Christ will not destroy the world, Christ will transform the world. He will not make all new things, He will make all things new.

The kingdom of the world will become the Kingdom of God and of His Christ when Jesus returns. Meanwhile, Christ does as He will with Satan, with the rulers of the earth, with Antichrist, with the saints, with the unsaved, with the saved, with every angel, and with all else in the creation of God.

Cyrus, the king of Persia, was one of the most powerful monarchs in the history of mankind. The God of Heaven spoke to Cyrus as well as to Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra and Nehemiah.

Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. (Ezra 1:2)

"He hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem." Think of it! God spoke to the powerful Cyrus. God speaks to the rulers of the world as well as to the members of His Church.

We of the Church of Christ need to receive this important concept into our mind and heart. We are not to struggle against human beings. Our fight is against the devil and his forces, and that fight can be fought only by the Holy Spirit. Our task is to obey the Lord. The Lord's task is to build His own Kingdom.

The work of restoring the Temple of God and the defenses of the Church is not of man. It is not of any group, or institution, or movement of believers. It is the work of God Almighty. God will provide every resource, open every door. The stars in their courses will fight against Sisera, so to speak (Judges 5:20).

The Church will profit from the program of restoration and so will the rest of the creation. When God builds up Zion He appears in His Glory. When God appears in His Glory the Lord's people and the remainder of the peoples of the earth are brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:21).

Let each of us enter the program of God, not into some petty scheme of our own invention. The Lord Jesus is moving in restoration glory. Let us find our own place in God's universal plan.

We are not to worry about any opposition the nations of the earth might present. God will speak to them just as He did to King Cyrus. Both the Lord's anointed remnant and the secular powers of the earth will bring God's work to completion. The secular powers will not always understand they are hastening God's work and goal, but they shall bring God's will to pass nevertheless.

Religious people who are attempting to build their own kingdom, and hardened sinners who refuse to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, will be denied the benefits of the program of restoration.

Notice that God charged Cyrus to "build Him an house." The work of restoration is for the purpose of building a house for God. This is another important concept we must receive into our heart and mind.

To be continued.