The Advanced Course

6. Ruler or Subject in the Kingdom?

Lesson 1

1. Ever since the beginning of time mankind has been divided into two main classes: the rulers and the ruled. Starting at first by being the head of the family, man gradually expanded his rulership to his tribe, then to a number of tribes, then to cities, then to groups of cities or regions, to small kingdoms, and finally to large kingdoms and empires.

2. Most of the rulers in the world have been strong, ruthless, influential men. They have become rulers by in-heritance of right of succession, by revolution, or by conquest. If the ruler happened to be a good and wise man, the subjects fared well; if he was un-principled , a troublemaker, a greedy and selfish man, a dicta-torial or a war-minded man, his subjects usually suffered.

3. Such is the history of the human race, and there is very little hope that it will ever change, until God’s due time comes to set up His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as the new Ruler and King of the earth.

4. Certainly not all people are born to be rulers. The great majority of people, either by nature or by choice, prefer to work for a living, raise a family and let the ruler have all the glory, the luxury and the advantages, as well as the worries, headaches and all the other problems connected with ruling over others.

5. The Bible speaks of a time to come on this earth (and we believe it to be soon), variously called “The Mil-lennium,” the “Golden Age,” “Utopia,” “Heaven on earth,” and other such titles, which will be directly and personally ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ and last for l,000 years (hence the term Millennium -- Latin for l,000 years).

6. This wonderful, fantastic, almost incredible, age of happiness and blessedness for all mankind is called the Kingdom. Jesus taught his disciples what is generally known as the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as in heaven” (Mt. 6:10), and it will come in fulfillment of that prayer, for our Lord would never teach us to pray for something that would never come.

7. Yes, obedience to God’s will (His holy will or commands) shall be done by all the people on this earth as it is now perfectly done by all celestial spirit beings in heaven. It is the ONLY WAY for people to enjoy health, peace, life and happiness. Disobedience to God’s just laws will eventually lead to eternal death for the incorrigibly wicked who refuse to learn and obey. (See Rev. 21:8.)

8. To millions of people this will be new, incomprehensible, bewildering news. Could it be possible? Will it really come to pass? The world never before has enjoyed such desirable conditions, and surely they are not doing so today.

9. We realize that a plain, understandable explanation of all these things is in order, and we want to make it clear that all of our information on this subject has been gathered solely from the Holy Bible itself, and not from the writings of any man, regardless of his piety, status, office title or ecclesiastical position in the religious world. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, the revealed divine knowledge of God and of His plans for man, and since it has been proved as such by us, we have a sure foundation on which to base our beliefs, hopes and understanding of things to come.

The Bible Tells the Truth

10. Speaking about the Holy Scriptures, our Lord said, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39). In his prayer to his heavenly Father for his disciples, he said, “Sanctify them through your truth, YOUR WORD IS TRUTH” (John 17:17), and the Apostle Paul confirmed the above when he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in-struction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” We cannot in good conscience question the above statements. They speak the TRUTH.

11. Concerning His plans and promises made to the children of Israel and to the whole world of mankind, as recorded in the Bible, God made the following statements: “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked.” “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not re-turn to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” “ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isa. 45:23; 55:11; 40:8).

12. These statements should eliminate any doubts from our mind concerning the truthfulness of God’s promises as written in the Bible, as well as any doubts of the possibility that God may some day change His mind (James 1:17), as man often does, or that He may be unable to carry out and fulfill His promises. We must always remember He is the Almighty and Sovereign . (See Matt. 19:26.)

13. Therefore, we can proceed in this Bible study with complete confidence that God is speaking to us through His Word, the Bible, and that what He says is the absolute, inspired Truth.

14. Generally speaking, most churches today do not teach or preach the coming of God’s kingdom on earth. Priests and ministers do not emphasize its great importance in the Plan of God and the abundant blessings it will bring to all mankind; instead, they preach that all are being dealt with and judged now to enter an eter-nity either in heaven or in hell at their death. These are errors that should be discarded. They dishonor the character of our Holy God, whose grand plans for restoring mankind were designed from before the foun-dation of this world. Many of the clergy lack a sound and complete knowledge of the Bible. They come out of college or seminary today, often with only a limited amount of Biblical knowledge, and a good deal of humanism. Thus they cannot teach their congregations what they themselves do not understand.

Lesson 2

1. We do not wish to stress in this study the biblical ignorance of any, for there is another, more important matter to be clearly understood: unlike many other college courses or subjects where exacting information is provided the student, a simple knowledge of religion and of the Bible itself is not sufficient for the stu-dent to enter the ministry. He needs something additional that no man, college or seminary can ever give him, and that is God’s Holy Spirit, which is received from the Lord Himself when one is born again.

2. A man could read the Bible as a book of fine morals, religion, history, or philosophy, and still NEVER learn what the Plan of God is.

3. It is the Spirit of God that gives wisdom, knowledge, revelation, and understanding of the things of God. Note what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian brethren (l:17-19): “ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

4. Our Lord had previously laid the basis for the above statement of Paul, when he said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that be-longs to the Father is mine. That is why I said ‘the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you’” (John 16:12-15).

5. From the above quotation, you may now realize that it is God who gives knowledge and understanding through His Holy Spirit, and not necessarily to those who are ordained by men, but to whomsoever He wills. He is not bound by any man-made rules or regulations. This wisdom from above, from God Him-self, is described in James 3:17 as follows: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

6. If we are endowed with this Spirit from God, we will know and speak the Truth according to the Bible and not according to the doctrines, teachings and traditions of men (Mark 7:9) in the governing body of each denomination or church. Neither will it be according to the wisdom of educated men, for we are told, “... the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Cor. 3:19).

7. If we do not have this God-given Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, we have no right to teach others. It would be wiser to ask God for this godly wisdom through prayer and supplication, and then patiently wait until He grants it to us. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally . . . but let him ask in faith . . .”(James 1:5,6).

8. Yes, we must ask in faith, and at His proper time God will grant our request, if we persevere in prayer and we ask according to His will and have the spirit of meekness and humility. Only then will we be able to teach the Truth of God: the wisdom and power of God, which is infinitely superior to all the teachings of men.

Importance of God's Kingdom

9. Now we would like to ask -- How important is God’s kingdom to you? There are two aspects to God’s Kingdom. You may never have heard of this even if you have prayed the Lord’s Prayer often. This is a wonderful part of God’s great plan!

10. Our Lord thought so much of it that he began most of his parables with the words, “The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto . . .” As a matter of fact, He taught his disciples that the Kingdom of God is of the utmost importance and that they (and all his disciples throughout the gospel age) should pray for and seek it FIRST before anything else. “But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these (other) things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). God’s kingdom must be first in our hearts and in our minds; we must seek to walk as children of the King -- to pray, study, preach and work for it. We have the Lord’s promise that if we do so, all other material needs will be provided to us.

11. Both our Lord’s ministry and the ministry of John the Baptist began with the following warning: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2; 4:l7). Many people are merely looking for and anticipating an earthly kingdom, and almost 2000 years have passed and still this has not happened. Unless you un-derstand what Jesus meant by these words, you might think that he had made a mistake. The Apostle Paul helps us to understand that there is another phase of the Kingdom that many have overlooked. We read in Colossians 1:12,13, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Since the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and accepted the terms of discipleship have been released from Satan’s do-minion of darkness and have been transferred or brought into the spiritual kingdom of God’s Son. We have been born again and are now new creatures in Christ Jesus.

12. We must understand that our Lord had come among his Jewish brethren to preach to them the Gospel of Salvation, and the Gospel of the Kingdom; but alas, “He came unto his own, and his

own received him not” (John 1:11). This was no surprise to our Lord. He knew that they would reject both him and the Gospel of the Kingdom, but it was necessary that the gospel be preached to them first, for they were God’s special people at that time (the rest of the world were heathen or pagans). The Gospel would be preached thereafter to the Gentiles, to the non-Jews, some 3-1/2 years after our Lord had died and been res-urrected. (For an explanation of this important matter, please read Romans 11:25-32.) When the Jews, as a nation, rejected both Christ and the Gospel of the Kingdom, then it became opened up to the Gentiles. The first Gentile convert to Christianity was the centurion Cornelius, witnessed to by the Apostle Peter (Acts ch. 10). Then the Apostle Paul, speaking to the Jews in Antioch, declared, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46).

13. The several thousands of Jews who believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and their true Messiah at the first advent became the nucleus of the new Christian Church.

Lesson 3

1. God, having known beforehand that the Jews as a nation would reject Christ and the Gospel of the Kingdom, had set aside a period of time, generally called the Gospel age (which extends from the first advent to the second coming of Christ), for the purpose of calling them to what the Bible calls “the heavenly or high calling.” These called-out ones would be born from above to a new nature, one that was spiritual. They would be “conformed to the image of God’s dear son” (Rom. 8:29) by His Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). (See Titus 1:2.)

2. Here is an important question. Surely not the wise, the wealthy, or the well-educated of this world. Many people who have great wealth, influence and intellect are puffed up with feelings of importance and supe-riority. They would not be willing, humble tools in the hands of God, and the glory would not go to our great Potter. (See 1 Cor. 1:26-29.) So whom does God call?

3. Surprisingly enough, God calls the humble, the poor, the sincere, the sinners, the “little people” of this world, simple folks like you and me. Today, God is calling YOU, not to be just a citizen of His coming earthly Kingdom but to be a Ruler and Joint-heir with Jesus Christ and a Judge with him in it! Just think of such an honor and privilege being held out to us. It should humble us before our awesome Lord and God! (See Rev. 2:26,27; 1 Cor. 6:2.) Do you find this hard to believe? Why should God call us, who are nobodies in this world, to such a glorious station? If we were to die tomorrow, our death would not make the front page of any newspapers, and we wouldn’t be missed, except by our families and close friends. Nevertheless, this is the plain truth of God’s Word -- of our God who does not lie. (See Heb. 6:18.)

4. However, accepting the Call of God is the first of many steps you are invited to take. To be called by God is indeed a superlative privilege not accorded to all, and this privilege should be gratefully appreciated and acted upon. If you don’t answer with a joyous “Yes!”, then God will call someone else. Your call (or invi-tation) to become a disciple of Christ and to rule with him in his coming Kingdom can be lost to you forev-er. You must always bear in mind that God does not need you and me -- it is you and I who need God. His plans will not be thwarted if we refuse such a gracious invitation.

5. Assuming you decide to answer God’s call affirmatively, positively, there are steps to take and things you must do.

6. First of all, you must see yourself as a sinner in need of forgiveness. You must look within yourself and recognize your own insufficiency, limitations, imperfection, many failings, and your complete unworthiness in God’s sight. By nature and by heredity, you are a sinner. The Scriptures declare, “ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), so none of us can claim that we lead a perfect, sinless life. The realization of this important fact should humble us, regardless of our talents, possessions, edu-cation, position, fame, wealth or natural good disposition. None of us are good. There are sinful tendencies within us that even we ourselves are unaware of. Before our Holy God, we are all, indeed, poor sinners in need of forgiveness for our sins.

7. This leads you to the second step: Repentance. Once you realize and admit to yourself and to God that you are a sinner, that the penalty for your sin is death -- “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23) -- and how sinful you are (even without wanting to be), you must seek forgiveness from God. You should get down on your knees and ask God for His mercy, appealing to His loving kindness to forgive all your sins and cleanse you. How can this wiping away and cleansing be done? By accepting Jesus as your Saviour and asking that his blood be applied to you to purge your sins forever. God truly forgives, and when He forgives, He also forgets. He adds no penance for you to atone for your sins. The atonement for your sins was finished by our Lord Jesus on Calvary’s Cross. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “. . . Your sins are forgiven you for his (Jesus) name’s sake” (1 John 1:9; 2:12).

8. This leads you to the third step: Accepting Jesus Christ as your Sovereign Lord. Since your sins are purged by his precious blood, you must not only believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died for you on the cross, and that his death and resurrection purge you from your sins, but also you must be assured that you have been delivered from the slavery of sin (Rom. 6:22). Sin is no longer your Master.

9. Accepting the Lord Jesus Christ not only as your Savior and Redeemer, but as your Shepherd and King is a MUST. You cannot go to God without believing that in Christ is your only “hope of glory.” In accepting Jesus Christ as “the way, the truth and the life” -- and everything you could want or need for your life as a new creature -- you can know that God accepts you as His son or daughter and adopts you into His divine family. From that day on

He becomes your heavenly Father, Jesus becomes your Shepherd and King, and all believers become your brothers and sisters. How wonderful! You are no longer alone! The gates of heaven have been opened to you, and from that day forth you will enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son, having their guidance, protection, love and care. What more could we want?

10. This leads you to the fourth step: Conversion. To be converted means making a drastic change in your way of life; it means to change your mind, your way of thinking, of talking, and acting. It means turning around from the way the world does things and thinks to walking in God’s will for you. It means becoming entirely dependent upon the Lord for all things. With some people this is a hard thing to do, but with God’s help it is entirely possible, as thousands and thousands of Christians can testify. The Apostle Paul calls it “the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1,2), changing from the old life to a new life, changing your thoughts, words and actions, and bringing everything in your life in harmony with the will of God. It should no longer be “I want what I want,” but “Lord, what do YOU want?” When you reach this stage, you can truly say you are converted, in both heart and mind.

Lesson 4

1. The fifth step is Baptism. The Lord requires this from each converted believer, for it has an important sym-bolism. The ceremony of baptism is simple enough. You are submerged in the water (in a pool, river, or by the seashore) for a second or two, and lifted up again (the term baptism means immersion, not sprin-kling). Perhaps you were baptized as a baby or as a child, but that baptism has no validity before God . A person must repent, be converted and accept the Lord Jesus Christ BEFORE being baptized. How can a child or a baby go through these steps before being baptized? It is impossible -- he cannot; he is too young to understand or reason these things. Infant baptism is not a scriptural teaching.

2. What is the meaning of baptism? Why is it necessary? Will being baptized in a particular church make us members of that church? If we have been baptized with the idea of becoming members of that particular church, it will be so -- but this is not the true meaning of baptism. Our primary purpose in seeking baptism is to be obedient to what God requires of us. The purpose should not be to become a member of a particu-lar church or denomination, but to become a member of God’s divine family and have our name written in heaven in the book of life (Luke 10:20) rather than in the membership roll of a church. This leads us to the most important part of the symbolism of baptism. Going down in the water and being immersed pictures how we die to our present life with its attractions, pleasures and sins, and to everything that is contrary to the will of God. Being raised out of the water shows how we are raised to a new life to be lived in harmony with the will of God. (Read Rom. 6:1-4; Gal. 3:27.) It is done as a public witness of a heartfelt confession of all that has been before stated and that we want no will of our own but only God’s. We place our life on the altar of sacrifice to God, gladly, willingly, asking God to accept it and make use of it as it pleases Him. (Rom. 12:1,2). We become like clay in His loving hands, to be shaped as it pleases Him, for He is the Mas-ter Potter (Rom. 9:19-24). We consecrate ourselves to Him for the rest of our earthly life to love, serve and obey Him, no matter what happens. Thus we become new creatures in Christ and true disciples. We start a new, wonderful life in close relationship with God and with our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now become members of God’s Divine family.

3. Having made the choice to be one of Jesus’ disciples we must heed his words: “Then he (Jesus) called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’” (Mark 8:34). Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, but discipleship has a cost attached to it. It requires sacrifice (the taking up of one’s cross). Romans 12:1 tells us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.”

4. The seventh and final step is to allow God to finish the work that He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6). This in-cludes abiding in Jesus, for he is the Vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We are to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Gal. 5:22,23). The branch does not have to worry about producing the fruit; its job is merely to bear the fruit, and to do this we must be connected to Jesus heart and soul. We are to develop and maintain a deep and personal abiding faith in Jesus and in God. We are to rest in His loving care by being obedient to His Word and to have a strong desire to be of service to Him by helping in whatever manner the Lord opens up. We are to preach the Good News of Christ’s Gospel of the Kingdom to others and di-rect them to Christ. We are to do good to all men as we have the opportunity. We are to meet and gather regularly on Sundays and during the week with our brethren for mutual fellowship, Bible study and wor-ship. And finally, we are to love the brethren as our Lord has loved us and be willing to give our lives for them as the Lord gave his life for us. This is what God requires of us. His requirements are reasonable and just. Shortly you will consider the reward attached thereto. Please read 1 Tim. 6:11,12; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Peter 1:15; 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3,4; Rom. 2:7; Rev. 2:10; 20:6.

5. Returning now to our starting point, about the coming Kingdom of God and our place in it, we read in Dan-iel 2:44, “The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed . . . it shall last forev-er.” Also in Daniel 7:14, “ 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.” This will be the Kingdom of God on earth, with Christ as King. Read now the promised reward of glory for the members of His Church: “ Then the sover-eignty, 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.” (Dan. 7:27). This ties in with Rev. 5:10: “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Rev. 11:15-18 says, “‘The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders, who were seat-ed on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great -- and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’” Will you be one of these whom the Lord will ex-alt?

6. The Lord has made some precious promises to us as faithful believers. At his return to this earth with pow-er and great glory, if we are found faithful, we shall share his power and glory. 1 John 3:1-3 tells us, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 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.” (Read Rev. 3:21; 2:26-29.) Would you like to know what Jesus is like? Then listen to the words of Rev. 1:12-16: “ I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” You will share a similar glory with him if you are faithful.

7. Today we are being called, invited to be future judges and rulers; a kingdom of Priests in the coming new world, the world of tomorrow. We are invited to become immortal, glorious beings like Jesus himself, of his same nature, because we will be members of God’s divine family (1 John 3:2). Therefore, glory, honor and immortality will be God’s supreme gift to us as a reward of our faithfulness unto death (Rom. 2:7). The Apostle Paul, writing about our resurrection in 1 Cor. 15:42-44, says that we die in corruption but will be raised in incorruption; we die in dishonor but will be raised in glory; we die in weakness but will be raised in power; we die in a natural body but will be raised in a spiritual body. And then in verse 57 he shouts, “But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Of course, if the Lord returns during our lifetime, we will not die like ordinary men and women, but we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye from human to spiritual beings (v. 51,52) and along with those who are “asleep in Jesus” awaiting the grand First Resurrection. (See Rev. 20:6.)

Is Not All This Wonderful?

8. At that time the nations and the people will come to the Lord and his glorified Church or Bride to learn, to be instructed in the ways of God, and thus obtain eternal life on earth. (Read Isa. 2:2-4.) Today we are NOT being called to be subjects or citizens of the earthly Kingdom of God, but we are called to be of Jesus’ spiritual Kingdom in which the Church is being developed. We are being called and trained, and tested to be judges, priests and rulers, to reign with Christ in power and glory over all the earth for a full one thou-sand years. Let us look at the following scriptures:

1 Corinthians 6:2: “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”

Revelation 1:6: “Has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father -- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”

Revelation 2:26-27: “ To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations -- He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery -- just as I have received authority from my Father.”

9. Have you ever asked yourself what is the glory with which Christ is now crowned? A crown denotes kingship -- rule, authority, power. Our Lord said, just before ascending to heaven, that ALL POWER in heaven and on earth had been given to him (Matt. 28:18). In Hebrews 1:1-3 it is revealed that Christ now is the Brightness of God’s GLORY! Yes, his eyes, like flashing flames of fire -- his face shining bright as the full-strength SUN. Christ’s glory is such that now he sustains, upholds and controls every force, energy and power that exists everywhere -- SUPREME POWER over the universe!

10. Now believe what God says about US in Heb. 2:10: “For it became him ... in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” And in verse 11, Jesus calls us his broth-ers! Oh, what matchless, transcendent glory God purposes for us -- do we not long to be with Him and Jesus in glory?

11. Friend, how will you answer this invitation, this call of God and of Jesus? Will you answer it by saying you are too busy to consider it, or want to take your time to think about it? Rather let your answer be, “Yes, Lord, I come, I am ready, I am all yours.” The old saying still stands true: Do not postpone to to-morrow what you can do today, for tomorrow may be too late; or as another saying has it: tomorrow may never come. Accept the call now before God shuts the door to the High Calling forever. Accept the call of God and be ready and watching when the Lord returns for his Bride to be with him forever. Listen to the words of: Matthew 25:10, 13: “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.” “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

WILL YOU BE A RULER OR A SUBJECT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

PLEASE MAKE THE WISE CHOICE -- NOW!!

End of Study 6 Lessons

A Preview Of The Finished Kingdom

Close your eyes for a moment to the scenes of misery and woe, degradation and sorrow that yet prevail on ac-count of sin, and picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect earth.

Not a stain of sin mars the harmony and peace of a perfect society; not a bitter thought, not an unkind look or word; love, welling up from every heart, meets a kindred response in every other heart, and benevolence marks every act.

There sickness shall be no more; not an ache nor a pain, nor any evidence of decay -- not even the fear of such things.

Think of all the pictures of comparative health and beauty of human form and feature that you have ever seen, and know that perfect humanity will be of still surpassing loveliness.

The inward purity and mental and moral perfection will stamp and glorify every radiant countenance.

Such will earth’s society be; and weeping bereaved ones will have their tears all wiped away, when thus they realize the resurrection work complete.

Revelation 21:4

“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” - Rev. 21:3.