The Kingdom of God is at Hand, Part 2

We're ready to begin the second session, and we begin by thinking of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24, verse 22. And he said, And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved alive. Unless God intervenes and stops mankind from destroying himself, no one would be saved alive. That's very serious news. But he said, in an encouraging way, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. So what is fulfilled? What does it mean the time is fulfilled? Well, here are the questions that we'll be asking during the second session of our seminar this afternoon. What's ahead for America and all nations now that the times are fulfilled? We'll be asking the question, why can't man solve his problems? We'll be asking the question, how will Jesus Christ intervene in the affairs of mankind? What's ahead when Christ rules the world? What will that rulership in that world be like? And how can you be involved now that the kingdom of God is at hand and the time is fulfilled? So what is being fulfilled? Well, God has a plan, and that plan is like puzzle pieces. And the puzzle pieces, as God always intended, are slowly coming together and being revealed and being fulfilled at this time. What's being fulfilled, what's coming to an end, is man's way of doing things. Again, getting back to the comments I made in the first session, symbolically represented by Adam and Eve, who were very literal people, symbolically it reflected all of us, all of our lives going astray, all of us wanting to do our thing, wanting to do things our way and be independent of God. And for thousands of years, mankind has acted independently of God's will, and we have done things our way. And we can see the results that have occurred in our world, as we mentioned some statistics before.

What is being fulfilled at this time is for ushering in the return of Christ.

So the time of man is coming to an end, and Jesus Christ is coming to this earth very soon. The time is fulfilled for the kingdom of God to bring peace to this war-plagued world that we live in today. But what about the United States? Where does our beloved nation fit in to the understanding of the return of Jesus Christ in what we would call end-time prophecy? Oftentimes, if you go to the Old Testament prophets, you'll see a reference to Israel at the end time.

What is it talking about there when it speaks of Israel at the end time? Well, the United States was a unique nation, founded unlike any other that has ever existed in this world. The Founding Fathers established America as a God-fearing nation. Our own Declaration of Independence mentioned God's divine providence. God as the reason himself that this nation was ever founded or existed.

Our Founding Fathers referred to the United States in terms of New Israel was a phrase that they used. The New Promised Land, a city on a hill. Abraham Lincoln said that the United States was man's last, best hope to solve his problems and govern himself in a righteous way. The Founding of the United States itself was a miracle of divine providence from God. America's system of law was based on biblical values. When I was a young boy, the Ten Commandments were in the schools. When I was a young boy, we began our classes by a prayer.

You see, the United States was founded originally on biblical values. It was founded on a system of government that acknowledged the supremacy of the Creator above this nation and above every human being in it. And unfortunately, we have lost our way. The United States was a bastion of freedom and opportunity for the entire world. To this day, we allow more legal immigrants into the United States than any other nation on earth.

Over one million people a year immigrate here legally into the United States. Why? Because we have been the bastion of freedom. We have been what other nations desired to be. And why? Because we're superior, because we're smarter than everyone else. Oh my no, we're a hodgepodge of people. What does that famous poem on the Statue of Liberty give me? You're tired, you're poor, you're wretched, refuse, yearning to be free. We're a nation of immigrants. We're not here because we had money or because we were smarter. We came here because we were the wretched, refuse of the world who migrated to a nation because it offered liberty and new opportunities.

And that is what the United States represented to the world for so many years. But the blessings that we had weren't, again, because we were smarter or we're a better people than those who live in other parts of the world. We actually were blessed as a nation because of something that happened millennia ago. It was the obedience of a man named Abraham. And because of his obedience, God said to him, Genesis 12 and verse 2, and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you.

Abraham had two sons, Ishmael, who became the father of the Islamic peoples, and Isaac, who was the father of Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons. They became known as the 12 tribes of Israel. Two of those sons, known as Ephraim and Manasseh, became very significant in biblical prophecy. And the third son, or a third son of the 12, was known as Judah. Eventually, after Israel went into captivity, the descendants of the tribe of Ephraim migrated to Britain and became the progenitors of the British nation and people. And Manasseh became part of the United States, all receiving the benefits of that original blessing from Genesis 12 that God gave to Abraham.

And, of course, Judah today is the modern nation of Israel, which is composed of Jews. It's called the nation of Israel, but it's primarily composed of those who are the descendants of the tribe of Judah. And through the tribe of Judah came Jesus Christ, himself, the Savior of mankind. So, the United States, the Western world, has been blessed because of Abraham's obedience and a promise that God gave in Genesis 12 and verse 2.

But you know something, my friends? Along with national blessings, which have been a gift from God, he expects obedience to his laws and respect for his omnipotence. God is all-knowing and he's all-powerful and he directs the affairs of nations. And without earning it, this nation receives tremendous blessings. So, what do we find as a result of that? We find a nation that is becoming secularized and has rejected its God. We find politicians and judges and others who want to take the Ten Commandments not just out of schools and not just prayer out of schools, but want to wipe away any statement or reflection of God in any part of our government.

The other night the president was speaking before the House of Representatives and the Senate and if I recall correctly, I looked up above where he was speaking and it said in the House floor, in God we trust. And I asked myself, I wonder how much longer that statement will be in the House of Representatives. We are a nation that has rejected its God, rejected his values and his way of life. And there's a price that you pay when you reject the values and the laws of God. We are a tremendously blessed nation.

Jesus said, from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded and from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected. God blessed us so that we could be the bastion for the world, so that we could be a light of religious tolerance, that we could be a light to the world of a nation that respected the omnipotence of the Creator God and said, yes, he is the reason that this nation exists.

Yes, we acknowledge him as our sovereign, as the one who governs the affairs of men, including the affairs of the United States. But, my friends, as it says in Leviticus 26, verse 18, God told ancient Israel, if you do not obey me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

I will break the pride of your power. And that is occurring in the United States today. We once were a nation that was an economic guide and light to the world. Look at our economic nation today with unemployment close to 9%, with so many hundreds of thousands of jobs that are gone forever, that have been moved to other parts of the world. Look at our educational system. Look at the problems that we have in government and the gridlock that occurs between our political leaders today. We are a nation that has rejected our God and He has rejected us. And we're beginning to pay the price for putting God out of our nation and out of our families and out of our society.

Jeremiah said in Jeremiah chapter 30, verse 7, The last for that day is great, so that none is like it, and it is the time of Jacob's trouble. And the United States is the descendant of Jacob, as is the Western world, and there is coming a time upon our nations in which we will pay a terrible price for rejecting our God. Why do such troubles exist today? Why does mankind find himself struggling to govern himself, to feed people adequately throughout the world, and to provide the basic needs of so many billions of human beings on our planet?

Isaiah was inspired to write in chapter 59, verse 7, Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, and that's what we find throughout our world today. Unfortunately, even throughout our governments. When you look at the so-called government leaders like in Libya, and some of these nations in which these dictators have manipulated and controlled and abused their peoples for decades, so that they could acquire all the wealth, so that they could acquire all the power, so they could give good gifts to their families and their own clans and their own tribes, while other people within their nation starve and suffer.

The way of peace they have not known, and there's no justice in their ways, they have made themselves crooked paths. Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. And for thousands of years, our world has not known peace. There has always been a war going on somewhere in the world at any given time that is constantly causing the deaths, the suffering of many, many innocent people. Ephesians 2 and verse 2, something that Paul reminds his disciples of. What were our lives like, those who were disciples of Jesus Christ, before our minds were opened, before we were called?

Paul wanted to remind the disciples of Jesus what life was like before they understood their calling. He says, you once walked following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. My friend, Satan is the great deceiver, and he encourages, he agitates humankind towards sin and hatred.

He is the prince of the power of the air, like a radio wave or a satellite dish. He emanates throughout mankind and into our minds attitudes of selfishness and greed and hatred. And that leads to war, that leads to conflict, it leads to broken families, broken communities, dysfunctional nations. It leads to war. It leads to all the tragedies that we see in our world today. That spirit, that wave emanating from the prince of the power of the air.

Matthew 24, verse 29. Matthew helps us to understand that there is only one solution that we, as humankind, cannot solve our problems. We cannot bring in our own way, utopia to this world. We cannot bring happiness and mankind. We cannot heal families. We can barely govern our own thoughts and minds, let alone heal mankind. But Matthew said in chapter 24, verse 29, soon after the trouble of those days, the time of Jacob's trouble, the time when the entire world will go through some very tragic events, again known as the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their course.

There are very dramatic heavenly signs that we will see that will occur shortly before the return of Jesus Christ. But God offers an encouraging solution. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming.

They're not expecting the return of Jesus Christ. They will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So once again, the kingdom of God isn't something in our hearts. It's not something in the church. It is something that is coming to this earth. For 31, the great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

So those people will be gathered and brought together in one location. And again, I want you to notice that it is at a trumpet sound that this occurs. We'll see that reoccurring statement a number of times. So Jesus literally returns to earth at the sound of the seventh prophetic trumpet that you would find in Revelation 11 and verse 5. The chosen people, or his elect as they're called in the new King James Version, are gathered to him from around the world by those angels, and he returns with power and great glory to conquer the defiant nations of this earth who resist the government of God, who want to continue to control and manipulate the human race.

But Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, he said, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. In other words, we shall not all be dead, unconscious. Again, he's speaking to believers. But we shall be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

So Paul is saying here that to inherit the kingdom of God, we have to be changed from the physical beings that we are into spirit. And he's saying that those who died in the faith, who are in their graves, will be resurrected to a new life and will be spirit, and those who are still alive at that time will also be changed. And that trumpet blast is pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, mentioned in Leviticus chapter 23, verses 23 through 25, that we will be observing in just a few weeks. So one must be changed into spirit to inherit the kingdom of God. The resurrection of the faithful dead and those faithful still living takes place at the sound of a seventh trumpet blast, spoken again in Revelation chapter 11.

The sleep that it was referring to is talking about those who are physically dead. At the resurrection, God awakens a person to live again, and that's why the analogy of sleep was used, referring to the faithful disciples for the last 2,000 years who died in the faith and are awaiting a resurrection. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 16, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

So the dead in Christ are those who are in their graves and they'll be resurrected first, and they will come out of their graves and begin to rise to meet the returning Christ in the air. Again, I want to emphasize that trumpet sound reflected in one of God's very important holy days known as the Feast of Trumpets. The faithful dead are followed by the faithful living believers who are still alive at that time, and they rise to join the returning Christ in the air, and from that moment they will always be with the Lord. But where will that be?

Will they join Christ in the air and say to the earth, Bye-bye, and all go off to heaven and leave the earth to its own devices, allow the earth to destroy itself, allow all mankind to be obliterated? Well, that's not what God has in His plan. Zechariah 14, verse 1, He says, Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, for I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem.

Satan will inspire the armies of this earth to fight against the coming Christ. He does not want to give up his control of this world. Satan is the prince of the power of the air, and he does not want to give up control of mankind. And he will agitate and inspire the nations of this world to bring their armies against the coming Christ.

Verse 3, Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle, and what will occur in verse 4, will he and those resurrected saints who join him be off in heaven somewhere? No, it says, And in that day his feet will stand on the mount of Olives. Jesus said, Thy kingdom come, because the kingdom of God has always been intended to come right back to earth, to restore the paradise all over the world that was lost at the Garden of Eden.

So Christ and the resurrected saints don't stay in the air. Jesus and the saints come down after they join together to the mount of Olives. And the King of Kings wages a great battle against the nations who oppose his kingdom, and their armies are utterly destroyed. Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15. Very beautiful scripture. Songs have been written about this scripture, and the seventh angel sounded, and the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever right here on the earth, where the kingdom of God was always intended to be.

Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and he makes war. This is speaking of Jesus Christ riding that white horse. And verse 14. And the armies in heaven followed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. That army is composed of heavenly hosts and perhaps even the saints who have joined him after meeting him in the air.

Chapter 19 verse 15. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that he should strike the nations. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Now, I must add right here that understanding these scriptures, we have to realize the context that God is returning to earth to obliterate all rebellion against him. We do not worship a God who typically strikes out, who typically washes things in winepresses.

This is an important event in human history in which he must obliterate all rebellion against his rule. But we worship a God who of his nature is a compassionate and a loving and a forgiving God with great grace towards those who repent of their sins and who yield to him. Revelation chapter 19 verse 16.

And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. So this is none other than Jesus Christ himself. So Christ is victorious over mankind's forces of evil. He disciplines any remaining human powers who oppose his rule, who oppose his kingdom, who oppose his law. And this is a Jesus Christ who actively rules and brings peace to humanity.

He's not up just on some throne somewhere, unapproachable. He doesn't isolate himself. He actively rules to bring peace to humanity. And the resurrected saints who are now spirit serve as leaders and teachers in this new world under Jesus Christ. One other thing happens that is so important in establishing the kingdom of God, and that is that Satan himself is bound. Revelation chapter 20 verse 1. What does that angel do? Verse 2.

We're finished. So we see here, my friends, that Satan is imprisoned where he can no longer influence or deceive humankind for a thousand years. He no longer can allow his sinful, hateful, spiteful, agitating spirit to have impact upon the humans of the earth because he is bound. He is imprisoned. I want you to imagine the cultural changes that will take place on an earth that no longer has a sinful spirit agitating human beings to hate and to war. That no longer encourages them to be greedy and selfish and abusive and violent. What a world this will be. Tremendous changes will occur. The millennial rule of Jesus Christ, Revelation chapter 20 and verse 4. It says, So this is another scripture talking about those saints at the return of Jesus Christ who had either died in the faith, who now come to life and reign with Christ throughout the entire thousand years. It says, Talking about, of course, verse 4, and that is, Others are not resurrected until the thousand years are completed. Verse 6, So the first resurrection are for those who joined Jesus at his return. They are the saints who served with Christ during the thousand year period that we typically call the millennium. And the rest of the dead are not resurrected until the thousand years are completed. The millennium is over. This includes billions of people who have never known God's truth. They'll be resurrected again to a physical life and given an opportunity to either choose or reject God's sovereignty in their lives. In the history of mankind, literally billions of people have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ in their entire lifetimes. In areas of China and Africa, there are people who lived from birth to they died in the ages 60, 70, 80, and never once even heard the name of Jesus Christ in their lifetimes. Are they lost forever? Are they burning in some ever-burning hell because they didn't accept Jesus Christ as their Savior? No, my friends, God has a plan for everyone who has ever lived.

And there are many millions of people in this category, billions of people actually, who never even heard the name of Christ. And then there are many billions of others who were just simply blinded and never called in this age to understand who and what God is and to allow him to have sovereignty in their lives. And they will have the opportunity to be resurrected to physical life to either choose or reject God's sovereignty in their lives.

So there's coming a time of world peace. But you know, we can have peace right now. We can have inner peace in our own little world, in our hearts, in our minds right now. Paul was inspired to write to the congregation at Ephesus, He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.

The disciples of Jesus Christ today accept that and know that and believe that. Verse 8, we have showered His kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding, so that when we become a disciple of Jesus Christ, we become a follower of His. We accept His calling. He opens our hearts and minds, and along with His kindness, we gain in spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding, as we're being prepared to serve with Him in that world tomorrow.

Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 9, For God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure. And it's called a mysterious plan because most people who live today, it's a mystery. They just don't understand who or what God is. They don't understand why they were born or what the purpose is for their lives. Verse 10, and this is the plan. At the right time, He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and everything on earth. You see, this hasn't been the case, brethren. This world has been astray. This world, since Adam and Eve, have not been together under the authority of Christ. It's been a world that's been ruled by a fallen angel known as Satan the Devil, who is the King, the Prince of this present age, who agitates and controls mankind. They are in slavery to sin and in slavery to Him. But God's plan is to bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and everything on earth. So God is calling saints now. He's offering forgiveness and grace through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The saints are receiving wisdom and understanding about God's plan for mankind. They're now preparing to serve with Jesus Christ in His kingdom. The saints of Jesus Christ work hard, continually, to overcome the works of the flesh that's inside of them that oftentimes is still encouraged by that agitating spirit of Satan. And they try to overcome the works of the flesh and they try to develop something Paul called in the book of Galatians, the fruits of the Holy Spirit. All because they know that their goal is to serve mankind in the world tomorrow under Jesus Christ. To be teachers and mentors and guides. To be kings and priests over cities and over various areas of the world. God has a plan and as plan as this He'll bring everything, everything, under His rule, including the earth. When earth is ruled and served by Christ, man will finally be at peace with his God and man will finally stop warring against himself. The wonderful world tomorrow brings happiness, fulfillment, abundant resources to everyone. It's going to eliminate poverty because everyone will have access to food and housing and education. People will no longer be violent. People will no longer strive to manipulate and take advantage of other people. All disease and sickness will be healed.

All violence will end. All pain will be abolished in this world. And everyone will be able to reach their God-given potential without living in a world that has bigotry or bias or class distinctions. In the sight of God, everyone will be blessed and have the opportunity to develop the skills and talents that they have without running into constant barriers and bigotry as exists in our world today.

Isaiah 11, verse 6, the nature of animals even will be changed. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together. The leopard will lie down with a baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion. And a little child will lead them. So even the nature of a wolf and a lion will not be predatory to want to destroy and devour other animals. The wolf and the lion and the calf will all play lovingly with a small child in peace and in safety and in harmony. Verse 9, they will 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.

God's knowledge will be so abundant it will be like all the waters that exist. It will be everywhere flowing throughout the world. Verse 11, Isaiah 11, verse 10, at that time the new king, speaking of Jesus Christ, from the family of Jesse, of which Jesus was a descendant of, will stand as a banner for all peoples. The nations will come together around him.

And the place where he lives will be filled with glory. So the nations will say, hey, we're tired of living in pain. We're tired of a lifetime of suffering and deprivation. Let's go to Jerusalem. Let's go and ask this new king if there is a better way for us to live, if there's a better way for our peoples to live.

Ezekiel 11, verse 19, Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take out the stony heart of their flesh. What is the stony heart that man has now? It's a heart that says, it's all about meaning. I'm selfish. I'm greedy. I want my own way, and I want it now. God says, I'm going to take that stony heart out of them, and I'm going to give them a heart of flesh, a heart that has compassion, a heart that has tenderness, a heart that is loving, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments, and do them, and they shall be my people.

And I will be their God. So God is even going to offer a new spirit, what we know of as his Holy Spirit, to the people who are alive at that time. The nature of animals and human beings will be changed, and they will be peaceful. They will have an attitude of cooperation instead of rebellion. They will want to yield to God and learn. They'll have a thirst, like someone in a desert, a thirst to learn the ways of God.

And the knowledge of the Lord will eventually cover the entire earth, and this will take some time. That's why it's a thousand years. It will begin when Jesus' feet touch the Mount of Olives and established in Jerusalem, and in time the Kingdom of God and the teachings of that Kingdom, and the benefits and blessings of that Kingdom, will encircle the entire globe.

People will have a positive, healthy nature, instead of what we know of as human nature, that is primarily selfish and carnal. And it says that the nations will gather around the teachings of Christ. They will want to know more about this God that brings so many good things to the world.

Isaiah 2 and 3, many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us of His ways, and that we may walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. What a contrast to our world today. People don't want to know about God. People just want to be independent, and they want to do their own thing.

And they simply want to rebel against the law of God and do what they want to do. So even the nature of human beings will be changed at that time. Isaiah 2 and 4, we read this scripture earlier, He shall judge between the nations, He shall decide disputes for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords in the plowshares and their spears in the pruning hooks.

Something that was used to destroy will now be something used to build. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Perhaps you've seen that famous statue in front of the United Nations, known as the Swords in the Plowshare Sculpture. It was donated by the Soviet Union in 1959. And the meaning of that sculpture will soon be fulfilled, inspired by the words of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 2 and verse 4. Now what can you do to prepare? Well, John tells us in the book of John, one of the disciples of Jesus, chapter 14 and verse 27, He said, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives it do I give to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

So if you're saying to yourself, I know that this time of Jacob's trouble is coming ahead, I know that this great tribulation, and I know that the day of the Lord is ahead, and there are going to be very terrible times. But John is saying, through Christ, these are the words of Christ here, and of course, chapter 14, John is saying, repeating what Jesus taught him, that you can have peace, inner peace.

You can have a calmness knowing that you are God's chosen, that you are His disciple, that you will be protected from the terrible things that lie ahead. He says, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. If we repent, if we believe the gospel, we can have inner peace now. Even, although the whole world around us is falling apart, and everything is going awry, we can have inner peace now in our own lives. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 13, it says, God has freed us from the power of darkness, and He brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son.

The Son paid for our sins, and in Him we have forgiveness. If we choose to let Him, and the choice is ours, if God is calling us, if God is opening our minds to understand that we are being called to be His disciples, to be part of that group of people who is preaching the gospel to the world, who are growing in wisdom and understanding and preparing to serve in that new world along with Jesus Christ for all eternity. If we understand that, it says the Son has paid for our sins, and in Him we have forgiveness.

We can have a personal, intimate relationship with God right now. We don't need to wait until the new world comes. We don't need to wait for the kingdom of God. We, as an individual, can have that kind of relationship with our Father and with Jesus Christ right now.

Jesus Christ will lead and direct our lives as our Lord, as our Savior, and as our King today. We all need the kingdom of God now. As Mark said, Mark 1, verse 14, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel to Him who has ears. Let Him hear my message today.