Bible Studies
When the Lord taught us how to pray, the first request He mentioned was for the establishment of the kingdom. He said, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come...” (Matthew 6:9). Of course, the kingdom He had in mind here is not the present spiritual one, which, as He pointed out, “is [already] within you” (Luke 17:21). The one He enjoins us to speed up in prayer is the physical, political kingdom of which the prophet said, “In the days of these kings [the political leaders of the “last days”] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom” (Daniel 2:44).
It is unfortunate, however, that despite the high premium the Lord placed on this future kingdom, present day believers are in gross ignorance – or better put, careless – about it. We have become preoccupied with the things of the present time that our kingdom awareness has been pushed to the back burner. We are falling into the very trap the Lord warned us of: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this [present] life” (Luke 21:34).
Indeed, the assurance of the kingdom was what gave our Lord greater courage and reason to endure the pain and shame of His death. The Scriptures say, “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). That’s how it should be with us, too. The assurance that we would reign with Him in His kingdom should give greatest meaning and encouragement to our determination to keep the faith. It should constantly console and encourage us in the face of the tribulations of the present time (see John 16:33). The apostle wrote, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (II Timothy 2:12). He added, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Wonderful!
In My Father’s House
We sing so much about “my Father’s house” and talk so much about “making Heaven,” but do we really understand what we say? When we talk about the hereafter, many have the idea of roaming through some breathtaking country in Heaven or sitting on great clouds in glory, singing praises and strumming harps day without end. That’s what we learnt in Christian kindergarten. But as mature men, graduates of the ‘Academy of Heaven,’ we are expected to know better. For, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (I Corinthians 13:11).
Do you know that the eternal life we talk about is actually going to be spent here on planet Earth? Yes, “this terrestrial ball” that we love so much is where we will spend all eternity with our Lord. But it would have been rebuilt and renovated – a restoration of Eden! It will, however, not be just an Eden of flora and fauna, but also of brick, steel and glass mansions and structures, of super-highways and flyovers, and other breathtaking creations. It’s a really big picture that will require more space than we have here to portray. But suffice to say that the ultimate purpose of the kingdom we are actually interested in – which according to the Revelation will last for a thousand years (see Revelation 20:4) – is the creation of this New Earth where we will spend eternity! (See Revelation 21,22.) It will be rebuilt from the rubbles of the present world after the much-talked-about Battle of Armageddon. That will be our “Father’s house” of “many mansions”! As the Psalmist said, “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psalm 37:11). The Lord echoed it (see Matthew 5:5).
This rebuilding of the earth over the thousand years of the kingdom will actually amount to a resumption of the original “Eden Project.” It will be a resumption of the big picture of the original commission given to man before the Fall. And it will be overseen, not by the “first man Adam,” but by Christ the King, the “last [or substitute] Adam”! (I Corinthians 15:45.) He was the One who paid the price of redemption and reclaimed the title deed of the kingdoms of the earth! (See Revelation 11:15.)
Digging Deep
Let’s take a closer look at the Lord’s promise of His Father’s house of many mansions. He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2,3).
Some have coupled this promise to the Apostle John’s Patmos vision of the New Jerusalem “descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2), and imagine some grand construction project going on somewhere in glory, to be lowered upon the earth at an appointed time. Talk about building castles in the air! Really, it could be said that such grandiose ideas are one reason why many Christians lightly regard the promise of the hereafter. Their innermost beings just can’ buy into such ideas. But as I said earlier, it’s time we started giving up childish thoughts.
There is actually a relationship between the mansions the Lord has gone to prepare for His saints and the New Jerusalem City that John saw coming down. They point to the same thing, the mansions speaking of the individual lots of the saints in the heavenly city. But the city that John saw, like most of the Revelation, is symbolic and represents a number of things. In addition to the eternal home of the redeemed saints, the well laid out city also represents their organisation in the kingdom and how they would operate, directly and indirectly, towards the realisation of that eternal home, the New Earth. This is evident from a careful reading of chapters 21 and 22 of the Revelation. Notice that the city is called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21:9) – that is, the body of believers.
Yes, the New Jerusalem is the genuine version – the kingdom version – of Mystery Babylon, “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth”! (Revelation 17:18.) Therefore, reading about the great Babylonian affair of the last days of the present time, as revealed in Revelation 17 and 18, will shed more light on all what the Holy City that John saw is about. It will confirm that the New Jerusalem, although headquartered in a literal city, is actually a global organisation with a worldwide mission and authority. That’s why I like to call the organised body and activities of the saints in the kingdom the New Jerusalem Mission – or better still, the Zion Mission! (See Psalm 48.) Just as John saw the city coming down from Heaven, so will all that it represents – the redeemed saints, the global millennial kingdom and the eternal New Earth – be realised as an agenda of Heaven. That’s why we can always talk about “making Heaven.” It would actually be Heaven brought down to earth, or “Heaven on earth”!
So, when the Lord said He was going to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house, it was much of a figurative statement. He was partly speaking of the intercession He presently makes for us before the Father in Heaven (see Hebrews 7:25) to ensure that we possess our individual lots in the kingdom and the eternal New Earth. Remember that He said He had “yet many things” to tell us but which were not expedient for that time (John 16:12,13). He promised, however, that the Holy Spirit would come to lead us into all truth. I believe It has been doing just that.
The eternal consequence of the kingdom – that is, the creation of the eternal New Earth – is why it is sometimes described in the Scriptures as everlasting, although the dispensation of the kingdom that we speak of would last for only a thousand years. And need I say that “New Earth” does not imply the creation of another. The newness is like that of the life of the believer in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17); it implies a redemption and makeover of the old – that is, the present Earth. As the apostle wrote, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:19-21).
Visualising the Kingdom
As we can see, the descent of the New Jerusalem that John saw is a representation of how the blessed kingdom the Lord told us to pray for will eventually be established on the earth. And just as the breathtaking city is described as being built with precious stones and materials and fortified with angelic power (see Revelation 21:9-27), so would the kingdom and the operation of the saints in it be glorious and powerful. It would be “out of this world”! It’s going to be more wonderful than anything we have ever thought of! That’s why the apostle said, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:9,10).
Think of the diverse and countless organisations and institutions we have all over the world today – in commerce and industry, arts and entertainment, science and technology, the media and public relations, education and human development, healthcare, tourism, the hospitality industry, transport, and what else have we. Take the best of these organisations and institutions, step up the sophistication and quality of service and product, make them “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” (Zechariah 14:20), add to them the control of the governments of all nations under Heaven – and imagine the whole thing being controlled by Christ and His saints! Even then, you would only be able to have an idea of what “God hath prepared for them that love him.” The reality of our reign with Christ in the kingdom will be altogether more glorious than what you are able to conceive. Yes, “For thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth (Revelations 5:9,10).
That’s why I often say that, if ever there were such things as dream jobs, they are perfected in the kinds the saints are set to possess in the kingdom! Saints of God, all these should ignite a sense of expectancy in us! Remember that these are not my ideas but the promises of the Scriptures. I am only trying to exposit. We only have to hold fast to them and we would be empowered to endure and rejoice in the midst of our present and temporary trials. Look at all these “celebrities” who are dominating and calling the shots in government and the other facets of the present world. It looks like they are having a great time. Truth is, that time is fast running out. One of these days, if you remain faithful and true to the Lord, you will take their place and they will be falling at your feet. That’s a fact, for it is written, “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, were given to the people of the saints of the most High (Daniel 7:27). Amen. The Almighty challenges you, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm 2:8). But we must agree to His game plan.
A Word of Caution
The closing statement of the preceding paragraph was prompted by the realisation that there are some professing Christians who are trying to establish the envisioned kind of global dominion of the saints in the present time. That’s what’s called “jumping the gun.” It amounts to running ahead of God, which is perhaps the greatest mistake we could make. When the people saw the potentials of our Lord in His time and were going make Him King, He fled from it as from a serpent! (See John 6:15.) It was a deadly trap. They were calling Him to do battle with the Devil on the latter’s “legal ground.” Right at the end of His former ministry, He was singing the same tune, “My kingdom is not of this [present] world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight” (John 18:36). He had an excellent awareness and was completely submitted to His Father’s game plan.
Try as we may, we will never convert or win over the present world system. Those who may seem to do so are the ones who knowingly or unknowingly have been caught in the “falling away” (II Thessalonians 2:3) or have “erred from the faith” (I Timothy 6:10). If nothing else, the Lord’s “golden promise” of the kingdom should let us know that a regeneration (including the Rapture) and His physical return are prerequisites for the establishment of the kingdom (see Matthew 19:28,29). The best we can do in the present time is to take as much of the present world – humanly and materially, as the Lord would give grace – and use them to enlarge and do service in the present spiritual kingdom of our Lord. That’s the way we are to prepare for the coming of His physical kingdom in due time. As the Parable of the Ten Pounds teaches (see Luke 19: 11-27), our diligent stewardship in the present Christian dispensation is what will ensure our possessing our individuals lots in the coming kingdom. Moreover, the extent of that diligence will also determine exactly what kind of lot we posses in the kingdom and the type of mansion we eventually occupy in “my Father’s House.”
Wakeup Call
Brothers and sisters, a thorough digestion of what has been said should cause us to rethink the premium we place on the present life. It should cause us to start thinking about why we are almost ready to knock out our heads in prayer over the things of “the life that now is” while hardly giving thought to the much more important and much more glorious one “which is to come.” Don’t get me wrong; I do not mean that we should become indifferent to the present life. I Timothy 4:8 cited above tells us that our faith has promises for the two dispensations – the here and the hereafter. And, of course, I pray just as much as any other Christian for divine favour and personal fulfilment in the present time. But it remains that we should start getting our priorities right, “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come,” “a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God”! (Hebrews 13:14; 11:10.) See the city with foundations again? It’s the same one that John saw!
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