"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20)
Zech 14:1 “Behold the day of the LORD cometh”…9) “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth”…”16) every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall, worship the King, the LORD of hosts. Isa 60:12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
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All nations are even now being guided by God towards the time when God Himself will take control of the “kingdoms of men”, and establish in its stead God’s Kingdom, “The Kingdom of God.” Reading all of Zechariah chapter 14 will give you a sense of this.
Jesus Christ in The Lord’s prayer speaks of this, Lu 11:2 “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”
As the Newspaper Ad indicates, this “takeover” by God will involve force. Some other quotes that indicate this are:
Re 16:16 “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
The “He” here spoken of is God; the “them” refers to the nations of the earth.
Zech 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Notice here that God gathers the nations, and then the LORD Himself goes forth to fight against the nations.
Ezekiel Chapter 38 also speaks of this same “Armageddon” conflict.
Ezekiel 38:18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Verse 23 above shows God at this time will magnify and sanctify Himself, and make Himself known to the nations.
For the next One Thousand years Christ and his immortal assistants rule the earth in righteousness. This is called “The Kingdom of God”, because it will be a Theocracy. Christ and his immortal assistants will:
Rule the earth with a “rod of iron” – (Rev 19:15)
Righteousness, faithfulness and peace will be abiding elements –
Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Isa 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
Psalms 72 shows some leading features of Christ’s One Thousand Year Reign
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. 9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 18 ¶ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. 19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
The next two articles, “The Glories Of The Age To Come” and “Concerning The Kingdom Of God” give further information on this topic.
CY
One government throughout the world, ruling solely by the law of God: its fruits, peace and fulness of life for mankind from pole to pole.
That seems the most futile of Utopian dreams in a world of international conflict: yet it is as sure as the unceasing roll of the heavenly bodies; for “the mouth of the Lord” – by whose word the heavens were made – “has spoken it”.
Many prophets (Ezekiel in particular) speak of the splendid Temple to be reared in the Holy Land: and the prophecies of Isaiah 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-4 draw in poetic symbol a picture of the new world order of which it will be the center. With Christ’s return to the earth, the throne of David will be restored in Zion as the seat of his rule; and men from far countries, sickened by slaughter and groping amid the ruin of human decency which man’s evil has brought, will turn to it as to light. They will say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths”.
Not only by the sheer power of moral beauty will the new rule draw men into its sway. The history of the Twentieth Century has proved too well that there is a core of wickedness in human nature which loves the dark rather than light. In this age which was deemed the flower of human progress, the greater part of the world came for a time under the dominion of men who made evil their good, and who with deliberate malice strove to destroy all that two thousand years have found lovely and of good report.
The King in Zion will rule with a rod of iron and break in pieces like a potter’s vessel those who oppose him (Psa. 2:9). With the sanction of absolute right, he will have also a power against which raging nations will dash themselves in vain. He will “rebuke strong nations afar off” (Micah 4:3), and under his compulsion they will “beat their swords into ploughshares”.
Man have asked two things of organized society: that it should give them security and sufficiency. They want to live safe and ordered lives, with a fair chance of obtaining suitable food, clothing and housing for themselves and their families. Human government has failed them pitiably in both these elementary needs. Divine government will meet those needs with all the resources of the earth turned to the pursuits of peace: “They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid” (Micah 4:4). With freedom from fear, there will be a freedom also from want.
Guided by the light of God from the center of His law in Zion, men and women will no longer be stunted and warped by their environment: they will be free to grow to that full mental and spiritual stature for which they were made in God’s image.
Half the world lives now under the poisoned shadow of vicious beliefs; the minds of the rest are clouded by uncertainty. The spiritual feast and the enlightenment of that day, described in the poetic language of Isaiah (25:6, 7), are beautiful as daybreak by contrast with this gloom:
And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the less well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
No mere change of social system could give the benefits which will come from that age. Neither king nor demagogue has ever had power to raise the dead: none but Jesus of Nazareth, whose kingdom, once established, will have no end. Under his rule life will come with a new wealth and healing, for it is written:
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert (Isa. 35:5-6).
Harmony with the Source of all being will make life richer physically as well as mentally: its span will be lengthened, so that men will no longer lose their powers before they are fully attained, and pass into the grave at an ineffectual three or four score years:
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them (Isa. 65:19-23).
Though the words are written especially of the people of Israel, who will be restored to their land as the central domain of this world empire, all families of the earth will be blessed through this blessing which will come on Abraham’s seed (Genesis 12:3).
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment” (Isa. 32:1) hints at the ordered administration of this great realm. The “princes” will be those whom Daniel was told would awake from sleep in the dust to everlasting life (Dan. 12:2), who in the Book of Revelation are shown acclaiming the “Lamb of God” who had washed them from their sins in his own blood, and made them kings and priests unto God (Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10). They rule over the mortal population of the world during the thousand years which is the last stage in God’s work of redeeming the world; then death will be abolished, and the world will enter on the glory of that final state in which God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:23-28).
73. What is the Kingdom of God?
Answer: It is a kingdom that God will set up on earth which will overthrow and take possession of all others.
Proof:
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Dan. 2:44).
And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. (Hag. 2:22).
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13-14).
And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. (Zech. 14:9).
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15).
74. Who will be King in the Kingdom of God?
Answer: Jesus Christ.
Proof:
Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. (Acts 17:7).
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31).
And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. (Micah 4:7).
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15).
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psa. 2:6).
75. Will Christ reign alone in the Kingdom of God, or will others reign with him?
Answer: Others will reign with him.
Proof:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Tim. 2:12).
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:10).
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isa. 32:1).
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matt. 25:34).
76. Who are they that will reign with Christ in the Kingdom of God?
Answer: The saints.
Proof:
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Dan. 7:22).
But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. (Dan. 7:18).
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Cor. 6:2).
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD. (Psa. 149:7-9).
77. Who are the saints?
Answer: Those who believe and obey the Gospel.
Proof:
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 1:7).
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (1 Cor.1:2).
Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess. 2:14).
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: (Eph. 1:1).
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Eph. 1:13).
78. Did God ever have a kingdom on earth before?
Answer: Yes; the Kingdom of Israel was the Kingdom of God.
Proof:
For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations. (Psa. 22:28).
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. (Psa. 114:1-2).
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. (2 Chron. 13:8).
Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. (1 Chron. 29:23).
79. Will the Kingdom of God, in which Christ and the Saints will reign, have any relation to the Divine Kingdom of Israel that existed in the past?
Answer: The Kingdom of God, in which Christ and the Saints will reign, will be the Kingdom of Israel restored.
Proof:
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6).
And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. (Isa. 1:26).
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: (Amos 9:11).
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matt. 19:28).
80. Will the restored Kingdom of Israel occupy the same land that it was established in before?
Answer: Yes: it will be re-established in the very land where David reigned and where Christ was crucified.
Proof:
And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. (Ezek. 36:34).
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. (Isa. 62:4).
Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. (Isa. 60:15).
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. (Isa. 61:4).
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zech. 12:10).
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. (Micah 4:1).
81. Will the Kingdom be composed of the same nation that it formerly consisted of, namely, the Jews who are not scattered?
Answer: Yes. The Jews, the descendants of Abraham now dispersed in all the countries of the world, will be gathered to their own land, and made there a great and righteous nation.
Proof:
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isa. 11:12).
Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. (Jer. 31:10).
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; (Zech 8:7).
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: (Ezek. 37:21-22).