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A Description of the Kingdom of God, 31

A Description of the Kingdom of God, 31

And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. (Zechariah 8:5)

We know that at the end of the Kingdom Age, after a thousand years of righteous government and teaching by the saints, Satan will be able to lead the nations of the earth in one last rebellion against God and His Christ. From this we understand that the task of teaching, and the growth and development of Christ in people, must continue for a long time before the Kingdom of God has been established in them fully and permanently.

But what about the addition of new members? Jesus taught us that human marriage does not take place in the resurrection but that people are as angels. God has billions of angels that He has created apart from any process of birth taking place, as far as we know.

It seems to us personally that the Kingdom of God would be lacking in an important aspect if there were no children.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. (Isaiah 11:8)

How could a little child lead the calf and the young lion together if there were no children?

We shall have to leave the explanation of this problem for a later time. We must occupy ourselves for now with the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth and with the need for the nations of the earth to repent.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

The Old Testament Vision of the Kingdom of God

The Old Testament describes the creation of the first heaven and earth and gives us a vision of the coming Kingdom of God—particularly of the earthly aspect of the Kingdom.

The New Testament describes the establishing of the heavenly, or spiritual aspect of the Kingdom of God and gives us a vision of both the heavenly and the earthly aspects of the Kingdom of God and of their eternal union under the Lordship of Christ.

Sometimes it is held that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are two different kingdoms. It also is commonly taught that the Kingdom is for the physical Jews while the saved Gentiles go to Heaven to live in mansions. These two misunderstandings of the Kingdom of God are destructive of biblical interpretation. They separate the Old Testament from the New, and the elect Jews from the Church. They serve not only to render a satisfying interpretation of the Scriptures impossible but also to perpetuate the reign of Satan in the earth.

Satan is not concerned about Gentiles going to Heaven. Satan's fear is that Christ will govern in Jerusalem and take over the rulership of the nations of the earth.

The entire Scriptures are speaking of the one Kingdom of God, the Kingdom from Heaven. The Kingdom is coming from Heaven to rule in the earth among the nations. This is the true Kingdom of God preached by John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and the Apostles of the Lamb. This is the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus, Christ from God. Any Jew or Gentile who would enter this Kingdom must be born again. Christ must be born in him.

Psalms. The Hebrew Prophets announced the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. The Book of Isaiah, in particular, is rich in descriptions of the Kingdom of God. Also, the Book of Psalms speaks of the coming rule of God in the earth:

To be continued. A Description of the Kingdom of God 32