Waters of Life

Biblical Studies in Multiple Languages

Search in "English":
Home -- English -- Revelation -- 113 (The Mystery of God in the Words of Jesus)
This page in: -- Arabic -- Armenian -- Bulgarian -- ENGLISH -- French? -- German -- Indonesian? -- Polish? -- Portuguese -- Russian -- Yiddish

Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson

REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 4 - THY KINGDOM COME (REVELATION 10:1 - 12:17) – The two witnesses of the last days and the expulsion of Satan from heaven
PART 4.3 - SUPPLEMENT: THE MYSTERY OF GOD IN ITS COMPLETION THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST

2. The Unfolding of the Mystery of God in the Words of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of His Father


The Fulfillment of the Kingdom of God: Jesus described His second coming to our earth with majestic words: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matthew 25:31). The God-King Jesus will be clad with the glory of His Father (Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38) and with His own glory (Matthew 25:31; Luke 9:26). Great power and holy splendor will go out from Him (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27). His face will shine like the sun in its radiance (Matthew 17:2; Revelation 1:16) and His feet will be like fine brass refined in a furnace (Revelation 1:15).

John fell at His feet as dead when he beheld the Son of Man (Revelation 1:17). We, too, will be penetrated, judged and saved by the intensity of His light. No human righteousness, honor or power can remain. We all will appear lost and condemned, in accordance with our evil nature. (Psalm 14:2-3; Luke 11:13).

Jesus laid His hand of blessing upon John and raised him to life. His faith in the justice of God, his justification through Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, who indwelled him, proved to be light, life and love, just as Paul had so wonderfully described: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27; 2:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:1 etc.).

At the last judgment the word of Christ will come true: “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18; Mark 16:16).

With great earnest Jesus and His apostles warned everyone: “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42; Luke 13:27-29).

Paul testified with all clarity: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God ((1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-9). The one who persists in such sin has not opened himself to the Spirit of the Gospel nor let himself be redeemed by the Savior of the world.

Jesus wants to lead us into the holy love of God in purity and in truth, without hypocrisy, just as God had revealed to Moses the mystery of His law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). God's love drives us to love all men, as He loves them (Leviticus 19:18).

At the judgment of the nations the first thing that will be tested will be the love the Holy Spirit created in us (Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 5:5), or was not able to create.

In spite of all resistance in the history of the church, the law and spirit of the kingdom of God have again and again broken through as a reality. The blood of Jesus Christ will prove itself to be the legal foundation for the saints of the Lord, both in the future on earth, and at the judgment. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is their life, and creates in them love, joy, peace and an ardent worship of the Holy Trinity in the kingdom of heaven. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:43).

God expressly chose the poor of this world as the heirs of His kingdom (James 2:5). The gracious hope hidden in this revelation, is for all Christians living beneath the poverty level in China, India, Indonesia, or in the countries of starving Africa, hardly imaginable for us who daily have enough (Luke 6:10-21).

To those of His followers who live out their faith in practical ministries of love and continuous intercession the Lord Jesus Christ says: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!” (Matthew 25:34) He assured them: “I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me” (Luke 22:29). Following Jesus on earth leads us into the fellowship of His suffering. At the same time, it calls us into His own kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:12).

The inaugural sentence of the Sermon on the Mount, the basic law of Christ, is realized in those with a repentant and contrite heart: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20). The spiritually poor, who before God and man have nothing to show, will be derided in this world. Nevertheless, they are the ones who will receive an eternal, unshakeable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28; 2 Peter 1:11). Repentant sinners, who know they stand before God empty handed, will have a share in the riches overflowing from the grace of God. They are appointed as heirs of the Almighty and His Son.

From the East and West, from the North and South, saints will come flocking to have fellowship with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:28-29 etc.). God did not shy away from being called the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matthew 22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27; Luke 20:37-38; Acts 3:13; 7:32). This promise leads us back to the mystery of God, and how it became visible in the life of Abraham.

Following the Last Supper, at which time the Lord Jesus instituted the New Covenant in His blood, He assured His disciples that the sacrament of bread and wine would retain its validity on into eternity. He then, as Lord and King in the kingdom of His Father, will again drink wine together with them as a sign of His indwelling those who have repented and received forgiveness for their sins (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:16,18). He strengthened the assurance in His disciples, that the justification, healing and redemption He had accomplished would last throughout time and eternity (1 Corinthians 1:30; Hebrews 13:8).

In eternity the sanctified holy ones of God will not be reliant upon nourishment, since they will possess a spiritual body like Jesus when He appeared to His disciples following His resurrection from the dead (Luke 24:39-43). In heaven, therefore, eating and drinking is no longer a pressing theme, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Neither will the saints marry any longer, but will be like the angels of God (Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25). They are God's immortal children (Luke 20:34-36; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 John 3:1-2).

In comparison, the paradise Mohammed promised his followers, is a paradise filled with the consumption of food and drink, with an increased sex-potential of men. According to the Koran, Muslims do not go to heaven, but hope, rather, to enter a garden of pleasure created for them. In Islam there is no spiritual renewal of the sinner. They hope at best, therefore, to inherit a material paradise. What Jesus said is valid also for Muslims: “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29; Mark 12:24). Paul confirmed to them: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:42-50). This prophecy corresponds to another word of the apostle to the nations: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

PRAYER: We glorify You, Merciful King, because You died as the Lamb of God instead of us that we might partake of Your love and glory and become members of Your spiritual kingdom. Do not reject us, for we have confessed our sins to You and believed in Your divinity, Your authority, and our purification; so accept us as qualified for Your kingdom of love.

QUESTION:

  1. Did you receive the everlasting life and the qualification for the kingdom of God?

www.Waters-of-Life.net

Page last modified on November 28, 2012, at 08:02 AM | powered by PmWiki (pmwiki-2.3.3)