Man’s Only Hope for Survival

And now to begin our first of two seminar sessions, I'd like to introduce our presenter today, who is also the pastor of the United Churches of God in Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas, Mr. Mark Welch.

Thank you, Mr. Hopper, and good morning to all of you. It's nice to see everyone here today, and welcome to our guests.

Today's world is a picture of contrast, wherever we look. It's like the time described by Charles Dickens in his novel, The Tale of Two Cities. Remember, he said, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. On one hand, the globalized world of technology has created an interconnected world of commerce and communication that has raised the standard of living for much of the world to the highest in human history. Today is a time of great wealth, and yet it is potentially the worst of times. Nuclear war is still a great threat, particularly in the Middle East. Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons while Israel decides whether it will act to prevent the development of this ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Of course, a nuclear weapon could wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and that's exactly what many of those countries over there would like to do. A nuclear-armed Middle East is more frightening, frankly, than the Cold War standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States. Since, as the Arab Spring has shown, many of these nations are very unstable, and terrorism, perhaps even nuclear terrorism, is a huge threat to this world. The world economy, while generating vast wealth, there are more millionaires today than ever.

So this economy, although it's generating vast wealth, is also going through a crisis created by the enormous burden of debt owed by the most powerful regions here in the United States and also in Western Europe. Now, this debt could create economic meltdowns that would really change the face of the earth a great deal. New power blocks would emerge. The geopolitical structure would change dramatically, could very easily, bringing down existing major powers and creating new ones.

So today's news can be frightening in many respects. There is a global financial crisis. Many people will admit that. Some still don't like to admit it. There are conflicts around the world. The Sudan has been a major area of conflict. There have been wars and famines that have taken place, volcanoes in some areas. There have been big threats coming from North Korea and also from Iran. These nations are not very stable, and we just don't know how everything will turn out. Over in Indonesia, a few years ago, there was a tsunami that killed over 200,000 people. There was a recent earthquake and concern about other tsunamis. So there is a great deal to be concerned about in the world.

And we also see the moral fabric of society being shredded with assaults on the family and morality, creating a culture that would be unrecognizable to our parents and grandparents only a generation or two ago. So the world really is changing a great deal. Homosexual marriage, which just received the stamp of approval by the President of the United States, also the culture of abortion with its murder of 70 to 80 million unborn babies that have been killed over the past several decades in the United States alone, is just a continual assault on morality and decency from our popular entertainment today. We've created a culture of evil that will not admit God.

In fact, many are professed atheists in this country. Many are agnostics. And this world is heading for the precipice. It's heading for a time of world trouble of unprecedented proportions. We're at the brink of some very tumultuous times ahead. Our courts have stripped prayer out of our schools and from public life.

We've reached a critical crossroads of religious and spiritual confusion that will bring this world to the brink of destruction. And also, the financial issues on the world scene today could easily get very much out of hand. The tremendous debt to trillions and trillions of dollars, it doesn't make sense that it can go on like this forever. So we've reached a critical crossroads of religious and spiritual confusion that will bring this world down unless something happens.

And frankly, the Scripture tells us that unless we repent and change our ways, things will not turn around, things will get worse and worse. Jesus Christ Himself said of world conditions just before His return. He said in Matthew 24, verse 22, For then there will be great tribulations, such as not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be, and if those days had not been cut short, if God had not intervened, no human being would be saved, no one would be saved alive.

We would destroy ourselves off the face of the earth. But for the sake of the elect, those God is working with and choosing now, those days will be cut short. God is going to intervene in the future. There is a solution, and that solution is in the real hope of the coming Kingdom of God.

It is the only realistic solution for the world problems that we see around us. The prophesied Kingdom of God, long foretold in your Bible, is real, and it is coming. You are here at this seminar to understand what you can do to prepare in advance of this coming Kingdom. The revealed knowledge in this seminar will allow you to make a difference in your life now, and it will prepare you for a role in that coming Kingdom. Listen to what is said, and ask yourself if you are ready to make some changes in your life. What did Jesus Christ focus on while He was on this earth?

In other seminars in the past, we've gone to Mark 1, verses 14 and 15, where it shows that the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. We have given this particular Kingdom of God seminar today, or next week, or in the next couple of weeks, all around the world. We have seminars in Sri Lanka, South Africa, in Nigeria, in Kenya, in Australia. All around the world, we are giving these seminars because we believe we are to fulfill this commission of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

And what message did Jesus Christ command His followers to preach this message of the Kingdom of God? So we are following Christ's example, and He also instructed His disciples to also preach this Gospel. For example, in Luke 9, verses 1 and 2, Christ called His twelve disciples together, and He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God. And again, here in Matthew 24, we see that the Gospel of the Kingdom is to be preached by Christ's disciples, and then the end will come.

Clearly, this Gospel message should be preached today. We want the return of Jesus Christ, and only until this Gospel is preached will the end come. Now, we might ask ourselves, was this theme of the Kingdom of God, was it a major theme in Paul's teaching? Was it a major theme in what Paul had to say about the world? First, I'd like to go to Acts 19, verse 8, where it says, Paul went into the synagogues, and he boldly preached the things concerning the Kingdom of God. And there were Jews, and there were Gentiles who came to these presentations that Paul gave.

In Acts 28, verse 23, So all day long, Paul would explain about the coming Kingdom of God and the Master Plan of Salvation, that God is working out here on this earth. And then in verses 30 and 31 of Acts 28, it says So Paul boldly spoke the things of the Kingdom of God.

And Paul emphasized this theme, continuing the teaching of Jesus Christ and the other apostles. So we're just carrying on what has already been started long ago, 2,000 years ago, by Jesus Christ and by the apostles. We believe we are Christ's disciples today, and we have a job to do.

What did Jesus Christ Himself say should be the goal of every Christian? We find that here in Luke, chapter 12.

Christ said, but seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

Now we live in a world where, frankly, most people are not seeking first the Kingdom of God. Most people are seeking their own pursuits with very little thought about the Kingdom of God.

In verse 32, Christ said, He was speaking to His disciples, to His church. He said, It pleases God to give us His Kingdom. His disciples are to be given the Kingdom of God. It's important that we understand what that means.

So this is the ultimate goal of the followers of Jesus Christ, to enter into and share in the Kingdom of God.

But what is that Kingdom? What is that Kingdom going to be like? What is God going to give us? He wants to give us the Kingdom, but exactly what is the Kingdom of God?

Many people have a lot of questions about the Kingdom of God. Today we will answer many of those questions.

What is the Kingdom of God? What will it be like? What will we do in God's Kingdom? These are all important questions, and we need to know the answers to these questions.

Jesus was not bringing a new message. Frankly, the Kingdom had been long prophesied and was expected by the Jews of the first century.

Christ's message was long anticipated by the prophets. In the book of Acts, in chapter 3, it says, It says, And that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive, until the times of restoration of all things. That's what we're waiting for now. Christ has gone back to His Father. He's at the right hand of the Father.

But we are waiting for all things to be restored, which God has spoken by the mouth of all of His holy prophets since the world began.

The Old Testament prophets prophesied of the coming Kingdom of God. In fact, in Daniel 2, verse 44, we don't have it up on the screen, but let me read it to you, Daniel had long ago foretold the establishment of God's Kingdom. Daniel said in chapter 2, verse 44, And in the days of these kings, speaking about those kings who will be ruling on the earth just before Christ's return, talking about presidents and prime ministers, people who are now ruling, very likely many of them, who are now ruling this world, around the world, And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.

It's actually talking about those ten kings that will unite in the last days that the Bible prophesied about, and they will actually fight against Christ at His return.

So God is coming back. Christ is coming back. He'll set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. In other words, Christ is going to rule as King of Kings. He is going to rule, and He is going to break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. There are dramatic changes coming before Christ returns, but certainly some very dramatic changes coming after Christ returns. Will Jesus Christ literally return to earth? And who will come with Him? Let's look at Zechariah 14. We have it here on the screen.

Verse 4, And in that day, speaking about the day of Christ's return, And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley. Of course, the Mount of Olives exists today.

Thus the Lord, my God, will come, and all the saints with you, those who are considered the saints of God, those who are the firstfruits, those who God is working with now, those in whom God's Spirit dwells. They will come along with Christ.

They will rise to meet Christ in the air, and they will rule along with Christ, and they will rule a literal kingdom here on this earth. This prophecy describes Christ's literal return to earth, where He will meet and be accompanied by the resurrected saints, those set apart in this age as God's true followers. They will descend to the Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem. Other prophecies show that enemy forces will actually attempt to fight Christ and His saints, but will be utterly defeated. After that, Christ and the saints will bring wonderful changes to this world. So what role will Jerusalem play after Christ's return to the Mount of Olives? Here's a picture of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives.

In Zechariah 8, verse 3, Thus says the LORD, I will return to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. He will come to the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the holy mountain, the government of God, will proceed from Jerusalem. Christ will be there. It will be His headquarters. In Jeremiah 3, verse 17, At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Eternal. That's where God will rule, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD to Jerusalem.

No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. Frankly, that's what's happening today. The rulers of this world, and Satan the devil is the ruler of this world, he is the God of this world, according to the Bible, and those who rule under him, who rule the nations, they're not ruling with the love of God in their hearts, but they're frankly ruling with the dictates of their evil hearts.

And that's why we have so many troubles and problems upon the earth today. Notice here in Isaiah 2, and this is from the New Living Translation of the Bible, In the last days the mountain of the Lord's house will be the highest of all, the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. This is going to happen in the future.

People from many nations will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob's God. There He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For the Lord's teaching will go out from Zion, His word will go out from Jerusalem. Big changes are coming. Now in Revelation 11, verse 15, And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world, the kingdoms of the world that we see today, that rule over the nations, they have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He, Christ, shall reign for ever and ever.

There will be a millennial reign for a thousand years here on the earth. And Jerusalem, that ancient city over which so much blood has been shed throughout the centuries, will be the governmental and religious center of the world in the kingdom of God. Notice that the kingdom of God established by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will take control over the kingdoms of this world. And again, it will be a literal kingdom, replacing the present systems of government which have refused to accept and to enforce the laws of God. This godly kingdom will become a reality at the return of Jesus Christ.

Now we might ask ourselves, What is going to be so different about this kingdom compared to today's world? Well, one factor is huge, and I mentioned it already. People don't realize what is behind nearly all of our problems today. There is an unseen spiritual power at work today. It's working in the sons of disobedience, the Scripture says, and Christ calls this power the ruler of this world.

And no one is going to be able to solve our problems until the source of those problems, Satan the devil, is removed. One thing must be done first before the world can begin to change from the way it is today.

So what is one of the very first things that Jesus Christ must do and will do? We find it in Revelation 20. Verse 1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. This angel is a messenger from God coming to take care of Satan the devil. And he sees the dragon, that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan, and he bound him in chains for a thousand years, a millennium, a thousand years.

Verse 3. He then shot and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore. He bound Satan so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward, he must be released for a little while. He will be released according to God's plan. God does have a master plan, and that plan is being worked out here below. Then with the cause of so many of our problems removed, the world will begin to be transformed under the righteous reign of Jesus Christ as the long-promised Messiah.

See, again, it shows that it's going to be a thousand-year reign of Christ. It will be a millennium. It will last a thousand years on the earth. And there will be a tremendous transformation that will take place during that thousand-year period. Look at the stark contrast here on the screen today. We see a good bit of the world under the kind of conditions that we see on your left here on the screen. There's poverty. There's squalor in the world. But on the right, we also see some beauty, which, frankly, you can find this if you go to some national parks, you go to some beautiful places here on earth.

You can find some of these forerunners of the kingdom of God. But eventually, this whole world is going to be transformed. It's going to be a much different world. Notice here in Isaiah 51, verse 3, For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all of her waste places, He will make her wilderness like Eden, like the garden of Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody, a beautiful song that will be sung throughout the millennium, a time of joy and gladness for everyone.

Again, the deserts are going to blossom like the rose. We see a desert. It's going to blossom like the rose. In Isaiah 35, verse 1, The wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. My wife and I made a recent trip to Jerusalem, to Israel, and we saw what some stewardship can do. The deserts have been blossoming like a rose. In certain parts of Israel, it's amazing how beautiful the land is, and it is flowing with milk and honey in those areas that have been transformed.

We're going to see the whole entire world transformed. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy. The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon. There the Lord will display His glory. He will display the splendor of our God. Verse 7, The parts ground will become a pool, no longer desert, a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.

There will be rain in due season. And there will be a transformation. Again, we see on the screen a wonderful transformation coming to this entire world. It is a time to look forward to with great anticipation. In Isaiah 41, verse 18, from the New Living Translation, I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.

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 parts ground. I will plant trees in the barren desert, cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine. It will become a beautiful transformed world, a wonderful millennial reign under Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 41, verse 20, I am doing this, so all who see this miracle will understand what it means. That it is the Lord who has done this. The Holy One of Israel who created it. All people will come to know the Lord during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Frankly, today we live in tremendous confusion, religiously, spiritually. There is so much confusion. People don't have answers, but they will have answers in the future. We have the answers today because God has revealed these answers to us.

And we believe the Bible, and we follow the Bible, and that makes all the difference in the world. There will be tremendous abundance. This planet will become enormously fruitful and productive. Just imagine how much we do to destroy the planet today, and yet there is so much abundance. Billions of people fed on this earth. And so much of this land is not in good shape.

It doesn't have the kind of reigns that it needs. What a different world we'll see in the future. There will be tremendous abundance. Notice here in Amos 9, verse 13, Behold, the days are coming, and you can count on this. These are the words of God, and God is not a liar. These times are coming. The days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowmen shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him who sows seed. In other words, they won't be able to keep up with all the abundance. They won't even finish harvesting one crop, and they'll be planting a new one, and more crops will be harvested, and that cycle will continue, and this planet will become enormously fruitful and productive.

The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. The world will see astounding, miraculous healings in the future. Today we live in a world where many people suffer greatly. People are not being healed the way they'll be healed in the future. Now, there are a few cases where God does intervene and heal people today, but many people die of awful diseases.

In the world tomorrow, in Isaiah 35, we see when Christ comes, He will open the eyes of the blind. He will unplug the ears of those who are deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy. Springs will gust forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. This is a consistent message throughout the entire Bible, and some people don't even believe you should read the Old Testament. These are scriptures that come from the Old Testament. These are prophecies that we need to know and understand. There will be peace on the world, such as it has never been in the past. Nations will be at peace. Mankind will learn war no more. Notice Micah 4. Christ shall judge between many peoples. He will rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares. And they will beat their spears into pruning hooks. And that's the symbol at the United Nations. But it isn't working. It's not working on this earth, but it will work during the Millennial reign of Christ. They will beat their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. And neither shall they learn war anymore. God is love, and all people will come to know God as He is. Love will come forth from Jerusalem, and the world will be changed. Micah 4, verse 4, But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid. But we live in a world where many people are so fearful of their own shadows, of even coming out of their homes. No one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the eternal of hosts has spoken. It's going to happen because God says it's going to happen. But do you believe it? And are you living your life as you believe it? In Isaiah 11, it shows there will be tremendous safety in God's kingdom. The wolf will dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together, And a little child shall lead them. What a wonderful time when little children will be able to play with lions and bears. What a wonderful time when lambs won't be eaten, but they will be played with by their friends, the lions and the tigers. It's a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to it. The little child will play with them. I'm a new grandfather. I'm looking forward to the time when I will see little children playing with these animals. Because, you know, the knowledge of God is going to cover the entire earth. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all of my holy mountain. That's what God says. God hates oppression. God hates slavery. The truth is what makes us free. And you're hearing the truth today. It's right from the Bible. It's from the Word of God. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Where will you be in the days ahead? How will you be living your life in the days ahead, prior to Christ's return? Some very special times are coming upon the earth. Notice in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 50, it says, "...flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption." In the fullest sense, it isn't flesh and blood that will inherit the fullness of the kingdom. There will be a literal kingdom here on the earth, and there will be human beings that will live into the millennial reign of Christ.

But there will be spirit beings also who will rule and reign with Christ. And that's what we're talking about now. It's the fullness of God's kingdom when we will no longer be held down by this physical flesh. The flesh holds us down. It gets old. And we eventually die. We're all getting older. I'm getting older. You're getting older. We're all getting older. And flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

Behold, I tell you a mystery, a hidden truth. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Paul is saying that there will be people who will be alive on the earth when Christ returns, who will be the servants of God, protected by God, and they will live up until the return of Christ. They will see some very tumultuous cataclysmic things happen on the earth, and God will protect them supernaturally.

And they will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. Those who are alive will be changed instantaneously at the last trumpet, at the return of Christ, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible. Those who are in the grave now will come out of the grave. They will be resurrected to eternal life, to spirit life, and we shall be changed from this physical to spirit. That's what we have to look forward to in the future, and you don't hear that kind of a message very often.

This is a message of hope. It is the message of tremendous joy. So ask yourself, is this you? Will you be one who has changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet? Or if you have died, will you be one who comes out of the grave, at the return of Christ, to meet Him in the air, and to come back here and rule with Him on the earth?

That's what the Bible teaches. Notice Daniel 7, verse 18. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom. God is going to give the kingdom to His saints, to those who obey and follow Him, those who keep His commandments, those who do those things that are pleasing in His sight, those who fellowship together, frankly, who fellowship among God's people, and are taught by God as God wants them to know and understand His truth. They will possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. And in Revelation 5, verse 9, it says, You ransomed for God's saints from every tribe and language and people and nation.

God is calling people out of every nation today, out of every country. This Gospel message is going to the entire world, and God is calling people from all nations. And you have made them to be a kingdom and priests, serving our God, and they will reign on earth. They're going to reign on earth for that thousand years. They will reign along with Christ. Again, is this you? Notice Luke 22, verses 29 and 30. But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. Christ was persecuted, Christ was crucified. His disciples will be persecuted. And as we draw closer to the return of Christ and the end of this age, there will be persecution upon God's people.

And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones. Christ was talking to the twelve disciples. They will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. In Revelation 3, verse 21, it says, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

And that's where Christ is today. He's at the right hand of God. He makes intercession for those He loves and those He's calling today. Our sins may be forgiven because of Christ's sacrifice, because of the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, a new world is coming. A new time is coming. Will you be a part of that kingdom? Will you be prepared for the days ahead? It doesn't matter how old you are. If you're alive today, God wants to prepare you for His kingdom.

In Luke, chapter 19, verses 11 through 27, and I'm not going to take the time to read it, but it shows through a parable that God has given to His servants a calling. He has given them knowledge and abilities that they must act upon. It's represented by menas and talents. Remember those who were given rule over cities, and they were given certain talents. They were expected to use those talents. You're here today because God is calling you.

God is working with you. He's opening your mind. Some of you have been here for 40 or 50 years, sitting in these seats, each Sabbath, coming here and listening to God's Word expounded. You've been faithful, and there are some of you that are very new. But God is calling all of us to use the talents, the abilities that He's given us, and to be profitable servants. So Jesus here represents in this parable those progressing in service to God in differing degrees, being rewarded with rule over various numbers of cities in the future age, during the Millennial reign of Christ.

Each person whom God has called and chosen has the responsibility to remain faithful to the end and to use His or her life to prepare for a role in this coming Kingdom. Hopefully today you've seen the vision of God's Kingdom. You've seen the beauty of God's Kingdom. You've seen the abundance of God's Kingdom. You've seen a world that's going to change. It's a world to look forward to.

That is what God's calling is all about. It's changing our lives so that we might be pleasing to God. You can be a part of His Kingdom. You are hearing advanced news. You are hearing special news that the vast majority of the earth does not hear. Billions of people have never heard these words spoken. They don't know what you've just heard. They don't understand what God is doing. So you are hearing advanced news. You are hearing the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of peace and joy and prosperity.

Frankly, the choice is yours. What are you going to do with your calling? Are you going to be faithful? Are you going to answer the call? Have you repented?

You know, that's what the next session is going to be about. What is repentance? Do you even understand what repentance is? And have you repented?