The Kingdom of God - Part 4 of 4
Summary
Before we finish this series of notes, let's review the previous 3 notes.
- The Kingdom of God is a key feature of the Gospel, and it is essential to know it.
- The Kingdom is to be set up some time in the near future.
- The King is the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The capital is Jerusalem.
- The initial territory of the Kingdom will be the land promised to Abraham, from the Nile to the Euphrates.
- The territory will spread over a period of time to encompass the globe.
- The co-rulers with Jesus Christ will be the Apostles, and the immortalized believers of all the ages leading up to Jesus' return.
- The first subjects of this Kingdom will be the Jews that survive the invasion by Gog, called Armageddon.
- The second set of subjects will be those remaining of the Gentile nations who survive Armageddon.
- The laws of the Kingdom will be righteous, fair laws, benefiting everyone who submits to them. Under these laws evil will be eradicated.
- There will be many benefits for the mortal population of the Kingdom, including long, healthy lives; the healing of disease and deformities; a single, pure language; sorrow and sadness will be a thing of the past; abundant food for everyone; the deserts will be changed to become arable land; the animals will become peaceful and will not hurt anyone.
There will be a Temple built in Jerusalem, and required times to go there for worship. People in the Kingdom will want to do this.
- At the end of a 1000 years, mortality will be done away with, and there will be no more death at all. God will then be all in all.
The Return of Christ is Certain
We know that the return of Jesus Christ to the earth is a certainty, and is emphasized in several Bible passages. Here a few:
Hebrews 9:28 - "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 - "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints,and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."
Acts 1:11 - "Which also said, Ye men of Galilee,why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
Since the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is a certainty, we should be looking earnestly at how we might please God and His son so that we may rule with Jesus during that 1000 years at the beginning of the Kingdom of God.
The Prerequisites for entering the Kingdom of God
As mentioned in the first note, there are certain prerequisites for entering the Kingdom of God. There are also certain things that will keep a person out of the Kingdom. There will be a determination made by the Lord Jesus at his return who will enter in to that Kingdom, and who will not.
Those that will Inherit
Those that inherit meet the following criteria: they believe the gospel, repent of their former way of life, they are baptized (fully immersed) into the name of Jesus Christ, they change their lives to reflect that God is now the center of their lives, and by God's grace they will be granted a place in that Kingdom.
Mark 1:15 - "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
Mark 16:15-16 - "And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (ESV)
Acts 2:41-42 - "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Acts 3:19-21 - "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."
Acts 8:12 - "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."
Galatians 3:27-29 - "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Those that will not Inherit
There are those who will not be welcome in the Kingdom of God. If we have any of the following in our lives we need to change it now.
Galatians 5:19-21 - "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
Ephesians 5:3-5 - "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God." (NET)
The Kingdom of God is coming. Will you be there in that day?
Written by Matthew Smith |
