The Kingdom of God begins in Heaven and then is brought into the earth from Heaven. That is why Matthew refers to the Kingdom of God as the "kingdom of heaven."

Christ's work begins with establishing obedience in the heavens.

Christ is the first stage in putting down the rebellion against God's government, God's will. The victorious saints are the second stage. The casting down of Satan from the heavens into the earth is the third stage.

The fourth stage is the Battle of Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon is described in several passages of the Scriptures. The Battle of Armageddon is the coming of Christ and His warriors to fight against the rebels on the earth. The Battle of Armageddon is the entrance of the Kingdom of God into the earth, the smashing and total destruction of all resistance to the rulership of Christ and His saints.

And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11)

The Battle of Armageddon is described in the thirteenth chapter of Isaiah, the second chapter of Joel, the third chapter of Habakkuk, the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, and is referred to in other portions of the Scriptures.

The Battle of Armageddon, which brings into visibility the overcoming of the rebellion against God, is dependent on the prior three stages. Christ cannot return with His saints until those saints have been perfected in obedience to the Father. The Battle of Armageddon would be a woeful debacle indeed if rebellion and sin were to be found in the ranks of the army of the Lord!

The current emphasis on the flight to Heaven of immature believers on the basis of grace is opposed to the purpose of God. The rebellion against the Father cannot be overcome by God's love and mercy. The rebellion is overcome as Christ's own obedience is created in the hearts of consecrated saints. The issue is not mercy, it is a change in man's will.

The purpose of mercy is to give sinful man access to God and to enable the program of restoration to take place. God does not intend that mercy serve as an alternative to removing Satan's rebellion from the hearts of people.

We now are entering the spiritual errors with which Christ charged the church in Laodicea. We are witnessing the rise of the love of money, the absence of faith refined by suffering, spiritual nakedness because of the abundance of sin among the believers, and the putting out of the spiritual eyes of the Christians (like the blinding of Samson).

To be continued.