The Kingdom of God!

 

Chapter 148

 

 

The great Apostle Paul made a very profound statement in Rom. 8:18-23, (NIV)

 

""I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children (sons) of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children (sons) of God."

 

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies."

 

Isaiah prophesied this in Isaiah Chapter 60, (NIV),

 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

 

Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come."

 

Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. All Kedar' s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.

Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?

 

Surely the islands (The British Isles) look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has endowed you with splendor.

 

Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations, their kings led in triumphal procession. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.

 

The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet.

 

The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

 

Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

 

Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler.

 

No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.

 

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.

 

Then all your people will be righteous, and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.

 

The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest will become a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."

We eagerly await these prophecies to come to pass. Peter said in 2 Peter 3:8-14, (NIV)

 

"Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

 

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells."

 

There are a lot of things to unpack in these prophecies. As with any prophecy, you must have spiritual ears to hear the Holy Spirit teach you what He meant by speaking these things.

In Rom. 8 Paul talks about the sons of God being revealed. Sons, in this verse, includes daughters also. Remember, Adam and Eve were created as one until God took a rib out of Adams side and formed Eve.

 

The Greeks, of old, used the term of adoption which meant, when a son reach a certain age, around 13, his father would throw a banquet for him among all his business friends and tell them that now his son was of age and he would give him his signet ring and tell his business associates that his son had the authority to conduct business for him. This process was called adoption.

 

We are sons of God and Jesus is our big brother and when the time is right, we will be adopted and rule and reign with Him.

 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

 

This prophecy is on the verge of coming to pass. Darkness is covering the earth at this time and especially in our nation. We are so focused on the Second Coming of the Lord and being raptured out of here, that we have ignored the Lord's prophecy He gave to Isaiah.

 

Peter said in 2 Pet. 3:7 and verse 10, (NIV)

 

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

 

In Genesis 9:11the Lord said,

 

"And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth."

 

The Lord said in Genesis 9:12-15 (NIV)

 

This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

You may say to me, "Yes, Dave, but what about what Peter said about the earth being destroyed by fire?" Again, if you take that literally you will think that this earth will be burned up by fire.

Do you remember that John the Baptist told all of Judaea and all the region about Jordan in Matt. 3:11,

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire!

Question, "In Acts when the Holy Spirit came uppon all in the upper room as tongues of fire, were they burned up and destroyed?" NO! Why not? Deut. 4:24 says,

"For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God."

Psalm 104:4

"Who makes his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:"

Psalm 104:4, (NIV)

"He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants."

Obviously, this is not a literal fire! Heb. 4:12 says,

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Paul said in 1 Cor. 3:11-15,

 

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

If any man's work abides which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."

I could go on and on about the many scriptures that talk about the fire of the Lord. Suffice to say, the fire of God is not a destroying fire. For example, the bush that Moses saw on fire was not consumed. When you come into the presence of God, our Father, all that is within your thinking will be consumed and leave you as clear as crystal. 1 Cor. 3:11-15

I know that some of what I have said will go against what you have been taught. But I ask you to meditate on these verses and ask the Holy Spirit to explain them to you.