WHY THE WORLD NEEDS GOD S KINGDOM KINGDOM OF GOD BIBLE SEMINAR 1B IT S NO SECRET OUR WORLD IS IN A TERRIBLE STATE OF AFFAIRS.

Transcription

1 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS GOD S KINGDOM IT S NO SECRET OUR WORLD IS IN A TERRIBLE STATE OF AFFAIRS. IT S A PREDICAMENT OF OUR OWN MAKING WITH NO SMALL HELP FROM SATAN THE DEVIL. AS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE BIBLE S END TIME PROPHECIES REACH THEIR FOCAL POINT IN THE MONTHS AND YEARS AHEAD IT IS CLEAR THAT TIME IS JUST ABOUT UP FOR THIS PRESENT EVIL AGE. AS JESUS CHRIST PHRASED IT IN MARK 1:15, THE TIME IS FULFILLED. BUT HE ALSO OFFERED A MARVELOUS SOLUTION HE WENT ON TO SAY THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. INDEED, THIS OLD WORLD NEEDS GOD S KINGDOM AND IT NEEDS IT NOW! ALSO EACH OF US YOU AND I NEED JESUS CHRIST AND GOD S KINGDOM IN OUR LIVES NOW AS WELL. BUT, ALLOW ME TO POSE SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. WHAT LIES IMMEDIATELY AHEAD FOR THE UNITED STATES AND ALL NATIONS? WHY IS THE WORLD IN SUCH GREAT DISTRESS AND PERIL? WHY CAN T HUMANITY SOLVE ITS OWN PROBLEMS AND BRING PEACE TO THE WORLD? ALSO, HOW WILL CHRIST INTERVENE TO PREVENT HUMANITY FROM ANNIHILATING ITSELF? WHAT S AHEAD WHEN JESUS CHRIST AS KING OF KINGS OF THE COMING KINGDOM OF GOD RULES THE WORLD? FURTHERMORE, HOW CAN YOU AND I PERSONALLY CONNECT WITH THE KINGDOM OF GOD THROUGH ITS KING JESUS CHRIST? AS WE PARTICIPATE IN THE SECOND HALF OF OUR KINGDOM OF GOD SEMINAR TODAY, LET S COVER ISSUES THAT PROVIDE ANSWERS TO THESE AND OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. THEY ALL INVOLVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT JESUS MEANT WHEN HE SAID THE TIME IS FULFILLED.

2 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 2 JUST WHAT DID JESUS MEAN BY THAT CRITICAL STATEMENT? IN ESSENCE, HE MEANT THAT THE END OF MAN S WAY OF DOING THINGS IS COMING SOON. HE ALSO MEANT THAT THE TIME FOR USHERING IN A NEW AND WONDERFUL AGE THAT WILL SOLVE ALL MANKIND S PROBLEMS IS NOW ON OUR DOORSTEP. ADDITIONALLY, JESUS SAID THAT YOU AND I CAN HAVE A PART IN THAT AWESOME COMING TIME LEADING TO ETERNAL LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. SO, LET S TAKE A LOOK AT SEVERAL POINTS THAT SHOW US WHY THE WORLD AND YOU AND I NEED GOD S KINGDOM NOW! 1) WHAT S AHEAD FOR AMERICA AND ALL NATIONS? ALSO, WHAT WAS SPECIFICALLY PROPHESIED IN THE BIBLE AS AMERICA S ROLE IN MODERN HISTORY? OUR COUNTRY S FOUNDING COLONISTS VIEWED AMERICA IN BIBLICAL TERMS. PHRASES SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING WERE FREQUENTLY HEARD: NEW ISRAEL, THE NEW PROMISED LAND, A CITY ON A HILL. AMERICA S SYSTEM OF LAW IS BASED ON THE BIBLE AND BIBLICAL VALUES. THESE VALUES ARE SUMMARIZED BY THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AND EVEN TO THIS DAY ARE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED ON MANY UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS. FOR THE LAST CENTURY THE UNITED STATES HAS FUNCTIONED AS THE FOREMOST WORLD POWER HOLDING AT BAY THE FORCES OF TYRANNY SUCH AS NAZISM, FASCISM, MARXISM AND RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM. INDEED, FOR MANY DECADES AMERICA HAS BEEN A BASTION OF FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD. EVEN THOUGH IT HAS MANY FAULTS, AMERICA NEVERTHELESS HAS BEEN AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN SAID: MAN S LAST BEST HOPE. ALTHOUGH AMERICA MAY HAVE BEEN MAN S BEST HOPE IT WILL BE SHOWN NOT TO BE GOD S BEST HOPE.

3 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 3 THE BEST THAT AMERICA IS OR HAS EVER BEEN WILL BE SHOWN TO BE DUST ON THE SCALES COMPARED TO WHAT IS COMING WHEN JESUS CHRIST RULES IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH. BUT WHY IS AMERICA OF PARTICULAR NOTE AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY? AT EVERY CRITICAL HISTORICAL JUNCTURE GOD HAS IDENTIFIED KEY NATIONS IN THE BIBLE. FOR EXAMPLE, EGYPT AND ISRAEL AT THE EXODUS IN 1400 B.C. ALSO, ASSYRIA, BABYLON, EGYPT, THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL (THE LOST 10 TRIBES) AND THE HOUSE OF JUDAH (ANCESTORS OF THE JEWS) WHEN GOD PUNISHED ALL THE ISRAELITES WITH CONQUEST AND CAPTIVITY IN THE 700 S TO 500 S B.C. ALSO IN THE SCRIPTURES, GOD IDENTIFIED THE ROMAN EMPIRE, PARTHIAN EMPIRE, GREECE, JUDAEA, EGYPT AND OTHERS AT THE TIME OF CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES A.D. FIRST CENTURY. EVEN TODAY, AMERICA IS ONE OF THE KEY NATIONS PROPHETICALLY IDENTIFIED IN THE BIBLE. LET S BRIEFLY REVIEW SOME VITAL BIBLICAL BACKGROUND. THE BIBLE CONTAINS A HISTORY OF THE DESCENDENTS OF ONE MAN ABRAHAM. ABRAHAM HAD TWO SONS. ISHMAEL THE FATHER OF THE TRIBES THAT BECAME THE MODERN ARAB NATIONS. ISAAC THE FATHER OF ESAU AND JACOB. NOW, SPEAKING OF JACOB (ALSO KNOWN AS ISRAEL) HE HAD 12 SONS. ONE OF THOSE SONS JUDAH, THE FATHER OF THE MOST OF THE ISRAELIS AND JEWS TODAY RECEIVED THE PROPHESIED SCEPTER OR RULERSHIP THROUGH THE DESCENDENT LINE OF KING DAVID ON THROUGH TO JESUS CHRIST. ANOTHER SON OF JACOB WAS JOSEPH.

4 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 4 JOSEPH HAD TWO SONS. EPHRAIM THE ANCESTOR OF THE BRITISH NATIONS. MANASSEH THE ANCESTOR OF THE UNITED STATES. GOD S GAVE THE NATIONS THAT DESCENDED FROM JACOB (ISRAEL) NUMEROUS BLESSINGS AND HE EXPECTED MUCH FROM THEM AS A RESULT. LUKE 12:48 FOR EVERYONE TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, FROM HIM MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED; AND TO WHOM MUCH HAS BEEN COMMITTED OF HIM THEY WILL ASK THE MORE. THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL EXPECTATIONS GOD DESIRED OUR CONTEMPORARY NATIONS HAVE SADLY NOT BEEN FULFILLED. THE RESULT? THE DESCENDENTS OF THE MODERN DAY NATIONS OF JACOB (ISRAEL) ARE ENTERING INTO A TIME OF GREAT TRIAL, SUFFERING AND DISASTER. THE BIBLE CALLS THIS COMING PERIOD THE TIME OF JACOB S TROUBLE. JEREMIAH 30:4-7 NOW THESE ARE THE WORDS THAT THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDAH. FOR THUS SAYS THE LORD: WE HAVE HEARD A VOICE OF TREMBLING, OF FEAR, AND NOT OF PEACE. ASK NOW, AND SEE, WHETHER A MAN IS EVER IN LABOR WITH CHILD? SO WHY DO I SEE EVERY MAN WITH HIS HANDS ON HIS LOINS LIKE A WOMAN IN LABOR, AND ALL FACES TURNED PALE? ALAS! FOR THAT DAY IS GREAT, SO THAT NONE IS LIKE IT; AND IT IS THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE, BUT HE SHALL BE SAVED OUT OF IT. AND TROUBLE SEEMS TO LOVE COMPANY BECAUSE ALL EARTH S NATIONS TODAY FACE EXTREME, UNPRECEDENTED, BUT PROPHESIED DIFFICULTIES. LET S TAKE A LOOK AT ANOTHER REASON WHY THE WORLD AND EACH OF US NEED GOD S KINGDOM NOW! 2) WHY CAN T MAN SOLVE HIS OWN PROBLEMS AND BRING WORLD PEACE? IN MAN S WORLD WARFARE IS CHRONIC AND PERVASIVE.

5 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 5 THERE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE A GREATER WAR ON THE HORIZON. THE FACT IS PLAIN HUMANKIND SIMPLY DOES NOT KNOW THE WAY TO PEACE. ISAIAH 59:7-9 THEIR FEET RUN TO EVIL, AND THEY MAKE HASTE TO SHED INNOCENT BLOOD; THEIR THOUGHTS ARE THOUGHTS OF INIQUITY; WASTING AND DESTRUCTION ARE IN THEIR PATHS. THE WAY OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN, AND THERE IS NO JUSTICE IN THEIR WAYS; THEY HAVE MADE THEMSELVES CROOKED PATHS; WHOEVER TAKES THAT WAY SHALL NOT KNOW PEACE. THEREFORE JUSTICE IS FAR FROM US, NOR DOES RIGHTEOUSNESS OVERTAKE US; WE LOOK FOR LIGHT, BUT THERE IS DARKNESS! FOR BRIGHTNESS, BUT WE WALK IN BLACKNESS! MANKIND HAS A SINFUL NATURE ONE THAT PREVENTS ANY HUMANLY-DESIGNED UTOPIAN SOCIETY FROM BEING PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED AND MAINTAINED. BUT WHY HAS MANKIND S EFFORTS TO DEVISE AND BUILD PEACEFUL SOCIETIES ALWAYS RESULTED IN FAILURE? BECAUSE OF ONE SIMPLE YET MOMENTOUS PROBLEM THE OBSTINATE, SELFISH, PROUD HUMAN HEART. JEREMIAH 17:9-10 THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED; WHO CAN KNOW IT? 10 I, THE LORD, SEARCH THE HEART, I TEST THE MIND, EVEN TO GIVE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WAYS, ACCORDING TO THE FRUIT OF HIS DOINGS. BESIDES OUR HUMAN NATURE THERE IS ANOTHER GREAT PROBLEM AFFLICTING MANKIND. IT IS SATAN THE DEVIL WHO CONTINUALLY AND CONSTANTLY FOMENTS TROUBLE IN HUMAN LIVES. SATAN IS A THE GREAT, HATEFUL DECEIVER AND IS THE CO-PERPETRATOR IN THE SINS OF ALL HUMANITY. REVELATION 12:9 SO THE GREAT DRAGON WAS CAST OUT, THAT SERPENT OF OLD, CALLED THE DEVIL AND SATAN, WHO DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD; HE WAS CAST TO THE EARTH, AND HIS ANGELS WERE CAST OUT WITH HIM. EPHESIANS 2:2 IN WHICH YOU ONCE WALKED ACCORDING TO THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR,

6 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 6 THE SPIRIT WHO NOW WORKS IN THE SONS OF DISOBEDIENCE SO, WHAT IS THE ANSWER TO THE MONUMENTAL PROBLEMS OF OUR AGE PRECIPITATED BY OUR HUMAN NATURE AND STIRRED TO THE BOILING POINT BY THE DEVIL? THIS BRINGS US TO THE NEXT ITEM TO COVER. 3) THE REAL SOLUTION IS THAT THE WORLD ABSOLUTELY NEEDS GOD S KINGDOM. WHAT TREMENDOUS EVENT WILL OCCUR TO INITIATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GOD S KINGDOM TO EARTH? IT IS THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. MATTHEW 24:29-31 IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT; THE STARS WILL FALL FROM HEAVEN, AND THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS WILL BE SHAKEN. THEN THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN WILL APPEAR IN HEAVEN, AND THEN ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH WILL MOURN, AND THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. AND HE WILL SEND HIS ANGELS WITH A GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET, AND THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER. JESUS CHRIST WILL LITERALLY RETURN TO EARTH AT THE SOUND OF THE SEVENTH PROPHETIC TRUMPET WHICH IS DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLICAL BOOK OF REVELATION. THE ELECT ALSO KNOWN AS THOSE WHO ARE CHRIST S AT HIS COMING ARE GATHERED TO HIM WHEN HE COMES TO EARTH. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD WILL TAKE PLACE AT THAT MARVELOUS TIME. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-53 NOW THIS I SAY, BRETHREN, THAT FLESH AND BLOOD CANNOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD; NOR DOES CORRUPTION INHERIT INCORRUPTION. BEHOLD, I TELL YOU A MYSTERY: WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP, BUT WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED -- IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, AT THE LAST TRUMPET. FOR THE TRUMPET WILL SOUND, AND THE DEAD WILL BE RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE CHANGED. FOR THIS CORRUPTIBLE MUST PUT ON INCORRUPTION, AND THIS MORTAL MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY.

7 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 7 WE JUST READ THE TERM SLEEP WHICH IN BIBLICAL PARLANCE REFERS TO BEING PHYSICALLY DEAD. BUT WHEN THE RESURRECTION OCCURS GOD AWAKENS A PERSON TO LIVE AGAIN. SO, THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD OF THE ELECT STILL PHYSICALLY LIVING AT THAT TIME TAKES PLACE AT THE SOUND OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET AT CHRIST S RETURN. NOW, IT IS CRITICAL TO REALIZE THAT A PERSON MUST BE CHANGED TO SPIRIT IN ORDER TO ENTER OR INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THE RESURRECTED SAINTS NOW NOW CHANGED TO SPIRIT-COMPOSITION RISE TO MEET CHRIST IN THE AIR. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13 BUT I DO NOT WANT YOU TO BE IGNORANT, BRETHREN, CONCERNING THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP, LEST YOU SORROW AS OTHERS WHO HAVE NO HOPE. FOR IF WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN, EVEN SO GOD WILL BRING WITH HIM THOSE WHO SLEEP IN JESUS. FOR THIS WE SAY TO YOU BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, THAT WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN UNTIL THE COMING OF THE LORD WILL BY NO MEANS PRECEDE THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP. FOR THE LORD HIMSELF WILL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN WITH A SHOUT, WITH THE VOICE OF AN ARCHANGEL, AND WITH THE TRUMPET OF GOD. AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST. THEN WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR. AND THUS WE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD. AGAIN, TO SLEEP IN JESUS IS TO WAIT IN THE GRAVE UNTIL HE RETURNS TO EARTH TO RESURRECT HIS ELECT. NOTE AGAIN THE REFERENCE TO THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET OF GOD WHICH DESCRIBES THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. THE FAITHFUL SAINTS WILL RISE INTO THE CLOUDS TO MEET CHRIST AND THEN THEY WILL RETURN TO EARTH. AS IS MENTIONED IN THIS NEXT PASSAGE JESUS WILL STAND ON THE EARTH ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES IN JERUSALEM. ZECHARIAH 14:1-4 BEHOLD, THE DAY OF THE LORD IS COMING, AND YOUR SPOIL WILL BE DIVIDED IN YOUR MIDST. FOR I WILL GATHER ALL

8 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 8 THE NATIONS TO BATTLE AGAINST JERUSALEM; THE CITY SHALL BE TAKEN, THE HOUSES RIFLED, AND THE WOMEN RAVISHED. HALF OF THE CITY SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY, BUT THE REMNANT OF THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT BE CUT OFF FROM THE CITY. THEN THE LORD WILL GO FORTH AND FIGHT AGAINST THOSE NATIONS, AS HE FIGHTS IN THE DAY OF BATTLE. AND IN THAT DAY HIS FEET WILL STAND ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, WHICH FACES JERUSALEM ON THE EAST. AND THE MOUNT OF OLIVES SHALL BE SPLIT IN TWO, FROM EAST TO WEST, MAKING A VERY LARGE VALLEY; HALF OF THE MOUNTAIN SHALL MOVE TOWARD THE NORTH AND HALF OF IT TOWARD THE SOUTH. AGAIN, CHRIST DOES NOT STAY IN THE AIR AT HIS RETURN NOR DO THOSE RESURRECTED AT THE TIME OF HIS COMING. HE GOES TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES AT JERUSALEM AND THERE FIGHTS A GREAT FINAL BATTLE WITH THE HUMAN ARMIES ARRAYED AGAINST HIM. CHRIST PROCLAIMS VICTORY OVER MAN S FORCES OF EVIL AND CLAIMS THE NATIONS AS PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. REVELATION 11:15 THEN THE SEVENTH ANGEL SOUNDED: AND THERE WERE LOUD VOICES IN HEAVEN, SAYING, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HAVE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST, AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND EVER! IN THIS NEXT PASSAGE WE READ OF THE APOSTLE JOHN S VISION ABOUT CHRIST S COMING AS KING OF KINGS OF GOD S TO GOVERN ON EARTH. REVELATION 19:11-16 NOW I SAW HEAVEN OPENED, AND BEHOLD, A WHITE HORSE. AND HE WHO SAT ON HIM WAS CALLED FAITHFUL AND TRUE, AND IN RIGHTEOUSNESS HE JUDGES AND MAKES WAR. HIS EYES WERE LIKE A FLAME OF FIRE, AND ON HIS HEAD WERE MANY CROWNS. HE HAD A NAME WRITTEN THAT NO ONE KNEW EXCEPT HIMSELF. HE WAS CLOTHED WITH A ROBE DIPPED IN BLOOD, AND HIS NAME IS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD. AND THE ARMIES IN HEAVEN, CLOTHED IN FINE LINEN, WHITE AND CLEAN, FOLLOWED HIM ON WHITE HORSES. NOW OUT OF HIS MOUTH GOES A SHARP SWORD, THAT WITH IT HE SHOULD STRIKE THE NATIONS. AND HE HIMSELF WILL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON. HE HIMSELF TREADS THE WINEPRESS OF THE FIERCENESS AND WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD. AND HE HAS ON HIS ROBE AND ON HIS THIGH A NAME WRITTEN: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

9 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 9 SO, CHRIST WILL RETURN AS A CONQUERING KING TO RULE THE NATIONS. AFTER RESURRECTING HIS SAINTS, CHRIST WILL STRONGLY DISCIPLINE THE REMAINING HUMAN POWERS WHO OPPOSE HIM AND HIS GOVERNING AUTHORITY. THEN HE WILL BEGIN TO ACTIVELY RULE ALL NATIONS AND BRING TRUE, LASTING PEACE TO HUMANITY. WHAT ASTOUNDING EVENT OCCURS NEXT IN THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING GOD S KINGDOM? 4) JESUS CHRIST HAS SATAN THE DEVIL IMPRISONED REVELATION 20:1-3 THEN I SAW AN ANGEL COMING DOWN FROM HEAVEN, HAVING THE KEY TO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT AND A GREAT CHAIN IN HIS HAND. 2 HE LAID HOLD OF THE DRAGON, THAT SERPENT OF OLD, WHO IS THE DEVIL AND SATAN, AND BOUND HIM FOR A THOUSAND YEARS; AND HE CAST HIM INTO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT, AND SHUT HIM UP, AND SET A SEAL ON HIM, SO THAT HE SHOULD DECEIVE THE NATIONS NO MORE TILL THE THOUSAND YEARS WERE FINISHED. BUT AFTER THESE THINGS HE MUST BE RELEASED FOR A LITTLE WHILE. AT HIS RETURN JESUS WILL HAVE SATAN INCARCERATED WHERE HE CAN NO LONGER DECEIVE THE NATIONS FOR 1,000 YEARS. THIS DECEITFUL, SINFUL, HATEFUL FALLEN ANGEL WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON MANKIND FOR THAT ENTIRE PERIOD! JUST IMAGINE THE MONUMENTAL SOCIETAL AND CULTURAL CHANGES THAT WILL OCCUR ON EARTH DURING THE MILLENNIAL RULE OF CHRIST. 5) THE MILLENNIAL RULE OF JESUS CHRIST REVELATION 20:4-6 AND I SAW THRONES, AND THEY SAT ON THEM, AND JUDGMENT WAS COMMITTED TO THEM. THEN I SAW THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO HAD BEEN BEHEADED FOR THEIR WITNESS TO JESUS AND FOR THE WORD OF GOD, WHO HAD NOT WORSHIPED THE BEAST OR HIS IMAGE, AND HAD NOT RECEIVED HIS MARK ON THEIR FOREHEADS OR ON THEIR HANDS. AND THEY LIVED AND REIGNED WITH CHRIST FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. BUT THE REST OF THE DEAD DID NOT LIVE AGAIN UNTIL THE THOUSAND YEARS WERE FINISHED. THIS IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION. BLESSED AND HOLY IS HE WHO HAS PART IN THE FIRST RESURRECTION. OVER SUCH THE SECOND DEATH HAS NO POWER, BUT THEY SHALL BE

10 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 10 PRIESTS OF GOD AND OF CHRIST, AND SHALL REIGN WITH HIM A THOUSAND YEARS. THE FAITHFUL ELECT OF GOD WILL RULE WITH CHRIST AS RESURRECTED SPIRIT BEINGS FOR 1,000 YEARS. REIGNING WITH CHRIST MEANS THAT THERE WILL STILL BE PEOPLE TO RULE OVER AS THEY REPOPULATE THE EARTH. WE JUST READ THE PHRASE THE REST OF THE DEAD. THE REST OF THE DEAD ARE THE NUMEROUS GENERATIONS OF HUMANITY WHO NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTOOD GOD S TRUTH. THEY MUST PHYSICALLY LIVE AGAIN AT WHICH TIME THEY MUST CHOOSE GOD S WAY OR REJECT IT. (WE WILL COVER MORE ABOUT THAT IMPORTANT TOPIC IN THE NEXT SEMINAR COMING UP IN A FEW MONTHS). SO, WHAT WE HAVE COVERED SO FAR IS THE LAUNCH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH FOR THE FIRST 1,000 YEARS AND ON THE WAY TO FOREVER. NOW, LET S TAKE A LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL TIME OF PEACE, PROSPERITY AND GOOD-WILL THAT WILL TRANSPIRE WHEN GOD S GOVERNMENT RULES ON THE EARTH. 6) WHAT ABOUT WORLD PEACE? FIRST MUST COME PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. PEOPLE MUST BE AT ONE WITH HIM AND BE OBEDIENT TO HIM. EPHESIANS 1:7-10 IN HIM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE WHICH HE MADE TO ABOUND TOWARD US IN ALL WISDOM AND PRUDENCE, HAVING MADE KNOWN TO US THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PLEASURE WHICH HE PURPOSED IN HIMSELF, THAT IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE FULLNESS OF THE TIMES HE MIGHT GATHER TOGETHER IN ONE ALL THINGS IN CHRIST, BOTH WHICH ARE IN HEAVEN AND WHICH ARE ON EARTH -- IN HIM.

11 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 11 THE ELECT THOSE GOD IS CALLING NOW SEEK PEACE WITH GOD AND WITH THEIR FELLOW MEN. THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL REVEALS TO US THAT HUMANITY DOES NOT YET KNOW GOD S PLAN! WE ALSO UST READ THE PHRASE: THE FULLNESS OF THE TIMES. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT THIS PRESENT AGE COME TO AN END AND THEN THE NEW AGE OF THE MILLENNIAL RULE OF CHRIST THE WONDERFUL WORLD TOMORROW BEGINS. ALSO, WE READ THE PHRASE THINGS WHICH ARE IN HEAVEN WHICH DESCRIBES GOD AND HIS ANGELS. WHEN HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY RULED BY CHRIST THEN MANKIND CAN BE AT PEACE WITH GOD. THIS IS SOMETHING OUR UPSET, TOPSY-TURVY WORLD HAS NEVER KNOWN. NOW, LET S LOOK AT THE MILLENNIAL PICTURE OF PEACE DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE. JUST IMAGINE A TIME WHEN THE VERY NATURE OF ANIMALS IS CHANGED WHEN VICIOUS ANIMALS NO LONGER HUNT AND EAT ONE OTHER. THAT WONDERFUL, STUNNING TIME IS COMING AND THE SCRIPTURES MAKE IT CLEAR. ISAIAH 11:6-10 THE WOLF ALSO SHALL DWELL WITH THE LAMB, THE LEOPARD SHALL LIE DOWN WITH THE YOUNG GOAT, THE CALF AND THE YOUNG LION AND THE FATLING TOGETHER; AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM. THE COW AND THE BEAR SHALL GRAZE; THEIR YOUNG ONES SHALL LIE DOWN TOGETHER; AND THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE OX. THE NURSING CHILD SHALL PLAY BY THE COBRA'S HOLE, AND THE WEANED CHILD SHALL PUT HIS HAND IN THE VIPER'S DEN. THEY SHALL NOT HURT NOR DESTROY IN ALL MY HOLY MOUNTAIN, FOR THE EARTH SHALL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA SO THE NATURE OF ANIMALS WILL BE CHANGED WHICH ILLUSTRATES A VASTLY MORE IMPORTANT CHANGE A CHANGE IN THE VERY NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS. THE ANCIENT PROPHET EZEKIEL DESCRIBES THIS EPIC COMING EVENT.

12 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 12 EZEKIEL 11:19-20 THEN I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEART, AND I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN THEM; AND TAKE THE STONY HEART OUT OF THEIR FLESH, AND WILL GIVE THEM AN HEART OF FLESH: THAT THEY MAY WALK IN MY STATUTES AND KEEP MY JUDGMENTS AND DO THEM AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD. ONLY OUR CREATOR CAN RENOVATE PEOPLE S UNYIELDING, SELF-CENTERED WAY OF THINKING AND ACTING. IN FACT, HE WILL TRANSFORM MAN S NATURE AND REPLACE IT WITH HIS VERY OWN (2 PETER 1:4). IN THAT COMING WONDERFUL TIME THE WHOLE WORLD WILL KNOW AND FOLLOW THE TRUE GOD OF THE BIBLE. AND MOST EXCITEDLY WARFARE WILL BE NON-EXISTENT DURING THE MILLENNIUM! THE BEAUTY OF DIVINE LAW WILL BRING WORLDWIDE DISARMAMENT AND GENUINE WORLD PEACE. ISAIAH 2:3-4 MANY PEOPLE SHALL COME AND SAY, COME, AND LET US GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD, TO THE HOUSE OF THE GOD OF JACOB; HE WILL TEACH US HIS WAYS, AND WE SHALL WALK IN HIS PATHS. FOR OUT OF ZION SHALL GO FORTH THE LAW, AND THE WORD OF THE LORD FROM JERUSALEM. HE SHALL JUDGE BETWEEN THE NATIONS, AND REBUKE MANY PEOPLE; THEY SHALL BEAT THEIR SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES, AND THEIR SPEARS INTO PRUNING HOOKS; NATION SHALL NOT LIFT UP SWORD AGAINST NATION, NEITHER SHALL THEY LEARN WAR ANYMORE. NOW, LET S LOOK AT ONE FINAL POINT TODAY. 7) WHAT ABOUT THE PERSONAL INNER PEACE YOU CAN HAVE RIGHT NOW? OUR SOON-COMING KING JESUS CHRIST DESIRES THAT WE CHANGE OUR MINDS, HEARTS AND LIVES TODAY TO LIVE THE WAY OF THE COMING KINGDOM RIGHT NOW. WHAT THE BIBLE CALLS ON ALL OF US TO DO IS REPENT AND BELIEVE. MARK 1:15 THE TIME IS FULFILLED, AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL.

13 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 13 ALL OF US ABSOLUTELY NEED INNER PEACE IN THIS TROUBLED, UPSET WORLD. HOW CAN THAT COME ABOUT? BY PERSONALLY CONNECTING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD NOW. COLOSSIANS 1:13-14 HE HAS DELIVERED US FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS AND CONVEYED US INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON OF HIS LOVE, IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS COMING JESUS CHRIST AS KING WILL RULE THE WHOLE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOVE AND COMPASSION. BUT HE WILL IF WE CHOOSE TO LET HIM RULE IN OUR LIVES AS OUR KING RIGHT NOW, TODAY. SO AS WE CONCLUDE OUR SEMINAR-SERIES WE HAVE SEE THAT THE TIME OF THIS WORLD THIS AGE OF MAN IS COMING TO AN END! ITS TIME IS JUST ABOUT UP! THE TIME OF JESUS CHRIST S RETURN TO BRING THE NEW WORLD OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH IS COMING. GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST WANT EACH OF US TO INHERIT A GREAT PART IN THAT SPIRITUAL KINGDOM. THEY WANT US TO PARTAKE OF THAT NEW WORLD THEY DESIRE TO WELCOME US TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD! SO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ATTENDING THIS KINGDOM OF GOD SEMINAR TODAY. BE SURE TO WATCH FOR THE ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE AND ON BEYOND TODAY TELEVISION ABOUT OUR NEXT KINGDOM OF GOD SEMINAR TO OCCUR IN ABOUT FOUR MONTHS. YOU ARE ALSO INVITED TO OUR FOLLOW-UP BIBLE STUDIES ON TOPICS RELATED TO GOD S KINGDOM AND HIS WAY OF LIFE. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE, PLEASE BE SURE TO ASK.

14 WHY THE WORLD NEEDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD 14 WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE NEXT KINGDOM OF GOD SEMINAR WHEN IN EVEN GREATER DETAIL WE ANALYZE JESUS STATEMENT THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. NOW, LET S ASK A CLOSING PRAYER ON OUR SEMINAR-SERIES TODAY.