The New World of Righteousness...

Back to Sermons WOR

There is coming a new world of righteousness. Our present world was designed by the Lord to create rulers of the new world of righteousness, and to test people to see what they would do should they be placed in the new, eternal world.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (II Peter 3:10-13—NASB)

(5/1/2011). There are three worlds to be considered. The present, physical world. The invisible spirit world. The new world of righteousness that will come in the future. The new world of righteousness, the new sky and new earth, will not appear until the first sky and earth have been destroyed by burning. This will take place 1,000 years after the Lord returns from Heaven.

The present world we understand. The invisible spirit world we do not understand clearly because little is said about it in the Scriptures. You would think the Bible was filled with descriptions of mansions, harps, golden slippers, with people reclining at their ease in their mansion. In actual fact, most of what is preached today as being where Christians go when they die neither is scriptural nor true

Often images having to do with the third of the three worlds, such as the street of gold, are confused with where we will go when we die. The truth is, we will not go to the new Jerusalem until after the thousand-year Kingdom Age has taken place.

The third of the three worlds is found in the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation. Here we have the new sky, the new earth, the Tabernacle of God, which is the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem, and the River of Life with the Trees of Life. None of this is our environment until after the Day of Resurrection.

I believe it is true that so much blood will be shed in the near future the Lord Jesus is making many of us more aware of the second world. This has happened to me. The world that we will pass into after death is a very practical, familiar world filled with people waiting for the Day of Resurrection. I think the Lord wants us to realize that for most people, to die is to pass from a horrid environment into a far more peaceful and secure world.

It is important for people to understand that our present world Is not God's idea of what a world should be. He is preparing an eternal world that will be better than any "heaven" we ever imagined. The present world is temporary and shall be done away, according to the passage above.

And, You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands; they will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed. But you are the same, and your years will not come to an end. (Hebrews 1:10-12—NASB)

As we see the increasing revelation of Satan's character in our day, we wonder if worse things could happen to people. Murder, rape, torture, betrayal, cheating and so forth are on the increase. There are instances in which children have murdered their parents or their grandparents.

I suppose we are becoming used to some of the grotesque crimes that are perpetrated. How many times have we read of a sheriff saying, "In all my experience I have never seen a person mutilated in this manner."

Sometimes we may question if God knows what He is doing. Why doesn't He put a stop to these horrible crimes? Why doesn't He prevent people from harming others, including children, and even animals, in such horrible ways? Sometimes people say there cannot be a God because of what takes place on the earth.

The answer is, we are not in God's world as yet. Rather we are in a temporary environment in which the righteous rulers of the world to come are being selected, tested over and over again until their obedience to God is beyond doubt, and taught about God and His Christ.

Each of these future rulers must be taught iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father until these three virtues are an integral part of his or her character.

Because of the prevalence of humanistic thinking, the rule of Christ and His saints will have to be with the iron rod of righteousness, smashing totally all resistance to the will of God in Christ. His Kingdom shall come and His will shall be done.

This means that all the victorious saints, those who shall govern with Christ, must endure hardships, continually obeying God whether the way is pleasant or unpleasant, until the rod of iron righteousness is formed in them.

Another reason for the insanity of the present world is that angels and people might learn about Satan and the evil angels. The history of our planet is one great audiovisual lesson so that rebellion against the Father will never take place again—no, not for eternity!

Our present world was made from the invisible spirit world. The two worlds really are one world; but the spirit world, which is much, much larger, is invisible to us. Even though it is invisible, it is real and eternal. It is not formed from the properties of molecules but is substantial, whereas the world we see around is is somewhat of an illusion.

Actually we do not really see anything. Light bounces off the molecules and travels along our optic nerve. Then our brain interprets the signal on our optic nerve.

Most people are afraid of dying. The truth is, if they have been decent, and have received Christ as their lawful King when He is presented to them, they have nothing to worry about. They may have to go through a season of instruction as they are taught the ways of Heaven, but after that they will settle down to life as usual.

There are no mansions; and the street of gold is symbolic of the way of faith. The spirit world is an ordinary world. As I stated, our present world was created by forces in the real spirit world, so as you might expect, the two worlds are similar.

Our residence in the spirit world is temporary while we are waiting for the Day of Resurrection. It is the Day of Resurrection that is so totally important. In that Day our eternal destiny will be decided.

Even though our residence in the spirit world is temporary, we will have to wait a thousand years until the Day of Resurrection in order to find out our position in the Kingdom of God.

The exception to this are those who live a victorious Christian life (not those who just make a profession of belief in Christ). They will be raised from the dead when the Lord appears, and then be caught up to meet Him in the clouds. They then will descend with Him and govern the nations of the earth with the iron rod of righteousness. Our religious background is quite immaterial. What counts in the Kingdom of God is what kind of person we are, not what religious affiliation we may have had.

In the Day of Resurrection, what kind of person we are will be revealed. If we are kind, generous, peaceful, truthful, faithful, self-controlled, and are willing to obey Christ in all matters, we will be brought over to citizenship in the new world of righteousness. We will live on the new earth under a new and glorious sky.

If we are unkind, selfish, hateful, a liar, treacherous, self-seeking, we are in trouble. God will send angels and human teachers to us when we die to see if we can be taught righteous behavior. Also, we must accept the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we are willing to change so that we can bring righteousness, love, joy, and peace to the situations in which we find ourselves, then we are a candidate for life in the new world of righteousness. If, however, we persist in our selfish ways, we will have to suffer in the Land of Darkness.

If, after God has made every effort to change our behaviour, we still do not love God with our whole heart and our neighbour as ourselves, we will be removed from the society of decent, God-fearing people—perhaps for eternity! One such individual would ruin Paradise for everyone else. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."

If the individual has an admirable personality, is well spoken of by everyone, is kind and gentle toward young and old, but will not submit joyfully to the Lord Jesus Christ and obey Him sternly and diligently, that person is doomed to spend eternity in the outer darkness. The Father has made Jesus Lord of all, and that is the end of the matter. There will be no person who is his or her own god in the new world of righteousness.

The new world is the composite of the spirit and physical worlds. The best features of the spirit world are present, and the best features of the physical world are present.

As it is true that man is the structure of the Kingdom of God and woman is the heart, home, and joy of the Kingdom of God, so it is true that the physical elements are the structure of the new world, while the spirit elements are the heart, home, and joy of the new world of righteousness.

The new sky and earth will be glorious far, far beyond our ability to imagine. The new earth will be exceedingly larger than our present earth. Even at that, because people do not die, it soon will be necessary for families of people to migrate to a star of their choice. The stars will not be lighted by nuclear fusion but by the same light that governed the first three days of creation.

"Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end"!

The new sky and earth are the real, eternal world. Out present world has been fabricated so the purposes of God may be accomplished, as I suggested earlier. Our present world is an insane asylum populated to a great extent by liars, murderers, and thieves. It is not at all suitable as an environment for the offspring of God.

You can hasten the abolishing of the present disastrous environment by cooperating with the Spirit of God as He makes you one of those who can be trusted to maintain Paradise once it has been restored. There still are thrones to be filled; and many who are last in time will be first in the Kingdom.

It can be you or me. Let's go for it. He has kept the good wine until now, as He always does.

For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come. (Hebrews 13:14—ASV)

You can hear the morning and evening sermons at WOR Audio. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

Back to Sermons WOR