A Change of Goal
A Change of Goal
The Schedule of Events
Some Important Concepts
The Roles and Tasks of the Kingdom of God
A Change of Goal
A Transition
The goal of our salvation is not a change in our location. Rather, it is a change in our personality.
THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Satan rebelled against God.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. (Isaiah 14:14—NIV)
Eve and Adam rebelled against God, introducing self-will into mankind.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6—NIV)
Christ on the cross made an atonement for mankind.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:2—NIV)
Christ rose from the dead, making it possible for us to be born again of Him.
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. (Colossians 1:18—NIV)
The Holy Spirit was poured out on those who accepted the atonement.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4—NIV)
Wars have taken place throughout the centuries .
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. (Matthew 24:6—NIV)
Today, Christ is appearing to those who keep His commandments. He is showing His followers their sin and self-will, and directing them to turn away from their sin and self-will. Thus they are being presented at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10—NIV)
God will pour out His Spirit in unprecedented power, which is the latter, or spring rain.
Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. (Hosea 6:3—NIV)
Christ and His saints will preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God in every nation. These are the two witnesses.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14—NIV)
The anointing will be lifted from the two witnesses.
Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. (Revelation 11:7—NIV)
Antichrist will come into power, resulting in the Great Tribulation.
So when you see standing in the holy place "the abomination that causes desolation," spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15,16—NIV)
He will confirm a covenant with many for one "seven." In the middle of the "seven" he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple [possibly on a wing] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. (Daniel 9:27)
The Lord Jesus Christ was placed on the highest point of the Temple and challenged to leap off. This is the test of presumption. It is possible that Antichrist placed a statue of a man in the same place, claiming that now man can do anything that comes into his mind. This then would be the "abomination that causes desolation." It is the self-will of man that is the abomination that causes desolation.
Christ will appear at the "midnight hour," bringing with Him His saints from all eras of history.
For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (I Thessalonians 4:14—NIV)
A staging area will be established in the air, the area of Satan's former kingdom. Located in the staging area will be Christ, the saints, the angel army, and the white war stallions.
In which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:2—NIV)
The saints who have come with Christ will descend to the earth, and their bodies will be brought forth from the dead. Then their bodies will be changed from flesh-and-blood life to life operating by the Spirit of God.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (I Thessalonians 4:16—NIV)
The believers on the earth who have set aside their own life and are living by the Life of Christ in them will be summoned to the place where those who came with Christ, now transformed, are located. Then the believers on the earth will be transformed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. I Corinthians 15:53—NIV)
There now shall be a great time of fellowship as loved ones are reunited. They all are in transformed, resurrected bodies.
The "great time of fellowship" above is an assumption of mine, based on the fact that Christ was on the earth forty days before His ascension; and that in First Thessalonians.
Paul was writing to those Christians who were grieving because their loved ones had died. Naturally a grand time of fellowship was in order!
Both groups of resurrected saints will be brought together as one whole and then be caught up to meet Christ in the air.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (I Thessalonians 4:17—NIV)
At this time the vials of wrath will be poured out on the people on the earth.
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth. (Revelation 16:1—NIV)
After the pouring out of the bowls of wrath, Christ and His armies of saints and angels will descend---a great cavalry charge. When they arrive at the earth, they will be formed, probably in the dried-up bed of the Euphrates River. These are the "kings from the East."
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. (Revelation 16:12—NIV)
The two armies, saints and angels, will attack the armies of Antichrist. Antichrist and the False Prophet will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Satan will be bound and thrown into the Bottomless Pit.
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14—NIV)
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:2—NIV)
The two armies, with Christ at the head, will then go through the earth, making a decision about each person, and destroying the Antichrist institutions, the Antichrist civilization with its cultural artifacts. This is Joel's army.
Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste— nothing escapes them. (Joel 2:3—NIV)
Christ will establish His headquarters in Jerusalem. He will call together His saints, assigning to each of them an area of the earth to govern. The people who have been selected to live in the Kingdom of God, as Joel's army passes through, will be assigned to a territory governed by a saint.
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— (Revelation 2:26—NIV)
Since the power of evil has been destroyed by Christ working through His saints, the people who have been selected to live in the thousand-year Kingdom Age will respond to the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, Chapters Five through Seven). This is the Law that goes forth from Zion.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10—NIV)
The teaching of the nations of saved people (the Sheep) will continue for one thousand years, whether literally or symbolically.
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." (Matthew 25:34—NIV)
Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3—NIV)
Meanwhile, during the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the members of the elect, who were not chosen to return with Christ and govern with Him, but whose home always is Mount Zion in the spirit world, will be growing to maturity. They will be taught by more mature saints. This is the reason for the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
We have a little sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. (Song of Solomon 8:8,9—NIV)
At the end of the Kingdom Era, Satan will be released from the Bottomless Pit. He will go forth and gain a following consisting of those who refused to surrender to Christ their self-will.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison. (Revelation 20:7—NIV)
They shall attack the camp of the saints. Fire will come down from God and destroy them all.
They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. (Revelation 20:9—NIV)
Now all the dead of history, with the exception of those raised in the first resurrection when Christ appeared, will stand before the White Throne. The White Throne will be occupied with those who attained to the First Resurrection. Each of the dead will be sent to stand before one of the judges seated on the White Throne.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:12—NIV)
Or do you not know that the Lord's people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? (I Corinthians 6:2—NIV)
The books will be opened that describe the behavior of each individual while living on the earth. The dead will be judged from this record. It may be true that many of these people will have one last chance to state that they will obey Christ from now on and not follow their self-will. I cannot say this for certain because there is no scriptural basis for this last-minute confession of obedience. However, we must make some provision for those throughout the history of the earth who never have heard of Christ or the Bible.
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:13—NIV)
Those whose names are not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15—NIV)
Now a new sky and earth will appears. The people of the nations who have been written in the Book of Life will be directed to an area of the new earth, where rulers God has appointed will show them where they are to live and what they are to do.
Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (Revelation 21:1)
On a high mountain of the new earth will be the new Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God, the Lamb, and the members of the Royal Priesthood. These saints who compose the new Jerusalem will serve the saved people from the nations, making available to them the waters of the Spirit of God, and the Tree of Life, as they have need.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Revelation 21:10—NIV)
Thus the rebellion of Satan and his angels has been overthrown completely. God now has saints who gained victory over sin and self-will during their training period on the earth. They will be quick, for the eternity of eternities, to put down any sign of rebellion against the Father's will.
The Lamb will have His Wife. Christ will have a body, the Church, who represent Him throughout the creation of God. Christ will have brothers who share with Him the Divine inheritance. God will have sons who love and obey Him.
The Kingdom of God will expand forever. The children who are born during the eternal ages will be taught, by the members of the Royal Priesthood, to love God with all their hearts and their neighbors as themselves.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7—NIV)
SOME IMPORTANT CONCEPTS Born of God
The Bride of the Lamb
Brothers of Christ
Christ, Head and Body
The Coming of the Lord
The Continuity of the Covenants
The Day of Atonement
The Day of the Lord
The Disciple
Eagles' Wings
The End-time
Eternal Life
Faith
The Feast of Tabernacles
The Feasts of the Lord
The First Resurrection
The Firstfruits of the Bride
The Four Aspects of the Divine Decree
The Four Great Types
The Goal of Redemption
Grace and Faith Versus the Law of Moses
The Great Tribulation
Image and Union
Israel
The Judges of Men and Angels
The Judgment Seat of Christ
The Kingdom of God
The Love of Money
The Manifestation of the Sons of God
The Nations of the Saved
The New Covenant
The Overcomer
Responding to the Vision of God
The Rest of God
Restoration
The Resurrection
The Royal Priesthood
The Second Death
Shattering the Power of the Saints
Suffering and Glory
Survival and Security, Worship, and Achievement
The Temple of God
The Thousand-year Kingdom Age
The Three Stages of Redemption
The Throne of God
The Two Beginnings
Two Kinds of Righteousness
The Two Witnesses
The Wall
War
The Witness of God
Next Part Working Out Our Salvation