Saturday, June 23, 2018

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God

Photo by David Marcu

We will see that the story of the Kingdom of God begins in the book of Genesis and ends in the book of Revelation.  Salvation by faith  through Jesus is a major part of the story, but not the entire story.  


Outline:
  • The Gospel of God
  • Adam Was Created to Reign Over the Earth
  • Adam was made in the image of God
  • God Chose Israel
  • The Kingdom of the World Was Given to Satan
  • Jesus Defeated Satan
  • The Kingdom of God vs the Kingdom of the World
  • Christ Will Reign With the Saints for Eternity
  • We Are Becoming the Image of Christ
Bible Themes:
  • The Kingdom of God
  • The Image of God
  • Jesus Defeats Death
  • Kingdom of God vs the Kingdom of the World

Scriptures:
  • Mark 1:13-15
  • Exodus 20:4
  • Genesis 1:27-28
  • Exodus 15: 1-2;18
  • Exodus 19:6a
  • Luke 4:5-6
  • Hebrews 2:14
  • Romans 6:8-11
  • Colossians 1:13-15
  • 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
  • Revelations 22:1-5
  • 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

  • After casting out a demon Jesus said: “if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you”
  • This was because Satan (Beelzebul) was known by the Jews to be the prince over demons
  • When Jesus displayed that He had authority over demons, He demonstrated that the Kingdom of God had arrived and overpowered the Kingdom of Satan
  • The Kingdom of Satan includes:
  1. Satan
  2. Fallen Angels
  3. Demons
  • Paul said in Colossians that Jesus rescued us from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of Jesus
  • So without Christianity we would be in the kingdom of satan
  • We looked at many biblical examples of demons causing sickness
  • Jesus and the apostles often healed by casting out demons
  • We discussed that the penalty of sin is death, and sin is what gives Satan the authority to afflict us.
  • It may be Adam’s sin or it may be our own sin
  • We looked at the biblical account of a demon possessed woman who could accurately foretell the future
  • This shows that a person who is an accurate prophet could have a demon as their source and not necessarily the Holy Spirit
  • Supernatural abilities can come from either the Kingdom of God or theKingdom of Heaven
  • In the Old Testament law, those who performed witchcraft or sorcery, psychics, and those consulting spirits were to be put to death
  • This was because seeking wisdom, knowledge or power from any supernatural source other than God is a serious offense [e.g. Lev 20:27]

The Gospel of God

Mark 1:13-15
13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel [euaggélion]."
Verse 14 speaks of the “gospel of God
  • Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God
  • He did not teach about healing, prosperity, salvation, resurrection
  • He didn’t preach much about eternal life or salvation
  • The disciples didn’t even fully understand that He would be a sacrificial saviour until after He died
  • So that was not the focus of His teachings
The Gospel of God that Jesus taught was about the Kingdom of God
the gospel (euaggélion)
the good news of the coming of the Messiah
--Strong’s Greek Concordance
the Gospel – literally, "God's good news."
The Gospel includes the entire Bible, i.e. it is not limited to how a person becomes a Christian.
--HELPS Word-Studies
Today we will see that the gospel of the Kingdom of God is a theme throughout the entire bible.

Adam Was Created to Reign Over the Earth

God’s original plan was to rule the earth through Adam.

Kingdom Means Reign

basileia: kingdom
kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, especially of God, both in the world, and in the hearts of men
The “Kingdom of God” means the “reign of God”
  • The kingdom of God signifies God’s sovereign reign over the people
  • It does not signify a geographic area or a period of time

Adam Was God's Image

Idols Were Prohibited

God explicitly told the Israelites that they weren’t allowed to make any idols or images of anything in Heaven or on earth.
Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
  • This includes animals, kings, Mary, saints, etc.
  • This is why the Israelites never made an image of God.

God Created His Image

It was also unnecessary because God created an image of Himself already...
Genesis 1:27-28
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 1:27 says: "God created man in His own image”
  • Adam was created as God’s image
  • You don’t need to create a statue of God because we were supposed to be God’s image
  • No other being was created in God's image except man
What does it mean that we are “God’s image”?

Adam Was Made to Rule

Kings in that time often claimed to be gods
  • They would erect statues of themselves in distant lands that they ruled so the people could worship their image
  • The statue represented their authority even though they weren’t present
Genesis 1:28 states: “subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
The image of God is not a description, but a status.
  • Adam was given dominion on earth
  • Adam was supposed to reign on earth and serve as God’s representatives
  • He was to be God’s administrator ruling here on earth
God’s original intent was to reign on earth through the dominion of man
Man was supposed to bring the Kingdom of God to earth through his dominion

Humans Are Unique

Humans have a unique calling and capacity to steward and oversee the world on God’s behalf.
  • Adam was commanded to “subdue the earth”
  • Other animals migrate to places that support their way of life
  • We can go somewhere and change it to support us
  • We remake the world everywhere we go
  • We create cities
  • We change in the world
  • We take the world in a direction that it wouldn’t go otherwise
  • It was our role to make decisions about what is good and bad
Example: Montreal Protocol treaty (United Nations)
  • Countries around the world in 1987 agreed to save the ozone layer
  • Over 98% of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out globally
  • More than 135 billion tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions were prevented from reaching the atmosphere between 1990 and 2010.
  • Without the treaty, the hole in the Antarctic ozone would have been 40% larger in 2013
  • It is estimated that up to 2 million cases of skin cancer worldwide may be prevented each year by 2030.
-- World Economic Forum

The Garden of Eden

  • The Garden was where Adam was supposed to rule the earth from
  • The Garden was also where God could be bodily and commune with man

The Kingdom Fell Apart When Adam Sinned

In Genesis 3 Adam chose to disobey God by eating the fruit
  • He was then kicked out of the Garden
  • Adam lost some part of his dominion
  • He was made mortal
  • He learned good from evil
  • Enmity was put between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed
  • The ground was cursed so we have to labor in order to get food
Summary:
  • The Kingdom of God means the reign of God
  • God made Adam in His own image
  • Adam was given dominion to reign over all living creatures on earth
  • God’s original plan was to have Adam and Eve rule the earth as His representatives
  • Adam lost all or part of his dominion when he sinned against God
  • Adam’s sin changed our relationship with God
  • Adam’s sin changed our relationship with the earth

God Chose Israel

God eventually initiated another plan to create an alternate kingdom through the nation of Israel.
God separated out a group of people who would become His own
  • The Israelites were intended to become God’s new representatives on earth
  • God had them create an ark so that He could dwell among them

The Kingdom of Man Captured Israel

After a series of falling away and coming back the Israelites eventually become captive to Egypt
  • At this point, Egypt was the largest earthly kingdom that ever existed
  • The Kingdom of Man had captured God’s people
  • God defeated the Egyptian Pharaoh through Moses, the 10 plagues and the Red Sea

God Freed Israel and is Declared King

  • The miracles that God performed in Egypt showed that God was more powerful than the Egyptian God
  • They showed that the Kingdom of God was more powerful than the Kingdom of Man
After God defeated Pharaoh and the earthly kingdom He is declared king in the “song of Moses
Exodus 15: 1-2;18
1Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said,
“I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
2“The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
18“The LORD shall reign forever and ever.”
  • It speaks of a time where God is reigning again
They enter into a new covenant and God speaks of His plan to have Israel as rule His kingdom

Israel Declared Co-Rulers

God states in Exodus 19:6a “and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'
After this, Israel continually rebelled and eventually gets captured by Babylon
Summary:
  • The way God chose to implement His new kingdom was to:
  1. Choose a group of people who He calls His own
  2. Defeat the evil kingdom of the world that is oppressing them
  3. Invite these people to live under His reign and rule with Him
  • Israel failed its mission

The Kingdom of the World Was Given to Satan

Who was influencing the kingdoms of the world?
Luke 4:5-6
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
  • God handed authority over all of the kingdoms of the world over to Satan
  • These were all of the kingdoms of the world
  • All the kingdoms of man
  • Does it include all of the animal kingdom?
Somehow Adam’s dominion was given to Satan by God
Satan ruled through various earthly kingdoms
Our current period is referred to as:
  • This current evil age
  • The age of sin and death
  • The kingdom of this world
So whether the worldly kingdom was: Egypt, Babylon or Rome it was influenced by Satan and against God.

Satan’s Dominion Includes Death

In addition to the worldly kingdoms, Satan has dominion over death
Hebrews 2:14
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
  • The devil was given the power of death
This is why satan is sometimes referred to as “death”
Summary:
  • Satan was given dominion over the kingdoms of the world
  • Satan was given power over death

Jesus Defeats Satan

God decided to come down as a man and do what Adam and Israel couldn’t do.

Christ Defeated Sin and Death

In order to get dominion over the earth Jesus had to defeat Satan (death)
Romans 6:8-11
8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
  • Death was “master over” Jesus because He was in a flesh body
  • Jesus conquered death
  • We also have victory over sin and death because we have been given eternal life
Jesus’ miracles were proof that Jesus conquered demons, sin and death.
  • His resurrection was the proof that He defeated “death”.

Jesus is the New Image of God

Colossians 1:13-15
13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
  • Jesus rescued us from the kingdom of The world
  • Jesus was the first image of God
  • Since the first man failed Jesus had to become the perfect human to reinstate man's dominion
  • He had to take this dominion from Satan

Jesus Represents the Kingdom of God

God’s original goal for Eden was that God and man would rule together
  • God had to come down Himself and become the perfect human
  • God would rule through man and would have fellowship with man
The Kingdom of God was represented in Jesus Himself
  • It’s the stitching together of God and man
  • The Kingdom is God and humanity reunited
  • The reign of God was fully realized in the person of Jesus
Summary:
  • Jesus defeated the ruler of the kingdom of the world
  • Jesus was the perfect image of God that Adam couldn’t be
  • Jesus defeated Satan to bring God’s kingdom to the earth

The Kingdom of the World vs The Kingdom of God

The kingdom Jesus taught was not like the kingdom of the: Egyptians, Babylonians or the Romans
The goal of the kingdoms of the world are to gain:
  • Wealth
  • Power
  • Strength
The reward of Jesus’ kingdom is:
  • Righteousness
  • Joy
  • Peace
Jesus showed a new way to be human
  • Jesus’ Kingdom rewards the servant
  • Put others above ourselves
Jesus kingdom of included:
  • Loving your neighbor
  • Loving your enemy
  • Giving your money away
Summary:
  • The kingdom of the world seeks to control behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform lives from the inside out
  • The kingdom of the world is rooted in preserving, or advancing, your own self-interests and your own will
  • The kingdom of God is centered on carrying out God’s will, even if this requires sacrificing your own interests.

Christians Are the Image of Christ

Jesus gave the kingdom reign to his disciples and makes it available to all Christians.

We Are Being Transformed Into the Image of Jesus

1 Corinthians 15:45-49
45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
  • Adam was the earthly man, Jesus is the heavenly man
  • We were born into the image of Adam
  • We were born in flesh bodies
  • We were born with a sinful nature
  • We will take on the image of Jesus
  • We are being sanctified
  • We will receive a glorified body
Summary:
  • Adam was originally made in God’s image
  • We are taking on the image of Jesus through sanctification

The Eternal Reign of Christ

The Garden of Eden will be restored.
Revelations 22:1-5
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
  • The description given is similar to that of the Garden of Eden
  • God will eventually restore His original kingdom
  • The saints will rule with Jesus forever and ever
  • God will once again reign through His son and a group of people that He has called out

Who Will We Rule?

If we’re going to rule with Jesus...who are we going to rule?
1 Corinthians 6:2-3
2Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
We will rule over all living creatures including the angels.
  • We will rule over current physical beings as well as spiritual beings
  • Some theologians theorize that we will rule over other planets and galaxies as well
Summary:
  • We will live eternity in a paradise where we will rule with Jesus
  • We will be living with God
  • We will rule over every living being: people, animals, angels and any other spiritual beings, insects, fish

Conclusion

The gospel of the Kingdom of God didn’t start when Jesus came to earth. It started when Jesus created the heavens and the earth. God’s original plan for His kingdom was to create a human in His image that could implement His rule on earth--Adam. He created a garden where He could commune with Adam. The Garden of Eden was Heaven on earth. Adam and Eve were supposed to execute their dominion over all the living creatures in God’s Kingdom. This plan fell apart when Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God.
God then chose a people, Israel, to serve as His representatives on earth. He had them create an ark in the tabernacle so that He could dwell among them. The tabernacle represented Heaven on earth. Israel continually reverted to worshipping other gods so this plan was not fully realized.
God decided to come down to earth and become the perfect man in order to re-establish His perfect Kingdom on earth. Jesus was both God and man and therefore...Jesus was Heaven on earth. Jesus brought the Kingdom of God.
Jesus spent the majority of His ministry explaining what this Kingdom was and how it should impact our lives. The gospel of the kingdom wasn’t merely accepting a king. It was also accepting the requirements that the king puts on your life.
The gospel of salvation is a subset of the Gospel of The Kingdom. We gain access to the kingdom because we believe that Jesus died for our sins. Jesus brought the reign of God to earth, but it is not yet irresistible to everyone. The kingdom will be fully realized when Christ returns. When Jesus comes back this present evil age will come to an end. Christians will reign with Jesus bringing God’s original plan to fruition.
God’s plan started with Adam in the Garden having dominion over all the earth. It will be complete when the New Jerusalem comes and we will finally have Heaven coming down to earth. God will then come and live with us. And then we live out the words: “the Kingdom of God is among us” and “thy kingdom come they will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.

Presenter: Michael Leadon


References

Dr. Dave Mathewson, New Testament, Lecture 15, Image of God -- Part 1
Dr. Dave Mathewson, New Testament Theology, Lecture 16, Image of God, Kingdom of God
Dr. Dave Mathewson, New Testament Theology, Lecture 17, Kingdom of God Part 2
The Gospel of the Kingdom
What Is The Kingdom of God? (#AskBishopBarron)
The Kingdom of God vs The Kingdom of Satan: "Kingdom Come" with B.D.K.
The Kingdom of God - Tim Mackie (The Bible Project)
5 Differences Between The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World http://reknew.org/2015/01/5-differences-between-the-kingdom-of-god-and-the-kingdom-of-the-world/
Reigning Over Whom?
30 years ago the world pledged to fix the ozone layer. And it worked

Extra

Kingdom Means Reign

“I think the most important thing I could say about the kingdom of God that would help people make sense out of all the uses is that the basic meaning of the word kingdom in the Bible is God’s reign — R-E-I-G-N — not realm or people. The kingdom creates a realm, the kingdom creates a people, but the kingdom of God is not synonymous with its realm or its people.
...
The basic meaning of the word kingdom in the Bible is God’s kingly rule — his reign, his action, his lordship, his sovereign governance.”
--John Piper

Image of God

2 Chronicles 23:17And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they broke in pieces his altars and his images [tselem], and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
Image
tselem, tseh'-lem; from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e. (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol.
Gen 9:6
“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image [tselem] of God
He made man.
likeness
dᵉmûwth, dem-ooth'; from H1819; resemblance; concretely, model, shape; adverbially, like:—fashion, like (-ness, as), manner, similitude.
Adam had authority to rule
  • Gardening
  • Growing families
  • Take the world somewhere
  • Being fruitful and creating other image bearers
Colossians 3:9-10
9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him--
  • Through sanctification we are being restored to the image of God

Israel

The world had two groups of people now. Those under God’s kingdom and those under the kingdom of the world.
  • The Kingdom of God
  • The Kingdom of the World
Isaiah 52:7
Watchmen in Jerusalem are waiting on the heel for a message. They have just suffered a huge defeat .

Jesus Restored the Kingdom

Jesus Was the New Adam

Luke 3:23;37-38
23When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,
37the son of MethuSelah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,38the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
No human was called the Son of God except Adam.
  • Because Adam was created by God directly.
  • We were created by our parents
  • Eve was created from Adam
Adam was in the Kingdom of God and Adam reigned in that Kingdom.
  • Adam was created to be the image of God and he was supposed to rule for God.

Jesus Conquered Sin

John 8:23-24
23 And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
Romans 6:23
23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 9:2-8
2And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7And he got up and went home. 8But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
  • Making the man walk showed that Jesus had authority to forgive sins
  • The healing was proof that the sins were forgiven
Jesus showed that He had the power to reverse the consequences of sin
  • Forgiveness of sins wasn’t the goal of the Kingdom but the means to establish it
John 20:21-23
21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
  • The ability to forgive sins was passed on to the disciples
  • Healing can be seen as forgiving sins and reversing the consequences of sin
This is the same phrase when God breathed into the nostrils of Adam and made him a living being. Humans have a body and a soul and a compartment to hold the Holy Spirit. When Adam sinned the Holy Spirit left him. Since then man hadn’t had the Holy Spirit residing in him. It could come upon him. It wasn’t until Jesus died on the cross until we could have the Holy Spirit within us. If the compartment isn’t filled with the Holy Spirit it is unoccupied.
Hebrews 1:3
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
5 ¶ For to which of the angels did He ever say,
"YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"?
And again,
"I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"?
6 And fnwhen He again brings the firstborn into fnthe world, He says,
"AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM."

Christians Are the Image of Christ

Hebrews 2:6-10
But one has testified somewhere, saying,
"WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM?
OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?
7 "YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS;
YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR,
AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
8 YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET."
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.
Romans 8:28-29
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren
  • The purpose that we were called for is to be conformed to the image of Jesus
  • Jesus was the first “son of God”, and we will follow
  • “His purpose” is related to the Gospel of God and us bringing the Kingdom here

Future Reign of Christ and the Saints

Ephesians 1:18-23
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Matthew 25:41
41 ¶ "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

The New Jerusalem

Matthew 25:31-34
31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Revelations 21:1-4
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
  • There will be no more sin or death
  • All will live in obedience to God

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