Welcome to the Kingdom of God

Also, to the left. So, the format today is a little different than what we're used to. Today, we'll have our first segment, and then we will have finger foods. Now, it's about a 20-minute finger food. I know most of us aren't ready, you know, for a 20-minute finger food. But, if we can, make our way down there after the first segment, and then we'll get through the line and get back up and ready for part number two.

But, it's going to be an exciting seminar today, and we're excited to have this and do this. So, before we get started, if everybody would please just bow their head, we will ask a blessing on today's services.

Eternal Holy, your righteous Father, we come before you today. We thank you very much, Father, that you have allowed us to be here and meet here and worship you. And we thank you that we are called to be together and that your Holy Spirit does reflect in our lives, and we can use that to live and to build in our life. Father, we thank you for that. We thank you for these seminars that we're having today. And we know that the Kingdom of God, your Kingdom of God that's coming, is what it's all about. And that's what we're here for. We're here to learn, and we want to learn. And we ask, Father, that you would speak through your ministers, and that we would take in all the knowledge that's being put out there for us, and we would understand this and put it into our lives. Father, we thank you very much for this opportunity. We thank you that we could be here, and we look forward to this. Father, we love you, and we ask all this in the name of our authority, your Son, our soon-coming King, and our Old Brother, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, to get started today, we have the opportunity to hear from our local minister in this area, in this Portsmouth, West Portsmouth, United Church of God, as well as Pressersburg, Kentucky, United Church of God. Mr. Frank Dunkel is our minister, and he comes to us. He's a new implant for this area, and we welcome him very much, and we're very excited to have him here.

And Mr. Dunkel has a deep background in history and theology. He holds a degree from the Ambassador College University, as well as the University of Texas in Tyler, and also Texas A&M. So we look forward to hearing from him. So, to go ahead and get things started, the first segment, without further ado, we have Mr. Frank Dunkel.

Thank you very much, Mr. Call. Good morning to all of you, and welcome. We have some visitors, and as Mr. Call mentioned, I've only been down here a few weeks, so there might be some people that are visitors, and I don't know that you're new. But just to let you know, we do normally have church services here every Saturday, most often at 11 o'clock, often at 2.30. The format is a little bit different at those times, but we will be welcoming all of you who are visiting to come and join us other times to hear more about the message of God's truth. We're very glad to have you here now today. And we did want to do this, and I should let you know that these seminars are going on across the country and even in other nations today. There are about 160 of them that will be held. We wanted people to know that in addition to the Good News magazine that we produce, the Vertical Thought for Teens, the World News and Prophecy, and the Beyond Today TV program, we do have local congregations, and we live this way of life, and we're excited to share it with people. So having said that, I do want to welcome you to the Kingdom of God seminar series. Today we're going to discuss a bold new world that will be coming to this earth. And it's important that we look at this soon because time is of the essence. Our world today is waning. It's coming to its end before a new world can begin. This new world is going to be carefully governed as one overall kingdom. It'll be the kingdom of God. At that time, the whole world is going to have one great king of kings, one government ruled by Jesus Christ, who will be that king.

But one of the things we want to discuss is just what is the kingdom of God? How will it come to earth? That is what this seminar series is all about. Throughout these seminars, we're going to be covering these questions and answer many more. And it is important to realize we're going to have the seminar today, and about four months we have another one scheduled for the public. And we'll continue those every so often, and we welcome any visitors to come at those times. And of course, as I mentioned, you're welcome to join us for church services. Let's ask some questions, though, that we're going to delve into. How will prophecies of God's kingdom affect America and other nations in the coming months and years? We certainly live in a dangerous and troubled time today. Consider that tomorrow will be September 11th, the tenth-year anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York City.

Well, not only New York City, but also, of course, on the Pentagon, and the failed attack where the plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Also consider that there have been earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, disasters and horrendous crimes. Terrorism, not to mention economic uncertainty. A lot of children are looking to the future and wondering, am I going to be able to make a living? How are we going to get by?

There are international tensions, revolutions and threats of war. That might make us wonder, where exactly are we in Bible prophecy? The Bible foretells many things, but many of the events it predicts are not necessarily in a clear order, or it might be difficult to put them together, and we want to look at that today. Additionally, how will fulfilled prophecy about the kingdom of God affect you and your family?

Another question we might ask is, why has modern Christianity not understood the kingdom of God? And besides that, how can Jesus Christ, the coming King of the kingdom of God, give us an inner peace during these difficult, turbulent times? We want to answer those questions and show from the Bible the wonder and the greatness of the gospel of the kingdom of God. That's why you'll notice we have the screen up here. It's going to be showing the Scriptures for any visitors who might not have brought their Bibles. And for those of you that are accustomed to me giving a little longer pause to look up the Scriptures to maintain the flow of the event, we'll probably proceed a little more quickly than we do other times. I'll also mention, you might have noticed there are a couple of video cameras here besides the normal ones. It's not homeland security. No CIA operatives here or anything. Just because these events are going on across the country, our home office asked if any of us are able to do some video or professional photography. They'd like to have some of that footage that they can include in future video productions. So if you see the camera looking at you, just try to ignore it, now that I've brought them to your attention. Now, specifically in this first seminar today, we're going to examine this critical time in history. We'll discuss the end of the age of man just before the return of Jesus Christ at the coming Kingdom of God. We'll show why the Kingdom of God is a missing dimension of knowledge in today's governments and its business, education, religious systems, and much of professing Christianity. So we're going to cover several areas in the first seminar today, starting off with the Kingdom that nobody knows. Did you know that the Kingdom of God is not widely understood by modern Christianity? We could take what we might call the bookstore test, specifically a Christian bookstore. Imagine yourself walking down the aisle of a Christian bookstore, and you come into the aisle for doctrine. You're trying to find books about the Kingdom of God, or books which even just have Kingdom of God in the title. Now, there will be plenty of books about heaven and hell. There will be books about the Holy Spirit, about grace, and many other subjects. But typically you'll find few, perhaps none at all, that talk about the Kingdom of God. Now, why is that? Well, that's because modern Christianity tends to misunderstand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the message that He was bringing. What was the very message that Jesus Christ brought when He came to earth? Jesus came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. That was the essence and heart of His message. In Mark 1, early on in His ministry, He mentioned that, where it says, Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent! Believe in the Gospel.

Now, just in that passage alone, I'll point out, Jesus mentioned the Gospel of the Kingdom three different times. It may be surprising, but it's important for us to realize that the Gospel... Sorry, I misspoke there. It's important for us to realize that the Kingdom of God is not talking about heaven. Nineteen centuries ago, traditional Christianity replaced talking about the Kingdom of God with a teaching about going to heaven when a person dies. But in this regard, let's look at what Jesus Christ Himself said in John chapter 3.

He specifically said, No one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven. That is the Son of Man who is in heaven. Of course, I think John added that last part of the phrase later, when Jesus had already ascended back to heaven. So we see here, Jesus Christ Himself taught that people don't go to heaven. The biblical fact is that the Kingdom of God is coming to this earth.

It might be in heaven now, but it's going to come to this earth. And Luke 11, Jesus said to them, let's read, Jesus said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. That is, come to where we are. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Kingdom of God does reign in heaven, but Jesus said we should pray that it will come to this earth and that it will prevail here. Again, many people assume that the Kingdom of Heaven somehow means that the Kingdom is speaking of going to heaven. But that's not the case. Now, interestingly, the term Kingdom of Heaven is found 18 times in the book of Matthew. Matthew used the terms Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God interchangeably. But the fact is, the term Kingdom of Heaven means exactly the same thing as the term Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God, that is currently God the Father and Jesus Christ, that's presently in heaven. But the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is coming to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ.

Now, we need to discuss a couple of other things about the Kingdom of God. Let's ask the question, is the Church the Kingdom of God? The fact is, the Church is not the Kingdom of God. In the Bible, the true Church is described only as the forerunner or the spiritual diplomatic core of the coming Kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, his second letter, he said, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ.

Ambassadors is a fitting term when we speak of a kingdom, and we're going to talk a little bit more about what a kingdom is in a moment. But before that, let's address another important question that comes up often in churches. Is the Kingdom of God something that exists within people's hearts? You might have heard that teaching in other places. Some people assume that when they read this passage in the book of Luke, chapter 17, and this is during a confrontation that Jesus had with some Pharisees, and it says, Now that phrasing causes some people some trouble.

Now, remember who Jesus was speaking to? He was confronting Pharisees who stood in opposition to Him and everything He spoke of. They were not supporting the Kingdom of God, so certainly the Kingdom of God was not inside of them. Let's consider the Greek word that is translated within. It's the word entos. It's translated within in this passage, but it would be better if it were rendered in your midst or among you. In your midst, Jesus, who was the King of that Kingdom of God, was standing there right in their midst, expounding their message. They might have been standing all around Him, and He was saying, The Kingdom of God is in your midst, meaning that I'm right here.

You're asking me when the Kingdom of God is coming? Here I am. But of course, their minds were blinded. They didn't quite understand. And the Pharisees rejected Christ's gospel, His good news of the Kingdom of God. Now, when Jesus Christ returns to earth, where will the Kingdom be at that time? It will be in the midst of all mankind, all human beings.

He'll come to this earth and be in the middle of us, which He is not now. And then the Kingdom of God will be in our midst. That's very important for you and me today.

We may know Christ as Lord. We know Him as our Master, as a teacher, as a Savior, who paid a sacrifice for our sins. We might also know Him as the High Priest who is in Heaven. But Jesus Christ is also the King of the Kingdom of God, and He can be King in our lives now today, if we will let Him rule over us individually and personally. Now, what else can we learn about the Kingdom of God? Jesus Christ taught constantly about the Kingdom. It's interesting how leaders in some churches tend to overlook this, but if you read the words of Christ, He was continually giving parables and instruction about His Kingdom. And He told the disciples that the Kingdom should be the highest priority in their lives. Consider one of our very popular scriptures in Matthew 6. Matthew 6 and verse 33, He told His disciples, Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. His righteousness, of course, means God's, and all these things will be added to you. Jesus wants us to seek that Kingdom today and seek it first, put it highest in our lives. Another set of parables that shows us that the Kingdom should be the uppermost value in all of our lives can be found in Matthew 13.

Matthew 13, beginning in verse 44, Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found, and hid, and for the joy over it. Joy because he found this treasure that was worth more than anything else he had. So He goes and sells all that He has, and He buys that field. So the Kingdom of God is so valuable, it's worth more than anything else we might have.

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. And who, when he had found one pearl of great price, that could also be interpreted as one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had to buy it. The Kingdom of God is like that pearl. Its value is worth more than anything else we have. Any physical possessions, worth more even than family and friends, or fame or fortune.

Now, the Kingdom of God can and must be entered. You must enter the Kingdom of God to be a part of it. Let's consider Matthew 19. This says, Then Jesus said to His disciples, Assuredly I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again I say to you, It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.

Now did you notice there that the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are both used interchangeably there? There is where, as I said, those two phrases mean exactly the same thing and Jesus used them as such.

So, then I've been telling you what the Kingdom of God is not. It's not something set up in our hearts. It's not the Church. What is it? Well, it is the very government of God. A kingdom, you might think, is a type of government ruled by a king. Let's read in Matthew 19, verse 27. Peter asked a question to Jesus that all of us might ask at some point in our lives. It says, Then Peter answered and said to him, See, we've left all and followed you.

We've given up everything to follow you, Jesus, so what are we going to get? Therefore, what shall we have? And Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration, regeneration means remaking things when the world is made new, then the Son of Man, or when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory.

Notice, Jesus Christ is going to sit on a throne as a king. But when he does, it says, You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus promised the twelve apostles that they would rule over the twelve tribes of Israel and the Millennial Kingdom of God that will be established on earth. So he was talking about government.

He was talking about certain people having rule, exercising authority over others. You might wonder, okay, what is a kingdom? You're talking about a king and government. We often say there are four basic elements that are required of a kingdom. For a kingdom to exist, it has to have at least these four things. Number one is government. And of course, the government in this case will be the ruling family that currently consists of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Now, therefore, if somebody is ruling, there must be somebody that's being ruled. Ruler, ruled? Yes. So the subjects will be all mankind. All of us... Well, then again, I should rephrase that, because many of us will be invited to take part in the government. But all mankind who are living, and of course the angels, will be ruled. There has to be a territory. An area where the kingdom operates, only because God is without limits.

That territory will not be within limits. Such as in the middle ages, there was the kingdom of France, and you can look on a map and see the territory it governed, and it didn't go much further than that. Sometimes there were wars fought, trying to cover more territory and expand that kingdom. God's kingdom will continue to expand through peaceful means, and will encompass the whole earth and eventually the universe. And of course, any government, including a kingdom, must have a governing structure, a system of laws, a legal system. And God's government has a system of laws provided in His holy word, the Bible. Now, there's something else that is worth noting that is needed for the kingdom of God to operate.

And that's something that's very important to all of us, that something else is eternal life. Living forever without end. And in this case, it will be living forever in joy and happiness, great fulfillment.

Jesus continued when He was answering the apostles in Matthew 19, beginning in verse 29. He was continuing answering that question. Remember, they said, We've left everything. What are we going to have? He said, Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, wife, children, or lands, whatever you've given up for my sake, you shall receive a hundredfold. You might have given up some things, but the rewards will be so much greater.

And, as if that weren't enough, getting a hundredfold more than what you've given up is good, but He says, And you will inherit eternal life. You'll inherit eternal life. And He makes the comment that many who are last will be first, and the first will be last. God works in some ways we don't understand as to when He gives these rewards to people. But He makes it clear.

We give up physical things here and now to follow Him. The reward is eternal life. Let's also note something that's very interesting. God the Father wants to give us the Kingdom. It's one of the greatest things He takes delight in giving us.

Let's consider the Scripture in Luke 12. Luke 12 and verse 29, this is another version of something we quoted earlier, but Jesus said, And all those things will be added to you. Do not fear little flock. And God's Church and His people have often been a small number, a little flock. He says, Don't fear little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. It's His good pleasure.

The Father wants to give us that Kingdom. Wants us to become part of that ruling family that will rule the earth and eventually all the universe.

Let's consider a couple other notes about the Kingdom of God.

The biblical prophets greatly anticipated the Kingdom of God. As we study prophecy in the Bible, we'll find that there are many comments and much teaching about the Kingdom of God. God's ancient prophets had been teaching that the Messiah would come. The Messiah, of course, who the Jews at that time understood, would be a ruling king.

And God's true servants today preached the same thing. We anticipate God's coming Kingdom and teach that we should have repentance to prepare for it. Peter said this in a famous sermon that he gave that's recorded in the book of Acts. Acts 3, after he'd given a long sermon explaining that Jesus was the Messiah, and people asked, What should we do? He answered them this. He said, Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And that he may send Jesus Christ, who has preached to you before.

Jesus Christ was preached to you before. What does he mean by that? Well, speaking of Jesus, he says, Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things. This is a pivotal scripture because it says, Heaven is holding Jesus Christ until this time. We're looking forward to that time.

But this restoration of all things, it says, is something which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. The prophets have been foretelling this coming Kingdom of God for thousands of years, and we have those prophecies recorded in our Bible. The prophet Daniel intensely anticipated the coming of God's Kingdom to earth. Let's read a note at the end of a long prophecy he gave in the second chapter of Daniel. After foretelling many of man's kingdoms that would rise and fall over centuries and millennia, he concluded with this statement, The prophet Isaiah also wrote some wonderful prophecies of that Kingdom.

He expounded some of the good things that we look forward to in that. And one of the most famous is one that many Christians read, and even some who are not Christians just enjoy the poetry of it. In Isaiah 2, verse 2, he wrote, And one of the most famous is one that many Christians read, and even some who are not Christians just enjoy the poetry of it. In Isaiah 2, verse 2, he wrote, Now, I'll mention here that prophecies often use symbolic language, and we can find from reading in the Old Testament, it becomes clear that mountains is very often a symbol for government.

Mountains symbolizes a nation, and hills often smaller, weaker governments. So when it says, The mountain of the Lord's house will be established, it means the government of God, or the Kingdom of God will be established above all the other governments. And nations will flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and will walk in His paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations. Once again, remember this is a government. He'll judge between the nations and rebuke many peoples, and they'll beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. These implements of war will be transformed into implements for agriculture. Swords into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks, perhaps tanks and detractors. Armored personnel carriers might be running a disc set to break up the soil, but we won't need them for war anymore.

Neither shall they lift...or nations shall not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore. West Point and the Annapolis Naval Academy are going to be put out of business. And this passage also pictures and notes that the time when Christ returns and establishes His government, His capital will be in Jerusalem, long called the Holy City. Jerusalem is going to be made to look a lot different than it does today. And His kingdom will last for a thousand years. There are many places in the Bible where it discusses a thousand years.

Another term for that is a millennium. Now, what will happen after that is something we'll discuss later on and in some of the future seminars. But the kingdom of God on earth is going to have something that people and nations have never had in the age of man. Genuine world peace. We're going to have peace. Wouldn't it be great to have that now? Fortunately, we are going to have it.

And it'll also be a spectacular time of spiritual awakening to God's truth. All nations are going to come and be taught God's way. For all people everywhere, not just those in the United States of America, not people of any particular race or people of a particular religion now, but all people everywhere will be made to understand God's truth. Now, what more do Scriptures tell us about the time preceding the coming kingdom of God? Now, this is where it's a little less pleasant, because the Bible prophecies focus on trouble for man at the end of this current age.

Just before God's kingdom will be established, once again we'll turn to the book of Daniel in chapter 12, verse 1.

There he says, At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. And I'll explain here, Michael is one of the great angels, and when he stands over your people, he's referring to the people of Judah at that time. And there was a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who was found written in the book.

So there's going to be a time of trouble worse than there's ever been in existence. And we've had some bad times before. There's another important passage of Scripture that begins to describe these events at what some call the end time. Matthew 24 is a very pivotal and important passage of Scripture. It's often referred to as the Olivette Prophecy. This is because the apostles came to Jesus Christ while he was on the Mount of Olives, not long before his crucifixion.

And when he was explaining some things to them, in Matthew 24 and verse 22, Jesus told them, "...unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened." This is telling us, Jesus prophesied, that times are going to be so dangerous that mankind might actually annihilate himself. All life might be ended. Now, I'm sure the apostles at the time were confused and wondering, how could that possibly be? At that point, there were no biological weapons, there were no nuclear weapons, none of the things that we see today, but now it is possible. And most of us have lived our entire lives under the threat of what's often called the mushroom cloud, knowing that all human life and perhaps even all life period could be extinguished from this earth. We know that it's going to come a dangerous time where it said, unless he intervened, all life would end. But it says, those days will be shortened. That's the good news.

And it shows us then that the world needs the kingdom of God. Without God's kingdom, humankind is going to end. Now, throughout the Bible, we'll find scriptural phrases that describe this time. It uses the words, the time of the end, but sometimes it uses other terms. Sometimes it says, at that time. Or it might say, in the latter days. Or in the last days. All of these refer to this time that's just before the coming of the kingdom of God.

So let's review more of this prophecy that Jesus gave in Matthew 24. Because he laid out some important information that we want to be aware of and consider as our world progresses through these dangerous times. Earlier in the scripture, it says, Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, he of course is Jesus.

He sat down on the Mount, and the disciples came to him privately. Privately, probably a small number of them, and they asked him, they said, When will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Now let's review some of the important signs he gave. He starts off talking about religious deception. False teachers in Messiahs. Jesus answered, and he said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they'll deceive many.

So there's going to be religious deception. And also war. Mankind has been fighting almost as long as we've been in existence. And Jesus said, You'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There'll be famines, pestilences, earthquakes in various places. Sad to say that ongoing war and pestilence and earthquakes and tumult, this is the normal way of existence for humankind.

And Jesus was saying, That's not the time of the end. Don't be troubled that these things will happen. And we think, what kind of international tensions and crises do we see in the world today? Well, of course, one thing that comes to mind immediately is a worldwide financial crisis. There are many people, I'm sure, even here, who are perhaps out of work or underemployed, or not sure how long they'll be able to keep a job, what opportunities will be available in the future. As a result of growing fear and uncertainty and instability, there is increasing political tension.

There's tension inside of nations, and of course, just this week, a couple of days ago, we saw the President of the United States give an address, and there were clear tensions. There's also international tension between nations, some on the threat of war. And there's revolutions going on. We were hearing the term, Muslim Spring or Arab Spring, and that continued on through the summer, and it seems to be going on.

There is danger of revolution, possibly leading to more Muslim fundamentalist governments, which unfortunately tend to use violence to accomplish their means. There are famines as a result of many strange weather patterns. Now, these circumstances could result in significant food shortages over the long term. Now, for example, here in the United States, the state of Texas, the entire state is in desperate need of rain. And about a quarter of the country is also going through somewhat of a drought. Also, in Africa, there are multi-year droughts that are continuing, southern and western Africa.

And they have people leaving one country, streams of them, going to others, looking for water. And yet, all of this is happening while there's dire flooding in some areas. Parts of Australia have been underwater, vast expanses of territory. I've just seen in the news recently that, of course, eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey are suffering flooding from the storms that have come through, while other areas are suffering from drought.

Pestilence and disease epidemics are a perennial problem in many nations, but they're made worse by wars that are happening, and droughts and floods can bring that about. Also, earthquakes. Now, the term earthquake appears in prophecy. It comes from a Greek word that could just as well be translated to moles, which means not only earthquakes, it does include earthquakes.

It could also include various types of environmental or human disasters. We've had several of those in recent years. Last February, there was a massive earthquake in New Zealand, and then the even greater one just off the coast of Japan, with a tsunami to follow that devastated whole areas and caused a nuclear crisis. I dread to think what we might learn has come out of that, or will be coming. But we've certainly had difficulties.

And, of course, since then, just in recent memory, we've had an earthquake on the east coast of the United States, which is very rare, followed up by a hurricane and then a tropical storm. What else did Jesus warn us about? What other signs? Continuing in Matthew 24, he said, They'll deliver you up to tribulation and kill you.

You'll be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Those who are willing to follow Jesus Christ are apt to suffer persecution for it. Then many will be offended, will betray one another, they'll hate one another. Christ also warned about something else, touching on a theme that he mentioned earlier, that of false prophets. He said, Then many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. I can't help but think of last spring there was a lot of noise about Harold Camping, a radio evangelist, who predicted that Christ would return on May 21st.

May 21st came and went. He's revised his prediction now to say it will happen in October. We'll be watching. And I don't believe that Mr. Camping means to be a false prophet. No one who is deceived believes that they're deceived. But we do know that there are predictions of false prophets. There are many Christian groups that say that the world is going to end in the year 2012.

Unfortunately, they're basing that largely on a Mayan calendar, not on Holy Scripture. Let's consider what other professing Christian leaders who... Let's look continuing in Matthew 24. Christ answers those thoughts. Matthew 24 and verse 36 Christ said, But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. So that's why I don't mean to criticize Mr. Camping or anyone else, but I'll take Jesus' word.

He said, no one will know of the day or hour. Now, we can look for the signs. Jesus just gave us several, and there are others in the Bible that we will look at. We can see that the time is drawing near, and he told us to watch. But he said, no one's going to know the day or the hour.

So I'm not going to set a date in October or any other time. What else did Jesus warn his followers about? Well, continuing in the prophecy earlier, he said that there would be lawlessness and lack of love. In Matthew 24, verse 12, Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. And think of some of the things that we've seen happen. Recently, there was a bombing and a mass murder in Norway. And then on the news, and I confess I didn't hear all the details, I heard a gunman open up fire at the parking lot of an IHOP and then went in and killing people, just mindless violence that's unnecessary.

It does seem like there is lawlessness and love growing cold. What else does Scripture tell us about the proceeding of the coming of God's kingdom? Well, one thing it tells us, we need to have a personal and a family strategy. If we know difficult times will come, what do we need to do? We need to prepare ourselves.

Enduring the troubles requires spiritual strength. Matthew 24, Christ said, after following up all of these things, He said, But he who endures to the end shall be saved. If you endure to the end, you'll be saved. But we should note, spiritual strength and endurance come from Jesus Christ.

He is the source of all power. We want to endure to the end, but we should know better than to rely on our own strength. So let's consider, we need Christ as King of that kingdom to be in our midst, in our lives today. And let's look at another essential point about preparing for God's kingdom. The next scripture, Jesus gave an interesting prophecy. He said, Interestingly, earlier He said there would be wars and rumors of wars and plagues and pestilence.

Don't be troubled, the time is not yet. Here He says, the gospel will be preached to all the world, and then the end will come. So that's a sign that we can look for. And we want to participate in that. We don't want the time of trouble, but we want the good things of the kingdom of God. So that's why the United Church of God does try to fulfill this prophecy.

We publish the Good News magazine. We have magazines called World News and Prophecy and Vertical Thought. We produce informational and educational booklets. We have a Bible study course available. Tons of material available on various websites. And of course, now we're hosting these public lectures because we want to help preach the gospel. We want to be part of preaching this gospel to all the world that will then bring the end.

This world absolutely needs to be warned of the coming world trouble. And people also need to be encouraged about the wonderful gospel of the kingdom. Lives need to be changed for the better today. People do not have to suffer through the difficult times. So that's what we're trying to do, help people prepare.

Now, as we've discussed today, the kingdom of God has been misunderstood, or it's been ignored, even though Jesus Christ continually taught about it. The good news of the kingdom explains to the world exactly why it's facing such deep trouble, and what are the real solutions. Now, the kingdom of God seminar series will unfold for you these incredible truths from your Bible. We're going to continue looking at and explaining every aspect of this. Jesus said, the kingdom of God is at hand. We'll continue to explore the grand design for the kingdom of God, and how it will be so wonderfully different from this age or any prior human age in history. Jesus also told his followers to repent. The seminar series is going over time to show what the kingdom of God has to offer each of us personally, and what we need to do to seek to enter into it. And Jesus said, believe the gospel. He wants us to avoid the pitfalls, that many people fall into an age where faith or believing in God is becoming out of mode. We can learn that God's kingdom inspires the true faith that was once delivered by Jesus Christ. Additionally, Jesus said, the time is fulfilled. Why is the kingdom of God so relevant and vital to our times and to our lives right now? When we come back, we're going to take a break now for a moment. We're going to have some refreshments. And in the second part of our seminar today, we're going to look at why our world needs the kingdom of God now. So let's take a break. About 20 minutes. It could go a little longer if necessary, but refreshments are downstairs. We invite all of you to enjoy those.