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God's Kingdom of glory

Study #18

Welcome to our Family Bible Fellowship. Greetings Christian friends and fellow believers in the Third Angels message. It is our joy, our great privilege to be able to share the Word of God with you today. We invite you now, please to take your Bibles. You will need it today. And you will need some paper and a writing implement, so that you can take notes as we discuss this great Truth. In fact our subject today is, "The Kingdom Of God's Glory" The question is really, What do we understand by the Kingdom of God's Glory? As Seventh Day Adventists, we have quite a good understanding of the Kingdom of God's Glory. We are expecting Our Lord to return any time now to take his saints home to heaven. But we'd like to discuss this subject a little bit deeper today. There's much more for us to learn. In fact we're told in the Spirit Of Prophecy, that there are many, many more truths for us to learn from God's Holy Word. Listen to this statement that is found in Counsels to Sabbath School Workers pg 25. I hope that you have this book in your library. If not get it as soon as possible. We'd like to read for you just a few lines, that clearly shows that there are precious truths yet to be revealed from the Word of God. Listen to these inspired Words.

Counsels to Sabbath School Workers pg 25;

"Precious Truths that have long been in obscurity, are to be revealed in a light that will make manifest their sacred worth, for God will glorify His Word, that it may appear in a light which we have never before beheld it."

Ah isn't that beautiful? Isn't that grand? She's telling us that there are truths, gems in the Word of God, that are still yet to be discovered. And today we'd like to look at a few of those gems. Those very precious gems from the Word of God. Before we continue though, let's look at another statement. This statement was taken from the book,

Counsels to Writers and Editors. Pg 35 and also like you to look on pg 37. Listen to this very precious statement, This very wonderful statement.

"New light will ever be revealed on the Word of God, to him who is in living connection with the Son of Righteousness. Let no one come to the conclusion, that there is no more truth to be revealed. The diligent, prayerful seeker for truth will find precious rays of light yet to shine forth from the word of God. Many gems are yet scattered that are to be gathered together to become the property of the remnant people of God." Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 34. (1892.)

And in the next part now she says,

"There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error." Did you get that? A very marvelous lesson. She's telling us that as Seventh Day Adventists, we do have very good light, However there is more light to be revealed from the Word of God. Now there are still yet many precious gems to be discovered in the Word of God. And that we should not come to the conclusion that all of our expositions of Scripture are without an error. In other words what she is saying is, Yes we have fundamental doctrines which cannot be altered or changed, such as the Sabbath, The Sanctuary, The State Of The Dead, and many other fundamental truths. But there are still other doctrines and truths for us to discover, clearly rooted in the Scriptures, in Holy Writ.

Counsels to Writers and Editors pg 37 The first paragraph says.

"We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. (I would say that that is a very profound statement. We have many lessons to learn, but we have many, many lessons to unlearn. Listen to the very next statement) God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed."

Now that's very important. She is telling us that we should never come to the point, that we feel that we know it all. Brothers and sisters, today as we discuss the Kingdom Of God's Glory, we will be discovering things, that may challenge our previous thinking. Now please keep in mind that whatever is said today, whatever you will hear, whatever you will read from the Bible. Whatever you will read here in this study is founded and rooted firmly in the Word of God and in the Testimonies. Oh yes.

Let's begin with a Word of Prayer. Let's invite the Holy Spirit to be with us now as we go through this very vital topic. One that will challenge us in every way. Let us now pray and ask the Holy Spirit to be with us.

Our Great Kind Master and our God, we thank Thee so much for the privilege that we have to be servants of the Great and Living God. We thank Thee for the Blood of Jesus. We thank Thee for His Grace. We thank Thee for Your Word. We ask now that Your Holy Spirit will come to be our Teacher and our Guide to strengthen us, that we might grasp the Mysteries of Thy Truth. In Jesus Name Amen.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD'S GLORY.

This is a subject that has been discussed throughout the ages, over and over again. But please now take your Bibles and let's begin our subject by looking at Isa chapter 9 vs 6, 7. We would like to read these two passages because it sets the pace and sets the tone for what we will be talking about today. The prophet Isaiah writes,

Isa 9: 6, 7

6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7: 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.

Now these are passages that we are familiar with. Well they tells us about the birth of Jesus. They tells us how He was to come. How our Messiah, our Lord and our Savior was born and how the government was indeed to be upon His shoulder. But vs 7 also says, that He was to establish a government, a Kingdom. A Kingdom of everlasting Peace. He was to sit upon the Throne of David. He was to establish His Kingdom and it was to stand forever and ever. This is sure to happen. Now the Jews of old looked at these passages and expected the Messiah to fulfill these very words. Hence when Jesus our Lord came, they rejected Him. Because He did not establish the literal Kingdom of His Glory at that time. Oh yes He was born and thank God He was risen again and He is in heaven now to atone, to mediate in our behalf. However His Kingdom is still yet future. He has not yet established The Kingdom Of His Glory.

Now as Seventh Day Adventists, we are well aware of the fact that when Jesus comes again, He will indeed take His saints home to heaven. And be with Him a thousand years, we shall afterward descend in the Holy City to live here in a newly created earth. That is a marvelous thing and that will be a wonderful time. We look forward to that time. Oh yes we surely do, But what of the Kingdom that was promised to Israel and to Judah. What of that Kingdom?

The disciples wanted to know that very same answer. They wondered why did not Jesus establish the Kingdom literally in His day? Listen to what the book of Acts says.

This is what the record states. Just after the resurrection, just prior to the ascension. The disciples come to Him and they asked Him this question.

Acts 1:6, 7

"When they therefore had come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord will Thou at this time restore again The Kingdom to Israel."

Did you get the question? Will you at this time restore again, The Kingdom to Israel. A good question. You see they had the Kingdom once before. And now they wanted to know. Now that you have been resurrected Lord, Now that you have been glorified, Will you now give us the Kingdom? Jesus answer was simply this.

"And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the time, or the times of the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power." In other words, He did not tell them that the Kingdom was not to be established. He simply said, It is not for you to know when. Of course we know it was not to be in their day. But He did not tell them that. Perhaps it would have discouraged them. Kept them from preaching the Gospel with all of their might. But the Lord in His Wisdom kept that from them. But the Bible does tell us when The Kingdom Of God's Glory is going to be established.

Oh yes, the Bible makes that very plain. And bear in mind that it will not take away from anything that we have understood already as Seventh Day Adventist Christians. We are well aware that when Jesus comes, He takes the saints home to heaven with Him for a thousand years, then to the New Earth. That is all TRUE AND THAT IS UNCHANGED.

There is still another aspect of God's Kingdom Of Glory that we need to focus on today.

Let's turn to the Book of Daniel. Dan chapter 2. These are familiar passages to us as Seventh Day Adventists. And one that perhaps we will need to focus on a little bit more here. Now we cannot go into all the detail of this subject. Right now we can only focus on the areas of our subject, that is the Kingdom Of God's Glory. If you need more information about the subject of Dan 2, You can request our study on Dan chap 2, "The Great Image of Dan 2" And there you will have more than enough information that explains these passages in full detail. But for right now we'd like to just focus on the area that pertains to the subject at hand.

Dan 2 and we'd like to begin with vs 41. And read right down through vs 43. Then we will look at vs 44. Let's look carefully at these passages. Vs 41 says,

"41: And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42: And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43: And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Now that is up to vs 43. Now before we look at vs 44, let us look at our pictorial presentation.

(Chart enclosed) It talks about an image. The head of gold, the chest of silver, the waist of brass, the legs of iron and of course the feet, part of iron, part of clay. This is very common to us as Seventh Day Adventist. We recognize that we are living in the time of the ten toes. The ten toes represents our present world. But notice what vs 44 says. In reference to the Kingdom Of God's Glory. Vs 44 says.

44: And IN the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Now notice what the Scripture said, and IN the days of THESE KINGS. What Kings? Well the ten toes....Again let's look at our chart. There it is. In the days of these Kings. The Bible did not say before the days of these Kings. Which would be the time of Rome. It did not say After the days of these Kings which would actually be after the complete ending of this world. After Jesus comes. It did not say at the end of the days of these Kings. Which would be at the second coming of Christ. It says IN, meaning during the days of these Kings. Now that is a very important point Brothers and Sisters. The Kingdom Of God's Glory, The stone here is going to be established DURING our present world. During the ten toes. Now if you have any questions about the ten toes representing our present world, You can jot down on a piece of paper,

1 Testimonies pg 361 There you will find clear evidence of inspiration, that the ten toes represents our present world today.

But we will have to mention some other things that will bring out this very same fact. That is, The Stone and the Kingdom are the same. Now if you had our other study in Dan chapter 2, and again if you do not have it, Please request it as soon as possible, so that you can get the full detail of the Study of Dan 2. The subject on the mountain and the stone and all that is to do with the Image.

Now keep in mind that The Stone and the Kingdom are the same. How do we know this? Very simply...You may recall, perhaps you may or may not remember, if you have had this subject before. That the Stone was cut out of the mountain.

In vs 45 it says,

45: Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands...

The stone was cut out of the mountain, It doesn't come out of the sky like we see in all the pictures. The Bible says it came from the mountain. Now if we study carefully the Word of God, we find out that the mountain, or a mountain prefigures the people of God.

Dan 9:16, 20

16: O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

20: And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

Also Zech 8:3

3: Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

Here we see the Bible clearly points out that a Mountain prefigures or represents the People of God or His Church. Now the Mountain being people. Now we are talking about the events of the last days. It is obviously dealing with the Church of the last days. God's Adventist Church. Here again brethren we cannot go into full detail, but we can only touch rather lightly, but please do get our study on Dan chap 2. It will give you a full detail.

With that in mind then, The Mountain being people, the stone that was cut out of the mountain itself, would indicate that the mountain was people and that the stone would also be people. If the mountain was people, then the stone must be people. One includes another. One is a part of another. Both are the same material. Not Jesus personally, for you will remember that the stone grows and becomes a GREAT MOUNTAIN AND FILLS THE ENTIRE EARTH.

That is in verse 34, 35 Lets look at that.

34: Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35: Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

You see very plainly then, the stone grows and becomes another great mountain. Nothing more is said of the original mountain. But the stone becomes a great people. That is what a mountain means in the Bible. A great people. A holy mountain is God's People. The stone growing would show the growth of The Kingdom Of God's Glory. Jesus Himself did not grow and become a church or a great mountain. The mountain prefigures the Kingdom of God.

Did you notice something else? That the stone smites the image.

Dan 2:44 says. That the Kingdom smites the image.

44: And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Another words, the Stone and the Kingdom are the same. It represents the people of God. The Kingdom of God. Of course Christ is the King. His people are the subjects. So then this is The Kingdom Of God's Glory.

Let's go back to verse 44 says, In the days of these Kings. That means in the Last Days. In the time of the ten toes. Not before, Not after their days, but during their days. It says shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom, and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it the Kingdom, shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms and it, the Kingdom shall stand forever. That means that the stone and the Kingdom are the same. They are one and the same, People... God's people. Christ is the King....The stone represents His subjects. The people. And the stone smiting the image is the same as the Kingdom smiting the image. The preaching of the Gospel then, the nations will feel the effects of God. First His Word and then later on His judgements.

With that in mind then...we can clearly see that this prophecy is not dealing with the second coming of Christ at all. It is not really speaking of the return of our Lord. It is talking about the establishment of His Church as it is called a Kingdom. And we are going to find out more about this Kingdom in just a minute. But do bear in mind that this is not the second coming of Christ. Because Christ is not Himself in this context the stone. Christ is the stone in the Bible. He is the chief cornerstone. But in this context, the stone grows and becomes a great mountain. A great church, a great people. That is Christ through His people. The stone then shows the growth of the Kingdom. The growth of His Church, His people.

Notice that the stone is called a Kingdom before it smote the image. Read vs 44 one more time.

Did you notice that the stone smites the image, then it grows. Did you notice that the stone and the kingdom are the same? Therefore the stone is called a Kingdom before it smites the image. This could not be the second coming of Our Lord. Because according to our common teaching, Christ comes, destroys the nations and takes His saints to heaven with him. But this doesn't happen with the stone. The stone is called a Kingdom before, prior to smiting the nations. This is talking about the spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Of the Word of God. Of it's growth and it's power through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Notice that the stone grows and fills earth not heaven. When Jesus returns He takes the saints home to heaven and we the saints, occupy heaven. But here it says the stone grew and filled the earth.

Now this cannot be in the New Earth. Neither can it be heaven. The Bible says it grows and fills the earth. In the days of these kings. In our present world.

Furthermore probation is closed when Jesus returns. The church cannot grow after probation closes. People cannot come into the church after probation closes, it has to be before. Jesus is not coming in the days of these kings.

If you will remember that when Jesus comes and as He approaches the earth, the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming. But here we see that the stone is called a Kingdom before it even smites the nations. Christ comes at the end of the days of these kings.

By the time the plagues begin to fall, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our God. Christ takes back what was usurped by Satan. So you see that when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, Satan's kingdoms are no longer in his hands. It will have become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

The Kingdom of God's Glory begins in the latter days, prior to the coming of our Lord in the clouds of heaven. That is very important. Does that sound new to you? Very strange? Well it may. Just a little bit different to you. But brothers and sisters. We are not talking about taking away anything that we have understood already. :Yes it is true, when Jesus comes He is going to take His saints home to heaven just as we always preached. We will be with Him for a thousand years. We will not be on this earth during the thousand years. The wicked will be in their graves. Satan will be on this earth. Just as we have always understood according to the Bible and the testimonies. And at the end of the thousand years, we the righteous, will descend in the Holy City to the New Earth. Just as we have understood. That is a fundamental doctrine, that cannot be altered or changed.

But what we see now is that the Kingdom of God's Glory begins, is established in the days of these Kings. In the latter days.

The Kingdom is in three phases.

The first phase is in the days of these kings.

The second phase of the kingdom is in heaven.

The third phase is in the New Earth.

Now these teachings have nothing to do with the teaching of the other churches of the world. We are talking about how the Bible and the Spirit Of Prophecy supports and declares from the Word of God.

What we are seeing here is that there is one Kingdom. It begins prior to the coming of our Lord. And then it continues and extends in heaven. And then at last after the thousand years into the New Earth. But if we miss the beginning, we miss it all. If we are to make it to see our Lord coming in the clouds of Glory, if we shall be alive when these events take place, we are to be a part of God's Kingdom to begin with.

This section of the Kingdom that is coming today is premilleniel. We have always understood the millennial phase and we have always understood the post millennial phase. But now we are talking about the premilleniel phase. That precedes the coming of our Lord. According to Daniel, it is in the days of these Kings.

We have more references to read in just a moment. But first I would like to read for you a statement.

We are talking about a promise God had made to ancient Israel. I am sure there are many questions going through your mind right now. Please just bear with us. Please don't close your mind yet. Let's just continue searching the Word of God. And based on scripture, you'll see very clearly what we have just learned from Dan 2.

Listen to what the servant of the Lord says in Prophets and Kings.

Prophets and Kings pg 713, 714

"That which God purposed to do for the world through Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today. He has "let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen," even to His covenant-keeping people, who faithfully "render Him the fruits in their seasons." Never has the Lord been without true representatives on this earth who have made His interests their own. These witnesses for God are numbered among the spiritual Israel, and to them will be fulfilled all the covenant promises made by Jehovah to His ancient people."

Isn't that marvelous? All those promises of the old testament. All those promises that God made to His ancient people will be made to His Seventh Day Adventist Church. Absolutely. And this is what Daniel was talking about and many of the authors throughout the Bible. Describe this very same event. The fulfillment of God's Glory in the Church. Which is The Kingdom Of God's Glory. The beginning of it established prior to the second coming of our Lord.

We would like to turn now to Jeremiah 30 He will be showing us not only when the Kingdom is to be established, but he will show us exactly where it will be centered.

Remember what we read earlier. We have many lessons to learn, but many, many to unlearn. Let's keep that thought in mind because you know it may be a little new. We want you to please keep an open mind. In fact the Bible tells us that we must prove all things and hold fast to that which is good.

Jeremiah 30:3:

"For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it"

Now you may be saying, "Now wait a minute, are we saying that we'll be going back to Palestine?" Well the Bible did say that, that God's people would one day return back to the land that He gave to their fathers. That land is of course the promise land.

You say, "Now wait a minute, that cannot be." Well the Bible says that. Well perhaps you may say, "Well that happened in Jeremiah's day" Well it is true that in Jeremiah's day He predicted that the Jewish people would return back to Jerusalem, from Babylon. You remember they were in captivity for 70 years and after that captivity, they were allowed to return back to their homeland. That is Palestine, Canaan. And there in that land they once again established themselves as a nation. That is true. It did happen in Jeremiah's day. However this prophecy calls for all 12 tribes to return. Both Israel and Judah. All 12 tribes. In Jeremiah's day, the 10 tribes did not exist as a nation. They had been scattered well over a hundred years prior to that. In fact they were scattered in 721 BC. And God's people the Jews had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem at around 536 BC. So it shows that this is not talking about Jeremiah's time.

Let's take a look at Jer 30:24;

"The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it."

The prophecy that Jeremiah made here is not talking about is not talking about his day, but is actually talking about our time. The latter days. In the days of these kings Daniel says. In the latter days, Jeremiah says.

Thus we see very clearly that this prophecy begins with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Church of the last days. And we just read from inspiration, that all the covenant promises that were made to ancient Israel are to be fulfilled with us today. That is what the Bible says. As strange and new as it may sound, this is what the Bible says. Israel and Judah are to one day go back to the land that He gave to the fathers.

Now why would God want His people back there? Well to fulfill His promise. The promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Israel. He vowed to them that He would have a kingdom. Now you know why the disciples asked Jesus will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? They could not just shove those prophecies aside. They understood that it must be fulfilled. Because God promised it. And Jesus told them it was not for them to know the times. But in the latter days, Jeremiah proclaims it to be. God does not make a mistake. He is always right.

And you might still have another question to be asked and rightly so. The question is...

Are not these promises conditional? Because the Jews rejected Christ therefore the prophecies would not be fulfilled.

The answer is, these promises are not conditional. They are not conditional promises. Of course what God says may be conditional to us as an individual, that may be so, but collectively, God is saying prophetically, that There will be a people, There will be a Kingdom, in Palestine, prior to the coming of our Lord in the Latter days. That's what the Bible says. You see there are no conditions here brothers and sisters. None whatsoever. In fact Jer. chap. 33 says

Jer 33:25: Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;

26: Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

And vs

14: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

You see a condition means that someone must do something in order for something else to be done in response. The Bible says IT WILL HAPPEN.

The Lord speaketh and it must come to pass. Look at Jeremiah 23:5-8

5: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6: In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

7: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8: But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Vs 20: The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

This has never been fulfilled til today. The 10 tribes of Israel does not exist today.

Now you remember that anciently there was a nation of 12 tribes. And there was a division under the rule of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the kingdom was divided. The 10 tribes went to the north and the two tribes went to the south. In 721 BC the ten tribes were scattered over the then known world. Since then to this day they have not been found. But the two tribes have existed all through the New Testament Era, even up to this day. But this prophecy declares that all 12 tribes shall return back to the land that He gave to their fathers. And it declares that he will not just bring them back from Egypt but from all the countries all over the world where he scattered them. The Bible makes it plain that He will bring His people back to their own land. To Canaan. Does that sound strange or new? Well a lot of things in the Bible have been new down through time. God's Word is revealed more and more. But take a good look at this very clearly, prove it, weigh it, prove all things. And tell what doth the Scriptures say? This has never been fulfilled.

The 144,000 come from all 12 tribes. The Bible says it in Rev. chap 7. And we know that they are found in God's true Church, the Seventh Day Adventist Church. And it will be they whom God will fulfill the promise through. It will be they to whom God is here referring to. They and all those who will join the church in these last days. Again what does it say in Jer 23:20

20: The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

He has determined that He will not rest until this is fulfilled. And we shall consider it perfectly. Until it takes place in the latter days. Daniel says in the latter days. Brothers and Sisters, God's Word is deeper and wider and higher than we have ever realized before. No wonder the servant of the Lord says that we have many things to learn, but many, many lessons to unlearn. No wonder she says we have precious truths yet to be revealed from the Word of God. Things that we have never beheld, or seen or even thought of before. Maybe you have never thought of these things before, but we have much more references to look at. Bear in mind when we go through these prophecies, there are no conditions attached to them. Not conditional. Yes maybe to us as individuals, yes God's promises can be conditional. But God makes a corporal prophesy here. He says it shall be so with Israel and with Judah. And He promises that it will be so. So it's not conditional. He will bring it to pass. We either believe the Word as it reads, or how then can we have any correct interpretation if we can pick and choose to see what we think it means. If the Word of God states it, then we have to accept it. In fact in the

Great Controversy pg 599

The servant of the Lord says.

"We should accept the Word as it reads, except where symbols or figures are employed."

Now we are not dealing with symbols here.

Let's turn now to the book of

Isaiah 11:

1: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

3: And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

5: And r righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6: 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 the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7: And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

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

9: They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

10: And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

11: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12: And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

Now you are probably thinking that this is referring to the new earth. Well yes we do understand that in the New Earth everything will be peaceful. Everything will be marvelous. Pretty much as described here will be similar, But this prophecy brothers and sisters is not speaking about the New Earth.

Isa 65:9-20 Speaks about the New Earth. It tells how the wolf shall dwell with the lamb. Very similar to that of chapter 11. But here are three main reasons why this cannot be speaking about the New Earth. Isaiah 11:1 must be speaking about a time before Jesus comes.

THE FIRST REASON is simply this...It mentions in vs 10 that when this Kingdom is established when the wolf is lying down with the lamb, when the leopard is lying down with the kid, it says, vs 10, in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand FOR AN ENSIGN, (means a standard or a flag) for the people. And to it, (to the kingdom, to this ensign) shall the Gentiles seek. Brothers and Sisters, THERE WILL BE NO GENTILES OR STRANGERS OR UNBELIEVERS IN HEAVEN OR IN THE NEW EARTH. So here Isaiah cannot be speaking about the New Earth or heaven. This prophecy is talking about a time when unbelievers, Gentiles, strangers, will be flocking to the kingdom. They will be coming to join God's people. But this again cannot happen in heaven or the New Earth. Probation will already be closed by then.

Now with that in mind you can look at the next vs. That is vs 11.

Here the Lord says He is going to reach out and gather His people. Just like He did anciently, except he will not gather from Egypt alone this time, but from all the islands of the sea. And vs 12 says that He will gather them from the four corners of the earth. You can see Brothers and Sisters that Isa 11:11 must apply to a time when you can have Gentiles seeking the Kingdom. Wanting to know more about God and His people. And He is going to gather His people from all over the world. That has to be premilleniel. Don't you think? Not after, not during. But before, prior to. Now with this in mind we can surely see that it is talking about now, our time, in the days of these kings. The latter days. But you may be saying again this is conditional. Brothers and Sisters, let's focus on the fact that there are no conditions attached here. What God says He will do and unless He says otherwise, we are to accept what He says. Whatever is uttered from His mouth He will not change. No buts, no maybe's. It is very plain. It is a prophecy that will be fulfilled. The Bible says exactly what God is going to do in the days of these kings.

THE THIRD REASON why Isa 11 cannot be the New Earth.

Vs 6, the very last clause says, and a little child shall lead them. A little child....That is just a child of a few years old. Then it says in vs 8,

8: And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,(That means an infant that is still feeding upon it's mothers breast. He or she will be playing with the asp. That's a poisonous snake. And then it goes on to say) and the weaned child) Now here we have a sucking child, a weaned child and a little child. That is children, infants. In the New Earth, brothers and sisters, there will not be any sucking children, any weaned children, no children at all. Now how do we know this?

Now before we even look at the Word of God, we know this, When all the saints are taken up to heaven, we will dwell there for a thousand years. And everyone the Bible says will grow up like the calves of the stall. Mal 4:2 We will all grow up to our full stature, after feeding on the tree of life. There will be no births and no deaths. So at the end of the thousand years, everyone will have grown up to full stature. At the close of the thousand years, everyone will descend in the Holy City to the New Earth. But there are no births, and no deaths. Hence no little children.

But we can prove that more concretely from the Bible. In the book of Luke chap 20:34, 35 Jesus is speaking to the Sadducees. They are trying to trick him with a question. And they gave Him a parable. A very difficult question. But Jesus made His conclusive statement. He says, "They that shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world in the resurrection neither marry nor are given in marriage." Neither can they die anymore, for they are equal unto the angels and are the children of the resurrection. No marriage, No children. No deaths. How can there be any children then in the New Earth. By the time Jesus comes, no more children after that. Yes children will be taken up. To grow up like calves of the stall.

Great Controversy pg 644, 645

We shall all feed on the tree of life and grow up as calves of the stall.

1Sel Messages pg 172, 173

"There are men today who express their belief that there will be marriages and births in the new earth; but those who believe the Scriptures cannot accept such doctrines. The doctrine that children will be born in the new earth is not a part of the "sure word of prophecy" (2 Peter 1:19). The words of Christ are too plain to be misunderstood. They should forever settle the question of marriages and births in the new earth. Neither those who shall be raised from the dead, nor those who shall be translated without seeing death, will marry or be given in marriage. They will be as the angels of God, members of the royal family."

Therefore Isa 11:6 cannot be in the New Earth, for there will be no children in the New Earth. The prophecy is correct. It has to be prior to. Then you can have Gentiles from all these countries and there can be children. So with that in mind, we have concrete solid evidence, that Isa 11 is speaking about not heaven and New Earth, but a time before Jesus comes. The Kingdom then will be premilleniel. It will be beautiful. It will be peaceful. Now it does not mean that the entire world will be like this. It does not mean that outside the Kingdom we will not have turmoil and trouble, because at the same time, the Mark of the Beast will be urged upon all including even God's people, God's people will not accept it. They in turn will become a part of God's true people. And will join this Kingdom. What a time.

The two Kingdoms are going to clash. God's Kingdom is a representation of God's Justice, Love and Mercy. A practical demonstration of all that God intended for man to be from the beginning. And He wants to do this in the sight of the heathen. So we are not talking about the entire world being converted. No, we are talking about the place where God will establish His Kingdom. His Kingdom will be established in the promised land. And all God's faithful people will be there. That will be brought from the various countries and islands and nations will be brought to that Kingdom. But they will have to make a decision, that is those who are in the world will have to make a decision to accept the Truth or not. If they accept the Truth and resist the Mark Of The Beast, even at the possibility of losing their lives. And come to the Kingdom of God and accept the Truth, they will be saved. The two Kingdoms will clash, but God's Kingdom will win out. It says in the days of these kings, the God of Heaven will establish His Kingdom.

Let's look at another passage. Ezekiel 36:16

16: Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17: Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

18: Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

19: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

20: And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

21: But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

22: Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

23: And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

Did you get the lesson? God is saying that He had His people in their own land and they defiled it, they ignored His law His statutes, His judgements and His commandments. And the Lord scattered them throughout the world, to this day they are like that. But the Lord said that the day is going to come for His Name's sake. To glorify His Holy Name, that He is going to gather His people all back again. Why is He going to establish His Kingdom? Why is He going to do it? Not for our sakes, but for His sake. For His Holy Names sake. To glorify His Name. No conditions here. He will do this for His Glory. He said He is going to have a people who will fulfill what He originally intended for His ancient people. And we just learned that this people will be the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Brothers and Sisters. The Word of God is perhaps broader and deeper than we have ever thought before, but it is clear that God is going to glorify His Name. That is why He is going to establish His Kingdom prior to the second coming of Christ.

And there is another reason. That other reason is that He wants the heathen to see it. He wants to do this in the sight of the unconverted. And when the heathen behold this, When they see this great thing that God has done for His people to elevate His Name, then the Bible says in

Ezekiel 36:23: the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

Do you get the lesson? God wants he heathen to glorify His Name and acknowledge that He truly is God. So that they have no excuse when the plagues shall fall. This Kingdom is the last great testimony, the last great demonstration of His love of His Grace. Of His Mercy and His power. To a dying world. A world that is dying without the Savior. And He is going to do this in the latter days. Let's read on. This will be even clearer as we progress. Oh by the way, You do not have heathen in heaven or in the New Earth. This will not be done in heaven or in the New Earth. The heathen will not be there. But here God is saying that He will do this in the sight of the heathen. And there are no conditions attached here to this prophecy. Now look at vs 24-26.

24: For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

(He is going to glorify His Name by bringing His people from all over the world and bringing them again into their own land. That is what God says.)

25: Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Now this is marvelous and powerful. After we are brought back to the Kingdom. After we are brought back to the original plan. Then the Lord is saying that we will have a New Heart. That means that God is going to give us such a desire. We should have that desire now. But He is saying that in the Kingdom that we will naturally do that which is good. That which is Holy and right. A new heart that He will give us. A heart that will allow the Holy Spirit to work.

27: And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

28: And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

29: I will also save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

30: And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

31: Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

32: Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

See what the Lord is saying here? He is not doing this for our sakes, but for His Holy Names sake. Because we have trampled on His Name and He is promising that He will have a people perfectly reflecting the character of Jesus Christ. A people that will exemplify all that He intended for His Church to be. Hence when Jesus shall return, His children shall be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. How marvelous indeed. This is God's plan. This is not our plan. This is not man's plan. This is God's plan. Do you want to be a part of it. Then accept the Word of God.

33: Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.

34: And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

35: And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

Did you see that? God is going to have a Kingdom like the garden of Eden.

36: Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that, that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

When the Lord shall have accomplished all of this. When He establishes His Kingdom, the heathen are still around to see it. That has not happened. And there are no conditions attached to this. The Lord has said He will establish His Kingdom. He has said, I have spoken it and I will do it. He is emphatically declaring what is going to happen in these last days.

37: Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

38: As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Brothers and Sisters this is so clear. So plain. Ezek 36 here is emphatically declaring what is going to happen in the latter days. If these prophesies are conditional and they did not happen in the past. And they are not going to happen in the future. Why are they here? Did God just have His prophets just write about His Kingdom in so many place and so that we can just write it off. Tear it out of the Bible as it were.? No brothers and sisters. God says it, there are no conditions attached to it. We must accept it as it reads. The Kingdom Of God's Glory begins just prior to the coming of our Lord, to prepare a people to meet the Lord.

Zech 8:

1: Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,

2: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

3: Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

4: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

Did you see that there shall be old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem. And they have staffs. For great age. Walking in the streets of Jerusalem.

Now surely in heaven there will not be old men and women. Surely in the New Earth there will not be old men and women. And He did not mention the prophecy being conditional. Now look at

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

We just saw that there will be no children at all in Heaven or the New Earth.

6: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.

If you have a margin in your Bible, the word marvelous there is actually translated, hard or difficult. The Lord is saying if it be hard or difficult for us to accept, he is saying do you expect it to be hard or difficult for me? The Lord is saying, I can do anything. Hence our Faith should grasp this.

7: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

8: And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

All these prophecies are precious and very plain brothers and sisters. Oh yes it may seem hard and difficult to accept, but certainly nothing is too hard for God.

10: Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.

11: And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

Many nations will be joined unto the Lord. This is still yet future. An unconditional promise. A prophetic promise. One that will not fall away.

You may be wondering, why did not Sister White speak more about these prophecies? Why did she not talk about this Kingdom. This premillennial phase of the Kingdom? That is not really difficult to understand, when we realize that no one prophet or individual for that matter understands everything all at one time. God did not give to any one person all the light. Now we just read earlier that Sis White herself says, "That we should not come to the conclusion that all of our expositions of Scripture are without an error." And she said we should be prepared to accept more light. There are still precious things to be seen in the Word of God. She herself acknowledged the fact that she did not know everything. The key is in the Bible. In the law and the testimonies. Yes she may not have had the full blaze of light on this particular subject, but it is in the Scriptures. Are we not told that as time progresses, more and more light will be revealed to the people of God. Absolutely this is what we are told.

You may be thinking, Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world." Yes Jesus made that comment in

John 18:36

36: Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

He said If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. When He says, His kingdom is not of this world, He does not mean that He would never have a physical kingdom of glory in our day. What He is saying is that His kingdom is not after the manner of the principles of this world.

COL pg 77

"Earthly governments prevail by physical force; they maintain their dominion by war; but the founder of the new kingdom is the Prince of Peace. The Holy Spirit represents worldly kingdoms under the symbol of fierce beasts of prey; but Christ is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29.

Notice when Jesus said His Kingdom was not of this world, He was simply saying my kingdom is not of the principles, the order of the world. That's why he said, if it were, then would my servants fight. Fighting is not a principle of Christ's kingdom. He is not saying that God will not have a kingdom here while the heathen are all alive. In a sinful world, in fact He wants it that way so that He can demonstrate to all of His Justice and His mercy to all. It will be a great testimony of the Love of Christ. And of His power and His Glory. This is what He wants. We saw it in Ezek 36.

There are many questions that you may have and we recognize that the subject is perhaps new and very broad. But there is a way to get most of your questions answered. We have a cassette that you can order that is entitled, "Thy Kingdom Come" Part 2 It is questions and answers on audio. That will deal with most of the questions asked about the pre-millennial Kingdom. It deals with several questions that we are not able to deal with right here. But do order that tape. It is an audio cassette.

For now we have to leave you, but we ask that you go over the references that we have reviewed. Please read them study them. And remember that we have shown that these promises are not conditional. God is going to establish His kingdom in the days of these kings. Oh yes.

Listen to what the Bible says. "In the days of these kings" That is when He is going to establish His kingdom in our present world. While the ten toes are in existence. Not before their days, not after their days, but during their days. That is when He is going to establish His kingdom.

How about you brothers and sisters. How about you.? Is it hard for you to believe it? Go back to the Bible. We beseech you, go back to the Bible. And prayerfully study what we have gone through today. God's plan is not our ways. But the Bible is our guide. The Bible says, "Despise not prophesies" "Quench not the spirit" "Prove all things." "Hold fast to that which is good" "Let no man take your crown." Do not put your trust in tradition. Put your Trust in the Word of God. God Bless you and may He guide you always. And may He always walk with you and may you walk with Him. May you keep His Word as your guide. Do not make flesh your arm. God Bless you and keep you.