Book 3 of Musings A Change of Ruler-ship

The world will never be a safe or decent place in which to live until all the rulers are themselves ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth represents a change of rulership. Abortion will continue. Graft will continue. Rape will continue. Wars will continue. Lying, stealing, cheating will continue. Homosexual behavior, cannibalism, and animalism will continue. Every kind of gross perversion and corruption of nature will continue. Innocent people will be murdered. Animals will be slaughtered for sport, until the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the good news that righteous government shall come to the earth. The rulers are being prepared now.

If all of the rulers on the earth today were in the moral image of the Lord Jesus Christ; if each one was living in the center of God's will; and if each one was filled with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the problems we experience today would disappear. There would be no more famine, rape, abortion, wars, lying, stealing cheating, or perversions such as homosexuality. Why not! Because the rulers would exercise righteous judgment and be supported by the power of almighty God.

Would you like to live in such a world? Would you like to have the rulers deal with all your sins until you were free from sin? Would you like this much interference in your life?

If you are not comfortable with the thought of a sin-free world, then you are still part of the problem. Even if you have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, you are still part of the problem, not of the solution.

Who, then, are part of the solution to the abominations practiced continually in the earth today?

Those who, having put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, are denying themselves, taking up their cross, and following the Lord Jesus at all times. They are gaining victory over worldliness, lust, and self-will. They are presenting their body as a living sacrifice to God.

The Lord Jesus has become their life. When He returns they will return with Him. The Lord and His victorious saints will come through the sky and attack Antichrist and the armies of the wicked. They will utterly destroy Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all who sin.

One of their first actions will be to judge the wicked in the Christian churches.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones To judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. (Jude 1:14-16)

The Lord and His warriors will go through the earth judging and removing all evil spirits, and all people who will not consent to have the evil spirits removed from them.

The soldiers of this army cannot be bribed, threatened, resisted, or turned aside by any other means. They have been tested, tested, tested during their discipleship on the earth. Satan has been permitted to sift them completely. They have loved not their lives to the point of death.

These are the Lord and His "mighty men." They shall inherit all that God makes new in Christ.

How wonderful it will be to have governments in which there is no self-seeking, no graft, no favoritism. Each ruler will govern in righteousness, bringing justice to all people. No favoritism will be shown to the rich, and the cause of the poor man will be heard.

The little children will be safe. The animals and nature will be protected. The rulers will be kindly, viewing themselves as servants of those they govern.

There is no other solution to the problems of the world. Neither education nor political reform will bring the true peace people desire. This is because no matter what beneficial program is put in place, self-seeking, dishonest people manage to benefit themselves and ruin the good that was attempted.

The world will grow much worse than it is today, although this is hard to imagine. The Glory of God will not descend on His people until God has proven to the heavens and the earth the result of obeying a will other than the will of God.

Knowing these things, understanding that the only solution to the problems of the world is the return of Jesus Christ with His saints, we must give ourselves to the Lord. The Lord Jesus will not return until there are people who have been called, chosen, and then proven faithful through every conceivable test and temptation.

If the Lord were going to set up His Kingdom on the earth by Himself, He would have done so 2000 years ago and saved humanity untold suffering.

No, the Lord Jesus is not going to convert the world by Himself. He is the Vine. The fruit of righteousness will be borne on the branches, which we are.

Israel yet shall blossom and fill the whole earth with the moral image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You and I can be part of the Kingdom that is to come. But we will have to cooperate every moment with the Holy Spirit, for the demands of the Kingdom are severe. The current foolishness in the churches will have to be removed in favor of a much stricter program of discipleship. We are babies, we American Christians, always seeking ways in which Christ can make us more comfortable. We need to grow up as soon as possible.

We have been lulled to sleep with the unscriptural doctrine of the "rapture." The catching up of the saints is not at issue at this time. What is being emphasized is the need of the believers to grow to the stature of the fullness of Christ. In fact, the only people who will be caught up are those who are living victoriously in Christ.

Why is this? It is because the Lord will catch up His warriors to meet Him in the air in preparation for the cavalry charge of the Battle of Armageddon. Obviously the silly, lukewarm believers of today are not nearly prepared to ride the white war stallions and attack the wicked of the earth, including all the spirits of Hell.

Let's you and I hasten the Day of Christ by preparing ourselves to be disciplined soldiers in the army of the Lord Jesus.

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 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, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:10-13)