| E-MAIL SERVICE | Sign me up to receive the daily Word of Righteousness free via my E-mail address! ( ONLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH ) | |
| ARCHIVES | I want to check out the daily Words of Righteousness for any of the last fourteen days or from previous weeks. ( ENGLISH ONLY ) | |
| FEEDBACK | I have a question or comment about today's Word of Righteousness. ( ENGLISH AND SPANISH ONLY ) | |
| BOOK LIST | I would like to see the complete book list of the Words of Righteousness author Robert B. Thompson. (SOME SPANISH TITLES AVAILABLE ) |
The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Judaic-Christian Salvation, #32
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen [nations] for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. (Psalms 2:8,9)
But what of the nations of the earth? What will be taking place in their midst during the thousand-year reign of Christ and the royal priesthood?
The nations during the Kingdom Age. The writings of the Prophets often refer to that which will be true of the nations during the Kingdom Age.
We know, first of all, that at the onset of the thousand years the will of the nations to resist will be smashed.
After that, the nations will be taught by the Lord working with and through His princes.
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isaiah 32:1)
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)
The nations that do not participate in the reign of Jesus and His saints will be punished.
And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. (Zechariah 14:17)
The relationship of behavior to salvation. The peace and glory that will be on the earth during the Kingdom Age will be the result of righteousness, of obedience to God.
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (Isaiah 32:17)
"The effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."
The Lord's objective is to install righteousness and obedience to God on the earth. The reason we desire to go to Heaven to live forever is we hope to find peace, quietness, and assurance. But peace, quietness, and assurance do not come from living in Heaven but from "the work of righteousness."
It is true that Paradise is in Heaven now and we hope to go there when we die. But our stay in Heaven will be temporary. In the Day of the Lord we shall return to the earth, gain back our body from the grave, and receive whatever reward we have earned by our conduct.
Our goal is righteousness, righteous, obedient behavior. When we are righteous, Paradise comes to us as a consequence. When we are unrighteous, death and torment come to us as a consequence. There is no violating, no waiving of this principle. What we sow we will reap.
The Apostle Paul pointed out clearly that eternal life is the result of godliness of behavior.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6:22)
It is by gaining victory over sin, by becoming a servant of God, that we bear the fruit of holiness. The result of holiness of behavior is everlasting life. Eternal life is a gift to us, but only as we participate in the freedom from sin and rebellion made possible through the grace and power of the new covenant.
To be continued.