KINGDOM GROWTH GUIDESMaturing in the gospel of the kingdom
THE KINGDOM AGE (#032) The church age is giving way to the kingdom age. A bright, new day is dawning, a day in which the believer is looking to God to rule in the fullness of life. It has always been God's desire and plan to intimately relate to mankind filling His people with His presence; and, thereby filling the earth with His life and His way. The reality of God's love and provision of wisdom and power is arising in this day to govern the earth and all life.
The church is not merely being reformed but completely transformed. In the passing church emphasis age, the church, for the most part, isolated itself within its walls. A mentality developed which separated religious life from "real" life. Believers tended to separate their "Christian life" from the rest of their lives, especially from their business lives and the governing of their nations. The ruling of business, education, government, entertainment and most of the rest of life has been left to the ungodly, secular minds of the world. For the most part, the love, infinite wisdom and ultimate spiritual power of God have been excluded from the governing of our world.
The emerging emphasis of the kingdom of God is a new season. It is a season in which the church walls and structure can no longer divide God's people from the rest of life. People are breaking out beyond the church building walls. Spiritual wisdom and power are becoming a major factor in all of life. It is a season marked by the glory and grace of God, a season of both the love, and the wrath of God, a season of freedom and judgment, a season of peace and warfare; a season of captives being set free and evil kings being dethroned; a season for hidden mysteries being revealed; and erroneous religious doctrines to be replaced with truth, a time of increased revelation and understanding of the spoken and written word of God. It is time for the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of our Lord. It is the time for the true King to begin to rule on Planet Earth. In this new season of God be prepared to be further changed.
Knowing the times and seasons
Knowing the season or time of the epic story of God and man can help us to understand and cooperate with the workings of God. Man is dependent upon God to reveal Himself. Though religion may make a valiant effort to know God, man cannot know God by his own mental effort. No amount of intellectual effort will ever lead to the knowledge and understanding of God. God must choose to reveal Himself to man. God sovereignly decides to reveal certain aspects of Himself to whomever He chooses, when He chooses. Though the Bible may be complete, truth from it will not be revealed to a man until God causes revelation within the individual.
Luke 12:56: "Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
The more truth God reveals, the more man has for which to be accountable. God, in His great mercy, allows time for man to prepare himself for the next revelation by fully responding to the previous revelation. Receiving revelation of God and treating it irresponsibly by allowing the perversions that it exposes to remain leads to destruction.
The powerful revelation of the establishment of the kingdom of God is coming forth on the earth. The revelation of God Himself dwelling within man to guide and rule the world is bringing blessing and peace to those who hear. God has allowed two millennia of mercy since Jesus and His disciples first announced the gospel of the kingdom. During most of this period of mercy, the gospel of the kingdom of God was not widely preached.
After the brilliant light of the first century faded, God's messengers had little or no light from God on the gospel of the kingdom. Therefore, during the past two millennia characterized by mercy, man has been free to receive Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, into himself. Yet he was not fully held accountable for the gospel of the kingdom. That era is ending and a new era beginning. The 21st century is the beginning of the third millennium since Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom.
It has been firmly documented from the Bible that the history of man from Adam to Jesus spans four millennia. From Jesus to the year 2000 AD is another two millennia. Therefore, the history of man according to the Bible completed six millennia in the year 2000, (give or take a few years to allow for man's errors of his calendar, etc.). The seventh millennium began as the sixth ended. We are now living in the seventh millennium. Seven is God's number of fulfillment or completion.
The first two millennia were characterized by God's natural law, the second two by the revealed law of God. The law of the mercy of God characterized the third set of two millennia. The law of the kingdom of God will characterize the seventh millennium.
The seventh millennium will see the revelation of the kingdom of God from heaven on earth. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the entire world and all the world must become responsible for the revelation of the kingdom. Rejecting the gospel of the Kingdom will cause corrective judgment from God to come upon vast numbers of people and great areas of the world's systems. Catastrophic events will become commonplace during a portion of the seventh millennium as many of the scriptures of the Book of Revelation are carried out in the earth. This is indeed the end of an era. The era of God's tolerance for rebellious, unresponsive man ends with the wrath of God becoming more evident. All natural and supernatural systems will bear the mark of the new era.
A large segment of the population of the world will destroy itself, as one group destroys another, only to be destroyed themselves by yet another group or by some natural plague or disaster. A generation of violent people has developed on the earth for the purpose of bringing judgment to vast portions of the world's population. There is now a generation of people without conscience and with an uncontrollable urge to destroy. (Joel 2) These people are a natural product of man seeking other gods and his own way and refusing God's way for many generations. The end of these people is their own destruction. The Bible speaks of these as "cursed children, natural brute beast made only for destruction, whose god is their belly, with eyes full of adultery and cannot cease from sin." (2 Peter 2)
Natural systems of the earth are now unbalanced because of man's ungodly ways of living. The imbalance is causing increased natural disasters such as violent storms, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Inordinate tides and water levels will sweep over much of the earth's landmasses. New, deadly diseases will come forth upon man. The rays of the sun will cause much damage to humans, animals, and plants alike. Again, all of this has been set into motion by the imbalance of natural systems created by man�s disobedience to the ways of God over the past two millennia.
Yet, God in his mercy has allowed the continuation of man while He is calling out a people who will allow Christ to live and rule within them. Many called out ones will be spared from these judgments and will remain to bring forth the kingdom of God from heaven on earth. They will become a part of the transformation of the planet.
God has not changed. Nothing about God has changed. He has always hated sin and would not be God if He did not judge sin. He still loves men and women and the door of redemption continues today to be open to all who will believe.
God also is pleased with His creation of this beautiful planet. It is His desire to cleanse and restore the earth as He did at the time of the Flood, and at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It has always been God's plan for His kingdom from heaven to rule the earth through mankind. His plan will be accomplished in this seventh millennium.
While the generations bent on destruction have come forth, at the same time there is a mighty army of valiant people of God growing on the earth--a generation of Godly believers who are filled with Christ. Men and women, who by love and faith are empowered to live and speak the kingdom of God on earth, are overcoming evil with good. Great displays of natural and supernatural power will emanate from them for the purpose of establishing good upon the earth.
We earthlings have no capacity to mentally ascend to heavenly things. We are totally dependent upon God to reveal heavenly things to us. Sincere men of the church have sought diligently, throughout past centuries, to define and teach the events of the end times. We have developed varied interpretations of the Scriptures that have become generally valued as truth among diverse groups of believers. The further revelation of the kingdom coming forth in the seventh millennium is forcing us to reconsider what the Scriptures really say in light of the revelation of the kingdom of God.
Prior to the further understanding of the gospel of the kingdom (such as is taught in the previous Kingdom Growth Guides), many expected the dramatic, glorious bodily return of Jesus to begin the establishment of the kingdom. While we anticipated a great moment of climax to occur at some future date that would begin the establishment of the kingdom, it was already quietly growing within us.
Luke 17:20-21: Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; "nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
The transition into the new era of the kingdom is already happening. Yet, there are multitudes that have no idea that sin is being judged and the kingdom is coming forth.
In the day that Jesus Christ walked bodily upon the earth teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, many religious people totally missed it. The great events taking place around them were seen as something other than the Son of God proclaiming the kingdom of God. It was not just the heathen who missed it; it was the established, Bible (Old Testament) preaching, religious leaders who could not see. Many people, who lived at the same time and in the same place where God's might works were proclaiming the kingdom of God, were not aware of what was really happening. It is no different now as the great events of the seventh millennium are unfolding and Christ again walks in His Body (the Body of Christ) proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.
The religious leaders of that day were so involved in the old way, which was coming to an end, that it was difficult for them to adjust to the new era of the preaching of the kingdom. This led to their violently opposing Christ Jesus and the kingdom that He preached. They put themselves into the position of becoming enemies of the God they sought to proclaim. The gospel of the kingdom is very divisive. It leaves little or no room for straddling the fence. Either a person sees it and aligns with it or they rise up and oppose it. As the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom has come forth in the new era, some very religious people have put themselves into the position of becoming at enmity with God by resisting His gospel of the kingdom.
We must change with the times of God and not attempt to adjust the times of God to us for our comfort. Change is sometimes not comfortable. Yet, it is far easier to change with the time than to oppose God.
We must face the future, forget the past, and fulfill the present.
Now, in this time, godly people are experiencing an increase of spiritual light. At the same time, ungodly people are experiencing an increase in darkness. It is popular with ungodly people to change with the times and become increasingly evil in their ways. It is necessary for godly people to change with the times and become increasingly holy in their ways.
Holiness is an exciting adventure. There is nothing more exhilarating than experiencing the powerful loving flow of Christ by the Holy Spirit through our natural human bodies. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the power of God released to change lives for good. There is no greater fulfillment for man than experiencing the kingdom of God. We must make the commitment to endure the severe conditions of change, even if it means adjusting some of our previous interpretations of Scripture. It will be well worth it.
Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail, Ron McGatlin
http://www.openheaven.com basileia@earthlink.net
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