Kingdom of God Seminar

We're delighted to have you visit with us today. May God give you a very special blessing for your desire to learn more of His Word and to get to know Him a little more intimately through His Word today during this seminar. The Kingdom of God is a wonderful topic because when you look at the history of humanity, God originally intended the Kingdom of God to be established on the earth.

As a foretaste of it, He created a beautiful garden in Eden. It was a perfect environment, but unfortunately, because of the sin of Adam and Eve, because they disobeyed God, they were driven out of that garden. And the hope of the Kingdom of God has been delayed for thousands of years. God originally intended the Kingdom to encompass the entire earth and not be limited to Eden. And God always keeps His promises, and He's always kept His promise to want to restore that paradise on earth, that garden, and we call that the Kingdom of God. We're going to read together a lot of scriptures today, so we ask you to read along with us, and then I'll make some commentary on the scriptures. But scriptures, I want you to realize that this isn't my opinion, and that's why we're reading these scriptures. This isn't just because I say so.

This understanding that we have, this theology that we have of God's Word, are because they're directly focused on scripture. So let's take a look at the very first scripture, Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1. Daniel's pointing to a time just before the establishment of the Kingdom of God, when something very powerful will rock the earth. He says here in Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1, at that time, and by the way, that's one of the code phrases of end time events. We'll see a few more in just a little bit, but when the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament prophets, say at that time, that is a code phrase for the establishment of the Kingdom of God, or simply just before it.

At that time shall arise Michael, and Michael, of course, is an archangel, particularly considered by some to be the archangel of Israel itself, a messenger of God, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation. So it's prophesied that a time would come in the future when there would be a time of trouble over all the earth, so bad that there had never been a time before it like it, and there will never be a time afterward like it.

So continuing here, never has been since there was a nation till that time, but at that time, again that code phraseology, at that time your people shall be delivered. Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And that book happens to be the book of life where someone's name is written when they respond to God's calling, when they repent of their sins, when they are baptized and received a gift to the Holy Spirit, that same spirit that the Father and Son share together.

Jesus referred to it in the book of John as when we make our home in that individual, and that home is the receiving of the Holy Spirit. When one does that, one is written in a very special book that gives them eternal life, that sets them apart as very, very special by God.

So again, I want to emphasize these biblical code phrases for the end time. Other phrases that you will find in the Old Testament and some in the New Testament are in the latter days, or in the last days, or at the time of the end. Again, look for these as you study the Old Testament because they're usually about to tell you something that will happen just before the return of Christ or immediately after the kingdom of God is established.

So let's connect this event from Daniel to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 21. He said, for then, again Jesus is responding to people who asked him, what will be the sign of your coming? What are going to be some of those events that are going to occur just before you return to earth? He said, for then there shall be great tribulation, such as not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

So the same as Daniel, he's basically saying there will be an event that will rock the earth, that will be worse than anything that ever happened before it, and worse than anything that would ever happen afterward. Among his other qualities, Jesus Christ was also a prophet. In John chapter 6 and verse 14, people who heard him speak, it says, then those men, when they had come to see the sign that Jesus did, said this is truly the prophet who has come into the world.

If you look back in Deuteronomy 18, you would see where Moses encouraged the people of Israel and told them in advance, someone who will come to earth, who is the prophet, listen to what he says, because he's trying to teach you and he's sent from God.

So Jesus is talking about the same event occurring on this earth at the end time as Daniel did. There are actually two phases of very horrible things that will come to this earth, and I'm not going to go in detail now. That's a seminar or a lecture for another time. I'm just going to talk about a few things that are going to happen to the earth, because our theme today is what happens when the kingdom of God arrives, how the earth will be different, what it will be like within that kingdom when it comes to earth.

But I have to tell you that there are going to be some very difficult times immediately ahead for humanity. I have to be open and frank with you about that. The first of those two things that I talked about is what Jesus just mentioned. We call it the Great Tribulation, because that's the phrase that he used, and it refers to a time of crisis at the end of the age of man. What is the age of man?

Well, in essence, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God, God said to them, okay, like spoiled children, you don't want to honor your father. You don't want to listen to me. You don't want to obey me. Fine. Go your own way. Move out of the house. That was Eden. Go ahead, move out of the house. Make your own decisions. Create your own religions. Create your own governments.

See what life is really like apart from me, and hopefully you'll learn something. And sure enough, we've been struggling for thousands of thousands of years with constant war somewhere on earth, massive starvation, so many billions of people literally living in poverty day after day, disease, misery. All the things that plague humanity are because, like spoiled children, we didn't want to listen to our father as represented by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and we were sent out to grow up to experience these things as humanity, and all of that time period of experiencing those things is known as the age of man. So this is a time of crisis that Jesus was talking about. At the close of the age of man, Jesus used that phrase, the Great Tribulation, and it's also written about in Revelation 7 and verse 14. It's going to last three and a half years, and it includes worldwide tribulation, war, earthquakes, all kinds of natural disasters encompassing the earth. It is a time of incredible instability in which humanity is suffering in massive numbers. Again, this is an earth-wide difficulty in crisis that's going on in these end times, and it will also include the persecution of Jews and Christians. Those who are believers and disciples of Jesus Christ will be persecuted. Now again, I'm not going to go into incredible detail today, but I do encourage you to read our booklets, and they are free, the seven prophetic signs before Jesus returns, and the book of Revelation unveiled at last. And because you came here today as our guest, we actually have a literature rack in that vestibule, and you are welcome during the break or to the end to go and take any of the literature you would like to read. Much of the literature is advertised on the Beyond Today program or within the Beyond Today magazine, so you have an opportunity to load up on some of these booklets, maybe some that you've wanted for a long time. So that was the first of two major cataclysmic events. The second one is called the Day of the Lord, also a phrase that comes out of Scripture, and the Day of the Lord is a series of cataclysmic events that affect the entire earth, leading up to the actual return of Jesus Christ and his forceful suppression of humanity's rebellion against God. So what's the difference between the two? The Great Tribulation is a result of man's inhumanity to man. It's all the troubles that we bring upon ourselves, that Great Tribulation, a final major world war. All kinds of tragic events happening around the world so severe that they've never happened before in human history.

The second event, the Day of the Lord, is God's judgment and punishment to quell the rebellion going on against him on the earth. So that's the difference. The Great Tribulation is generated by our own actions. The Day of the Lord is generated by God's suppression of the rebellion that's occurring in humanity. You can find more about these events. They're called the Seven Trumpets in Revelation, chapters 8 through 11, and you can find out in more detail what they are. So the Day of the Lord pictures terrible plagues, catastrophic world war, in which billions of people—and yes, I said B because there are scriptures that talk about one-third of the earth dying through some of these events—billions of people, unfortunately, dying. It's a time when all nations will be brought together to be judged by God. And some of those nations will actually send armies and gather in Jerusalem to fight the returning Jesus Christ. From their mindset, because their ideas are warped and distorted, they're going to look at the return of Jesus Christ as if He's an alien from outer space who's coming to take over our world from us. And they're going to want to fight Jesus Christ as He comes and His feet stand upon the Mount of Olives. It really won't be much of a battle. Zachariah talks about some very graphic indications of what it will be like, and it says, those who come against the Christ, their eyeballs will melt in their sockets. Their tongues will melt in their mouths. It will be horrible when you try to fight against the returning Jesus Christ who's coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So what are the possible ways, the ingenious ways, that we as humanity can destroy the earth? Well, here are some possible things we're in the process of doing to ourselves and can do to ourselves to finish off the human race, if it weren't, for the merciful intervention of God. Pollution. We've polluted our water, our earth, and our air. We're poisoning ourselves. The foods that we eat have chemicals that God never intended for the human body to consume. The air that we breathe is poisoned. The water that we're drinking is poisoned. We live in a very poisoned world, and ultimately humanity could poison itself out of existence. Overpopulation. Overpopulation can be a big problem because the earth only has so much carrying capacity. You can only grow so much food. There are already starving billions of people who go to bed hungry at night. Plus, people that are born, they need health care. They need shelter.

They need jobs. They need economies that can provide jobs for them so they feel productive, so they can do good and wonderful things in their lives. And once you get beyond a certain tipping point, then you begin to have mass starvation. Mass rioting in the streets is unhappy people who can't find work, can't find shelter, can't find adequate health care begin rebelling against their governments because they're naturally frustrated. So overpopulation is another way that we can do ourselves in and create some major civil wars and perhaps leading even to nuclear war.

Which is our next item, thermonuclear war. Right now, nine nations possess a total of about 15,000 nuclear weapons. How many do we need to destroy ourselves? That's like destroying the earth 25 times over. And if it's true what they say about Iran, Iran is expected within the next 30 to 60 days to have enough plutonium and nuclear material to create its first atomic bomb or hydrogen bomb. Then we will have ten nations in the world to possess the capability of destroying all life on earth. Then we have biological warfare. Think of bacteria and viruses and insects.

Insects can create all kinds of pestilence. They can come and eat your crops. And the hundreds of millions of grasshoppers can show up suddenly and literally devour everything you're growing and eat it down to the ground. A fungi. So this is very important. It's particularly important because how many in here remember the recent pandemic? What was that? That was one small virus that you can't even see with the naked human eye. And look what it did to planet earth.

Look what it did to humanity and the millions and millions of individuals who died prematurely because of that virus. And that leads us to the last way, and that's biotechnology. There's a chance that COVID-19 wasn't necessarily a natural deviant of a virus. There's a chance that it was actually created in a lab in Asia and either out purposely or accidentally let out that created the havoc around the earth. And biotechnology can change your DNA. Future generations are already working on manipulating genders and intelligence today as we speak by DNA manipulation, tissue engineering. They can make they can create superhuman type beings that have more muscle mass than normal human beings. You would be stunned if you knew what governments are working on in their own scientific labs at this time. So biotechnology is another way that we could absolutely destroy ourselves. In verse 22, Jesus said, and unless those days were shortened, that is of the end time, no flesh would be saved. Humanity would find a way to eliminate, to destroy ourselves from off this earth. But God is mercifully, because he wants to spare humanity, he's mercifully going to cut those days short. But for the elect's sake, Jesus said, those days will be shortened. So what does Jesus mean by the elect's sake? Well, in every generation, God has called individuals during their lifetimes to him, and he's called them, and he's responded to that calling, and they've been faithful disciples, and that's been going on for 2,000 years. But at the end time, there's a very unique and special role for individuals who are referred to as his end time elect. In that Greek word elect is electos, which means people who are specially chosen for that time. God loves them. Like previous generations, he worked with them, and for their sake, he is not going to allow the earth to destroy itself. But we use a phrase in the nick of time, Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and he will change everything. Part of what we're going to talk about today are some of the things that he literally is going to change. We need to realize that this kingdom is not by accident. When God created the world, God is a planner, he's an organizer. When God created the world, he understood that his first man and the first woman could sin and would have to leave the Garden of Eden.

So even from the foundation of the world, his goal was to establish a garden, a paradise of God, throughout the entire earth, no matter what happened and what humankind might do to itself, and no matter if there was an age of man in which we would go through thousands of years trying it our way, trying it the hard way, he always had a plan in mind to establish the kingdom of God. Jesus said, come, he was speaking to the disciples in his day, inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. Again, when you go back to the Old Testament prophets, you see individuals like Isaiah saying in Isaiah chapter 46 and verse 10, I've made known the end from the beginning. God says, I reveal, I'm prophetic, and I reveal what I have planned for the future, and that's what we're talking about today, what God has planned in the future for this marvelous kingdom that's going to come upon the earth. All right, let's dig a little deeper and see something else that's going to happen as Jesus Christ leaves heaven and begins to come down and begins to prepare to return to earth. First Thessalonians chapter 4 and 16. Paul wrote this to his congregation in Thessalonica. It's very powerful because it talks about something that's going to happen to those elect that Jesus said would be the very ones why God would not allow humanity to destroy itself. First Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 16.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. Let's continue. And the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who were alive and remain, Paul thought himself that he would still be alive at the return of Jesus Christ. That's why he uses the phrase we who are alive and remain, shall 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. Now some people read that verse and they mistranslate it and they say, oh, this is talking about the rapture, which by the way is a phrase you find nowhere in Scripture. They say what's going to happen is Jesus is coming down to earth and there's a massive resurrection of his elect and they rise up to meet Jesus and together they all go back to heaven where his elect are protected. That's not what the Scripture says. What the Scripture says is they caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord and then they will always be with the Lord. So what's going to happen to the Lord? Well, if you go back to an Old Testament prophecy in Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 4, it says, on that day, remember that's biblical code and phraseology, on that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem. So he's returning to earth and those elect who met him in the air are returning to earth with Jesus Christ.

Let's see what Paul told another congregation in Corinth. We'll read 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 50 through 53. He says, we shall not all sleep because Paul believed that death was like just being in a deep sleep. You're unconscious, you're suffering no pain, you're just in a deep sleep and a slumber waiting to wake up again at some time in the future. And that's why there's so much emphasis in the New Testament on the resurrection. Not on going to heaven, but on the resurrection over and over again. Whether it's Lazarus or Jesus himself, there's always an emphasis on the resurrection. It makes no sense for you to die to go to heaven and then to be jerked out of heaven, go back into the grave, and be resurrected all over again. That doesn't even make any sense, but that's what many people teach and believed. Let's continue. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Again, he's talking to those elected believers in his congregation in Corinth. We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. Once again, connecting with what we just read in the previous scripture, there's a trumpet blast going on. This trumpet blast is pictured by the Feast of Trumplets. If you go to Leviticus chapter 23, you'll see one of God's feasts, and God says, these are my feasts. Tell the people of my feast. One of them is the Feast of Trumplets, which has a congregation. We'll be meeting with some of our sister congregations in a few weeks on a Thursday in order to celebrate the festival of trumpets. So, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, no longer fleshly like we are today. But we shall be changed for this corruptible must put on in corruption. And this mortal flesh, this tent, this mortal tent that we have must put on immortality. You see, if you already had an immortal soul, then there would be no reason for you to put on immortality that occurs during this special resurrection for the elect. And they have a special reason that we'll be talking about why God has called and used them in their lifetimes. So, once again, this is Paul teaching about an event that will occur as Jesus Christ is returning to this earth. And that is typically what's known in Scripture as the first resurrection. And believers in past history who died fell asleep.

Believers who are alive at that time will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye from the fleshly mortal frail beings that we are today into new spiritual beings. Incorruptible, immortal, and Paul looked forward to that time. So, the sleep that's spoken of there, and again in verse 50, refers to being physically dead and at the resurrection. God awakens a person to live again. So, God restores their personality and their spirit, their human spirit, and everything that made them unique. Their lifetime of experiences which God reserves. And He restores that once again after their death into a new body. And they come alive again. The first resurrection is a spiritual resurrection. There are resurrections later on in which people will be resurrected once again physically in order to live out their lives and follow God's law and learn more about God by accepting their first calling. So, Paul is discussing the resurrection of the faithful dead, those who previously died, and those faithful still living at Christ's return. And this takes place at the sound of that seventh trumpet mentioned in Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15.

So, an important event that occurs is Jesus Christ is returning to earth. One must be resurrected and changed into spirit. As we just read about Paul saying, we must become incorruptible. We must become immortal. We must be changed from this fleshly tent that we have into a totally new spiritual being. We have to be changed into spirit to inherit the kingdom of God as a child of God. And again, that happens at the return of Jesus Christ. Some people say, well, it's the kingdom of God is really heaven. Well, is it really heaven? Well, heaven, the phrase, kingdom of heaven, is another biblical phrase for the kingdom of God. And that confuses a lot of people because they'll read in their Bible, kingdom of heaven, and they assume, ah, we're just going to go to heaven when we die or the kingdom of God is in heaven. The kingdom of God is presently in heaven because that's where Jesus Christ is presently as our great high priest, as our intermediary. But he is bringing with him our citizenship and our reward when he returns to the earth. He's coming back to earth again in the personal return of Jesus Christ. So it's not just heaven. Jesus himself said in John chapter 3 verses 12 through 14, no one has ascended to heaven. No one's gone to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, that is the Son of Man who is in heaven. And Jesus was referring to himself. What's Jesus saying? He's saying Abraham's not in heaven.

Moses, not in heaven. King David, sorry, not in heaven. Daniel, no, sorry, no one's there.

Any of the prophets, minor prophets, major prophets, no. Jesus is saying none of them are in heaven. Why? Because they're all asleep, waiting for the resurrection, which after all is the emphasis of the New Testament, waiting for that resurrection when they shall be brought to life once again.

John chapter 14 and verse 3, Jesus says something very revealing, talking about when he goes and returns to heaven, which he did when he left to the grave after he met Mary, after his own resurrection and returned to the Father. He says, and if I go and prepare a place for you, that's what Jesus is presently doing, I will come again. You see, Jesus Christ is returning to this earth and receiving to myself that where I am, and he just said, I will come again, where I am is on earth after he's come again. Obviously, there you may be also. So this is the kingdom of God that Jesus spoke about. Our citizenship indeed is registered in heaven, and that's a phraseology that Paul uses. In Revelation chapter 22 and verse 12, it says, Behold, I am coming quickly. Where's Jesus coming from? He's coming from heaven, but he's coming to earth to establish his kingdom, and my reward is with me. So all of the things that we have earned through God's grace and God's mercy, Jesus Christ has brought back those rewards with him, and we wait for that kingdom of come. We long for that kingdom to come when Jesus Christ returns. But we can benefit from some of the experiences of the kingdom of God in the future today. Some of those benefits we can receive by beginning to obey God's law, by respecting God's moral law of the Ten Commandments, which emphasize our love for God and our love for our neighbor. By beginning to conform to God's values and God's way of life, we can begin to enjoy some of the benefits of the kingdom of God now in this lifetime. So again, I want to emphasize, going all the way back, we started out with the prophet Daniel. There were many other prophets in the Old Testament we just simply didn't have time to read about today. God's purpose regarding his kingdom has always been prophetic, repeated over and over again by Daniel and Isaiah and the minor prophets and Jeremiah and many other prophets. They longed for it. That's what gave them hope. They looked forward to the return of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 34, Come inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. So you see, God had a plan.

When Adam and Eve had sinned in the garden, God didn't say, Oh, now what am I going to do?

Wow! Now I've really got a problem. No, God is an organizer. He's a planner. He's a creator. He had a plan from the foundation of the world. By the way, that's before Adam and Eve were even created on the 6th today. God had a plan from the foundation of the world to eventually bring his kingdom, his way of life, his values, a world of peace and plenty and prosperity to everyone around the world.

And Jesus said in Luke chapter 12 and verse 32, It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. You see, God isn't giving us the kingdom out of protest. He's not holding his nose as he gives us the kingdom of God. He's not disgruntled that he has to give us the kingdom of God. It gives him joy to bring peace and prosperity and to give everyone in the earth the full opportunity to reach their God-given potential, which is impossible in the age of man in the world that we live in today. Take a look at a few more scriptures here. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11. This is from the God's word translation. Here's how it's translated. God also decided ahead of time to choose us, again speaking of the elect, to choose us through Christ according to his plan. You see, God's not panicking. God's not making decisions on the fly. As Einstein said, God doesn't play dice. God knows exactly what he's doing. According to his plan, which he makes everything work the way he intends, eventually everything's going to work out the way that God intends it to. Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 11. He was inspired to write, For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not give you harm. God says, I don't ultimately want to destroy you. Yes, I may punish you sometimes for your disobedience, but I don't want to destroy you. Plans to give you hope and a future, something that encourages you, something for you to look forward to. God says, those are my plans. Revelation chapter 1 verses 5 and 6. It says, To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. A direct reference to Jesus Christ. This is a statement made to his elect. Those who were part of that resurrection that we spoke about, we saw in Paul's writings in Thessalonians and Corinthians.

Who has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be a kingdom and priest to serve his God and Father. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. So you see these elect have a role to play in the kingdom of God. They are going to be priests. They're also going to be coaches.

We'll see later on, they're going to be teachers, as we'll read in a scripture later on. They're taking their life experiences that they gained from this physical life, the joys, the frustrations, even the mistakes that they learned from. And they're using those experiences to serve once they become completely spiritual in the kingdom of God to help the physical people that are alive, to help them to sort out their lives, to encourage them, to give them direction, and to teach them about God's way of life. So there are four dynamic changes we're going to talk about before we have a short break. Four dynamic changes, and this is why the kingdom of God will be successful.

Every other kingdom that's been established on the earth has eventually collapsed. Egypt, great empires of the pharaohs, is gone. There's a nation called Egypt, but it has nowhere near the glory and the power that the Egyptians had. Babylonians gone, Persians gone, Greeks gone, Romans gone. The British greatly diminished nothing like the empire that they once had around the world. The United States, there are many who believe that we are already in decline in the United States. So all of those kingdoms have failed. What's going to make the kingdom of God successful? Let's take a look at these four things. Number one, God's spirit will be given to all. Right now, God's spirit is only given to those who are specifically called of God and say, hey, I want to have a relationship with God. I want to make God the number one priority and center of my life. I want to repent of my sins and I want to be converted. I want to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I want to be what Paul, phrase that Paul uses in a scripture that we'll see later. I want to be a new creature in Christ. I want to be brand new, all over again with a new purpose and a new reason for being and new values and new goals that energize me and give me a desire to get up every morning and to live life heartily no matter what age I am in.

So let's pick up and go back to the scripture. I will pour out my spirit in all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, which again is a reflection of having the Holy Spirit. The prophets in the Old Testament certainly did. Your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. These are visions that are given from God, of course. And also on my men servants and my maid servants, I will pour out my spirit in those days. So unlike today, when only a small number of people are literally called to a deep religious experience and then accept that calling and make it the number one priority in their lives, at this time in the kingdom, God's Spirit will be offered to everyone beginning in Jerusalem where Jesus Christ will establish the kingdom. But that kingdom continues to spread and it continues to encompass all the nations of the earth. Again, it says, notice the first verse, and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, not just the descendants of Abraham, not just people of a particular skin color or religious faith or people who speak a particular language or people of a particular ethnic variety. No, I will pour out my spirit and make it available to all flesh. And this universal change in human desires and in human attitudes and mindsets are generated by receiving the Spirit of God. It literally changes you. You go from discouraged, from wondering if there is a God, from living a life day to day, apathetically, to one that's energized and filled with purpose and a life filled with meaning. The Spirit of God, when it's within an individual and working with that individual, literally changes who and what they are. This will help to change humankind's basic nature. That basic nature today is selfish. And what do we see in the world today? The root cause of war, and greed, and coveting, and stealing, and lying. All of those things the root cause is human selfishness, which is part of our carnal human nature. And the only way to overcome, to neutralize, that human nature of selfishness is to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Number two, and this is very important, that is that Satan's influence has been removed. I like to use this analogy.

Most of us know what a Wi-Fi network is, right? We might be using a device at home, and we use Wi-Fi to connect to the internet. Well, I'm here to tell you today that there's been a spiritual Wi-Fi network that's been radiating around the earth for thousands of years.

Satan is the prince of the power of the air, and that spiritual Wi-Fi network we all immediately connected to when we were born. That Wi-Fi network engenders selfishness. It engenders greed.

It engenders hate. It engenders all the negative qualities of humanity. And because most people never challenged their feelings, they never challenged their self-talk, eventually they end up reflecting the way that they feel on the inside, and they hurt others on the outside.

That spiritual Wi-Fi network is something that is generated by Satan the devil, and it goes all around the world, and it's the main reason why there is such negativity in human nature.

That's all going to be removed. Let's read the scripture. Revelation 20, verses 2 and 3. He laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, that going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. A thousand years is the length of the first part of the kingdom of God, also known as the millennium. And he cast him into a bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him that he should not deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. But then these things must be released after these things, he will be released for a little while. So for a thousand years during that initial stage of the kingdom of God, that wi-fi network is gone. It's jammed. It's eliminated. People no longer are influenced by depression and discouragement and the overwhelming negativity that most people have because of that influence of Satan the devil, the prince of the power of the air, who has influenced mankind negatively since the very garden itself. He's even referred to as the serpent of old, going all the way back to that garden of Eden and until today. When you remove Satan's constant direct influence, you have a people who are capable of fully developing the part of their lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit and that part are called in the Book of Galatians the fruit of the Spirit. And they are particularly positive traits that a person is able to develop in their lives because they have the gift of the Holy Spirit. People only then can live in full happiness at that time. So that's the second major important thing that happens. Satan's influence is removed for a thousand years. Next, the universal establishment of God's law and the heart and core of God's law are what we call the Ten Commandments. Again, they reflect how we should love God and they teach us and they also teach us how we should love and treat our neighbors, which also are God's creation. And he takes it personally when we abuse our neighbors because they also were created in God's image. Let's read Hebrews chapter 8 verses 10 through 13.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their mind and write them in their hearts. So they will have a degree of love, a degree of patience, a degree of kindness, a degree of gentleness that the people are incapable of having today because they don't have the Holy Spirit. They don't even know what God's law is in many cases because it hasn't been taught in our schools for many, many years. They removed the Ten Commandments many years ago. Some modern churches today don't even teach the Ten Commandments. They think they've been done away. So this is something that literally is a game changer for humanity at that time, and that is the love of God revealed through his law is literally put in their minds and written on their hearts. Verse 11, none of them shall teach his neighbor and none is brother saying no, the Lord. No one will walk around and say, you know, I think you really need to learn about God. No, not at all, because it says, for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. The knowledge of God will be so prominent and will be an everyday discussion that you won't need to go around and ask people, do you know the Lord? Or do you believe in Jesus? The discussion will be so prominent on the earth that everyone will know about God. Everyone will be talking about God. Everyone will be astounded at the blessings that God brings to this earth at the return of Jesus Christ. Verse 12, for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more. So in God's kingdom, every belief system, every civil law, every program, everything in that world will be centered on God's value system, that is God's law. And believe me, that does not happen today. It will be centered on love for God and love for our neighbor. And people, by the way, will not do these things because they're just simply compliant. They will not love God's law simply because they fear breaking the law. That's the way our world is today. People obey laws because they're afraid of the consequences of breaking those laws. And yes, early on in the kingdom of God, after Jesus returns, he does have to judge the nations. He does have to settle people down. He does have to sort things out. But Jesus Christ doesn't want anyone worshiping him or being part of his kingdom out of fear. He wants people to do it simply because they really want to. It's written in their hearts. It's written in their minds. It gives them joy and fulfillment to love God and to love their neighbor. Again, they will love and respect God's law. All right, here's the fourth major dynamic change that has to occur in God's kingdom, and then we will have our break.

Revelation chapter 20 in verse 4, bless it, and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. We spoke about that already today. Paul's letter to Thessalonians and his letter to the Corinthians.

Over such the second death has no power, but they, that is the elect who were part of that resurrection, shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. That's that millennial period of time that begins the kingdom of God. God's elect or saints were tested and trained in this lifetime. They went through a lot of experiences and they learned through the things they did well and also through the mistakes that we make. They learned godly leadership, and when you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, you no longer live for the next 10, 20, 30 years until you expire. When you have God's Holy Spirit, you live in the light of eternity.

Your purpose goes far beyond the physical things that happened to us in this life, and that means nothing in your life is wasted when you're a child of God. Even the negative things that we have experienced in our life, the terrible mistakes we have made, the negative things all have a purpose. They make us spiritually mature. Ouch! Don't want to do that again.

Don't want to say that again. Don't want to hurt someone by doing that again. I want to be different. I don't want to be like that, and that makes us spiritually mature, wiser, more forgiving of others, and more compassionate. So that's the end of part one. Much welcome back. I went a little over time, the first half. That's not unusual for me. That's what happens when you give a task to a long-winded preacher. So I apologize to everyone for that. But we now are back for part two of the seminar, and now we're going to get into the heart and core of what the kingdom of God will be like. And thankfully, we have a number of prophets, some of the major prophets, some of the minor prophets who give us a very picturesque understanding of exactly the differences between the kingdom of God and the world that we live in today. So let's go ahead and get started. We're going to just step back and remind ourselves that Jesus Christ has returned to earth at this point in our chronology. Revelation 11 and verse 15, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world, the age of man, and all the nations that humankind has created, they've all fallen. And now they have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. So they now are under the rulership of Jesus Christ, who has returned to this earth in power and in majesty as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I wish that I could fully express in a human language the joys that are going to be experienced in the kingdom of God, but it's impossible because I have human limitations, no matter how gifted we are in many different ways, to understand the totality of the change and the absolute joy that's going to exist in the kingdom of God is impossible to express humanly. As it was inspired to write by Paul also to that congregation Corinth, I has not seen no human being has ever witnessed nor ear heard no human being has ever heard no human being has ever entered into their heart through vision or through meditation what God has prepared for those who love Him. And this kingdom is so majestic, so transformative, so wonderful that it is very hard to explain in human terms exactly what that kingdom will fully be like. But we can get a little taste of it today. Again, by reading the prophets we're going to look at a lot of scriptures in the second half as well. It's going to be a time of total transformation.

The best way to think of it, and this stuns people when I first say it, the best way to think of it is that everything you've ever been taught is wrong. It's a kingdom so revolutionary, so staggering in its proportions, the understanding of God is so much richer and deeper than what we have now that human language cannot express the degree of transportation that will take place.

Let's go to begin in Isaiah 2 and verse 2. In the latter days, the mountain of the Lord's house, where's the Lord's house? It's in Jerusalem. It begins there, where the kingdom of God has been established, shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. Now, that's more biblical code language when you see the phrase mountains and hills, those are symbols of nations or governments. So when you run into those phraseology in the Old Testament, that's what it's talking about. And the Lord's house, that kingdom that will be established beginning in Jerusalem, will be exalted above all the nations that presently exist on the earth. They will be subject to the authority of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 4. And I said earlier that there would be some difficult judgment when Jesus Christ returns to earth. Remember, the nations were warring against him in a very short battle as part of his return to earth, and nations are angry.

The nations have just been through war. They're jaded. They're disillusioned. The peoples of the earth are confused. Some nations will continue to be aggressive towards other nations, and early on Jesus Christ has to settle everything down. So it says here in Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 4, he shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people. So peoples around the earth will be corrected. You're too war-like. You try to harm other people. You're not following my father's law and my law. You're causing hurt and war, and you've almost destroyed all of humanity if it hadn't been for my direct and divine intervention. So he's going to rebuke many people, and early on there will be a time of correction so Jesus Christ can sort everything out and get everything in order and help the kingdom of God to be established. And here's what will happen as a result of that. They will beat their swords in the plowshares and lift their spears and their spears and pruning hooks into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up war against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore.

The steel of armaments today is going to be repurposed. All of those things that created tanks and battleships, aircraft carriers, airplanes, armaments will all be refashioned into something productive, into reaping abundant crops that are going to grow on the entire earth. And neither shall they learn war anymore. We are taught to hate as small children because of the environment that we grow up in. We are taught to hate because of our schools. We are taught to hate because of our peer groups. We are taught to hate because we see people who are different than we are.

We don't take the time to get to know them or understand them. So in this world, we learn hate and ultimately we learn war. And the major proof of that is what's going on between Ukraine and Russia and between Israel and Hamas at the very moment that I'm speaking. We have a world in which people have learned war. They've learned hate. But neither at that time will they learn war anymore. They will learn the way of peace. And that will be something that will dramatically happen beginning in the Kingdom of God.

All education and teaching will focus on the knowledge of true peace, what it takes to be peaceful, how to be peaceful, how to love your neighbor, how to submerge your own self-desires and your own selfishness, how to learn to put other people before you and to treat them with respect and treat them with dignity, no matter what their physical differences may be. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 3, many people will come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.

Remember, mountain is symbolic of a nation. Let us go up to the nation that's beginning in Jerusalem that's been established there to the house of the God Jacob and he will teach us of his ways. I want you to notice people are eager to learn God's ways. Why? Because God has begun to pour out his spirit. He's begun to take away the very nature of human beings. Satan has been put and reserved away for a thousand years in a spiritual prison, so he's no longer influencing people. And people are coming and asking God, teach us your ways, teach us about your laws, teach us how to be happy, how to live productive lives, and we shall walk in his paths.

So many people in the millennium will seek a spiritual awakening because of God's spirit, the fact that it will be available to all. And it will be available again to all nations, not simply a select group of people. Revelation chapter 21 and verse 4, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Think of all the suffering that goes on in this world today and all the reasons that people cry. They might be in pain. They might be feeling empty inside.

They might be crying for a loved one, and what their loved one is doing that's hurting them. They might be crying for humanity with all the difficult things that we're going through as a people on this earth. There are many reasons to cry, and God's going to wipe away every tear from people's eyes. There will be no more death, no more grieving, because someone that you loved died.

There will be no more sorrow, no more reason to be sorrowful. Instead, there will be a world of hope. People will wake up in the morning and have purpose and have a spring in their step, and will be looking forward to living the day because they won't be struggling with discouragement or depression because they will be healed if there were biological reasons for that, and also because Satan will have been put away and they won't be influenced by that spiritual wi-fi. There will be no more pain.

We have people here today who are in tremendous pain, getting ready for hip surgeries and other surgeries that are needed because as we grow older, we get age-related illnesses or other things happen in our lives, sometimes due to accidents or other things. Today, we live in a world of pain. We take a lot of medications, demute, or eliminate the pain, and that won't be necessary in the kingdom of God. For the former things, what used to happen in the old world, they passed away. It's like they died. Everything that happened in the old world or now died.

It passed, excuse me, it passed away. It no longer will have any influence or power in that kingdom that we're looking forward to. Micah chapter 4 verse 4, everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree and no one will make them afraid.

You'll no longer have to worry about someone coming into your house and stealing your possessions.

You won't have to lock your doors anymore. You won't have to worry about going outside and getting mugged. You won't have to worry about someone scamming you because they sent you an email or they gave you a phone call and they lied to you and they told you something that isn't true in order to take advantage of you. No longer will it be a world of constant fear. No one will make them afraid. Everyone will have their own abode, their own fig tree. They'll have their own shelter.

They'll have something that is their security, their home, sweet home, without experiencing fear in any way. Isaiah chapter 51 and verse 3, for the Lord will comfort Zion.

He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like Eden. Remember, I said earlier how Eden was lost. God's original plan, if Adam and Eve had not sinned, would have been to start out in that garden in Eden and expand it until it, as mankind developed, the descendants of Adam and Eve would fill the earth. God would have expanded that garden to encompass the entire earth, but it was lost due to sin, due to disobedience. And God is going to restore that. He will make the wilderness like Eden and her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Now, presently, one-third of earth is desert. Think about that. That's a lot of land. One-third of earth is desolate and unproductive. You can barely live there, let alone try to grow crops on it. But at that time in this kingdom, that desert will be like Eden, like the Garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it. People will be celebrating. Everything will be green with lush growth, plenty of water, a beautiful, perfect environment, clean air, clean food. The earth will be purified. The environment will be cleaned up by God. And it says, joy and gladness will be found in it. Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. People won't have an attitude of entitlement. People won't say to God, will you owe me these things? People will say to God, thank you, God, for the opportunity to live in such a beautiful and perfect and wonderful world. What a contrast to what I came out from. It's like night and day is the difference between that old earth that passed away and what I'm experiencing now in this world. And people will be singing about it. They'll write songs about the difference between the old earth and the kingdom of God. There will be incredible healing. And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind. Now, my father-in-law, my wife's dad, was blind since the first day I met him at age 17. He was blind until the day that he died. He always looked forward to a time when he would be healed and that he would be able to see. He never saw his children, never knew what they looked like. And he looked forward to a time when Jesus Christ would return and the eyes of the blind would be open. And he unplugged the ears of the deaf. People who can't hear, their hearing will be restored. Those who can't walk, those who have mobility issues and need walkers or on wheelchairs, they will leap like they did a leap out of their chairs. Don't need that anymore. Don't need to live in that world anymore. They will leap like a deer and sing for joy because they've been made whole and they have been healed. Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, plenty of water watering the deserts, and streams will water the wasteland.

Again, incredible difference as the earth is literally contoured differently and as the geography has changed and our climate has literally changed to be more productive in virtually every part of the world rather than the way it is now in just northern and southern hemispheres and areas of the world that are too cold to live in. The entire environment is going to be changed so that deserts are green and lush, so that cold places are warmed up, so the places that are too hot are cooled off and it will be an environment in which people can thrive and the human race can fulfill its purpose. I love roses. This is one of my favorite graphics in this entire presentation. I must admit Isaiah chapter 35 in verse 1, the wilderness in the desert will be glad in those days because they're no longer a wilderness. They're no longer a desert. They now have lush green growth, tropical flowers and beautiful plants and peaceful animals dwelling in the waste places in the wilderness. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom like a rose. One of my favorite scriptures. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and a singing for joy. People will finally be happy. They won't be worried about how they're going to pay their rent next month. They're not going to worry about their health. They're not going to be worried about the problems that their loved ones are going through. They will instead be literally singing for joy. As I said, new hymns and songs will be created that will differentiate the way that we live now in contrast to the kingdom of God itself. The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon. There the Lord will display His glory, the splendor of God.

The parched ground will become a pool. Think of a desert and all this water bubbling up from underneath and creating this into water so that plants can grow, including trees and animals can be restored to those habitats, and it can be a productive part of the earth. The parched ground will become a pool. The springs of water will satisfy a thirsty land. Isaiah 41 and verse 18, from the translation, the new literal translation, I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.

So the mountaintops, where there's only snow, it's so cold there's only ice and snow on the highest plateaus. The environment and the temperatures will change so that water will be flowing there instead of ice. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the sparked ground.

And I, God says, will plant trees in the barren desert. Trees like cecia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine. So we can see here that the earth is being restored to its ecological balance.

No more severe climate shifts. No more pollution destroying our flora and our fauna on the earth.

No more deserts expanding and growing. The earth literally is transformed from the way it is now into a literal paradise. And this redeemed land leaves plenty of room for people to be born. It leaves plenty of room for expansion, for future generations to be able to enjoy this new earth as it's being transformed by God. The earth is literally healed.

Amos chapter 9 and verse 13, and the time will come. There's that one of those biblical cold phrases again. It says, the Lord, when the grain and the grapes will grow faster, then they can be harvested. Some translations say that the one doing the plowing says to the reaper, get moving! It's time to start a new year's crops, and there was so much last year. You're still reaping last year's harvest, and I've got to put seed in the ground. That's how much food there is being grown. That's how much abundance there is in this world. When the grain and grapes will grow faster, then they can even be harvested from the ground. When the terraced vineyards at the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine. Abundant food. No more starvation. No more childhood diseases that oftentimes occur because the child's immune system is a weakened due to not eating enough food to being starved. All of those days are gone. There is plenty for people to enjoy and to eat.

Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 6, in that day, there's that phraseology once again, the wolf and the lamb will live together. The wolf won't try to eat the lamb, as would happen today if there's a small, stray lamb running around. The wolf most likely is going to try to eat it, devour it, kill it. That will not be the case. Even the nature of animals, not simply the nature of man, which is selfish and negative, will be changed. But even the nature of aggressive animals will be changed. The wolf and the lamb will live together. The shepherd will die down with the baby goat. The leopard usually would eat the baby goat, but it will peacefully just lie down and take a nap with a baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion. They won't have to worry about the lion eating them. And a little child will leave them all safe, secure. A little child not worried about the wolf attacking it, or a lion or a leopard attacking it. Again, even the basic nature of animals will be changed and they'll become peaceful, not like they are in our fallen world today. Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 9, they shall not hurt nor destroy in all or in all my holy mountain. No more violence. No more one group of people hurting another group of people, because they don't like the way that they look, or they don't like the way that they act, or they don't like their culture. All of the violence, all of the hate, all of the aggression will be gone. For the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

In other words, it will be everywhere. The knowledge of God eventually will be all around every portion of the earth, every nation, every ethnicity, every former religious belief that people might have held on to, every city, every civilization. That's how much the knowledge of God will encircle the entire earth as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 20, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. These teachers are the elect who, again, were part of that resurrection that we saw in part one regarding Thessalonians and Corinthians. They lived a lifetime of overcoming in their lives. They were called in their physical lifetimes. They received God's Spirit. They worked very hard to overcome who and what they were. They changed their lives as much as they possibly could in their own lifetimes. And these are the ones who were the teachers in this kingdom, the coaches, the priests, those who were instructing the people. And it says your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore. What happens today if you were to point out someone's sin? Oh, you're laughed! You'll be mocked at. Oh, he's a religious person. He must be a Jesus freak.

Who are you to judge me and my lifestyle and what I do with my body? I mean, that's the attitude that we have in the world today. But in that world, because the knowledge of God will encircle the globe, and again, Satan will be restrained from not influencing the world because God's Spirit will be offered to everyone. Teachers will no longer be mocked and ridiculed. They won't feel like they're cornered. They'll have the courage and the freedom to teach people the right way to live. Your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way walk in it. Now don't do that. You're going to hurt yourself. That's going to boomerang on you. Instead, I strongly encourage you to make this decision, to do it this way. Whenever you turn to the right hand, or wherever you turn to the left, there will be a coach. There will be someone who loves you, someone there to guide people in that kingdom. Again, no longer mocking those who serve God and point out sin, as occurs in our world today. There will be a godly form of education and coaching from those who had been prepared in their physical lifetimes to serve in these positions. Since they were physical and they had to overcome a lot, we could say, we have a phrase today, been there, done that. They can say to the people in that new kingdom, I know what it was like to be physical. I know what it's like to experience temptation like you are. I know what it's like to be challenged in my values and beliefs like you are, because I lived that kind of a life. So we will be able to relate to them. We will be able to talk to them. We will be able to serve them in a wonderful and profound way. Isaiah 66 and verse 22, there will even be an enhanced form of worship that doesn't exist in our world today. Isaiah 66 and verse 22, For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your descendants and your name remain. No longer will there be death. No longer will families die in terrible wars, be wiped out by diseases and plagues. That won't happen anymore.

And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh, not just Jews, not just the descendants of Abraham, not just some select group of people, but all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord. Now, the command instruction here from one new moon to another doesn't even exist presently. In ancient Israel, they didn't worship God in the new moons. They had to celebrate the new moons because they didn't have calendars.

And the only way to figure out when it was time to plant and when it was time to reap and how old you are was to meticulously observe the new moons because they didn't have a calendar with grids on it. They couldn't turn forward five pages and calculate when something would happen, when something did happen. Because it was primarily an illiterate society, they had to meticulously observe the new moons, which they did. But they weren't necessarily periods of worship. And this tells us that in the world to come, that people will celebrate on those new moons as well as on the weekly Sabbath. Zechariah 14 and verse 16, something that surprises a lot of people who don't want to keep or observe those holy days that I mentioned earlier in Leviticus chapter 23. I mentioned about the Feast of Trumpets. Well, after the Feast of Trumpets, there's another one of those holy days called the Feast of Tabernacles. And here's a prophecy about those who literally came to fight against Jesus Christ at His return. Then the survivors of all the nations, that's every nation, that have attacked Jerusalem will go up yearly to worship the King. Their representatives will go to Jerusalem every year and worship the King. When? We'll let the Scripture answer that question. The Lord God Almighty to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. Why? Because the Festival of Tabernacles picture the very topic you and I have been talking about today. And that is the kingdom of God. That's what those holy days represent. All seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles. And then there's a very special day after it called the Eighth Day or the Last Great Day. And we have some great booklets if you'd like to learn more about those holy days and why they should be observed today. So the kingdom of God is God's greatest gift to humankind. It's a fulfillment of something that He wanted to do since the foundation of the world before Adam and Eve were even created. He will restore that garden paradise He created in Eden. Only it won't be just limited, the one portion of the earth. It was lost because of disobedience and sin, but that garden paradise will be expanded to encompass all of the earth. Revelation chapter 2 and verse 7, to Him who overcomes, and that's referring to the elect of this age who work very hard to use the Spirit of God to overcome that human nature, to overcome that selfishness that resides within all of us, and to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit that transforms our thinking and our lives to Him who overcomes.

I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God, the entire earth at that time, will be the paradise of God. So let's take a look and recap some of the things that we've talked about during the two sessions that we spoke today. Number one, Jesus Christ rules the earth with His saints, with His elect, who were part of that very special resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ. Satan has been removed from the earth. He's in a spiritual lockdown, a spiritual prison for a thousand years, and that makes a big difference in this world. The nature of animals and humans will be changed. God's Holy Spirit will be available to everyone, not just a few. And the law of God will be written on individual hearts, and that's because they have received that Spirit. They'll do good things. They'll obey God because they want to, not because they have to. Again, a big change compared to human nature and the world that we experience today. The knowledge of the Lord will eventually cover the entire earth beginning in Jerusalem, where Jesus first arrives and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives. All nations of every people, of every color, of every ethnicity, of every former religious belief, will desire to learn the teachings of Jesus Christ. And many of them will take a journey and flow to Jerusalem or flow to areas of the earth where the knowledge of God has already grown and expanded so that they can learn more. War will be abolished. Human emotions like fear and sorrow, human experiences like death, will be replaced. They'll be abolished. They'll be replaced with the law of God. Romans chapter 13 in verse 10 says, love is the fulfilling of the law.

And people will desire to love God the way He desires to be worshipped and loved. And people will respect and love their neighbors all around the world and have that desire to love as God wants us to love. No more violence, no more evil, no more diseases, no more pain. Planet Earth will be healed from the mass destruction that occurred during the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. All pollution will be vacated. Extreme climate change will be eliminated. The temperatures of the earth will be moderated from the excessively cold areas, from on the other extremely excessively hot desert areas, will all be modified. And the entire environment of the earth will change. An abundance of food will be available everywhere, ending all hunger and disease because a lot of diseases today, as I mentioned earlier, are caused by malnutrition, which makes us vulnerable to catching viruses and particularly childhood diseases when our bodies are weakened due to starvation and hunger. All of that has been eliminated and is gone. Universal healing of all diseases, no more need for health care. Just think of all the money, all the hundreds and millions of hours every year the human beings spend going to the doctors. I mean, I have seniors in my congregation who say, Mr. Thomas, all I do all week is go to the doctor. I've got this doctor on Monday, this doctor on Tuesday, another doctor on Wednesday, this doctor on Friday. It seems like all I get done are going to doctor's offices. All of that will be eliminated. No need for Medicare. I can give up my Medicare card. No need for Medicaid.

No more prescriptions. People will say, what's a prescription? That must have been something that happened in the old earth because we don't have that here. No more hospitals. They'll be eliminated because there will be no need. They'll go bankrupt. They'll all go out of business. Hopefully, they'll maybe repurpose themselves into promoting good, abundant health rather than just trying to treat disease or the effects of disease. Healing and education will lead to the elimination of poverty. A lot of poverty is caused by poor decision-making because of a lack of good education, but everyone will have access to the knowledge of God. People's decision-making will improve.

Therefore, their actions will improve. No longer will people hurt themselves or boomerang upon themselves because they make poor value judgments. The values of God will be taught from the moment of birth and will be reinforced through every structure of society. People will make wise decisions and good education will eliminate poverty, along with healing because poverty is also caused by a lot of people with chronic severe diseases. All of those diseases will be healed. There will be universal worship of the Creator God centered on how He desires to be honored. Unlike the world today, where most of the holidays in the Christian world that are supposed to honor God, frankly, are borrowed from paganism. It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

And they've basically borrowed from other gods, other traditions, other customs, and they've relabeled it. And they've created God in their own image instead of saying, God, how do you want to be worshiped? They've basically said, God, I'm going to worship you the way I want to, or the way because my church says that I should worship you on this particular day or in this particular way.

Instead, in that world, there's going to be one basic, simple question, and that is, God, how do you desire to be worshiped? It's not about me. It's not about my traditions. It's not about me growing up around the Christmas tree handing out gifts, looking at colored lights on the tinsel tree. That's not important to me anymore. What's important to me is how do you desire to be honored and worshiped? Because that's what I want to do. So, as we can get ready to conclude, part two, I just want to give you a foretaste of after the thousand years. Because there's a period after the thousand years that is also quite remarkable. We don't have the opportunity to go in the detail on this today. But Revelation, near the end of the Bible, the end of the book of Revelation, after the kingdom of God has been established for a thousand years, we get a glimpse of another very miraculous event that's going to occur in the earth. Now, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. This is a spiritual introduction to something that's brand new and wonderful and didn't occur during the thousand years. Verse 3, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And by the way, that's another reason we celebrate the feast of tabernacles, because we look forward to a time when God will reside on the earth.

And He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. And God Himself will be with them, and be their God. Now, Jesus Christ has already been on earth for a thousand years. This is literally talking about God the Father bringing His throne and His presence in a new city called New Jerusalem down upon this earth. And not only will Jesus Christ, but God the Father, will also tabernacle on this earth with humankind. And as it says, He will be with them, and He will be their God. Verse 10, And showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven. That's not something that happens before this time. It doesn't happen during the thousand years. Descending out of heaven from God and having the glory of God. And then something else that's totally unique. But I saw no temple in it. This is this new Jerusalem, which is spiritual. It's not a physical city. For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Again, reinforcing that not only will Jesus Christ reside in this earth, but God the Father will also come down and His presence will emanate on this earth as well. The city had no need for sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. This great God, whose light is greater than that of the sun, of all of the stars, His very presence will illuminate the entire earth.

And there'll be no longer a need for the sun or the moon to shine on it. So as we conclude, I just want to give you some food for thought for those of you particularly who are guests with us today. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 21. To Him who overcomes, again in context, talking about that elect going all the way back to Corinthians and Thessalonians, and that's why I needed to cover that in part one. To Him who overcomes, who was called in this physical lifetime and spent their energies on making God number one in their lives, and overcame through the gift of God's Holy Spirit given to them who and what they were to become better, not perfect. We can't do that. We're mere human beings. We can only do our best and trust that Jesus Christ will do the rest when we fall short. But they work hard to overcome their humanity, their carnal human nature, their selfishness.

He says, I will grant to sit with me on my throne so they'll be in a rulership position with my Father on His throne so they will be there serving God as a child of God, spiritual, immortal, incorruptible, serving God and serving humanity forever and ever. Now, when you go to the book of Acts 2, verse 37, you see a very powerful sermon that was given by Peter on the day of Pentecost, 31 A.D., and as a result of his message, some people did this. It says, and when they heard this, they came under deep conviction. They were moved. They thought, this is the time for me to make a difference in my life. They heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what must we do? In other words, okay, I get it. I understood the message today.

Where do I go from here? What's my next step? And these, again, are those who developed godly character in their lives, overcoming their selfish human nature, and they use the Holy Spirit to develop those spiritual qualities in their lifetime. They indeed are overcomers, and they will be leaders serving in the kingdom of God. And why? What's the benefit of making a commitment to Jesus Christ today? What's a benefit of accepting God's calling? What's the benefit of responding to that calling, repenting of our sins, fellowshiping with people of like mind, and continuing to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord? What benefit is there to that? Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, if Christ is the center of their life, if knowing God is important to them, and they're inspired, and they're moved, and they're motivated by what they know and what they've heard, that person is a new creation.

When that happens in your life, everything changes. You have a new direction in life, no longer focusing on mere physical things, but a new direction. You're focusing on eternity.

You're focusing on spiritual things. You have greater meaning in life. You realize that you live in the light of eternity. You live more than just 10, 20, 30, 40 years, depending on how old we are, before we expire and die, but that we live in the light of eternity, and that God has something truly wonderful planned for us. We have a deeper sense of purpose, again, that just goes beyond physical goals and physical achievements. We have a purpose knowing that this life has an incredible value, and that value is that we learn from that life, and we learn from our mistakes. We learn from the good things and bad things, and it helps us to become spiritually mature. It prepares us for a time when we can serve others who, at that time, will also be physical. It helps us to relate to them, because our struggles will be their struggles, and the things that we learn, we can share and teach them and help them to learn God's way of life. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become brand new.

We have different goals. We have different purpose, a different life orientation, and we had before we were called and converted. It literally changes who and what we are.

God may be giving you an invitation to become part of his ruling family at the return of Jesus Christ. Perhaps something you heard today connected with you. Perhaps you desire to take the steps to become one of those elect and to dedicate the rest of your physical life to overcoming and to becoming the full potential that God wants to give you in this physical lifetime.

This may be your personal invitation to train and prepare now to assist Jesus Christ as priests, as teachers, as leaders in that wonderful world tomorrow in the kingdom of God.

The choice is yours, and only you can answer that question. I want to thank you for attending today. You have been our guest, and we really appreciate you taking time out of your day to come here and hear the gospel, the good news of the coming kingdom of God. I encourage you to stay a while and enjoy some snacks. We have more than just liquid refreshments. We have some nice food for you to munch on. Feel free to spend some time and make some new friends. If you're a guest here, you don't know the majority of people who are here.

So you can take the time to say, hi, I'm so-and-so, and who are you? And make a new friend.

Feel free to visit our literature rack in the vestibule. A lot of great literature there, and I encourage you to check it out. And just to let you know that we are the Greater Cleveland Congregation, and we meet here every seventh-day Sabbath in case you would want to come and visit us again in the future. So again, I say, God, may God bless all of you. I'm going to have a brief prayer before we have a special musical presentation, if you'll please bow your heads.

Our gracious Father, we thank you for those who have come here today as our guests to hear the good news of your kingdom. We pray that they have been moved and inspired and motivated to want to love your word, to like the ancient prophets to long for the kingdom of God, to yearn for it, to desire it in their lives. We ask you, Father, to protect them, to your ministering angels, and we ask you to guide them throughout their lives and give them wisdom and give them a spiritual inclination and yearning and a desire to know you more thoroughly and completely. We ask your very special blessing upon them, and we thank you for their presence, and we thank you for them being here today and sharing their lives with us, and we ask this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Okay, to conclude the seminar today, we have a special musical presentation.

By someone whom I've also known for about 50 years. He actually was a teacher's assistant when I was back in college about the age of 18 years old. So that's how long I've known him. His name is Mark Graham. He's written many hymns, and his hymns are published in a number of different religious organizations, and we are very pleased to have him as part of our congregation.

And today he is going to perform a song that he wrote entitled, One Thing I'd Want them to Know. So we will conclude the seminar with Mr. Graham's performance.

["One Thing I'd Want them to Know"] Some children in this world have to cry themselves to sleep. Some children in this world they'll never have enough to eat. Some children live in bodies that will never be quite right, and there's nothing I can do but wish with all my might.

I just want to hold them, put my arms around them, tell them that there's only so much time to go. Soon the king will be here, things will all be better.

It's one thing I'd want them to know. Some people in this world have lost more than they've won. Some have lost their fortunes, some have lost their sons, and some of them have lost so much they've nowhere left to fall.

And though they may not listen, I want to tell them all.

I just want to hold them, put my arms around them, tell them that there's only so much time to go.

Soon the king will be here, things will all be better.

It's one thing I'd want them to know.

And I know when he returns, there will be so much that's right. The earth will be a garden, the world will all be light, but even more I'm living for the chance to be there when we teach the broken people and give them hope again.

I just want to hold them, put my arms around them, tell them that their sorrow finally now is through. The king is on his throne now, things will all be better.

It's one thing that I'd like to do. I just want to hold them, put my arms around them, tell them that there's only so much time to go. Soon the king will be here, things will all be better.

It's one thing I'd want them to know.