The post GTA Monthly Offer – September 2024 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In thousands of funeral ceremonies, clergymen confidently assure bereaved relatives their loved ones are already in heaven, and the belief is indelibly reinforced in an atmosphere of pain and fear of the unknown. But does the Bible really teach Christians go to heaven when they die?

Why is it there are no segregated graveyards?

Never have you seen indicated on tombstones that some of the bodies there were only the physical relics of souls which are now screaming in hell fire!

Yet, such is the belief of millions who confidently assume the teaching of a heavenly home, or an ever-burning hell.

No matter how sinfully the recently departed might have lived, many a pastor seems able to comfort distraught loved ones with the thought that, at the very last moment, cantankerous and crusty old Uncle Claude somehow made it through the pearly gates!

For over twenty-eight years, I have offered a certified cashier’s check for $10,000 to anyone who can come up with the words “immortal soul,” “When we get to heaven,” “I will see you in heaven,” and “We go to heaven when we die.”

Not in all those twenty-eight years, with millions hearing my words, has a single person been able to claim the certified cashier’s check for $10,000!

Why not?

Simply because such words are not in the Bible!

Remember, there is only one source for the real truth about what happens at death.

The Bible is God’s handbook to man—the revelation of knowledge man could not otherwise discover for himself. The Bible is revealed knowledge!

It does not purport to be a textbook on science, mathematics, geology, astronomy, biology, or physics. However, it is that one book from which and through which all study should be approached.

God did not waste space in His Word repeating for man, endlessly, thousands of things man could easily discover for himself.

He did, however, reveal to the willing hearts and minds of those human beings who are not hostile to God’s Word a precious fund of knowledge which we could not discover for ourselves!

The Bible is proved to be the divinely-revealed Word of God!

Paul said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God [meaning, ‘God-breathed‘], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

The divinely-revealed Word of God is the ultimate source to which we must go to discover the real truth about the reward of the saved, about what happens at death; about the promise of “heaven,” or the threat of “hell.”

Wouldn’t it seem logical to you that if heaven is the reward of the saved; that if hell is the reward of sinners; that if the saints are raptured away to heaven—there would at least be one scripture somewhere in the Bible plainly saying so?

Is it logical to you that of all the doctrines of the Bible, these main-line, trunk-of-the-tree “doctrines” of a “rapture,” or “going to heaven,” or an “ever-burning hell,” should be totally absent from the Bible?

Millions of churchgoers have sat in church hearing graphic descriptions of heaven. They have heard tear-jerking stories of the death of saintly elderly persons; visions of heaven, last-moment death-bed repentances, and stories of people who have gazed upward as they died and said they saw Jesus coming!

But for all this gingerbread and euphoria around the edges of the subject, these same church-going people have never in their lives sat down at a lengthy Bible study or church service where they heard a minister wade through dozens of scriptures in the Bible promising heaven as the reward of the saved!

They have heard vague allusions from only a few scriptures which are capable of several interpretations!

But they have never heard a patient, careful, well-organized, thorough Bible study or sermon proving from the Bible that heaven is the reward of the saved!

Why haven’t they?

Simply because it cannot be proved!

Why Did Christ Teach the Resurrection?

Why did Jesus continually speak of a resurrection? He said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25).

He described those who were in their graves, dead, knowing nothing, at the time of the second coming of Christ. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” [“judgement,” margin] (John 5:28-29).

These scriptures plainly refer to a future event. Jesus spoke of a general resurrection from the dead, which He called a resurrection “of life. ” He clearly spoke of the opposite of death. He spoke of life.

God’s word says “The dead know not anything,” and “The memory of them is forgotten. ” David, in the Psalms, explains that death is a completely mindless state—an absence of knowledge and awareness.

Solomon, David’s son, explained that men die a death exactly as do beasts (Ecclesiastes 3:19). He said “Yea they all have one breath. “

God’s Word reveals that human beings live a physical, chemical existence. We are mortal, temporary, transitory creatures; sustained by the material elements of this physical creation. We are water-drinking, air-breathing, food-ingesting creatures whose life is dependent solely upon our bloodstream and the foods (as fuel) we take into our systems.

When we die, a total cessation of this physical, chemical existence occurs. Death is the absence of life. The Bible describes those who go down into their graves as being just as dead as any animal is dead!

But Jesus Christ spoke of a time when they will be raised up to life! Notice, He did not describe a supposed “immortal soul” being placed back into a formerly dead, decayed body!

Read the entire fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. This is called the “resurrection chapter.” In this marvelous portion of scripture are found some of the most important and plainest doctrines of the Word of God. Not only is the resurrection described in great detail, but even “foolish questions” are answered. Continually, people think they have discovered a question too difficult even for God. They will relate, tiresomely, the devouring of bodies buried at sea by sharks. Then they describe how the sharks are finally

caught by a fisherman, and their livers sold in the market. They then say that some other human being eats the shark’s liver, and therefore a portion of the bodies of the dead, by providing fuel for a shark’s stomach, being absorbed into its body and becoming a part of its liver, now becomes a part of the body of another living person! So how does God solve the problem, they ask?

They will describe what happens when people are fused into nothingness in an atomic explosion, burnt in a crematorium and their ashes scattered over the mountains, in the air, or at sea; or even puzzle endlessly over what happens to those who died centuries ago where even the bones themselves have turned to nothing but dust.

To such questing minds, it seems impossible for God to “resurrect” the body that was. The Apostle Paul shows these are “foolish questions,” and answers them thoroughly in the famous “resurrection chapter” of 1 Corinthians 15.

“But some man will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed His own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption: it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness: it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:35-44).

Notice first that the Apostle Paul refers to carnal human reasonings about just how God is going to bring back an utterly corrupted and decayed human body as a question proposed by a fool.

Then, He shows that through the unlimited miracle working power of God a completely corrupt, dishonorable, natural body which can waste away to become fused once again with the elements of this earth (“dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”) is to be resurrected as a spirit being!

“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual … and as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I show 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 trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality! ” (1 Corinthians 15:46-53).

You need to read all of this marvelously revealing chapter in your own Bible. Read it slowly, accept it on face value, as it is, and believe it as the very Word of God!

If you do, you will never again be confused about the resurrection of the dead.

This revealing chapter plainly shows that, at death, your physical, temporal bodies, sustained in a chemical existence by the natural elements of this earth; food, water, and air, completely cease to function, and that total unconsciousness and oblivion results!

Not only is there a complete cessation of life—there is total loss of consciousness!

Then, within moments after death, the physical body begins to decay.

This beautiful fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians explains that no matter how rapidly that decaying process (whether being blown to bits in an atomic explosion or slowly decaying in a normal grave) God is capable of completely re-creating a new spirit life, giving the individual a brand-new spirit body!

The Apostle Paul went to great pains to explain it is not the old, decaying, “corrupted” body which is raised, but a spiritual body.

There are literally dozens of scriptures in the Bible which speak of a great resurrection.

Notice another of the most important. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished [this is the first resurrection]. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4-6).

Just as Jesus spoke of a resurrection to “life” and a resurrection to judgment,” so this revealing scripture shows the dead in Christ being resurrected at the second coming of Christ, and then reigning with Jesus Christ for a thousand years, while “the rest of the dead, ” (those who were never converted), remain totally oblivious to all this passage of time until after the thousand years are over!

You see, beginning in verse II to the end of chapter 20, the picture of the “great white throne judgment,” or the great latter-day resurrection of perhaps billions of human beings who will then be given an opportunity for salvation!

Read the 37th chapter of Ezekiel in the light of the last part of Revelation 20.

The famous “dry bones” of Ezekiel’s prophecy are stated to be “the whole house of Israel” (verse II) who are to be resurrected in this great “white throne judgment.”

God says “Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Eternal when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves. And shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the Eternal have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Eternal” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

Here again, you see two opposites: death, complete unconsciousness—human bodies by the millions decaying, forgotten in their graves—In contrast to a great future resurrection to life even after the millennial reign of Jesus Christ!

Time and again, the Bible speaks of the first resurrection at the precise instant of the second coming of Christ!

In this regard, study carefully one of the cherished scriptures used by proponents of the “hope of heaven” doctrine.

Turn to 1 Thessalonians 4, commencing to read with verse 13. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ”

This text is used over and over again to imply that Christians go to heaven!

Search the scriptures again, however, and you will see this scripture says nothing about going to heaven!

What does it say?

It says both the “dead in Christ (who have been completely dead, oblivious, unconscious of the passage of time in their graves) and the living Christians will “be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…”

This does not say “up in heaven!” It says “in the clouds.”

Clouds are as much a part of this earth as the oceans, the mountains, or anything else composed of matter.

While you may think of clouds as not being literally composed of matter, if they were not particulate matter, they would be invisible, and you could not see them. Even so, the air itself is, in practical fact, “material,” meaning it occupies space, has weight, is subjected to certain rigid and unalterable laws, and is composed of a wide variety of gases.

Our “atmosphere” is a thin envelope of life-supporting gases which are held close to the surface of the earth by gravity. Living plants produce oxygen, which is necessary for human and animal survival.

Clouds are merely vapor, formed by condensation and the forming of tiny ice particles when moisture-laden air is subjected to changes in pressure and temperature.

Most jet air travel is well above the majority of all clouds. Certainly, all of the orbital satellites are far above the clouds, and yet are held in an orbital pattern above the earth, established by the pull of gravity.

When the Bible speaks of Jesus Christ returning to this earth it plainly reveals He is coming all the way back down, just as He left.

Read, in the first chapter of Acts, of the very first message ever to come back down from heaven after Jesus ascended to His Father:

“And when He [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they [the disciples] beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

They watched Jesus being enveloped in the clouds only a very few hundred feet above their heads! Jesus would have been completely invisible if He were only a very few thousand feet from them! The scripture plainly shows He was still visible until clouds obscured Him from their view.

That meant the clouds had to be quite low on this occasion!

The Bible then says He will come back to this earth, “in like manner” as they saw Him go into heaven!

Turn back to 1 Thessalonians 4 and read the passage quoted again.

Notice what it does not say. It does not say anything whatsoever about “going to heaven.” It says nothing whatsoever about “an immortal soul”!

Rather, as plainly corroborated by many other scriptures, it shows the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the instantaneous change (1 Corinthians 15:50-52) of those who are “alive and remain,” to be caught up together as one group “in the clouds,” and finally concludes by saying “… and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And where will the Lord be on that same day?

Remember, He is coming back. He is not merely going to “visit the general vicinity” of the earth, catching away saints in a so-called “rapture” and take them off to heaven!

Notice the proof, from your own Bible!

“Behold the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Eternal go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:1-4).

The setting of this prophecy is the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is that period of time immediately following the heavenly signs of Revelation 7, and the first five “seals” of Revelation 6, or the great tribulation prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24.

The gathering of all nations against Jerusalem to battle is the same great battle depicted in Revelation 19:11-21.

Here, John sees the heavens opened in vision, and Jesus Christ sitting on a white horse, followed by heavenly armies, returning to this earth to “smite the nations” and “rule them with a rod of iron. ”

In the vision, John said he “saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army.” And describes the destruction of both the beast and the false prophet on the very same day of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

What will happen after the dead in Christ and the living Christians are caught up together to meet the returning Christ in the air?

The Bible says “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives! ”

They are gathered from all nations, taken by powerful angels to meet Jesus Christ as He returns directly to the Mount of Olives, and so descend with Him to Jerusalem!

Notice! “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30-3 1).

Notice again the description of Jesus Christ returning to this earth!

The false doctrine of Christians “going to heaven” would make completely unnecessary any second coming of Christ. If “souls” were already “in heaven” from the time they died, then why should Christ come back? Why should such “souls” be taken from heaven, placed back into decayed bodies, resurrected, and then the whole process of deciding where they belong begun all over again?

The false doctrine of the “immortality of the soul” and Christians “going to heaven” does away with the second coming of Christ—which is the greatest prophesied event in the Bible!

No, “souls” do not go to heaven—neither do people. Christ is coming back to this earth. He is coming all the way back; coming with clouds, to catch the converted righteous up into the air with Him, take them to a place just above Jerusalem, and then, “His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives” in that same day!

Obviously, these many biblical proofs of the second coming of Christ utterly negate the false doctrine of souls going to heaven.

Now, let’s notice some of Christ’s parables about His coming kingdom; about the fact it will be set up on this literal earth, and see some of the prophecies about conditions on the earth during the millennium.

Read again the parable of the pounds and the talents. One example is found in Matthew 25:14-30, and another in Luke 19:12-27.

In each case, those who overcome are promised of Jesus Christ rulership over cities!

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25), Jesus says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

In the case of the parable of the pounds (Luke 19) Jesus says, “Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17).

Do these plain words of your Savior “fit” into the traditional teaching you have always heard—perhaps just taken for granted? Anything about “heaven” here? No, but rulership over cities, occupied by human beings, during the 1,000- year reign of Christ on earth is offered to those who are living a life of overcoming—of qualifying for such positions!

Notice! “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father” (Revelation 2:26, 27).

There is no way to “spiritualize” these plain words away! Jesus Christ means exactly what He says! Those who are living a life of overcoming the pulls and tugs of human nature; the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-2 1) and who qualify will be given actual power and authority over cities, counties, states, and whole nations! Do you remember what Jesus said to His disciples just prior to His crucifixion? “…Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel! (Matthew 19:28).

Jesus Christ says that even those who live in this day can have an opportunity for co-rulership in His new government which is to be set up on this earth after His second coming!

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Revelation 3:21).

Jesus Christ is coming to inherit a literal throne! That throne is on this earth. How many little children have memorized the following words at “Christmas-time,” repeating the enunciation by the angel to Mary concerning the birth of Jesus Christ, and not known what they said?

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David;and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end!” (Luke 1:30-33).

God made a binding covenant with David, telling him because David remained faithful to God’s laws and precepts that there would never fail seed from David’s own family to sit upon His physical throne! Believe it or not, that throne still exists on this earth!

Read the prophecy of Daniel’s second chapter, where you see, after the description of the four great successive world-ruling Gentile kingdoms, a “stone cut out without hands” which smites the image on its feet [the ten toes representing the ten kings of Revelation 17] and which then “becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth.”

Clearly, in this prophecy, the figurative stone represents the returning, conquering Christ! The great image represents the successive stages of the Gentile world-ruling kingdoms, culminating in the BEAST depicted in Daniel 7, and Revelation 13 and 17.

The ten kings which fight Christ at His coming (Revelation 17) are represented by the ten toes of the great image, mixed with iron and miry clay.

The “great mountain” is symbolic of the Kingdom of God which will rule over the entirety of the earth!

God’s Kingdom to Rule on Earth

There is voluminous evidence in the Bible that the Kingdom of God will reign on this earth!

Let’s notice just a few of the more outstanding proofs.

“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the House of the Eternal shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people [physical human beings will still be alive on the earth during that day!] shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Eternal, and to the House of the God of Jacob and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Eternal from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and 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. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Eternal of Hosts has spoken it” (Micah 4:1-4).

Here, you see the symbol of the Kingdom of God established over all the other nations, greater and lesser!

Then you see representative ambassadors from all countries on earth agreeing, finally, to come to God’s headquarters’ city in Jerusalem, learning of the ways of God; learning to keep His laws, learning to convert weapons of war into implements of peace!

Here is a graphic description of God finally forcing upon mankind the ways of peace, happiness, prosperity, bounteous joy!

Ugly, death-dealing tanks will be smelted down, and turned into farming implements. There will be no “war colleges,” or military academies, teaching the “art” of war!

Notice a parallel scripture: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s House shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and 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 any more” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

Again, we see the complete rehabilitation of the earth. It is the time of “restitution” of all things (Acts 3:21). A time for reconstruction, reeducation; a time for global revolution, when those who are born of God by a resurrection from the dead, are changed instantaneously (as you learned in 1 Corinthians 15) and who have become members of the very family of God, will join Jesus Christ in positions of leadership and rulership over the human, physical remnants of the great global holocaust that is sure to come!

But mankind will survive! (Matthew 24:21, 22).

Christ will return to this physical earth, and will grant positions of responsibility and rulership to those who have truly qualified to be members of His kingdom! Notice a description of conditions extant on earth after Christ has begun to rule: “But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ 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. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:4-12).

It is impossible to misinterpret or misunderstand this plain scripture! Obviously, the “rod out of the stem of Jesse” (Jesse was David’s father and therefore of the lineage of Christ) and a “Branch” which was to grow out of his roots is a metaphorical reference to Jesus Christ.

Read verse 2, “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Eternal.”

Commencing with verse 4, you see the description of the righteous judgments of Jesus Christ returning to this earth as the conquering King of kings and Lord of lords (read Revelation 19).

Immediately following, you see the conditions which shall become extant over all the earth during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ!

Are there wolves, lions, oxen and poisonous snakes up in heaven? Nonsense!

Here, you see a description of the “time of restitution of all things” of which Peter prophesied immediately following the day of Pentecost, and the birthday of the Church. Peter said, “And He shall send Jesus Christ [predicting Jesus’ second coming!], which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive UNTIL the times of restitution of all things [the restoring of everything], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:20, 21).

The very nature of animals shall be changed!

Read the entire passage slowly and carefully. You need no one to “interpret” what it says, or attempt to change its meaning! Clearly, this is a detailed description of conditions to become extant on this earth immediately after the second coming of Jesus Christ, and in the first years of His Kingdom!

Here, many of the nations of the earth, identified by their ancient names, are mentioned. God says He will regather the second time the remnant of His people from nations all over the earth, and from the “islands [coastlands] of the sea.”

Heavenly Retirement, or Hard Work?

Does it make any sense to you? What if our young men just entering the army, navy or marines, underwent six weeks of primary training, then several months of additional training, literally transforming them from civilians into military men, skilled in the use of modern weapons and military equipment, only to have their drill instructor announce to them on the moment of their graduation from “boot camp” or primary training: “Well, men, that’s it! You have all done a marvelous job. You have become skilled through the rigors of physical exercise, weapons handling, running obstacle courses, learning close-order drill and the Manual of Arms. Now, you are full-fledged military men! Now, it is time for all of you to retire! “

Sounds ludicrous, when put that way, doesn’t it?

Yet, Jesus said “It is through much tribulation we must enter the Kingdom of God.” And promised His true servants “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world! ” (John 16:33). Peter cried out, “If the righteous scarcely be saved, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus described the way into His soon-coming Kingdom as the “strait,” meaning difficult route! The way that leads to destruction He described as a broad, well-lit avenue with glittering lights and dazzling attractions. But the way into His Kingdom He described as rutty, rocky, narrow, winding, and extremely difficult!

Frequently, the Bible uses the analogy of military service when speaking of Christians. The seal of the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association shows a helmet, breastplate, and crossed swords, with a quotation from Ephesians 6:11-18, which says, in part, “Put on the whole armour of God … having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith … the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.”

The Apostle Paul urged Timothy to perform “as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).

On another occasion, Paul said, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds… ” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Jesus said, “To him that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron… ” (Revelation 2:26, 27).

God uses these analogies to show Christians that they are involved in training, and in a kind of warfare, as if professional soldiers.

A Christian is one who is continually overcoming; learning, studying, growing, gaining wisdom, knowledge, patience, love, and humility! A Christian is fighting (1 Corinthians 9:26), but fighting Satan the devil, and resisting the pulls of human nature, not fighting physical enemies with guns and bullets!

This human life is a vast training ground for the Kingdom of God!

It is “boot camp”—primary training—for those who are to finally graduate into the very Kingdom and Family of God, to become qualified to RULE the world with Jesus Christ!

The Christian life has great PURPOSE! God is working out a PLAN here below! Yet, millions fail to see that great purpose they remain ignorant of God’s plan in their lives!

Nowhere does the Bible preach “Christian retirement”! Think of it! Does not much of the music, many of the sermons, and a great deal of so-called “Christian” teaching portray an eternity of idleness and ease; of beatific bliss and indolent delight?

Do not the envisionary “heavens” of many of the other religions of the world picture virtually the same thing? One thinks of the song “The Lazy Ole Sun Got Nothin’ to do But Roll Around Heaven All Day,” in this context. Reference to the “heavenly rocking chair” and “heavenly mansions” are liberally sprinkled through some of the mythological teachings of professing Christianity.

But the truth of God is far different!

The truth is that Almighty God is calling a cadre of individuals (and not all the world is being called NOW!) as the advance emissaries of His soon-coming Kingdom! Even as Jesus Christ called only twelve disciples and formed them into the nucleus of His “group of called-out ones” or His “church” (which more properly should be translated “assembly” in modern English), so that SAME Jesus Christ is calling out a select group whom He calls “the very elect” (Matthew 24:22) for rigorous training to qualify to become future WORLD RULERS with Him!

Does anyone really comprehend the awe-inspiring breadth and scope of God’s great plan and purpose?

The churches simply do not teach it! What church teaches that its members are now qualifying to become city managers, mayors, ambassadors, princes, presidents, premiers and prime ministers, KINGS in the world to come? But city managers, mayors and premiers with a difference! That difference is being imbued with a divine power of ALMIGHTY GOD!

Future leaders in Christ’s soon-coming Kingdom will not be hampered by years-long “studies” by vested interests and government-paid bureaucrats. Decisions involving hygiene, transportation, civil justice, the environment, care for the elderly, etc., etc., will not be hampered and bogged down by years of committee studies, city council meetings, voting and elections, court trials, referendums and lawsuits! Rather, those who will rule with Jesus Christ will have wisdom far exceeding that of Solomon; the very love and mercy of Jesus Christ; with which they will be able to rule forcibly, swiftly, in mercy and righteousness, but with sternness and POWER where necessary!

After all, it is here on earth where the problems are!

There are no “problems” to solve in heaven! Almighty God is not calling a group to be put through rigorous training, overcoming and growing in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ; fighting themselves; having their very human nature changed from that of jealousy, lust, avarice and greed to the character of Jesus Christ of love, goodness, meekness, mercy, kindness and understanding, in order to retire!

Instead, Jesus Christ promises CO-RULERSHIP WITH HIM!

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne!” (Revelation 3:21).

John, in vision, wrote, “And I looked, and lo, a Lamb [Christ] stood on the Mount Zion [which is in Jerusalem, on this earth!] and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads … these were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb! ” (Revelation 14:1-4).

Is it possible YOU are being called, now, to become one of those comparatively few individuals? Could God, actually, be performing the miracle of opening your mind to see His TRUTH?

Millions around you are in spiritual darkness. The big churches and major denominations do not teach these simple truths from the Word of God! The millions believe they are “going to heaven” when they die; believe in an immortal soul, and an ever-burning hell!

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This publication is intended to be used as a personal study tool. Please know it is not wise to take any man’s word for anything, so prove all things for yourself from the pages of your own Bible.

The activities of the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association are paid for by tithes, offerings and donations
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The post Believe it or Not… The Bible Does NOT Promise “Heaven”! first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The famous eunuch from Ethiopia was reading from the scroll of Isaiah when Philip was sent to him. Within only a few hours, the eunuch asked to be baptized. He had learned about Christ from Philip’s explanation of Isaiah’s prophecies. How was this possible? Could the eunuch have received Christ as his Savior, and been saved by grace, through understanding what Isaiah wrote? Isn’t the Old Testament “done away”? Is the knowledge necessary for salvation to be found in the Old Testament? Read, in your own Bible, the astonishing truth!

He was tall, dressed in the finery that befitted his station. Gold glittered from his wrists and from the medallion that hung around his neck with its royal crest of Ethiopia.

His black head was shielded against the sun by the canopy of his elaborately carved and decorated chariot. The nose was aquiline, the lips thin, like all of his race, though he was carrying much more body fat than he would have liked.

He had given orders to halt here, in the shade of these trees, and his escort was busy seeing to their mounts, checking the wheels of their chariots, and drinking from their water skins.

As befitted his station, and the value of the precious scroll he had purchased in Jerusalem, Queen Candace had ordered a large armed guard to accompany him. The Romans had graciously assigned additional escort to this point. They would turn back now, for the sun-baked Arabah lay just ahead, and the risk of brigands was small.

With trembling hands, he unrolled the beautifully scripted scroll, admiring the heavy, engraved brass. As secretary of the treasury, he was returning to Ethiopia with what would be considered a priceless addition to the queen’s coffers: the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He struggled a little with the Hebrew. Though he could understand the words well enough, much of the meaning of the lengthy passages escaped him. As he unrolled new lines of script, his servant rolled the ones he had just read onto the opposite spindle, both of which featured a beautifully decorated cap at the top, and a tapering metal handle on the bottom. His lips moved as he read aloud to himself, eyebrows knit together in concentration. He became aware of someone standing beside the chariot. A man he had not seen before, a stranger, who was not part of his train, smiled at him and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

Taken aback, his curiosity over the passages he had just labored through overcame his momentary impulse to rebuke the stranger for intruding. There was something about the man, perhaps his dress, his manner, his precise speech—or maybe it was the friendly earnestness of his question. Certainly, he was a Hebrew, and therefore skilled in the language. “How can I,” he answered, “except some man should guide me?” He beckoned to the man, who said his name was Philip, offering him a seat beside him under the shade of the canopy. Philip had been astonished when he had heard the voice from God, that of an angel no doubt (Acts 8:26), telling him to go south on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, into the desert. But he had immediately left on his journey.

When Philip saw the large caravan of animals and chariots, and easily singled out the beautifully decorated chariot with the crest of Ethiopia on the sides, he asked some of the escort who they were, and learned that the large man in the chariot was a eunuch, that he had authority next only to that of Candace of Ethiopia, and that he was responsible for their national treasury.

Philip climbed up beside the eunuch, who began reading aloud the passage he had just completed.

“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. He was taken away by distress, and in humiliation, fair judgment was denied Him, and who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Eternal to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin…” (Isaiah 53:7-10).

When he finished reading the entire passage, the eunuch turned to Philip and asked, “Please tell me, of whom is the prophet speaking? Himself, or some other man?”

Philip began reading the same passage exactly where the eunuch had begun to read (Acts 8:35), and began expounding the meaning.

First, he made very clear to the eunuch the full meaning of each verse itself, each word. Then, he quoted many other passages of Scripture. He recited verses from the other prophets, from the Psalms of David, and even from the scroll of Genesis.

After all, the eunuch had come to Jerusalem as a pilgrim to worship in the Temple (Acts 8:27), and it was obvious Candace had ordered the purchase of the expensive scroll of Isaiah, so he would not take offense. Philip launched into an earnest recital of the amazing miracle of Pentecost and of his own personal experiences. The scriptures came pouring out of his mouth, as the big black Ethiopian listened to him eagerly.

Philip

Philip had been present when the astonishing miracles of that electrifying Pentecost had occurred. He had heard the rushing sound of a mighty wind; he had seen the blazing coronas of fire settling on the heads of those twelve apostles.

Inspired by their words, he had joined the lines seeking baptism. It had been the most glorious experience of his life, and he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He began busily helping everyone he could. When the huge crowds gathered, many crowded forward in the food lines, and in their thoughtlessness some of their elderly women were being ignored. Steven was there, excitedly relating to people all he had seen and heard. Philip joined with him, along with Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, who was a proselyte from Antioch, and together they busied themselves carrying food, arranging seating, helping elderly women to a vantage place to see and hear.

Their service had been noted by some of the apostles, so when some of the Greeks who were there began muttering about the forwardness of some of the Jews, and their tendency to ignore the ladies during the meetings, Philip and the others found themselves singled out, called to the front.

Philip had never heard of such a thing—had never seen or heard about an “ordination” before. But the apostles had said to the crowds that they should search out from among their number seven men “of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom,” and that they were going to appoint them as servers to help the people, while the apostles would concentrate on praying and preaching the Word of God (Acts 6:1-6).

Philip remembered how humbled he had felt when several of the apostles had called his name, had surrounded him and laid hands on him right in front of the crowds, and had asked God to grant him special gifts for serving those who were assembled there. The Greeks called them the diaconate, or the “servants,” who took care of the physical needs of the large crowds of people.

But their service was not limited to carrying food, arranging tables and chairs, and keeping order. Philip was inspired to eagerly help people because he knew he simply had to do so, that the teachings of Jesus Christ would not let him do otherwise. Also, as he worked among them, he found it a natural tendency for them to ask him things like, “Did you see Jesus Christ of Nazareth?” or, “Were you there when the fire appeared?” or, “Have you seen anyone healed of disease?”

How could he help but speak to them?

Stephen also began speaking with such conviction and power that he invariably drew large crowds. People pressed forward, holding up their children, bringing their elderly, showing him their injuries, telling him about their sicknesses and diseases. Stephen had prayed for them, and people were healed instantly.

But some of the men from one of the synagogues had begun to attempt to entrap Stephen in his own words. They concocted the cleverest arguments they could against him, but every time they stood to challenge him, he confused them, speaking with such cold, clear logic, with such conviction over his own personal experiences, that they were defeated.

Finally, they plotted to bribe false witnesses who went to the high priests and claimed they had heard Stephen speaking blasphemy against Moses and God (Acts 6:7-15). Stephen was arrested and brought to trial.

In his defense, he so enraged his audience that a riot was incited, and they stoned him to death (Acts 7).

Philip and the others were frightened. Were they next?

The synagogues had so stirred up the authorities that the persecution became not only widespread, but cloaked with official authority. Only the apostles were able to remain in Jerusalem with impunity, and that was mostly due to the fear the religious sects harbored as a result of the miracles, signs, and wonders that had been accomplished.

Most members of the church were scattered. So it was that Philip, who fled along with the rest, went to the city of Samaria, and began telling them about everything he had seen and heard; how Jesus Christ of Nazareth was indeed the true Messiah, the Savior of the world. Demon possessed people were brought to him by anxious families and friends, and he cast them out. People with palsy, people who were crippled, were miraculously healed when Philip prayed for them. Simon the magician pretended to be a believer, and was not exposed until Peter and John were sent by the other apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-14).

It was shortly after this, while Philip was still many miles north of Jerusalem in Samaria that God sent His angel to tell him about the Ethiopian eunuch.

Philip “Preached Unto Him Jesus”

Seeing the wide-eyed interest of this big official of the Ethiopian queen, Philip warmed to his task.

He asked that the scroll be rolled back until he came to the last lines of the preceding passage. He read to the eunuch how the Messiah was to have been beaten nearly to death, “As many as were astonished at Thee: His visage was so marred, more than that of any man, and His form more than the sons of men” (Isaiah 52:14), and then related all the events of the terrible night of Christ’s arrest, His scourging, and His death.

He read, “So shall He sprinkle many nations,” and reminded the Ethiopian of the practice of the priests on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle drops of blood on the altar, on the Book of the Law, the Tabernacle, all the vessels, and even on the people (Hebrews 9:18-22).

He showed how the sacrifices were but a foreshadow of the necessity for God Himself to come to die for the sins of His own creation (John 1:1-14), and how sacrifices were not originally intended (1 Samuel 15:22,23; Jeremiah 7:22), but that God had instituted them to remind sinning Israel that the wages of sin was death.

He recited many of the Psalms, showing how the very things David sang and wrote about had come to pass in the life of the Messiah. He quoted, “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted on the Eternal that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighteth in Him’” (Psalm 22:7,8), and related how Christ had been nailed to a tree trunk.

Philip related how David had prophesied, “They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and Thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalm 22:13-18). Philip spoke feelingly, passionately, about the horrible beating and death of Jesus Christ. He told how Peter had become so emotional back there in Jerusalem when he related how he had forsaken Jesus, how Jesus had warned him he would, how vehemently he had denied even knowing him, and how bitterly he had repented later. He kept returning to the open scroll before them, reading from it.

“He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men…,” Philip read. Then he related how even John had fled in the night; how John had told them how ashamed and heartbroken he was when Jesus had looked down upon him from that terrible tree, and called Mary John’s “mother,” and John her “son”; how he knew the Christ wanted John to take care of Mary for the rest of her life (John 19:25-27).

“She still lives with him to this day,” Philip said. “And there are people in Jerusalem who are alive and well in their own homes who were resurrected from the dead the instant Christ died” (Matthew 27:52,53).

Philip had no scrolls with him. He possessed no “Bible,” and of course it would be another twenty-four years before a single word of Matthew’s Gospel, or Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian church would be written.

But Philip was intelligent, and well-versed in the Holy Scriptures, which were replete with prophecies about the coming Messiah.

He mentioned how Daniel had seen a vision of the coming Kingdom of God, and the judgment (Daniel 7:9,10,13,14,22,27).

An Eternal Inheritance 

Knowing that the eunuch would be especially concerned about some inspiring, encouraging prophecies found a little further on in the expensive scroll, Philip asked that they unroll it to that point, and then read, “Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Eternal, speak, saying, ‘The Eternal hath utterly separated me from His people’: neither let the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus saith the Eternal unto the eunuchs that keep My sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; ‘Even to them will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off’” (Isaiah 56:1-5).

The eunuch may well have explained how he had volunteered to become the queen’s eunuch. “Many thousands volunteer, because they know they could never reach such high station otherwise. Many die as a result of the operation, but those of us who live are given many things. We have a better life than many who have children, but who are poor, and sick.” Philip knew this was the case. Still, there were regrets: “Oh yes, I have thought about it. What man would not want to see his children; to see his name live on?”

Philip no doubt emphasized how God would give the man a name better than that of sons and daughters, how he would inherit the Kingdom of God.

Philip continued reading: “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Eternal, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Eternal, to be His servants, every one that keepeth My sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer…” (Isaiah 56:6,7).

At some point, the Ethiopian official must have indicated his desire to continue their journey. Philip must have agreed to continue with them, so their discussion could have continued for several hours—long enough for Philip to have explained thoroughly the many scriptures to which he must have referred.

The name of “Jesus Christ” is nowhere mentioned in the book of Isaiah, so Philip no doubt went into detail about Christ’s life; about Philip’s own experiences, perhaps even having been in Jerusalem, and having witnessed Christ’s death. It is obvious Philip was among the earliest converts either on or immediately following Pentecost. It is also obvious that Philip had become deeply convicted of Jesus’ divinity, and knew that He was the Son of God.

Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, says Philip, though beginning in the book of Isaiah, “preached unto him Jesus.” How many mainstream ministers today could do the same thing? Relatively few, no doubt. Many of them believe the Old Testament is done away, that it is only interesting as history or for its value as an archaic piece of literature. But for preaching the gospel?

Following their discussion, which must have consumed several hours, Luke wrote, “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’” (Acts 8:36,37).

It becomes obvious that Philip had also explained the rite of baptism to the eunuch. Had Philip known John, or perhaps even been one of his disciples for a time? We cannot know. Remember, the eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship God (Acts 8:27), and was therefore a proselyte, a “stranger,” or a gentile who had been converted to the Law of Moses.

No doubt he was a keeper of the Sabbath, and of the annual holy days, for there is little doubt his pilgrimage to Jerusalem was on an annual sabbath. Therefore, there was no need for Philip to spend hours (or days, or a week or more!) explaining to the eunuch everything about God’s laws; about clean and unclean and tithing.

If the eunuch had been in Jerusalem to worship, he would naturally have purchased something for a sacrifice. Philip would have explained to him about Christ’s sacrifice; how the rite of baptism symbolized death, burial, and the resurrection; how the shadowy sacrifices pictured Jesus Christ and His shed blood for the sins of all mankind. This inspiring account of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch tells us a great deal about God’s Word, the early church, and the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in and through one human being to another.

Philip Was Not “Authorized” 

Who sent Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch? We have already read it. “The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip.”

Philip was not “credentialed” by some church organization. He was not sent out by an employer; nor authorized or approved by any other human being. But it was a real angel who spoke to Philip, not Philip’s ego, or imagination, or spiritual pride, or secret desire to be a “minister,” or his desire to “be somebody” who had a special relationship with God or wanted to be a “prophet”!

There are plenty of men and women like that around today, as there were then (Matthew 24:11).

God had prepared the mind of the Ethiopian eunuch; had intervened into his life, caused him to be sent to Jerusalem, and caused him to be traveling that road at that time. This was a miracle from God, not an accidental encounter.

Philip only lived through such an experience once, so far as we know. Following his baptism of the eunuch, he was caught away by the Spirit (Acts 8:39), and “was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cesarea” (Acts 8:40).

This was truly “one on one.” God inspired the eunuch to pause, unroll the scroll to the place he did, and then read aloud to himself. God caused Philip to be in the place he was, at the time he was.

Since Philip “began at the same scripture” and preached Christ to the eunuch from the Old Testament, it is obvious Philip knew the Scriptures. He was not a novice; a man who had never known God’s word; a man who came from illiterate masses, was suddenly converted by the miracles he saw and heard on Pentecost, and then became a deacon and an evangelist. No, it is obvious, from God’s Word, that Philip knew the book of Isaiah. He must have known much more, for the passage in Isaiah was only where he began to teach.

What were Philip’s “credentials” for this “one on one,” up close, personal teaching? Did Peter know about Philip’s baptism of the eunuch? No. Did Paul? No. Paul was not even converted as yet (Acts 9 with Galatians 1). Did any of the apostles at Jerusalem know about Philip’s preaching, or authorize it, or approve it, or finance it? No. Philip was sent directly by God, and not by any human leader.

Notice, however, that Philip was not preaching to the church! Some, harboring private, fantastic spiritual agendas in their own minds, would like to become a modern-day Philip. Some believe an angel has spoken to them, or believe they have seen a vision, and have a special “message,” or a “calling.” But most such people do not go to the world and preach the gospel. Instead, some attempt to convince various leaders of various churches of their spiritual credentials in order to gain recognition.

Philip may not have been “authorized” by human leaders, but he was sent by God. He was not sent to Peter, to tell him how God had chosen Philip to become a prophet. He was sent to a black eunuch from Ethiopia to convict and convert him.

This was an absolutely unique occurrence in history—something that only happened once. Though changes occurred with the passing of time, the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch may well have been the earliest beginning of the Christian Coptic church.

Just as God had converted thousands gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost; thousands who departed for their far-flung nations within days or weeks afterward, and who became emissaries for the gospel, so God sent Philip to convict and baptize a high government official from Ethiopia, who would then take his newfound knowledge back to Candace and to his people.

Nothing further is ever mentioned about the Ethiopian eunuch. He disappears from history. We are not given his name, and we know nothing of his efforts, either successful or unsuccessful, when he arrived back at his home.

It is obvious Philip knew his work was finished with the baptism of the eunuch. Philip did not attempt to enroll the eunuch on a list, or attempt to get him to “join the church” in some nominal manner, or urge him to “keep in touch,” or enlist him as part of an organization. The eunuch repented, received Jesus Christ as his Savior, was baptized, and went on his way.

From that day on, he belonged to Christ, Who had paid the supreme price for the eunuch’s life. From that day on, he was a newly-begotten “new creature in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17), who would be taught through study and prayer by the Holy Spirit, apart from any human leader. What a beautiful example this is of God’s great calling, His wonderful gift of salvation.

Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch had nothing to do whatsoever with the development of a human organization called a “church.” It was divinely orchestrated. It was ordered by God through an angel. It was blessed of God, through opening the eunuch’s understanding and bringing him to repentance. Philip was a servant, willingly going whatever distance and spending whatever length of time required, teaching, informing, inspiring, explaining, and then performing baptism when the time came. His work finished, Philip was caught away.

The eunuch continued on his way a converted man. He was now a member of the body of Christ; a member of the church Jesus said He would build (Matthew 16:18), and yet he was not attached in any manner to the apostles in Jerusalem, to any single apostle, or to any other human being in the church.

He was also the first gentile to be spoken of in particular, though there may have been gentile proselytes among the crowds in Jerusalem on Pentecost. It was yet in the future when God would show Peter he must not call any man “common” or “unclean,” and reveal how the gospel must also go to the nations (Acts 10).

Humanly, from an organizational point of view, one might say Philip was “not authorized” to do what he did. Who gave him the right, a mere “deacon,” to be expounding the Scriptures? Who gave him the authority to baptize? God did. So Philip was “authorized” after all, not by man, but directly by God.

We are told he went to Cesaerea. He is never again mentioned until Paul and his company entered “into the house of Philip the evangelist [one who preaches the gospel], which was one of the seven [one of the seven original deacons (Acts 6)]; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy” (Acts 21:8,9).

Obviously, Philip was either already married when he was called into Christ’s service, or he married later. He settled down in Cesaerea, where he continued to preach the gospel. He must have been a very fine husband and father, for all four of his daughters were converted, inspired by God, and had the gift of prophecy.

Philip was obviously skilled in the Scriptures. He “began” at the passage in Isaiah 53 and “preached unto him Jesus.” Philip’s teaching could have taken quite a long time—several hours at least, for the Old Testament Scriptures are replete with prophecies, shadows, types, foretastes, and plain statements about the Messiah Who was to come.

The New Testament has about three hundred direct quotations from the Old Testament, and no other books (such as the spurious books of the Apocrypha, which were included in the Septuagint) are quoted with the exception of the prophecy of Enoch found in the book of Jude.

Today, many mainstream professing Christian churches virtually ignore the Old Testament. Yet, it was the “Scriptures” of Jesus’ day; it comprised the “Scriptures” from which Peter, James, and Paul taught and wrote; it was the holy writ by which God’s people were to conduct their lives, and the “Scriptures” which foretold the coming of the Savior of the World, just as Philip illustrated to the eunuch.

Paul told Timothy, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou has known the holy scriptures [the only “holy scriptures” extant were those of the Old Testament], which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:14-16).

Christ In the Old Testament 

The Old Testament begins setting forth vague shadows, hints, and types which foreshadow the coming of a Messiah very early in the books of Moses.

The commentators universally recognize that the hint found in Genesis 3:15 concerning the woman which shall bruise the head of the serpent, and the serpent which shall bruise HIS (not “her”) heel is a reference to the virgin birth and the coming of Christ into the world. There has been only one descendant of Eve Who was born of woman, yet was not begotten by a man.

The blood sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:3-5) is recognized as the earliest institution of a blood sacrifice. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, and rejected the vegetables offered by Cain.

At the call of Abraham, God promised that “all nations of the earth would be blessed” through him—not only because Abraham would become the “father of many nations” and that “kings” would come out of him, but also that “one seed” which is Christ (Galatians 3:16) would come from Abraham’s family.

Study Genesis 12, 13, 17, and 22.

Study Genesis 14:18-20, and read how Abraham deferred to Melchizedek, paying tithes to him.

Melchizedek is a type of Jesus Christ. Either he was a human priest of “Salem” (the original site of Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah), or He was the One Who became Christ, manifesting Himself to Abraham.

Notice: “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem [which means “Peace”], priest of the Most High God, Who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To Whom Abraham gave a tenth part of all; being first by interpretation King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of Peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God: abideth a Priest continually” (Hebrews 7:1-3).

Either this is speaking of the same Melchizedek Abraham met, or is metaphor for Christ. Several times later, Christ is called “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:21).

In either event, Melchizedek is clearly a type of Jesus Christ, Who IS the “King of Righteousness,” “King of Peace,” and has “neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” As the Old Testament progresses, the vague hints and shadows become clearer types. Eventually, the prophecies speak of one Person Who was to come.

A clear type of Christ is found in Genesis 22:1-19. God commanded Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2).

Abraham had been astonished when God promised he would have a son in his great old age (Genesis 18:9-18). He was ninety-nine when the promise was made, one hundred when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5).

It is hard to imagine the delight, the love, the great joy Abraham and Sarah experienced when God gave them a son of their own. Isaac was the “son of promise,” a son given to them by the power of God.

What must have gone through Abraham’s mind when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son? The Bible example is stunning: “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3).

With every moment, with each task, with every stroke of the axe as the wood was chopped, Abraham had to be thinking of the terrible thing he would have to do.

Paul sheds light on Abraham’s example, calling him the father of the faithful: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:16-21). This is one of the finer biblical definitions of faith.

Abraham must have thought within himself that God would either resurrect Isaac, or that He would provide another son. Abraham knew he was being tested. His example of stolid, dogged determination and patient assurance is a great inspiration to every Christian. Abraham’s obedience went beyond “belief.” He knew.

Read Genesis 22. Just as Abraham had finished preparing the altar, and had actually taken up the knife to slay his son, God called to him through an angel: “‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ And he said, ‘Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me’” (verse 12).

God provided a ram for the sacrifice in place of Isaac, then said, “By Myself have I sworn, saith the Eternal, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:16-18).

Here is a clear prophecy of Christ. It is also clear that Abraham is a type of God the Father, Who “so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Isaac, as Abraham’s son, is a type of Christ. Mount Moriah is the same place where Melchizedek had appeared to Abraham and “brought forth bread and wine,” as an early type of the Passover. Now, God provides a blood sacrifice in the same place, the site where Jerusalem would later stand, where Christ was nailed to the tree, where His death, burial, and resurrection took place.

For three days and three nights, Isaac was as good as dead, in the mind of his father, Abraham. He had resigned himself to the idea; he was doggedly determined to follow through with it.

But after those terrible three days and three nights, His son was allowed to live, as if being brought back from the dead. God provided a ram instead, and Abraham returned home with his son.

As the Old Testament progresses, the shadows and types become ever clearer. A Person begins to emerge as the coming Messiah, the future Ruler of the world.

When Jacob prophesied about all his sons, he said, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah [the eponymous ancestor of the Jews], nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10).

Many Bibles include a letter P, encircled, to indicate the translators knew this was a prophecy about Christ. That “Shiloh” was to have “washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes” is an obvious reference to Christ’s death. John wrote, in the Revelation, “And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13).

Christ As the Passover Lamb

It has been known and understood by virtually all professing Christian denominations and organizations for centuries that the Paschal lamb which was to be sacrificed at the first Passover was a symbol of Jesus Christ.

Study the entire twelfth chapter of Exodus. The lamb was to be perfect, without blemish. It was to be slain, and the blood collected in basins, then brushed with hyssop upon the doorposts and window sills of each Israelitish house.

When Jesus came to John’s baptism, John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world,” and then proceeded to tell those around him how he had seen the Holy Spirit “descending from heaven like a dove, and It abode upon Him.” Then he said again, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29-36).

The apostle John referred to Jesus Christ as the Lamb many times: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

Later, he wrote, “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Revelation 14:3,4). Speaking of the Day of the Lord, and God’s wrath poured out upon rebellious mankind, John wrote, “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:10).

Writing of the beast, and his attempt to fight Christ at His coming, John said, “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). Analogies, metaphors, types, and symbols are used throughout the Bible. That the Lamb slain at the Passover is a symbol of Jesus Christ is inescapable.

Remember, however, than an analogy is not “the truth” per se. It is a representative comparison, an illustration, a parallel thought. An example of this is Revelation 19:7: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come….” Lambs don’t marry. Obviously, this is not a real lamb, but the “Lamb of God,” Who is Jesus Christ. Notice how quickly the analogy breaks down. The church is called “the bride of Christ,” and Jesus spoke of Himself as the “bridegroom” (Matthew 25). Here, after having said “the marriage of the Lamb is come,” John goes on to say, “and His WIFE hath made herself ready.” There is no need for us to strain at an analogy, or to force our own interpretation into the Bible.

The point is that everywhere in the Old Testament where the Paschal lamb is mentioned, it is a type of Christ!

A final scripture: “And He saith unto me, ‘Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

No doubt, Philip must have used some, if not many, of the Old Testament references to Christ during his few hours of conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch.

The Day of Atonement, and a “Prophet Like Unto Moses”

Since it is doubtless the eunuch was in Jerusalem to worship God, it is obvious this trip must have been for more than one purpose. The scroll would have been like a national treasure to Candace and her court. However, since he was there to “worship,” it is obvious there were dual reasons for the trip.

If the eunuch was keeping God’s annual sabbaths, and it is obvious he was, then he was without doubt familiar with the sacrifices, including the special sacrifices required on the Passover and the Day of Atonement. Would not Philip have expounded the meaning of both? Surely, he could not have omitted the Passover, since the relationship with the sacrificial Lamb on Nisan 14, and the scriptures in Isaiah 52 and 53 are so closely associated.

Each year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, one of the most solemn high day sabbaths was observed, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27-32).

On that day, the high priest was to offer a bullock for himself and his family, then to select two kids of the goats, and cast lots upon them.

One was for “the Eternal,” and the other was for “the Azazel,” sometimes rendered “scapegoat.” The goat upon which the lot for “the Eternal” fell was a sin offering for all the people. The goat which was called “the Azazel” was to have all the sins of the people confessed over him, then to be taken by the hand of a “fit man” who was capable of insuring the goat did not escape, and was to be taken a vast distance into the wilderness, then let go.

Since the scriptures being read by the eunuch and Philip spoke of how the Savior would “sprinkle all nations,” it is very likely Philip expounded Leviticus 16, which says, “And he [Aaron] shall sprinkle of the blood upon it [the altar] with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel” (Leviticus 16:19).

Paul knew the Holy Scriptures. All of his teaching, his writings, his beliefs, like those of every one of the early apostles, were based solely upon the Old Testament Scriptures.

Of these symbols of Christ, Paul wrote, “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once [the Day of Atonement was the only time in the year the high priest entered into the holy of holies—a symbol of heaven itself] into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament [new “will,” new “legacy,” new “covenant”], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:11-15).

Paul was not remotely aware that he was writing part of the Bible when he wrote these words. He knew what God’s Word said about the time when God would make a new covenant with His people; a time when He would write His holy and perfect law in their inward parts, and their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Believe it or not, Paul spent perhaps three and one-half years with Jesus Christ personally (Galatians 1:15-19 with 1 Corinthians 9:1). He said he was one who was called directly of Christ (Galatians 1:1,10-12).

The letter to the “diaspora” of the Hebrews, or the scattered members of the twelve tribes of Israel, emphasized the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. It showed how the types, shadows, and symbols of the Levitical priesthood were rendered unnecessary by the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Because the Day of Atonement was the one holy day when the high priest entered into the “holy of holies” after the ceremonies of “sprinkling” the people, the book, and the altar with blood, it was obvious to Paul, as it was to all Christ’s apostles, that the high priest was a type of Jesus Christ; that the blood of animals was a type of Christ’s shed blood; that the “holy of holies” was a type of God’s throne in heaven.

Notice how the Priesthood of Christ is explained:

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop [like a brush of a bush, which was also a cleansing agent, used like a paint brush in sprinkling the blood], and sprinkled with blood both the book, and all the people, Saying, ‘This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.’

“Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission [forgiveness]. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands [as in the Tabernacle, or the Temple, on the Day of Atonement], which are the figures of the true [shadows, types, representations]; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others; For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once [typified by the Day of Atonement] in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:12-28).

There are many places in the New Testament where we may read of the types, shadows, symbols, and representations of the plan of God which were written in the Old Testament.

These were the only Holy Scriptures which were in existence when the apostles and the early church were preaching the Word of God in the first century.

Not one of the Gospel writers, nor Paul, ever presumed they were “writing the Bible” when they wrote down their recollections, or, in Paul’s case, letters to churches he served, or the young men who worked with him.

Did they receive salvation?

Did they learn of Christ?

Did they repent, and did they receive God’s Holy Spirit?

Of course they did!

How? By rejecting the Holy Scriptures which they had studied, heard read and preached, and read themselves all their lives, and claiming they believed in a “Bible which was yet to be written”? They knew and understood about the prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures. Why would anyone assume they thought them to be “done away,” when they knew the knowledge of salvation was contained therein?

The Day of Atonement was one of the most solemn, important holy days in the year, a day of fasting (Leviticus 23:27; Acts 27:9), and the only day in the entire year when the high priest entered into the holy of holies. The high priest was a type of Christ. The shed blood of animals was a type of Christ’s blood. The holy of holies was a type of heaven itself, where Christ was received of His Father as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

It is more than merely logical, since the Ethiopian eunuch had puzzled over the passages in Isaiah’s prophecies about Christ, that Philip would have explained the meaning of the types and shadows of Atonement; explained about the sacrifice of Christ; about Who Jesus Christ really was!

For centuries, the Jews had referred to the coming Messiah as “that Prophet” who would be “like unto Moses.” On various occasions, false prophets rose up and claimed to be the Messiah. Their expectations were based upon Deuteronomy (the “Orations”) 18:15-18, which says, “The Eternal thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him shall ye hearken…and the Eternal said unto me, ‘They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.’”

The translators provided the usual encircled letter P next to these scriptures, since it universally accepted that these verses are a prophecy about Jesus Christ.

The religious leaders during Jesus’ day were continually looking for “that Prophet” who should come, the Messiah.

Notice how the religious leaders questioned John the Baptist: “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who art thou?’ And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Art thou Elias?’ [they all knew of the prophecy that Elijah was to come before the Day of the Lord: Malachi 4:5,6], And he saith, ‘I am not.’ ‘Art thou that prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No’” (John 1:19-21).

John explained that he was a “voice crying in the wilderness,” and they replied, “Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?” (John 1:25).

Following the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand from the five barley loaves and two small fish, the huge throng began discussing Jesus, Who He might be.

“Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, ‘This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world” (John 6:14). It was understood by the religious leadership, and by the masses in general that the “Prophet like unto Moses” would be the Messiah, a deliverer.

Late in His ministry, on the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said [the only “scriptures” that existed were those of the Old Testament], ‘Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, ‘Of a truth this is the Prophet’” (John 7:37-40).

The Jewish religious leaders knew that the Old Testament Scriptures foretold the coming of a “Prophet like unto Moses,” a great Deliverer, a Messiah.

There were many dozens of scriptures in the Old Testament to which Philip could have referred as he rode along with the Ethiopian eunuch and “preached Christ unto him.”

The largest number of prophecies, and the most specific, are throughout the Psalms. David himself was a type of Christ, as was Joshua. The Hebrew equivalent for “Jesus” is “Joshua.” Joshua led the Israelites across the river Jordan into the promised land, just as Christ our Savior leads us out of the wilderness of this world, through death, to the resurrection to life and inheritance of His eternal kingdom.

Yes, Philip could have “preached Christ” unto the eunuch from the Old Testament. He could have done so for days upon end, and scarcely scratched the surface of all the shadows, types, symbols, and examples. He could have spent hours on the specific prophecies concerning that ONE Who was to be called “Immanuel” (God with us—see Isaiah 7:13,14) not only from Isaiah’s prophecies, but from many other Old Testament references.

The Future Kingdom of the Messiah

No doubt, Philip would have made reference not only to the saving work of Jesus Christ, His shed blood for the forgiveness of the sins of the world, but would have pointed out the many scriptures which speak clearly of the ultimate goal of salvation—inheritance of the Kingdom of God.

All Philip had to do was ask that the scroll be unrolled backward a number of chapters, and come to Isaiah the ninth chapter, and read:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and PEACE there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Eternal of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6,7).

Would he not then have made reference to God’s promise to David that his throne would be an eternal throne; that there would never fail one from David’s line to sit upon that throne?

Only two chapters later, he could have read, “And there shall come forth a rod [a green shoot, or stem] out of the stem [or stump] of Jesse [who was David’s father], and a Branch shall grow out of his roots [the Branch is reference to Christ]: And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Eternal: And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Eternal: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:1-4).

Christ did not smite the earth, nor slay the wicked during His time on this earth as the humble carpenter from Nazareth Who came to die for the sins of the world. These prophecies are dual, sometimes referring to Christ’s nature and His character, and sometimes referring to His coming RULE over all the world.

“And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).

In this beautiful chapter, God’s Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament reveal not only the coming of the Messiah, but the second coming of Christ as well; the establishment of His kingdom on earth, the change in the very nature of animals, and then specific prophecies concerning the regathering of the dispersed tribes of Israel.

Obviously, this is speaking of the Kingdom of God. Equally obviously, it is speaking of conditions on this earth, not up in heaven. There are no poisonous snakes, leopards, calves, or cows in heaven.

Notice: “And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ [adder] den. They [predators and poisonous snakes] shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Eternal, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse [just as we read in verse 1], which shall stand for an Ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles [the “nations”] seek: and His rest shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:6-10).

Jesus Christ said He was not sent, but to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” during His earthly ministry. The Ethiopian eunuch is the first gentile of note who is singled out for God’s grace and forgiveness, even prior to Cornelius (Acts 10), and God’s vision to Peter that he should no longer call gentiles “unclean” or “common.”

This foretaste of God’s kingdom shows how Jesus Christ will call and offer salvation to the gentiles during His earthly reign as King of kings and Lord of lords (Isaiah 66:19).

But Jesus Christ did not do this during His sojourn on earth. It was only because of a gentile woman’s faith and her perseverance that Jesus healed her (Matthew 15:26,27) of an issue of blood. Otherwise, it is plain He would have continued on His way.

Notice how Isaiah 11 is inescapably dealing with the second coming of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on earth: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time [this has never yet happened in history!] to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands [coastlands] of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11,12). Nothing of this kind has occurred yet. There are more Jews in New York City and Los Angeles than there are in the modern nation of Israel.

“The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah [the Jews] shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim…And the Eternal shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with His mighty wind shall He shake His hand over the river [the Nile], and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria: like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt” (Isaiah 11:13-16).

Philip could have spent many hours expounding, explaining, teaching, preaching from the Old Testament Scriptures (the only Scriptures which existed then) about Jesus Christ!

He could have shown the eunuch how the dead are to be resurrected (Isaiah 25:6-9; 26:1,19); how Christ would heal the maimed, deaf, and blind (Isaiah 35:5,6); how Jesus Christ would be tenderhearted toward those who came to Him (Isaiah 40:10,11); how Christ would be the light of the world (Isaiah 60:2,20); how Joel had prophesied about the electrifying events of Pentecost (Joel 2:28,32).

Philip could have explained to the eunuch how Bethlehem was to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ (Micah 5:2-5), and how Jonah was a sign of how long Christ would be in the tomb (Jonah 1:7 with Matthew 12:40). He could have shown how Christ was referred to from Genesis right on through the prophets; how the Psalms are replete with prophecies about Jesus Christ.

He could have shown the eunuch, not only about the life, ministry, miracles, death, and burial of Jesus Christ; not only about His resurrection, and how He sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, but he could have shown him the very words spoken by Jesus Christ as He died (Psalm 22:1); how it was foretold that Christ’s hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16), and how they would gamble over His clothing (Psalm 22:18).

Preach Christ from the “Old Testament”?

OF COURSE!

Every apostle, every evangelist, every pastor of every church, every deacon, and every lay member of God’s early church taught, spoke, and preached from the Old Testament Scriptures about Jesus Christ and His saving work!

The first words of the New Testament were not written until about A.D. 55, about twenty-four long years after Christ had ascended into heaven.

Millions are simply deceived today. Millions of professing Christians have been told that the Old Testament is “done away,” and is not for us today.

Yet, it was (and is) a major part of the Word of Almighty God, and it contains dozens of prophecies about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

If Philip were alive today, and you were puzzling over the words in Isaiah 53, Philip would “begin at the same scripture” and preach Christ to you! How strange it is that thousands of professing “Christian” ministers cannot do the same thing!

The New Testament was written, under God’s inspiration, by men who knew, and believed, the Old. The only “Scriptures” which were read, studied, and used from which to preach Christ during the first century of the church were those of the “Old Testament” of your Bible.

What Did Christ Himself Say About the Old Testament?

Millions falsely assume Jesus Christ came to do away with the law. They assume His teachings nullified the law, eclipsed what they assume was a harsh, rigid set of do’s and don’ts, which were impossible to keep.

Yet, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). He did not say “I am not come to destroy, but to destroy.” He did not say “I am not come to destroy, but to render null and void,” which would be the same thing.

Some have decided the English word fulfill means to “bring to an end,” or “to finish.” It is true that in legal language, “fulfilling” a legal obligation, such as completing a contract, can have such a meaning. But notice the complete meaning of the word: “1.a. To carry out [a prophecy, promise, etc.,] cause to happen or take place. b. [reflexively] to realize or develop fully. 2. To carry out or perform [a duty]; obey or follow [a command, law, etc.] Ruth fulfilled all the teacher’s requests] 3. To satisfy a requirement of; answer [a purpose]; comply with [conditions]”

The archaic meaning is “to fill full or make full.”

Plainly, Jesus Christ said we are not to think He came to destroy the law. No matter how some may puzzle over tertiary or quaternary interpretations of the English word, it is clear from all of Christ’s teaching, from His example, and from the context of the Sermon on the Mount that He was lifting the law to a higher, spiritual plane, making it more binding by applying it, not just to the physical acts specified, but to the human thoughts associated with the act.

He went on to say, “For verily I say unto you, ‘Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled’” (Matthew 5:18). Not one period, comma, or crossing of a t would fade away or pass out of use so long as the earth and heaven itself continued. Does the earth continue? So does the law, in all its points.

He said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19).

The “law” includes the “Torah” in these statements, as well as the Ten Commandments. One who would consider laws concerning landmarks, inheritances, clean and unclean meats, or the like as being unimportant might assume such points of the law were “least,” while understanding that the Ten Commandments themselves represent the ten cardinal points of God’s law, upon which hangs all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40).

One who would have considered some point of the law “least,” and taught others so could still repent at some point, and receive salvation. However, he would have lost reward and station, or degree of responsibility in God’s kingdom, and would be referred to as “least.”

Obviously, Jesus Christ is showing how the commandments of God are far more binding in their spiritual application than in the physical application.

Previously, the death penalty was meted out for murder. The penalty was death by stoning when one was found guilty of killing a fellow human being. “But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother [any fellow human being] without a cause [the words without a cause do not appear in the most important texts] shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother ‘Raca’ [that is, vain, useless, worthless; said in anger and hate], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, ‘Thou Fool’ [graceless wretch—an expression showing hate and contempt], shall be in danger of Gehenna fire” (Matthew 5:21,22).

This is not “doing away” with God’s law, but lifting it to a spiritual plane, showing how it applies to human thoughts and not only human actions.

During His earthly ministry, Christ continually referred to prophecies concerning Himself. Time and time again, He told His disciples He was performing certain acts, accomplishing certain things, in order to fulfill Scripture.

Confronted by the religious leaders as He was walking in the Temple in Jerusalem, he spoke to them the parable of the husbandmen and the vineyard. At the conclusion of the parable, He said, “But those husbandmen said among themselves, ‘This is the heir, come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.’

The Pharisees knew He was speaking of them, and became furious.

Christ concluded, “And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And have ye not read in scripture; ‘The Stone which the builders rejected is become the Head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’” (Mark 12:7-11).

He was nearly murdered in Nazareth for reading from the scroll of Isaiah, and expounding to those in the synagogue what the scriptures meant: “And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book [scroll], He found the place where it is written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’”

He closed the scroll, handed it back to the minister, sat down, and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:16-29). Read the entire passage, and see how Jesus showed that God had rejected that generation because they had rejected Him. They tried to cast Jesus off a cliff, and He barely escaped with His life.

In this account, he plainly said Isaiah was part of Scripture, recognizing the inspiration and authority of the Old Testament of your Bible.

There are many such examples.

Following Christ’s resurrection, several of His disciples, including Cleopas, were discussing the events of the past days with Jesus, but because their eyes “were holden that they should not know Him,” and also probably because He had been so disfigured when he was scourged, they thought He was a stranger.

Notice what He said when He opened their eyes: “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And BEGINNING AT MOSES AND ALL THE PROPHETS, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:26,27).

Philip “began at that same scripture” in Isaiah and “preached Christ” to the Ethiopian eunuch. Jesus Christ Himself began “at Moses and all the prophets” and preached that He was the Christ, the Savior of the world.

Christ is the living WORD of God (John 1:1-14), Who was made flesh, and Who created all things. It was the Person of the divine sovereign Godhead Who became Christ Who inspired the Old Testament.

The Old Testament, Paul said to Timothy, was able to make him “wise unto salvation which is in Christ Jesus.”

Now you know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the Old Testament is a vital, living part of the Word of God.

In conclusion, notice some of Christ’s final words:

“‘These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me.’ Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things’” (Luke 24:44-48).

And so they went out, armed with the knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures, and preached repentance, forgiveness of sins, and Jesus Christ.

Philip preached all those things to the eunuch, who was brought to repentance, and requested baptism. For decades, for more than two centuries, the early church continued to preach Christ from the “Old Testament Scriptures.”

Today, we have both the “New Testament” and the Old. But the scriptures eventually recognized by the developing church were not given the weight of “inspired scripture” for centuries. At first, they were history—notes, letters, memoirs.

It has required centuries of deception for the millions today to negate the Old Testament, and to assume it is “done away,” and “not for us today.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). When Paul wrote those words, the only “Scripture” extant was the Old Testament.

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Millions have heard what they believe is the “gospel.” Most have heard a gospel “about” Jesus Christ, but they have NEVER HEARD the gospel HE BROUGHT! Jesus Christ came preaching the “gospel of the Kingdom of God.” Few know WHAT He preached! As shocking at it may sound, as UNBELIEVABLE as it may seem, millions of professing Christians have NEVER HEARD the real gospel!

To most, the word gospel refers to the distant past. Like the familiar old hymn, “Tell Me The Old, Old Story,” it is something old, something ancient. Those who believe they are hearing the “gospel” from radio and television preachers, or from the pulpits of local churches, hear about “Jesus and His love,” again and again. They believe they are hearing a very old story, something that took place about two thousand long years ago.

Millions assume this “old, old story” about Jesus is the “gospel.” Yet, as surprising as it may sound, millions have never heard the real gospel! Such a statement sounds incredible. Yet, it is true.

Far from being only the story about Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, the gospel is also the message He brought.The gospel Jesus Christ preached has to do with our day, now, and with the immediate future. The word gospel itself conveys a futuristic message, a description of the world in the next century, and on into the future for all eternity.

The real gospel includes the answers to the most perplexing questions confronting mankind for his entire existence on earth: Who are we? What are we? WHY are we here? Are we a conscious “soul,” inside of an aging body; a “soul” which lives on consciously after the body dies? Do we live on a “soul factory,” where thousands of “souls” are coming into existence each day all over the world, while thousands are flitting up to heaven, or going down to “hell”?

Is God like an “absentee Landlord,” who set all this in motion, and who now waits somewhere “up there,” with “Saint Peter at the pearly gates” busily welcoming the incoming souls, while the Devil dances with glee as he welcomes those who descend to “hell”?

The real gospel answers the most profound questions of life. Christ’s message explains how we can be changed from flesh to spirit; how we can be reborn into spirit; how we can become coheirs with Christ, sharing with Him the wondrous power of eternal life, judging, ruling with Him during His millennial reign on earth. What you are about to read is the truth. It stands proved beyond the shadow of a doubt in your own Bible.

“Repent,” said Jesus Christ, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17). All three of the other Gospel writers, Mark, Luke, and John, used the expression Kingdom of God. “Now after that John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Contained in those words is a globe-girdling, centuries-long prophetic message, a message about our time now, and the years just ahead of us, which millions of professing Christians have never understood! Notice that Christ’s gospel was not entitled “The Gospel About Me.” Instead, it was the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

The English word gospel might as well be deleted from most dictionaries, and expunged from the language. Millions, while believing they have “received Christ,” and while they “believe on Jesus,” have not the faintest idea of the real meaning of the word. The English word gospel carries with it many different “religious” connotations. As stated above, the first and foremost meaning attached to it is the story about Jesus Christ. People who go to an evangelistic campaign or a revival service to “hear the gospel” expect to hear about Jesus Christ, not a message about wars and rumors of wars, droughts, famines, earthquakes, plagues, and a great false prophet calling down fire from heaven.

People say, “That’s gospel, brother,” meaning “that is the truth.” There are “gospel” churches, where the real messageJesus preached is never heard, but where hundreds of sermons about Christian living, love, joy, peace, faith, and other Bible themes are preached. “Gospel” music means a huge, multi-billion-dollar industry of dozens of singing stars, quartets, and family singing groups.

Countless numbers of professing Christians have gone to church services all their lives, participating in responsive readings and prayers, song services, and baptisms; reciting the “Apostles’ Creed,” and listening to sermons. Yet, they have rarely, if ever, heard about the future destiny of all nations; about the cataclysmic time of the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. The hair-raising scenes described by Jesus Christ are not popular material for sermons. That is why most preachers avoid prophecy, and prefer to stick to sermons about the three graces of love, joy, and peace, and sundry religious philosophies.

Christ certainly spoke about love. He spoke about forgiveness and humility. He gave mankind the “golden rule,” that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. But Christ also continually referred to His coming kingdom. His was a message about the coming resurrection from the dead; about massive wars, droughts, famines, and destructive earthquakes; about signs in the heavens, and the nations of the earth staggered by imagination-defying plagues. His message was about His return to this earth in the splendor, power, and glory of God; a message about smashing the God-defying governments of this world, and establishing His globe-girdling, wonderful kingdom, bringing world peace at last!

The word gospel comes from two old Anglo-Saxon words. It comes from “good,” and “spell,” or spiel, in the German. Simply, it means “good news.” Not understanding the main thrust of Christ’s message, most have concentrated on the Messenger, and ignored the message He brought. It would be as if a family answered their doorbell to find a Western Union messenger boy at the door. As he attempted to deliver to them the message he had been sent to deliver, the family ecstatically embraced him. Then, they wanted to know all about him: Where was he born? How old was he? What were his favorite tastes? How did he wear his hair? Was he a nice boy? Was he gentle and kind? What did he believe? How about his dear mother? Then, after he left, they turned away from the door, oblivious to the telegram he had dropped on the porch. As the years passed, they continually spoke of the “wonderful messenger boy” who had come to their home that day, so long ago. Millions of nominal Christians have adoringly “believed on” the Messenger, while remaining ignorant of His message. To truly understand the gospel message Jesus Christ brought, we must understand each of the following points:

(1) Who, or what, was Jesus Christ before His human birth?
(2) Why did He come into this world?
(3) What was the message He delivered to His disciples?
(4) Why did He speak in puzzles (parables) to the general public?
(5) Why did He die?
(6) Was He resurrected?
(7) How long was He in the tomb?
(8) Is He alive today?
(9) What has He been doing ever since His resurrection?
(10) Is He going to return to this earth?

Each one of these vitally important questions must be answered. Each one of them bears directly upon the main elements of the gospel, and each was addressed by Jesus Christ Himself.

Who, or What, Was Jesus Christ Before His Human Birth?

Not only is this question one of the most important that could be asked, the answer to it unlocks to our understanding many, many fundamental truths from God’s Word. It answers questions about whether the law of God is “done away,” whether the “Old Testament is done away,” whether the New Covenant means a Christian need not obey God’s Ten Commandments, whether the Sabbath day is required to be kept.

Now, notice this important passage of Scripture from John’s Gospel. Read it slowly and carefully, and believe God’s Word:

“In the beginning was the Word [Greek: Logos, meaning “Spokesman”] and the Word was with God [Greek: Theos, the equivalent of the Hebrew Elohim], and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

There are only two places in the Bible where the phrase in the beginning is used: here in John 1:1, and in Genesis 1:1. Here, we read that the One who created the universe, the One who “spoke and it was so,” was the same Personage of the Sovereign Godhead who became Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Notice further: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own [the Jews], and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born [Greek: gennao, which means either “begotten” or “born”], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:10-14).

There is simply no argument whatsoever that these plain words mean anyone except Jesus Christ. He was the “Word,” or the Divine Spokesman, who said “Let there be light,” and “Let the dry land appear,” and “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:3,9,26). For centuries, nominal Christians have assumed that God of the Old Testament was the Father.

They assume that Jesus Christ came to this earth many centuries after Moses and the prophets to do away with His Father’s old law! But why would anyone assume such, when these scriptures, in the very first chapter of John, one of the four Gospel accounts, absolutely prove that the One whobecame Jesus Christ is the One who did the creating?

Then what are the logical consequences of this truth?

They are that millions do not know that Jesus Christ, in His prehuman form, was the One who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the One who wrestled with Jacob, and renamed him “Israel”; the One who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush; the One who wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger! He is the One who proposed the Old Covenant to Israel; the One who inspired the prophets; and the One who sent both Israel and Judah into captivity for breaking His laws!

Notice further proof from your own Bible: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

The entire book of Hebrews magnifies the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. The first chapter, which sets the stage for the twelve chapters to follow, exalts Jesus Christ as the One “for whom, and by whom, are all things.” Read now, with some inset explanations for clarification, the beautiful words which extol and exalt our Savior; how He is the One through whom the divine Father created all things:

“Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son? And again, when He bringeth in the firstbegotten [Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary] into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him. “And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers [“servants,” another expression for angels, not humans] a flame of fire. But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O GOD [Greek, Theos], is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom [Jesus Christ will rule on this earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 2:26; 3:21; 20:4)]. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, thou, Lord [referring to Jesus Christ], in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:4-10).

There is simply no question whatsoever about the meaning of both John 1 and Hebrews 1. Both reveal that Jesus Christ, in His prehuman state as a divine member of Elohim, was the Creator of the universe, of this earth, and of all life upon it!

Notice the eternal inheritance of Christ: “They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:11-14).

If millions of professing Christians knew these profound yet simple truths, they would have an entirely different concept of Jesus Christ. They would recognize Him as the One who gave His law to Israel, and they would come to know that Jesus Christ is “the same, yesterday, today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8), and that He says He “changes not” (see Malachi 3:6). Now that we know who Jesus Christ was prior to His human, physical birth, let’s see why He came into this world.

Why Did Jesus Christ Come Into This World?

Millions have puzzled over the plan of salvation. They wonder, “Why did Jesus have to die for the sins of mankind?” And many wonder, “How could the death of just one man atone for the sins of so many?”

First, we must understand that God Almighty is reproducing after His own kind! Creation was not finished in the Garden of Eden, it was just begun! The creation of the universe and our earth took place perhaps nearly five billion long years ago, the way man counts time. When God (the One who became Christ in human flesh) created our earth, He created a beautiful, perfect world, and then placed an archangel, named Lucifer, over His creation.

The world was lush, verdant, teeming with pre-Adamic life; it was a place of precious stones and metals, a fabulously beautiful place. Notice how God’s Word describes this pre-Adamic world, and tells us what happened:

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius [ruby], topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created” (Ezekiel 28:11-13).

Here, the king of Tyre is used as a type of Lucifer, who became Satan the devil. The expression, “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty,” could never be spoken of any human being.

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:14). God’s throne is depicted by the famous Ark of the Covenant, which had two cherubim with their wings overspreading the “mercy seat.” The ark was a symbol of God’s throne; the two cherubim represented two of the spirit beings around God’s throne.

“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:14,15). Truth is truly stranger than fiction. While millions eagerly devour such motion pictures or television movies as Star Wars, and those featuring great empires in the universe, locked in space-age combat with death rays and spaceships; whole stars and planets exploding–very few understand the truth about pre-Adamic creation; about the time, perhaps billions of years in the past, when an archangel ruled the world.

But Lucifer was not content with his assigned place on earth. God had placed fully one third of the angelic hosts beneath his control. For countless years, Lucifer “walked up and down” on the earth, talking, reasoning, arguing, trying to sell his point of view. He felt God was not fair; that God had the whole universe while he, Lucifer, had only the earth to rule.

Notice the description given of these events in Isaiah:

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Lucifer finally succeeded in completely perverting the angels who were under his rule. Lucifer attempted to mount up to heaven and overthrow God.

Notice: “By the multitude of thy merchandise [“trafficking,” going about as a salesman, merchandising] they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:16,17). The phrase “multitude of thy merchandise” is obscure in the old King James English. It means “the abundance of your trafficking,” conveying the idea of merchandising, or selling. It was a revolutionary idea Lucifer was selling. Bullinger’s Companion Bible says: “Merchandise=traffic, or going about, as in v. 18. Hence it meant calumniator (slanderer), in a moral sense” (p. 1146).

Finally, the time came when Lucifer and his angels attempted to overthrow God Himself. But God hurled them out, and in a frenzy of hatred and anger, Satan and his angels destroyed the earth. All astronomy shows a wrecked solar system; our lifeless, pockmarked moon shows that countless meteors and asteroids have smashed into its surface. The other planets and their moons show identical characteristics. Mars’ lifeless surface is littered with rock; Venus is obscured beneath thick, poisonous gases; Jupiter’s storms, larger than the earth, swirl and rage.

Notice that our Bible opens with the scene of a lifeless, ruined earth; the tectonic plates and continental land masses lying beneath raging, stygian black seas, covered by the thickest clouds.
“In the beginning God [Elohim: more than one person] created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was [became] without form [Hebrew: tohu], and void [Hebrew: bohu]; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:1-3).

Now, notice the biblical proof that the earth was not originally created “void and waste,” which is conveyed by the Hebrew words tohu and bohu.

“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain [tohu], He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18).

Bullinger’s comment on this verse is interesting: “in vain=tohu. The same word as in Gen. 1.2 (‘without form’). Therefore it must have become tohu: which is exactly what Gen. 1.2 declares:…In Gen. 1.1 we have ‘the world that then was’ (cp. 2 Pet. 3.6); and in v. 2 we have the ruin into which it fell. We are not told how, when, or why, or how long it lasted. When geologists have settled how many years they require, they may place them between vv. 1 and 2 of Gen. 1. In Gen. 1.2-2.4, we have ‘the heavens and the earth which are now’ of 2 Pet. 3.7. Both are set in contrast with the ‘new heavens and the new earth’ of 2 Pet. 3:13″ (Bullinger’s Companion Bible, p. 989).

All the events depicted in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 concerning Lucifer’s abortive attempt to overthrow God took place between the time when the earth was created in flawless beauty and perfection, and the time when it became tohu and bohu, or empty, waste, and chaotic. There may have been a vast amount of time–perhaps billions of years the way we reckon time today–between the earlier, perfect creation, and the time of the recreation of earth’s surface revealed in Genesis 1:2 and subsequent verses.

Jesus Christ frequently made reference to His prehuman existence. He enraged the Jews when He told them, “Before Abraham was, I AM!” (John 8:58). Will we believe Christ, as well as “believe on Him”? When His disciples returned to Him, joyous that demons had obeyed them in Christ’s name, He said to them, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven!” (Luke 10:18). Of course He did, for He was there, with the Divine Father. The two of them, both of whom comprise Elohim were at the site of the throne of God when Satan attempted his violent rebellion! Do you believe Christ? He said He was there to see Satan fall like a flash of lightning or a blazing comet from heaven to this earth!

Following the creation of man, Satan instantly appeared in the Garden. It was essentially the same location he had inhabited prior to the wreckage of the earth, as we read in Ezekiel 28:13. But Satan did not appear as a snake wound around a tree. The Hebrew word is nachash, which means “whispering enchanter,” and conveys no physical aspect.

From the very beginning, the one who became Jesus Christ had planned, with the one He revealed as the “Father,” the creation of man as a prototype of the Divine Family. They said to each other, “Let US make man in OUR image” (Genesis 1:26). They placed in Eden a tree, called “the tree of life,” and another tree, called the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil.” Adam and Eve were told they could eat of any tree, of which there were hundreds, but were not to partake of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). Were they real trees? The Bible says they were. Many fables have been built around the creation account, and the story of “Adam and Eve in the Garden.” But there is no evidence the evil fruit was an apple. And the “voice box” visible in many men’s throats is not really their “Adam’s apple.”

One of the most harmful fables is that the first sin was a sex sin. But that is ludicrous on its face, for God said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Later, He said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). God’s Word contains much about marriage. The Third and the Seventh Commandments have to do with the family and the home, as does the Tenth Commandment.

The creature that appeared to Adam and Eve may well have been like a cherub. Lucifer, who became Satan, was one of three named “archangels” in the Bible. The others are Michael and Gabriel. Apparently, God assigned one-third of all the angels to each one. Study Ezekiel 1 and 10, together with Isaiah 6, for information about cherubim and seraphim. Each cherub appeared in four aspects: that of a man, an eagle, a lion, and an ox.

Throughout many ancient civilizations, including those in Mexico, Central and South America, the Mideast and far beyond, in China and Japan, are mythological creatures which display the characteristics of cherubim and seraphim. The Sphynx, guarding the great pyramid, features the body of a lion and the head of a man. Huge, man-headed bulls, with eagle’s wings and lion’s claws and tails appear as decorations on the walls of ancient cities, and in their palaces. A “winged flying serpent” was worshiped by many of the ancient Indian tribes of Mexico and Central and South America, called “Quetzalcoatl.” Quetzal is a bird, and coatl meant “serpent.”

Satan, appearing in whatever aspect he did, immediately began influencing Eve. He implied that God was unfair. “Now the serpent [Hebrew, nachash, meaning “whispering enchanter”] was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1-5).

Eve listened to the arguments of the “whispering enchanter,” and took of the forbidden fruit. Adam joined with her, and thus was committed the original sin. The sin was a combination of several things. First, they disobeyed their only Parent, who was God. They allowed the forbidden fruit to come between them and obedience to God, making it an “idol,” for “covetousness is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). They stole the fruit, which did not belong to them, but was expressly forbidden. They coveted the “knowledge of good and evil,” and they listened to the Devil’s subtle arguments, wanting to be “like God!”

Adam and Eve were created with “human nature.” Human nature is a mixture of many motives, emotions, and passions; primarily those of vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed. Speaking of the nature of man, Paul wrote, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:5-7).

The word carnal means “physical,” or “fleshly.” Adam and Eve were not spiritually minded, for they had not yet taken of the “tree of life” which God placed in the Garden. They were both easily influenced by Satan.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2,3).

The Bible says Adam was “not deceived,” because it was Eve who listened to the Devil’s arguments; who took of the forbidden fruit, and then gave it to her husband. Adam docilely went along with his wife’s decision.

Paul told Timothy, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:13,14). Through our first parents, original sin entered the world. Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4).

Writing of this essential truth, Paul said, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: For until the law [the codifying of the law at Sinai] sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who [Moses, not Adam] is the figure of Him that was to come” (Romans 5:12-14).

Almighty God is perfect. He is perfect character; perfectly righteous and holy. God is ALL POWERFUL. He has the power to create, and He has the power to destroy. Once the first family had sinned; had yielded to the Devil’s temptations, God would not allow them to partake of the tree of life. Study the second and third chapters of Genesis. Once they had sinned, Adam and Eve became aware that they were naked. Now, nakedness carried shame with it, where previously they had been like two little children, blissfully unaware, and unashamed.

Notice the account: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel. Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art [the Hebrew word connotes “red clay.”] and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:6-19).

God revealed long ago to His righteous patriarchs, His prophets, and the apostles, that the reference to “her Seed” is a veiled reference to Christ. Modern Bible scholars agree on this. Halley wrote, concerning the Seed of the woman: “Here, immediately after the Fall of Man, is God’s prophecy that His Creation of Man would yet prove to be successful, through the ‘Seed of the Woman.’ This is the Bible’s first hint of a coming Redeemer. The use of ‘He’ (15) shows that One Person is meant…: Here, right at the start of the Bible story, is this foregleam of Christ; and, as the pages pass. Hints, Foregleams, Glimpses, Pictures and Plain Statements, become clearer and more abundant, so that, as we come to the end of the Old Testament, there has been drawn a fairly Complete Picture of Christ” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 67).

For centuries, philosophers have puzzled over why God did not make man so he could not sin. The answer is very simple. God is not in the process of creating automatons. He is recreating after His own kind! God is holy, righteous, perfect character! Character requires freedom of choice. It requires free moral agency.

God Almighty does not sin because He WILL NOT sin! There is no higher power that will not let God sin, for God is all powerful! But God is SELF-ruled! Because He is perfect will power–divine, righteous, holy character–God will always make the right choice!

You and I are creatures of choice. Each day, we choose whether to do this or that; whether to strive to live according to God’s laws, and repent of our sins and weakness when we fail, or whether to live in defiance of God and His righteous laws.

God makes it clear that He has placed a choice before mankind. To Israel He said, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). God makes it clear that our human experience consists of two opposites. The way of life, and the way of death.

Innately, we tend toward the way of death, the way of sin. What does mankind experience? Look at the state of all of mankind today, and ask how far we have come toward the utopian blessings we all seek. What do we want out of life? We want good health, sound minds, strong bodies, love and understanding, success and material possessions. We want happy marriages; happy, healthy, obedient children; peaceful societies. But what does man experience? Mostly, he experiences sickness and disease, divorce, desertion and abandonment, infanticide in the form of abortion, illegitimacy, deformities, rampant crime even among our youth, drug abuse and addiction, murder, extortion, theft, mental illness, and war.

Why? Because of human nature, which is vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed!

God expelled our first parents from Eden, lest they partake of the tree of life in their sinful state!

From the very beginning, God knew Adam and Eve would commit sin. To ask, why He did not prevent it is to ignore the fundamental truths just discussed. But God also had thought out the plan of redemption of all mankind. John, transported forward in time through a vision from God, saw a symbolic woman, the church, which is both a shadowy depiction of Eve as well as Mary.

He wrote, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars [symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven [angels: Revelation 1:10], and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne” (Revelation 12:1-5).

In these five verses, God reveals His timeless plan of redemption and salvation; of Satan’s rebellion and Christ’s triumph, as well as His ultimate reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus Christ came into this world for all of the following reasons:

(1) To suffer and die for the sins of all mankind; His own creation! Because Jesus Christ is the Creator of all life, His ONE life is worth more than all the rest of human life combined.

(2) To qualify to become the future King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the future RULER of the world!

(3) To disqualify the present evil world ruler, who is Satan the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9).

(4) To call and train His disciples, delivering to them the gospel message.

(5) To form His disciples into His Church (Matthew 16:18) and to commission them to carry the message He brought, the gospel, to all the world as a witness (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-49).

(6) To set all mankind an example, that we should follow in His steps, live as He lived.

(7) To fulfill the many Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ as the Messiah.

(8) To be resurrected from the dead after exactly three days and three nights in the tomb (see Matthew 12:40), thus becoming the “Firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

(9) To send the Holy Spirit as He promised, thus building His true Church on the first Day of Pentecost.       One could easily amass many more reasons why Jesus Christ came to this earth as the humble carpenter from Nazareth. However, millions of nominal Christians believe Jesus Christ came to “save the world!” He did no such thing! Had He wanted to “save” it, He would have done so! But He did not come to save the world then. He said Himself that He spoke to the masses in puzzles, so they would not understand His message (Matthew 13:10-17).

Why? Because God Almighty has a great plan He is working out here below, and that plan is designed to fit a God-ordained time frame. God wants to eventually see billions of sons and daughters in His kingdom for an awesome, breathtaking purpose! Eventually, much, if not most of mankind will be saved.

What Was the Message He Delivered To His Disciples?

As we saw at the beginning of this book, Jesus Christ came preaching the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God.” Jesus Christ did not come to “start the Christian religion”! He did not come to cause a revival in the synagogues. He did not come to “save” the world then! He came for all the reasons enumerated above, not the least of which was to deliver to His disciples the message He brought to this earth from His Father.

Christ said, “I have many things to say and to judge of you: but He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him. They understood not that He spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him. As He spake these words, many believed on Him” (John 8:26-30).

Time and time again, Jesus Christ insisted that the Father had expressly sent Him; that the Father had given Him the message He was to deliver to this world: “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:49,50).

Constantly, Christ spoke of His coming kingdom. He spoke of the time when the righteous prophets and patriarchs would be in that kingdom; of the time when the disciples would sit on twelve thrones, judging the tribes of Israel!

During the famous Last Supper, an argument arose between some of the disciples about which one of them would be “the greatest” in Christ’s kingdom. He chided them, reminding them that the gentile rulers “lorded it over their subjects,” but commanded His disciples to be humble, as servants. Then, He said, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:30).

Jesus Christ was prophesied to inherit an earthly throne; the throne of His father David. His disciples fully expected Him to ascend to a throne in Jerusalem, ruling over a restored kingdom like that of Solomon’s time. They expected Him to throw out the occupying Roman armies, overthrow the Sanhedrin, and establish a theocracy.

When the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become the mother of the Messiah, he said, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Because of the false doctrines about the “immortality of the soul,” and concepts of “going to heaven” when we die, millions are completely ignorant of the true gospel–the good news that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth to rule it with a rod of iron!

Christ illustrated that fact by His “kingdom parables.” He showed how the Kingdom of God would eventually fill the earth in His parable about leaven (Matthew 13:33); how it is of inestimable value (Matthew 13:44-46); how there will be some who answer His call to repentance, and some who will not, but who will be cast out (Matthew 13:47-50).

In one particularly outstanding parable, Christ described Himself as a young nobleman, who had traveled far away to obtain a kingdom, and then return: “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds [British monetary standard], and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luke 19:12-27).

This beautiful parable is rich in types. The young nobleman is a type of Christ. Each of the servants is a type of those He calls to share in His coming kingdom. The single “pound,” or sum of money, is given to each of the servants, according to their natural talents and abilities. One, through diligent effort, which typifies living a life of overcoming,increases by tenfold. Another, through equal effort, but with less natural ability, increases his gift fivefold. The thirdresents the gift and the Giver. He is angry because it is not his money! He complains that the nobleman, Christ, is an “austere man,” who “reaps where he did not sow,” or who benefits from the labors of others! Rather than being thankful for the free gift, which typifies salvation, and then diligently working to increase the gift, which typifies overcoming, he hides his money, preparing to “give it back” exactly as he received it. Because he has not produced; because he has not grown, he loses out on both his reward and salvation!

The plain statements that the two who produced and overcame are to be “over cities” is a type of the fact that Jesus Christ promised positions of rulership over the nations to those who overcome.

Notice: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father” (Revelation 2:26,27). A potter, when he finds a pot that is defective after he has formed it, casts it down, smashing it to little pieces.

Notice how this same kind of analogy is used in Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

“Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34,35).

The great image represents the four great world-ruling gentile kingdoms from the time of ancient Babylon to the present, and on into the future. The head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, the chest and arms of silver the Persian Empire, the belly and thighs of brass the Greco-Macedonian kingdom under Alexander the Great, the legs and feet of iron mixed with clay the Roman Empire, which was to have successive resurrections down through history to our time. The ten toes represent the final union of ten nations which will be smashed into oblivion by Christ at His second coming (Revelation 17:12-14; 19:11-21).

Daniel interpreted the dream for Nebuchadnezzar. Notice the inescapable reference to the Second Coming of Christ; how He will smash the ten-nation combine called the Beast: “And in the days of these kings [the ten, depicted by the toes of the image] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone [a type of Christ, returning from heaven] was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure” (Daniel 2:44,45).

This is not a “religious” prophecy! If you were to read news reports of a “United States of Europe” forming, armed to the teeth with nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; a massive superpower of 250 million people with the economic, industrial, and military power to conquer the United States; if you read news reports of such a power occupying Palestine, you will not be reading of a “religious” event!

Christ’s gospel was very much prophetic, as you can immediately see by reading His famous Olivet Prophecy found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, together with the book of Revelation.

Millions of churchgoing, professing Christian people know nothing of the calamitous, tumultuous, catastrophic events Jesus Christ foretold. They remain ignorant of the powerful witness and warning about the FUTURE; about our time, now, and the immediate future before us in the next century!

These great events are to take place HERE, on our earth, among the nations of this world, in the near future. What was the message Jesus Christ delivered to His disciples? It is contained in the four Gospel accounts, of course. In a very brief summary in modern language, He explained to them that He was going to establish a world-ruling kingdom on this earth–the Kingdom of God. He showed it is to be a kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ Himself, and that they, and all others who will repent and receive God’s Holy Spirit, can have a part in it. He showed that the powerful end-time Beast power will resist His return; how He will smash the Beast power and the False Prophet into oblivion, and bring PEACE to this war-torn world at last.

His disciples expected all this to happen in their lifetimes! Even after His resurrection, just before He was taken up into heaven, they asked, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:6-8).

The disciples had no doubt whatsoever about the globe-girdling significance of Christ’s message. Read Matthew 24 in its entirety, and compare it with Luke’s version of the same prophecy in Luke 21. Here are a few excerpts:

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [Greek: “age,” not the end of the earth]? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end [of the age; the time of His Second Coming] is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences [massive disease epidemics], and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows [trouble, or the Great Tribulation]” (Matthew 24:1-8).

Most of Jesus’ teachings recorded in the Bible were given in private to His disciples. They were astonished when He told them the huge walls, columns, and buildings of the Temple would be leveled to the ground. They wanted to know what would signify His coming as King of Kings to rule the world; what signs they should expect would signal the end of the age of man’s organized societies.

Notice how He characterized His Olivet Prophecy, calling it “THIS gospel,” because it also contained the promise of His Second Coming: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity [lawlessness; defiance of God’s laws] shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end [of the age; the end of civilization as we know it] come” (Matthew 24:9-14).

It is as much a witness against the nations as it is a witness to them, for it predicts massive wars, the loss of millions of human lives, cataclysmic “natural” disasters, and signs in the heavens, to be followed by Christ’s return.

For decades I have asked, “What is ‘religious’ about a drought? What is ‘religious’ about a famine?” These are not “religious” predictions, but far-reaching, globe-girdling predictions of the most disastrous, mind-boggling destruction of human life and human civilization ever told!

It is a NOW message, a message for the immediate future, for the beginning of the next century!
Notice the stark predictions of Christ: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved [alive! This is not speaking of spiritual salvation, but the sparing of human life]: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:21,22).

Compare Christ’s prophecy with a prophecy delivered by an archangel to Daniel concerning the same time: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nationeven to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:1,2).

What is the time element of this prophecy? It is exactly the same time as Christ described. There cannot be two times “such as have never been before,” or they would mutually exclude each other. The phrase is hypersuperlative, a unique time in all world history.

Never could such language be completely understood until the advent of the atomic and hydrogen bomb. Now, man has stockpiled enough nuclear explosives to wipe out all life on twenty worlds the size of ours! There are 25,000 nuclear warheads in the Russian arsenal alone! Many nations possess stockpiles of deadly biological agents, which can spread anthrax over vast regions; “botulin toxin,” which can kill millions. Many nations possess horrifying chemical agents, such as poison gases. Such weapons were used by Saddam Hussein against his own people, the Kurds. Chemical weapons were stockpiled in forward ammunition dumps in the Gulf War. It has finally been admitted by the Pentagon that such an ammunition dump was blown up near the Kuwaiti border, and thousands of U.S. troops believe they were exposed to the chemicals, causing many different kinds of terrible disorders.

Today, a single B-52 bomber can carry the equivalent explosive force of more than two times the explosives unleashed by all sides during World War II. A single nuclear-powered submarine, called a “boomer” (because they carry many ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads), can unleash far more explosive power than all of World War II.

Jesus Christ did not deliver a sanctimonious message of sentimental “religious” posturing to His disciples, but a message about the coming end of civilization as we know it,and the earth-shaking INTERVENTION OF GOD in the form of the return of the conquering Christ!

Notice how Jesus Christ described this great event: “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and falseprophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible [but it is not!], they shall deceive the very elect…Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:23-27).

Even today, there are those who will spread exactly such a false rumor. The word lightning merely means “a brightening,” or “a glare.” Because we say “thunder and lightning,” we associate the brilliant discharge of electricity during a thunderstorm with the sound it makes and the rumbling echos produced by the clouds. Yet, the discharge of electricity during a storm can be from the ground up, or from cloud to cloud, or from the clouds to the ground. The only “lightening,” or “brightening,” or “glare” of which we know that “comes out of the east” and then “shines even unto the west” is the sun!

Christ is returning in such power and splendor that He will shine like the SUN in all its glory; so bright, so brilliant, that no human eye can look upon Him!

Notice how John described the glorified Christ He saw in vision: “His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Revelation 1:14-17).

The sun “transits the sky” once each day, as we express it (actually, it does no such thing; the earth rolls “away” from the sun which appears to “rise” in the east and “set” in the west).

At the Second Coming of Christ, there will be such awesome, gargantuan displays in the heavens that no human being on earth will remain unaware of them! The Day of the Lord may, on the “day for a year” theory (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), actually consume one year being fulfilled!

The Great Tribulation, Heavenly Signs, and the Day of the Lord together consume three and one-half years. This is the same three and one-half-year period during which the following great events take place: (1) God’s people Israel enter the Great Tribulation, and are taken into captivity; (2) Jerusalem is “trodden down of the Gentiles”; (3) the False Prophet sits in the “temple of God, showing that he ‘is God'”; (4) the Two Witnesses fulfill their prophecy; (5) the saints of God are horribly persecuted.

The horrors of the Great Tribulation are cut short by the mind-boggling display of God’s Heavenly Signs. Notice the description: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth [a massive meteorite shower, greater than any in history], even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places [earthquakes on a scale never before imagined]. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17).

These tumultuous events are very much a MAJOR PART OF THE GOSPEL!

Notice the time order of these events: (1) the Great Tribulation; (2) the Heavenly Signs; (3) the Day of the Lord. Absolute, incontrovertible proof of this is seen by looking at only two scriptures. They are Joel 2:31, which says, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, beforethe great and the terrible day of the LORD come,” and Matthew 24:29, which says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”

Jesus Christ is being quoted in person in the scripture just given above. Notice the following verse: “And then [after the Heavenly Signs] shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man [not looking on His face, but seeing a brilliant light, as if the SUN were approaching the earth!] coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

Now you know a major part of the message Jesus Christ delivered to His disciples. It was a powerful message about His coming world-ruling government (Isaiah 2; Micah 4; Isaiah 11; Revelation 20). It was also a message about repentance; about how human beings can receive God’s Holy Spirit, and eventually become a child of God. It was about being “born again” so that, at the last trump when Christ descends to this earth, each converted Christian can be born into the ruling Family of God; become a part of the Kingdom of God!

Why Did Christ Speak In Puzzles or Parables to the General Public?

Millions assume Jesus Christ tried to save everyone He could. They assume He continually shouted out; preached to people in public, urging them to understand. Millions assume He would never turn a single person away; never refuse anyone who came to Him. These assumptions are simply not true.

His own disciples wondered why He spoke to the people in parables, or puzzles. “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hearnot, neither do they understand” (Matthew 13:10-13).

Christ showed His disciples that the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees had hardened their hearts against Him. He showed how they were spoken of by Isaiah. He said, “And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them” (Matthew 13:14-17).

Because the people were “dull of hearing,” blinded by their own self-righteous, religious superiority, Christ said He deliberately confused the meaning of His teachings “lest they should be converted!”

Why? Because God is working out His plan here below on a definite time schedule! It was not time for the masses to understand then. When Isaiah was commissioned with His vast and important prophecies, He revealed that he had seen in vision seraphim, which, like cherubs and archangels, are created spirit beings around God’s throne. He said one of them flew to him, having a coal from the altar, which he touched (in vision) to Isaiah’s lips. Isaiah then said he was ready to convey God’s messages to the world (Isaiah 6:1-8).

Notice: “And He said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate” (Isaiah 6:9-11).

In other words, until the time of the end of the age, when the “veil” that has been placed over the eyes of the masses will finally be lifted.

Speaking of the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, and of the time of the wondrous millennial reign of Christ, Isaiah prophesied, “And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 25:6-8).

Christ explained that it was only those whom God is calling who can understand. He said, “No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44).

Many are extremely puzzled over this. Not understanding that God is working out a great plan here below on a specific time schedule for a great purpose, they wonder if God is “unfair” somehow. Are those who are blinded; those who cannot understand; those who have not been called lost?

One of the major false doctrines accepted by millions is the “saved or lost” concept. Major denominations teach that today (meaning in the lifetime of the people to whom they preach) is the “only day of salvation!” Not understanding Christ’s teaching about the Great White Throne Judgment; about the great, general resurrection of the dead (Revelation 20), they believe one is either “saved” during this lifetime, or one is “lost.” This belief obviously consigns countless millions of Chinese, Indonesians, Japanese, Mongolians, Nepalese, Indians, Kurds, Afghans, and dozens of other nations, as well as hundreds of millions of believers in Islam, to an “everburning hell.” Is the “God” they worship that cruel? Would God, who says He is love, cause innocent little children who have never heard one word about the Christian religion–never heard the name of Jesus Christ–to burn like a steak on a skillet, writhing in agony, day after day, week after week, year after interminable year, because they never had a chance to hear or understand the gospel? How much can a little child understand in any event?

As a classical, hypothetical case, such a belief means that, if a little five-year-old Chinese girl is deathly sick, and a missionary is on his way to her village, but has a flat tire on the primitive roadway, and therefore cannot reach the little girl before she dies to teach her about “the little Lord Jesus,” she goes instantly into an everburning hellfire for all eternity. Catholic doctrine, while equally untrue, since it is based on the false concept of the “immortality of the soul,” is a bit more practical with regard to some of the fundamental questions concerning such situations. They say there is a special “limbo,” into which the “souls” of such children go; a special “limbo,” like a compartment of “purgatory” where, in an intermediate state, “unsaved” souls wait for indeterminate periods of time before they can attain to the “beatific vision.” Thus, limbus patrium (for the patriarchs and those who lived prior to the time of Christ) and limbus infantum are invented.

Christ Himself showed that even many of those who hear the truth of God do not comprehend it. Following His “parable of the sower,” He explained why He spoke to the people in puzzles they couldn’t understand. Then, He explained the meaning of His parable to His disciples in private:

“Hear ye therefore the parable [puzzle] of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:18-23).

Obviously, then, Jesus Christ shows that when many are called of God by hearing His truth, some are so deeply enmeshed in Satan’s world that they quickly reject it. Others receive it, begin with enthusiasm, but soon abandon their faith and commitment because of family and friends; because of persecution from others in society who believe they are embracing a “strange” religion. Still others allow the lust for material things–houses, cars, money, investments, physical security, and the “deceitfulness of riches”–to “choke the word.” They become completely absorbed in this brief physical life, and lose sight of the wondrous Kingdom of God.

Now, is God “unfair,” somehow, because He allows some to be blinded, and specially calls others? Paul explained this important question to the Gentiles in Rome. Study carefully Romans 9, 10, and 11. Space does not permit reprinting all this material here. A few excerpts must suffice. Paul shows that God sometimes not only allows people to be blinded, and not to receive salvation during this first, physical life span, but that He sometimes deliberately hardens their hearts in order to work out His purpose:

“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth” (Romans 9:13-17).

Paul was showing how God had allowed the Jews to become blinded. He used the analogy of an olive tree, referring to Israel as the tree, and the Gentiles as a “grafted” tree, replacing the original tree.

Anticipating their question about whether God is “fair” to do this, Paul told the Romans, “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:18-24).

Paul explained that “blindness in part” had occurred to the Jews so that the “fullness of the Gentiles” might come in.

Notice: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all [“shut them up,” or blinded them] in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:29-33).

Millions who believe they have heard the “gospel” know nothing of these profound truths. God chose His people, Israel, calling them out of Egypt and proposing a covenant with them. If they would obey His laws, He would bless them with unimaginable blessings. Paul likens them to the “natural olive tree,” which was cut off, so the “wild olive tree,” the Gentiles, could be “grafted in,” thus receiving the promise of salvation.

Whether or not we like or agree with it, Jesus Christ plainly said that “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). Whether the anti-Semitic world likes it or not, Jesus Christ was a Jew. As you read earlier, “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.” The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that thou, being a Jew…?” He is expressly said to be of the “House of Judah” (Hebrews 7:14).

Notice what Paul explained to the Romans: “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh [i.e., Jews. Paul said he was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews”]: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption [sonship] and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God [the service in the Temple, the only site approved of God at the time of the earthly priesthood for the true worship of God], and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 9:1-5).

When the Jews rejected Christ, which they continually have done from the time He began His ministry in Nazareth nearly 2000 years ago, the prophecy of Hosea came to pass. He said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).

Can we believe Jesus Christ? He plainly said the prophecies of Isaiah about spiritual blindness had come to pass; that He therefore spoke in puzzling parables, LEST they should “convert,” and He should heal them!

Millions do not know WHY Christ spoke in parables, even though He plainly explained it! Now you know. Jesus Christ did not attempt to save the world then. He knew His own people were spiritually blinded and that their hearts were hardened against Him. He told His disciples they had been specially called. He also said that “many righteous men” had desired to know the things He was teaching them, but that it was “not given” to the masses at that time.

Jesus Christ Promised, “I Will Build My Church”

More misunderstanding and confusion exists over the word church than over the word gospel. Millions think of the word church as a building, or as a denomination, or a religious organization. Common expressions are: “I am going to church,” or, “We are members of such-and-such a church.” A church is a building with a steeple (which you should investigate–the origins of the custom are interesting), stained-glass windows, and often shaped like a cross. People think of bascilicas, cathedrals, and large, imposing stone and brick structures as being “churches.”

But the Greek word for “church” does not remotely connote a cathedral, or a building. The word is ekklesia, and means, simply, “assembly.” It can be rendered “group,” or “called-out ones.”

Christ said to Peter and His disciples, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [Greek: Petros, a stone, or pebble], and upon this rock [Greek: Petra, a large stone, such as a monolith, or a mountain of rock] I will build my church; and the gates of hell [hades, the grave] shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18,19).

The Greek language has masculine and feminine endings, just like the Latin languages. The word petros is the masculine for “rock,” and means “a stone,” such as one might pick up in one’s hand. The word petra, with the feminine ending, means a large rock, such as a monolith. This is vitally important, for millions have been taught that Christ built His church upon Peter, that Peter “had the primacy.” This is not true. Christ Himself was and is the Head of His true church, and never gave the headship to any man.

Only two chapters later, Christ is quoted as saying to allthe disciples, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:18-20).

He did not say “Where Peter is…,” but said that where any “two or three” of them were gathered together, He, Christ, would lead and guide them.

Notice that Christ, not Peter, is the HEAD of His church: “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him [as we have already seen, in John 1 and Hebrews 1]: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:16-18).

To the Ephesians, Paul said that Christ was “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And [the Father] hath put all things under His [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:21-23).

Notice the analogy that the church is the body of Christ, not the body of Peter!

Paul insisted that he was in every sense Peter’s equal, even though he was as one “begotten out of due season,” called later, after Pentecost. He wrote, “For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5). Later, he reaffirmed, “I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing” (2 Corinthians 12:11).

As a final and incontrovertible proof, notice that the apostles, plural, sent Peter and John on a mission. It was not the other way around: “Now when the apostles [plural! All of them!] which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14,15). The Jerusalem conference shows that it was James, not Peter, who rendered the final decision (Acts 15:19).

What IS “the church”? It is that collective group of called-out individuals who are commissioned to preach the good news of Christ’s coming kingdom to the world. Jesus Christ said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). He showed that His was to be a persecuted group; that they would be scattered. “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26:31).

As John recorded, Jesus said, “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:32,33).

Christ said the persecutions which scattered His people were a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy: “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones” (Zechariah 13:7).

Never did Christ prophesy that His church would become a great, visible, “universal” church! Read the interesting article in Halley’s Bible Handbook (pp. 757-804). You will see incredible information about the rise of an apostate church, and about terrible martyrdoms of hundreds of thousands of people over the centuries. Jesus Christ did not intend that His true church become a huge, monolithic hierarchy, fabulously wealthy, wielding political power over nations, and having concourse with earthly governments. The great false church, on the other hand, is described as exactly that. John saw a vision of the great apostate church when he was spiritually transported forward into time, into the Day of the Lord.

He wrote, “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication [she is a state as well as a church, having political dealings with governments], and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication [symbolic of her false doctrines]. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration [shock, alarm, awe, not approval]” (Revelation 17:1-6).

Jesus Christ called His disciples, taught them the message He had received from His Father, then commissioned them to preach that message to the world. The term evangelistic association actually conveys to one’s mind a more accurate picture of the true function of the church insofar as its responsibilities toward the nations of the world are concerned. However, Jesus Christ gave His apostles a two-part commission. The first part was to preach the gospel of the Kingdom to the world. The second part was to “feed my sheep,” or to care for the church. Thus, as the early church grew, Jesus Christ inspired the early apostles to create many different functions in the church, such as pastors and teachers, deacons and deaconesses, “helps, governments,” and the like. Study 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Timothy 3 in this regard.

God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and so Jesus Christ placed government and organization within His church. Never did He intend it to become an autocratic dictatorship, with swaggering, haughty, superior people of “high rank” lording it over the flock! Instead, His ministers (servants) were to become “helpers of their joy.”

Now, let us understand one of the most vital truths of all:

Why Did He Die?

Millions of professing, churchgoing “Christians” believe Jesus Christ’s death has “saved” them! Many believe “once saved, always saved,” and believe that there are no works whatsoever required for salvation.

 Almighty God has given mankind His law, which is so righteous, so holy and perfect, that Moses’ face shone when he came down from the Mount with the two tables of stone. God showed that obedience to His law meant long life, good health, wonderful crops, healthy children, and peace in the land. It also meant an absence of every evil, such as sickness and disease, insanity, destruction of crops and property, military conscription and heavy taxation, and war. Study the “blessings and cursings” of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

God told Adam, as we have seen, that in the day he disobeyed God, he was under the sentence of death! The “wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:26). But God Almighty LOVES mankind! He made man in His own image, after His own likeness. He is recreating after His own kind. Now we come to the favorite scripture of millions of professing Christians: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Countless thousands of sermons have been preached from this verse. It is displayed on banners at major sports events, where those eager to “witness” about their religion paint huge characters, “JOHN 3:16” on a sheet and hang it where they believe the television cameras will show it.

Millions know it by heart. Yet, many of them do not believe what it plainly says! Jesus Christ Himself stated these words in the context of a lesson about the two opposites of life on the one hand, and death on the other. He used the word perish! In the entire context, Christ was showing that the result of sin is death, destruction–perishing! Read Malachi 4:1-3. On the other hand, repenting of sin, which is the breaking of any one of God’s laws, results in forgiveness of sin, and belief in Jesus Christ as the one who paid the penalty for sin in our stead is the first step toward salvation.

Notice the verses preceding and following: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (verse 13). The nominal Christian world utterly rejects this statement of Christ. Millions believe the “saints” of the Bible ascended up to heaven; that people’s “souls” ascend up to heaven when they die.

Notice further: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up [referring to His being affixed to “a tree,” or the stake, and being “lifted up” to die upon it]. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but [on the other hand, as an opposite of perishing] have eternal life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:13-19). Deeds, not just “beliefs.”

Jesus Christ offered His life, the life of the very Creator, whose one life is worth more than all the rest of human life put together, for the sins of the world! The penalty for sin is death, not eternal life in an “everburning hellfire.”  Christ Himself spoke many times of destruction in Gehenna fire (see Matthew 10:28; 23:33).

Notice what John wrote: “And He is the propitiation [or “atoning sacrifice”] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep his commandments [in other words, if we quit sinning!]. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:2-4). Millions love to say how nice it is to “know the Lord.” Yet those same people refuse to obey God’s commandments–especially the fourth one, which they insist is “done away.”

One of the most commonly heard expressions in nominal Christendom is “Christ died to save sinners.” One may see these words painted on barns along roadways, on old buses, on billboards, and on rocks. Insofar as the expression goes, it is true.

Paul wrote to Timothy, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting” (1 Timothy 2:15,16). But the death of Jesus Christ is efficacious for the forgiveness of sins, NOT blanket permission to continue sinning!

If you were to see a drowning man who had deliberately thrown himself into a lake, but who then began calling for help, and you rescued the man, how would you feel if he then threw himself into the same lake again?

When Christ rescues us, when His shed blood atones because we have sinned, He does not give us blanket permission to go right back into the life from which He saved us! Notice that salvation includes not only Christ’s death for our sins, but His LIFE, as our daily High Priest in heaven: “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:8-10). If Christ’s death saved the world in itself, then there was no need for His resurrection! It is because He LIVES today, that He overcame sin in the flesh, that He qualified to become the world ruler, and that He was raised from the dead that the plan of salvation is complete!

When we are forgiven, God expects us to live a new and different way of life, the way of God’s laws. When we are baptized after we repent, the law considers us “dead.” The penalty has been paid. Christ paid the penalty in our stead. It would be a terrible slap in the face to Jesus Christ Himself if we then, like the man who threw himself back into the lake, continued to live in the same old way as before.

Paul put it this way: “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin [the breaking of any point of God’s law] therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:8-12).

Why did Christ die? He died because His love, and that of His Father in heaven, is SO GREAT toward God-defying, God-rejecting, sinning, lawless mankind that He willingly gave His life, which followed horrible humiliation, beating, and suffering for His own creation! As you now know, there is so much more to understand than that which is conveyed to most people by the oft-repeated statement, “Christ died to save sinners.”

Did Jesus Christ Really Rise From the Dead?

There is no greater question. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pivotal truth upon which the entire Christian religion depends. Continually, Jesus Christ predicted His own resurrection. On one occasion, Christ allowed Peter, James, and John to see a vision of His coming kingdom in what is called the “Transfiguration.” Read it, in Matthew 17. After the vision had passed, and as they came down from the mountain, Jesus “charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead” (Matthew 17:9).

Only a little later, He specifically predicted His death and resurrection: “And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry” (Matthew 17:22,23). When the arrest, brutal scourging, and death of Jesus Christ occurred, true to His predictions, all the disciples forsook Him and fled. Study John 18-21 for many details. As is evident from the writings of the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ death, His own disciples did not believe He had been resurrected!

Yet, on five separate occasions Jesus Christ had told them personally that He would die and be resurrected from the dead. The first was following Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, no matter the false stories circulated that Jesus was “Elijah,” or “John the Baptist,” or “one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). The second was the example we just saw, following the Transfiguration. The third was following the healing of an epileptic (Luke 9:44). The fourth was as they were passing through Galilee (Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:31). The fifth was near Jerusalem, and was quite specific:

“Then He took unto Him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day He shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” (Luke 18:31-34).

No matter how repetitively or explicitly Jesus Christ told them of His impending death, burial, and resurrection, they did not truly understand! This is why they were unbelieving immediately following His resurrection.

This is an important point, for the story was deliberately spread then, and has been repeated ever since, that “His disciples stole the body away.” Books alleging that He was merely “in a swoon,” or that His disciples plotted with Him to fake His resurrection, have been written over the centuries.

Yet, notice that the disciples did not believe He had been resurrected: “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not” (Luke 24:1-11).

It was not until after Jesus Christ had appeared to them in person several different times, in different places, even miraculously “materializing” through solid walls, that they finally believed! Read verses 13 through 31 of this same chapter; how they walked toward a village called Emmaus, and Christ appeared to them.

After hearing their unbelief, He chided them, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

A short time later, while they were eating, He “took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight” (Luke 24:30,31).

Who has not heard of “doubting Thomas”? Christ had suddenly appeared inside a large, closed room, where the disciples “were assembled for fear of the Jews, [then] came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He showed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19,20).

When they joyously told Thomas of it, notice what happened: “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signstruly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (John 20:24-31).

Not only are there many recorded instances when Christ appeared to His disciples and others following His resurrection, but John says there are many others which were not recorded.

Paul wrote, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas [Peter], then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

James, the brother of John, was beheaded (Acts 12:1,2). Paul himself was martyred–probably thrown into the arena at Rome! Stephen was stoned (Acts 7). Many of Christ’s servants were murdered! Now, think! Do men willingly go to their deaths, including such horrible deaths as being torn by wild animals, or being burned alive, for the sake of a conspiratorial “plot” they KNOW is an hoax? Not by the faintest stretch of the imagination!

Did the Jews “steal His body away”? Nonsense! If they had, they would have displayed it publicly! They were the ones who approached the Romans, insisting that His tomb be guarded day and night!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a fanciful theory which was “added” by writers of the Christian faith in later years. No, it was the very cause of their faith! A major part of the gospel is the fact of Jesus’ resurrection, and the breathtaking truth about WHY He was raised from the dead! He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven only UNTIL His enemies are vanquished, until “His enemies be made His footstool,” until the “time of the restitution of all things.”

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear [flaming coronas of fire around their heads; a roaring, rushing sound of a mighty wind], For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool” (Acts 2:32-35).

The most important fact the apostles repeated over and over again was that they had been eyewitnesses of His death, then had been eyewitnesses that He was ALIVE! This message was the cause of their persecution!

“And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day…” (Acts 4:1-3).

Study the famous “resurrection” chapter of 1 Corinthians 15. Paul made it very plain that if Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead, then the entirety of the Christian religion is vain! He wrote, “Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:12-20).

The “firstfruits” from the dead is reference to the meaning of the Feast of Firstfruits, which became known as Pentecost. This was because the feast was determined by counting from the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread until the “morrow after the seventh Sabbath,” which would be the fiftieth day. Hence, Pentecost, which merely means “fiftieth.” Christ is the “firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Those who are eventually born of God will become members of the same spiritual family as Jesus Christ, who is the FIRSTborn. Study 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 and Romans 8:15-29 in this regard. 

How Long Was Jesus Christ In the Tomb?

The only perpetual sign Jesus Christ said He would leave to the world as proof that He was the true Messiah was the exact length of time He would be in the tomb! He said, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Yet, for many centuries following the great apostasy that overcame the large, visible church, millions have been taught that Christ was only “part” of three days and three nights in the tomb. Thus, without realizing it, many generations of nominal Christians have unconsciously rejected the only sign Christ left!

Because of the pagan traditions surrounding “Easter,” which was nothing other than a celebration of the vernal equinox and new life in the spring, the “Good Friday–Easter Sunday morning” fable was adopted. This is a vast subject, and there is vast literature to prove how Easter was eventually enforced upon the visible church.

Jesus Christ was not entombed on a Friday, and He did not rise on “Easter Sunday.” He was buried on a Wednesday late afternoon, and arose exactly three days and three nights later, on a late Sabbath afternoon.  A very good source for information about the exact time of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is contained in the notes and appendices of The Companion Bible by Bullinger.

Christ Himself specifically stated how long He would be in the tomb. He quoted the prophet Jonah, and Jonah was written in the Hebrew language, not Greek! Millions have been told that the expression “three days and three nights” is a Greek idiom, and doesn’t mean what it says. Some, intent on clinging to the traditions handed down from the time of the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, have even alleged that the book of Jonah uses an idiom!

The apostle John wrote in detail of the death of Christ. Notice: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost [Greek: “breathed His last,” or “expired”]. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross [Greek: stauros, or stake] on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:30,31).

This was the “High Day Sabbath,” or the first Day of Unleavened Bread (see Leviticus 23:6), not the regular weekly Sabbath. It fell on that Thursday, so the bodies were buried on a late Wednesday afternoon. The feast always fell on the fifteenth of Nisan, the first month of the sacred year. Christ died on the fourteenth, just as the first paschal lambs were being slain. It was because thousands of true Christians tenaciously clung to Christ’s custom and the practice of the apostles of the first century that they became called “Quartodecimans.” The word means “fourteenthers.” These Christians observed the same customs Christ gave to His apostles (1 Corinthians 11:23). The Quartodecimans were mercilessly persecuted; many thousands of them were put to death because they refused to observe the pagan Easter, and clung to the fourteenth of Nisan instead.

In Appendix 144 in Bullinger’s Companion Bible, you will find a thorough explanation of the exact meaning of the “three days and three nights” of Matthew 12:40. In part, he says, “When the number of ‘nights’ is stated as well as the number of ‘days’, then the expression ceases to be an idiom, and becomes a literal statement of fact.

“Moreover, as the Hebrew day began at sunset the day was reckoned from one sunset to another, the ‘twelve hours in the day’ (John 11.9) being reckoned from sunrise, and the twelve hours of the night from sunset. An evening-morning was thus used for a whole day of twenty-four hours, as in the first chapter of Genesis. Hence the expression ‘a night and a day’ in 2 Cor. 11.25 denotes a complete day (Gr. nuchthemeron).

“When Esther says (Esther 4.16) ‘Fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days’, she defines her meaning as being three complete days, because she adds (being a Jewess) ‘night or day’. And when it is written that the fast ended on ‘the third day’ (5.1), ‘the third day’ must have succeeded and included the third night.

“In like manner the sacred record states that the young man (in 1 Sam. 30.12) ‘had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights’. Hence, when the young man explains the reason, he says, ‘because three days agone I fell sick’. He means therefore three complete days and nights, because, being an Egyptian (vv. 11,13) he naturally reckoned his day as beginning at sunrise, according to the Egyptian manner (see Encycl. Brit., 11^th [Cambridge] ed., vol. xi, p. 77]. His ‘three days agone’ refers to the beginning of his sickness, and includes the whole period, giving the reason for his having gone without food during the whole period stated.

“Hence, when it says that ‘Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights’ (Jonah 1.17) it means exactly what it says, and that this can be the only meaning of the expression in Matt. 12.40; 16.4, Luke 11.30, is shown in Ap. 156” (p. 170).

For centuries, so-called “scholars” have claimed that Christ died in A.D. 29, 30, 32, or even 33! Never would they choose A.D. 31, even by “accident,” for it is the only year in that period of five years in which the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or the fifteenth of Nisan, begins on a Thursday!

Jesus Christ died on a late Wednesday afternoon. He was buried quickly, in a new tomb which was close at hand to Golgotha. Notice: “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand” (John 19:40-42). The preparation day was Wednesday, the preparation for the “High Day Sabbath” of the Feast!

Is Jesus Christ Alive Today?

When Christ was resurrected, He was changed from His human, fleshly form to become literally composed of Spirit.The huge stone covering the sepulchre was not rolled back to let Christ out of the tomb, but to allow the world to look in! By the time the women came to the sepulchre, He had already risen some hours earlier.

Matthew wrote, “In the end of the Sabbath [the weekly Sabbath, the third day since Christ had been buried], as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was [Greek: “had been”] a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:1,2). Even the marginal note in many King James Bibles says “had been” instead of “was.” Bullinger’s Companion Bible has a note concerning the words “rolled back,” saying, “had rolled back.” The earthquake, which dislodged the stone, was a past occurrence; it had taken place prior to the women’s arrival. As you have seen, there are many proofs of Christ’s resurrection.

Christ promised He would never leave His disciples and would continually be with His people, watching over His church: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Mark wrote, “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen” (Mark 16:19,20).

When Stephen was martyred by stoning, he cried out as he died, “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul” (Acts 7:55-58).

Saul was struck down on the road to Damascus, became deeply converted, and became the apostle Paul. He may have seen Jesus Christ over a period of more than three years in the desert. He wrote, “Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1). The only time Paul could have seen Jesus Christ personally was when he was in Arabia.

He wrote to the Galatians, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:15-19).

Not only were there many hundreds of eyewitnesses to the fact that Jesus Christ was alive, but Paul may have seenJesus Christ again and again while he was in the Arabian desert.

The entire book of Hebrews is about the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. It is a profoundly important book of the Bible which shows Christ’s daily intercession on behalf of His people, interceding in their behalf before His Father at His left hand.

Notice: “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

The whole point of the book of Hebrews is the efficacy of Christ’s living High Priesthood over that of the Levitical Priesthood–that He is alive, and able to guide, direct, and correct His church, to intervene in the course of human events, to intercede on behalf of His people, and is waiting for the moment of His return to this earth.

Following the beautiful eleventh chapter of Hebrews, which lists many of the most famous and revered of the martyrs of God through the ages, we are urged to remember these great witnesses, and to look to Jesus Christ as the living Savior: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Millions of nominal Christians, without realizing it, tend to think of a dead Christ, hanging on a cross! Their minds are not focused upon a living Savior, seated at the right hand of the Father, His face blazing like the sun in its strength, able to hear and to feel our heartache, our distress, suffering, and pain, and turn to His Father as our Advocate, intervening in our behalf. Yes, and we should praise God daily for the fact that Jesus Christ is alive today!

Is Jesus Christ Going To Return To This Earth?

One of the most powerful points of the gospel, which is the good news of the Kingdom of God, is that Christ is coming again! He said so continually! Christ told the haughty, self-righteous Pharisees that they would see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God, and they themselves rejected, cast out!

Millions believe it is “easy” to be saved! All you must do is “believe in your heart” and “confess with your mouth” that Jesus Christ “died to save sinners,” and you can be saved, they say. But Jesus Christ plainly said it is not quite so easy!

“Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait [narrow; difficult] gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity [lawlessness]. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:23-29).

As you have seen, the famous Olivet Prophecy, which is the most important prophecy in all the Bible, has as its main theme the return of Christ to this earth in the power and glory of God: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). Jesus Christ spoke continually of the time of His return to this earth to establish His kingdom!

Notice the promises He gave for those who overcome during this brief, human life: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father” (Revelation 2:26,27).

He described His Second Coming to His disciples in the Olivet Prophecy several times. He said, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30,31).

And where will Jesus Christ BE when He “comes again to this earth”? Why, on the earth, of course! Many, many prophecies proclaim this fundamental truth! Christ Himself said it over and over again!

The very first message that ever came back to earth from a heavenly messenger as Jesus Christ was taken up reconfirmed it! Notice: “And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so comein like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

Where will Christ be when He returns? Notice Zechariah’s prophecy: “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:3,4).

There are many, many prophecies in God’s Word about the Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on this earth.

Isaiah wrote, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

While millions have been deceived into believing that “souls” go immediately to heaven when they die, the Bible clearly says Christ will resurrect the “dead in Christ” first, and that those who are alive and remain at the time of His Second Coming will be “caught up together with them in the clouds” (which are part of this earth’s atmosphere), and will then dwell in the Kingdom of God with Christ. While they ascend up to meet Christ in the clouds, only a few thousand feet above the land, they will be conveyed by God’s angels (Matthew 24:31) to descend “in that day” upon the Mount of Olives!

Paul wrote, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:22-25).

To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air [part of this earth’s atmosphere]: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). And where will the Lord BE? He will be on this earth, establishing His spiritual capital in Jerusalem!

Notice the description of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ seen by John in vision: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:11-21).

Anyone who doubts for a moment the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a person who simply rejects what Christ Himself said over and over again, and rejects the focal point of all prophecy! Nothing is emphasized any more powerfully or continually than the return of Christ to this earth to rule it as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The GOOD NEWS Jesus Christ brought to this earth so long ago is for OUR DAY, NOW, and for the years just ahead of us! It is an up-to-the-minute message about world conditions that are inexorably leading us into the time of the prophesied Great Tribulation, a time of world trouble such as has never been from the beginning of the world until that time.

Daniel prophesied of this time, just as did Jesus Christ Himself. An archangel said to Daniel, “And at that time [the “time of the end,” see Daniel 11:40-45] shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:1,2).

The greatest news you and I could ever hear is that Jesus Christ will intervene in human affairs and HALT the insane, satanic wars impending in the future, when, except for God’s intervention, not a man, woman or child would be left alive on this earth!

Luke wrote of Christ’s encouraging reminder that when these terrible things BEGIN TO HAPPEN, His people should “lift up their heads,” and know that their redemption is very near! He said, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear [many will drop dead of heart attacks!], and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:25-36).

As you now know, the so-called “gospel” millions have heard is only a small part of the message Jesus Christ brought to this earth and commissioned His disciples to preach to all the world as a witness! His great good news was that He will intervene in the course of human events; He will return to this earth to RULE it with a rod of iron!

The work of God’s church today is the work of proclaiming this globe-girdling, tumultuous, awesome message to all the world as a witness! God says many will reject it; they will refuse to believe Christ’s message; they will refuse to repent and receive baptism as a sign of their repentance before God. But some will hear, and understand. Some will receive the seed into the “good ground,” where it will take root, and grow.

Could you be one God is calling? Could you be one who will be used of God Almighty to have a part in His work?The time is growing near when God will no longer plead with people by the means of preaching and writing. The time is growing near when there will be no doubt whatsoever in people’s minds about the existence of the Almighty God! Soon now, when the prophesied Tribulation is upon us, when the awesome Heavenly Signs are displayed, there will be no remaining doubts in any human mind! Soon now. . . .

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But Jesus Christ did not come to preach a gospel of a mysterious, “invisible” metaphorical “kingdom” in order to get across a message which would encourage overcoming, financial success, peace of mind, accomplishment, or material gain. His gospel was both a witness and a warning, a part of its message cutting asunder, piercing the heart, causing violent outrage in the hearts of recalcitrant sinners, and bringing about deep and broken-hearted repentance among those who would receive it as little children.

Is the Kingdom “Here…Now”?

In 1982. television evangelist Pat Robertson, collaborating with Bob Sloshser, were published by Bantam books with their best seller The Secret Kingdom. While there is much in the book that is good principles applicable to everyday life, principles concerning financial success, peace of mind, goal setting, positive living – nevertheless, the subtle inference one gleans, not the least of all from the title itself, is that Robertson espouses the notion that the Kingdom of God is something which is “here, now” in some mysterious and invisible way.

Robertson seriously errs when he says, “Each of the gospel writers said it similarly. ‘The time has come,’ Jesus declared in essence. ‘The Kingdom is here, and I have come to open it to you and show you how it works’ ” (The Secret Kingdom, Robertson, page 36).

Robertson continued, “Many of us are now discovering this central purpose of our Lord, perceiving that the Kingdom of God, though invisible, is right now nonetheless real, nonetheless powerful…. Yes, the Kingdom of God is here – now. And the message of the Bible is that we can and should look from this visible world, which is finite, into the invisible world, which is infinite….We should do more than look, however, if we believe the scriptures. We should enter. We should reach from the visible into the invisible and bring that secret Kingdom into the visible through its principles – principles that can be adopted at this moment.”

To be sure, Robertson speaks of the millennium, and of the eventual moment when the Kingdom of God will become “visible.” Yet, one is urged to believe that Jesus, in proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of God, was teaching that the Kingdom was already on this earth, merely invisible. Robertson even goes so far as to allege that Jesus said, “Reach into the invisible and apply it to the visible,” which of course, Jesus never said at all.

Is the Kingdom of God “here – now”? And can you enter into it? Robertson says you can. The Bible says you can’t.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption!” (1 Corinthians 15:50).

For centuries, blinded men have led the spiritually blind down the primrose path of deception, preaching that the Kingdom of God is here, now.

For centuries, the so-called “holy” Roman Empire, following the days of supposedly converted sun-worshiper Constantine, was viewed as the “Kingdom of God” on earth. The official Roman Catholic doctrine, as set forth in the Catholic Encyclopedia, weaves a subtle. skillfully-written theme from various scriptural inferences that the kingdom is the Catholic Church.

“In the mouth of Christ,” the article says, “the ‘kingdom’ means not so much a goal to be attained or a place – though those meanings are by no means excluded; cf. Matthew, verse 3; XI, 2, etc – it is rather a tone of mind (Luke XVII. 20-21), it stands for an influence which must permeate men’s minds if they would be one with Him and attain to His ideals; cf, Luke, IX, 55. It is only by realizing these shades of meaning that we can do justice to the parables of the kingdom with their endless variety” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, page 646-647, emphasis mine).

After admitting the Kingdom of God means a goal – something in the future to be ultimately attained; the writer of the article then asserts “it is rather a TONE OF MIND.” But isn’t that just so much “double-talk”? What is the Kingdom of God? It is a goal – a quest set before us toward which we daily press – the goal of entering into a completely different realm; a different civilization; higher order; different form of government; a realm governed by God, who will RULE over all nations on this earth with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:26; 3:21) for one thousand years (Revelation 20:4) on this earth (Revelation 5: 10), or is it a MIND SET?

The Catholic Encyclopedia says, “The Kingdom of God means, then the ruling of God in our hearts; it means those principles which separate us from the kingdom of the world and the devil; it means the benign sway of grace; it means the Church, as that divine institution whereby we may make sure of attaining the spirit of Christ and so win that ultimate Kingdom of God where He reigns without end in “the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Vol. VIII, page 647, emphasis mine).

What error!

“That ultimate kingdom” to which the writer of the article referred IS the Kingdom of God – the ONLY Kingdom of God – which Jesus preached! By no means is the Kingdom of God “set up in the hearts of men,” and by no means does Christ’s gospel lead you to believe that “by men of good will working together everywhere, the Kingdom of God will be set up.”

Notice the scriptural reference in the first quotation from the Catholic Encyclopedia, Luke 17:20. Turn to this passage, and read it for yourself.

“And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”

It is puzzling how so many scholars over such an incredible reach of history could be so utterly obtuse as to persist in the complete misunderstanding of this verse, lift it out of its proper context, and attempt to imply that Jesus was stating the Kingdom of God is some “spiritual” something or other; some “better feeling,” or “rapturous grace” within the human heart, rather than what He plainly said it was!

When understanding any scripture, especially a seemingly ambiguous or difficult one, you need to ask “who, what, where, when, why, and how’?”

Look at the context! It was the Pharisees who “demanded” that Jesus tell them when this Kingdom of which He constantly spoke should come!

And who were the Pharisees? They were the ones of whom Jesus said, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!…you blind guides…you fools and blind…ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell [hades, meaning the grave]” (Matthew 23:13-33).

These are the same Pharisees of whom Jesus said, “You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men!” (Matthew 15:7, 9).

He then said, referring to the same group, “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” These are the same Pharisees who plotted Jesus ‘ death from the time of the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus!

Notice! “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we’? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let Him thus alone all men will believe on Him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: But being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took council together for to put Him to death!” (John 11:45-53).

As the “right-wing” religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees “sat in Moses’ seat,” and constituted a powerful, pervasive authority over the private lives of many in the Jewish populace. Judea was a Roman province, occupied by the Roman Empire. Following the pattern of the ancient Persian satrapies, the Romans set up puppet governments where possible, allowing the greatest measure of self-determination or semi-autonomy within certain bounds, as a guarantee against social unrest, mass disturbances, or sudden coups. The social and religious customs were dominated by the Sanhedrin, the high priest (the priests in the temple were Sadducees) and the Pharisees. Certain infractions of the Mosaic code could actually bring about a stoning, in which the Romans would not interfere.

The Pharisees were plotting continually how to trap Jesus in His words; to propose some “trick question” to Him which would cause Him to commit some alleged “infraction” of the law and result in His death by stoning.

John records, “Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where He were, he should shew it, that they might take Him!” (John 11:57). This was just prior to the final Passover, and Jesus’ ultimate crucifixion!

Now do you see?

To whom did Jesus say, “The Kingdom is within you”? He said it to hate-filled, murder-plotting PHARISEES! Was Jesus saying the Kingdom of God was “within” the hearts of the same individuals He called hypocrites, vipers, fools, blind guides, deceivers, and who He knew were busily plotting His murder?

Nonsense!

Actually, the word “within” should better be rendered “among.” It is the same word used by John when he wrote of what John the Baptist said to the Pharisees: “John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not…” (John 1:26). The reference, of course, was to Jesus Christ!

In the same chapter, where it is clear Jesus Christ is that member of the Godhead who did the creating, John wrote, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Think about it. Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the advance emissary of the Kingdom of God! He came to this earth to qualify for future rulership, to qualify to be KING of kings, and Lord of lords, ruling over the entire earth for one thousand years during His millennial reign.

He was like an ambassador, representing the Kingdom of God on this earth! He was not truly a “citizen” of any earthly governments; He swore no allegiance to any earthly king, though He preached obedience to whatever laws of man did not directly contradict the higher laws of God.

As such, Jesus was like a citizen of a higher and a different kingdom.

Read the rest of the context of His statement to those murder-plotting Pharisees.

“And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within [among] you. And He said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah so shall” it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto Him, Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together” (Luke 17:20-37).

I have included here the entire passage so that you may refer back to it in your leisure. Notice Jesus said He would be “as the lightning,” clearly visible, seen by all and that the day of His coming would be as tumultuous and as catastrophic as was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the destruction of all mankind at the flood!

For years, many have pondered His seemingly ambiguous and puzzling statement “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together,” not understanding this obvious statement in its correct context.

What He was impressing upon His audience was the fact that when Jesus Christ comes back to this earth in all the power and glory of God the Father it will be at the climax of the great DAY OF THE LORD, following the outpouring of the Great Tribulation, the seven trumpet plagues, and the seven last plagues!

It will be the single greatest, most earth-shaking, tumultuous, calamitous, catastrophic event from the time of creation till that moment!

How ludicrous it would appear for some individual at this day and time to deceive Christians by saying, “Christ is over here-in this nation, hiding in a cave,” or “Christ came last night, and He is hiding out in a cave in Jordan,” or some other foolish, lying statement.

Jesus was saying to His disciples, paraphrased, “There is no need for you, who are my true followers, my own disciples, to worry about some other person, some ‘third party,’ coming to you, and informing you that I, the Son of man, have arrived back on earth! For,” He might have said, “YOU WILL BE THE VERY FIRST TO KNOW!”

The analogy He drew is plain, if you look at it.

If a farmer had lost a cow, and he went abroad into the grasslands in search of his lost animal, and he saw a group of eagles or other carrion-eaters slowly circling in the distance, where would he look for the body of the cow?

Obviously, he would not turn his back on the circling eagles, crows, magpies or vultures, but would go immediately to that spot, knowing that the cow had probably died, and that the carrion-eaters were clearly marking the spot!

Jesus spoke this parable or analogy to enforce the point with His disciples that wherever the “body” is (in this case, the CHURCH!) there will the “eagles” (in this case Jesus Christ at His return!) be gathered together!

In other words, Christ is coming for His own – He is not coming “in secret,” and any true worshipper of Jesus Christ, any member of His true Church, will have no need of “being informed” by others that Christ has arrived!

The second coming of Jesus Christ will be a vastly tumultuous, calamitous event, beheld by the whole world! John wrote, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: And He shall RULE THEM with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11-16).

John wrote, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM…” (Revelation 1:7).

There you have the real meaning of Christ’s statement to the Pharisees that the “Kingdom of God cometh not with ‘observation’.” You now understand what He really meant when He said the Kingdom of God is “among” you – meaning that He as the advance representative of that Kingdom evinced its power and glory, its love and compassion, its mercy and great kindness, as well as its rule and authority.

In another sense, because Jesus Christ was completely filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and the very presence of God the Father was powerfully indwelling within Him, Jesus could speak of Himself as being virtually a member of the Kingdom of God, in much the same way that the apostle Paul wrote that we, when we are converted and have God’s Holy Spirit within us have our “citizenship” in heaven! (Philippians 3:20).

By no stretch of the imagination was Jesus ripping out whole chapters, books and segments of the Bible, including all of the many detailed descriptions in the major and minor prophets of the Kingdom of God, and His own lucid and graphic prophecies of the Kingdom of God by saying that the Kingdom was somehow “within” the blackened, evil, murder-plotting “hearts” of the Pharisees!

Is the Kingdom the Church?

There are those who “spiritualize” the Kingdom of God into the church, drawing on metaphor, analogies and subtle inferences from scriptural ambiguities.

The simplest way to disprove such theories is to see what the Bible says about the church.

Christ said, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter [Greek; Petros, a pebble, or small stone], and upon this ROCK [Greek; Petra, meaning a craggy cliff, monolithic rock, a mountain of stone] I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH; and the gates of hell [Greek; hades, meaning the grave] shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16: 18).

The Greek word for church is Ekklezia, which is better rendered “assembly” or “group.”

Today, the word “church” in the English language has become corrupted. Most think of a “church” as either a national or international organizational hierarchy (like the Catholic “Church”); as a denomination, (like the “Methodists”), or as a building (“That is my church over there on the corner”).

One might say, “I will see you in church today,” meaning they will meet inside a building called a “church.”

But the Bible was not written in English – it was written in Hebrew. Greek . and Aramaic. The Greek word, Ekklezia which Jesus used. no more means “building” than the word “typewriter” means “airplane”! There is simply no connection between the two!

Christ meant He would establish His group of specially-called and chosen disciples (who would become the original apostles), empower them with the Holy Spirit, and that “assembly” of individuals would represent, collectively, the church!

Christ is the HEAD of His true church. “…and gave Him to he the HEAD over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22, 23).

Paul went on to say, ”Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners. but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God: and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20, 21).

Both 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 represent the church as analogous to a body, or a building, having various members and parts.

The Church of God (its authorized name, used more often to describe the church than any other) is that group of converted, called-out ones who are committed to perform the WORK of God on this earth; that of fulfilling Christ’s great, two-fold commission.

Notice!

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all rations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world [margin; ‘age’], Amen” (Matthew 28:19, 20).

The commission to the church is to preach the Gospel OF THE KINGDOM!

The church is NOT the Kingdom – it is the spiritual organism, made up of individual human beings who may, from time to time, be organized, humanly, to perform the work of the church – and the church is commissioned to preach the advance good news (and warning) contained in the gospel!

And what is that Gospel?

It is the “glad tidings,” or “happy announcement” of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD! The church is NOT THE KINGDOM, it is the organism responsible for ANNOUNCING the coming Kingdom!

Christ told His disciples, following His resurrection, “…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached…” IN HIS NAME among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem! (Luke 24:47).

He prophesied, “And this gospel OF THE KINGDOM shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

In a sense, the church is a type of the Kingdom; a microcosm. But it is NOT THE KINGDOM! The church does not “rule them with a rod of iron!” or smash governments of hostile, God-rejecting nations like shards of broken pottery! (See Revelation 2:26, 27.)

The church is called OUT of this world (John 15:18, 19; 1 John 2:15-17), and told NOT to partake of its Babylonish sins (Revelation 18:4). It is not “ruling” or holding sway over governments IN this world!

Contrary to the belief of those who like to justify a church organization structured as a vast, rich, powerful, worldly hierarchy, Jesus Christ spoke of His true Church as a “little flock” of persecuted, rejected, despised people – not having great, worldly pomp and splendor, NOT accepted by this world’s leaders!

Christ predicted His true servants would be DRAGGED before kings. emperors, dictators, prime ministers, presidents and various heads of state – NOT WELCOMED WITH A RED CARPET!

“Behold, I send you [THE CHURCH] forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues, and ye shall be brought [manacled, under arrest] before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when-they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be HATED OF ALL MEN for MY NAME’S SAKE, but he that endureth to the end [of his life, if need be], shall be saved” (Matthew 10: 16-22).

Christ never intended His true church to have concourse with world leaders; to become respected, receiving accolades and approval from governments! He said, “If they have hated me, they wil1 hate you!”

It is a terrible PERVERSION of scripture to suggest the church is the KINGDOM OF GOD on earth. It is NOT. The church is the instrument in the hands of God to ANNOUNCE the coming Kingdom – it is described as a small, weak, sometimes scattered group, not rich in this world’s goods, yet rich in faith, doing the WORK OF GOD!

Daniel’s Vision – Christ, the ROCK

Centuries before Christ, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon saw a vision which only God’s prophet Daniel could interpret. You read of it in Daniel’s second chapter.

Following Daniel’s rehearsal of exactly what the king had dreamed (without first being told – God revealed the secret to Daniel), Daniel gave the king the interpretation: “Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure” (Daniel 2:37-45).

Dozens of biblical, archeological, and historical references corroborate the truth of this inspired interpretation.

It is commonly understood by biblical scholars and historians that the vision of the great image seen by Nebuchadnezzar was nothing more than a graphic depiction of the four great world-ruling Gentile kingdoms which would supersede one another, culminating in the Roman Empire, which would in turn have several “resurrections” down through history until the time of the end.

It is impossible to misunderstand verses 44 and 45!

Clearly, when Daniel said, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom… [and] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall STAND FOREVER,” it is obvious this prophecy culminates in the establishment of the KINGDOM OF GOD on earth!

Daniel explains: “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, [from a supernatural source] and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the kings what shall come to pass hereafter;…” (Daniel 2:45).

Jesus Christ is the symbolic STONE.

Notice! “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual ROCK that followed them: and that ROCK was Christ!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

Jesus Christ Himself is the ROCK or the “stone that was cut out without hands” which smashes the future United States of Europe represented by the ten toes of the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar.
      
Zerubbahel was a type of Christ. The name meant “One who is born in Babylon,” and Zerubbabel was used, together with Ezra and Nehemiah, to effect the return of the captured Jews from their long captivity in Babylon, and to set about to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The book of Zechariah contains many analogies relating to the establishment of God’s Church, and to the setting up of the Kingdom of God on this earth in the future. Notice, “Who art thou. O great mountain? [a symbol for a great nation] before Zerubbabel [a type of Christ] thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it” (Zechariah 4:7).

Here, Christ is called the headstone of the temple, which is a type of the church.

Christ referred to Himself as the ROCK on which His true Church would be built! (Matthew 16:18). The entire 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy refers to Jesus Christ continually. “He is the ROCK, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He…then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the ROCK of his salvation…of the ROCK that begat thee thou are unmindful…” (Deuteronomy 32:4-18).

When the archangel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus Christ to Mary, he said, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His KINGDOM there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Many times in scripture Jesus Christ is portrayed as a great ROCK. Read 2 Samuel 22:2, Psalms 27:5, 31:3, and Isaiah 8:14.

Now, notice the time setting of the prophecies concerning the four world-ruling Gentile kingdoms. For this, go to Daniel’s seventh chapter. In the first seven verses, you see four great beasts, the lion representing ancient Babylon, the bear representing the Medo/Persian empire, the leopard representing the Greco/Macedo-nian empire under Alexander, and the four heads (verse 6) of the leopard representing Ptolemy Soter of Egypt, Antipater of Macedonia, Laomedon of Syria, and Seleucus Nicator of Babylon; the four generals who carved up Alexander’s empire prior to his burial.

In the seventh verse is a picture of the emergence of the Roman empire, with its ten horns.

That these horns are not the same as the ten horns of the 17th chapter of Revelation is clear from verse 8, which places them successively, and not contemporaneously, showing that the “little horn” (the Vatican) causes three of the first horns to be “plucked up by the roots” (verse 8) which was the overthrowing, over a lengthy period of time, of the Ostrogoths, Vandals, and the Heruli from northern Italian provinces and the city of Rome.

That the “little horn” representing the papacy with its “eyes like the eyes of a man, and the mouth speaking great things,” (verse 8) prevails UNTIL the time of the second coming of Christ is made clear by verse 9: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down [exactly analogous to the smashing of the toes of the image in the second chapter by the rock “cut out without hands”] and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set and the books were open” (Daniel 7:10, 11).

Notice how many times in this seventh chapter various prophetic references to the final Gentile kingdom, the last resurrection of the Roman Empire culminates in the second coming of Christ, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth!

You have already read of one such proof in verses 9 and 10.

Now, notice “I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven [see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Matthew 24:30, 31; Revelation 1:7], and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a KINGDOM, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” There you have the second time in this same chapter in which the vision concerning the great successive Gentile world-ruling kingdoms in the second coming of Christ, the absolution of these Gentile powers, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth!

Notice the third example: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings [remember that king and kingdom are used synonymously], which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever” (Daniel 7:17, 18).

Now. notice the fourth example: “And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them: UNTIL the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the Kingdom” (Daniel 7:20-22).

The fifth example is found in verse 27, “And the kingdom and dominion. and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven. shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominions [worldly governments] shall serve and obey Him!” (Daniel 7:27).

Now. turn to and read Zechariah 14. Read the whole chapter, paying particular attention to the first few verses, verse 9, and verses 12 through 19!

Plainly, this refers to the second coming of Christ, the beginning of the RULE of the Kingdom of God on earth, and the establishment of the first annual observance of the Feast of Tabernacles!

You Can INHERIT the Kingdom

Notice that the Kingdom of God is something we inherit. Jesus Christ of Nazareth has already inherited the Kingdom of His Father; and, like a multibillionaire benefactor, has written His will, designating each one of us as potential inheritors of His vast, unlimited estates – called the Kingdom of God!

Notice how Paul explains it, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).

When we hear the dynamic message of the Kingdom of God; the gospel, which includes a demand that we repent (Matthew 4: 17), and when we are convicted by Christ’s powerful message, we are commanded to be baptized, and then we are to receive, through the laying on of hands, the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:38; 9: 17).

The Holy Spirit of God is given to those who obey God! (Acts 5:32).

When we receive the Spirit of God we are begotten with “the firstfruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23), but we are not yet BORN of God! We are heirs, not yet inheritors!

The New Testament comprises a legal document, as conveyed by its very name, the “New Testament,” or the new WILL!

The Old Testament or old will was a covenant between Almighty God and the physical nation Israel, based upon material rewards for obediencein the letter of the law.

The new will, or New Testament is a document spelling out the terms and conditions by which we may become heirs of God – candidates to be drafted into His soon-coming Kingdom.

It is made quite clear we cannot EARN salvation, that salvation is from God’s free, loving GRACE, and can never be “earned” by anything we can do! (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Yet, the apostle Paul asked, “…shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” He then said, “God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sinlive any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk [live] in newness of life. For if we have been planted [a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of the old self – baptism] together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection!” (Romans 6:2-5).

And what is sin? Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4) as set forth in the Ten Commandments, and magnified by Jesus Christ in the sermon on the mount, and by His entire life and teaching.

Remember, Peter said repent, and be baptized and you shall receive the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:38).

But repentance, baptism and the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit do not put you into the Kingdom of God! For you are yet flesh! Remember, the Bible clearly says, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD!” (1 Corinthians 15:50).

Notice how Paul explains it, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God: And if children, then HEIRS, heirs of God, and JOINT-HEIRS with Christ!” (Romans 8: 17).

Yes, heirs – not yet inheritors! Paul goes on to explain in the eighth chapter of Romans how the entire creation “waits for the manifestation of the sons of God…” and how we now have but the “firstfruits of the spirit” (verse 23) but that we have not yet inherited the Kingdom of God!

Notice! “Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep [die – become completely oblivious, unconscious in the grave] but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and WE [we who are alive and remain – we who are among the living at the time of the second coming of Christ which is announced by the last trump!] SHALL BE CHANGED.” (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52).

Do you see? The Holy Word of God tells you very plainly that before you can enter into the Kingdom of God, you must be changed from human to spirit; from mortal to immortal; from decaying, earthly flesh to eternal, spirit life!

Jesus Christ is called “the firstfruits of them that slept!” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

He is called “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Notice the order plainly stated in your Bible; “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be [in the future] made alive! But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits: afterward [and not one second before!] they that are Christ’s AT HIS COMING!” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

What is a “Kingdom”?

In common, everyday usage, we speak of “the human kingdom.” “the animal kingdom,” “the plant kingdom,” or other various kingdoms referring to various species, phyla, genera, or “kinds” of life! When one speaks of “The kingdom of Great Britain” one knows immediately it is the nation of Great Britain, located in the British Isles, with its capital at London, with a prime minister and a parliament consisting of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and, at least in titular office, commanding great love and respect among the British people, Queen Elizabeth II.

When Almighty God is first “introduced” to humankind in the book of Genesis it is through the “creation hymn” in the first chapter.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The word for “God” is Elohim, which is a word with a plural ending (the singular would be Eloah just as in the case of Seraph (one seraph) or seraphim; two seraphs or more).

The proof is not only in the meaning of the Hebrew word, but evident in the context. “And God [Elohim – MORE than one person] said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

There is an important scripture in the New Testament which begins even prior to the account in Genesis the first chapter. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were MADE by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He [John] was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness to that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. HE CAME UNTO HIS OWN. AND HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God; even to them that believe on His name:” (John 1:1-12).

Of whom is this speaking’?

Can there be the remotest shadow of doubt in your mind’?

Obviously, this is speaking of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who “was in the world” and who “came unto His own” and gives them power to become “the sons of God” that believe on His name!”

And what does this tell you?

It tells you, conclusively, unequivocally that Jesus Christ of the New Testament IS THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT!

Notice! “And the Word was MADE FLESH and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). Compare this with Hebrews, the first chapter. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [a] Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds: Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

The Greek expression “express image” is Karakter from which our English word “character” derives. It means “engraving – the figure stamped; exact copy, representation!” Moffatt renders it “stamped with God’s own character.”

Believe it or not, Christ, that member of the dual family of God who became a human, born of the virgin Mary, is the PERSON of the godhead who did the creating! 

That’s right! Jesus Christ of the New Testament, in His life with the Father from eternity, was that member of the divine family of beings called “God (Elohim) who did the speaking (your Bible says He was the Word!) and who said “let there be light!”

For generations, millions have assumed through the false teaching of many of the so-called Christian churches that the God of the Old Testament was a harsh, unloving, angry and vengeful God, wreaking terrible vengeance upon those who incurred His wrath.

They assume that Jesus Christ came along, virtually usurping His Father’s authority, overthrowing of the harsh, judgmental laws of the Old Testament, and substituting a newer, gentler, easier set of “laws” (which many people read as “suggestions”) in the “New Testament.”

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Notice that Almighty God created TWO of everything! There is duality throughout the creation, and duality throughout the plan of God.

Almighty God created two sexes, two human beings dissimilar only in their reproductive organs; yet similar in dozens and dozens of other ways!

We all have two eyes, two ears, two hands, two legs, two feet, etc., etc.

There are two poles, the north and the south; two “polarities” so far as electricity is concerned, positive and negative. Throughout the animal and the plant kingdom, one sees this pattern of duality portrayed.

There is type and antitype, a first and a second fulfillment of biblical prophecy. There is the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Paul spoke of “the first man Adam” and the “second man Adam,” contrasting the original man, created by the hands of God, and Jesus Christ who was born of God by a resurrection from the dead.

Almighty God, as Elohim, represents a divine, spirit FAMILY of beings!

The human family is the microcosm of the Kingdom of God! Almighty God is the “inventor” of marriage, the author of the family!

He is the one who “invented” procreation, the limited creative ability of we human beings to “replenish the earth,” by reproducing after our own kind.

The family is also a microcosm of the Church (Ephesians 5:22-32) and is a divinely-appointed unit of human beings, in and through which Almighty God intends we learn lessons vital to being brought into His Kingdom – His spiritual family!

It is because of this family relationship that God chooses to reveal Himself as our Father, and to whom Jesus said we should pray, “Our Father which art in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9-15). Jesus Christ is portrayed as our elder Brother, and people within the Church are called “brothers and sisters.” We are all, collectively, called the “children of God,” or “sons of God.” Clearly, all of these are family terms! Spiritually, the Church is referred to as “Jerusalem which is above…which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22).

What you see from this is that Almighty God is a FAMILY of divine beings; the Father and the Son. We may be begotten of Almighty God by His Holy Spirit, and eventually BORN of God either by an instantaneous change (1 Corinthians 15:50-52), if we are among those living at the second coming of Christ, or else born of God by a resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:23, 52).

Even as God started the whole of the human race – now approaching FIVE BILLION individuals – with but two original parents, so Almighty God is reproducing after His own kind – reproducing after the GOD KIND through a process called repentance. begettal, and salvation.

The Kingdom of God, then, has at its helm the divine, ruling family of the Father and the Son; it is the divine FAMILY OF GOD, into which we may be born!

The Kingdom of God Will Rule On This Earth!

Dozens of scriptures in the Bible absolutely prove that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is coming back to this literal, physical earth!

Notice but a few; “…ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven!” (Acts 1:11).

“For as the lightning cometh out of the east. and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be…then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they [human dwellers on this earth! J shall SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:27-31).

As Christians, we are warned “Watch ye therefore for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh!” (Matthew 25:13).

In John’s visions of the Day of the Lord and the second coming of Christ, he wrote, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls [Greek: psuche. meaning lives] of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).

In vision, John saw the very heavenly throne of God the Father and Jesus Christ coming down to this earth!

Notice! “And 1 John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down form God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:1-3).

Emulating the praise of the saints of God, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders before the throne of God “…sung a new song, saying thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests [a “KINGDOM,” margin] and WE SHALL REIGN ON THE EARTH!” (Revelation 5:9, 10).

Jesus Christ is coming again to this literal, physical earth! And where will He be? ON THE EARTH! Notice! “Behold the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; [this depicts the battle of Armageddon at the end of the day of the Lord, just prior to the seven last plagues!] …then shall the Eternal go forth, and fight against those nations, …and His feet shall stand IN THAT DAY upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east…” (Zechariah 14:1-4).

What constitutes one of the greatest possible promises Christ. ever made to you, as an individual’?

Surely you cannot surpass the promise made through John in the book of Revelation, when Christ said, “And he that over-cometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall RULE them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my father” (Revelation 2:26, 27).

Jesus Christ was predicted to inherit “…the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of HIS KINGDOM there shall be no end!” (Luke 1:32, 33). David was promised that he would never fail of his progeny to sit on the throne of David which was established forever on this earth! Speaking of the removal of that throne from Palestine to the British Isles, and the eventual inheritance of that same throne at His second coming, Jesus Christ prophesied, “Thus says the Lord Eternal: Remove the diadem [a symbol of kingly office!] and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low [a type of Jesus Christ who came as a meek, lowly and humble Savior] and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more [overturned! J until HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS; and I will give it Him!” (Ezekiel 21:25-27).

Remember, you read that the very throne of God will be on this earth!

Now, notice what Jesus promises: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Revelation 3:21).

There you have it!

The Kingdom of God is the divine, ruling family of God, a family into which we must be born!

How vastly different; how enormously more meaningful, how much GREATER is the real truth of the gospel of the Kingdom of God than the false gospel proclaimed by many professing Christian organizations today! Millions upon millions are simply deceived (Revelation 12:9). They hear a message about the person of Jesus Christ: they hear about Him as a dead Christ hanging on a cross, or the “little Lord Jesus away in the manger,” and learn to sing childhood songs such as Yes, Jesus Loves Me, and are taught to love, and adore “the Lord.”

They assume that the gospel is the story told over and over again at Christmastime about the birth of Jesus Christ, about His life, His ministry and His death. But they also believe in the purely PAGAN doctrines of the “immortality of the soul,” and the pagan myth of an “ever-burning hell.”

To millions the world represents nothing so much as a “soul factory.” They assume each one of us has an “immortal soul” within us from the time of birth. Millions assume it is as if an automatic “switch” were set at the ‘moment of our birth, which pronounces us GUILTY for some sin Adam committed!

Because of this “original sin” that switch points down to hell fire at the time of our death! Millions of professing Christians are taught that they are predestined to “go to hell” when they die! They see portrayed the desperate attempts of evangelists to “save” as many of these “souls” as they can! Not only do they hear of missionary efforts in the third-world countries abroad, and all around the world, but “home missions” aimed at our own populace of English-speaking peoples, and, frequently, one hears an impassioned evangelist stirring up to fever pitch the loyal and faithful in his congregation to give more in this desperate attempt to “save souls” from hell!

Lurid descriptions and accounts are given of the sufferings and torments of those who are in “hell.”

But your Bible says, “the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are finished!” (Revelation 20:5), and plainly says there is coming a one hundred year period during which those who never had a chance for salvation (which may well include some of your own loved ones, deceased relatives and family members!) will RECEIVE THAT CHANCE!

Read the entire 20th chapter of Revelation! Toward the end of that chapter you will see described the “Great White Throne Judgment” and how a great, latter-day resurrection of countless hundreds of millions of human beings will take place!

By that time, the Kingdom of God will have been in place on this earth for one thousand years!

By that time, Almighty God, now at the helm of a vastly enlarged family of divine beings will have produced on this earth literal UTOPIA! It will be a world of plenty, harmony, happiness, peace, abundance and JOY!

Your loved ones. perhaps your own children, a beloved mate, someone you loved very deeply and very dearly will be brought forth at that day into a glittering, dazzling, beautiful world, and, if God is calling you now, YOU WILL BE THERE able to participate in the resurrection of that loved one, able to teach that beloved individual the TRUTH Almighty God is showing you now!

How vastly DIFFERENT; how fantastically GREATER is the truth of Almighty God when compared to pagan fables!

Somehow, Almighty God is allowing you to learn some of His priceless truth!

Is your mind open to receive it? Have you carefully looked up and researched even scripture you read in this booklet’?

If you have, then you know you are believing in the truth of your own Bible, and not the cleverly-spoken words of some human leader who is trying to deceive, or “make merchandise” of those who he hopes will become “his followers”!

Surely. every one of us has a great purpose in our human lives! There is a purpose for your life! Isn’t it about time you were busily fulfilling that purpose?

You may copy and distribute this information only to friends and family without changes, without charge and with full credit given to the author and publisher. You may not publish it for general audiences.

This publication is intended to be used as a personal study tool. Please know it is not wise to take any man’s word for anything, so prove all things for yourself from the pages of your own Bible.

The activities of the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association are paid for by tithes, offerings and donations freely given by Christians and co-workers who are dedicated to preaching the gospel according to Jesus Christ.

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“Will we ever be able to marry, and have children?”

This was the plaintive question asked many years ago by college co-eds who had heard many sermons about the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and the coming Kingdom of God.

Having heard so much of “wars and rumors of wars”; of droughts, famines and diseases; of massive loss of life; of plagues, and the waters turned to blood, they were worried.

Would they survive, if they were not yet baptized, and in the church? What if they did marry, have children—what if those children were but three, or five? What would happen to their children if they were instantly changed into spirit beings, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52?

What About the Children?

During the war in the Gulf, millions of children were worried, unknowing, wondering, apprehensive about the war. When a news commentator asked a group of elementary school children, “Could Saddam Hussein bomb the United States?” many said yes.

These children had no concept of the size of the world; the location of Iraq. Many adults, disturbed by the grisly news of the war, recalled their fears as children during Korea, or Vietnam.

Some 70 percent of Americans couldn’t find Saudi Arabia, much less the Persian Gulf or Iraq on a map. Most of those geographical and geopolitical illiterates have children.

In New Orleans, Army-Navy stores were doing a brisk business—selling gas masks! What effect did this have on their children? As shocking as it seems, many must have heard about a “war in the Gulf,” and thought it was out there in the Gulf of Mexico, somewhere!

The reason most children are disturbed about war; about Bible prophecies concerning the Tribulation and Day of the Lord, is ignorance. Not willful ignorance, but lack of education. When parents do not understand and act apprehensively, they unintentionally communicate fear and emotional difficulty to their children.

God’s church must fulfill its commission of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom as a witness and a warning; of proclaiming the prophecies of Christ about the Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and Armageddon. Yet, we must also realize the effect sermons and articles about war and the coming of great trouble for our peoples will have on children who are not properly informed. Parents must recognize their own responsibility to properly interpret, explain, and place in perspective what comes from the pulpit so children understand.

Thankfully, some in the news media recognized their responsibility to properly inform children; to help them cope with news of war. In simple descriptions, including geographical references, they played to the children in their audiences, trying to put the war, so far away from America’s shores, into proper perspective. With this article, it is hoped many of you will be able to help your children or grandchildren cope, not only with the aftermath of war in the Gulf, but with prophecy, and the great events which are to shake this world.

Sometimes, Sermons Scare Children

Is the Kingdom of God “for adults only”? How well I remember my boyhood, sitting in the hard wooden pews (benches, actually) in a little clapboard church outside the city limits of Eugene, Oregon. Most of what my father preached seemed to “go in one ear, and out the other.”

I paid little attention, or so I thought, even though I was surprised how much had “stuck” in my subconscious when, after about 23 years of age, I began to really seriously study the Bible myself. As a boy, I was quite frightened about my father’s sermons concerning the Tribulation and Day of the Lord, events which he then thought were almost upon us.

My mother reminded me of the time when I was about age five, and we were waiting at a bus stop in downtown Eugene. She said I snuggled up to her side, placing her overcoat partially around me, looked up and said, “Mom, I sure hope I get to go with you when you go to the place of safety.” I have only the vaguest recollection of the incident, which my mother told me about many times. She was very pleased at my question hugged me close, and told me “Of course you can.” I am sure she was unaware of the deeper fears behind my desire for reassurance.

Another memory is vivid. We were very poor, and I had to wear my brother’s hand-me-down shoes. When they wore out, since we had no money to buy new ones, or even to have them repaired, I would cut out cardboard inserts, stick a couple of extra sets in my pockets, and go off to school, a one mile walk, with cardboard inside my shoes.

How well I remember one particularly rainy day. My father had been shouting over and over again about the terrible tribulation coming upon us—really bearing down about the DROUTH, as he pronounced it. My childish mind saw vividly the pictures of the dust bowl of the ’30s; the deserted farms, window deep in drifted sand and dust; the blazing sun, withered crops, starving cattle and people.

On my way to school that day, I devised a little prayer-like chant. “Drink up the rain, grass!” I cried. “Drink up all the rain you can, because this might be your last chance!”

In very recent years, I have related this experience to my wife, especially during heavy rain! Such experiences, and questions from youths about the Kingdom, are the motivation for this article.

My childish exclamation to my mother was not seen by her as anything other than a very positive thing. She did not for a moment realize the fear or loneliness of which it was born. For it seemed to me, as a little boy, that salvation was for adults only! My plaintive request to go along when they fled was because my childish mind conjured up horrifying pictures of being left behind!

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the radio news told us the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. I was helping my mother wring out the washing. She washed in an old washing machine on our tiny back porch. She rinsed the clothes in a deep, lead sink in a mixture of water and “bluing.” My task was to help crank the rubber wringer affixed atop the machine, and then help hang out the wash.

When the radio announcer interrupted regular programming, I was very excited. I had not the faintest idea where “Pearl Harbor” was. Was it just offshore Oregon? Was it in Portland, or Seattle? Was it in California? As a sixth-grader, I didn’t know. I begged permission to run to a neighbor’s house, where a playmate’s grandfather would tell me all about it.

He confidently told me we would “whip those Japs in six weeks.” I still didn’t know where Pearl Harbor was. I doubt, upon reflection, that he knew, either.

As the day progressed, I went out along the highways for two or three miles, collecting discarded bottles. I could get a penny for small coke bottles, and two cents for the quart-sized soft drink bottles. When my burlap sack was almost full, I went to “Frankie’s Tavern” near my house, collected my money, enough or an 11-cent movie and a candy bar, and walked the mile downtown to see a movie. It was “Penrod” something or other—about a boy who accidentally cast off the ballast in a hot air balloon, and was borne aloft. As if that wasn’t frightening enough, they interrupted the movie with crude, typewritten slides across the screen, telling us of ships sunk or damaged, civilians and military killed.

It was dark when I got out of the movie. On my way home I can still vividly remember thinking there were “Japs” hiding behind the dark shrubbery of every house. My scalp prickled; I had goose bumps—and I ran, or walked very fast, most of the way home!

Do you remember similar experiences?

Believe it or not, church can be a frightening experience to children. The not knowing; the apprehensions, vague fears, can create many harmful attitudes, not the least of which is a desire to simply blot out what is being said from the pulpit, and sit next to other youths, communicating with them, joking, drawing, making faces—anything to avoid being drawn in to things being said out of the pulpit which seem either threatening, or “for adults only.”

Does God Care About Children?

On more than one occasion, Christ showed His love and care for children. Mark wrote, “And they [the parents] brought young children to Him, that He should touch them” (Mark 10:13). These parents either wanted their children healed, or they wanted Christ’s blessing; His touch, assuring them of protection for the child—making them hopeful for the child’s health, success, and long life.

“…and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.” To the disciples, this band of would-be revolutionaries were a no-nonsense group of adults, going about the serious business of seeing to it Christ was established on the throne that was rightfully His. What they were doing was not child’s play—it was important. Besides, they lived in a society that strongly stressed the patriarchal role of the male, that believed “children should be seen, and not heard,” and thus thought it an effrontery that parents should ask Christ to deign to take Ms valuable time to have children presented to Him.

But notice what Christ did: “But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, ‘Suffer [permit, allow] the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the Kingdom of God.’ ” (verses 13,14).

Since He was much displeased with His disciples, He must have put some fervor in His voice. He then seized on the opportunity to teach them something they had obviously missed.

“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child [in childlike innocence—in wide-eyed wonder, and gleeful acceptance], he shall not enter therein.

“And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them” (Mark 10: 14,15).

Christ loved little children. Their innocence must have moved Him to do what He did. As our High Priest, and soon-coming King, Christ remembers His own childhood; remembers the events of which we have just read. Surely, as we shall see, He tenderly cares for children.

This touching example has given rise to a church tradition. At the Feast of Tabernacles each year, the church conducts a ceremony we call “Blessing of the Children,” so that parents can bring their newborn infants to a designated place, and God’s ministers can briefly take them up into their arms, following Christ’s example, and pray over them, asking God’s protection; His blessing upon them. When feast sites grow too large so that such a ceremony becomes unwieldy, then other arrangements can be made, such as a specially-scheduled time, rather than as a part of worship services, or even on the weekly Sabbath following the feast for those who regularly attend a local church, allowing only those who cannot to present their children at the feast.

It is a good custom—one we believe our Savior smiles upon, for we are only trying to follow His wonderful example.

Christ, Too, Was a Child

Professing Christianity continually speaks of “the Christ Child.” True, Christ was a child, once. I have written in brief about what may be gleaned from the Scriptures about His boyhood; about the kind of a child He must have been.

Yet, we are not to worship Him as a child; merely to be appreciative of the fact that He was a child; that He experienced the temptations of childhood, and overcame them all.

Notice how God uses the family relationship throughout Scripture to show us the plan of salvation. God is the Father, and Christ is the Son of God. Within the church, we are “brothers and sisters in Christ,” and the church represents the children of God.

A newly-baptized Christian is called “a babe in Christ” In some of the richest language of the Bible concerning Christ’s calling, His sacrifice for us, that family relationship, and God’s concern for children shines through.

“…we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

“For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons into glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

“For both He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all one: for this cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren.

“Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church [assembly] will I sing praise unto thee.

“And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again, Behold, I and the children which God hath given me.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might annul [thwart, counterwork, render null and ineffective; not destroy—margin] him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:9-14).

Notice all the analogies.

Christ calls all of His people “brethren.” Those who will be inducted into God’s family at the resurrection are the “children” which God has given to Christ. These children of God, though physical adults, experience fleshly weakness and temptations, exactly as did Christ.

Christ used warm, tender expressions when referring to His beloved disciples. Following His resurrection, when He appeared to them as they were fishing near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He called out, “Children, have ye any meat?” This was said to adults, as a term of affection.

God makes it clear He cares for children—that we are, by analogy, His children.

We are told little of Christ’s childhood. Yet, we are astounded when we see Him, at the tender age of 12, sitting in the temple, confounding the learned doctors of talmudic tradition with His questions and answers.

“Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

“And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus [notice He was still called a child at age 12, though the term could be “youngster” or “young lad.”] tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it.

“But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

“And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

“And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

“And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers” (Luke 2:41-47).

We are told a great deal about Christ as a boy in this passage. First, He was obedient and dependable, or His parents would not have gone an arduous day’s journey without searching for Him.

Most mothers would become frantic in about two hours if they could not find their sons as they left a big city for a 90 or 100-mile trek on donkeys and camels. That they “supposed Him to have been in the company” shows they knew Him to be self-reliant, sober, trustworthy. He wasn’t the kind of boy to wander off mindlessly and become lost. He was purposeful, thoughtful, deliberate in what He did.

Any parent searching for a twelve-year-old for the better part of four days would certainly become distraught. It is in this context we understand Mary’s exclamation, “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing [a modern mother would say, “frantically”].

“And He said unto them, How is it that ye have sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my father’s business?”

The remaining verses show His parents did not understand the real meaning of what He said. Yet, we are told, “And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them…” (Luke 2:50, 51).

Does the Bible Promise Protection for Us and Our Children?

Over the years, I have delivered various sermons about conditions on earth during Christ’s millennial reign to demonstrate that the coming of the Kingdom of God is not the end of the world.

Instead, it is the beginning of a whole new age—a new world order of peace at last; of an absence of poverty, sickness and disease, squalor, crime, drugs, divorce, abortion, violence, and war!

The first few decades will be a time of massive rebuilding; of cleaning up the environment, building gleaming new cities, transforming the wasted, polluted surface of this earth into a wonderland of green, verdant fields, running rivers and streams, growing forests, huge, healthy crops—literal utopia!

It is always darkest before the dawn. So it is in world conditions just prior to Christ’s return. The Great Tribulation will cost millions of lives. The Day of the Lord will cost many, many millions more.

Yet, God will spare His people who seek His protection!

Christ told His disciples, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

Escape what things?

He had just completed the famous “Olivet Prophecy,” in which He spoke of the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord; of His Second Coming. He spoke of drought, famine, earthquakes, and horrifying wars. Then, He promised those who are watching and who are staying close to God in prayer will be protected!

Obviously, God has chosen, or will yet choose, certain individuals to be witnesses for Him, men who will be martyred for their faith. The famous “two witnesses” of Revelation II are but one example. Christ was the greatest of all martyrs. Many of the apostles were killed, as were countless thousands over the centuries.

As I have pointed out time and time again, martyrdom is NOT PROOF OF SPIRITUAL INFERIORITY; it is exactly the OPPOSITE! God chose only the strongest, spiritually, to endure such terrible suffering and death. A completely false teaching was that those who were supposedly “lukewarm” in God’s church would be tortured, to make them spiritually strong! Nonsense! When a weak person is subjected to such terrible treatment, they quickly give up their faith, and accept whatever they are told. It is only the spiritually strong who are able to endure.

God makes a difference for those who are not called to be His witnesses in some dramatic fashion, as were many of the apostles—as will be the two witnesses (Revelation 11:7,8).

Notice, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10: 13).

Each individual is different. God recognizes this, and so each individual is allowed to be tried and tested only to the degree of his or her faith, and closeness to God. God has not called us to make it so difficult for us we cannot enter into His Kingdom. Paul said he was confident “…of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Christ says HE prays for us. “I pray for them [His disciples]: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.

“And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are … neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee…” (John 17:9-21).

Those who believe in Christ “through their word,” the words and writings of the apostles, includes you and me! Christ thanked His Father He had kept safe those whom God had given Him: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost…” (John 17:12).

Is God able to protect?

God Protects a Godly Family

When God brought our forebears out of Egypt, He brought out hundreds of thousands of families. “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families [depending on the size of the family; how many people were to partake of the roast lamb], and kill the Passover” (Exodus 12: 21).

Notice, “And it shall come to pass, when ye be come into the land which the Eternal will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

“And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Eternal’s Passover, who passed over the houses [escape! rescue! They were the exception!] of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses” (Exodus 12:25-27). Notice they were at home, not thousands of miles away, hiding like refugees in caves!

Now, notice what Paul wrote about the family unit: “For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

“Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

“For this cause ought the woman to have a sign of authority [margin] on her head because of the angels” (1 Corinthians 11:9,10). Here, as Paul attacked the terrible practice of pagan women of shaving their heads, of the bald temple prostitutes, he explained that a woman’s tresses were a God-given sign of her femininity; of her role as an help-mate to her husband, manager of her home, and mother of her children.

“But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given to her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11: 15).

The commentaries wax eloquent about how angels cover their faces in the presence of God; how a woman should pray, not shaven or shorn, or bald, but “covered” by her long hair, which is analogous to a “veil” given by nature. Perhaps there is more implied here than simple humility in the presence of God. Perhaps God is also implying that a woman who is not in Godly subjection and loving cooperation with her husband is depriving herself, and therefore her children, of God’s angelic protection.

Read the 127th Psalm. Here, God says, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Eternal: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5).

Here, a man who is blessed with a fruitful, faithful wife and companion; a man who is blessed with a large family—a man who is the head of his home; provider, protector, example, leader, is a man who also leads in the community. He speaks “with the enemies in the gate,” meaning he takes a leading role in the affairs and defense of the community.

Why? Because he is obeying God’s laws regarding marriage, the family, and child-rearing! Because, as a wise and loving manager of a large family unit, he is qualified to govern in much greater matters.

Notice the very next Psalm: “Blessed is every one that feareth the Eternal; that walketh in His ways.

“For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

“Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

“Behold, that thus shalt the man be blessed that feareth the Eternal … Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel” (Psalm 128).

What wonderful promises!

First, God promises longevity of life, patriarchal status. The man who fears God and observes His commandments will become a father and a grandfather. Not only does God promise him a long and happy life, but also promises the survival and good health of his sons and daughters; their happy marriages, and that they will have healthy sons and daughters. Peace is promised.

This is not indication of an “adults only” kingdom, of God cutting short all human life at the Tribulation, but of longevity, of continuance.

Time is Opening Up Before Us

Christ’s disciples asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? [thedestruction of Jerusalem and the tribulation] and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3). But the word Matthew used in the Greek was aion, which meant “age.”

The verse should read “…end of the age.” Christ then described the terrible conditions just before His coming. But He also describesprotection and survival. Notice, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved [alive]: but for the elect’ssake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

God will cut short the terrible wars of the Tribulation for the sake of His elect. Who are these? Are they exclusively the converted and baptized adults in His church?

Notice, “Thus saith the Eternal, as the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servant’s sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

“And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there” (Isaiah 65:8,9).

Continually, God calls the House of Israel “mine elect.” Notice verse 22: “They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands” (Isaiah 65:22).

In each of these scriptures, we are dealing with the millennial setting of the Kingdom of God on earth; in one case, a time after the Millennium, during a 100-year period following the great, general resurrection. In each case, we see physical human beings, families of the House of Israel and all nations, living in a utopian time of world peace.

Read the beautiful 49th chapter of Isaiah slowly and carefully. God pictures the restoration of Israel, the regathering of various gentile nations to their former borders, and the restoration of families, tribes and nations during the Kingdom of God. As a picture of that time of restoration, God shows a virtual “population explosion,” among those who return to rebuild the wasted lands.

Notice, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

“Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; [God showing that He would no more forget His people, and their children, than He could forget something engraved upon the palms of His own hands]; thy walls are continually before me.

“Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

“Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: All these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Eternal, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

“For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow [not enough room for their growing, expanding families] by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

“The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, the place is too straight for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

“Then shalt thou say in thine heart, who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

“Thus saith the Lord Eternal, behold, I will lift up mine hand to the gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

“And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Eternal: for they shall not be ashamed that wait on me” (Isaiah 49:14-23).

Here is a fabulously beautiful picture of the restoration of Israel to its ancient inheritances, to the return of captive children, borne upon the shoulders and in the arms of their former captors to their joyous parents; a promise of God that even the nobility of gentile nations will become like servants unto Israel in the Millennium!

Many chapters of the Bible deal with the beautiful picture of the Millennium as a time of the rebuilding of old waste places (Ezekiel 36), the healing of the polluted and bespoiled wasteland of ” earth following the tribulation and the day of the Lord (Ezekiel 47), the peaceful, prosperous, happy state of families dwelling on their own land, with their own orchards and fertile soil to produce bounteous food for their consumption (Isaiah 65), and imagination-defying scenes of literal utopia with families restored, living in God’s Kingdom, under the government of Jesus Christ and the members of the family of God.

For those young people who are not converted, baptized member’s of God’s church, there is a fabulous future ahead! Now, let’s see what would happen in a typical family: Suppose a young couple had several young children, all under the age of understanding. Yet, the parents are baptized members of the church. God shows the parents will be instantaneously changed at the Second Coming of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50-52). What happens to their children?

Becoming a Member of God’s Family

At the present time, we cannot see our Heavenly Father. John wrote, however, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Job wrote, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

“Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19: 25-27).

When Christ returns to this earth, it will be a visible occurrence. He will manifest Himself to all nations (Revelation 1:7). Those who are caught up with Him in the clouds (Ephesians 4:17) to descend with Him to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4), will be visible to the startled humans on earth.

The moment of the resurrection is the same moment that living members of Christ’s body are “caught up together with Him in the clouds,” instantaneously changed from flesh to spirit!

But this does not mean they disappear. It does not mean that little children suddenly find their parents gone, without any means to find them. The coming of Christ is not a time of stress and trouble for God’s people, but the time of spiritual rebirth; the time of a new beginning; the time of the commencement of eternal, powerful, never-ending LIFE!

Christ will set up His headquarters in Jerusalem. “But it shall come to pass, that the mountain [government] of the House of the Eternal shall be established in the top of the mountains, [governments of man] and it shall be exalted above the hills [smaller nations]; and people [human beings from all nations, Jew and Gentile alike] shall flow unto it.

“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the House of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Eternal from Jerusalem.

“And He shall judge among many people [physical human beings, representing the nations of this earth, now under God’s wonderful, forgiving, kind, merciful, yet law and order rule!], and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords [tanks, aircraft, ships, etc.; the weapons of war] into plowshares [gardening and farming implements] and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:1-3).

Now, the Divine Family, who are Co-Heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), will begin to set up the entire infrastructure of rehabilitation; of rebuilding, restoration, and healing of people, as well as the environment.

And what of their children?

Some assume their children will be left behind; that the adults will be whisked away, somewhere, leaving children to fend for themselves. Nonsense! When we are born of God, born into His very family, then what shall we BE?

God’s power is limitless. His eyes behold all the earth. He can read our thoughts; knows the number of hairs on our heads. Those who are suddenly transformed into God’s Family will be infinitely more CAPABLE of caring for, protecting, feeding, clothing, loving their children than ever before!

God’s coming Kingdom is a time of restitution (Acts 3: 19-21); of the restoring of families, resettling of families, tribes and nations according to their inheritance. It is not a chaotic time of refugees, lost children, unhappiness and distress, but a time of order, of loving rebuilding of a new, wondrous, utopian society.

Can God care for our children and grandchildren? Can WE, if we are then members of the very God Family?

What Kind of Society?

Are there any comparisons to modern society we may use to understand conditions in the Kingdom of God?

Surprisingly, there are many.

God, not man, is the Author of cities. There is nothing inherently evil in a city; nothing which suggests human beings should never live in large concentrations.

Revelation 21 and 22 describe the “Holy City,” God’s dwelling place, descending out of heaven to become the “New Jerusalem.”

Only when carnal human nature, with its inbuilt vanity, jealousy, lust and greed—subject to the sway of Satan—determines what cities are like is there a problem.

Today’s cities are virtually uninhabitable. Huge urban sprawls of concrete, asphalt, buildings, billboards, electrical power poles, ugly slums, outdated, tumbledown architecture, covered with the soot and pollution of centuries in some cases; today’s cities have become festering carbuncles of pornography, divorce, kidnapping, drugs, alcoholism, rape and murder.

Most city dwellers’ ears are attuned to the constant wail of police and ambulance sirens. Most live in homes and apartments equipped with peepholes, electronic burglar alarms, double locks and dead bolts, with guns in the dresser drawer, or a can of mace near the front door.

Cities are often suffering from miles of decaying water systems, inadequate sewage treatment plants, inefficient or corrupt police forces, inadequate medical facilities, and are subject to air, water and solid pollution.

Each day, in a city the size of Los Angeles, for example, it requires literally hundreds of trucks, slowly winding their way up the “grapevine” between the San Joaquin Valley and the city, or from the Imperial Valley, to deliver thousands of tons of vegetables, canned goods, milk, and hundreds of varieties of food, or the people in the city cannot find the shelves of their supermarkets bulging with food and drink. Cities represent tens of thousands of miles of wires, cables, pipes, roadways, sewer lines, drainage ditches; the electrical energy slaves serving each house, office or apartment are expected to work.

Each family expects to push a button, flip a switch, or turn a handle, and have something happen. Millions expect to come home in the evening to find their stocks of food in their freezers and refrigerators intact—their gas and electric appliances ready for instant obedience to their touch.

When tragedy strikes, like earthquake, fire or flood, cities quickly prove their vulnerability to such natural calamities—the infrastructure breaks down, and people die.

God did not intend for people to live like ants in an ant farm—for children to grow up with deserted lots strewn with abandoned needles, cast-off beer cans and whisky bottles, broken glass and rotting garbage as their playgrounds.

God did not intend a family to live in airless tenement buildings, sagging on their foundations, with inadequate plumbing and electricity; chipped and peeling paint, filthy hallways smelling of urine and garbage, bespoiled with graffiti—buildings abandoned by absentee landlords who live in Palm Beach while thousands of their tenants complain, to no avail, of their terrible housing, and high rents.

God’s cities are described in the Bible as more a collection of many villages in a large area; each family possessing at least an acre or so; each family with a garden, fruit trees, cattle—living close to the land. This is not to say there will be no such thing as large buildings in the Kingdom. The Temple of God will be, perhaps, the largest and most impressive building in the whole world at that time.

Because all of the world’s economy will be utterly different then; not based on speculation on stock markets; bonds, money markets, (the “money changers”‘ line of work), on oil, or “futures” speculation about massive markets for cattle and wheat, but will be an agrarian society with an honest economic system, it is unlikely there will be any huge “skyscrapers” in which people labor for hours before computers, carried up and down in tiny metal boxes suspended from greasy cables in black, lightless shafts, to debauch onto streets filled with swarms of jaded, unhealthy, unhappy people shouldering through each other to fight for taxis when it rains during rush hour.

Let’s see a few samples of what God reveals about His society during the Millennium: “Behold, the days come, saith the Eternal, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hill shall melt [metaphor for produce foods like fruits and vegetables abundantly].

“And I will bring again [bring back from] the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities…” (Amos 9:13,14).

Modern Germany is a gleaming, prosperous-looking land of striking new architecture, highrise buildings, apartments, homes. A visitor to Dusseldorf, Cologne, or Bonn is struck with the affluence, the progressiveness, the modernity.

Yet, those same cities were hideously ugly piles of blasted brick and stone in 1945. But the Germans industriously rebuilt. They did not attempt to build the same old buildings as they were before. Instead, they built entirely new, modern buildings.

For whom will these cities be rebuilt? Not for God, nor for newly-born members of His Divine Family. God does not require a “house” in which to live. He says, “Thus saith the Eternal, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Eternal: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor [spiritually humble, not necessarily physically poverty-stricken] and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isaiah 66:1,2).

God does not require fruits and vegetables, wine, or grains. God does not require buildings and houses. Nor will those co-heirs with Christ who are born of God by the resurrection, or by instantaneous change (1 Corinthians 15:50-52).

So who, then, is involved in all this rebuilding; in reaping the physical rewards of the beginning of the Millennium?

Why, physical, human beings, of course. That includes the children of those mature adults who are changed from flesh to spirit!

God says “…and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine [Hebrew: yayin, meaning fermented wine] thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

“And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled out of their land which I have given them, saith the Eternal thy God” (Amos 9:11-15).

One of the most beautiful passages of Scripture about conditions on earth during the Millennium is found in Isaiah 11: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

“And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp [a poisonous snake, which will no longer be harmful], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ [adder’s] den.

“They shall not hurt nor destroy [neither snakes, lions, nor any other carnivore, nor poisonous insect or animal—nor man] in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Eternal, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9).

Today, if a child were to put its hand on an adder’s den, he would probably be bitten, and die a horrible death. The parents would be devastated, heartbroken.

But human, fleshly, children will live under God’s government during the Millennium—live in complete protection; free from malnutrition, disease, accident, injury or death; free from the threat of kidnappers, or Satanists, or perverts!

Notice, “Thus saith the Eternal; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the Mountain of the House of the Eternal of Hosts the Holy Mountain.

“Thus saith the Eternal of hosts; there shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

“And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof” (Zechariah 8:3-6).

This suggest safe streets; wide and spacious, with planting, grasses, shrubs, flowers and trees. It does not depict racing, honking, careening, dangerous traffic jams, or hit and run drivers, or screaming sirens of police cars and ambulances—but, sererenity, quiet, peace.

Most importantly, it shows that those young people who are not old enough to be born of God at the time of the Second Coming of Christ, and all of physical Israel and the gentile nations who survive the Tribulation and Day of the Lord, will live on into a new world order, the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on this earth, a time of PEACE at last!

Never a Better Time to be Alive

God says, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the firstresurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

God reveals there is a special blessing upon those who have been called in this age—those who will be physically alive at the time of the return of Christ. For one thing, they will never have to taste death—but will be changed instantly, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

But of great importance, they will be able to see their children, and their grandchildren, and their great, great, great grandchildren growing up! They will live and reign with Christ for one thousand years! A thousand years means up to forty generations of their own families will be growing up in God’s Kingdom!

All of us who are grandparents know what a JOY, what a BLESSING, are our sweet, precious grandchildren! We love our own children, of course. But, somehow, when we were in our 20s and 30s, God had not yet allowed us to mature and “mellow” into middle and later ages yet, so perhaps the depth of appreciation and enjoyment was not so poignant.

But what if you could remain alive, on the scene, able to teach, guide, instruct, impart rich memories and wisdom; and to interfere to prevent accidents, to protect, your great, great, great, great, great grandchildren?

I have three sons; two of them are deaf. Our son Mark underwent a painful, heartbreaking divorce. Yet, he has a beautiful, precious son, our grandson Michael Armstrong. Hopefully, he will grow to middle age in the time of God’s government on earth, and live to see his own son’s sons. Both of our other sons are married. Some day, God willing, they will have sons. My wife and I eagerly look forward to the time when they will HEAR the voices of their wives, of their father and mother, of their fathers and mothers-in-law; and of their own children. We look forward to seeing hundreds, and eventually thousands of human beings who could never have been unless we had something to do with it—the “tribe of Mark,” and the “tribe of David,” and the “tribe of Matthew.”

Time closing in? NONSENSE!

This is the GREATEST TIME TO BE ALIVE IN ALL HISTORY—the time just before the dawn of God’s wondrous KINGDOM!

We should actively instill in our little children the beautiful picture of the FUTURE, not the future of this world, but the future of God’s soon-coming Kingdom! Children in the Kingdom? Of course! Hopefully, thousands of them may be YOURS!

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