THE GOSPEL OF THE - Church of the Eternal God | A ... · 4 The Gospel of the Kingdom of God had great possessions.ﬂ Realize now, this was a command that Christ gave to this rich

THE GOSPEL OF THE

KINGDOM OF GOD

This booklet is a free educational service, provided by the “Global Church of God” in the UnitedKingdom, in collaboration with the “Church of the Eternal God” in the United States of America.Printed in the United Kingdom in 2001. This booklet is not to be sold.

Scriptures in this booklet are quoted from the New King James version ((c)1998 Thomas Nelson,Inc. Publishers) unless otherwise noted.

Author: Norbert Link

Contents

What Is the Gospel? 1

Kingdom of God Has Not Yet Come 3

The Kingdom of God Will Be Here On the Earth 6

Human Beings Cannot Enter the Kingdom of God 8

Why Were Humans Created? 10

An Important Job for All Eternity 13

When Will the Kingdom Come? 16

The Kingdom of God Has Come Upon You 20

Count the Cost 21

The Kingdom of God is a Growing Family 22

“The Law and the Prophets were until John…” 24

We Must Be About Our Father’s Business 25

No Eternal Life for the Wicked 30

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God 1

When you hear the word Gospel,what comes to mind? Do you think ofthe gospel of grace? Do you think aboutthe four gospel writers�Matthew,Mark, Luke and John? Do you thinkof the gospel about the person of JesusChrist?

There seems to be quite a bit ofconfusion and some misconceptionswhen it comes to the gospel. Whatthen, is the Gospel? And where can wefind irrefutable answers to this mostVITAL subject? We�ll go to an irrefutablesource�God�s Word�the Bible.

ONLY ONE TRUE GOSPELThe word �gospel� simply means

�good news.� Jesus Christ was amessenger sent by God the Father toproclaim the Gospel or the goodnews. But people did not want to hearit and eventually killed Christ. Histrue disciples were also persecutedwhen they continued to proclaim thevery same message that Christbrought. What was it about thismessage that created so much hostilityamong the listeners? And why doesthere continue to be such a variety ofideas about what the Gospel is?

There is only one true gospel, butmany counterfeits. Already at the

time of the Apostle Paul, anothergospel, a counterfeit, was beingpreached. Paul warned everyone notto accept or believe this counterfeit�in fact, not to accept any messagewhich is not the true and only goodnews that Christ brought.

He states in Galatians 1:6-9: �Imarvel that you are turning away sosoon from Himwho called youin the grace ofChrist, to adifferent gospel,which is notanother; butthere are somewho trouble youand want topervert thegospel of Christ [the good news thatChrist brought]. But even if we, or anangel from heaven, preach any othergospel to you than that we havepreached to you, let him be accursed.And as we have said before, so now Isay again, if anyone preaches anyother gospel to you than what youhave received, let him be accursed.�

And why could Paul be so surethat the gospel that he had preachedto them was the only true one?

Do you understand

what the Kingdom of

God is, and what

relevance it has in

your life?

What Is the Gospel?

God wants His church to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God

in all the world as a witness. But what is the Kingdom of God?

Why is it so important that we understand the truth in this matter?

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2 The Gospel of the Kingdom of God

Because he had received this messagedirectly from Christ, as he states inverses 11-12: �But I make known toyou, brethren, that the gospel whichwas preached by me is not accordingto man. For I neither received it fromman, nor was I taught it, but it camethrough the revelation of JesusChrist.� Christ, the messenger of thegood news, revealed it to Paul. Justwhat was this message?

GOOD NEWS OF THEKINGDOM OF GOD

Let�s turn to the book of Mark.This account is sometimes called the�gospel of Mark,� but that is really aninaccurate designation. The NewKing James Bible introduces it as �thegospel according to Mark.� Let�s readin Mark 1:1 to see who brought thisgospel. We read: �The beginning of thegospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.�

Jesus Christ brought good newsfrom God the Father. He said manytimes that whatever He taught wasnot of Him, but of God the Father. Itis true that the gospel includes newsand information about Christ Himselfand the reason He became human,but the gospel of Christ includes morethan just news about Christ.

Notice Mark 1:14-15: �Now afterJohn [the Baptist] was put in prison,Jesus came to Galilee, preaching thegospel of the Kingdom of God, andsaying, �The time is fulfilled, and theKingdom of God is at hand. Repent,and believe the gospel��

The Bible repeats time and againthat Jesus Christ preached the gospelof the Kingdom of God. In fact,Christ�s whole message had to do withthe Kingdom of God�WHAT it is,

WHY we need to understand it, andHOW we can have a part in it.

The Jews at the time of Christwere so upset about the message ofthe Kingdom of God that they killedChrist. Their understanding of whatthe Kingdom of God is, and whowould be in it, was quite differentfrom what Jesus taught. That is whythey were so intent on killing Him.

Mark 4:11-12: �And He said tothem [His disciples]: �To you it hasbeen given to know the mystery of theKingdom of God; but to those whoare outside, all things come in parables,so that seeing they may see and notperceive, and hearing they may hearand not understand; lest they shouldturn, and their sins be forgiven them.��

Here we see that Christ�s discipleswould understand what the Kingdomof God is all about�but that peoplewho were not called would notunderstand�to them it would be agreat mystery, beyond comprehension.We also see that the Kingdom of Godhas to do with �turning� and �forgive-ness of sin.� We read that people whoare outside would not �turn.� Earlier,we read that Christ said, people whohear the gospel must repent.

It�s really the same thing�whenwe repent, we turn around, go theother way, leaving the wrong way andgoing the right way. And we ask forforgiveness of our past wrong conduct,of our sins, of what we were, realizingthat our past ways were sinful.

So the disciples of Christ would dothat�they would turn or repent andask for and receive forgiveness oftheir evil past, so that they could goon without a guilty conscience ontheir way toward the Kingdom of God.


Those outside, though�those whoare not called in this life�would notbelieve the gospel of the Kingdom ofGod and, as a consequence, theywould not understand that repentanceand forgiveness are prerequisites toentering the Kingdom of God.

Turn to Luke 8:1, �Now it came topass, afterward, that He went throughevery city and village, preaching andbringing the glad tidings of the Kingdomof God.� The margin of the New KingJames Bible has here, �proclaimingthe good news� of the Kingdom ofGod. Jesus came to preach the gospelor good news of the Kingdom of God.It is GOOD news�the BEST newsone can imagine, once we understandwhat the Kingdom of God IS�andthat WE can become part of it.

Jesus would continue preachingthe good news, as we read in Luke9:11: �He received them and spoke tothem about the Kingdom of God.�

God has not changed, and neitherhas His message. He sent His disciplesout at that time to preach the gospel

of the Kingdom of God (cp. Luke9:2), and He does not expect any-thing less of His true servants today.But in order to preach the gospel, wemust know, of course, what the Gospelof the Kingdom of God is. This means,we must belong to those whom Godhas specifically revealed this knowl-edge. Remember, only the true servantsof Christ would understand themystery of the Kingdom of God. Luke8: 9-10: �Then His disciples askedHim, saying, �What does this parablemean?� And He said, �To you it hasbeen given to know the mysteries of theKingdom of God, but to the rest it isgiven in parables, that seeing theymay not see, and hearing they maynot understand.��

The Bible makes it very clear thatwe are not yet in the Kingdom ofGod, even if we are Christ�s disciples,and it also makes it clear that theKingdom of God is not somethingwithin us. Rather, we must indeedenter into it�in the future�if weremain faithful.

Kingdom of God Has Not Yet ComeJesus Christ gave a parable that

shows the Kingdom of God is not yethere. Mark 10:17-22: �Now as He wasgoing out on the road, one camerunning, knelt before Him, and askedHim, �Good Teacher, what shall I dothat I may inherit eternal life?� SoJesus said to him, �Why do you callme good? No one is good but One,that is, God. You know the command-ments: Do not commit adultery. Donot murder. Do not steal. Do not bear

false witness. Do not defraud. Honoryour father and your mother.� And heanswered and said to Him, �Teacher,all these things I have kept from myyouth.� Then Jesus, looking at him,loved him, and said to him, �Onething you lack: Go your way, sellwhatever you have and give it to thepoor, and you will have treasure inheaven; and come, take up the cross,and follow Me.� But he was sad at thisword, and went away sorrowful, for he


had great possessions.�Realize now, this was a command

that Christ gave to this rich manbecause He saw that his riches stoodbetween him and the way to eternallife. Remember, the man had askedChrist what to do that he couldINHERIT eternal life. He knew hedid not have it yet. And Christ toldhim that if he wanted to have eternallife, he needed to keep the command-ments (cp. Matthew 19:17). And oneof the commandments is, You shallnot have any other gods before Me.The young man had placed the god ofriches before the true God. And hedid not want to give it up.

Continuing now in Mark 10:23:�Then Jesus looked around and saidto His disciples, �How hard it is forthose who have riches to enter theKingdom of God.�� Here we see thatentering the Kingdom of God is thesame or synonymous with inheritingeternal life.

Verses 24-26: �And the discipleswere astonished at His words. ButJesus answered again and said tothem, �Children, how hard it is forthose who TRUST IN RICHES toenter the Kingdom of God. It is easierfor a camel to go through the eye of aneedle than for a rich man to enterthe Kingdom of God.� And they weregreatly astonished, saying amongthemselves, �Who then can be saved?��The disciples understood that inherit-ing eternal life, entering the King-dom of God, and salvation are allone and the same.

Christ did not disagree with thatperception. Quite to the contrary, Heconfirmed it, by saying in verse 27:�But Jesus looked at them and said,

�With man it is impossible, but notwith God; for with God all things arepossible.�� Even the salvation of a richperson, upon repentance and belief.

Continuing in verses 28 - 30:�Then Peter began to say to Him,�See, we have left all and followedYou.�� So Jesus answered and said,�Assuredly, I say to you, there is noone who has left house or brothers orsisters or father or mother or wife orchildren or lands, for My sake and thegospel�s, who shall not receive ahundredfold now in this time�housesand brothers and sisters and mothersand children and lands, with persecu-tions�and in the age to come,eternal life.�� God promises eternallife to those who place more impor-tance on attaining the Kingdom ofGod than on material possessions,even if it means suffering.

THE GOSPEL MUST BEPREACHED IN ALL THEWORLD

Turn now to Mark 13:10 where wefind a remarkable prophecy of Christfor our time today, again relating tothe gospel of the Kingdom of God.Christ was answering the questions ofHis disciples as to when He wouldreturn. We read: �And the gospel mustfirst be preached to all the nations.�

There is only one gospel, as wehave seen�the gospel of the King-dom of God. In the parallel accountof Matthew, we find the gospel clearlyidentified. We read in Matthew 24:14, �And this gospel of the Kingdomwill be preached in all the world as awitness to all the nations, and thenthe end will come.�

Look around you. The end is not


here yet. Christ has not returned tothis earth yet, as He promised Hewould. His prophecy about the gospelbeing preached in all the world is stillto be fulfilled. The only sign for Hisimminent return that Christ specifi-cally referred to in Matthew 24:14, iswhen the gospel of the Kingdom isbeing preached in all the world as awitness. Then the end will come.

Mark repeats the fact that Christ�sgospel would be preached in all theworld [to all nations] in Mark 14:9.By way of background, a woman hadcome to anoint Jesus� feet with preciousfragrant oil. The disciples rebuked herfor that, but Christ came to herdefense, realizing that the woman haddone it in anticipation of His death.And so Christ said: ��Assuredly, I sayto you, wherever this gospel ispreached in the whole world, what thiswoman has done will also be told as amemorial to her.��

We also read in Mark 16:15-16 thecommission Christ gave His disciples:��Go into all the world and preachthe gospel to every creature. He whobelieves and is baptized will be saved;but he who does not believe will becondemned.�� This is a continuingobligation of Christ�s disciples�topreach the gospel of the Kingdom ofGod. Notice, it did not say to preacha gospel, but rather, to preach thegospel. Again, there is only ONE gospel.

WE ARE NOT YET SAVEDWhen people hear this gospel and

believe the message, they are torespond by repenting and beingbaptized as an outward sign of inwardrepentance. They will then receivethe gift of the Holy Spirit that will

enable them to do what Christ toldthem to do�to keep the commandments.In doing so, they will move towardthe Kingdom of God so that they canfinally enter it, at the time of theirresurrection. So their process of salvationbegan with their conversion, but itwill not be completed until they havebeen resurrected or changed toimmortality.

That will be the time when theyWILL ULTIMATELY BE saved�notbefore. Remember what Christ said,�He who believes and is baptizedWILL BE [future] saved.� Remember,final salvation is the same as inheritingeternal life and entering the Kingdomof God. We are not yet saved!

Notice, too, Christ�s words inMatthew 24:13: �But he who enduresto the end shall be saved.� To enterthe Kingdom of God requires over-coming, endurance, perseverance,long-suffering and patience in theface of pressure, adversity and evenpersecution. Revelation 14:12 tells uswhat kind of patience God requires:�Here is the patience of the saints;here are those who keep the com-mandments of God and the faith ofJesus [the faith that Jesus had whenHe was human and with which Hewas able to resist and overcome Satanthe devil�the faith that God will helpus to keep His commandments].�

Many have correctly understoodthis in the past, but have yielded tothe pressures of this world and havegiven up. Christ warned us throughseveral parables that many would fallby the wayside. But we don�t have togive up. We can endure until theend�until we die or until Christreturns, whichever is earlier.


Luke has much to say about thegospel of the Kingdom of God and therulership of Jesus Christ. Let�s read afamiliar passage in Luke 1:30-33where an angel was sent to Mary toannounce to her that she wouldbecome pregnant, but not from aman: �Then the angel [Gabriel] saidto her, �Do not be afraid, Mary, foryou have found favor with God. Andbehold, you will conceive in yourwomb and bring forth a Son, and shallcall His name Jesus. He will be great,and will be called the Son of theHighest; and the Lord God will giveHim the throne of His father David.And He will reign over the house ofJacob forever, and of His Kingdomthere will be no end.��

JESUS CHRIST WAS BORNTO BE THE KING

There is a lot being said here bythe angel Gabriel. Let�s take a closerlook. Jesus Christ was born to becomea KING. Remember that He told thisto Pilate, and the Jews used this as areason to have Him killed. The angelproclaimed that Jesus would become aKing to RULE over the House ofJacob FOREVER. If He rules forever,then this would imply eternal life.This account also says that JesusChrist would rule from the throne ofHis father, or forefather, David. So weread that the throne of David has aconnection with this eternal rulership.And finally, there will be no end toHis Kingdom�once established, it

would rule and exist forever�eternally.The angel Gabriel quoted here in

part from Isaiah 9:6-7: �For unto us aChild is born, Unto us a Son is given;and the government will be upon Hisshoulder. And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Of the increase of His government andpeace there will be no end, upon thethrone of David and over His Kingdom,to order it and establish it with judgmentand justice from that time forward, evenforever.�

Isaiah had been inspired to writeabout the birth of Christ, and alsoabout His second coming, as well asthe establishment of the Kingdom ofGod here on earth. After all, the throneof David is here on earth, not some-where in heaven. And Isaiah foretoldthat this Child had been God prior toHis human birth, and that He becameman, but would become God againwhen He was resurrected, to rule asGod in the Kingdom of God, which isalso called a kingdom of peace.

Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace,would rule over this earth with justiceand in a peaceful way. Once thepeoples [nations] of this world reallyunderstand God�s way of life, they willnot want to learn war any more, as weread in Isaiah 2:4, but will, in fact,beat their swords into plowshares.War and strife will be replaced withpeace and harmony. That is what theKingdom of God on this earth, underthe rulership of Jesus Christ the King,

The Kingdom of GodWill Be Here On the Earth


will accomplish.Christ knew why He had come to

this earth. He knew what His missionwas, and what He had to proclaim.Let�s notice it in Luke 4:43: �I mustpreach the Kingdom of God to theother cities also, because for thispurpose I have been sent.�

But that was not what manyexpected. They thought Christ wouldestablish the Kingdom of God onearth right then and there�they didnot expect Him to just preach aboutit, and the message they heard wasnot what they expected to hear. EvenJohn the Baptist, when he was inprison, began to wonder whetherJesus was really the Christ, and so heasked Jesus through his disciples, �Areyou the Coming One, or do we lookfor another?�

Notice what proofs Jesus gave toJohn�s disciples that He was the Christ,the King of the coming [future] Kingdom.As recorded in Luke 7:22: �Go andtell John the things you have seen andheard: that the blind see, the lamewalk, the lepers are cleansed, the deafhear, the dead are raised, the poorhave the gospel preached to them.�Christ preached the gospel of the

Kingdom of God�one of the proofsthat He was the Messiah.

Let�s continue reading in Luke,where we find another statementmade by Jesus Christ pertaining to theKingdom of God. A statement whichmust have shocked His listeners�especially those who believed that theKingdom of God was something physical,composed of physical human beings.The truth is that the Kingdom of Godwill rule over humans, but it will notbe composed of humans. Notice inLuke 7:28: �For I say to you, amongthose born of women there is not agreater prophet than John the Baptist;but he who is least in the Kingdom ofGod is greater than he.�

John the Baptist was born of awoman, but he had the Holy Spiritwhile he was still in his mother�swomb (Luke 1:15). And having God�sSpirit so abundantly and from hismother�s womb, is what made himsuch a great prophet. Now, John theBaptist was not in the Kingdom ofGod yet, and this account we justread in Luke, compares John�s humanstatus as being less than anybody inthe Kingdom of God. Let�s under-stand why.


Paul says this in 1 Corinthians15:50: �Now this I say, brethren, thatflesh and blood cannot inherit theKingdom of God.� Are you stillhuman? If so, you cannot inherit theKingdom of God as you are. So then,how can we enter the Kingdom?

WE MUST BE CHANGEDPaul explains in verses 51 and 52:

�Behold, I tell you a mystery�weshall all be changed�in a moment, inthe twinkling of an eye, at the lasttrumpet. For the trumpet will sound,and the dead will be raised incorrupt-ible, and we shall be changed.� Thatis, how we can enter the Kingdom ofGod. Our human bodies need to bechanged. But changed to what?

Verses 42-49: �So also is theresurrection of the dead. The body issown in corruption, it is raised inincorruption. It is sown in dishonor, itis raised in glory. It is sown in weak-ness, it is raised in power. It is sown anatural body, it is raised a spiritualbody�(verse 47) The first man[Adam] was of the earth, made ofdust; the second Man [Jesus Christ] isthe Lord from heaven�(verse 49)And as we have borne the image ofthe man of dust [human], we shallalso bear the image of the heavenlyMan [spirit].�

Did you catch that? Is it true thatwe will bear the image of the heav-enly Man, Jesus Christ? Is Paul reallysaying that we, in the resurrection,when entering the Kingdom of God,

will look like Jesus Christ? Yes, that isEXACTLY what Paul is saying.

And the same message was writtenby the Apostle John, the disciplewhom Jesus loved. In I John 3:1-2, weread: �Behold what manner of lovethe Father has bestowed on us, thatwe should be called children ofGod�. Beloved, now we are childrenof God; and it has not yet beenrevealed what we shall be [we are stillflesh and blood�we have not beenchanged yet to spirit beings], but weknow that when He is revealed [whenChrist comes back in power and glory,to establish the Kingdom of God onthis earth], we shall be like Him, forwe shall see Him as He is.�

No human being can look at Godin His glorified state, as He is, andlive. But when we are changed, wecan look at God and His Son JesusChrist in their glorified state and live.Why? Because we will be like them,Jesus Christ being the image of Godthe Father. And what does it mean tobe like Christ? To bear His image? Itmeans that we will look like He looks.And how does He look in Hisglorified state? Let�s read Revelation1:14-16, which gives us a glimpse ofwhat Christ looks like today: �Hishead and hair were white like wool, aswhite as snow, and His eyes like aflame of fire. His feet were like finebrass, as if refined in a furnace, andHis voice as the sound of manywaters�and His countenance waslike the sun shining in its strength.�

Human Beings Cannot Enterthe Kingdom of God


That�s exactly how we will look too,when we are changed and are in theKingdom of God.

There is another description ofGod the Father and Jesus Christ inthe Old Testament, in the writings ofthe prophet Daniel. We read inDaniel 7:9-14: �I watched till throneswere put in place, and the Ancient ofDays [a reference to God the Father]was seated; His garment was white assnow, and the hair of His head waslike pure wool. His throne was a fieryflame, its wheels a burning fire�Andbehold, One like the Son of Man,coming with the clouds of heaven[describing the ascension of theresurrected Christ to heaven]! Hecame to the Ancient of Days, and theybrought Him near before Him. Thento Him [the Son of Man] was givendominion and glory and a Kingdom,that all peoples, nations, and languagesshould serve Him. His dominion is aneverlasting dominion, which shall notpass away, and His Kingdom the onewhich shall not be destroyed.�

WE WILL RULE WITH CHRISTIN THE KINGDOM

Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, whois also God, receives rulership overthe peoples of the world from God theFather, the Ancient of Days. Christwill establish this Kingdom, theKingdom of God, on this earth. It�s aKingdom ruled by God. It�s a King-dom composed of God�the Fatherand Jesus Christ.

But remember, we learned earlierthat we also will be in that Kingdom.Notice Daniel 7:27: �Then the kingdomand dominion, and the greatness ofthe kingdoms under the whole heaven

[that is, on this earth] shall be givento the people, the saints of the MostHigh. His Kingdom is an everlastingkingdom. And all dominions shallserve and obey Him.�

So WE, the resurrected saints,those who have been faithful, will begiven dominion over all nations, oncewe are in the Kingdom of God. Christtells us in Revelation 2:26-27: ��Andhe who overcomes, and keeps Myworks until the end, to him I will givepower over the nations�he shall rulethem with a rod if iron [that is, he willnot allow rebellion and crime and evilas we see in this world]; they [thosewho want to continue to live withviolence and hatred and who will tryto bring about destruction andmisery] shall be dashed to pieces likethe potter�s vessels, as I also havereceived from My Father.�

Let�s also note this remarkablestatement in Revelation 20:4 and 6:�And I saw thrones, and they sat onthem, and judgment was committedto them�. And they lived and reignedwith Christ for a thousand years�Blessed and holy is he who has part inthe first resurrection�they shall bepriests of God and of Christ, and shallreign with Him a thousand years.�

And where will they reign? Inheaven? Let�s read Revelation 5:10:�[You] have made them [as it shouldbe�the angels are singing this songabout the saints�us] kings and prieststo our God; and we [again, it shouldsay: they] shall reign on the earth.�

Do you understand what all thesescriptures are telling us? We will belike Christ, we will bear His image, wewill look like He does, we will be inGod�s Kingdom, we will reign with Christ.


What does this all mean? Does thismean that we will be like the angels ofGod�higher in essence than man,but lower in essence than God?

No, because Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 6: 3 that we will rule over,and judge, angels. So we will be higherthan the angels. Further, angels won�tbe in the Kingdom of God, becausethey are not God. Rather, Hebrews1:14 tells us that they are �ministeringspirits sent forth to minister for themwho shall be heirs of salvation.�(Authoried Version) They are beingscreated by God, but without thepotential of becoming God. Lucifer, thecherub, wanted to become like themost High God, as we read in Isaiah14:14, and actually tried to throw God

from His throne, but he was defeated,of course, and became Satan the devil.

No, the Bible is very clear thatwhoever is in the Kingdom of Godmust actually be God. We mustbecome God beings, sharing in Christ�sglory, the firstborn of many brethren.That is indeed a mystery that onlyvery few understand today�that Godis a Family, consisting presently of Godthe Father and the Son Jesus Christ,but that God is enlarging His Family.We are already called His children, butwe have not been glorified yet. Andwhen we are glorified at the time of ourresurrection to eternal life, we will beentering the Kingdom of God, asliteral God beings, as glorified sonsand daughters of God, made immortal.

Why Were Humans Created?Have you ever wondered why God

even created man? God the Fathertells Jesus Christ in Genesis 1:26,��Let Us make man in Our image,according to Our likeness.��

God is a Family, and when Hecreated man, He began His awesomework of adding to His Family. He wantedto bring children into His Family. Notehow the NIV translates Hebrews 2:11:�Both the one who makes man holy[God] and those who are made holy[that�s us] are of the same family��that is, the Family of God.

Let�s also read Ephesians 3:14-15:�For this cause I bow my knees untothe Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ofwhom the whole family in heaven [areference to God the Father and JesusChrist] and earth [that refers to us] is

named.� (Authoried Version) TheFamily of God IS the Kingdom of God.We will be permitted to enter thatFamily, that Kingdom, if we endure andlive worthy of our calling.

THE AWESOME HUMANPOTENTIAL

That we are to become membersof the God Family, or God beings, isclearly taught in scripture. Let�s lookat a few more proofs.

In Psalm 17:15, we read about man�spotential: �As for me, I will see Yourface in righteousness; I shall be satisfiedwhen I awake in Your likeness.�David understood that we will look likeGod when we are resurrected.

Also Phil. 3:20-21: �For our citizen-ship is in heaven� [Our names are


written in heaven, where God is. Webelong to Him, we are His children.We belong to a different country, aheavenly government, which will comedown to this earth when Christreturns.]�from which we also eagerlywait for the Savior, the Lord JesusChrist, who will transform our lowlybody that it may be conformed to Hisglorious body.� We already read that weshall bear the image of Christ, we willlook like He does, in His glorified state.

But more than that�we will actuallyBE GOD BEINGS. We are told that itis our potential to be filled with thefullness of God. That is what it says inEph. 3:19. Paul wants us �to be filled��ultimately��with all the fullness of God.�

What does this mean? It meansthat we will be God beings, since weread in Col. 1:19 that �it pleased theFather that in Him [in Jesus Christ]all the fullness should dwell.� Thatwas after Christ was resurrected�Hebecame God again, as before Hishuman birth. And as in Christ all thefullness of God dwells, so in us also allthe fullness of God will dwell�whenwe are resurrected.

We understand that Christ wasGod before His human existence,because John 1:1 says that in thebeginning was the Word�the Logos,as it is called in Greek, meaning, theSpokesman. This Logos was noneother than Jesus Christ, and thisWord or Logos, according to John 1:1,was with God [God the Father], andHe was God. But He gave up Hisdivine nature and became a man�flesh and blood. Phil. 2:6-7 tells usthat Jesus, �being in the form of God,did not consider it robbery to beequal with God, but made Himself of

no reputation, taking the form of abondservant, and coming in thelikeness of men.� John 1:14 tells usthat the Word, Jesus Christ, becameflesh. He had to become human inorder to overcome sin in the flesh, andin order to die. But after His resurrec-tion, Christ became God again. He iscalled God in Titus 2:13, where weread that we are �looking for the blessedhope and glorious appearing of our greatGod and Savior Jesus Christ.�

And as the Man Jesus Christbecame God in the resurrection, sowill we. Christ himself confirmed thishuman potential in John 10:31-36:�Then the Jews took up stones againto stone Him. Jesus answered them,�Many good works I have shown youfrom My Father. For which of thoseworks do you stone Me?� The Jewsanswered Him, saying, �For a goodwork we do not stone You, but forblasphemy, and because You, being aMan, make Yourself God.� Jesusanswered them, �Is it not written inyour law, �I said, You are gods?� IfHe called them gods, to whom theWord of God came (and the Scripturecannot be broken), do you say of Himwhom the Father sanctified and sentinto the world, You are blaspheming,because I said, I am the Son of God?��

What is Jesus Christ telling ushere? That He, the Son of God whohad become man, would be God again.But also, that it is man�s potential tobecome God beings as well. Althoughstated in a present tense, Christ wasmainly referring to the future, speakingabout future things as if they alreadyexisted (cp. Romans 4:17). Godcreated man so that man could becomeGod�a member of the God Family.


GOD IS REPRODUCINGHIMSELF

Those of you who are familiar withus know that we have been preachingthis truth for a long time. Herbert W.Armstrong, the late human leader ofthe Church of God in the 20th century,wrote a book entitled, �Mystery of theAges.� On page 170, he wrote: �Considerwhy God created mankind in the firstplace. God is reproducing Himselfthrough man. He is creating in ManGod�s own perfect holy and righteousspiritual character. And that, in turn, ispurposed to restore the government of Godover all the earth. And further, to createBILLIONS OF GOD BEINGS ��

This knowledge that it is man�spotential to become God has alsobeen understood by several Christianauthors over the centuries. In herbook, �A History of God,� formerCatholic nun Karen Armstrong [notrelated to Herbert Armstrong],quotes several early professingChristian writers who believed andtaught this truth. She writes on page98: �Clement [of Alexandria, ca. 150-215 A.D.] also believed that Jesus wasGod� If Christians imitated Christ,they too would become deified: divine,incorruptible and impassable. Indeed,Christ had been the divine logos, whohad become man, �so that you mightlearn from a man how to become God.��

She also quotes, on page 129,Maximus the Confessor, who livedfrom ca. 580-662, as saying, �Theword was made flesh in order that�the whole human being wouldbecome God, deified by the grace ofGod become man.�

Theophilus (A.D. 115-181) wrote:�A man, by keeping the directions of

God, may receive from Himimmortality�and become God.�

The Trinitarian author SpirosZodhiates writes regarding John 1:18[�No one has seen God at any time.The only begotten Son (God) who isin the bosom of the Father, He hasdeclared Him.�]: �The word (for only-begotten) monogenees actually is acompound of the word monos =�alone,� and the word genos = �race,stock, family.� Here we are told thatHe who came to reveal God�JesusChrist�is of the same family, of thesame stock, of the same race, as God.There is ample evidence in thescriptures that the Godhead is aFamily.� (�Was Jesus God?�, page 21)

Further, the most recent Catechismof the Roman Catholic Church, whichwas published in 1994 under theauspices of Pope John Paul II, statesthat the official Catholic position is,that man is to become God. Now thismight not be very well known evenamong Catholics, but here are somequotes from the Catechism:

�The Word became flesh tomake us �partakers of the divinenature�: For this is why the Wordbecame man, and the Son of Godbecame the Son of man: so thatman, by entering into communionwith the word and thus receivingdivine sonship, might become a sonof God.� �For the Son of Godbecame man so that we mightbecome God.� �The only-begottenSon of God, wanting to make ussharers in his divinity, assumed ournature, so that he, made man,might make men gods.�� (pp. 128-129, Section 460. The last quote isattributed to Thomas of Aquinas.)


An Important Job for All Eternity

We must be humble

and willing to take

correction from God.

When we become members ofGod�s Family, we will be ruling thisearth, as we have seen, for a thousandyears, together with Christ whoreceived His authority and powerfrom God the Father.

But what after that? What is goingto happen once the thousand yearshave expired? Our reign will neverstop. Notice Revelation 22:4-5, whichspeaks about a time long after the1000 years: �They shall see His face,and His name shall be on theirforeheads [the name of God will betheir name as well]�the Lord Godgives them light. And they shallreign forever and ever.�

What will we do for all eternity?Over what will we reign, forever andever? We have not been told every-thing yet, but one thing we do know:We will beautify our entire universe.Notice Romans 8:18-23: �For Iconsider that the sufferings of thispresent time are not worthy to becompared with the glory which shallbe revealed in us. For the earnestexpectation of the creation eagerlywaits for the revealing of the sons ofGod. For the creation was subjectedto futility� in hope; because thecreation itself [the entire universe]also will be delivered from the bondageof corruption into the glorious libertyof the children of God. For we knowthat the whole creation groans andlabors with birth pangs together untilnow. Not only that, but we also whohave the firstfruits of the Spirit, evenwe ourselves groan within ourselves,eagerly waiting for the adoption

[better translated �sonship�], theredemption of our body.�

This passage indicates that oncewe are God beings and full membersof the God Family, we will participatein the process of beautifying andfinishing the creation of the presentlyunfinisheduniverse. Theuniverse is indecay�theplanets are, fromall that we cantell, waste andempty. But it isour human potential to become Godand to free the universe from decayand corruption under the leadershipof Jesus Christ.

God says that ultimately, He willmake all things new (Rev. 21:5). AndHe tells us this, in Rev. 21:7: �He whoovercomes shall inherit all things,and I will be his God and he shall beMy Son.�

You see, as Christ is the Son ofGod, so will we be sons and daughtersof God. Of course, God the Father willalways be greatest of all, and Christwill always be greater than we. Butstill�we will be God beings in theFamily of God, literal children of ourloving Father, and brothers and sistersof our elder brother Jesus Christ. Whatan awesome potential�what a destiny!

Now it�s clear WHY Christ saidthat although John the Baptist wasthe greatest of all the prophets born ofa woman, everyone in the Kingdom ofGod will be much greater than he wasat the time he was human.


HOW DO WE GET THERE?What are some of the requirements

to gain entrance into the Kingdom ofGod�to become a member of theGod Family? We read Jesus� words inLuke 6:20: ��Blessed are you poor, foryours is the Kingdom of God.��

When comparing this with theparallel passage inMatthew 5:3, weunderstand that itrefers to those whoare �poor in spirit,�not necessarily thosewho are physicallypoor. Jesus did notmean those who

have only a little bit of God�s Spirit,

either. Rather, it means that we mustbe humble, willing to take correctionand admonishment from God. If wehave a humble attitude, as a littlechild, then we will be able to enterGod�s Kingdom.

If you can see and understand themysteries of the Kingdom of God, thenthis is a fairly good indication that Godhas opened your mind. If so, then Godexpects you to respond, because Goddoes not give understanding to someonefor no reason. The response God expectsfrom you is to live within the law ofGod, doing what God tells you to do.Remember, we are told in the Bibletime and again, if we want to enter intolife, we must keep Gods� commandments.

We must live within

the law of God,

doing what God

tells us to do.

A VISION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Many have stumbled and come to wrong conclusions from some scrip-tures that seem to indicate that the Kingdom of God was already establishedon the earth during the lifetime of the early apostles. Let’s read Christ’s ownwords and understand what He meant in Luke 9:27: “But I tell you truly, thereare some standing here who shall not taste death, until they see the Kingdomof God.”

In the parallel account in Mark 9:1 it says that some of them would notdie until they see “the Kingdom of God PRESENT WITH POWER.” We knowthey all did die. So, people argue, the Kingdom of God must have alreadybeen established on this earth. But is that what Christ meant with His state-ment?

Let’s read on in Luke 9:28: “Now it came to pass, about eight days afterthese sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on themountain to pray. [Notice, He took some of the disciples to whom He hadsaid that they would not die before they saw the Kingdom.] As He prayed, theappearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white andglistening [Christ appeared to these three disciples in a glorified state]. Andbehold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who ap-

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peared in glory [they also appeared in a glorified state, just as Christ did]and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fullyawake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.”

The disciples saw the Kingdom of God, just as Christ had said. They sawthe three men glorified, as God beings, so they saw the POWER of thatKingdom. But how did they see it? And if the Kingdom was established atthat time, did it continue? No, the two men disappeared, and Christ’s glorydisappeared as well. So what had happened?

Let’s look at Matthew 17:2: When Christ was on the mountain with thosethree disciples, He “was transfigured before them. His face shone like thesun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” But Matthew adds animportant piece of information in Verse 9: “Now as they came down from themountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the visionvisionvisionvisionvision to no one untilthe Son of Man is risen from the dead.’”

The whole experience was a VISION! The disciples saw, in a VISION, thetime when Christ and Moses and Elijah would be powerful God beings in theKingdom of God. We know that in order to be in the Kingdom of God, onemust be a glorified member of the God Family. And we also know that wewill become glorified at the time of our resurrection, which will happen whenChrist returns—not before. So the apostles were allowed to see, through avision, the time when the Kingdom of God would be established on thisearth, with power.

The Greek word translated here as “vision” is “horama.” The same wordis used, for example, in Acts 9:12. There, the temporarily blinded Paul saw“in a vision” “a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him,so that he might receive his sight.” So Paul saw something in a vision whichwould later actually occur. But it did not actually occur when he saw it.

Also, in Acts 10, we read that Peter “fell into a trance and saw heavenopened and an object like a great sheet” with all kinds of animals in itdescending to him. Now that was a “vision,” too, as we read in verses 17and 19, and the same Greek word is used. After those events, Peter had areal encounter with an angel, but at that time, he thought it was just a vision.We read in Acts 12:9 that Peter followed the angel out of prison, and he “didnot know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he wasseeing a vision.” This passage explains to us the difference between realevents and events portrayed in a vision. And so, when Peter, James and John sawJesus, Moses and Elijah in the Kingdom of God, they saw it in a vision. This wasnot really happening, but it portrayed what would happen in the future. Just asChrist had said, they saw the Kingdom of God BEFORE they died.

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Reading from the New King JamesBible, Luke 17:20-21 states: �Nowwhen He was asked by the Phariseeswhen the Kingdom of God wouldcome, He answered them and said,�The Kingdom of God does not comewith observation; nor will they say,See here! or, See there! For indeed,the Kingdom of God is within you.��

IS THE KINGDOM OF GODWITHIN US?

Just what did Christ mean withthe statement, �The Kingdom of Godis within you?� Remember, He wasspeaking to the unbelieving, hypocritical,envious and self-righteous Pharisees.The answer to the question is that thephrase �the Kingdom of God is withinyou,� is wrongly translated. It shouldread, as the margin of the New KingJames Bible points out: The Kingdomof God is �in your midst.�

The Revised English Bible, theNew American Bible, and the NewJerusalem Bible all render this phrasewith, �among you.� The Moffat Bibleputs it this way, �The Reign of God isnow in your midst.�

The Ryrie Study Bible has thefollowing annotation to this verse: �Itcannot mean, �within you,� for theKingdom certainly was unconnectedwith the Pharisees to whom Jesus wasspeaking.�

John the Baptist had alreadyidentified Jesus as the King of theKingdom of God, who was amongthem, when he stated, in John 1:26:�I baptize with water, but there standsOne AMONG YOU whom you do

not know. It is He who, coming afterme, is preferred before me, whosesandal strap I am not worthy toloose.�

Jesus, the future King of theKingdom of God, was standing amongthem in person. But He was notglorified yet. The Kingdom was notestablished yet on the earth. ChristHimself had asked His disciples topray, in Luke 11:2, �Your KingdomCOME.� We still pray that prayertoday. The Kingdom has not comeYET�we are still waiting for it!

But what did Christ mean with thephrase in Luke 17:20, �The Kingdomof God does not come with observa-tion�? Does this mean that we cannotSEE the Kingdom of God? Remember,the Kingdom of God is the Family ofGod ruling over creation.

If we can�t see the Kingdom ofGod, or the two present members ofthat Family, how do we explainpassages like Rev. 1:7? Here we readabout the return of Jesus Christ,bringing to the earth the governmentor rulership of the Kingdom of God. Itsays: �Behold, He is coming withclouds, and every eye will see Him,even they who pierced Him.�

Jesus Christ Himself describes Hisreturn in Matthew 24:30: �Then thesign of the Son of Man will appear inheaven, and then all the tribes[nations] of the earth will mourn, andthey will SEE the Son of Man coming onthe clouds of heaven with power andgreat glory.�

Also, notice Luke 17: 24: �For asthe lightning that flashes out of one

When Will the Kingdom Come?


part under heaven shines to the otherpart under heaven, so also the Son ofMan will be in His day.�

So here people will SEE thereturning Jesus Christ, the ruling Kingof the Kingdom of God. But Christsaid, the Kingdom does not comewith observation, so that people couldnot say, Here it is, or there it is. Whatdid He mean by that?

Also, consider John 3:3 whereChrist told Nicodemus: �Mostassuredly, I say to you, unless one isborn again, he cannot see the Kingdomof God.�

ARE WE BORN AGAIN NOW?Are we born again now? Some

believe they are, but let�s read in John3:6: �That which is born of the fleshIS flesh, and that which is born of theSpirit IS spirit.� We are still flesh andblood, not spirit, so we cannot see theKingdom of God yet.

Christ goes on to explain what itwill be like once we are born of theSpirit. John 3: 8: �The wind blowswhere it wishes, and you hear thesound of it, but cannot tell where itcomes from and where it goes [youcannot see the wind, although youcan feel its impact or power]. So iseveryone who is born of the Spirit.�So Christ is saying here that unlessyou are Spirit, you cannot see theKingdom of God.

But then we read in Luke 13:28:�There will be weeping and gnashingof teeth, when you see Abraham andIsaac and Jacob and all the prophetsin the Kingdom of God, and your-selves thrust out.�

Also, we read that the rich man inLuke 16:19, who is waking up in the

grave to be thrown into the lake offire, sees Lazarus and Abraham �afaroff.� (Verse 23). We understand thatby that time Lazarus and Abrahamwill be in the Kingdom of God, butthat the rich man is not, and willnever be. Rather, he has committedthe unpardonable sin and will bedestroyed in Gehenna fire. So thereare people, then, still flesh and blood,who will see the Kingdom of God.

So what does this all mean? Howdo we harmonize all these seeminglydifferent and contradictory state-ments? Let�s go through them again,but now much more carefully:

Let�s start again with John 3:3:Unless we are born again, we CAN�TSEE the Kingdom of God. If we areborn again, we are born of theSpirit�we will BE spirit. As a matterof fact, we will be God beings. Andwhen we are spirit beings and fullfledged members of the God Family,we can SEE the Kingdom of God inits power�we CAN see the othermembers of the God Family�weCAN see God the Father, JesusChrist, and other Christians madeimmortal.

The word for �see� here is theGreek word, �eidon.� It is the sameword as used in Luke 9:27, whereChrist said that some of the discipleswould SEE the Kingdom of God inpower and glory, before they died.And they DID see it�but in a vision,as you recall. They were still flesh andblood, but they SAW the glorifiedChrist. They could only do that IN AVISION.

We DO read that Moses SAW theform of the Lord in His glorifiedstate�but he was only allowed to see


God�s back. Read it in Numbers 12:8:�I speak with him face to face [butnot in His glorified state], evenplainly and not in dark sayings, andhe SEES the form of the Lord.� Nowread Ex. 33: 18-23: �And he said,�Please, show me Your glory�.� (20)But He said, You cannot see My face[in its glorified state]; for no MANshall see Me and live�. ( 22) So itshall be, while My glory passes by, thatI will put you in the cleft of the rock,and will cover you with My handwhile I pass by. Then I will take awayMy hand, and you shall see My back;but My face shall not be seen!�

The Greek word �eidon� used inJohn 3:3 and Luke 9:27, is usually andaccurately translated as �see.� It isused in many passages throughout theBible and has this meaning. Forinstance, we read in Matthew 4: 18that Jesus SAW two brothers, Simonand Andrew, casting a net in the sea.Afterwards, He SAW two otherbrothers, James and John (v. 21).

On the other hand, we have readthat those outside the Kingdom ofGod will SEE those inside theKingdom of God. But how can thatbe, if flesh and blood cannot see theKingdom of God?

For instance, we read in Rev. 1:7,that those who mourn over Christ�sreturn will SEE Him. Now, thosepeople who are mourning that Christcomes back won�t be in the King-dom�at least not at that time. But itsays that they SEE Him. We also read,in Matthew 24:30, that all the tribesof the earth will mourn, when theySEE Christ return. Again, the tribeswon�t be in the Kingdom of God, butthey still see Him, the King of the

Kingdom. And remember, Christcomes back in glory.

Also, we read in Luke 13:28 thatthose who weep because they havenot been allowed to enter theKingdom, SEE Abraham and othersin the Kingdom. And finally, we readin Luke 16:23 that the rich man whois in torment because of his impend-ing death, SEES Abraham afar off.

It is interesting that in all thosepassages, except in the ones in John3:3 and Luke 9:27, the Greek word,translated �see,� is NOT �eidon,� but�horao.� This word �horao� CANhave, and many times does have, themeaning of seeing in a literal sense.For instance, we read in Matthew 5:8that the pure in spirit will SEE God.The Greek word is �horao� and hasthe literal meaning.

Also, we read in 1 John 3:2 thatwe, when we are glorified, will SEEthe returning Christ AS HE IS. TheGreek word here is �horao� as well.This passage is interesting, as it impliesthat others who are not glorified, whoare not in the Kingdom, will seeChrist, too, but NOT AS HE IS.

That explains HOW the world willSEE the returning Christ. They willsee Him, even in glory, but not to thedegree of glory that would kill themimmediately. We [those who areresurrected at His return] will SEEHim as He is, but the world will notsee Him in His fullest glory.

In addition�this Greek word�horao� can ALSO have a figurativemeaning. That is, it can also mean,�acknowledge, understand, compre-hend, experience, discern, take heedbehold, perceive.�

Consider the following examples.


John 8:38: �I speak what I haveSEEN with My Father, and you dowhat you have SEEN with your father.�In both cases, the word is �horao.� Thefirst time, the term describes, or atleast includes, the literal act of seeing,but the second time, it can only describea figurative way of seeing, as the fatherreferred to here is Satan the devil�no human has actually seen the devil,a spirit being. And Satan cannotmanifest himself, although he canpossess men or even animals.

1 Thess. 5:15: �SEE that no onerenders evil for evil to anyone.�

3 John 11: �He who does good isof God, but he who does evil has notSEEN God.�

So the people of this world and therich man who SEE Abraham in theKingdom, see him in the sense thatthey recognize and discern andunderstand the fact that he is in theKingdom, while they are not.

KINGDOM OF GODDOES NOT COME WITHOBSERVATION

Now, let�s go back to Christ�sstatement in Luke 17:20 that �theKingdom of God does not come withobservation.� What did He mean bythat?

The Greek word, translated hereas �observation,� is �parateresis� andshows up only this one time in theentire New Testament. The �para� in�parateresis� means, �intensive� or�intense.� �Teresis� is a noun. But theverb �tereo,� which is derived fromthe noun �teresis,� appears 75 timesin the New Testament.

In most cases, it has the meaningof �to keep,� such as, to keep the

commandments (Matthew 19:17), orto keep or observe God�s word (John15:20), or to keep good wine, in thesense of holding it back (John 2:10).It can have the meaning of �preserve,�as in John 17:11, or of �protect,� as inJohn 17:15. It is rendered �reserved�in I Peter 1:4, and it can have themeaning of keeping a prisoner underguard, as, for instance, in Matthew27:36 and in numerous other places.

When this word �tereo� iscombined with the word �para,� themeaning of which was �intensive� or�intensely,� the verb � para - tereo�would mean then, that something iskept intensely, in the sense that it iseither observed intensely, or guardedor protected or held back in anintense fashion, depending upon thecontext.

The verb �paratereo,� which isderived from the noun �parateresis,�which is used in Luke 17:20 andrendered there as �observation,�appears six times in the New Testa-ment:

Mark 3:2: �So they watchedHim closely�so that they mightaccuse Him.�

Luke 6:7: They ��watchedHim closely�, that they might findan accusation against Him��

Luke 14:1: �He went into thehouse of one of the rulers of thePharisees to eat bread on theSabbath, � they watched Himclosely.�

Luke 20:20: �So they watchedHim, and sent spies who pretendedto be righteous, that they mightseize on His words, in order todeliver Him to the power and theauthority of the governor.�


In Luke 10:8-11, we read that thedisciples were to preach that the�Kingdom of God has come near to�those who would be receptive to themessage of the Kingdom of God. It wasnot established yet, but it was near tothem who were willing to listen.

But, what about Luke 11:20,where Christ says that �the Kingdomof God has come upon� you? He was

casting out demons by the power ofGod when He made that statement.The thought expressed here is the sameexpressed in Luke 17:20�the passagewe just covered, where Christ said thatthe Kingdom was among the people.Christ, the future King, had been giventhe power from God to cast out demons.Many times, the Bible uses the word kingand kingdom interchangeably.

Acts 9:24: �And they watchedthe gates day and night, to killhim.�

Gal. 4:10: �You observe [keepor watch closely or intensely, but ina negative way] days and monthsand seasons and years��a refer-ence to pagan holidays, NOT God�sHoly Days.So we see that the Greek word

�paratereo� is exclusively used in theNew Testament in a negative way. It isused to convey an intense close watchon someone in order to trick him,accuse him or kill him. In Gal. 4:10, itis even associated with the supersti-tious keeping of pagan holidays.

Going back to Luke 17:20, whichwas translated in the AuthorizedVersion as, �The Kingdom of Goddoes not come with observations,�Christ is telling us that the Kingdom ofGod does not come in a negative way.Remember, it is the good news of theKingdom of God that we are to proclaim.One cannot watch or observe it closelyin a negative, superstitious way and onecannot gain it by deceit or craftiness.One cannot get it either in such a way

that one wants to keep it under aguard, such as a prisoner. Remember,the Pharisees had attempted to �shutup the Kingdom of God against men.�They did not want to go in, but theywould not allow others to go in either.(Matthew 23:13). It is for that reasonthat the Kingdom of God �would betaken away from� them and given to�a nation bearing the fruits of it��thechurch of God (Matthew 21:43).

Christ was telling the Jews at Histime that the Kingdom of God wasalready among them�but not in theway that it had been already estab-lished. They could not point at it andsay, �Here it is.� Rather, Jesus Christwas standing among them in person.He was the representative of theKingdom. He was the future King ofthe Kingdom, and the Savior throughwhom we can have access to theKingdom. But it would not come forthose who were looking for it in anegative way. Those who like to findfault with it, or try to gain it bytrickery or fraud, or to keep it underguard, preventing others from enteringit, would not gain access to it.

The Kingdom of God Has Come Upon You


Count the CostLet�s turn now to a passage in

Luke 9, which tells us about theKingdom of God and our relationshipto it. Beginning in Verse 57: �Now ithappened as they journeyed on theroad, that someone said to Him,�Lord, I will follow You wherever Yougo.� And Jesus said to him, �Foxeshave holes and birds of the air havenests, but the Son of Man hasnowhere to lay His head.��

Christ is telling this man to countthe cost. He is talking about inheritingthe Kingdom of God as we will see in amoment, but He is saying in effect,�Count the cost, because once you start,there is no turning back, even in spiteof difficulties encountered.�

Continuing in verse 59: �Then hesaid to another, �Follow Me.� But hesaid, �Lord, let me first go and bury myfather.� Jesus said to him, �Let thedead bury their own dead, but you goand preach the Kingdom of God.�� Hewas actually called into the ministry,and Christ was telling him that oncehe is in the ministry of Christ,nothing else is more important than

preaching the gospel of the Kingdomof God.

Continuing in verse 61: �Andanother also said, �Lord I WILLFOLLOW YOU, but let me first goand bid them farewell who are at myhouse.� But Jesus said to him, �Noone, having put his hand to the plow,and looking back, is fit for theKingdom of God.��

We are not to look back, as Lot�swife did, once we have begun to lookfor, and work for, and live for, theinheritance of the Kingdom. Thatmeans, we are not to desire the thingswe left behind because of the King-dom, like Israel desired the �goodtimes� in Egypt, when they werefacing trials in the wilderness. Christadmonishes us not to give up, but tocontinue in our mission to preach theGospel of the Kingdom of God to theworld until He returns to establish therulership of the Kingdom of God onthis earth.

Again, He tells us in Luke 12:31:��But seek the Kingdom of God, andall these [material] things shall be

In the book of Daniel, for example,we read about an image, symbolizingfour world-ruling kingdoms. But thefirst kingdom, that of Babylon, is simplyequated with the king over thatkingdom, Nebuchadnezzar. We read inDan. 2:37-38: �You, O king, are a kingof kings. You are this head of gold.�But it goes on to say, in verse 39: �Butafter you shall arise another kingdom��

The same principle applies in whatwe just read in Luke 11. Jesus Christ,the King of the Kingdom, had cometo them, He was standing amongthem, and He healed people and castout demons with the power of God.He gave them a glimpse of the powerand the rulership and government ofthe Kingdom of God, once it was fullyestablished in power here on earth.


added to you.�� The parallel passagein Matthew 6:33 is perhaps betterknown, where we read that we are to�seek FIRST the Kingdom of GodAND His [God�s] righteousness, andall these things shall be added to you.�

We read in Matthew 6:24: �Noone can serve two masters; for eitherhe will hate the one and love theother, or else he will be loyal to theone and despise the other. You cannotserve God and mammon.�

We are admonished to set ourpriorities straight. We cannot serveGod and think, that at the same time,we can serve something or someoneelse. If we serve mammon, then webecome distraught and discouragedand start to worry when mammondoes not come. But when we serveGod, we are told that we need to cast

all our burdens on Him, and He willcarry them for us. When we do that,we do not have to worry abouttomorrow. And so we read in Mat-thew 6:25, �Therefore, I say to you,do not worry about your life�� Whenwe really serve God, and nothing elsebesides God, then God will take careof us. He will open up possibilities toget a job, earn money and providefood and housing.

Back to Luke 12:29: �And do notseek what you should eat or what youshould drink [Don�t make the pursuitof material possessions your goal andfulfillment in life], nor have ananxious mind.� Verse 32: �Do notfear, little flock, for it is your Father�sgood pleasure to give you the King-dom.� God WANTS us in HisFamily�His Kingdom.

In Luke 13:18- 21, we are taughtthat the Kingdom of God begins small,but grows. Right now, the Kingdom ofGod, which is the Family of God,consists of God the Father and JesusChrist. But the God Family is agrowing Family. God is adding to HisFamily. God is reproducing Himself.

We who are called today, arealready sons and daughters of theFamily, but we are not glorified Godbeings yet. That will happen whenChrist returns. Even so, God has onlycalled very few today. And many ofthose who are called do not respondto the call. That is why we are calledFIRSTfruits, and Jesus Christ is calledthe FIRST of the Firstfruits. The

designation of Firstfruits then, impliesthat there will be others who will becalled later. This will happen in themillennium and during the GreatWhite Throne Judgment period.

And so the God Family will grow,and the government of the Kingdomof God will grow too, that is, it willreach into the uttermost parts of theearth, and after that, into the entireuniverse. The rulership of Christ willstart from the throne of David, whichis here on earth�in Great Britain�and which will be located in Jerusa-lem when Christ has returned�andHis rule will spread from there until ithas covered the whole earth, asleaven starts small, until it has

The Kingdom of God is a Growing Family


leavened the entire loaf.What God does, begins small.

Many think Christ�s mission was tosave everyone at the time of His firstcoming, and that it is also the missionof the church today to convert asmany as possible. This idea is totallyfalse. Christ spoke to the multitudesin parables so that they could NOTunderstand. He would only tell thefew�those He had called�what Hisparables meant. Likewise, God callsonly very few today. Nobody cancome to Christ unless the Fatherdraws him or her.

ONLY ONE WAY TO ENTERGOD’S KINGDOM

Let�s note Luke 13:23-24: Christ istelling us that if WE are called tosalvation, we must be serious about it.We must strive, put effort into it, toenter through the narrow gate intothe Kingdom of God. When we readverses 28 -29, we see that the contextis entering the Kingdom of God. SoChrist is telling us that MANY willseek to enter it, but they will not beable to. This is a very serious warning.Christ is apparently talking aboutpeople who DID understand the truthabout the Kingdom of God, andbecause they understood, they wereanxious to inherit it and to enter it. Butthey would not be successful. Why?

The reason seems to be that theyGAVE UP. They ceased obeying Godand still thought they would be ableto enter the Kingdom of God. Theythought they could enter the King-dom of God in another way, perhaps,NOT through the narrow gate. ReadLuke 13:24 again! Christ said that it isIMPOSSIBLE to enter the Kingdom ofGod except through the NARROWgate. There is only ONE way to enter it.

Reading on in Luke 14: 16-24, weare warned again by Jesus Christ tonot to have ANY priorities beforethat of seeking the Kingdom of God.Notice too, that what is beingdescribed here is occurring on earth,not in heaven.

Verses 21 and 23 describe peoplewhose priorities are NOT the thingsof the world. They don�t own land oroxen, and may not even be able tomarry�not that it is wrong to haveland or oxen or to want to getmarried. But it is wrong if that isbecoming the most important priorityin life�if it is more important thanserving God and entering the King-dom of God. This means we shouldnot get married to someone whoseforemost interest is not the Kingdomof God, as this will invariably createmarriage problems and could evenlead to a lack of zeal and dedicationin the one who began well.


“The Law and the Prophets were until John…”Consider now this passage in Luke

16:16: �The law and the prophetswere until John. Since that time theKingdom of God has been preached,and everyone is pressing into it.�Until the prophet John came, only theOld Testament scriptures�the lawand the prophets�were known. InLuke 24:44, the entire Old Testamentis summarized as the �Law of Moses,and the Prophets, and the Psalms.�The Kingdom of God had alreadybeen preached in the Old Testament,but not with such magnitude and clarityas Christ came to preach. NOW wasthe real possibility to enter it�sinceChrist had already qualified as King ofthat Kingdom, so that He could, withauthority, proclaim the Kingdom of Godas a future certainty for mankind.NOW it had become NEAR.

And because of Christ�s preaching,many responded by trying to get intothe Kingdom. But unless they werecalled, they would still not knowHOW. Remember, Christ told us inLuke 13:24 that many would TRY toenter it, but would not be able to.Christ warned those of His time, aswell as us today, that not everyonewho would just say �Lord, Lord� toChrist, would enter the Kingdom ofGod, but only the person �who doesthe will of My Father in heaven.�(Matt. 7:21)

This same thought is expressed inLuke 16:16: Everyone wants todesperately enter the Kingdom ofGod. But what does Christ tell us inverse 17: �And it is easier for heavenand earth to pass away than for onetittle of the law to fail.� In otherwords, if you want to enter intoeternal life, keep the commandments.Only those who do the will of theFather, which is, to keep the com-mandments of God, will enter theKingdom of God. And now Christcontinues to give us an example ofsuch a commandment to be kept, inverse 18: �Whoever divorces his wifeand marries another commitsadultery; and whoever marries herwho is divorced from her husbandcommits adultery.�

�You shall not commit adultery� isone of the commandments that weare to keep. And divorcing someonefor any other than Biblical reasonsand then marrying again, is a viola-tion of the law against adultery.

In order to enter the Kingdom ofGod, in order to be part of theKingdom of God, we must keep God�sLaw. It is the SAME Law, as we aretold in Luke 16:16, that had alreadybeen preached up until the time ofJohn the Baptist. It is easier forheaven and earth to pass away thanfor the Law to fail.


We Must Be About Our Father’s BusinessAs we saw earlier, when Jesus

Christ came preaching the Kingdomof God, people thought that He wouldestablish it right then. Note in Luke19:11: �Now as they heard thesethings, He spoke another parable,because He was near Jerusalem andbecause they thought the Kingdom ofGod would appear immediately.�

Although He, the future King ofthe Kingdom, was among them, theestablishment of the Kingdom of Godhere on this earth would come muchlater�at the time of His secondcoming. He gave a parable in Luke 19to explain this. Remember, He spokein parables so that the world wouldnot understand, but so that Hisdisciples would understand.

WE MUST BE FAITHFUL INOUR DUTIES

Luke 19:12: �Therefore He said: Acertain nobleman went into a farcountry to receive for himself a kingdomand to return.� Christ is talking aboutHimself. He is the nobleman who wentinto a far country�the third heaven�to receive from God the Father thekingdom or government or rulershipover this earth. We read about thisalready in the account of Daniel 7:13-14, where the Son of Man wouldappear in the clouds before theAncient of Days to receive everlastingdominion and a kingdom that shallnot be destroyed, so that all peoplesand nations should serve Him.

And the angels confirmed this inActs 1:11, when they told thedisciples at the time when Christ

ascended to heaven: �Men of Galilee,why do you stand gazing up intoheaven? This same Jesus, who wastaken up from you into heaven, willso come in like manner as you sawHim go into heaven.�

Before Christ, the nobleman,departed for the far country, heinstructed his servants to keep busyduring his absence. We read in Luke19:13: �So he called ten of his servants,delivered to them ten minas [a minawas worth about three month�s salary],and said to them, �Do business till Icome.�

What the master gave his servantswas valuable. And they were to DOsomething with what they hadreceived. They were not to sit backand do nothing. Over and over weread in the Bible that Christ expectsaction from His disciples. He tells usin Matthew 28:19-20 that we are tomake disciples of all nations, ��teach-ing them to observe ALL THINGSthat I have commanded you, and lo, Iam with you always, even to the endof the age.�� We already read in Mark16 that we are to �go into all theworld and preach the gospel to everycreature.�

Also, He admonishes us in Matthew24 to watch and to be ready when He,the Master, returns. Beginning inVerse 45: �Who then is a faithful andwise servant, whom his master maderuler over his household, to give themfood in due season? Blessed is thatservant whom his master, when hecomes, will find so doing. Assuredly,I say to you that he will make him


ruler over all his goods. But if that evilservant says in his heart, My master isdelaying his coming, and begins tobeat his fellow servants and to eat andto drink with the drunkards, themaster of that servant�will cut himin two and appoint him his portionwith the hypocrites.�

Again, we see that Christ expectsHis servants to BE DOING some-thing�but it has to be the RIGHTkind of work. In this parable, thehead servant is charged with feedinghis fellow servants healthy physicalfood while his master is gone. Theanalogy here is that of the ministryfeeding the sheep healthy spiritualfood until Christ returns. As Christtold Peter three times, �feed my sheep.�

In Acts 20:28, Paul admonishesthe ministry: �Take heed thereforeunto yourselves, and to all the flock,over the which the Holy Ghost[Spirit] hath made you overseers, toFEED the church of God which hehas purchased with his own blood.�(Authorized Version)

The apostle Peter stated the samein 1 Peter 5:1-2, Authorized Version:�The elders which are among you Iexhort, who am also an elder, and awitness of the sufferings of Christ, andalso a partaker of the glory that shallbe revealed: feed THE FLOCK OFGod which is among you, taking theoversight thereof, not by constraint,but willingly; not for filthy lucre, butof a ready mind.�

Let�s go back to the parable again,to Luke 19:14: �But his citizens hatedhim, and sent a delegation after him,saying, We will not have this man toreign over us.�

We see that the citizens, the Jews

at Christ�s time, did not want Christto rule or govern over them. In fact,they said, �We have no king butCaesar.� Also, we read in John 1:11:�He came to His own [His ownpeople], and His own did not receiveHim.� This can also be applied to theChurch today. How many do reallywant Christ to rule over their lives?

We see, too, that the citizensunderstood that the nobleman was toRULE as a king over them�but theydid not like that. Again and again, weare told that the Kingdom of God isGod RULING over others. Somewill accept God�s rulership over theirlives, and others will not. But inrejecting God�s rulership, they are infact rejecting Christ�s sacrifice and arestill living in sin.

Continue with verse 15: �And so itwas that when he returned, havingreceived the kingdom, he thencommanded these servants, to whomhe had given the money, to be calledto him, that he might know how muchevery man had gained by trading.�

WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FORTHE WAY WE LIVE

At that time, Christ will be sittingon the throne of David here on earth,to judge the nations. But before Hedoes that, He will ask His servants,His disciples, you and me, to comeforward to give an account. A verysimilar parable is given in Matthew25. The only difference is that eachservant received from the outset adifferent amount of money. The firstone would get five talents, the secondone two talents, and the third oneone talent, �according to his ownability.� A talent was worth 6,000


denarii. One denarius was the day�swage for a worker. When the masterof the servants comes back, this iswhat he does, according to Matthew25:19: �After a long time the lord ofthose servants came and settledaccounts with them.�

What we read here is about givingan account to Christ for what we did,or what we did not do, with what Hegave us. Notice the following passagesin this regard:

Romans 14:10-12: �For we shallall stand before the judgment seatof Christ�So then each of us shallgive account of himself to God.�

2 Cor. 5:10: �For we must allappear before the judgment seat ofChrist, that each one may receivethe things done in the body,according to what he has done,whether good or bad.�

Heb. 4:13: �And there is nocreature hidden from His sight, butall things are naked and open tothe eyes of Him to whom we mustgive account.�

Matthew 12:36-37: �But I sayto you that for every idle word menmay speak, they will give account ofit in the day of judgment. For byyour words you will be justified, andby your words you will be con-demned.�All of these passages speak about

an accounting in the future, when weappear before the judgment seat ofChrist AFTER His return. It is true,of course, as 1 Peter 4:17 points out,that the time has already come forjudgment to BEGIN at the house ofGod. We are being judged today onhow we live. Nevertheless, we stillhave to give account at the time of

Christ�s return. And there is a reasonfor that, as we will see in a moment.

Continuing then with the parablein Luke 19, verse 16: �Then came thefirst [servant], saying, �Master, yourmina has earned ten minas.�� Thisservant had done something withwhat he received from his master.This servant participated in preachingthe precious truth of the Kingdom ofGod that he had received. He did iteither directly, or indirectly throughprayer, encouragement, financialsupport, or simply by living the wayChrist told him to live, setting a rightexample to others, as a light shiningin a dark room. He brought forth fruitwith the seed he had received.

And let�s notice Christ�s answer, inVerse 17: �And he said to him, �Welldone, good servant; because you werefaithful in a very little, have authorityover ten cities.��

Christ is using here symboliclanguage. He points out that theservant did bring fruit, that he grew,spiritually speaking. He was able toovercome his weaknesses, at least to alarge degree. He served Christ well.He was faithful even in little things.He was willing to let Christ workthrough him, as a potter would shapeclay into something useful.

Remember what Christ told us inRev. 2: 26: �And he who overcomesand keeps My works until the end, tohim I will give power over thenations�He shall rule them with arod of iron.�

Since the servant overcame, he wasrewarded with a certain rulershipposition in the Kingdom of God.

There is a great deal of confusionin the Christian world today about


God�s gifts and His rewards. There isclearly a distinction, and it is impor-tant that this distinction is understood.God gives us eternal life in His Familyas a gift. We cannot do anything toearn it. Notice it in Luke 22:29: �AndI bestow upon you a Kingdom, just asMy Father bestowed one upon Me.�

GIFTS AND REWARDSThe Kingdom of God is the Family

of God ruling over all creation. So wewill become part of that Family ofGod by a GIFT. God GIVES to us theenormous privilege to become a Godbeing within His Family. God gives useverything we need to make it intothe Kingdom (I Corinthians 1:4-8).

But God will NOT give the gift ofmembership in His Family to anyonewho disqualifies him- or herself fromthat gift, by showing God through theway he or she lives that he or she doesnot really want what God is offering.Our lifestyle must reflect the fact thatwe really WANT to inherit eternallife in the Kingdom of God.

And if we received more from Godthan others, then more is required ofus. That is why we read in 2 Thess. 1:4-7: �we ourselves boast of you amongthe churches of God for your patienceand faith in all your persecutions andtribulations that you endure, which ismanifest evidence of the righteousjudgment of God, that you may becounted worthy of the Kingdom ofGod, for which you also suffer, since itis a righteous thing with God to�GIVE YOU who are troubled rest withus when the Lord Jesus is revealedfrom heaven with His mighty angels.�

Also, we are told in Luke 20:35-36, we will be, in the resurrection,

SONS OF GOD, if we �have beencounted WORTHY to attain that age,AND the resurrection from the dead.�

So, our lifestyle will determinewhether God is going to GIVE US thegift of eternal life and membership inHis Family�in the Kingdom of God.We can�t earn it�but we CAN liveunworthily and thereby becomedisqualified. (Cp. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5).

When it comes to what exactly wewill be doing in the Kingdom of God,HOW and TO WHAT EXTENT wewill rule, that is very much dependenton how we live today. Our reward�that is, the extent of our rulershippositions in the Kingdom of God�isdependent on how much fruit weproduce today.

Notice in Rev. 22: 12: �Andbehold, I am coming quickly and MyREWARD is with Me, to give toevery one ACCORDING TO HISWORK.�

1 Cor. 3: 8: �Now he who plantsand he who waters are one, and eachone will receive his own REWARDaccording to HIS OWN LABOR.�

Luke 14:13-14: �But when yougive a feast, invite the poor, themaimed, the lame, the blind. And youwill be blessed, because they cannotrepay you; for you shall be REPAIDAT THE RESURRECTION OF THEJUST.�

Luke 6: 22-23, 35: �Blessed areyou when men hate you, and whenthey exclude you, and revile you, andcast out your name as evil, for theSon of Man�s sake. Rejoice in that dayand leap for joy! For indeed YOURREWARD IS GREAT IN HEAVEN,for in like manner their fathers did to


the prophets�But, love your enemies,do good, and lend, hoping for nothingin return [this does not mean, you lendwithout hoping to get the money back;it means, when you lend, you don�t doit with the motivation that now youdeserve to really get something greatback in return]; and your REWARDWILL BE GREAT, AND you will besons of the Most High.�

2 John 8: �Look to yourselves, thatwe do not lose those things weworked for, but that we may receive AFULL REWARD.�

Our reward has to do with rulership.To the extent that we learn in this lifeto be ruled by God, we will be allowedto rule over others. We need to stayhumble (Matthew 5:3). If we allowGod to rule over us, we will developthe love of God in our lives, and onlywith that love in us can we bepermitted to rule over others so that wewon�t abuse the authority He gives us.

The servant who beats his fellowservants will not be given authority inthe Kingdom of God. He has neverlearned how to use authority the rightway. So God won�t give him authorityin the World Tomorrow, so he cannotabuse his subjects on a greater scale.Those who are called into theministry today and are given authorityover God�s sheep have a greatresponsibility. They are being judgedby God as to how they are doing. Andif they are abusive, and if they refuseto feed the sheep proper and healthyfood, and if they refuse to use theresponsibilities given to preach thegospel in all the word as a witness,then, as we have read, Christ willcome back at a time that servant willnot expect, and cut him to pieces. It

is THAT serious.In the parable in Matthew 25, the

servant who received five talents wasable to double what he had received.And this is what the master tells hisservant (Matthew 25: 21): ��Welldone, good and faithful servant; youwere faithful over a few things, I willmake you ruler over many things.Enter into the joy of your lord.�� This isvirtually the same response as the onegiven to the second servant in Luke�sparable who had gained ten minas.

Let�s return to Luke 19:18: �Andthe second [servant] came, saying,�Master, your mina has earned fiveminas.�� So this servant was success-ful, too. He did not sit idle all day. Helet God change his life, too. But hewas not as diligent and as persistentas the first servant, who had gainedten minas. But still�he DID over-come to an extent. So let�s seeChrist�s response, in Verse 19:�Likewise he said to him, �You also beover five cities.��

Not quite the same enthusiasticresponse as the first servant received.We don�t read here that Christ said,�Well done, good servant.� BUT, Hegrants him authority over five cities.NOT over ten. Not AS MUCHauthority as to the first servant. Buthe had overcome enough to begranted authority over five.

Compare this with Matthew 13:8,where seed falls on good ground. Buteven then, the seed does not yield thesame crop in each case. It says thatsome yielded hundredfold, someyielded sixty, and some only thirty.Christ admonishes us in the nextverse to think about that. To hear, ifwe have ears to hear. Our reward


then, is the extent of our rulershippositions in the Kingdom of God overthis earth, which is dependent onhow much we overcome, and howmuch fruit we produce, in this life.

What is being described in theparable of Luke 19 is our appearanceas spirit beings before the throne ofChrist here on earth, after His return.When we appear before Him, we willbe God beings, since the resurrectionor our change took place. NOW itwill be announced what REWARD ofrulership positions we will receive.The first two servants in bothparables, who will appear beforeChrist as glorified God beings and fullmembers within the Family of God,will receive a reward.

Going back to the similar parablein Matthew 25, we see somewhat of a

distinction there. The second servantin Matthew 25:22-23 traded in orgained only two additional talents.But remember, HE had only gottentwo talents to begin with. So hetraded in or overcame as much as thefirst servant, who had added fivetalents, but he had received fivetalents at the start. Therefore,Christ�s reward for the second servantin that parable is the same as thereward for the first servant. Both hadovercome the same�according to theirabilities. And so Christ�s words to thesecond servant are exactly the sameas His words to the first servant.Christ could have given the secondservant more talents, but He did not.Christ knows what we can handleindividually. We really have no excusefor not using what God is giving us.

But let�s go now to the thirdservant in BOTH parables. Thisservant won�t get ANY reward. Let�ssee why, in Luke 19: 20-21: �Thenanother came, saying, �Master, here isyour mina, which I have kept putaway in a handkerchief. For I fearedyou, because you are an austere [asevere] man. You collect what you donot deposit, and reap what you do notsow.��

This servant had not done anybusiness with what he had receivedfrom his Master. He was not trying toovercome sin nor his bad habits. Heshowed through his conduct that hewas not willing to have God change

him. He did not want to be clay thatcould be formed in the hand of thepotter. And since he showed that hewas not willing to let God rule overhim, Christ was not willing to givehim responsibility to rule over others.

WRONG CONCEPT OF GODThis servant had a wrong concept

of God. He FEARED Him, becausehe thought that God was a severeman. God does not want us to sin,and if we do, He will punish us, butHe does so in love, for our good. Weneed to fear God in the sense that wemust respect Him, but not fearingHim in the sense that the servant did.

No Eternal Life for the Wicked


This servant did not have the love ofGod in him; otherwise, he would nothave feared God in the way that hedid. Remember what we read in 1John 4:18 : �There is no fear in love;but perfect love casts out fear.� Butthis servant apparently feared thatwhatever he would do, he could notsatisfy his master anyhow. So hedecided to do nothing.

This servant also had a wrongconcept of what was required of him.Christ HAD told all of them to dobusiness with what He had giventhem, but the servant refused to doso. He thought perhaps, in spite ofwhat the Master told him, as long ashe didn�t lose the mina, his Masterwould still be pleased, and that hecould still be in His Kingdom and ruleover others. He was afraid to use hismina, perhaps thinking that he maylose it if he were to use it in business.So rather than being obedient toGod�s command, he thought that hecould go about it in a different way.

In the similar parable in Matthew25, we read that the servant said thathe was AFRAID, and so he hid thetalent in the ground (Matthew 25: 25).

We are clearly told that if we areafraid, timid, fearful, or withoutcourage, we will NOT inherit theKingdom of God. We will NOTreceive any rulership positions, either.The following scriptures confirm this:

Rev. 21:8: �But the cowardly,unbelieving�and all liars shallhave their part in the lake whichburns with fire and brimstone,which is the second death.�Luke 9:26: �For whoever is

ashamed of Me and My words, of himthe Son of Man will be ashamed when

He comes in His own glory, and inHis Father�s, and of the holy angels.�And WHY would anybody beashamed of Christ and His words?

The previous verses tell us, begin-ning in verse 23: �If anyone desires tocome after Me, let him deny himselfand take up his cross daily [by endur-ing trials and persecution and ridicule],and follow Me. For whoever desires tosave his life, will lose it, but whoeverloses his life for My sake will save it.For what profit is it to a man if hegains the whole world, and is himselfdestroyed and lost?�

And then Christ goes on to talkabout those who are ashamed of Him.But the context is, trying to gainacceptance from people, trying to fitin, trying to be politically correct,even if that means, NOT sayingcertain things that Christ says mustbe said. The reason? FEAR! Fear thatwe might offend. Fear that we mightbe persecuted. FEAR that peoplemight not like us anymore. BUT�Christ says that if we are fearful andashamed of Him, He will be ashamedof us and reject us. And that�s what Hedid with the third servant in Luke 19.

Let�s read Luke 19, beginning inverse 22: �And he said to him, �Out ofyour own mouth I will judge you, youwicked servant [we read earlier thatwe will be judged and condemned outof our own mouth]. You knew [that iswhat this man thought about God]that I was an austere man, collectingwhat I did not deposit and reapingwhat I did not sow. Why then did younot put my money in the bank, thatat my coming I might have collectedit with interest?��

This does not mean that Christ


really is that way. But Christ is saying:If YOU THOUGHT about me thatway, then why did you not ACTaccordingly�if not out of love for me,then at least because you should havebeen afraid of Me. But you, Christsaid, did not do ANYTHING. That�snot even logical. The point being thatthe servant makes excuses here fornot having overcome. In the parablein Matthew 25, Christ calls him notonly �a wicked servant,� but, �awicked AND LAZY servant.� (verse26). But now we see how Christreacts when we are UNWILLING toovercome and to DO what God wantsus to do, and then make excuses forour failure:

Luke 19, Verses 24-26: �And hesaid to those who stood by [perhapsthe angels, perhaps some of ushaving been made immortal], �Takethe mina from him, and give it tohim who has ten minas.� (But theysaid to him, �Master, he has tenminas.�) For I say to you, that toeveryone who has will be given; andfrom him who does not have, evenwhat he has [or what he thinks hehas] will be taken away from him.�Christ gave the servant with the

ten minas [the one who had over-come the most] another mina, that is,a rulership position over an additionalcity. He knew what that servantwould be able to handle. He hadproven this to God in this life.

The worthless servant did notreceive ANY rulership position. Infact, he did not even receive eternal

life. He did not enter the Kingdom ofGod. He did NOT appear in front ofGod as a glorified being, but as ahuman being who had not died, butwho was still alive at the time ofChrist�s return.

The parable in Matthew 25 endsthis way, in verse 30: �And cast theunprofitable servant [the one whohad received one talent and hid it inthe ground] into the outer darkness.There will be weeping and gnashingof teeth.�

He won�t rule in the Kingdom ofGod. He won�t even be there! If hethought that the one mina or the onetalent gave him a guarantee to be inthe Kingdom of God, without having todo anything with it, then he was nowterribly disappointed. Whatever Godgives us must be put to proper use.

Let�s see now, how the parable inLuke ends. Luke 19: 27: ��But bringhere those enemies of mine, who didnot want me to reign over them, andslay them before me.�� Neither theunprofitable servant, nor the enemiesof Christ will be in the Kingdom ofGod. Neither one was willing toaccept God�s rule over their lives�todo what God told them to do.

We must be different! These arestern warnings for us. We must beabout our Father�s business, so thatwe will hear the words of our Master,Jesus Christ, at the time of His return:�Well done, good and faithful servant,you were faithful over a few things, Iwill make you ruler over many things.Enter into the joy of your Lord.�


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THE GOSPEL OF THE - Church of the Eternal God | A ... · 4 The Gospel of the Kingdom of God had great possessions.ﬂ Realize now, this was a command that Christ gave to this rich