6. Blessings in the Kingdom

1. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything (‘times of restitution’ [restoration] in the KJV), as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.’”

2. As was brought out in the previous study “The Ransom and The World,” these verses deal with two different subjects, both occuring at the same time, which are:

a) Everyone will have the opportunity to listen to Christ after he

returns. Those who refuse to listen (“hear” in the KJV) will

be cut off.

b) Following the return of “that prophet,” Christ, there will be

restoration of all things as promised by God through His holy

prophets long ago.

You previously studied about the first subject. In this study, we will concentrate on the sec-ond one--restitution or restoration.

3. The word translated “restitution” in the KJV in these verses actually means to restore or bring something back to its original condition. The things to be restored pertain to those things spoken by the prophetic words recorded in the Old Testament.

4. This work of restoration is for a future time, because the 21st verse states that it will begin after our Lord returns from heaven. Then is when all that was lost by Adam will begin to be restored to mankind.

5. As covered in the “Ransom For All” study, those who have “died in Christ” who will even-tually become part of his bride are asleep in their graves and will remain there until Christ returns for them. (See 1 Thess. 4:13-18.)

6. When he returns, those believers who have been asleep in death, together with the living members who must be changed, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (on the spiritual plane). (Compare 1 Cor. 15:50-54 with 1 Thess. 4:16,17.)

7. After that time, Jesus as the Head with his Bride will carry out the work of restoration throughout the world. Following are some of the ways in which his body members will function:

a) They will sit with Jesus on his throne (Rev. 3:21).
b) They will judge the world (1 Cor. 6:2).
c) They will have authority and power over the nations (Rev. 2:26,27).
d) They will reign over the earth as a kingdom of priests (Rev. 5:10).
e) They will offer the water of life to the people of earth (Rev. 22:17).

8. “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it” (Isa. 2:2). As you learned earlier in this course, mountains in the Bible represent kingdoms or govern-ments, and hills represent lesser kingdoms. This verse clearly shows the establishment of God’s Kingdom in the last days, or at the end of this age, and how all the nations of earth will then be blessed. It will occur during the time of restoration, as spoken by God’s proph-ets.

9. Still speaking of that time of restoration and His Kingdom, God declared in Isa. 11:9 that the knowledge of Him will cover the whole earth. True knowledge of God will then have been restored and will be available to all people after Satan is taken out of the way.

1. Pertaining to this present age in which we live, it is written in 1 John 5:19 that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” This is because the unbelievers of the world have been blinded to the truth by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4).

2. How unfortunate it is in today’s world that evil is enthroned and righteousness is ridiculed. However, during the coming time of restoration, this situation will be reversed. In those days, righteousness will be exalted and evil will be destroyed. “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness” (Psa. 89:15,16).

3. The prophet declared in Isa. 25:7 thast God will one day “destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations” (KJV). At that time the inhabitants of earth will have the opportunity to learn righteousness.

4. In the previous lesson, you learned how God declared in Isa. 11:9 that when righteousness is restored to the earth, it will be full of His knowledge. This will take place after the one who has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, Satan, is taken out of the way. During those days, the people of earth will have their opportunity of acquiring knowledge about God and His Son, Jesus.

5. A beautiful picture of the coming restitution is painted in Psalm 72:7,8, when God’s right-eousness is restored on the earth: “In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” PRAISE GOD for that precious time when conditions of the present order of things will be reversed!

6. “He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields (or chariots) with fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’” (Psa. 46:9,10).

Wars on this earth have continued to become more severe with each passing generation. Today, mankind has the capability of destroying practically all life on this planet with one single blow. Although man has actually desired peace, war has been the result. This text points out the fact that man’s efforts will not bring about a lasting peace; rather, it is God who will do it.

7. We have noted several times in this course that had Adam and Eve not sinned in Eden, their descendants would not have had to fear war. It never would have entered into the human race. But because of sin, greed, hate, and prejudice entered the human experience, and war followed close behind.

8. However, praise God for His wonderful promise that He will restore peace to this earth. His word declares in Micah 4:3, referring to that coming age, that nations will not life up weap-ons against each other, and no one will ever again learn war. (See Isa. 2:2-4 and 11:6-9.)

9. “. . . God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5; Prov. 3:34). It will not be the proud and the powerful who will have the earth for an everlasting dwelling place, after God ends all wars and restores peace. Psalm 37:11 and 29 state that it will be the meek who will reside forever on the eaarth. It will be the humble and the righteous who will in-herit the land. (See also Matt. 5:5.)

10. After Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the ground, saying to Adam, “. . . Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Gen. 3:17,18).

11. Now compare this text with Psalm 67:6: “Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.”

During the times of restitution, God’s original curse of the land will be lifted. The land will be restored to its Edenic condition and will yield abundant food for everyone.

12. “They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited’” (Ezek. 36:35). These verses mainly pertain to the restoration of Israel; but at the same time it offers a brief picture of how conditions will exist throughout the world during the coming restora-tion.

13. In Isaiah 35:5-10, we find some of the conditions to be restored which once existed in Eden. According to these verses, even good health will be restored to the people. “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb shout for joy.”

14. Isaiah 11:6-9 presents a picture of the quality of life that will exist when peace and joy are restored to the earth. This text leaves the understanding that peace will even exist in the an-imal kingdom. There will no longer be prey or predator. There are some who only accept the symbolic meaning of these verses, but there is no reason why they cannot also be taken literally.

15. Although Isaiah 65:21-23 refers to conditions in “Jerusalem” after the times of restitution begin on the made-new earth, this text also presents a very nice picture of how life will be throughout the whole new world.

“They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.”

In these verses, God assures us that at that time the people will long enjoy the fruit of their labors; they themselves will benefit from the work they perform.

16. “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remem-bered, nor will they come to mind.” “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (Isa. 65:17 and Rev. 21:1).

Reading on through the 5th verse of Rev. 21, we find a beautiful picture of what this made-new earth will be like, after the conditions that existed in Eden are restored worldwide. “New heavens” is a term that relates to spiritual forces governing this planet. In our ad-vanced course, there is a study pertaining to Satan that you can request. His government will soon be replaced by the “new heaven.” It will be a spiritual restoration to what existed on the heavenly plane before Satan seized control of this planet.

17. Read the opening text to this study again, Acts 3:19-21. Yes, indeed, what a blessing it will be during that coming time of restitution promised by God’s holy prophets. In this lesson we have touched on some of the ways a great change will occur on the earth to make it new. You learned that the word restitution means to restore, that is, having something brought back to its original condition. When God created man, it was His intention that mankind would dwell on the earth in health, peace, and contentment. Such conditions ceased when sin entered the human experience, but God’s great plan will be fulfilled. We praise Him for the fact that those perfect conditions will once again exist--that everything will be restored to how God originally intended it to be!

1. These next two lessons will concern God’s coming Kingdom which will one day carry out the work of restitution “spoken of by God’s holy prophets” (Acts 3:19-21). God’s Kingdom will be a government made up of Jesus Christ and his Bride. It will usher in the thousand years of peace that are promised for this earth after it is made new. We are actually part of that Kingdom now, after we enter the race for the high calling; but this is just the preparatory or training stage. What we now want to show is the end result, after the Kingdom is com-pleted and established on this earth.

2. Many people cannot visualize God’s Kingdom as a government which will rule over the earth; rather, they believe it is something that is strictly within the hearts of all believers. The Bible does not teach this, but instead it speaks of a literal government called the Kingdom, which will be set up to rule after Jesus returns. It is our hope that you, too, can share in this understanding, after you study these lessons.

3. Following is an excerpt from the book The Outline of History, by H.G. Wells (page 530): “Remarkable is the enormous prominence given by Jesus to the teaching of what might be called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its comparative insignificance in the procedure and teaching of the Christian Church.”

“Faith in the nearness of Christ’s second advent and the establishment of his reign of glory on the earth was undoubtedly a strong point in the primitive Christian Church . . . these ex-pectations were held until the middle of the second century.” (The Encyclopedia Britannica)

Both of these sources attest to the fact that Jesus taught a literal Kingdom of God and that his followers believed in such a Kingdom.

4. The Encyclopedia Britannica also states that during the days of Augustine, the Biblical Christian belief in a coming Kingdom disturbed the organization which became the Roman Catholic Church. So it was Augustine who started the teaching that his church was the Kingdom of Christ. In this way the Roman Catholic Church suppressed the Biblical teach-ing of a coming Kingdom to be established at Christ’s second advent. Many Protestant reli-gions continue to deny this fact of a coming Kingdom of God by teaching that God’s King-dom is strictly something within the hearts of the believers. Please study carefully the scrip-tures we will now cite so that, to the contrary, you can see how God’s coming Kingdom is one of the main topics in the Bible. Though it is said to be God’s Kingdom, He has delegat-ed Christ Jesus to be its king who, along with his bride, will rule it for l000 years.

5. “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him” (Luke 8:1).

“But he said, ‘I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, beause that is why I was sent’” (Luke 4:43).

These two verses point out that Jesus proclaimed God’s Kingdom everywhere he went.

6. “And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may be able to eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29,30).

“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judg-ing the twelve tribes of Israel’” (Matt 19:28).

We can see in these texts how Jesus encouraged his followers to expect a coming Kingdom in which they would rule with him.

7. We read in Luke 24:21-27 that after Jesus was put to death, some of his disciples were dis-appointed, having thought the promised Kingdom Jesus preached would be established dur-ing their lifetime. However, our Lord had reminded them, by going over all the prophecies concerning him, that it was first necessary for him to suffer death on behalf of humanity.

8. In the prayer our Lord taught his disciples, we are instructed to pray for God’s coming King-dom: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10 KJV). Notice here that the Kingdom is associated with God’s will being done in earth as it is in heaven. God’s will is CERTAINLY NOT being done by the majority of mankind now, nor will it be done until God’s Kingdom is established in all its glory!

9. One of the criminals who was crucified with Jesus must have heard something about the coming Kingdom, for we read in Luke 23:42, “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” He, of course, WILL BE remembered when he is brought forth from the grave during that longed-for Resurrection Day!

10. Following the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the teachings of a coming King-dom continued to be one of the main topics of the church in the days of the Apostles. How sad it is that in this day and time many religions never mention God’s coming Kingdom. In many cases, the focus is on healing and other miracles. The eight miracles recorded in the Bible which Jesus performed were but small examples of greater things to come, after the Kingdom is established on this earth. It was for this reason that Jesus said in John 5:28,29, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out . . . ”

11. According to Young’s Concordance, the Greek word translated “gospel” means “good news, tidings, word.” Strong’s Concordance defines this word euaggelion as “a good message.” We hope you will see from the following that the gospel, or good news, refers also to the good news of God’s coming Kingdom in which Christ Jesus will be King.

12. We read in Gal. 3:8 how this gospel, or good news, was preached unto Abraham that one day all nations would be blessed by this “seed,” which is Jesus. This verse refers us back to Gen. 12:3. We see in this gospel, or good news, God’s great love for all humanity.

13. In Luke 2:10-11 we find this same gospel, or “good news,” recorded concerning the birth of Jesus. These verses declare that these glad tidings shall be to ALL people. Accordingly, no one is left out. In previous studies we have shown how not all people have heard of Jesus Christ, much less had the opportunity to accept his message. But praise God, they WILL, during the establishment of the coming Kingdom on this earth!

14. The Kingdom of God is part of the gospel message. It began with Jesus and encompassed every overcoming Christian who entered the race for the High Calling. Once it is complete, it will be THROUGH the Kingdom that all people will one day be blessed. Knowing the importance God’s Kingdom would one day play in the affairs of man is why Jesus preached its gospel (good news) while he was still on earth.. Should anyone doubt this fact, they need not “wrestle” with us, but rather with the Word of God. Mark 1:14 clearly states, “. . . Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (KJV).

15. Paul told us in Romans 15:19 how he preached this gospel: “. . . I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (KJV). We have already shown that Christ’s gospel was the Gospel of the Kingdom.

16. “As you go, preach this message: ‘The king of heaven is near’” (Matt 10:7)! “And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God . . .” (Luke 9:2).

These two verses show how the other apostles were also sent out to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom.

17. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Jesus declared to his disciples here that preaching the Kingdom was a continuous instruction. It will continue until the end of this age, until the Kingdom is established to rule over the world. Since this was our Lord’s an-swer to their question, of what would be the sign of the end of the world (age), for the preaching to stop would indicate the end was here.

18. We are NOT saying it is strictly the Kingdom of God that we are to talk about. Our main message should be Jesus Christ who made it all possible. We must, however, include the Kingdom message when talking about God and the blessings He has for all, whenever we witness to others.

19. Many religious teachers don’t like to talk about a literal Kingdom that one day will rule over the world, because in order to do this, they would have to cast off many of their man-made doctrines or beliefs. Some of them like to declare that the Old Testament is a closed book, because Jesus supposedly fulfilled everything recorded in it. In reality, much of what is writ-ten in the Old Testament relating to prophecy has not yet had its complete fulfillment. Such is the case regarding the Kingdom message, how it will be established, and what it will ac-complish after it finally is established. We have referred to many of those old Testament prophecies, such as Isa. 2:2-4, in our previous studies.

5. Although the term Kingdom of God as used in the Bible will have its broadest and most pro-found application in the coming world government, most New Testament uses of the expres-sion refer to something different. In many texts the word kingdom is used to show the work of grace in the hearts of the believer. A good example of this can be found in Romans 14:17, where we read that the kingdom is “righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Col. 1:12,13 refer to the Church as in the “kingdom of light,” and that they were brought into the kingdom of the Son that God loves.

6. In order for any teaching of the Bible to be understood properly, all verses that deal with that subject must be studied and harmonized. It is only through this method that a person can gain true understanding of what the Bible is teaching us.

7. “While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return’” (Luke 19:11,12).

These verses show several interesting things regarding God’s coming Kingdom. First, we are told that the disciples had thought Jesus would set up the kingdom while he was with them. But we can learn from the parable that Jesus was telling them, the kingdom would not be established until he received it from God who will appoint him King, and then he would return to earth from heaven to set up his kingdom.

8. Please open your Bible now to Rev. 11:15. Notice in this verse how it is only after the blowing of the seventh trumpet that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord. As we showed in past studies, when the seventh or last trumpet is blown and the overcoming believers of the Church have been caught up to be with the Lord, then he comes to reign. This will occur at the end of this age when Jesus returns, proving that God’s King-dom is not now ruling over the world, and also that it cannot take place until he returns.

9. When Jesus returns, he will first put down all opposition to his authority. He is pictured in Rev. 19;11-16 as the rider on a white horse whose robe is dipped in blood--symbolic of a slaughter of his foes.

10. There are many other Bible texts which relate to the troubles which are to come upon the people of earth in the near future. These are signs of the last days, and they must occur BE-FORE God’s Kingdom is established on the earth. Please look up the following, and exam-ine them from your own Bible: Dan. 12:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

11. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like the Son of man (Jesus Christ), coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days (God), and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting domin-ion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13,14).

It should be clear from this text that Christ will rule God’s Kingdom. This Kingdom is a government that one day in the near fu- ture will rule all people on earth. When reading scriptures such as these, one should easily see that God’s Kingdom FAR exceeds the defini-tion given it by those who claim that it is only something within the hearts of the believers.

12. In Micah 4:1-3 we find a good description of God’s Kingdom, where it is called “the moun-tain of the house of the Lord.” These verses go on to state that God’s Kingdom will be es-tablished in the last days, and that the nations will go to it to be taught God’s ways.

13. As you study these lessons about the Kingdom of God, you must keep in mind God’s pur-pose in having called out the Church in this age. This was covered in previous studies. You can recall that it first was the nation of Israel who was promised by God that they could be-come “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5,6), IF they would continue to obey God and remain true to His laws. However, as a nation they rejected Christ, so those prom-ises were taken away from Israel and were offered to the Gentiles. (See Matt. 23:37-39 & Rom. 11:17.) Thus Gentile believers became “fellow-heirs” with the Jewish believers, “and of the same body,” and sharers of the same promise (Eph. 3:6).

14. We also showed in a previous study how Gentile believers will be given the same titles that were lavished on the people of Israel, according to Ex. 19:5,6, since they now inherit the same promises. They are called “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation.” (Compare Ex. 19:5,6 with 1 Pet. 2:9,10.) These descriptions of Christian believers indicate that those who are found worthy for membership in that heavenly class will be given authori-ty and wisdom to serve God in blessing others.

15. We showed from 1 Cor. 6:2 that overcoming believers of the Church who endure to the end will one day judge the world. Your attention was also directed in previous studies to many other related scriptures which clearly state that believers will reign with Jesus. So the heav-enly phase of the Kingdom of God will consist of Christ, the King of Kings, and his Bride, who will together rule over the world in the next age. The call to share in this blessed op-portunity still goes forth, and although we are approaching the end of this age when the heavenly invitation will cease forever, there is still an opportunity for those who respond dil-igently and faithfully to be prepared for glory, honor, and incorruptibility (Rom. 2:7). What a wonderful privilege to be counted worthy to rule with Christ in God’s glorious soon-coming Kingdom!