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TRUE
COSPEL?
(Continued from page 3)
MENT! The heavens have received
Christ until the time of RESTORATION
of that government (Acts 3:19-21). ,
Who la to Be Klng?
A kingdom consists of 1) a king, or
chief ruler with all bis officers who
rule over 2) people within 3) certain
boundaries in which the ruler has
jurisdiction, with 4) a system of laws
and government.
First, then, notice WHO is to be the
king of the Kingdom of God. Look at
the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7: "for
unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be
upon his shoulder: and bis name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Fa–
ther, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to
order it , and to establish it with judg–
ment and with justice from hence–
forth even for ever."
Next, in the New Testament, just
prior to Jesus' birth, an angel spoke
to Mary, who was to become Jesus'
mother: " And the angel said unto
her, Fear not, Mary: for . .. thou
shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and shalt call bis
name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the High–
est: and the Lord God sha ll give unto
him the throne of bis father David:
and he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of bis kingdom
there shall be no end" (Luke l :30-
33).
When Jesus was on tria! for His
life, Pilate asked: "Art thou a king
then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest
that I am a king. To this end was
1
born, and for this cause carne 1 into
the world ..." (John 18:37). But in .
the preceding verse Jesus had ex–
plained, "My kingdom is
not
of this
world. . .."
A World-Rullng Government
The prophet Daniel foretold the
Kingdom of God. In the second chap–
ter, speaking of the kings over gov–
ernmeots in this,
our
generation, he
prophesied: "And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a
42
kingdom, which shall never be de–
stroyed: and the kiogdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these king–
doms, and it shall stand for ever"
(Daniel 2:44).
In the seventh chapter is a proph–
ecy of the succession of world ero–
pires, beginning with King Nebu–
chadnezzar ' s Chaldean Empire,
called Babylon, through the Persian
Empire, the Greco-Macedonian Ero–
pire and its four divisions, followed
by the Roman Empire, the Holy Ro–
roan Empire of the Middle Ages, and
its final revival in Europe now form–
ing. Then, speaking of this soon-com–
ing "United States of Europe"-a
revived "Holy Roman Empire" :
"And the kingdom and dominion,
and the greatness of the kingdom un–
der the whole heaven, shall be given
to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlast–
ing kingdom, and all dominions shall
serve and obey him" (Daniel 7:27).
Next, consider the people who will
constitute the Kingdom of God. I
have shown you Jesus said it was a
future Kingdom- not of this present
world or age. Daniel's prophecy
shows the government will be given
over to "the saints," yet Christ is to
be the King.
The Futura Rulara
There will be
two classes
of people
when the Kingdom of God is set up.
One, those whom Daniel caBed
saints, resurrected to immortality,
organized into the executive branch
of the government, who shall rule
under Christ. The other, those mortal
humans left alive on earth. Both are
referred to in many scriptures.
But Jesus explained to the Phari–
see Nicodemus about those wbo sha,ll
bear rule in the government. It's in
tbe third chapter of John. Yet it is
misinterpreted by almost' every de–
nomination in the Christian religion,
in spite of the fact it NEEDS NO IN–
TERPRETATION.
lt
is clear and plain
in the Bible-especially when consid–
ered along with many other passages
on the same subject.
Jesus said: " Except a roan be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God.... That which is boro of the
flesh IS flesh ; and tbat which is born
of the Spirit IS spirit" (John 3:3, 6).
A mortal human cannot enter into or
see the Kingdom of God. Only those
born of the Spirit (which IS God),
and who are no longer material hu–
man flesb from the ground, but who
are spirit-composed
of spirit, not of
matter--can enter that kingdom.
Yet, because Christ's gospel is not
preached (except on our programs
and in our publications'), this birth is
commonly either rejected or repre–
sented as an "experience" when one
"accepts" or "receives" Christ.
Space does not permit a thorough
explanation with all the pertinent
scriptures here, but the reader is in–
vited to request our free booklet
Just
What Do You Mean .
..
Born Again?
and also the free booklet
Why Were
You Born?
They cover thoroughly,
intriguingly, the inost important
thing in your life-the PURPOSE for
which you were put here on earth,
why you are, where you are going
and the way. l t's the missing dimen–
sion in knowledge!
But let me cite just two more brief
verses of Scripture that show who
will be ruling, under Christ , in the
government of God over this earth.
In Revelation 3:21, Christ is speak–
ing. "To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as
1
also overcame, and am set
d own with my Father in bis
throne."
And it is Christ speaking also in
Revelation 2:26-27: "And he that .
overcometh, and keepeth my works
unto the end, to him will 1give
power
over the nations:
and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron; as the vessels
of a potter shall they be broken to
shivers: even as
1
received of my
Father."
The Goapel Relatlon ·to Government
This has been a very condensed sum–
mary of precisely WHAT Christ's gos–
pel is. Christ carne with a tremen–
dous ANNOUNCEMENT- wonder ful
news of a world-ruling GOVERNMENT
to come and solve all of humanity's
seemingly unsolvable problems.
It
is the message of how we may
qualify, now, to be a king or priest
(Revelation 5: 10), then made immor–
tal and composed of spirit , in God's
Kingdom.
It
is the message that God
is
the divine, creating, universe-rul–
ing family into whicb we may be
born by repenting of the way of sin
that has CAUSED all the terrible EVILS
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1979