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The Daily Word of Righteousness
A Missing Element, #2
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord. (Psalms 102:19-22)
The Hebrew Prophets spoke of the coming of the rule of God, the Kingdom of God, to the earth.
John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus spoke of the coming government, declaring that the Kingdom of God, the doing of God's will in the earth, is at hand.
Somehow the Gospel of the Kingdom was changed to the going of believers to Paradise in Heaven. But now that the coming of the Lord is close at hand, the original Gospel of the Kingdom is being restored.
The prevailing belief has been, if we "accept Jesus," God forgives our sins completely. We will never be touched by Divine judgment. When we die we will go to Heaven to live in a mansion. To this has been added the unscriptural doctrine that before the Lord returns there will be a secret "rapture" of the believers to Heaven to avoid the great tribulation.
If we truly receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, repenting of our sins, being baptized in water as a sign we have been crucified to the world so we may share in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God forgives our sins completely.
After that the Lord brings judgment on us. God chastens us severely so we may be holy as He is holy. The great tribulation is one such judgment and its purpose is to refine the Bride of the Lamb, preparing her for the Bridegroom.
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (Hebrews 12:6)
We must undergo character transformation if we would rule in the Kingdom of God.
The purpose of our redemption is not that we may go to Heaven to live in a mansion. The purpose of our redemption is that we may receive eternal life and attain a place in the Kingdom, the government of God on the earth.
If our objective were to go to Paradise to live in a mansion in a sin-free, temptation-free environment, character transformation would not be required. Because our objective is to attain a place in God's Kingdom, character transformation is of supreme importance.
In the Kingdom of God, "water seeks its level." By this we mean that in the Kingdom what an individual is, is revealed, and he operates in the Kingdom according to the degree that Christ has been formed in him. There are greatest and least in the Kingdom. There are thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and one hundredfold.
In this present world, individuals often attain positions of status and responsibility by manipulating people and circumstances. It is not so in the Kingdom of God. What one is in personality, he or she is. Everyone is manifest as to what he is. Those who govern are filled with the Presence of Christ, and God in Him.
This is why the Scripture teaches that if we suffer we will reign. Only suffering, the judgment of God on our wicked personality, produces the character transformation required for rulership.
It can be seen from this that the current emphasis on joy and happiness to the point of the removal of all suffering and Divine judgment is destroying what we most desire.
To be continued.