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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
In the past we have the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of the Son of the living God, Christ Jesus. In the present, we have the intercession of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, as our Great High Priest and helper. In the future, we have the salvation by Christ the Son in His coming again to deliver the believer from coming wrath. And then we also have the kingdom of God where the Son will be ruling as King with peace on earth and good will towards men.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s elect and chosen. As Psalm 2 verse 7 teaches, ‘the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee’. And the Lord further promises His Son that He will be given the whole earth for His possession. God His Father thinks that much of Him.
I would like to consider ten features of the Son’s kingdom on earth through the lens of the prophet Isaiah. Many of these features are what the unrepentant world is striving for now. But these ten longings will only come to pass when our Lord Jesus Christ sits on the throne of His glory in Jerusalem. And it is only the righteous that will inherit this kingdom. The unrighteous will not be allowed in, for then it would not be a peaceful and just kingdom, would it?
Gone will be the military of all nations. It, with its training programmes, will be defunded. Weapons of war with their materials will be converted into tools of agriculture for the sustaining and nourishment of all peoples. Isaiah reminds us, ‘And he [the Son] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more’, Isa. 2. 4.
Because it is only those who are righteous through the gospel who inherit the kingdom, these weapons will not be necessary, unlike today where the heart of man is wicked and unrighteous.
To know Him is to know peace. But, no Him, no peace! ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder . . . Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this’, Isa. 9. 6, 7.
There will be a world religion as all humanity will believe and love the same God and His beloved Son. No more religious wars and divisions. For only the righteous, blessed by the Father, will be allowed in. The wicked will be cursed in everlasting fire, Jesus taught – therefore leaving a world of righteous ones, Matt. 25. 34, 41.
Isaiah the prophet proclaimed, ‘all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he [the Son] will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his [the Son’s] paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’, Isa. 2. 2, 3. ‘The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’, 11. 9. ‘The God of the whole earth shall he be called’, 54. 5. Zechariah adds, ‘And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one’, Zech. 14. 9.
Israel will finally be at peace. And the Jewish people will be honoured, as their Saviour and Lord, Messiah Jesus, is ruling out of Jerusalem. Israel will be the capital of the world.
‘Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise’, Isa. 60. 18. ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God [the Son] is with you’, Zech. 8. 23. ‘Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited’, 14. 11.
The world is crying out for justice – at least as they perceive it for themselves. This will be the reality of the righteous Son’s kingdom. Equity conveys a level and fair judgement for all, rather than the imbalance of prejudice and discrimination. And it will be based on God’s good and righteous standards to which the Son will be true.
‘But with righteousness shall he [the Son] judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth … And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins’, Isa. 11. 4, 5.
Because of the righteous character of the Son, crime will not pay. The wicked will not be exalted and protected but punished and removed when necessary. This will control crime and therefore bring freedom and joy to society. Isaiah states, ‘he [the Son] shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked’, 11. 4.
Creation itself will be released from sin’s curse and brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. From plant life to animal life, major changes will occur. Little children will be safe in the company of large animals and have a lion for a pet. And the animal’s diet will go from carnivorous to herbivorous. In relation to the animal kingdom, ‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them … the lion shall eat straw like the ox’, Isa. 11. 6, 7. In respect of the earth, ‘The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and shall blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing … in the wilderness shall waters break, streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water’, 35. 1, 2, 6, 7.
Blessing will not be reserved for one country or part of the world, but the whole earth.
There will be equal joy, blessings, and liberty for all. ‘The whole earth is at rest and is quiet: they break forth into singing’, 14. 7. ‘And the ransomed of the Lord [the Son] shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away’, 35. 10.
In this kingdom age, the Son of God will reveal His messianic powers which for over three years Israel saw in His earthly ministry. There some, ‘tasted … the powers of the world to come’, Heb. 6. 5. ‘And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity’, Isa. 33. 24. ‘Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing’, 35. 5, 6.
In the Son’s kingdom there will be no competition of earthly ideologies represented by various political parties. There will be no opposition to veto a good idea, which has often led to gridlock in the present age. The reason being that the righteous, loving, faithful, holy, merciful, all-wise and just Son of God, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, will administer three branches of government. Isaiah reminds us, ‘Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment’, 32. 1.
Note, the Lord will be:
‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us’, 33. 22.
What should our response be now if we want to reign with the Son of God, Jesus the Lord, in His coming kingdom? Says the psalmist, ‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him’, Ps. 2. 12.
Editor’s Note
Randal Paul Amos of Oregon City, Oregon passed away on November 3rd, 2020 at Providence Portland Medical Center not long after completing this article.
Randy was born on December 22nd, 1945 in Philippi, West Virginia and from 30 years old he gave his life to the study and teaching of God’s word throughout the US and abroad. Over the years he has lived in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Oregon. We give thanks to the Lord for our brother’s service.
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