western Christianity I find unacceptable and ineffective.

The Kingdom of God is still the primary purpose of the blog: it is opinionated, scripture based, and teaching oriented about what the bible says about it. I’ll probably keep it going, mainly because this has been a good forcing function to keep me writing and studying the Word of God. I’ll continue to put my discoveries from the Word out here in cyber space as long as the truth still has a place here. I have no interest in building a following by advertising, elevating posts, using social media, etc. The material is here for the Lord to use in any way He sees fit. If His Word is accurately represented in a way that honors Him, then my goal is met.

I have been slowly working my way through the gospels – all of them at the same time. That is where the teachings of the Kingdom primarily reside – through the teachings of the King who will bring the Kingdom. So the main focus of 2023 will be to continue working through the gospels. Honestly, a coordinated study of all the gospels together will probably take the rest of my life because of the depth of understanding I seek. There is so much in the gospels about how we are to conduct the mission the Lord gave us. Its all about the mission.

What I’ve discovered in 2022

• I’ve written twice about the wonderful story of the Book of Ruth, each time around Christmas. My second release about the Book of Ruth was a series of posts that I think were better than the original very long post last year. I discovered how God works behind the scenes, in secret, to accomplish the most amazing purposes. I also learned that the Book of Ruth is prophetic.
• I did a series of posts on the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s well and discovered there are a lot of moving parts to this story. The account is so much more than it seems on the surface and may actually represent a fulfillment of a prophecy made by Ezekiel about the reunification of the tribes of Israel – something God said He would accomplish personally. Some aspects of the prophecy remain unfulfilled at this time, but John 4 set fulfillment in motion through this meeting of Jesus with this woman.
• I also wrote recently about the parable of the sower as THE secret to understanding not only all of the parables but ALL of the Word of God and the Kingdom of God. The real exciting discovery in this parable is that understanding of the Word of God, as God intends, in all its depths, is available to anyone as long as a key criteria is met. You’ll have to go read the posts to discover what this is. I am speaking about the big picture here, not the details. The details are important but so is the big picture, knowing that there is no conflict between the two when understood correctly.
• I wrote about biblical prayer as encoded in the Lord’s prayer. The Lord’s prayer as a template for driving our own personal prayer is not a suggestion. The Lord gave us this prayer to pray as is, but most importantly, as a guide for our own prayers. He expects us to use this template, not our own. If you struggle with prayer, go back to the Lord’s prayer as a start. Read the post to see how to use it as a template.
• I covered what I call the “Gadarene Incident”, the encounter Jesus has with a demon possessed man. The larger context of the mission of Jesus against the demonic forces and the kingdom of the evil one brings more understanding into this particular incident. It also gives some very important insight into how demonic forces work against the purposes of God and how we are to engage. The Lord has given us a lot of intel regarding the fallen realm. This is another area of teaching and equipping that is never taught correctly in the church. As a result, there is misunderstanding due to the lack of knowledge and preparation of believers. If we had better understanding it would help in our on-going spiritual battle. Without the instruction and understanding, we are at a disadvantage in a time when we need every advantage the Lord has given us in HIs Word.
• I wrote a little bit about a coming prophetic event called the “rapture of the church” as it relates to Psalm 91 and the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah. I am a pretribulation dispensationalist in my understanding of the scriptures and eschatology (end times study). I believe both of these passages of scripture are supportive of that viewpoint – but especially the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. God ensured the discussion He had with Abraham was captured in scripture as strong, even definitive, support for the pretrib rapture doctrine. The parallels between the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah and the coming judgement of the world under antichrist are striking and only strengthens my acceptance of the pretrib rapture doctrine. Go read the posts.
• One of my most important posts of 2022 was Miracles, Multitudes, and Message about the connection of miracles with the gospel of the Kingdom. The bottom line was that it was the miracles of Jesus attracted the multitudes which then heard the message of the Kingdom. Miracles without the gospel is a disservice to people and the Lord, but the gospel without miracles can be ineffective in reaching the numbers of people required to sustain a strong, growing church. The supernatural manifestation of the power of God in the kinds of miracles Jesus and the Apostles performed as depicted in the gospels cannot be separated from the message of the gospel.

The Plan for 2023

Its hard to predict where the focus will be in 2023 because its at the leading of the Lord. I’ll write about whatever the conviction is at the time. But generally, the plan is:

• A series on the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. What is it? When will it come? How does it relate to the final Kingdom of God?
• A series on the coming judgements that define the tribulation period.
• A series on aberrant teachings about the Kingdom of God filling the church today. A series that will include a post about the right understanding of the Kingdom as related by Christ and the Apostles.
• A series on how the western church should prepare for the very real and soon coming possibility of persecution. The focus will be on structure and mission. Maybe a good place to start.
• Continue working through the gospels and posting about what I find. This study of the gospels in a coordinated way using a resource called “Harmony of the Gospels” has been incredibly productive. I’ve found so many insights I’ve never seen before. The more I dig, the more I find. Now I am beginning to understand what Jesus meant by “whoever has more will be given” and “seek and you will find”. It all relates back to the Word of God.

If you are a reader, then thanks. I hope you find this material helpful. Feel free to comment or debate or suggest topics in which you may have interest.

May the God of Heaven and Messiah, Jesus Christ, be blessed by His people the church and His people Israel.