Kingdom of God, Part 2

Well, it's amazing how fast ten minutes go. As we finished the first seminar, we were talking about the terrible state that the world is in. And we realize that part of the predicament that we see in the world today comes because of our own making. When I say our own making, much of our own ways actually brings it on. But also, there is a devil out there, and we realize that he's the one who's been involved in trying to destroy mankind and getting man to destroy himself. As prophecies of the Bible begin to come to the forefront, and I believe that in the next few years you're going to see more and more of these being fulfilled and they become focal in our minds, we realize that there's going to come a time when this present evil world is going, its time is up, and the kingdom of God needs to be set up. Again, the Bible refers to in Galatians 1, verse 4, that the age, the time that we live in, is this present evil world. And so there's coming a time when God's kingdom is going to be set up. Let's notice in Matthew 24, verse 22 again, Matthew chapter 24, verse 22, that we're told that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved alive. So that the time of the end, end of the age, the time at the end of this world today, we find that man will come to the point where all life could be destroyed. Mark 1, verse 15, we read that earlier also, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Man is not capable of solving his own problems. We need help.

I ask you to name for me any government that's ever ruled on this earth, that's ever solved man's problems. Put an end to war, put an end to sickness, put an end to failing marriages, divorces, anything that you can think of. It just hasn't happened. But there is coming a government that will be able to do that. There are a number of lingering questions that we need to address at this time. Let's look at those. What's ahead for America? What's ahead for our country, the nation that we love, our beloved country, and all nations on earth? What does the Bible have to say? What do the prophecies have to say are going to happen? Why can not man solve his own problems? We have all of these problems. Best minds, educators, religious people, politicians, different ones are trying to solve man's problems. And it seems like we're no closer to solving those problems than we were thousands of years ago. How will Jesus Christ intervene to solve man's problems? What's ahead when Christ rules the earth? When Jesus Christ comes back down to this earth, what will his government look like? And how can you and I be involved? Well, those are some of the questions that we want to address here today.

We read Mark 1.15, where it said, the time is fulfilled.

So there is a time that is coming up that is going to be fulfilled. So, now, fulfilled in what way? Well, it's going to be fulfilled in the end of man's way of doing things.

We find that the kingdom of God is going to be set up, and the man's way of ruling, governing, directing society, the politics of this world, the competitive nature of man, the religions, all of the vast, confusing religions of this world. Man's way of doing things is going to end. It's going to usher in the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. So the time is fulfilled when that is about to take place. It's going to be a new and a wonderful age. It's going to be a time when all of man's problems are going to be solved, not by just snapping your fingers or waving a wand, but God will show the principles, the way of life, what has to be done, the way to live, to produce the right benefits.

It's going to be an age that you and I can all be personally involved in here in the future.

And it's going to be a time that is fulfilled when the kingdom of God will be set up, and God will bring peace to the earth. So the segment we're going to cover here today, this last segment, shows why the world needs God's kingdom now and why you and I need it, why we need it in our lives.

Let's take a look at, first of all, the United States. What's ahead for America and all of the nations of the world, especially the nations of Israel?

Much of the prophecies of the Bible actually revolve around our age today. You may not realize it, but one-third of the Bible is prophecy. And out of that one-third, something like 80 to 90 percent pertains to the end time, until the days that we are living in are just ahead of us. The Bible has a lot to say about the end time. When the United States was first founded, the founding colonists viewed America quite differently than we do today. We find today that religion is being played down, that many who do not even believe in God have taken prominent positions.

But you find that the early colonists used biblical terms to describe the nation. We were the new Israel. We were the new promised land. We were a city set on a hill. America's system of law was based upon the Bible and biblical values. Almost all of the founding fathers had strong religious convictions. And so America's system of law is based on the Bible. And throughout the early times of this country, you will find the Ten Commandments. The name of God, many times, were chiseled onto the walls of courthouses, public buildings.

And today, they're trying to do away with that. The United States, over the last century especially, has been one of the main national powers that have held back the forces of evil ruling the world, such as Nazism, Marxism, communism. And you also discover that the U.S. is a bastion of freedom, an opportunity for the entire world.

How many people over the centuries have wanted to come to America? You know, the song is a very catchy tune. Coming to America. People want to come. They realize that there's a land of opportunity. It's like Abraham Lincoln said that America is man's last hope. America's last hope. Even with all of its faults, all of its mistakes, he realized that. America may be man's best hope, but it's not God's best hope. The best that America or the nations of Israel, the descendants of Israel, could do are compared to nothing but the dust on the balances when it comes to God, to Jesus Christ's rule in the kingdom of God that will be set up on the earth.

But why do you find that the United States of America, the British Empire, why have we come to the prominence, the greatness that we have at this particular time in history? Why have we reached the zenith of power? Well, when you look at it, we have a booklet, if you don't have it, that you can pick up out here on the table, called the United States in Britain in Prophecy. You'll find the Bible contains basically the history of one man, the family of one man, and that's the history of Abraham.

In Genesis 12, verse 2, God told Abraham, that I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. God gave a blessing to Abraham, and that blessing was divided into two parts. That through his descendant, which was Jesus Christ, that all nations would be blessed.

But then he said that the physical descendants of Israel would rise to prominence, especially in the end time. Abraham had two sons. One was called Ishmael, the other was Isaac. Ishmael is the father of the Arabs today. Isaac was the father of Esau and Jacob. Jacob's name was changed to Israel, and Israel became the father of 12 tribes of Israel.

Judah was one of those tribes, and from Judah came the Israelis today, the Jews. Also, the scepter promise, the promise of the Messiah, was passed on through Judah, and that applies to Jesus Christ. When you stop and you realize that many of the royal families in Europe today are actually descendants of the line of David, and so was Jesus Christ. Now, Joseph had two sons. One was Ephraim, and from Ephraim comes the British people, and from Manasseh comes the United States. You find that when Jacob was dying, that he passed on a blessing to Ephraim and Manasseh, and he said that Ephraim would become a great nation, as the Bible says they would be a company of nations, and Manasseh would become one great nation.

We have lived to see that with the rise of the British Empire and the rise of the United States here at the end time. But God also shows that if our nation did not obey him, that there would be certain calamities would be fallen. In Genesis 12 and verse 2, again, God said, I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. That was a promise that God gave, but Leviticus 26 and verses 18 and 19, God also gave this warning.

Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, are what are called the blessing and cursing chapters. You obey me, I'll bless you, you disobey me. These are the curses that will overtake you. Notice what God said, if you do not obey me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power. So God says there's going to come a time if we do not repent of our sins that God will break the pride of our power.

Our power will be broken. In Jeremiah 30 and verse 7, likewise, it says, Alas, for that day is great, so that there is none like it, it is the time of Jacob's trouble. So I want you to notice this is the third time we've read that there's coming a time of trouble without parallel. None like it. We read that back in Daniel chapter 12. We also read it in Matthew 24 in those three places. Here it's described as the time of Jacob's trouble, showing that it's going to descend upon the nations of Jacob or the nations of Israel. So God has given to our nations, our people, many blessings. But there are going to be also many curses if we do not obey God.

Now, why can't man solve his own problems? Why can't we bring peace to the world? Why can't we have world peace? Notice Isaiah 59. Why we have troubles today in the world. Isaiah 59 verse 7. To begin with, God says, their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Describing the peoples of Israel in verse 8, The way of peace they have not known. Man does not know the way to peace. There is a way to peace, but man is chosen to go the opposite way. He says, there is no justice in their ways. They have made themselves crooked paths. Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. So, God shows that man does not know the way to peace. It's not within us. We cannot concoct it. We cannot buy brilliant intellect to come up with it. We cannot have conferences and bring about peace. It's going to take God to bring it about. Another source of problem is back here in Ephesians chapter 2. Verse 2, Notice, talking about the society today, says, You once walked, that means lived, according, or following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, that's Satan the devil, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Satan is an unseen influence. He's a powerful influence. As Revelation 12, 9 again states that he has deceived the whole world. He's deceived the political politics of this world, the governments of this world, religions of this world, philosophies, education. Every aspect of this world has been misled, has been misdirected by Satan the devil. So why do we have troubles today? Well, because of man's disobedience. Man is not law abiding. Romans 8, 7 says the carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to his law, neither indeed can be. And there is a devil. People like to laugh off the fact that there's a devil. They talk about him running around in a red suit and a little pitchfork. So they make him look like a clown, but he is an extremely powerful spirit being. And he broadcasts his spirit and attitude to this world. Now, God does have a solution on how to solve man's problems. Let's take a look at that. Beginning in Matthew 24 and verse 29, the Olivet prophecy again, Matthew 24 and verse 29 says, Soon after the trouble of those days, the trouble that if God doesn't cut it short, all life is destroyed. Soon after that trouble of those days, 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 courses. Supernatural signs will occur on the earth. So what will be the solution? Well, God's kingdom is going to be the solution to all those problems. Verse 30, chapter 24 says, Then the signs 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Have you always been told that when Christ comes back, there'll be dancing in the streets, people will be happy? The Bible says, when Christ comes back, people will weep. The nations will fight him. He will have to put down the warring nations and establish his government on this earth. Now, when does all of this take place? Verse 31 says, it's going to take place at a certain time. 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.

Christ will come back. He will circle the earth. His true servants, the elect, will be gathered. Jesus Christ will set up his government on this earth.

You find that the solutions to the problems that we see in the world today is Christ coming back and setting up his government.

In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 50, we find another scripture. It is very interesting. It talks about this time. Remember we read the scripture that you got to enter into the kingdom of God? That it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God because of all the distractions that he might have? Well, 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 50 tells us, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. So, as long as you and I are flesh and blood, we cannot be in God's kingdom. Nor does corruption inherit incorruption. But verse 51 says, Behold, I tell you a mystery. Word mystery in the Greek means something that is hidden, a hidden truth. So here is something that has been hidden from mankind that they have not understood, and that Paul in writing here is about to reveal to the church. I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. That means we won't all be dead. But we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. Now, we read over in Matthew 24, previous to this, that there was going to come a time when there would be a trumpet blown. Well, in a moment, the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. In the book of Revelation, there are seven trumpets that are blown. And at the time when that last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, sounds.

The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

So one must be changed to a spirit being to inherit the kingdom of God. You can't do it while you're flesh and blood. Let necessitates a change. Or a resurrection of the dead. There are going to be converted people alive. When Christ comes back, they will be changed, made immortal. There will be those who have died over the centuries. They will be resurrected, and they will be changed likewise. Be given eternal life. They will be given a spirit body. The word sleep in the Bible is a reference to physical death. The resurrected saints, when a person dies, his memory ceases, he goes to the grave, he awaits the resurrection, and then a person will live again and come back to life. Notice also over here in Zechariah chapter 14. Zechariah picks up here in verse 1 with what we were reading here. It says, Behold, the day of the Lord is coming. The word day of the Lord is an expression used 30 times in the Bible. It talks about the time at the end time when God begins to intervene to punish the nations. Verse 2 says, I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem, and then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations. So when Christ comes back, he's not welcomed with open arms. He's got to go out and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of battle. And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. Remember when Christ ascended to heaven, he ascended up. And what did the angels tell his disciples? That he shall come in light manner. That he was going to return to the earth, and he would stand on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah chapter 14 in verse 3, pictures that Christ coming back. And notice verse 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth, and in that day is shall be. The Lord is one, and his name one. So there's coming a time when there will be no other God worshiped. There will be no other religions tolerated. Christ will come back. He will be king. So he will take over the governments of the world. He will also take over the religions of the world. And he will set up his realm his way. See, when Christ comes back to collect the saints and gather them, as Matthew 24 says, he doesn't stay up in the air. He doesn't go back to heaven. He comes down to the earth. This is where the problems are. This is where solutions are needed. He comes down to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and he will fight a great final battle for control of the world. Revelation 11 and verse 15 shows us when the seventh angel sounds. That final trumpet. Notice Revelation 11 and 15. The seventh angel sounded, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. So very clearly, the kingdoms of this world are conquered.

Christ then establishes his kingdom. And once that kingdom is set up, it never ends. It never ceases. It's never overthrown. He will reign forever. And he will proclaim victory here over the evils and the nations of this world. So no end to his kingdom once it is established. In Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11, we see further how Christ will bring a solution to man's problems. What he will have to do initially. He won't have to fight for a thousand years. This is only initially when he returns to the earth. Verse 11, Revelation 19 and 11. I saw heaven open, and behold white horse. He who set on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. And then verse 14, the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. So the armies in heaven follow Christ, and he will judge the nations. He will make war against the nations. See, when Christ came the first time, he came as our Savior, he came to die for our sins. Now, when he comes back the second time, he's not going to come back to die again. He's died once. He's going to come back as a ruler, as a king, as our high priest to rule over this earth. And so, he will set straight the problems that man has. In verse 15, Revelation 19, we find that out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. So again, he puts down the warfares and the armies of this world, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. So he will have the power to rule.

He shall tread the winepress, the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. In verse 16, he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Now, many of you have heard the musical, the Messiah. Remember the the reframed King of kings and Lord of lords? It's taken from here. Christ comes back. He will be King of kings and Lord of lords. So, after resurrecting the saints, Christ will come back, discipline the human powers who oppose him, establish his kingdom. He will come back as a conquering king, and he will begin to actively rule all nations and finally bring peace to this world. Set up his government on this world. So, the solution to man's problems is going to be that God will take over. At his return, Jesus Christ is going to imprison Satan the devil. Satan is going to be locked up for a thousand years. There cannot be peace as long as the devil is loose. So, we read in Revelation chapter 20 beginning in verses 1 through 3. Let's notice.

Revelation chapter 20. I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold on that dragon, that serpent of old, who's called the devil, and Satan bound him for a thousand years. So, he's chained. He's locked up for that thousand years, and he casts him into the bottomless pit. Shut him up, set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.

So, Satan the devil's deceitful ways, sinful ways, his hateful attitude and spirit will have no impact on human beings for a thousand years. That's a period of time in the Bible that's just referred to as a thousand years that the term millennium has been coined.

Man has lived on the earth for six millenniums, six thousand years. There's going to come a time when God will set his hand to convert the nations. Imagine the cultural changes that will take place on the earth when Jesus Christ rules. Some of those changes are described beginning in verse 4, Revelation chapter 20 and verse 4.

Notice, I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge, and they came to life. In fact, I'm skipping part of the verse. It talks about those who were beheaded for their witness for Christ. What happens to you and you have your head cut off? You're dead. So, they come to life again. So, these are people who were martyred. They come to life, and they reign with Christ for a thousand years.

Or they're going to rule with Christ for one thousand years. Government is going to be taken out of the hands of man. It's going to be given to the resurrected spirit, Baines, the family of God, enlarged, and we will rule over the human nations at that time. Then it says, the rest of the dead, not everybody's resurrected at the same time.

Verse 5, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection, referring back to verse 4. So, there is more than one resurrection. The Blessed and Holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. They will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign or rule with Him for a thousand years. So, the elect will rule with Christ as resurrected spirit beings, the family of God, the children of God for a thousand years.

So, when it says that we will reign with Christ, guess what that means? That means there will still be human beings on the earth, doesn't it? There will still be people left alive that we will rule over. The rest of the dead are those historically who have died, who have never understood God's truth, who have died without true knowledge of salvation, that they will wait in their graves, and at the end of that thousand years will be resurrected, and they will be given their first opportunity, not a second chance, but their first opportunity to know God in His ways.

They will have an opportunity to choose to go God's way at that time. God will be fair. And this is going to launch at this time God's rule on this earth. Finally, there will be world peace. So, what about world peace? Well, let's notice in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 7. In order to have peace, it's got to begin individually, doesn't it? It's got to begin with one person, then the next person. A kingdom, a nation, a family are made up of various individuals, but we all have to come to have peace with God. To have peace, we must first have peace with God through Jesus Christ. And so, as verse 7 says here, He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.

So, we can have our sins forgiven. We can be freed from Satan and his grip. And He has showered His kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding. So, when heaven and earth are ruled by Christ, then mankind will be able to have God's way of peace taught to Him. Verse 9, Ephesians 1, verse 9, going on here in Ephesians 1. It says, God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan, this hidden plan that most people don't understand. Regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure. God has a plan. He's got a purpose that He's working out here below. And this is the plan, verse 10. At the right time, He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ.

Everything in heaven and on earth. That's the New Living Translation. So, everything is going to be brought together, eventually, and there's going to be a time of world peace. Let's take a look at that time of world peace, millennial peace, as described by Isaiah. Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 11, verse 6, shows that the nature of man and the nature of animals are going to be changed. There's coming a time when there will be a radical change in this earth and how it functions. Isaiah 11, verse 6, in that day, in the day when Christ will rule and reign on this earth, the wolf and the lamb will live together.

The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with a lion. The wolf and the lamb will live together. A little child will lead them all. You can't do that today. You might find an isolated wild animal you can get along with, but you don't do that as a rule.

The very nature of animals, and that itself being a type of the nature of man, is being changed. Verse 9 describes what will happen when the nature of man is changed. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. You won't be afraid to walk down the street at night if somebody is going to mug you.

You won't have to have locks on your houses afraid that somebody is going to break in. You're not going to be afraid if somebody raping your wife or beating you up or one nation invading another nation. They will not hurt nor destroy in all of my holy mountain. Not true today. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the seas.

So this earth will be saturated with the right type of knowledge, true understanding of God's principles and values. So the Bible very clearly predicts that this is going to take place. Verse 10 here of Isaiah 11. At that time, the new king from the family of Jesse will stand as a banner to all people. Who is that new king?

Well, it's going to be Jesus Christ. Jesus is from a line of Jesse. The nations will come together around him, and the place where he lives will be filled with glory.

So notice, after Christ, after there is a new king, we will have a new world. We will have a new king, new government, new leaders. It's going to be new everything at that time. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 3 again describes it. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 3 gives another snapshot of the future, what the world is going to be like at that time.

Verse 3 says, Many people will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. But he may teach us of his ways, and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Notice some of the key words here. Because the law of God, that's the Ten Commandments, that's the spiritual law of God, is going to emanate out from Jerusalem, Jerusalem being God's headquarters. That's where Christ will rule from. Then all nations will walk in his way. Where to walk as he walked, 1 John 2.6. Where to live as he lived. And the word of God is going to go out from Jerusalem. Any religious program you listen to is going to be approved and guided by Jesus Christ. All the literature, everything you read, see, every church you attend is going to be headed by Jesus Christ. It's only going to teach one religion, one way of life. The government of God is going to be taught on the earth at that time. Notice again in verse 4, He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes, for many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore. Isn't it ironic you see the statue here of a man beating his sword into a plowshare in front of the United Nations in New York? It's a sculpture that was donated by the Soviet Union back in the 50s. It's sort of ironic, knowing what went on in the Cold War, how Stalin was responsible for killing millions of his own people, and yet it is symbolic of what is going to happen here in the future.

So, brethren, that's how God is going to bring peace to this earth, to all humanity. Man cannot solve his own problems. It's going to take Christ coming back, and man will have finally come to the point where he will almost destroy all life off the face of the earth, and Christ will come back and say, look, I told you you didn't know the way to peace. Let me show you the way to peace. But what about us now? What about us? What about our own personal inner peace as far as a begotten member of the kingdom of God? Well, let's notice in John 14 and verse 27. John 14, 27, Christ said, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. He says, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Now, the world lives during a period of time. Many times they call peace. Peace is preparation for war, and that's what generally peace is. There's only something like 380 years out of 6000. If a man has ever lived, that quote-unquote there's been peace. Otherwise, there's always been fighting and warfare going on.

Through the soon-coming kingdom of God, we know that peace will be established on the earth. But you and I can have peace. We can be at peace with God. We can know intrinsically, we can know with our minds, with our heart, with our soul, with our being, that we're doing what is right because God has called us to live his way of life now. God is calling some out ahead of time. God is calling those to be trained now to assist him in bringing peace to the world in the future. You and I need to change our minds. We need to change our lives. And how do we do that? That's what the Bible calls repent and believe. We have to repent of our our ways, and we have to go God's way. We can have an inner peace. It doesn't matter what the troubles, what the problems, what the trials, what the difficulties are in this world, you and I can have peace. In Colossians chapter 1 and verse 13, Colossians 1, 13, we read this likewise, that you and I can have peace. It says, God has freed us from the power of darkness. That's the sway of Satan the devil. And he has brought us into the kingdom of his dear son. Now, we've not entered it spiritually in the sense of being a spirit being, but God gives us his spirit. And as such, we are representatives of that kingdom today, just like Christ was when he was on the earth. The Son paid for our sins, and in him we have forgiveness, the Bible says. So you and I again can have peace, forgiveness. You and I can have that now. So we live in a time, we live in a world, we live in the age that's called the end time that the Bible prophesied. We're coming to the end of the age of man and the dawning of a new day, a new world, the world tomorrow. We're coming to the time of a new world when Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and the kingdom of God will be established on this earth. God the Father and Jesus Christ want us to inherit that kingdom, to be a part of that new world, that through the resurrection that you and I can be born into the very family of God, transformed from flesh and blood to spirit beings, given immortality, become a part of that. That begins now in our own lives by changing now. So as we progress through these kingdom of God seminars, we're going to be covering a number of these topics in more detail. So I'd like to thank everybody who came out today to attend the sessions. You will be seeing here in the future months future announcements in the Good News magazine on the Beyond Today program of the next seminars. You're more than welcome to attend. You're more than welcome to bring your friends to attend. If you have questions, please feel free to ask me or ask anyone here. If somebody looks like he might be a member, go up to them. Feel free to ask them a question. We do have a local congregation, actually. We meet right here every Sabbath at 2.30, and you're more than welcome to attend with us, if you'd like to attend. But we will be having these seminars in the future, where we will be going through more and more of what the Kingdom of God is going to be about. So we're going to analyze the next score around Christ's statement that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and exactly what all that does mean. So we have a table with booklets outside. Feel free to take one of each one, if you'd like to. And also, my card is there, and we would be more than happy to answer any questions. So I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Dantz at this point, and he will give the summarizing statements.