DOCSLIB.ORG

The Kingdom of God on Earth

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Kingdom of God on Earth 1 The Kingdom of God on Earth Contents 1. A vision of the kingdom .......................................................................................................... 2 2. The Return.............................................................................................................................. 8 3. The establishment of the kingdom ........................................................................................ 25 4. Topographical changes ........................................................................................................ 42 5. Environmental changes ........................................................................................................ 52 6. Buildings ............................................................................................................................... 61 7. The temple............................................................................................................................ 66 8. Travel in the kingdom ........................................................................................................... 80 9. Trade in the kingdom ............................................................................................................ 93 10. Agriculture ........................................................................................................................ 106 11. Health in the kingdom ....................................................................................................... 109 12. Daily life in the kingdom .................................................................................................... 114 13. The end and beyond ........................................................................................................ 126 14. A personal vision of the kingdom ...................................................................................... 142 2 1. A vision of the kingdom What is the long-term future of this world? Is the Earth going to be destroyed by climate change? Will the entire population of the world be wiped out by an uncontrollable pandemic? Will the world run out of food and water leading to the death of billions? Will terrorism ever end? Will science and technology come to the rescue and solve these problems that threaten the very existence of mankind? These are all vital questions? Many futurists try to predict the future of mankind. The Bible also paints a picture of the future, but it is very different from that predicted by the futurists. The purpose of this book is to investigate the vision of the future presented by the Bible. In a nutshell, the Bible predicts that all the major problems facing mankind will be solved. The Bible predicts that eventually, even the hardest problem of all, death, will be solved. Before that can happen, the Lord Jesus Christ must return to the Earth to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. This is the vision presented in the Bible. An intriguing verse is found in Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” What is the message of this verse? At a superficial level, it could mean that some kind of vision is needed to give direction and meaning to our lives. No doubt this is generally true. For example, all successful business ventures start with a vision, generally called a business plan. A building starts with a vision and the details are developed via an architectural plan etc. The reference to God’s law suggests that this verse is talking about spiritual rather than literal vision – although of course if a whole community were literally blind they would have trouble surviving. A spiritual vision is essential for navigating to the kingdom. The words of Jesus come to mind, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62). The purpose of a spiritual vision is to keep us focussed on our journey to the kingdom. Many of us have had difficult issues and problems to face in life. For example, you might have a chronic or terminal illness, be in an unhappy relationship, experienced a traumatic divorce, have difficulties with children, lost a child or spouse, lost your job, be suffering financial hardship, undergoing a crisis of faith. In summary, you could be in a bad place. Even if everything is going fine in life, ultimately there is no escape from death. However, the Bible contains a great message of hope. The Gospel; summarised in Acts 8:12, as “the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ.” The need for focussing on the kingdom is underlined by the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 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 3 appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7 ). From this verse, it is clear that all who receive a crown of righteousness (symbolic of receiving eternal life in the kingdom) will in some way have loved the return of Jesus. This is a major challenge that we all face – to deeply desire the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of us really do want the return of Jesus although at times we might have nagging doubts. We may look at our lives and become despondent and see ourselves as spiritual failures and not at all suitable for God’s kingdom. In spite of our failures, God wants us all to be there. Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). We can take great comfort from the fact that no matter how difficult our circumstances, Jesus will return and the kingdom will be established. And it does not matter what people do or say to us, they can’t stop the kingdom from coming. And no one can stop us from being in the kingdom if we really want to be there. A picture of the kingdom All of us have some kind of mental picture of the kingdom. Maybe we imagine a pastoral scene in which the pace of life is much slower than today. Maybe we imagine a world free of email, text messages, iPods, iPhones, computers and the Internet. Some of us may imagine the opposite – a world even more advanced technologically than today. Irrespective of the technological aspect of our vision, all of us imagine a world where people are much happier than today – a world free from the blight of hunger, disease, illicit drugs and rampant crime, a world free from the adverse effects of climate change. I used to live in the UK, not noted for warm weather and cloudless skies. Consequently, my personal vision of the kingdom was of a tropical paradise. Paradoxically, now that I live in an actual tropical paradise, Queensland my vision of the kingdom is of rural England. Of course, it is naive to think that in the kingdom the world will be a tropical paradise from pole to pole. I would like to describe an event in my early life that inspired me to embark on this study of the kingdom. The year was 1968, or thereabouts, and I was 10 years old. I was sitting in a Christadelphian meeting in Bournemouth, a town on the south coast of England. The speaker, David Livingstone, was talking about the return of Jesus. He made the point that we will not read about the return of Jesus in the newspaper, and soon after an airline ticket arrive in the post for a flight to somewhere in the Middle East to meet the Lord Jesus Chrsit. He went on to say forcibly “It won’t be like that brethren and sisters!” This set my imagination going, and I asked myself the question what will it really be like in the kingdom? Several decades later, this book is the result. I was taught about the return of Jesus and the kingdom from an early age. I remember my mother telling me that the kingdom will be so good that we can’t imagine what it will be like. At the time, I thought this meant that the sky, trees and grass would be a different colour! 4 A few years later, I came across some infrared images in a magazine in which the sky looked dark and the vegetation a brilliant pink. For some reason, I imagined that the kingdom would look like this. Later, I realised that my mother meant that the world would be better environmentally and socially rather than physically different. In the kingdom, the sky will still be blue and the grass will still be green. The nearness of the return of Jesus Each generation has hoped they would see the return of Jesus. Of course, the return of Jesus can only happen to one generation and can never be more than one lifetime away for an individual. A general complaint is that ‘life is short’. Jacob said as much when he came before Pharaoh 130 years old and described his days as being “few and evil” (Genesis 47:9). James speaks of our life as a “...a vapour, that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). It is clear from the writings of the New Testament (NT) that Jesus’ disciples and first century saints expected the return of Jesus at any time. This is demonstrated in the Lord’s prayer “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven...” For the past 2,000 years believers have always prayed and hoped for God’s kingdom to be established on the earth. The Mount Olivet prophecy Before we get into our study proper we need to briefly deal with some background information. We will begin this section by going back 2,000 years in our imagination and stand next to Jesus and his disciples on the Mount of
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Weapons of Our Warfare
    Weapons Warfare Printed by EUREKA PRESS PTY. LTD. SOUTH AUSTRALIA for LOGOS PUBLICATIONS 632 Burbridge Road, West Beach 5024 South Australia September, 1989 Foreword This volume is designed as a means of encouragement in facing the difficulties of life. We are engaged upon a great combat, and need to seek the companionship of those of similar mind. Such help can be found in the various extracts from the writings of valiant war- riors of the past, both brethren and sisters, who have laboured on the field of battle for the things they believed. Paul instructed the Corinthians: "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of stron- gholds: casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exal- teth itself against God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4-5). He shows that there is not only a need to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" but to recognise the power of the enemy, felt in the natural mind. As a mighty war- rior, the apostle felt the unrelenting contest: "I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Rom. 7:22-23). It was an engagement that continued to the last moment, when he said: "I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course" (2 Tim. 4:7). But that same warfare must be undertaken by those who would honour the Truth.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nazarene Fellowship Circular Letter No. 163 Editorial
    The Nazarene Fellowship Circular Letter No. 163 November/December 1996 In this Issue: Page 1 Editorial Sister Helen Brady Page 2 Tribute to Brother John Carter Brother Phil Parry Page 3 Correspondence and replies Page 18 Comments on certain of Edward Turney’s views Brother Phil Parry Page 20 “Nottingham Revisited” - from “Logos” magazine Brother Stan Snow Page 25 Letter to Brother Stan Snow Brother John Stevenson Page 26 1st Commentary on “Nottingham Revisited” Brother Phil Parry Page 29 2nd Commentary on “Nottingham Revisited” Brother Russell Gregory _______________________________________________________________________________________ Editorial Dear Brothers and Sisters and Friends, Loving Greetings. As another Christmas approaches we can celebrate, if only in our hearts, the birth of our Saviour. It may not be the exact date of His birth but I do not think that matters. The fact that the great event is commemorated from one end of the earth to the other is surely significant. So just as we derive pleasure from greeting our friends and family on their birthdays, we can take immense delight in remembering Jesus and His birth at this time of the year and as always we can be truly thankful for what He did for us even before He knew us. It is no exaggeration to say that Jesus gave up everything for us. A home, family, safety, comfort and security, the possibility of a wife and children and a life of three score and ten years. He was a man with normal hopes and desires and no doubt as He saw His friends and family enjoying some or all of these usual human blessings, He must have wished they could be possible for Him also.
    [Show full text]
  • A Handbook of Answers to Objections to the Temple Of
    HANDBOOK OF ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS TO 'THE TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY' BY HENRY SULLEY PLUS i TWO LARQE SUPPLEMENTS AND VARIOUS SMALLER SUPPLEMENTS ^ ON EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE tr it * ALPHEGA PRODUCTIONS P.O. Box 268, Greensborough, Vic. 3088, Aus*«!ia MELBOURNE 1976 ISBN 0 009302 03 O INTRODUCT I ON It is indeed regrettable that in the Brotherhood today there is a tendency by some not only to ignore sudi a monumental work as "Die Temple of Bsekiel's Prophecy* by Brother Sulley but alfto a criticism of his exposition and even disbelief that such a Temple be literally erected in Ht. 21cm at the return of Christ. Criticism of an exposition of the scriptures is not wrong in itself. If it wai% the Truth would never have been born in the latter days, criticism should, however, be logically valid, objective, contractive and above all, following the principles of sound Biblical study and research. For example, criticism should take into full account the context of the section under scrutiny; the original language from which our English version is a translation! the ccsparative renderriogs of such original words and phrases i an integrated fnd overlapping theme which finds its support and amplification in othet texts of the word* a venerable respect for the text under scrutiny to accept it in its original language form, inerrant and inspired, unless there is substantial evidence to indicate corruption or interpolation. It is because many of the criticisms raised against Brother Sulley9 s exposition do not follow the above logical guidelines for Truth that this publication is produced.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kingdom of God on Earth
    1 The Kingdom of God on Earth Contents 1. A vision of the kingdom ............................................................................................................ 2 2. The Return of Jesus ................................................................................................................. 8 3. The establishment of the kingdom ......................................................................................... 25 4. Topographical changes .......................................................................................................... 42 5. Environmental changes .......................................................................................................... 52 6. Buildings ................................................................................................................................. 63 7. The temple .............................................................................................................................. 69 8. Travel in the kingdom ............................................................................................................. 84 9. Trade in the kingdom .............................................................................................................. 97 10. Agriculture .......................................................................................................................... 110 11. Health in the kingdom ........................................................................................................ 114 12.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MILLENIAL AGE PACE Wednesday Night Bible Class
    THE MILLENIAL AGE PACE Wednesday Night Bible Class Graham Pearce The material in this workbook is a reproduction of a collection of articles written by brother Graham Pearce and published in The Christadelphian magazine. The contents of these articles are copyrighted. This workbook is created with the permission of The Christadelphian office for the use in PACE’s Wednesday Night Bible Class. It should not be reproduced or distributed for any other use. Page | 1 Table of Contents PURPOSED FROM THE BEGINNING .......................................................................................................... 4 The present world ....................................................................................................................................... 4 The world to come ...................................................................................................................................... 5 How is the millennial world governed? .............................................................................................. 5 A holy people ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Israel’s future ................................................................................................................................................ 7 Discussion Questions 1 .............................................................................................................................. 8 THE SETTING UP OF
    [Show full text]
  • View) Email: [email protected] Paul Maplethorpe Exposition Ezekiel’S Temple Vision 118 Geoff Henstock 96 P.S
    Vol. 90 No. 1,058 March 2020 TESTIMONY For the study and defence of the holy Scripture 81 Unwelcome developments in the Brotherhood Also in this issue: The race of life 86 The problem of Exodus 6:3 95 Who was Ahasuerus? 105 Bible workshop: 2 John 115 Contents TESTIMONY Publishing Editor: JEREMY THOMAS. 22 Kingswood Close, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B30 3NX. Tel. 0121 444 6810; email: [email protected] Contents Section Editors: Publishing Editor’s column Your Letters DAVID BURGES. 7 Whitehead A matter of honesty (1) Behold, I come as a thief 104 Drive, Wellesbourne, Warwick, Jeremy Thomas Lost sheep CV35 9PW. Tel. 01789 842692; 81 105 email: [email protected] “My God, my God, why have “At the citadel in Susa” Science; Archaeology You forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1) 2. Identifying Ahasuerus (1) Jamie Whittaker 84 Jeremy Thomas 105 REG CARR. York House, 34A High Street, Tutbury, DE13 9LS. Running the race Behold, I come as a thief Tel. 01283 521463; email: Mike Lewis 86 4. Out of the mouth of the [email protected] dragon Exhortation “My servants the prophets” Jonah: confronting corruption Mark Allfree 111 SHAUN MAHER. 5 Birch Court, with God Bible workshop Doune, FK16 6JD. Jacob Shilvock 88 The Second Letter of John 115 Tel. 01786 842996; email: [email protected] Ahithophel Is seeing believing? Watchman 1. The man 7. The external muscles of Jordan Walton 91 the eye ERIC MARSHALL. The Pines, Peter Forbes Ling Common Road, Castle The Yahweh name and the 116 Rising, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, Patriarchs The secret of Jewish PE31 6AE.
    [Show full text]
  • LOC for Webpost.Pub
    T R U T H G L E A N E R P U B L I C A T I O N S 1 2 THE LINE ~ OF ~ CONSTRUCTION A comparative analysis of the basis for interpreting the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the future Tribal Cantons comprising the “First Dominion” of the Kingdom, or Paradeisos of God …………………………. With Postscript ~ AN AGRARIAN SOCIETY ~ By A. B. Bryan 3 ~ THE LINE OF CONSTRUCTION ~ A comparative analysis of the basis for interpreting the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the future Tribal Cantons comprising the “First Dominion” of the Kingdom, or Paradeisos of God ............................................. ~ INTRODUCTION ~ Nearly 2600 years ago, in the twenty-fifth year of the captivity of Judah in Babylon, and fourteen years after Jerusalem fell under siege of the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, a critical element in the plan of Yahweh was un- folded in the form of a vision to the prophet Ezekiel who recorded these in- spired words: “In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, be- hold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee; for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel” (Ezek.
    [Show full text]
  • Apples of Gold
    Apples of Gold “`A word fitly spoken,' says the wise man, `is like apples of gold in pictures of silver;' i.e., they are beautiful and precious. A high qualification, therefore do they possess who are able to speak right words; and there is abundant evidence that it is incumbent upon all who are labouring to win souls `from vanity to serve the living and true God,' not only to contend earnestly for the things which form the `faith once delivered unto the saints,' but also `to give attendance to reading'” Brother Robert Roberts, 1878 If you would like to receive quotes like these, one per day, please send an email requesting the Apples of Gold quotations to: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Prov 25:11 Compiled by Sister Karen Pillion Tyler-Longview Ecclesia, Texas, USA 2 Table of Contents God..................................................................................................... 4 Christ ................................................................................................ 10 Be Ready Always ............................................................................. 33 Daughters of Sarah .......................................................................... 35 Doctrine ............................................................................................ 71 Ecclesial Harmony............................................................................ 85 Encouragement ................................................................................ 93 Exhortation ....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • British-Israel: Racial Identity in Imperial Britain, 1870-1920
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1997 British-Israel: Racial Identity in Imperial Britain, 1870-1920 Eric Michael Reisenauer Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Reisenauer, Eric Michael, "British-Israel: Racial Identity in Imperial Britain, 1870-1920" (1997). Dissertations. 3693. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/3693 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1997 Eric Michael Reisenauer LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO BRffiSH-ISRAEL: RACIAL IDENTITY IN IMPERIAL BRITAIN, 1870-1920 VOLUME I A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY ERIC MICHAEL REISENAUER CHICAGO, ILLINOIS JANUARY 1997 Copyright© by Eric Michael Reisenauer, 1997. All rights reserved. 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While the work of writing a dissertation is, by and large, a solitary venture, such a task could never have been completed without the help of many other persons. Over the past three years I have incurred debts to many people, and I offer thanks to all of them. I am greatly indebted to my committee, Dr. Jo N. Hays, Dr. Robert 0. Bucholz, and Dr. David Dennis, for their support, time, and guidance, as well as for their insights into the subject and their suggestions as to how to make sense of it all.
    [Show full text]
  • The Things of the Kingdom and the Things of the Name
    TTHHEE TTHHIINNGGSS OOFF TTHHEE KKIINNGGDDOOMM AANNDD TTHHEE TTHHIINNGGSS OOFF TTHHEE NNAAMMEE C.R. O’Connor Internet Edition 2001 by courtesy of sister Beth O’Connor Punchbowl Ecclesia NSW This work is not subject to copyright and may be downloaded, duplicated and distributed without permission with request that the work is correctly quoted, and not misstated. Cover picture based on drawings contained in “Ezekiel’s Temple” by brother Henry Sulley “Freely have ye received, freely give.” other comments or enquiries are welcome and directed to: [email protected] FOREWORD The late brother Rick O’Connor conducted First Principles’ Classes for 2 Sydney ecclesias on a weekly basis for over 9 years. This continuous effort has seen more than a dozen interested friends ‘put on the saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 4:12). These classes were undoubtedly our brother’s forte. His presentations were frequently accompanied by colourful and well sequenced overhead projection transparencies. Many of these have been presented in a simplified format in these notes. They have been reproduced to encourage those who labour for a more effective presentation of the first principles of Truth to those seeking an answer of the hope that lies within us 1 Peter 3:15. And surely this applies to each one of us. However, our late brother would not wish his work to supplant our own studies and research upon these topics. As a consequence the layout of many of these transparencies has not been enhanced sufficiently to allow enlargement and thermal copying (although this was the original intention of the editors).
    [Show full text]
  • The Temptation * of Christ
    Page 1 THE TEMPTATION* OF CHRIST TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 2 PART 1 A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE TEMPTATIONS ............................... 6 PART 2 CHRIST TEMPTED ..................................................................... 7 PART 3 THE TEMPTATION OR TRIAL OF CHRIST .................................. 8 PART 4 THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST .................................................. 11 PART 5 THE TIMES OF CHRIST .............................................................. 19 PART 6 THE TEMPTATION IN MATTHEW & LUKE................................. 41 PART 7 THE TWO TRIALS...................................................................... 43 APPENDIX .............................................................................................. 53 WHO WAS THE TEMPTER? .................................................................... 57 Part 1). Is a well balanced article by bro Galbraith showing how that the master would repel evil suggestions. Part 2). Shows that the Master was of our nature in his trial. Part 3). Some general comments in the early ‘pioneer’ days. Part 4). Here bro. HPM addresses the process of the temptation of the Lord and perhaps would be a suitable start for the young. Part 5). Is in more detail for those who would like a deeper consideration and covers the masters trial and the background to A.D. 70 and beyond. The political times both Jewish and Roman are vital to our understanding. Part 6). Considers the
    [Show full text]
  • Nottingham Revisited”
    Stan Snow – “Nottingham Revisited” We are grateful to our brother John Stevenson for sending us this article from Australia, taken from the September 1996 edition of the Logos magazine. John's letter to the author, Stan Snow, follows the article, together with further comments from Phil Parry and Russell Gregory. “LOGOS” - Upholding The Faith Nottingham Revisited E.W.Turney and The Clean Flesh Theory 1. Whilst Christadelphians would, in the main, recognize that the Truth has been revived in the earth by the instrumentality of John Thomas, with the publication of Elpis Israel in 1849, many may not appreciate just how close we came to losing it twenty-four years later in 1873. 2. The Christadelphian for October 1873 (page 476; see also November, page 525), reported that several brethren - E.W.Turney and W.H. Farmer - renounced the Truth that had been painstakingly unearthed by Brother Thomas, and were re-immersed into a new theory, which denied that Jesus Christ was God manifest in our condemned nature, for the putting away of sin by the sacrifice of himself. This teaching, which was foreign to the Brotherhood, was soon aptly named “The Clean Flesh Heresy.” Turmoil and Debacle - The Renunciationist Theory 3. During the months of August and September, 1873, the brethren in Birmingham were subject to considerable turmoil. Brother Roberts was out of action due to ill health, and Edward Turney delivered a lecture and answered questions upon his newly adopted theory, which he borrowed from a “Brother Handley” at Nottingham. Brother Turney, being of such long standing in the faith, and a tireless worker for the Truth, his remarks understandably made a cogent impact upon many of those present, who, for the time being, accepted the ideas as truth.
    [Show full text]