The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; (Psalms 24:1—NIV)

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. (Matthew 24:14—NIV)

We have known Christ as the Good Shepherd. Now we are to become acquainted with Christ as the Lord, strong and mighty in battle. The Good Shepherd will always be with us as will the blessings of the Twenty-third Psalm. But the Spirit of God is pointing us toward the Warrior-King of the Twenty-fourth Psalm. Let us without delay open the everlasting doors of our heart to the Lord.

The change that is upon us Christians today is suggested in the above three verses.

The first verse focuses on the Lord. The second verse focuses on the earth. The third verse focuses on the Kingdom of God.

The Old Testament type of the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan is used by the writers of the New Testament to symbolize the Christian pilgrimage from bondage to the spirit of the world to the promised inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Christian churches are clear as to the fact that Egypt represents the world spirit—that to which we were in bondage prior to receiving the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior.

The churches are not always as clear that the wilderness wandering speaks of our trials in the wilderness of the present life, sometimes believing that we jump from Egypt to Canaan by "faith."

But when it comes to the inheritance we are not clear at all. Our assumption, based on our long-standing traditions, is that our inheritance is a mansion in Heaven. But there are two reasons why going to live in the spirit Paradise forever is not a proper fulfillment of the Old-Testament type of Canaan.

First, we do not battle our way city by city into Heaven.

Second, there is absolutely no New Testament passage that points to Heaven as the goal of our salvation.

The Book of Hebrews declares, concerning the people of faith who already are in Heaven, that they shall be made perfect together with us. It is true rather that they are witnesses who are observing the unfolding of the program of redemption. This statement tells us that residence in Heaven is not the rest, the perfection announced in the Book of Hebrews.

For two thousand years the Christian Church has been sojourning in the wilderness of the present life. Now we are approaching the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. We know little or nothing about the Kingdom of God because of our emphasis on going to Heaven. Yet the original Gospel had to do with the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth, not the going of the Church to Heaven. The Gospel of the Kingdom has been lost to us.

Because the Kingdom of God is at hand the Lord is ready to move us past Mount Sinai, where we have been camped so to speak. Many passages of the Scriptures are being emphasized that to this point have not been noticed as much.

To be continued.