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Thy Kingdom Come

#1528 0522 11P

           God planned from the beginning for this earth to be an ideal place to live and created the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve had the privilege of living in this perfect environment where everything was peaceful; everyone was righteous; and all were in perfect health—strife, contention, disagreements, arguments, and
quarrels simply did not exist.

          Even the ground was different from what it is now.  The soil in Eden yielded three kinds of vegetation which grew naturally with no weeding necessary, because there were no thorns or poisonous plants.  The grass was food for the animal kingdom, and the herbs bearing seeds, like wheat, corn, or barley—along with fruit trees of all types—yielded delicious and nutritious food for humans.  Genesis 1:29 “God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food.’”

          With the power to choose, man soon fell into sin, left God, and by choice, left a perfect environment to begin a career of his own.  The whole scene changed, because now there were sins, sorrows, diseases, and troubles of every description which ruined the paradise kingdom.

          Everything that has happened in the world—from that moment to this—came about when Adam accepted Satan’s lie and rejected God’s Truth.  The world has been getting worse, more corrupt, and more controlled by Satan every day.  People are more wicked than ever, with Satan controlling them more completely than ever.  The devil loves to cause disease, illness, strife, contention, and conflicts between people and nations—and then putting the blame on God.

          A thief is controlled by the evil one who wants to rob people of their possessions, and then blame someone else for their wicked deeds.  They always work under cover and in disguise to avoid detection.  When a thief’s presence is known they flee; and when we know it is Satan who caused the problem, he will have to flee.  When the author of evil is known, we can claim victory in Jesus.

The apostle reminds us that everyone who is not a true child of God and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is a child of the devil and controlled by the spirit of Satan.  Ephesians 2:1-2 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways [course] of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom [power] of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

          It is the devil who hinders us from understanding the Truth or seeing the blessings God has for us; Satan is the one who steals the seed of the Word out of our heart; he is the one who tempts us; discourages us, and wants us to accept a lie but think it is truth.  Isaiah 5:20“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”

          When God’s kingdom comes, all that will cease; there will be no war; no fighting, no trouble, and all strife eliminated, because the spirit of Satan, and all those controlled by him, will be out of this world, with God and His Holy Spirit in control.

          It is difficult to imagine such a change, and a world where Satan is out of business.  There will be no disease, no aches, pains, no weakness, and everyone will be in harmony with one another.  It will be as glorious as Heaven.  It is what we pray for everyday; Luke 11:2 “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”

          It is to ask God for His Son’s Millennial Kingdom to come down to earth as soon as possible.  The will of God is going to be done on earth, just as His will is always done in Heaven.  This earth is to be restored to the original Garden of Eden—a perfect and paradise environment that will be vastly different than anything here on earth.  The absence of the devil, and the presence of Jesus, makes for a perfect world.

          The apostle Paul had learned of some grievances among church members, and that they were taking each other to court before unbelievers.  1 Corinthians 6:1-3 ”If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?  Do you not know that we will judge [fallen] angels?  How much more the things of this life!”

          The earth will one day be governed by Christ and the justified saints.  The apostle said Revelation 20:4 “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.”

          Two groups of people are going to reign with Jesus—one group will be those who have been prepared and ready to meet Jesus at the rapture; and the other will be those who go through the Tribulation and lose their lives because they will not deny their faith in Christ, and will not disobey the Word of God.  Revelation 20:5 ”But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”

          Many churches today teach that the good and wicked are raised up together and judged; and that is the end; but the Bible says that there is a thousand years between the resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked.  The saints are brought back at the beginning of the Millennium, and the wicked are brought back and judged at the end of the Millennium.  6 “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.  Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

          The living saints are to be translated, and the righteous dead are raised, preceding the Millennium.  At the end of this thousand years, the wicked dead are raised, judged, and cast into the lake of fire—which is called the second death.  Jesus said Revelation 2:11 "He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."  Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.”

          Teaching about unbelievers going to Hell is not a popular doctrine today, but the Bible reveals that anyone who lives in sin, is to have their portion in the lake of fire; and no verse in the Bible says they will ever get out.  The only way for self to die, is to live by faith in the living God, and trusting on the Blood of Christ on this earth.  Self thrives on sight, and lives by seeing; but self will die if forced to live by faith.

          God is a God of love and mercy, but He cannot save someone who refuses to live by faith.  If self could, somehow, gain entrance into Heaven, it would be totally out of its element—like a fish out of water.  An unbeliever is not comfortable in the company of a believer.  Those controlled by the devil, have nothing in common with those controlled by the Spirit.  Heaven is where everything is pure, holy, and right; Hell is where everything is corrupt, unholy, and wrong.

          The only way to kill self is to make him live exactly opposite to how he wants to live—by faith in God—that is the only way to effectively remove self.  Making self live by faith, will cause his death; and the only place to live by faith is right here on this earth, and right now in this life.

          The rich man Luke 16 seriously regretted not having lived by faith while he was on earth, and he pleaded with Abraham to speak with his family—warning them of the need to walk by faith in their own lives, so they could avoid that horrible place of never-ending torment.  Abraham said they could just live according to the teaching of Moses and the prophets—if they were willing.

          Thomas wanted to see before he would believe, but Jesus said John 20:29 "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  Thomas had not completely died to self; seeing and feeling hindered his spiritual progress—which is learning how to live by faith in an unseen God.  It is a wonderful privilege to believe an unseen God, and then act on divine principles of trust—and the only place one can walk by faith in God, is right here on earth.  Revelation 20:6 ”Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.  Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

          Several large religious groups teach that there is no lake of fire; that it is only death, a burning up, and that is all.  The Bible, however, reveals a second death, which is a continual torment, forever and ever—for anyone passing away in sin.  Revelation 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night.”

          There are many prophecies about Jesus ruling His Millennial kingdom on earth.  Zechariah 14:9 ”And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”  Jeremiah 3:17 ”At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD.  No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”

          There will be only one kingdom, with Jesus as rightful King; and only one nation of redeemed and blessed people.  God planned from the beginning for this earth to be a perfect place to live in peace and harmony with everything and everyone.  We still have a choice to follow God’s plan by faith, or to go our own way by rebelling. 

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First Century Gospel Church © 2011
PO Box 24283
PHILA PA  19120-5283
contact@fcgchurch.org