Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

The Tale of Two Kingdoms
May 31st, 2019
CommentaryArt Sadlier
Categories: Printed Newsletter

The history of the world is contained in the incredible war between two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light.

The Kingdom of Light is the essence of what God is. God is righteousness, holiness, justice, love, mercy and grace to help.

The Kingdom of Darkness is the opposite of all that God is. It is defined in the character of Satan who is evil, wickedness, rebellion and deceit personified. The goal of the Kingdom of Darkness is to destroy and to replace the Kingdom of Light. It is Satan’s attempt to replace God. Therefore it is diametrically opposed to everything God is and commands. We read about Satan’s rebellion against God and his intention to overthrow God in Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Both of these Kingdoms have as their objective a global dominion, an intention to rule the world of men, each ruled by a powerful, supreme leader. The Kingdom of Darkness is intended to be ruled by Satan and his man Antichrist. It will be the ultimate in oppression, enslavement, destruction and death. The Kingdom of Light will be ruled by the God-man, Jesus Christ. It will be a kingdom of righteousness, justice, peace and blessing.

There is a warfare going on in the world today, if you have not already noticed it. It is the conflict of the ages between these two forces. It is now headed for a cataclysmic climax which will explode after the rapture of the church, leaving the world destroyed and lying in ashes.

The Kingdom of Light

God’s plan for His kingdom in this world is a kingdom where the subjects obey and follow Him out of love for Him. I emphasize this, God’s kingdom is a kingdom in which men, with a free will, voluntarily follow and obey and seek to glorify God because they love Him. They love Him because of His great love for them. “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Marriage is intended to demonstrate this relationship. Unless you understand this, you will never understand the concept of the Kingdom of God. The wife obeys her husband because she loves him. The husband labours and gives himself for his wife because he loves her. The church, which is the bride of Christ, serves and follows Christ because she loves Him. Christ is the husband or bridegroom and He has laboured and died for the bride to purchase her salvation, because He loves her.

God sought to establish His Kingdom in this world with Adam ruling on God’s behalf. We call this a theocracy, man ruling on God’s behalf. This kingdom failed because of Adam’s fall into sin. Adam’s descendants inherited his sin nature which was passed on to all of his descendants. Man with a sin nature, cannot rule on behalf of God.

Because of the fall of Adam, the Lord has not established a kingdom on the earth. The pre-flood world proved both how unworthy and unwilling men are to submit to the rule of heaven. The Lord has worked in different dispensations or situations to allow man opportunity to submit to His rule. In every one of these situations men proved to be unwilling to allow God to rule.

The Lord offered to establish a theocratic kingdom through the Nation of Israel. This kingdom also failed for the same reason, man’s inherent sin nature. Why did God knowingly attempt what He knew would not function? God has been patiently working with men over the long centuries to bring man to realize that man cannot function on his own without God, without His mercy and enabling grace.

Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Paul Said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.”

Ultimately the day will come when Israel and the nations will realize this truth. Christ will come to rule over Israel and the nations bringing in the glorious Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1; 31-33). There will be a man on the throne of David, ruling the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That man will be the God-man, Christ Jesus. He will rule in power and glory, bringing blessing and peace to the world. It will be the glorious Kingdom God originally intended for this world.

In the Old Testament we have prophetic forecasts of this coming kingdom. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:27).

Because of man’s rebellion against God, God has not established a theocratic kingdom in this world. This does not mean that God is any the less sovereign over the world and men.

Here is a principal concerning God’s sovereignty. God allows men to choose and then sovereignly dispenses the consequences of man’s choice. Man’s choice, though it involves free will, ultimately ends in verifying the sovereignty of God. Though God by His permissive will allows Satan and men and nations to rebel against Him for a season, yet He is still sovereign over all. Satan’s rebellion against God does not contradict God’s sovereignty, it ultimately confirms it.

The free will of man functions under the sovereignty of God and does not contradict God’s sovereignty. “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalm 103:19). Man suffers the consequences of his choice but whatever the choice, it is subject to the sovereignty of God.

I remind you, to this point in history; God has not had a kingdom in this world. That is verified by the words of Christ in Luke 11:2, “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” That has never happened on earth since the fall of Adam and will not happen until Christ returns to reign on the earth.

Those who are seeking to build the kingdom of heaven on earth are deceived. They are unknowingly building the kingdom of Satan’s man, Antichrist. This is a tragic mistake. Watch out for these false teachers!

They come under the banner of “Dominion Theology” or “Kingdom Now” or some other name. They claim that God is finished with Israel and that the promises to Israel are now to be transferred to the Church. So they are busy building a kingdom on earth here and now. They make God a liar. God promised a kingdom to Israel that would endure forever.

“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:7-8).

But for the believer, the Word of God says, “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36).

We see here that the kingdom of God on earth is a future tense prospect. I repeat for emphasis what I said above. Jesus made this clear in Matthew 6: 9-10, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  That has never happened and it is a future day, instead of this world now being fashioned into the kingdom of God on earth. Today, we see the world being shaped into the kingdom of Satan, with evil rising on every side. Evil is rising in the world today like a great vile tide coming up out of the pit of hell. Satan is pushing his agenda.

The home and hope of the believer is not in this present world but in heaven. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Though, in a future day we will reign on the earth with Christ. Today, “This world is not my home,” the song writer had it correct. We are strangers and pilgrims who are just passing through this present evil world.

John said, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).  

One of the major purposes of salvation is to deliver us out of this present world. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4). James repeats that we are not to be of the world. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, ye not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). This is where the New Evangelical church has gone so terribly wrong.

Believers are citizens of heaven; we are just passing through this world. We are not members of an earthly kingdom in this world.  One of the unbiblical goals of the Gospel Coalition is building the kingdom of God on earth at this present time. They are blindly and unknowingly building the kingdom of Satan in this present evil world.

Our great commission is to preach the gospel and build a spiritual kingdom. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19).

The Kingdom of Darkness

God gave the earth to mankind to govern on His behalf. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of me” (Psalm 115:16). “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

However, when Adam sinned and obeyed Satan rather than God, the earth passed, by the permissive will of God, to the temporary control of Satan. Adam surrendered his heritage to Satan. We see this confirmed in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not…” Satan has usurped Adam’s God-given governorship of the earth.

The scriptures confirm that God recognizes Satan’s rule over this present world. We read about this in Luke 4:5-7, “And the devil, taking him, (Jesus) up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”

Here we see, by the permissive will of God, Satan being granted temporary rule over the earth. Satan is ruling this world today. What other conclusion can we come to as we read the news? Do not blame God for what Satan is doing in the world today. Today we are witnessing his final drive to usurp God’s authority over this world. (We will deal more with this in the article to follow)

The Return of the Earth to its Rightful Ruler

Chapters four and five of Revelation are the “Throne Room” chapters of the Bible. Heaven is opened for our gaze. We see a throne set in heaven; on that throne we see the Almighty, Everlasting God.  Understand that before God lets us see the awful cataclysmic events of Revelation 6 to 19. Before He allows us to view the decisive battle of the ages, He wants to remind us that He is still on the throne. We need that perspective.

In the hand of God we discover a book. “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals” (Revelation 5:1).

This book is the “Title Deed to the Earth,” and the events recorded in it are the events which lead to the restoration of the earth to its rightful owner. These are events which will take place during the tribulation period. They detail the wrath of God poured out upon the kingdom of Satan, its destruction and the judgment of God upon Satan.

This “Book” which John refers to, as we have said, contains the plan of God to return the earth to its rightful owner. As the Book is opened, its plan is carried out in Revelation 6 to 19. We see the final results in Revelation 20:1-2, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”

The earth is returned to its rightful owner, its creator, the God/man, Christ Jesus, the second Adam. It is His by right of creation, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).

Christ does what the first Adam failed to do, to rule the world in righteousness with justice. “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke. 1:32, 33).

Satan will be removed and the King of Kings ascends the throne of this world.

Today, Satan has a vice-like grip on this evil world. How can this world be delivered from Satan’s power?  The answer comes in Revelation 5:2, "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the Book, and to loose the seals thereof?" As we have said, this Book is the “title deed to the earth.” Satan has usurped authority over this earth and now the time has come to remove him. Who is worthy? Who is able, to open the book, to break the seals, to pour out the judgments upon the earth, the judgments that will remove Satan from control over the earth? To pour out the judgments that will restore the earth to its rightful owner and King, Jesus Christ? To the one who will return the earth to the glory God intended?        

The answer comes in Revelation 5:3 "And no man in Heaven, nor in Earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the Book, neither to look thereon." The Liberals can't! The Conservatives can't! The Republicans can't! The Democrats can't! The Socialists can’t! The U.N. can't! Six thousand years of history has never produced a man that can restore the earth to God's original intention.

The answer comes ringing down over the centuries. No man in heaven, or in earth, no one is able, no one is worthy, no government leader, no religious leader, no military leader. Not even the mighty angel in heaven. Last of all Satan cannot rule this world even though he has had some six thousand years to try.

The philosophy of man is and always has been the philosophy of humanism. Man believes he can get along without God. Because man believes he can do anything, he believes he doesn’t need God. Man has made himself equal with God as the devil has done. Man refuses to recognize his fallen nature. Man cannot govern the world, man cannot manage the planet. All man can do is corrupt, pollute, defile and destroy; both his world and his own soul.

Satan has been given permission and time to attempt to manage the world, to see if he can do a better job than God did prior to Adam's fall. By the time the tribulation period is over, the world will be in ashes. Satan will have proved his boast a lie and himself a failure. God will be vindicated.

Why would professing Christians try to use socialism in an attempt to build a utopic kingdom in this world when God has promised that He will establish the Kingdom of Christ in His time? They are unknowingly building the kingdom of Antichrist.

God in His wisdom allows all of this to unfold to demonstrate that only He can govern and bring blessing to man and to the earth. That man might recognize God for what He truly is and what man truly is. That is the basis for a world that brings blessing, peace and happiness to mankind.

One of the lessons we learn here is that God has a program and a purpose and He has set a time to complete it. After Christ won the victory on the cross and proved that He is qualified to redeem the earth, God delayed and allowed His purpose to work itself out.

When God’s program is complete, men and angels in heaven and on earth and men, demons and Satan in hell will know once and forever that God reigns and only God can reign. God will be glorified in Christ, through whom He has worked to establish His kingdom. “Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, earth and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

Why the delay? God has granted to all men a free will and gives to them time and opportunity to exercise that free will. He gives men time to repent and submit to God and be blessed. He also gives men time to go on in hardness of heart, if they so choose. He gives men time to fully prove themselves worthy of hell. Those who refuse to turn from rebellion against God; will prove themselves worthy of the punishment that will come to them. They will not be able to blame God, they will have only themselves to blame.

Now Christ is about to wrest control of His Kingdom from Satan, the usurper. He will, in Revelation 6 to 18, pour out His wrath upon the earth and its rebellious inhabitants. Satan will be defeated and cast into the pit. Christ will come and sit on the throne of David and rule and reign over the world in righteousness.

Why does the Lord allow the righteous to suffer at the hands of the wicked? Peter gives us the answer in 1 Peter 4: 12, 13. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But, rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” Our lives are an opportunity to please and glorify God.

The Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, was found to be the one qualified, willing, and able, to redeem the earth and rescue it from Satan the great usurper. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne” (Revelation 5:6-7). Christ takes the title deed to the earth and proceeds to retake the earth from the usurper, Satan.

Remember the three-fold Redemption Christ provides.

FIRST, as believers have now have received the redemption of our souls – (salvation). This is made available through shed blood of Christ.

SECOND, we have yet to receive the redemption of our bodies. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). At the time of the rapture we will receive a glorified body, like our Lord’s. Our flesh nature will be gone forever. What a wonderful day that will be.

THIRD, we have not yet seen the redemption of the creation. The creation was cursed by man's sin, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

The whole of creation is eagerly waiting to be redeemed. When Christ comes to the earth in power and glory the curse which came upon creation, because of man's sin, will be lifted from the earth. “Because, the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:21-22).

The whole of creation is cursed by disease, germs, hatred, and strife, war among men and in the world of nature.

The world will have its rightful owner and king ruling over it in righteousness, justice and glory. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

“And they sung a new song…” (Revelation 5:9). You may wonder how there can be singing and rejoicing in heaven with the prospect of great tribulation about to be poured upon the earth? The answer is that for 6000 years God has loved men and showed His grace and goodness to them, but men everywhere have rejected Him. They have blasphemed Him and killed by the millions those who worshipped Him. God has been longsuffering and still is; giving men opportunity to repent and receive His blessings.

There comes a time when God's mercy and grace comes to an end and He will pour out His judgment on those who reject Him. There is in verse 9, jubilation because Christ is now going to be vindicated in the judgments of the Tribulation Period, and the joy of salvation overwhelms the saints. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

 That’s the song of redemption! It was old to these saints but it is ever new in its thrilling message.

Alfred B. Smith wrote, "I have never lost the wonder of it all!" Another old hymn describes it best, "And when in scenes of glory, I sing the New, New Song: ‘Twill be the same old story that I have loved so long."

Every time God's people think of redemption's story, it falls upon our hearts just as fresh and as meaningful as the first time we heard it!

Some say they worship a god that will not bring judgment upon men for sin. They worship a god of their own imagination, a god that doesn't exist. “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1).          

Verse 9: continues, "…and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;" that's the Church; we clearly see that in verse 10, the Elders represent the Church. "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth." These words clearly speak of the church, the whole church and the church alone!

Though we now seem to be on the losing side, that is delusion. We are even now triumphing over Satan and world. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).

We as believers in Christ are overcomers, now, today, tomorrow and forever. We are triumphant over the world, the flesh and the Devil. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). That is who we are in the sight of God. Satan is a defeated foe. He doesn’t realize it yet, but the day is fast approaching when he will.

We are called to the ministry of delivering the citizens of Satan’s kingdom, into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, that they also might be overcomers. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).

Let us be occupied in delivering men and women from the eternal flames of hell, that they might join us around the throne of God in the glory of His presence forever. “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

My unsaved friend, if you are to escape the eternal fires of hell prepared for the devil and his angels you must come to Christ in repentance and faith. John 3:36 says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Saving faith involves transferring your hope of salvation from anything and everything you have or might trust in for salvation, and transferring it to Christ and Christ alone.

Revelation 3:20, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup (fellowship) with him, and he with Me.” If someone knocks on your door, how do you get him from the outside of the house to the inside of the house? You simply open the door and invite them in. If you do that to Christ, in faith, Christ will come into your heart and save you.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, and is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

Can We Wonder That Abraham Shrank from Disclosing All the Facts?
May 31st, 2019
Morning MeditationF. B. Meyer
Categories: Meditation;Inspirational;Book Study

We all have our treasures whom we fondly love. We shudder at the remotest thought of losing them. With breaking hearts we watch the color fade from the cheek of a darling child, or mark the slow progress of disease in some twin soul; but Abraham must submit to a keener test than these. Our dear ones depart in spite of all we do to keep them; but in Abraham's case there was this added anguish, that he was to inflict the blow. The last thought that Isaac would have of him would be, holding the uplifted knife; and even though the lad might be restored to him -- yet would it not be a revelation to the young heart to discover that it was possible for his father to do to him an act of violence like that?