Jesus Christ Will Return And Establish God’s Kingdom On The Earth

Jesus Christ Will Return
And Establish
God’s Kingdom on the Earth

Respected Friends:
The Title of this lecture is:

Jesus Christ Will Return
and
Establish God’s Kingdom on the Earth

Let us first begin by looking at the earth.

The earth is floating in space, and orbits around the sun once every year. This orbit along with its tilt gives it its seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter. The earth is in turn orbited by the moon which lights the night sky and through its gravity mixes the ocean waters. It is in addition rotating on its axis once every 24 hours giving us day and night. If we step back and look at the earth, we see a wonderful abode, perfectly designed and suited for the millions of different plants and animals that inhabit it. The most intelligent and notorious animal of all, is man. He is capable of wonderful moral characteristics, mercy, kindness, love, and the ability to worship his Creator. But as we look at the world with it’s 6Billion plus population, we see instead, it filled with strife, hatred, violence, and war. We see this as we look back in history, we see this today, and we see this as we look forward.

Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.

Fortunately God our Creator has graciously given us His plan for His creation, the earth. It is in His Book, the Bible.

Without reading what He has said, we can look to the glories of the heavens forever and and be awed thereby, but find no answer regarding what He plans for the earth, and for man upon it. In His writings only do we have His answer.

Let us consider first a scripture that tells us the importance of the Bible. Paul, in 2 Timothy says of the Bible:

2Ti 3:5 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Notice first that it says that these Holy Scriptures are given to us by God’s inspiration. And from these Scriptures we can obtain doctrine, righteousness, perfection, and salvation. God’s word thus provides us with all we need. What our eyes and our senses lack in looking at the beauty and the glory of the heavens, the Bible gives us.

We are Christadelphians. This is a Greek Word meaning, “Brethren of Christ” and we commit ourselves to reading following the Bible just as the New Testament Believers did. We find that Traditional Christendom in many ways has altered and distorted God’s simple message to mankind, and so we carefully read the Bible for ourselves. We follow a Daily Bible Reading Plan whereby we read through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice each and every year. Thus in the last 10 years we have read the Old Testament 10 times and the New Testament 20 times. This kind of committed reading allows one to understand accurately what God has said. Those who do not read the scriptures like this for themselves, must necessarily trust in others to give them the meaning of the scriptures. It is wise to trust no one to your own salvation,

With this introduction, let us go on to the lecture. We can see from the Title that it covers two areas:

The first part of the Lecture speaks of a Biblical prophecy concerning Jesus Christ’s return to the earth, whereas the second part addresses the reason for his return.

Let us first look at some scriptures that indicate that Jesus Christ will return to the earth.

John 14:3 Jesus Said, “I will come again”
1Thes 4:16 For the Lord (Jesus Christ) himself shall descend from heaven
MAT 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father
2TH 1:7 The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
2TI 4:1 The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom
Acts 1:9 while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 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.

From these quotes we are able to see that the scriptures plainly tell us that Jesus Christ will return from heaven to the earth.

Jesus Christ is Returning to Establish God’s Kingdom on the Earth

This was our Lord’s Prayer, and it is what we are told to pray for. He prayed that God’s Kingdom would come to this earth and that God’s will would be done on the earth.

Jesus then concluded the prayer by saying that this Kingdom power and glory belonged to God.

Thus, both in the beginning and in the end of the Lord’s Prayer, his prayer concerns the coming Kingdom of God.

Mark 1:14 “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God”
Lu 4:43 And [Jesus] said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
Zech 14:9 “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one”

In Mark Chapter 1, we see what it was that Jesus was preaching while on the earth the first time. He preached the gospel – the “good news” of the coming Kingdom of God.

And in Luke Chapter 4 he said that he was required to preach this, because this is the reason that he was sent to the earth.

Our third quote in Zechariah tells us that the time is coming when “the LORD” shall be king over the entire earth. That is, the entire earth will consist of only one Kingdom. That Kingdom will be a theocracy called in the Bible, the Kingdom of God.

The Present World Governments

In the beginning of this lecture we spoke of the present conditions on the earth. We have many different kingdoms and governments on the earth today. They have set up the laws and living conditions as they thought best. In the 1700’s a group of leaders got together and wrote the Constitution of the United States. They set up a government that they determined was the best for themselves and for everyone else living in the United States.

In other countries they have their own laws, as they see fit. For example, in Africa alone, the encyclopedia lists 58 different countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa, etc. Throughout the world there are hundreds of different countries with hundreds of different governments that the men in these countries determined to set up to government their peoples.

But the fighting with tooth and claw among the nations of men for individual and national supremency will not continue forever. God has determined to overthrow all of these kingdoms and set up one world wide kingdom in their stead. He calls this in the Bible, the Kingdom of God.

Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women… 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

In the beginning of this lecture we spoke of the present conditions on the earth. We have many different kingdoms and governments on the earth today. They have set up the laws and living conditions as they thought best. In the 1700’s a group of leaders got together and wrote the Constitution of the United States. They set up a government that they determined was the best for themselves and for everyone else living in the United States.

In other countries they have their own laws, as they see fit. For example, in Africa alone, the encyclopedia lists 58 different countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa, etc. Throughout the world there are hundreds of different countries with hundreds of different governments that the men in these countries determined to set up to government their peoples.

A Kingdom
or
King–dom

Is, the dominion of a king.

This involves a “king” ruling over a “dom” or “dominion”. – a King-dom

The King is the ruler

The dominion is the land area over which the king rules

The kingdom has a capital for its center of government, like Jerusalem.

It has a set of laws, which it uses to govern its people.

King David had all of this. He was the king, sitting on the throne in the capital city of Jerusalem, ruling over the nation of Israel, with many other nations in subjection to him. The laws he used were given to him by God, as recorded by Moses in the Old Testament, and so this kingdom was also a Theocracy.

This kingdom was thus called the Kingdom of Israel, or the Kingdom of God. The problem was, the rulers being fleshly mortal men, were imperfect, and did not, properly follow God’s laws. Thus God finally removed His kingdom from.

Zedekiah was the last king ruling over the kingdom of Judah. God removed him from being the king over His Kingdom. He said to him:

Ezekiel 21:25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

The profane wicked prince spoken of here was Zedekiah, the king of Judah in 606 BC when God the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar.

He took away the kingdom from the Jews until His own son would come whose right it was. Jesus Christ was thus born, lived a perfect life, gave his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and is now sitting in heaven on the right Hand of God awaiting the time for his return to the earth to finish the work that God has given him to do. It is his right, but the time has not yet arrived for him to take possession of the Kingdom. When He returns, he will do so.

The Kingdom of Israel was
The Kingdom of God

1 Chron 28:5 And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.

1 Chron 29:23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of God are synonymous terms for this reason. God Chose the land; God chose the King – King David; The Jews were God’s people; The Laws were God’s laws. This kingdom was therefore The Kingdom of God. When one understands this, many parts of the scripture that may be confusing, make sense.

1 Chron 36:15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

It so happened that God’s people, the Jews, generally speaking, were a disobedient, faithless, stiff-necked people. Here we see God’s view of His people in about 606 BC when He caused Nebuchadnezzer to overthrow His kingdom.

Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

This question by Christ’s disciples occurred after he had been resurrected from the dead, and just before he was taken up into heaven.

They understood that when Christ restored the kingdom to Israel, that Jesus would be the King of this kingdom, and further that this would be the Kingdom of God that Jesus, and they, had been preaching about for the past three and one half years.

Jesus will restore again the kingdom to Israel, and this Kingdom will be God’s Kingdom. But then was not the time. When he returns from heaven, he will then establish this kingdom.

God’s Kingdom on
THE EARTH

Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram… Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever… 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Jesus Christ will establish God’s Kingdom on The Earth.

Our first quote in Matthew, shows us what our Lord Jesus Christ, told us to keep before our minds when we prayed to God. It must be our understanding and our desire to have God’s kingdom come to the earth so that God’s will will be done on the earth. Jesus Christ, will of course then be king over all the earth.

Our second quote shows God speaking to Abraham. It is the earth that Abraham was promised. All who have a proper understanding and belief in the Good News of the Kingdom of God, also understand this. The understanding that many have of dying and going to a kingdom somewhere in the heavens is a false view and a false hope.

Gen 17: 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. … 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Here God makes a covenant to Abraham promising to make him a father of many nations. This broadens the covenant to many other nations besides just Israel.

He then says that this covenant is between Him for the one part and Abraham and Abraham’s seed on the other part.

Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

We learn from this, that when God made the promise to Abraham and his seed, He was making the promise to Abraham and to Christ. It is important to keep this in mind for we will see a little later that we too can become a partaker of this promise if we become part of Christ.

1 Chron 16:15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; 16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; 17 And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.

In reference to this covenant made to Abraham and his seed we are given the certainty of its fulfillment.

The bolded words show God’s mind concerning this covenant. Notice that the land of Canaan located on the earth is the center of this covenant; Not the heavens.

Additional Quotes Concerning The Earth

Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Rev 5:10 And [thou, Jesus Christ] hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

For those who have a proper understanding of God’s Word, these quotes make wonderful sense, and give us a sound hope based on His word. The meek truly will inherit the earth, but only when Jesus Christ returns and established God’s Kingdom thereon. Then they will reign with him upon the earth. Reign is defined as to rule as a sovereign, to be supreme, to govern. Thus those who are accepted by Christ to assist him in his kingdom will rule with him, as kings and priests on the earth, in the Kingdom of God.

Psa 72:1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. 2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth… 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

From this quote we see that this kingdom will cover the whole earth – from sea to sea and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth. That God’s own son will rule the people with judgment and righteousness; that wars will cease and peace will come to all the peoples of the earth. That he will show kindness to the poor of the earth; that all nations and kings of the earth will serve him. This shows the wonderful plan that God had for his coming Kingdom. And it shows us the wonderful hope that we have, if we are part of it.

How Can We Enter Into This Kingdom?

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Baptism, then is the way that we enter into Christ Jesus. In this way we “put on” Christ. He is then the covering for our sins, and he then is our righteousness. And by baptism through faith into Christ we become Abraham’s seed, and an heir, or an inheritor, of the same promise that was made to Abraham. In Romans 4:13, Abraham was promised that he and his seed would be “heir of the world”.

Christ’s Command to His Disciples

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Here we have Jesus giving a commandment to his disciples just before he went into heaven. We see exactly the same requirements. One must believe the gospel and they must be baptized in order to be saved. The gospel is the “good news”, of God’s coming kingdom with Jesus Christ as the king.

The Requirements for Baptism

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.

Here in new testament times we see what was required for a proper baptism. One had to believe certain things before he was immersed in water. He had to believe first, “the things concerning the kingdom of God.” That is, he had to believe that God was going to establish His kingdom on the earth, with His king, and His righteous laws. That this kingdom would be the restored Kingdom of Israel, with David’s son sitting on the throne, and ruling the earth in righteousness. Generally speaking, the Jews at this time would have understood this.

The also had to believe in the name of Jesus Christ. This included an understanding, belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ as the one whom God had chosen to be the king in this kingdom.

After this they had to be baptized. Baptism, is from the Greek word “baptizo” and means to immerse, that is to cover completely. As we can see from this, sprinkling, does not meet the Biblical requirements. Also, sprinkling or immersing anyone who did not believe these things, does not meet the Biblical requirements.

Only One Way

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Here we see the emphasis on the word “one”. There is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one Faith one baptism and one God. One must never think that they will be accepted by God if they presume to set up their own method of salvation. From Adam and Eve until the present the Bible plainly shows that we must never presume upon God. And in this instance, there is only one way into the one baptism, if we would enter into Christ.

How we can enter into
God’s Coming Kingdom

• Believe the things concerning the kingdom of God.
• Believe on the name of Jesus Christ
• Be baptized into the name
• Walk in newness of life

We have already spoken of the first three points, so we need here only to look at the fourth.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 6:4

Ro 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

When we are placed under the waters in baptism we symbolically show the death and burial of our old sinful way of life.

When we are raised up out of the water we symbolize that we are raised to walk in a new and Godly way of life.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Thus the spirit of God through David declares in (Psa 19:1).

We can from this better understand the reason for Christ’s prayer, “Our Father who art in Heaven.” This photograph was taken by the Subaru Telescope In Japan. It shows two of the billions of galaxies in the universe. And in turn there are billions of suns in each galaxy. This picture shows just a tiny part of the heavens where God resides. Each dot of light is a star like our own sun. Our sun, and our earth is physically like the rest of God’s heavens. However mankind has not yet attained the perfection required by God. Our earth is part of God’s heaven. God’s will however is not done on the earth as it is done in the rest of the heavens. When Christ returns to the earth and establishes God’s Kingdom thereon, and God’s will is done, then the earth and man upon it will have entered into the Heavenly Kingdom of God.

Ps 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Respected Friends: The earth is potentially a wonderful abode for man whom God has created and one that God plans to incorporate into His Heavenly Kingdom. It is a perfect place to show forth His glory.
God has not promised us that when we die we will go to a heavenly kingdom beyond the skies. Rather, when God’s Kingdom comes to this earth, the earth will become heavenly, and part of God’s Heavenly Kingdom.

CY

The Weymouth Christadelphians
Meet At: The Weymouth Elks, 1197 Washington Street
Sunday Meetings:
Bible Study at 9:15 AM
Memorial Meeting and Exhortation at 10:30 AM
You are cordially invited to attend!