Kingdom of God
Our Best Hope
by
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John was a cousin of Jesus, and son of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. At birth he was dedicated to the LORD, so no razor touched his hair or beard. He proclaimed the Word of God during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was the Roman ruler of Judea, and under the rule of Caiaphas and Ananias as the chief priests in Judea. As befitting a prophet of God in Israel, John wore a robe of camel’s hair and he stayed out in the Judean wilderness, feeding on locusts and wild honey, proclaiming his message – see Luke 3: 1-3, also Matthew 3:1-4. It was about 400 years since a prophet of God was heard in the land of Judah, so it was with great excitement that the people of Israel went to hear the message of the new prophet.
Ananias and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word
of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness,
And he came into all the country about Jordan, proclaiming the baptism of submission for the remission of sins. (Luke 3:2-3, LDV.)
The Earth being next restored under divine government in pre-millennial kingdom will display a radically different order of nature, as well as a relationship between nations and people. The prophet Isaiah shows us the new earth in chapter 11 verses 6 to 9.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
will lie down with the goat; and the calf and the young lion, and the yearling
together; and a little child will lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones
shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like an ox.
An infant will play near the hole of the cobra; a
little child will put his hand on the viper’s nest.
They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as waters cover the sea. NIV
The picture we have here is a life of harmony in the animal kingdom. Predators are living in peace with their prey, trusting even their young with each other. The book of Isaiah is divine poetry, and he can be telling us, by analogy, that the violence in the world of man is now prohibited, in a double meaning in these verses. A clear reference is made to “My holy mountain”, which is Jerusalem in Israel, where the prohibition of violence applies.
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About the Book
The future of the planet Earth is not very good, according to the writings of many secular and religious authors. According to some it is a futuristic over-crowded slum with a favored upper or an elite class. Others predict a poisoned or a bombed out radioactive waste, where a few survivors are trying to live.
The religious writers tell us of the rebellion and a globe wide war in our future, after which a vengeful God returns to destroy the Earth and the mankind on it, first removing His own from the harm.
All these predictions are wrong if we consider our sacred Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. In this little volume, an interpretation of Scriptures is given that shows that the best future of our planet is still ahead; a time that is called the Kingdom of God. A golden age for the Earth and the people living on it is still ahead, through the Divine intervention. The blessings and the restoration of Earth are coming next, not the destruction.
About the Author
The author of this book is an ordinary retired person that had an opportunity to study the Bible for decades and learn the Scriptures and what they say, under a great student and faithful teacher of God’s Word who was Otis Q Sellers.
The author is not associated with any great seminaries or great churches of our age, but presently is a friend of a small Presbyterian congregation in a suburb of Chicago, where he leads a Bible Class for the last three years, and serves as needed, working on many small tasks. Author and his wife live in the area and have two grown and married children and one granddaughter.