Daniel, Chapter 9, describes the 70th week of Daniel which is a 7 year period of time occurring after the death of Christ but before Christ’s return to set up the kingdom. It is a 7 year period in which the antichrist will rule the world and persecute the Jews. The Apostle Paul was aware of Daniel’s prophesies but some 30 years after the death of Christ had seen no sign of the distinctive events which were to occur in the 70th week of Daniel.

About this time, God revealed to Paul the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ concerning a heavenly Church which is blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. The calling of its members and their position in Christ was to be separate and apart from Israel’s covenants and promises.

Although the kingdom had clearly been set aside for a short time, as seen by Daniel’s prophesies, we have no reason to believe that Paul thought the kingdom would be postponed for 2000 years. In fact, as far as we know, he continued to believe that the tribulation period and the kingdom were eminent even after the passing of 30 years. This means that Paul saw two different groups of believers on the earth at that time. There were the believers associated with the covenants of Israel and the believers associated with the Church which is the Body of Christ.

At the same time that Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians to reveal the mystery of the Church, he also wrote the book of Hebrews to the believers who had the hope of the kingdom. That these are two distinctly different groups of believers is evident from the fact that they have two different raptures. The rapture of the Church is described in Philippians 3:21 and Colossians 3:4, while the rapture of the kingdom saints is described in Matthew 24:29-31, I Corinthians 15:51-52, I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

At the time Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, he may have envisioned a scenario in which the Church would be raptured very soon and the events of the tribulation period would unfold shortly thereafter. Little did Paul know that Israel’s kingdom program would be set aside while the heavenly citizens of the Church would represent Christ on the earth for at least another 2000 years.

Some people believe that the same two groups of believers still exist in the world today, namely the kingdom saints and the Church saints. While many believers today do fail to realize the great truths concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ and many do erroneously believe that their man-made organizations are the kingdom of God, it would be wrong to think that one’s position in Christ depends upon his/her understanding of the scriptures.

For some time after the death of Christ, believers were called by God to be either members of the Church which is the Body of Christ or they were called to be partakers in the promises given to Abraham. God made that call according to His own perfect plan and purpose.

Although the book of Hebrews makes it clear that the kingdom hope was still very much alive even after Paul’s revelation of the Church, I believe the offer and hope of the kingdom was eventually set aside. After that hope was set aside, all believers were added to the Church which is the Body of Christ even if they knew nothing about the distinctive calling of the Church.

If God were to call out kingdom saints today, they would practice water baptism and experience the sign gifts. They would be anticipating the tribulation period and their rapture at the end of the tribulation period, and they would be anticipating the coming kingdom rather than establishing the kingdom as many Christian groups profess to be doing today. It is also interesting to note that any kingdom saints would have to submit to Jewish leadership in that the promise of the kingdom was made to the Jews.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

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