Note: These notes were the basis for 3 messages shared on March 8,15 and 22, 2015. They are not actual notes of each message.
The Kingdom on Earth is for Real!
You have a choice: you can take the word of a 4 year old boy who, several months AFTER having a near-death experience began giving his pastor father little insights into what heaven was like...and the father's thoughts on his son's heavenly glimpses became a best-selling book “Heaven Is For Real”, and then - of course - a movie. Evidently now the world can rest assured on the testimony of a 4-year-old -- "Heaven" is for Real! OR, you can take the word of one of the Twelve who lived and walked with Jesus as a Disciple, learning at the feet of his Master, who was exiled for his faith onto the Isle of Patmos, where he received revelations which are recorded for us in the book of Revelation.
Not surprisingly, there is a huge variance between what young Colton Burpo related to his dad, a Baptist preacher and what John relates in the book of Revelation. In fact you would be hard pressed to find any similarities. Again, not surprisingly, many have noted that every major detail Colton related most likely coincided with what his father preached, and what his church taught about heaven, and what happens after death. Evidently there were some new “revelations” such as Jesus riding a rainbow-colored pony, but almost every major point were things the young boy would have heard in sermons, or learned in Sunday School. No wonder the book was quickly gobbled up by so many Christians - it confirmed their notions about heaven were true. They could stand on the testimony of a 4 year old boy.
Contrast the "revelation" of this 4 year old with the true "Revelation" John received:
Revelation 1:1-3 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Notice this revelation did not come from a "near death experience." The revelation was given by GOD to JESUS, who sent an angel to His "servant" John, who testifies to the "WORD of God and the TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ"!
This morning we want to consider the testimony of John, perhaps the most-loved of all the Disciples. Interestingly the last mention of heaven in the scriptures throws a curve to those who think they are going to spend eternity in heaven: Revelation 21:1-2...The New Jerusalem comes down “out of” heaven. We’ll look at this passage in a few moments, but you will see that believers are not going to heaven -- heaven is coming to us!
Revelation 21:1-27
1. The Earth will Exist Forever!
The earth is the eternal home of the redeemed. God created this planet for a specific purpose, and His plan will be fulfilled. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 45:18 “For this is what the LORD says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Psalm 104:5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
The Word of God pictures the earth in a different light than we usually think of it. We think of pollution, toxic waste dumps, suffering, disease, and wars which are all RESULTS of man's sin. We forget that God created the earth as a PARADISE - a PERFECT home for mankind, and the perfect place to live in relation to mankind. Each facet of creation God declared "Good!" -- and the meaning was "This is awesome!" "This is perfect!" "This could not be better!" (Remember Jesus' reply when a man addressed him as "Good Teacher"? He said, "Why do you call me good? There is no one good except my father in heaven!") Exactly the same as God declaring his earthly creation as "Good!" It was a perfect paradise. Believe it or not, the scriptures declare that God created the planet earth to be the eternal home of mankind.
Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Furthermore, the scriptures reveal God as taking great pride in the beauty, design, function and splendor of His creation. He wanted mankind to witness His power in what they saw around them, His beauty in what they saw every morning and every night, His faithfulness and all of His attributes - the planet earth, and man who dwells on it (including Jesus Christ who lived on it), are God's ultimate focus. We imagine the splendors and glory of heaven - yet God says: "The EARTH is full of the GLORY OF THE LORD!"
Isaiah 6:3 "And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'" Interestingly, glorious heavenly beings were declaring that the EARTH was full of God's glory!
The earth was the PERFECT place for God to place man, and then come to live in relation with Him, as recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. Because of man's sin, God expelled man from that earthly paradise, and soon there was jealousy, envy, strife, murder, etc. Yet, just as the first two chapters of the Bible describe a perfect earth where God and man are living in perfect harmony, so the last two chapters of the Bible describe a perfect earth, where God and men are living in perfect harmony, and ALL the effects of sin and death are gone forever. This is God's plan: To redeem mankind through Jesus Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, and to ultimately and eternally dwell with men on earth:
Revelation 21: 3-5 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'"
The Word of God is clear on God's plan for eternity. The earth was cleansed by water once (the flood), and it will be cleansed and made "new" (renewed) by fire at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ (on earth!). Jesus Christ will reign until He has completed the task assigned him: to conquer and destroy everything that stands in the way of men living in PERFECT FELLOWSHIP with God -- and when that has been accomplished God will finally come back to earth, to live with man for eternity. Note in the passage above - man is not going to God's dwelling! God is coming to live with the saints for eternity. The Earth is man's home forever. And when sin and all is consequences have been destroyed it will be a glorious paradise beyond our wildest imaginations.
2. The Earth is the Inheritance of the Saints
Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
The major theme of Psalms 37 is that the wicked will be destroyed, but the righteous will inherit the land (skim)
v. 1 Judgement of evil men - wither, die,
v. 3 “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
v. 9 “For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
v. 10-11 “A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
v. 22 “those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off.”
v. 27 “Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. “
v. 29 “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”
v. 34 “Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.”
Psalm 115:16 “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.”
(We may ask ourselves, Where are the corresponding verses that state "man will dwell in heaven forever"? Although this belief is widespread among Christians, it's not "stated" in the Bible. It has to be inferred from a relatively few number of verses.)
The main point (Psalm 37) of course is that the Righteousness will be rewarded, and the Wicked will be destroyed. So we need to live to gain the reward! Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:33). Notice how Jesus' wording of what we are to live for contrasts to the message we hear today where the goal is always "going to heaven." Jesus said to SEEK FIRST the KINGDOM of GOD! We need to find out more about this Kingdom!
Various prophecies make it clear the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be on earth, and that the saints who overcome will live and reign with Christ in His Kingdom. Let's consider…
DANIEL 7
"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea."
In the next verses (v. 4-8) Daniel describes four EARTHLY KINGDOMS as various wicked and terrible "beasts." The first, a Lion with wings is accepted by almost all scholars to be the Babylonian Kingdom under King Nebuchadnezzar. The second was like a bear, with 3 ribs in it's mouth, recognized as the Persian/Medio Kingdom that next came to great power. The ribs are believed to be 3 kingdoms destroyed and conquered by the bear. The third was a Leopard with four wings and four heads - the Greek Empire which split into 4 kingdoms after the death of Alexander the Great. The final Kingdom was not identified as a real animal, but the most terrible beast imaginable. This of course was the Roman Empire. Without getting into great depth here I would just say that the description of this beast would lead us to believe that the beast pictured will exist until Jesus Christ returns to establish God's Kingdom. And we'll get to this right now!
“As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
“Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
You will note that these four kingdoms are described as Kingdoms of the earth. And we are given a clear VISION of Jesus Christ coming before God in heaven, and receiving AUTHORITY and POWER to conquer the kingdoms of the earth! And the (resurrected) saints of God will receive this EARTHLY KINGDOM, which will NEVER BE DESTROYED:
"the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
The vision continues with these points emphasized:
v.22 Although the beast wages war against the the saints, the Saints of the Most High will possess the kingdom
v.23 The fourth beast is a kingdom that will appear on the earth.
The KINGDOM OF GOD will be ON EARTH:
Daniel 7:27 "Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him."
We need to speak the language of Jesus, and talk about the Kingdom, and inheriting the earth, which is the promise of God to the saints. The scripture says that everyone who expects to see Jesus face to face (when He returns to earth) will make himself pure, even as Jesus is pure:
1 John 3:2-3 "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."
3. Christ’s Kingdom will be on the Earth
And this was indeed the vision that John saw on the isle of Patmos (Revelation 5:10).
This promise was a key reward in the Covenant God made with Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8). God’s promises are sure. He doesn’t say one thing and do another. And no one can make His promise null and void. Galations 3:29 states this promise: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise!”
The earth belongs to God, and He can do with it whatever He pleases. He has promised it to His Son: (Psalm 2:6-8).
Jesus is of the Seed of Abraham, but He is also the Son of God. At his birth this prophecy was given: Luke 1:31-33.
The throne of David was in Jerusalem, and the nations spoken of are nations on the earth. Jesus Christ will rule over all the nations, and his kingdom will extend to the far corners of the earth: Daniel 7:14.
John on the Isle of Patmos confirmed this prophecy: Revelation 11:15.
Revelation 3:21-22 “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 5:10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
There are just so many verses that underscore that the Kingdom of God is on earth that more and more Bible scholars and preachers are beginning to weave this message into their teaching. The problem is that they try to mingle the two ideas, and it just doesn’t work. One pastor told his congregation, “Jesus is coming back to reign on earth! So why would I want to go to heaven?!”
APPLICATION
From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school,” he admonished, “and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.
1 Peter 1:3-7 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Our reward is kept in heaven, waiting to be revealed.
Live each day in the Hope of the Coming Kingdom: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”
The Kingdom on Earth is for Real!
You have a choice: you can take the word of a 4 year old boy who, several months AFTER having a near-death experience began giving his pastor father little insights into what heaven was like...and the father's thoughts on his son's heavenly glimpses became a best-selling book “Heaven Is For Real”, and then - of course - a movie. Evidently now the world can rest assured on the testimony of a 4-year-old -- "Heaven" is for Real! OR, you can take the word of one of the Twelve who lived and walked with Jesus as a Disciple, learning at the feet of his Master, who was exiled for his faith onto the Isle of Patmos, where he received revelations which are recorded for us in the book of Revelation.
Not surprisingly, there is a huge variance between what young Colton Burpo related to his dad, a Baptist preacher and what John relates in the book of Revelation. In fact you would be hard pressed to find any similarities. Again, not surprisingly, many have noted that every major detail Colton related most likely coincided with what his father preached, and what his church taught about heaven, and what happens after death. Evidently there were some new “revelations” such as Jesus riding a rainbow-colored pony, but almost every major point were things the young boy would have heard in sermons, or learned in Sunday School. No wonder the book was quickly gobbled up by so many Christians - it confirmed their notions about heaven were true. They could stand on the testimony of a 4 year old boy.
Contrast the "revelation" of this 4 year old with the true "Revelation" John received:
Revelation 1:1-3 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Notice this revelation did not come from a "near death experience." The revelation was given by GOD to JESUS, who sent an angel to His "servant" John, who testifies to the "WORD of God and the TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ"!
This morning we want to consider the testimony of John, perhaps the most-loved of all the Disciples. Interestingly the last mention of heaven in the scriptures throws a curve to those who think they are going to spend eternity in heaven: Revelation 21:1-2...The New Jerusalem comes down “out of” heaven. We’ll look at this passage in a few moments, but you will see that believers are not going to heaven -- heaven is coming to us!
Revelation 21:1-27
1. The Earth will Exist Forever!
The earth is the eternal home of the redeemed. God created this planet for a specific purpose, and His plan will be fulfilled. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 45:18 “For this is what the LORD says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Psalm 104:5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
The Word of God pictures the earth in a different light than we usually think of it. We think of pollution, toxic waste dumps, suffering, disease, and wars which are all RESULTS of man's sin. We forget that God created the earth as a PARADISE - a PERFECT home for mankind, and the perfect place to live in relation to mankind. Each facet of creation God declared "Good!" -- and the meaning was "This is awesome!" "This is perfect!" "This could not be better!" (Remember Jesus' reply when a man addressed him as "Good Teacher"? He said, "Why do you call me good? There is no one good except my father in heaven!") Exactly the same as God declaring his earthly creation as "Good!" It was a perfect paradise. Believe it or not, the scriptures declare that God created the planet earth to be the eternal home of mankind.
Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Furthermore, the scriptures reveal God as taking great pride in the beauty, design, function and splendor of His creation. He wanted mankind to witness His power in what they saw around them, His beauty in what they saw every morning and every night, His faithfulness and all of His attributes - the planet earth, and man who dwells on it (including Jesus Christ who lived on it), are God's ultimate focus. We imagine the splendors and glory of heaven - yet God says: "The EARTH is full of the GLORY OF THE LORD!"
Isaiah 6:3 "And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'" Interestingly, glorious heavenly beings were declaring that the EARTH was full of God's glory!
The earth was the PERFECT place for God to place man, and then come to live in relation with Him, as recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. Because of man's sin, God expelled man from that earthly paradise, and soon there was jealousy, envy, strife, murder, etc. Yet, just as the first two chapters of the Bible describe a perfect earth where God and man are living in perfect harmony, so the last two chapters of the Bible describe a perfect earth, where God and men are living in perfect harmony, and ALL the effects of sin and death are gone forever. This is God's plan: To redeem mankind through Jesus Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, and to ultimately and eternally dwell with men on earth:
Revelation 21: 3-5 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'"
The Word of God is clear on God's plan for eternity. The earth was cleansed by water once (the flood), and it will be cleansed and made "new" (renewed) by fire at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ (on earth!). Jesus Christ will reign until He has completed the task assigned him: to conquer and destroy everything that stands in the way of men living in PERFECT FELLOWSHIP with God -- and when that has been accomplished God will finally come back to earth, to live with man for eternity. Note in the passage above - man is not going to God's dwelling! God is coming to live with the saints for eternity. The Earth is man's home forever. And when sin and all is consequences have been destroyed it will be a glorious paradise beyond our wildest imaginations.
2. The Earth is the Inheritance of the Saints
Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
The major theme of Psalms 37 is that the wicked will be destroyed, but the righteous will inherit the land (skim)
v. 1 Judgement of evil men - wither, die,
v. 3 “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
v. 9 “For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
v. 10-11 “A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
v. 22 “those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off.”
v. 27 “Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. “
v. 29 “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”
v. 34 “Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.”
Psalm 115:16 “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.”
(We may ask ourselves, Where are the corresponding verses that state "man will dwell in heaven forever"? Although this belief is widespread among Christians, it's not "stated" in the Bible. It has to be inferred from a relatively few number of verses.)
The main point (Psalm 37) of course is that the Righteousness will be rewarded, and the Wicked will be destroyed. So we need to live to gain the reward! Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:33). Notice how Jesus' wording of what we are to live for contrasts to the message we hear today where the goal is always "going to heaven." Jesus said to SEEK FIRST the KINGDOM of GOD! We need to find out more about this Kingdom!
Various prophecies make it clear the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be on earth, and that the saints who overcome will live and reign with Christ in His Kingdom. Let's consider…
DANIEL 7
"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea."
In the next verses (v. 4-8) Daniel describes four EARTHLY KINGDOMS as various wicked and terrible "beasts." The first, a Lion with wings is accepted by almost all scholars to be the Babylonian Kingdom under King Nebuchadnezzar. The second was like a bear, with 3 ribs in it's mouth, recognized as the Persian/Medio Kingdom that next came to great power. The ribs are believed to be 3 kingdoms destroyed and conquered by the bear. The third was a Leopard with four wings and four heads - the Greek Empire which split into 4 kingdoms after the death of Alexander the Great. The final Kingdom was not identified as a real animal, but the most terrible beast imaginable. This of course was the Roman Empire. Without getting into great depth here I would just say that the description of this beast would lead us to believe that the beast pictured will exist until Jesus Christ returns to establish God's Kingdom. And we'll get to this right now!
“As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
“Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
You will note that these four kingdoms are described as Kingdoms of the earth. And we are given a clear VISION of Jesus Christ coming before God in heaven, and receiving AUTHORITY and POWER to conquer the kingdoms of the earth! And the (resurrected) saints of God will receive this EARTHLY KINGDOM, which will NEVER BE DESTROYED:
"the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
The vision continues with these points emphasized:
v.22 Although the beast wages war against the the saints, the Saints of the Most High will possess the kingdom
v.23 The fourth beast is a kingdom that will appear on the earth.
The KINGDOM OF GOD will be ON EARTH:
Daniel 7:27 "Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him."
We need to speak the language of Jesus, and talk about the Kingdom, and inheriting the earth, which is the promise of God to the saints. The scripture says that everyone who expects to see Jesus face to face (when He returns to earth) will make himself pure, even as Jesus is pure:
1 John 3:2-3 "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."
3. Christ’s Kingdom will be on the Earth
And this was indeed the vision that John saw on the isle of Patmos (Revelation 5:10).
This promise was a key reward in the Covenant God made with Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8). God’s promises are sure. He doesn’t say one thing and do another. And no one can make His promise null and void. Galations 3:29 states this promise: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise!”
The earth belongs to God, and He can do with it whatever He pleases. He has promised it to His Son: (Psalm 2:6-8).
Jesus is of the Seed of Abraham, but He is also the Son of God. At his birth this prophecy was given: Luke 1:31-33.
The throne of David was in Jerusalem, and the nations spoken of are nations on the earth. Jesus Christ will rule over all the nations, and his kingdom will extend to the far corners of the earth: Daniel 7:14.
John on the Isle of Patmos confirmed this prophecy: Revelation 11:15.
Revelation 3:21-22 “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 5:10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
There are just so many verses that underscore that the Kingdom of God is on earth that more and more Bible scholars and preachers are beginning to weave this message into their teaching. The problem is that they try to mingle the two ideas, and it just doesn’t work. One pastor told his congregation, “Jesus is coming back to reign on earth! So why would I want to go to heaven?!”
APPLICATION
From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school,” he admonished, “and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.
1 Peter 1:3-7 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Our reward is kept in heaven, waiting to be revealed.
Live each day in the Hope of the Coming Kingdom: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”