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There is a great misconception of the kingdom of God that was promised to come to the earth. Not the kingdom that believers have entered into though which they receive eternal life. But the manifestation of that kingdom on earth, prophesied throughout scripture. The misconception of it is so overwhelming that the prophecies that definitively say when it would come have to be twisted, tortured and ignored because people do not see what they have imagined it will look like. Zachariah, John the Baptist's father prophesied what it would be like on earth when this kingdom arrives.
Luke 1: 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69 And has raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Or in other places like this: Isaiah 65:. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 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 my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth (children) for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. Or the all encompassing promise made to Abraham. Genesis 12:3...in you shall all the nations of the world be blessed. Or the song we sing about the birth of the messiah. Luke 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Now think about what happened when the messiah came. True believers were not saved from their enemies but hunted, persecuted and destroyed. This went on for millennia after Christ came even in lands that were ruled by kings and emperors that claimed Christianity. Real Christians if they were allowed to live at all were consigned to second class citizenship. They were not allowed to own land, build their own houses plant their own vineyards. Their children were never safe from being taken from them to be used by kings or lords in whatever manner they pleased. There had no choice or control over their own destiny. Life was short, painful and full of sorrows.
But what happened? Speaking to true believers in many nations today. How is it that you are able to serve God without fear of your enemies? How is it your saved out of the hand of your enemies? How is it you get to build houses and keep them, and buy as many as you can afford? How is it you have never experienced famine. Why are you able to labor and build almost anything your heart desires? Great businesses and intuitions., giant churches, international denominations? Multinational corporations. Unimaginable wealth by the ancient worlds standards? Not only can no one take it from you but your children get to inherit it? Best of all you were not born a slave and don't live in any kind of fear about losing your children to despots. You get to raise them as you see fit. Hopefully in the fear and the admonition of the Lord.
What do today's circumstances in many nations have to do with the manifestation Kingdom of God on this earth? Well it may have nothing to do with what most imagine the Kingdom of God would be because like the religious leaders in Jesus day they expected God to impose a physical\visible Kingdom of God on earth. Yet when they asked Jesus when God would do this he didn't answer but instead addressed their misconception of the way the promised and prophesied kingdom of God would be manifested in the earth . Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come visibly : 21 Neither shall they say, Look here! or, look there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Jesus plainly told them as he now tells us through his Word that the promised kingdom of God that was to arise in the earth after the fall of the last of the four Gentile empires in Daniel chapters 2 & 7 and much of the book of Revelation would be manifested in the earth through individuals. That the earthly promises listed above and many hundreds of other chapters of prophecy like them would come to pass because God, the Gospel , the Holy Spirit, the Bibles influence is in the hearts of people. That people influenced by Gods invisible kingdom would transform nations in such a way that true believers and everyone else would be able to have the prophecies of the promises, like those listed above, fulfilled in their lives.
Here is the issue. Looking back to what happened since the last of the four empires fell in 1453 AD. In case you did not know it the capitol of the Roman empire was moved to Constantinople in 333 AD and a Roman emperor sat on the throne until it was conquered in 1453 and the last Roman emperor killed. There was a catalyst that began to occur immediately after that fourth empire fell that produced what we have today. That catalyst was: For the first time in human history the Bible began to get into the hands of the general public. Then those peoples, empowered by the truth of scripture that they didn't have before, over time and against great opposition created the free world. Which is now being copied by others even though they may not have the same Biblical influence under-girding their nations. So when looking back. We can see that the prophecies and promises did not come through a supernatural imposition of a visible\physical kingdom. Instead via the grace of God upon further grace, conditions have to be met and promises have to be won.
Yet today, for the most part, the Christian world once more waits for a physical\visible kingdom. Which is very easy to do. It requires nothing of believers. They need do nothing but get people to accept Jesus as their savior and wait. Doesn't matter if the world goes to hell and plunges into darkness. Jesus is coming back they say. However looking at reality instead of fantasy and what it took to possess these promises. What it took to grow Gods kingdom and its fruit in the earth. It takes more of the same of what got us here in the first place to overcome evil with good. Grace upon grace. Knowledge of Gods word and his will, sacrifice and labor for the sake of God and future generations. The founding and maintenance of nations on Biblical principle. That means Christians and Christian thought must be dominate in politics. Big job.....lots of enemies, lots of resistance, lots of warfare, spiritually, politically and physically. Not something Christians today want, desire or are prepared for. But everyone seems to want a mission in life, calling, a purpose. This is it. It is not about imposing an agenda from the top down the way progressives do, which is of Satan. Its about transforming multitudes of hearts and educating and helping them grow in the ways of the Lord. Without that all the fighting and politics that sadly are necessary and part of the process will be fruitless endeavor. Unless the Lord build the house they that labor, labor in vain. But the house must be built and the laborers, at least those who know what the Lord wants to labor towards are so very few. It all starts with faith in the veracity of God's Word. It ends there to.
So be thankful for what we have. We did not earn it, Christ did. He paid for this fruit in the earth with his own blood and many others paid with theirs afterwards. But realize that with the free gift comes responsibility . Responsibility to not allow the wicked to seize Christ's inheritance but also a responsibility to give to our children the gift given us. A world under the influence of the invisible kingdom of God.
Luke 1: 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69 And has raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Or in other places like this: Isaiah 65:. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 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 my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth (children) for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. Or the all encompassing promise made to Abraham. Genesis 12:3...in you shall all the nations of the world be blessed. Or the song we sing about the birth of the messiah. Luke 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Now think about what happened when the messiah came. True believers were not saved from their enemies but hunted, persecuted and destroyed. This went on for millennia after Christ came even in lands that were ruled by kings and emperors that claimed Christianity. Real Christians if they were allowed to live at all were consigned to second class citizenship. They were not allowed to own land, build their own houses plant their own vineyards. Their children were never safe from being taken from them to be used by kings or lords in whatever manner they pleased. There had no choice or control over their own destiny. Life was short, painful and full of sorrows.
But what happened? Speaking to true believers in many nations today. How is it that you are able to serve God without fear of your enemies? How is it your saved out of the hand of your enemies? How is it you get to build houses and keep them, and buy as many as you can afford? How is it you have never experienced famine. Why are you able to labor and build almost anything your heart desires? Great businesses and intuitions., giant churches, international denominations? Multinational corporations. Unimaginable wealth by the ancient worlds standards? Not only can no one take it from you but your children get to inherit it? Best of all you were not born a slave and don't live in any kind of fear about losing your children to despots. You get to raise them as you see fit. Hopefully in the fear and the admonition of the Lord.
What do today's circumstances in many nations have to do with the manifestation Kingdom of God on this earth? Well it may have nothing to do with what most imagine the Kingdom of God would be because like the religious leaders in Jesus day they expected God to impose a physical\visible Kingdom of God on earth. Yet when they asked Jesus when God would do this he didn't answer but instead addressed their misconception of the way the promised and prophesied kingdom of God would be manifested in the earth . Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come visibly : 21 Neither shall they say, Look here! or, look there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Jesus plainly told them as he now tells us through his Word that the promised kingdom of God that was to arise in the earth after the fall of the last of the four Gentile empires in Daniel chapters 2 & 7 and much of the book of Revelation would be manifested in the earth through individuals. That the earthly promises listed above and many hundreds of other chapters of prophecy like them would come to pass because God, the Gospel , the Holy Spirit, the Bibles influence is in the hearts of people. That people influenced by Gods invisible kingdom would transform nations in such a way that true believers and everyone else would be able to have the prophecies of the promises, like those listed above, fulfilled in their lives.
Here is the issue. Looking back to what happened since the last of the four empires fell in 1453 AD. In case you did not know it the capitol of the Roman empire was moved to Constantinople in 333 AD and a Roman emperor sat on the throne until it was conquered in 1453 and the last Roman emperor killed. There was a catalyst that began to occur immediately after that fourth empire fell that produced what we have today. That catalyst was: For the first time in human history the Bible began to get into the hands of the general public. Then those peoples, empowered by the truth of scripture that they didn't have before, over time and against great opposition created the free world. Which is now being copied by others even though they may not have the same Biblical influence under-girding their nations. So when looking back. We can see that the prophecies and promises did not come through a supernatural imposition of a visible\physical kingdom. Instead via the grace of God upon further grace, conditions have to be met and promises have to be won.
Yet today, for the most part, the Christian world once more waits for a physical\visible kingdom. Which is very easy to do. It requires nothing of believers. They need do nothing but get people to accept Jesus as their savior and wait. Doesn't matter if the world goes to hell and plunges into darkness. Jesus is coming back they say. However looking at reality instead of fantasy and what it took to possess these promises. What it took to grow Gods kingdom and its fruit in the earth. It takes more of the same of what got us here in the first place to overcome evil with good. Grace upon grace. Knowledge of Gods word and his will, sacrifice and labor for the sake of God and future generations. The founding and maintenance of nations on Biblical principle. That means Christians and Christian thought must be dominate in politics. Big job.....lots of enemies, lots of resistance, lots of warfare, spiritually, politically and physically. Not something Christians today want, desire or are prepared for. But everyone seems to want a mission in life, calling, a purpose. This is it. It is not about imposing an agenda from the top down the way progressives do, which is of Satan. Its about transforming multitudes of hearts and educating and helping them grow in the ways of the Lord. Without that all the fighting and politics that sadly are necessary and part of the process will be fruitless endeavor. Unless the Lord build the house they that labor, labor in vain. But the house must be built and the laborers, at least those who know what the Lord wants to labor towards are so very few. It all starts with faith in the veracity of God's Word. It ends there to.
So be thankful for what we have. We did not earn it, Christ did. He paid for this fruit in the earth with his own blood and many others paid with theirs afterwards. But realize that with the free gift comes responsibility . Responsibility to not allow the wicked to seize Christ's inheritance but also a responsibility to give to our children the gift given us. A world under the influence of the invisible kingdom of God.