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Restoring the Gospel
of the Coming Kingdom of God
(the gospel of Jesus, the one he preached)
Thousands and even millions of human beings have been robbed of their
hope by false gospels which began replacing the teachings of the
prophets, Jesus, and his apostles. Those who have lived their lives
deaf, blind, in wheelchairs, or have otherwise not been able to live
life the way it was meant to be lived, have generally not been allowed
to hear the good news of God and Jesus concerning their future life on
this beautiful earth. Those who have become enslaved to addictions of
various kinds, wrongfully accused in prison, robbed of their childhood,
or left to live life without the right every man has to even the basics
of food, water, and shelter; have been denied the biblical hope of their
future happiness by a false and grossly unsatisfactory explanation of
some mystical disembodied existence in heaven. What has happened to the
biblical truth in religion today? Listen to this mostly overlooked
prophecy of what is yet to come to planet earth:
“Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will
come, but He will save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap
like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters
will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The
scorched land will become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of
water…and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (Isa. 35:4-10)
This has not happened yet, but it will “when times of refreshing come
from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ
appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of
restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy
prophets from ancient time.” (Acts 3:20-21)
And
not only personal peace, but world peace will come to the planet at that
time. It has not happened yet, but it will:
“And it will come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, it
will be raised above the hills,…and He will judge between many peoples
and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation
will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train
for war.” (Micah 4:1-3)
My
friends and brethren, Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God,
that is why he was sent (Luke 4:43). His performing of miracles among
the people was the first sign that he was the prophesied Messiah
(Christ) who would be ushering in that future Kingdom as God’s unique
Son and personal agent (Luke 4:18-21). But the final sign that he is in
fact the Chosen One, was his resurrection from the dead by God.
Paul wrote concerning Jesus, “…who was declared the Son of God with
power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of
holiness..” (Romans 1:4).
The
idea that when human beings die they have a disembodied soul that flies off to heaven
(or hell) is not from the scriptures we hold as the inspired word of
God. It comes from Greek philosophy influenced by Chaldean and Egyptian ancient
mystery religions, and worked its way into the Christian Church after the
death of the apostles. Contrary to this teaching, God says that we will
yet live life in a resurrection from the dead, when we will come forth
from our graves and be given glorified human
bodies. With these bodies many, many people will for the first time be
able to live life the way it was meant to be lived, and with them
experience the exhilaration of mountains, valleys, streams, and lakes.
The challenges and opportunities of this beautiful planet will once
again be made available to all men and women who will believe in God and His
promises. This is the gospel that saves, this is the good news that
begins to heal even now in this life. The hope of a satisfying and
even exhilarating life in
the age to come is what God gives us through grace and the name of Jesus
Christ.
And
then after Jesus has brought all men and women to God the Father, a new
heaven and new earth will replace this one. Eye has not seen nor
ear heard what God has in store for the human beings who love Him in
that next stage of our lives, but it is bound to be even more
spectacular than the renewed earth we will experience at the return of
Jesus. For now, though, let us rejoice in what God has shown us about
the soon coming Kingdom of God here on earth, and keep our eyes focused
on the wonderful inheritance prepared for us since the foundation of the
world. |