CHAPTER TWELVE
KINGDOM OF GOD
In previous chapters you have read about God's design of a long-term plan for the history of our world, and seen it diagrammed on a sine-wave curve. You've read about the plot of the play which is being played out on this stage, a plot whereby two races do contest as a war between good and evil. You've read about three types of people: the earth people who are not spiritual, the good race which is played by the sons of Jacob, and the evil race which is played by the sons of Esau. Further, you've seen an exposé of the falsely-so-called Jews, who through fraud have usurped Jacob's birthright, and for a time, now dominate the sons of Jacob. I spent more time on the "Jews," because that fraud has been little exposed before, and it is helpful for Jacob to better understand his enemy. And you've seen some glimpse of the act called "end-times," where the battle becomes most fierce and Jacob wins the ultimate victory over Esau. It is this end-times act which is in progress right now, as we witness Esau destroying all Godly foundations of our civilization, such as marriage, education, morality, ethics, honor, nobility, integrity, honesty, work-ethic, self-responsibility, justice, and racial purity. As the liberal spokesman, called "Unabomber," wrote to the world, "our goal is the destruction of the world-wide industrial society."
Leaving that focus upon "Jews," and looking at the long-term plan, it is more important to know where we are going, so that we can knowingly participate in God's program to fulfill our destiny and purpose. Jesus makes clear many times that where we are going is - to the Kingdom of God. Very simply, that kingdom is diagrammed on the SINE-WAVE DIAGRAM, as beginning with Jesus, and after we ascend through the horizontal line and enter the period of history where God has reclaimed His world and rules supreme through Christ. Yes, that is our future; it is our destiny; it is our goal; it is a return to God's presence where we will worship the Lamb in truth and in Light. I say it is "ours," because we, God's chosen, will be there.
When I say "we will be there," this implies "reincarnation." Here is a touchy area of doctrine for present-day Christianity and therefore deserves special attention. Jesus demonstrated most dramatically one truth which has provided hope for Christians, that there is no such thing as "death" for us, but that we pass through that door to future life. It is called, "resurrection" in the Bible, but the disciples thought of it as "reincarnation." Jesus was speaking about John the Baptist and told his disciples, "if you are willing to receive it, he is (¦στιv = is) Elias." (Mat. 11:14) Compare Mat. 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13. Luke 1:17 records the angel speaking to Zacharias regarding the future birth of a son, John the Baptist, saying that John would come in the "spirit and power" of Elias. While many theologians pass this off as meaning that John would be similar to Elias, Jesus' statements indicate that John the Baptist IS Elias' actual Spirit. Jesus seems to be validating the belief in reincarnation. The concept of living multiple lifetimes was accepted by most people at the time of Christ. Jesus spoke of it, and argued with Sadducees about it, for the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection or immortality or angels or spirits. I should emphasize that reincarnation is not the same as the pagan "transmigration-of-souls," a belief that human souls might return as animals or other creatures. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the Christian leaders defined doctrines for the newly organizing Christian Church. The doctrine of Reincarnation was debated, and it was rejected by ONE VOTE. Except for one vote, Christian churches would be teaching the doctrine of reincarnation today. How's that for mixing politics with religion?
My argument regarding reincarnation is this. Since reincarnation was commonly accepted at the time, and since it was discussed by Jesus and his disciples, I think this: if reincarnation was not valid, then Jesus would have made some comment indicating that it wasn't valid. Instead, Jesus' comment about John being Elias directly supports the reincarnation doctrine. Furthermore, if reincarnation was an important doctrine for us to think about, Jesus would have given some indication that it was important, and He didn't. Therefore, I am most comfortable accepting the disciple's viewpoint of reincarnation, while not giving it undue focus. It is most important to live this present life to the maximum of one's potential, being unconcerned with any possible past or future life. This is the time to strive toward the Father; this is the time for the prodigal to return home. It is wonderful to know that we will be there in the Kingdom of God, that we will inherit it, but that is another day; today we must live this day for God.
Of course, knowledge of the Kingdom to come can be helpful to us as we consider God's design and his ultimate purpose for His chosen race. It is His children of divine-minds who will reclaim the world from evil and strive toward their divine potential as perfect "Man." And this entire process only makes sense if we see ourselves as participants along this course of history, not as mere one-time-flashes and then gone from the scene. God has promoted the progress of this process through a limited number of Elect-people. The 144,000 of the book of Revelation indicates a limited number of such "Elect." If every person were to live one life only and then go to heaven or hell, those few would be spread out over history at a rate of only a few per year. That is an awfully small number of God's Elect on the planet at any given time. If these Elect are burdened with the task of influencing civilization to promote its progress toward perfection, they are an awfully small number to achieve such a huge task. But, if all the Elect are living lifetime after lifetime, being present on earth at any given time, that may be enough leaven to affect the whole batch. One other passage to consider is that when Jesus was answering the Sadducees, He said "have you not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Mat. 22:31-32) Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive. Can we pass this off with the meaning that they are alive in some other place called "heaven," but not on earth? Is heaven at some other place than earth? While the simple Sunday School teaching is that heaven is "where we go to live with God after we die," there is no Scriptural support for that place being anywhere other than earth. We've all grown up with that Sunday School teaching, but Scripture doesn't support it. If we consider that the kingdom of God/Heaven is the kingdom on earth in the future, then the passages which speak of "heaven" or the "kingdom of God" begin to make better sense, and God=s design seems more plausible. As for me, personally, I would not make an important an issue of any teachings of reincarnation; but one thing is important in my life, and that is to live this life to the fullest in order to achieve whatever God asks of me, one day at a time. Yet, for the sake of the greater picture, we shall consider what the kingdom of God might be.
Among the New Testament writers, only Matthew uses the term "kingdom of heaven," all others use "kingdom of God." Obviously, Matthew's language preference does not indicate that heaven is anything different from the kingdom of God; it was just his personal manner of speaking. But let's look at some of the references in Matthew to get some feel for what is meant by the term.
Mat. 4:17 Jesus says, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." For that same incident, Mark records Jesus as saying in ch.1:14-15, "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." Besides this being an interesting insight into the nature of "inspiration of Scripture," all we want to note here is that Jesus indicates that the "kingdom of heaven is near."
Mat. 5:19 has Jesus saying that anyone who breaks commandments and teaches others to do so "will be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Here is information that places lawbreakers IN the kingdom of heaven, so it must not be a paradise where only God's "Elect" reside in perfect holiness.
Mat. 6:33 Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God. Of course, Jesus also tells us to search for truth. There is more to the kingdom of God than just a place we are supposed to locate.
Mat. 11:12 - Jesus speaks, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens has been the object of violence as violent people attempt to take it by force." (This translation is suggested by Ceslas Spicq, author of Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, Peabody, Mass 1994, v. 1, p. 288) Jesus makes clear in this otherwise enigmatic passage that He considers the "kingdom of heaven" to be at that present time, for he describes the violent attempt to grasp the "kingdom" in a manner consistent with that of Esau's descendants, whose instinct is to reclaim the birthright. The contest became real for Jesus at the time of His Baptism, when His fame began to reach the wicked Edomite rulers. His statement makes the idea even more mystical, a real place in the present, in keeping with His statement that heaven is within us, that it is an attitude, or perhaps a state of spiritual-being. Actually, while earth is the stage for God's Divine Pageant, "Heaven" is the play being performed by us, His children. We don't do it very well during this kingdom of World, but will do better during the coming kingdom of God.
Mat. 12:28 C Jesus says, "if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." (KJV) He is saying that by the evidence He presents, they can know that the kingdom of God has now arrived.
If you do a study of all occurrences of the words, "kingdom of God/heaven" in the New Testament, it will be difficult to imagine that "kingdom" being somewhere off in the ethers as a heavenly place we go to after death. There are too many passages which demand interpretation of it as a kingdom here on earth. Certainly, the very word "kingdom" can have earthly or spiritual connotations, but it requires cleverness beyond reason to make all occurrences apply to an ethereal kind of heaven. If one envisions the course of history as diagrammed on the SINE-WAVE DIAGRAM, it is easy to see the next few thousand years as the kingdom of God/heaven, for it is during that period that Christ reigns, and it is that kingdom which began with His first coming.
If we understand "Kingdom of God" to be on this earth, as describing a rulership that began with Jesus, then we can easily understand what He meant when talking to the chief-priests and Pharisees, when He said in Mat. 21;43, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Those priests and Pharisees were the ruling power. They were being told that they would lose their rulership. Actually, like much of Jesus' teachings, this statement refers directly to the end time transition from World to the Kingdom of God. At that time, Satan and his race of children (those Edomite priests and Pharisees, and the Edomite Jews of today) will lose their power and dominion over this planet/stage, and that dominion will be given to the race of Christ who bring forth the fruits of Godliness.
The Kingdom of God has already begun, and is working just like Jesus said: like leaven which will leaven the whole loaf eventually. Leaven seems to work very slowly at first for the organisms are few and must battle other types of organisms before they can work effectively. Their growth takes considerable time before becoming conspicuous. But after it has worked for a while and become the dominant yeast, then, as any bread-maker or wine-maker knows, its growth becomes dramatically obvious. So it is with Christ. He started the leaven working and will return when the bad yeast is defeated. We might remember Christ's esteem of wine; it is the final product of the good wine-yeast after the wild yeasts had been defeated; we call the product "spirits." So, we are the yeast and still in the first stage of fermentation when our task is to gain dominion over our enemies. When Christ returns, then the progress of the "Kingdom of God" will become exponential, probably asymptotic.
One important point needs yet to be addressed. As you have read this book, you may still have some concerns for all the people of the world of other races who worship Christ, and the question still hangs: What about them? Are they lost because they aren't "lost sheep of Israel?" No, I don=t think they are lost.
I see it this way. There are two things going on. First is the fact that Jesus did NOT come for anybody except the Israelites. Period. Since Jesus never qualified that, we mustn't presume to add to His words. The second thing which we can consider, from Scripture, is that all people who believe in the true God and worship Christ can share in the Kingdom of God, too, but in a slightly different way. The Elect are born from above; they are part of the eternal Father, and it is not really possible for them to become separated from that and "lost." In the Kingdom of God, those Elect will be "overseers," helping to maintain the glorious kingdom. But the Kingdom is populated with people of all races and languages, as we read in Revelation, Chapter seven. Verses 5-8 list the 144,000 who are sealed, twelve-thousand from each of twelve tribes of Israel. These, I consider to be God=s "Elect." But then, in the following verses we read: "9After these things, I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb'. . . . 13Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?' 14And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore, the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"
Well, there you have it. Finally we learn that everyone can Abe saved," in this way. The church has always taught that everyone can be saved, and it was partly correct. My criticism is that they were being dishonest regarding these points. (1) Jesus did not come for any except the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." His mission was NOT to save everyone. (2) All people are not created equal; God=s Elect were given special gifts that earth people do NOT have, for the purpose of "dominion." (3) The enemy of Jacob is that race of Cain, Canaan, and Esau which is headed by Satan. That race is functioning right now as the exploiter and destroyer of the race of Jacob. Sadly, the church teaches its children that those evil people, "Jews," are God=s chosen children! The church throws its own children to the beast! And (4) the white race of Europe and America contains the "lost sheep" of the House of Israel. The historical records are abundant, but the church scholars ignore them, and hold to a lie.
Certainly, every white-race person cannot claim to be one of those Elect of Israel. The number of true Elect is very small. The white race consists of the descendants from Sem, Japhet, Ham, and all those brothers in each generation who had countless descendants. Of these countless multitudes, many have sold their souls to the evil one for the rewards of worldly success and Satan's material blessings. Many have mingled with other races, against God's commands. Many also are mere pretenders at being religious; they go to church but their hearts are not devoted to the spiritual quest, nor do their fruits indicate spiritual values. In the end, there are countless multitudes of "whites" who will not enter that great banquet of the Kingdom of God because they just aren't "dressed" properly (spiritually) for it.
But, it should be taught to our children that the white race is the Adamic race, that we were born for special purpose and given special talents. Therefore, it is our responsibility to devote ourselves to the perfecting of our talents and to the achievement of our divine potential. With our special minds, we have a special obligation to use them for God's purpose, to oppose evil, to define a healthy value-set, to govern according to God's will, which He outlined for Moses, to represent our Father in this world as Godly people, and to worship our Father in Spirit and in Truth. This does not justify cruelty toward any earth races at all. Those earth races are no more evil than the animals of nature, and they can serve the Kingdom well if they are governed well. It must not be forgotten that there is great reward for anyone who recognizes the true God and worships the Lamb who will rule the Kingdom of God. It is also the obligation of this white race, especially the descendants of Israel in Europe and America, to point honestly at God's enemies, to expose them for what they are just as Jesus tried to expose them, to separate ourselves from them and stop letting them rob us of all our substance, and especially stop permitting their agenda of racial mixing as they attempt to destroy us by that method. It is our responsibility to get honest about these truths, which have now been made politically incorrect and even illegal. Yes, God's truth is now illegal and we could be prosecuted for stating such things!
Also, it is my opinion that I cannot know for certain whether I (or any other) am one of the few "Elect," but knowing the overall plan of God, I can be confident that I shall at least be present among those multitudes before the throne "crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'" That "salvation" is God's gift to all who believe His truth. That is enough to motivate me to seek after Him, that I may find Him, for in me He lives and moves and has His being! How wonderful is our God!
So, in the final analysis, the evangelical church has been a blessing to all the peoples of the world, even though the message wasn't quite correct. They might have slighted the true children of Israel out of ignorance, but they have carried a great gift to all the earth-people of the whole world. As God told Abraam, "in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3) Now, we may pray more knowingly those words, "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The Kingdom of God has begun with Christ, and we are part of it. All thanks and praise be unto our God and Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, whom He sent!
Briefly, it might be worth mention that the "kingdom of God" is a New Testament concept. The Old Testament only uses the term a couple times, and not in the context of an ultimate world-kingdom under our God. Prior to Christ, the common view of after-life was merely referred to as "Hades," meaning the place where one goes after this life. They didn't look toward any such thing as "heaven" or "hell." So, the idea of a "kingdom of God" for this future world is one more idea introduced by Jesus (in many parables) along with the good news of the New Covenant and that of direct access to a personal God we can call "Father." No longer are we sinners in the hands of an angry God, but are the forgiven in the hands of a loving father. So it is in the kingdom of God.
Long after writing the above chapter, I want to add another thought regarding the Kingdom of God. It is very uncomfortable to confront the racial nature of God's sElection of "chosen" children. It=s even more difficult to attempt to explain this to people of other races who try very hard to be good Christians! I=ve struggled with this. I guess I would say it this way. In the Old Testament, God set up a "Kingdom of God," forming it at Mt. Sinai, and administering it through Judges who represented God. Not all people were Judges; the vast majority went about their daily business and life without the responsibility of those servants called "Judges." It looks to me that the "Elect" children whom God has been sElecting with each generation since Adam, will be responsible for the same function as Judges in the new Kingdom of God. So, through the past centuries, these certain ones are cultured and nurtured and disciplined and trained and driven by different compulsions than the vast majority. They are held to a higher standard. Ultimately, this may be the pragmatic distinction between God=s "Elect" and all others. Certainly, we cannot say only the "Elect" will be saved and all others condemned. It's just a simple fact that not everyone will hold the servant job of being Judges.
And for each of us, as we live our daily lives, and go about the tasks of representing our God, the word "heaven" can have some real meaning. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is within us. I think He meant that it is a state of mind, an attitude, by which we can experience this life as heavenly or as hellish. So, we might look at other teachings of Jesus to learn how to make our lives heavenly. In general, Jesus directed us to reject this world of material things and leave it all behind in order to follow Him. Perhaps that path will lead us to our own crucifixions! Well, such anguish would not be accepted by most of us as heavenly! Yet, as a general state of mind, if we know who we are as members of His body, and value the destiny for which God is preparing us, then can we not appreciate every experience of daily life as part of God's preparation? Shall we not love and appreciate every single event and moment of daily life because we know this is the path of God's design, even if it leads us to some kind of cross? Shall we not rejoice at every experience, even every tribulation, because we know it is designed to strengthen us for our destiny to come. I see this general teaching of Jesus as perhaps the most important lesson of all, to be content and happy with whatever we have and with whatever experiences we meet each day. Whenever we yearn for some material item, thinking it will make us more happy, then we are setting ourselves up for an unpleasant lesson. If we get attached to an idea that our lives will be happier and more fulfilled if we can have that better car or house or other item, then we are not following Jesus, nor is our discontentment a happiness. To be content and happy with what one has is a heavenly feeling, and it eliminates all stress from oneself. If all of God's children could achieve such a contentment, then we would not be tempted into the Edomites' traps which offer us the next "good deal." We wouldn't have indebtedness, nor would we feel compelled to run the rat-race of this worldly life. In such a way, we would find the kingdom of heaven is truly within us, and our lights would reveal to the whole world that we are expressions of our Almighty Father.
Click <HOME> to go to the index page.