Q. You say that anyone who put his hand to the plough and then looks back is unfit for the Kingdom of God. What about all those who never understood anything about the Kingdom of God? Are they condemned?

A. Firstly I’m quoting from what the Lord Christ said: Luke 9:62 "Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God." And this is true! God alone makes the rules and states the rules. Half-hearted people will have no place in the Kingdom of God. Everything that has been done and said in the Bible during the course of human existence has one objective: The establishment of the Kingdom of God. As was the practice of the Lord Christ, He was pointing us to another verse in the only Scriptures that existed at that time. It’s found in Pro 20:4 "A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing." If you don’t plow to prepare the earth for a harvest, how can there be a crop? The ground must be plowed and the seed sown or there will be no harvest.

The whole object of the Kingdom of God is to replace this present world’s systems which are unsuitable for peaceful and prosperous living. Every human system devised has been unfair or unproductive for all except for the ruling class. Democracy is certainly the fairest human-based political system, but even this has some glaring deficiencies. It empowers those who are evil to enforce their views on others, and through the ‘right’ of free speech enables them to say absolutely outrageous things that lead to chaos and destruction. People may not like it, but God makes the rules and whether they are obeyed or not, the penalty for disobedience remains. God even labels them ‘the children of disobedience’ – namely Israel! Only the House of Israel was offered the chance to serve God in obedience and to reap the rewards of obedience. The rest of the world was given no consideration at all because they were never chosen by God. The 12 Tribes of Israel remain God’s only chosen people of all the families of the earth (Amos 3:1-2). But they continue to be an obstinate people who think they know best. Rom 10:21 "But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." This of course, is speaking of the Americans and Europeans rather than the Israelis. Jesus specifically stated that He had come only to the ‘lost sheep of Israel’, not the Jews who were at home in the Holy Land given them by God anciently. Every Bible student knows that the northern ten tribes of Israel went into captivity and didn’t return. They built their own nations far away and never had any desire to return.

The Apostle Paul made it clear that God never rejected His people Israel, but Christianity continues to believe that He did. Rom 11:1-8 "I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom He foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah – how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me? ⁴ And what was God’s answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. ⁵ So too, at the present time there is A REMNANT CHOSEN BY GRACE. ⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. ⁷ What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, ⁸ as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." God granted a remnant the Spirit of Grace (the Holy Spirit) to see and understand. This of course is real grace because the Holy Spirit imparts life everlasting as long as it isn’t quenched. So the total number reserved at this present time is seven thousand – not the millions of professing Christians who refuse God’s grace by continuing in disobedience. It’s very clear that the only saving grace of these seven thousand is the Holy Spirit that God has given them.

Since God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who obey Him, it’s very clear that ‘grace’ means something more than mere obedience. There are many people who obey God’s Law (for instance the Jews and the Churches of God) but fall short of the category of God’s Grace. And why would this be? The reason is they’ve chosen their own agendas and have refused to believe God. Consequently, they’ve divested of understanding in favour of their own doctrines. As such, what possible value could they be to God in the most dangerous time of all human history? There are even some today that continue to prop up failed prophecies of yesteryear hoping to hold their congregations together with outright lies. As the Apostle Peter said, "Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2Peter 1:21). Peter also said this: V20 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation." And all that we ever hear from the false prophets is not prophecy of Scripture but their own interpretations generated from their own minds. What is always so amusing is that they always prefaced their ‘prophecies’ with the preemption that the Bible interprets itself, and then proceed to put their own interpretations on the prophecies of Scripture. And did the Churches of God ever get it wrong! Their wild interpretations literally destroyed the Church and brought about a great falling away. So great was the falling-away that only a remnant remains – a true remnant of just seven thousand who will fulfill God’s will in the coming holocaust. This scattered remnant comprises those who have separated from the former purveyors of lies and distortions and live separate lives in quiet obedience to God. These are the ones who never became offended at God because of the lying distortions of men. So it’s this remnant that will shine forever as living examples of the glory of God – in the same manner as the Lord Christ.

The Apostle Paul continues this thought concerning the ‘lost ten Tribes of Israel’ who are notorious for giving bad advice to the Israelis and have plunged them into a hopeless task of trying to make peace with God’s enemies. Paul quotes from Scripture when he says this: Rom 11:7-8 "What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so they could not hear, to this very day". He goes on to quote another prophet in the same context in the next verse. It concerns something that the Prophet David said: Rom 11:9-10 "And David says: "May their [negotiating] table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. ¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever [in slavery]." And I can tell you this that every time the House of Israel chooses to negotiate with God’s enemies they end up in real trouble. Bringing peace and prosperity to God’s enemies is a recipe for disaster, and presently, America is finding this out the hard way. The kindness and generosity of the American administration is misguided and they have yet to learn that the only language these satanic creatures understand is overwhelming force! You only need to read a bit of the history of Islam to understand this!

Paul quoted the Prophet David from the Psalms, but David added more to it! Paul identified these comments as referring to the House of Israel – specifically the ‘lost Ten Tribes’. This is what David had to say: Ps 69:24 "Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. ²⁵ May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. ²⁶ For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. ²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. ²⁸ May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not be listed with the righteous." You’ll recall that Jesus said that salvation is of the Jews. Yet He has wounded the Jewish people many times, most particularly in the Holocaust, but this has served to toughen them for the greater goal of saving the rest of the Tribes of Israel. He also said that He had come only to the ‘lost sheep of Israel’ – the ‘lost Ten Tribes’, which supports Paul’s statement that God has not rejected the House of Israel as some like to believe.

An interesting aside to this is that Peter quoted from Ps 69:25 for justifying replacing Judas Iscariot as the 12^th Apostle in favour of Matthias (see Acts 1:20). Paul says this verse refers to the ‘lost Tribes of Israel’ – which it does, while Peter likens it to the conduct of Judas. Both are right! God views the conduct of the ‘lost Ten Tribes’ in the same manner as He does the conduct of Judas. When David said ‘charge them with crime upon crime’, I can tell you this: The charge sheet grows longer every day!

The vast majority of Christianity live as they please with no thought of obedience to God’s Law, and in fact, like to believe that it is abolished and no longer relevant. So God is not about to establish a kingdom based on lawlessness! In God’s Kingdom, God’s Law will be strictly enforced and carry severe penalties against the lawless. One of our earliest articles at our website gives much more detail on need for God’s Law – click here.

In the past, worshippers adopted a style of worship that made them feel good, and preachers filled their minds with good outcomes as if ‘quality of life’ was the most important issue. Didn’t Jesus speak these very words: Matt 6:33 "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Nevertheless, the preachers don’t speak of His Kingdom nor His righteousness (which is obedience to God’s Law), but they love to focus on lifestyle issues and try to solve the problems of day-to-day living for their congregations. With snippets of so-called human wisdom they leave the congregation feeling good and convinced that God will accept them just as they are. They fail to understand that no-one has any standing with God if they refuse to obey Him!

The point is that God is preparing seven thousand people to service. These seven thousand have a duty towards God to set an example to the rest of the ‘lost’ Tribes. These people are the remnant of the Church that Christ built. Their arrival in the Kingdom of God will be by a tortuous route, and it will require great faith in God. This remnant of the Church must demonstrate their faith and obedience to God by following their Saviour, and they must go as sheep to the slaughter in the holocaust that will overtake them. They are not permitted to fight back for their own preservation, just as Jesus didn’t fight back at the time of His arrest and death. They must follow Jesus in obedience. Once their obedience is complete, then they will fight and crush the nations with a rod of iron: Rev 2:26-27 "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; He will dash them to pieces like pottery’ – just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give him the morning star. ²⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches." So these are the ones who will overcome and do God’s will to the very end – the end of their lives! But after their obedience is complete, they will join the Mighty Christ in demolishing the nations.

The Apostle Paul clearly outlined these things and prepared the Church for a holocaust that was soon to engulf them. And we all know about the slaughter of Christians in the arena as a spectacle of the pagan masses in days of long ago. Not only did these faithful Christians surrender willingly to face all these torments, some of them actually refused to be released so that they may gain a better resurrection (Heb 11:35). As Paul points out, these Christians must complete their service to God: 2Cor 10:1-6 "By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you – I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away! ² I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. ³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, ONCE YOUR OBEDIENCE IS COMPLETE."

There are some who believe that Jesus did it all for them and that there is no requirement to follow Jesus’ example. It’s funny they should suggest such a thing when Jesus specific instruction to Peter was to follow Himself, and He was speaking of the manner in which Peter was to die. John 21:19 "Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, ‘Follow me!"" So it’s obvious that when the Lord Christ says ‘Follow me!" – He means to go as a lamb to the slaughter to glorify God!

If Jesus ‘did it all’ for anyone, then you would have to conclude that He ‘did it all’ for the Apostles, and particularly Peter who was given charge over the entire ‘flock of God’s sheep’ (John 21:17). Peter proved to be remarkably astute in the application of God’s Law in a wide range of decisions. As for whether Jesus died in his stead, Peter is now dead and he died in the same manner as Jesus. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Peter was crucified along the Appian Way after enduring a long imprisonment under tortuous conditions.

Was Jesus aware of Peter’s predicament and his suffering? Of course He was! Perhaps Peter even tested his cell door from time to time to see if it would swing open as it had in his earlier life when an angel appeared to him (Acts 12:7-10). But no, Peter had to complete his obedience, and as Jesus pointed out, his death would be the same as His. Jesus knew Peter to be a man of great courage and a man who would complete his appointed task in the manner predicted. And he certainly did!

God never expected that every member of the Churches of God would complete their obedience in this life. Circumstances didn’t permit them to be tested in a holocaust. But if they died with God’s Holy Spirit – and God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who obey Him – then there will be a resurrection and a judgment for them. Hopefully, the judgment will be favourable for them. But we should bear in mind that those who qualify to judge will be those who completed their obedience through death in a holocaust: Rev 20:4 "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their Testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." And who better to judge the motives of others and to test their willingness to complete their obedience? Those who died in faith and in complete obedience to God will certainly be given authority to judge.

So this raises many questions about who is qualified to teach. All those ministers, who are presently teaching that ‘Jesus did it all for everyone’, have virtually condemned themselves. Jesus set the example to follow and you must follow Him if you are to inherit God’s Kingdom. God is not interested in mindless platitudes or lip-service – He demands faithful obedience even to giving up one’s life. Each and every one of God’s sons and daughters must be tested and prove their obedience. No one has the authority to ignore the Testimony of Jesus (which is Spirit of Prophecy – Rev 19:10) or to selectively choose from the Word of God what they will believe. You either believe God or you don’t, and you either follow Christ or you refuse. And the time of testing is soon to begin.

Years ago Zion Ministry began to warn of impending disaster by these satanic hordes and their Satan-driven motivation. We made it clear from the Scriptures that they would sweep around the world and bring disaster wherever their feet alighted. See our article here. We said plainly that it wasn’t just a few terrorists but all of Islam. For years we have had to endure the contradiction of other uninformed lunatics who have never believed God. They howled and raged against us believing they were already ‘saved’. But their fantasy world is soon to be shattered and they’ll be ill-equipped to stand against the invaders in a Godly manner. All their hymn-singing hypocrisy is about to be tested to the max.

One of the great unexplained mysteries of professing Christianity is how they have compiled a doctrine that suits them, while totally ignoring the final Book of the Bible that the Lord Christ delivered to John on the Isle of Patmos. And incidentally, this Book of Revelation was written by God the Father and handed to Jesus for delivery (Rev 1:1). Where then, does this most intensive Book factor into the teachings of mainstream Christianity? It’s largely ignored except to point the finger at others who are not considered to be ‘saved’.

Notwithstanding, the whole Book of Revelation is directed to the Churches of God: Rev 22:14-16 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ¹⁶ "I, Jesus, have sent my angel TO GIVE YOU THIS TESTIMONY FOR THE CHURCHES. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." This TESTIMONY of Jesus is a book of prophecy. And as long-term readers of this website know: Rev 19:10 "At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the Testimony of Jesus. Worship God! FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS IS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY." To the chagrine of all those who believe the Testimony of Jesus is about lifestyle issues or frivolity as so many like to teach, in reality the Testimony of Jesus is all about prophecy and its culmination in the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

God doesn’t appreciate those who take liberties of Him, and considers them unfit for the Kingdom of God. So who is the fit man who finds favour with God? Fit men and women are those who take the Testimony of Jesus seriously, and hold to it, knowing that everything God has prophesied will come true exactly as He has said it. Fit men consider the nations of this earth to be grass fit only to be burned. The prophet Isaiah spoke of this: Isa 24:3-6 "The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. ⁴ The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. ⁵ The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the Laws, violated the Statutes and broken the Everlasting Covenant. ⁶ Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are BURNED UP, and very few [men] are left."

The wise saw it all coming because they believed God. The rest of the Tribes of Israel, and lamentably the Churches of God, didn’t notice until it was upon them. Now the Tribes of Israel must suffer their guilt along with the rest of the world. God however, foresaw it all and warned of its approach and has even made provision to burn the instigators of this outrage. It should come as no surprise to anyone in the present political climate that God is specifically referring to Islam and all who are beguiled by their drunken delusions. God has this to say: Mal 4:1-4 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be STUBBLE, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "NOT A ROOT OR A BRANCH WILL BE LEFT TO THEM. ² But for you who revere my Name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. ³ Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty. ⁴ "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. ⁵ See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

John the Baptist came as Elijah to prepare the way for the Lord Christ at His first appearance. And what was the message that John brought? Isaiah records this prophesied message in Isa 40:3-5, then in V6 this Elijah asks a question – "What shall I cry?" And this answer is given: Isa 40:6 "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. ⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. ⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever. ⁹ You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God! ¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and His arm rules for Him. See, HIS REWARD IS WITH HIM, and His recompense accompanies Him."

Yes, the Word of our God stands forever, and when the Mighty Christ returns, His reward will be with Him just as the Book of Revelation states (Rev 22:12). You may have overlooked the phrase "and His arm rules for Him". His arm carries a two-edged sword that cuts clear to the bone. And no-one should be under any illusions about whether He intends to use it! Because He certainly does, and the blood from this campaign stains His garments! And where is this particular campaign prophesied to occur? Believe it or not – in the territory of Mecca and Medina in the province of Edom or Esau – the brother of Jacob from antiquity! It’s to be a show of strength in the manner of Samson who single-handedly slaughtered thousands of Philistines (with whom Esau intermarried). God makes no secret about hating Esau (Mal 1:2-4). In fact, every nation that God hated, including the Arabs, Philistines, Amorites, and Ammonites (Jordan today), Esau honoured and respected, but hated the descendants of Jacob and His twelve sons.

Isa 63:1-8 "Who is this coming from EDOM, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."

Luke 1:67-79 "His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and PROPHESIED: ⁶⁸ "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed his people. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), ⁷¹ SALVATION FROM OUR ENEMIES and from the hand of all who hate us – ⁷² to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His Holy Covenant, ⁷³ the oath he swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴ TO RESCUE US FROM THE HAND OF OUR ENEMIES, and to enable us to serve him without fear ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. ⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called A PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷ TO GIVE HIS PEOPLE THE KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven ⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

This prophecy is the clearest indication that salvation from our enemies is what being ‘saved’ means. It also means being rescued from the hand of our enemies – and as we have seen from the passage of Isaiah chapter 63, these enemies are also the Lord Christ’s enemies! It’s also interesting that John was prophesied to give His people Israel ‘the knowledge of salvation’. What’s even more interesting is that no-one has ever understood the meaning of it – not even the Churches of God! It should have been obvious to all Bible students, and especially the Churches of God, but it didn’t fit into the scheme of their doctrine. This knowledge had to come from A PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH as the Holy Spirit indicated, and at the prophesied future time when all these things would occur. Whatever Christianity has been brainwashed to believe the term ‘saved’ means, the reality is entirely different!

Meanwhile, Christianity is blissfully unaware of all that is happening. Unlike the Jews, they don’t even believe the Holy Land is worth fighting for. All Christianity is interested in is rewards in the hereafter. Yet they’ve failed to notice that these rewards will be brought with the Mighty Christ when He returns to slaughter the Muslims in Mecca and Medina – the time when His arm rules for Him (Isa 40:10, Isa 63:5) – the arm with the two-edged sword. Samson killed thousands of these swine – the Lord Christ will kill tens of thousands on that day as a bare minimum. As this is a day of vengeance (Isa 63:4) there’ll be millions marked for slaughter. In fact, not a root or branch of them will remain alive! They’ll be burnt up and become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Mal 4:1-3).

So Christianity continues their happy-hour preaching in a void of knowledge and amid flawed understanding of anything relating to the Great Creator God. Blissfully unaware of what is happening, they are about to be swept away by a flood, as in the days of Noah, but this time it will be a flood of insurgents: Matt 24:37 "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. THAT IS HOW IT WILL BE AT THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN." So will they be prepared? God says they won’t! They’ll know nothing! And neither did they ever know the Lord Jesus Christ! Did they ever understand that the Lord Christ is the Messiah? Ask any Jew what the Messiah is and what is expected of Him. They’ll tell you that He will decimate their enemies and clear the Holy Land. When Jesus didn’t fulfill these things at His first appearance on earth as a man, they rejected Him because He didn’t fulfill their expectations of what is written in the Scriptures.

The time is coming, of course, when they will deeply repent of this! (Zech 12:10). Then they’ll realize that Jesus couldn’t act at that time until His obedience to God was completed. The Jews had no concept of six millennial days followed by a Seventh Millennium of God’s rule. At the time their country was under occupation, and they wanted the occupiers out of there. They lacked the military might to do it, even though some tried and failed, and so their hope was for the promised Messiah. They knew all about the virgin birth some years before, and they were well-aquainted with the words of the archangel Gabriel concerning this. In fact, many of these religious leaders spent years prepping themselves for the glorious offices they hoped to attain. If they were well-known and well-respected by the people, then God would surely reward them – they reasoned! Their apparel and paraphernalia was designed to ensure they didn’t go unnoticed. They couldn’t have made a bigger mistake if they tried. John the Baptist (whom they accepted as a prophet) was a disappointing dresser, with none of the flair and panache they craved. Jesus’ mode of dress was scarcely any better from the point of view of style, and what is more, He roundly criticized them for their outlandishly, foolish dress styles and self promotion. Not a good start for these ambitious religious leaders! There is nothing wrong with normal modes of dress that are normal in society. But trying to out-dress others in a superior way quickly gives the impression of a poser. And these religious leaders were posers!

Today we see plenty of religious fools trying to appear wise. While their knowledge of most things is sparse, where they really excel in lack of knowledge is in their self-appointed role as teachers of the Word of God. God doesn’t favour the corporate style of church organizations today, and as a matter of interest, He never did! And most assuredly, God never favoured a hierarchical structure in the Churches of God! He did, however, appoint teachers. And as James says, those who presume to be teachers had better get it right, because they will be held to the highest accountability. James 3:1-2 "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ² We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." Unfortunately, there are now thousands of teachers who have set up their own church groups and who have no idea what God requires of them, and they are certainly at fault in what they say! As Jude puts it, these are shepherds who take care only of themselves (Jude 1:12). Not only do they resist the Truth, but they are scoffers of Truth and seek only to follow their natural instincts: Jude 1:17-23 "But, dear friends, remember what the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸ They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." ¹⁹ These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. ²¹ Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. ²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

The Kingdom of God is the culmination of six thousand years of human rule, and the Kingdom of God is destined to take over all the kingdoms of the earth (Dan 2:35, 44). So it’s no secret that this will be done by force. The problem for most corrupted flesh is that the Kingdom of God is about to be established by men of force. These are men with great resolve who are not distracted by the things of this world. Their commission is entirely different to the Church of God. As a point of interest, the Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction between those of the common purpose and those of the noble purpose (Rom 9:21). The noble purpose is of course the establishment of God’s Kingdom, while the common purpose is present in the Churches of God to follow Christ as sheep to the slaughter as evidence of their unfeigned devotion to God. Sheep are more common than true shepherds. Jesus is the True Shepherd, True Messenger and True Saviour. And the messenger that precedes Him is all of these things also – but of a far lesser magnitude. Only the Lord Christ has true Divinity, but His appointed messenger has a small portion of that Divinity through the indwelling of a double portion of God’s Holy Spirit. The extra portion of God’s Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev 19:10) and this Spirit of Prophecy is given only to God’s servants, and this makes them prophets and fellow-servants with the mighty archangels (same verse).

Of course, God has made it clear that there is only one messenger that precedes the True Messenger (Mal 3:1), and like John the Baptist, he is a Levite. Since God does nothing without first revealing it to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7), they alone prophesy of God’s revelations (V8). And how grateful humanity can be for this! After all, who would want to be guided by corrupted flesh and their mindless versions of prophecy? To this very day the vast majority of them have failed to recognize the enemy of the Kingdom of God. How they could fail in this is mind-boggling, especially when God plainly tells us that they surround the Holy Land! (Zech 12:6). Even those who profess no religion are becoming aware of what threatens their nation and people – regardless of where they live. They know, and many are now stating: It’s Islam!

And what a turn-around from when this ministry began some years ago! In those days there were howls of derision from those who thought they were teachers of righteousness. Arrogantly they hit the Internet newsgroups and sprouted their nonsense based on the teachings of a certain foolish shepherd that God Himself raised up, and one who God predicted would become worthless (Zech 11:15-17), and how right God was! In a very short space of time and these worthless offspring of the worthless shepherd went mad and began to argue against the Scriptures. Some of these hypocrites even became atheists and dedicated their lives to corrupting others. To the last man of them they are all condemned! And the Apostle Peter makes this very clear: 2Peter 2:1-3 "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." These greedy, cunning swine have all the qualities of Judas Iscariot, and their condemnation and destruction awaits them. They refused to serve God in Spirit and in Truth and chose the shameful way of bringing the Truth into disrepute. You can understand by the language how upset Peter was at the conduct of these evil creatures, and as he says, their condemnation has already been determined.

It’s fashionable among some to believe that they can have a ‘road to Damascus’ recantation at some later date if circumstances require it, and God will be obligated to forgive them. The truth is you have one shot at physical life and you only have one shot at eternal life! God will forgive all sins committed in ignorance, and He will forgive all sins committed through weakness of the flesh. But there is one sin that will never be forgiven, and this is the sin against God’s Holy Spirit. Once committed the sinner is doomed forever. It’s called the unpardonable sin: Matt 12:32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." This is even expanded upon in Heb 6:4-6. So forget all about ‘road to Damascus’ reprieves. There are no second chances!

Peter went on to confirm this: 2Peter 2:4-12 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE UNGODLY; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) – ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, WHILE CONTINUING THEIR PUNISHMENT. ¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; ¹¹ yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. ¹² BUT THESE MEN BLASPHEME IN MATTERS THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish."

Today we have a similar situation with Islam. Day after day they demonstrate their evil treacherous ways, yet we have some people who make excuses for them. In America the Democrats are foremost in this crazy political correctness in calling good ‘evil’ and evil ‘good’. Today America is the melting pot of the whole House of Israel – the so-called ‘lost Tribes of Israel’. God refers to the Tribes of Israel as ‘virgins’ for a variety of reasons, and one of those reasons is to identify the parable of the ten virgins that the Lord Christ referred to. A bride is supposed to be a virgin, and most particularly the Bride of Christ, and this is another reason why God refers to the Tribes of Israel as virgins. The term ‘virgin’ is a descriptor for ‘purity of mind and body’. Obviously, a woman is no longer a virgin once she has consummated her marriage, but through purity of mind and body she can still qualify as the Bride of Christ but she must be of the Tribes of Israel. But of course, the Bride of Christ is not gender-based, and both men and women must have ‘purity of mind and body’. It’s from the Tribes of Israel that the Bride of Christ will be chosen. What is more, God has even identified the number of these virgins from all the Tribes of Israel with the exception of Dan (Rev 7:3-8). The Viking Danites settled predominantly in Ireland and have proven over many generations their treacherous ways against the rest of the Tribes of Israel – particularly the Tribe of Joseph. So Dan misses out and a double portion goes to the sub-Tribes of Joseph – namely Ephraim and Manasseh! The Danites have always been treacherous people and incapable of rational thought. But they have served one important purpose in these endtimes – to illuminate the type of treachery that God hates – namely targeting the innocent with terrorist bombs. They lack the wit to see that the curse of God is on them, and console themselves by blaming others. Years ago they made a serious mistake when the IRA befriended that Egyptian Yasser Arafat and provided him with a steady stream of plastic explosives to blow up Israelis.

God’s Holy Spirit has been present in a few of these ‘virgin’ tribes for many generations – namely in the Church that Christ built. The teachings of the true Church were established by God at the time of the end through a certain shepherd mentioned in Zech 11:15-17. Seventy years of training went into establishing the Worldwide Church of God in order to prepare just seven thousand men and women of ‘purity of mind and body’. Faithful obedient people who would not draw back from obedience to God! They remained faithful to God and His Commandments, and who ultimately, will be prepared to give their lives in the defense of God’s Word out of love for their Creator. The rest will be the casualty of lies and distortions inflicted on them by shepherds who only took care of themselves.

When rewards are handed out, there’s going to be quite a bit of angst over the decisions, and especially when those who appear last in the events of prophecy are designated first. But one thing we can be very certain of is that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and ALL THE PROPHETS will be appointed first. Luke 13:28-29 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and ALL THE PROPHETS in the Kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the Feast in the Kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

You may glean from this the importance of Bible prophecy as stated by the Lord Christ Himself. You will also notice that those who are not prophets are thrown out! The point is that God has no interest in anyone who doesn’t believe Him. This especially applies to those who invent their own prophecy to the exclusion of the Scriptures. And this is the type of teaching that the WCG was famous for. Even today false shepherds continue this practice and try to perpetuate the lying prophecies of their founder, who at the end of his life was totally worthless – as stated by God! (Zech 11:17). For more information on the WCG and its founder, click here (or see additional references in the footnotes).

God even mentions their city – their capital Washington, and refers to it as a fading flower and predicts its downfall (Isa 28), which has been covered in many of our other articles at our website. But the truth is that the Democrats are destined to hasten this demise. It’s fitting that the five ‘foolish virgins’ – the Democrats – should hold power at the time of their demise. It’s their culpable madness that has escalated the nation’s warped point-of-view and it’s fitting that they should be condemned for their actions according to God’s judgment. It’s also fitting that the Creator God whom they despised and refused to acknowledge in every public place should hand them over to their enemies – the very enemies they loved and defended more than their own people. Be aware that it’s the Democrats that resist energy independence and who have the myopic view that the rights of the Alaskan caribou trump the needs of the people. But this pales in comparison to the public brawling to abandon ‘Intelligent Design’ in favour of evolution. They want future generations to abandon belief in the Great Creator God, and I can tell you that He is a very jealous God! He forewarned of this long ago (Exodus 20:5) and in the twilight of the darkening night of the coming holocaust which will last many years, the rebellious nation will suffer every adversity conceivable, and cease to be a nation. There won’t be too many people at that time who think they are ‘saved’. In those circumstances they will know that salvation is a long way off. It will take years to prepare the Holy Land for the exodus of those God will rescue, and at that time, few will venture to use the word ‘evolution’ as a replacement for the Great Creator God forevermore.

And how different things are in Christianity’s churches! It would be rare indeed for the Kingdom of God to be even mentioned. And perhaps the only time it would be mentioned as a real event would be in the recital of the ‘Lord’s prayer’, which is all about the Kingdom of God and delivery from the evil one. Even after such a recital, the mood quickly swings back to ‘saving lost souls’ through petty sermons and meaningless dialogue. The idea is to make people feel good so they’ll come back again. As a point of interest, this is what prompted Jesus’ comment in Luke 9:62 concerning being unfit for the Kingdom of God. It was in response to someone wanting to go and say goodbye to his family and then return for service (V61). The result could be that the family would try to talk him out of service in the Kingdom of God and his resolve may be weakened. The Kingdom of God must be established like a tiny mustard seed planted in the ground, and those who participate must be of overwhelming resolve in their dedication to service. Those who are blown around like reeds in the wind are useless and unfit for the Kingdom of God. Service in the Kingdom of God requires far more than mere lip-service and emotionalism!

It’s clear from God’s Word that Jesus is to be King in the Kingdom of God and His Kingdom will eventually fill the entire earth, just as Daniel said (Dan 2:35, 44). And these verses detail the violence that will be used to establish the Kingdom of God. Obviously God has no interest in weak and indecisive people when it comes to the establishment of His Kingdom. The first order of business where God’s Kingdom is concerned is to recruit the force that will lead the charge to seize the walled City of Jerusalem and to clear the Holy Land. These recruits are the first of the harvest.

God has a day of reckoning for Europe and America and they will be brought to account for every foolish word they’ve uttered. In their foolishness they’ve failed to understand that the enemy is the evil one – the arch-enemy of the universe. And the hordes that surround the Holy Land are the devil’s children (see 1John 3:10 as evidence that the devil does indeed have children) along with everyone not born to the only people God ever chose of all the families of the earth – the 12 Tribes of Israel (Amos 3:1-2, Deut 7:6). Nevertheless, God is even-handed, and even those who are not of the Tribes of Israel by birth can be grafted into the tree as long as they obey God in the way He instructed the Israelites anciently.

As for targeted adversaries, Islam has made it very clear that they are against both Jews and Christianity. First to the Jews of course, because they know that the coming King is from Judah, but from Judah will also come the major forces in the Kingdom of God. Zech 10:4-5 "From Judah will come the Cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler. ⁵ Together they will be like mighty men trampling the muddy streets in battle. Because the LORD is with them, THEY WILL FIGHT AND OVERTHROW THE HORSEMEN." God knows who He can trust to get the job done! Throughout millennia the Jews have faithfully obeyed God’s Law and never waned in their desire to establish God’s Holy Land. During the course of these millennia no-one wanted or even cared about the Holy Land – not even the Arabs! Only the Jews! Now that the Jews are occupying part of the Holy Land, suddenly Islam has decided that they want it all, and they want the Jews out. And no amount of reasoning will dissuade them. It should be perfectly obvious to all that dark forces are at work motivating this mindset of evil. It’s not about a human mindset of conquest but the mindset of Satan himself. He will do anything to prevent the Kingdom of God being established.

God, on the other hand, doesn’t want a Kingdom populated by people who won’t serve Him faithfully! Those who don’t and never have served God are considered to be worthless. Yet God has made a Covenant – a promise that cannot be broken. He made this Covenant with Abraham, and confirmed it to Isaac and Jacob and all his sons. What is more, this Covenant was ratified with blood. God mentions this Covenant in this very same context in Zech 9:10-15 "I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River (Euphrates in Iraq) to the ends of the earth. ¹¹ As for you, BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF MY COVENANT WITH YOU, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. ¹² Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. ¹³ I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion (Sons of Jerusalem), against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a Warrior’s sword. ¹⁴ Then the LORD will appear over them; His arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; He will march in the storms of the south, ¹⁵ and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones."

Having seen a few demonstrations of power from the Sons of Jerusalem, together they will be absolutely ferocious towards the Muslim vermin that surround the Holy Land (Zech 12:5-6). Just imagine the outcome if the burden was that of the churches in their present form! What good would they be in the face of such a determined foe as is evidenced in all the news media today? Could any of them be counted on to mount a campaign of destruction against the hordes surrounding the Holy Land? The answer of course is no, and this was never intended anyway. And there is not a word in the Scriptures to indicate otherwise! They must first qualify for service in the Kingdom of God through a different means. But it will still require courage, and they must overcome their fear of death. A true martyr dies in faith believing that God is able to raise him from the dead. Having accomplished faithful martyrdom, they will indeed be resurrected and qualify for ruling with a rod of iron and dashing the heathen to pieces like pottery (Rev 2:26-27).

God has called all men to obedience, and has given them opportunity to serve Him, either in the common purpose or the noble purpose – as Paul puts it in Rom 9:19 "One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’" ²¹ Does not the Potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" So the perception arose because some wondered why they had to suffer as if they were to blame when they had not resisted God’s will. Paul then makes a clear distinction between noble pottery and common pottery. As for those who resist God’s will, they are completely left out of the picture.

Death is common to everyone, but it is honourable if one’s life is given in the defense of God and His Word. It’s given to all men once to die, but how one dies becomes very important as far as the hope of a better resurrection goes. There are three options in this regard. There’s a better resurrection as detailed in Heb 11:32-39, then there is the worst possible resurrection – that of being thrown into the Lake of Fire for repudiating the Holy Spirit of God, and the last option is no resurrection! This last option applies to all those who never received God’s Holy Spirit and lived and died – never to rise again. God doesn’t give His Holy Spirit to the children of disobedience. He gives it only to those who live their lives in obedience to Him. And contrary to what you may have formerly believed, this life is your training ground for better or for worse. You’ll notice from reading these verses from the Book of Hebrews just what the ancients were commended for (see also V2).

So being fit for service in the Kingdom of God is something which requires far more than mere lip-service. Lip-service is not what the ancients were commended for! There’s an old saying, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’, and this amply demonstrates the state of mind and the towering resolve of those who are fit for the Kingdom of God. You’ll notice from reading Hebrews 11 that God doesn’t commend weaklings and cowards. The examples given require bravery and devotion to God, and a confidence in God that He will fulfill the resurrection to life for all who are commended by Him. There will be none in God’s Kingdom who have failed to amply demonstrate their obedience and loyalty to God.

We’ve spoken about the fitness of those who hope to enter God’s Kingdom, and God gives us some insight into they type of faith required and the type of conduct that has His favour. As a preamble to this, notice how this chapter begins: Heb 11:1-3 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² THIS IS WHAT THE ANCIENTS WERE COMMENDED FOR. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Yes, well it perfectly obvious that those who don’t believe that God created the universe have no faith – this goes without saying! They prefer to believe in ‘big-bang’ theories that can’t explain the existence of matter which their theories require in order to blow up. Such people prefer to be known as ‘intellectuals’ and ‘scientists’, yet they can’t logically explain anything. Leaving such idiots aside, there have been many faithful servants of God who lived in faith and who died in faith – all of whom were commended by God.

Heb 11:32-38 "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised (the Promised Land); who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who BECAME POWERFUL IN BATTLE AND ROUTED FOREIGN ARMIES. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned ⁿ; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

John the Baptist came preaching the Kingdom of God and calling for repentance from the unsatisfactory way that people were worshipping God. John tended to be a little brusque in his manner, but uncompromising in the service of God. At times he insulted the whole crowd that came out to see him. John was appointed as the messenger to precede the Lord Christ, and to prepare the way for Him. John was particularly hostile to the dandified creatures who posed as religious advisors to the people. He was making sure the people understood that the conduct of these religious elites would not be acceptable to the True Messenger. As for the messenger that precedes the True Messenger as stated in Mal 3:1, John the Baptist fulfilled this the first time around. He appeared before the Lord Christ appeared on the scene, and already had a considerable following of believers. They lived separately from the religious elite of that day, and dwelt in the desert.

So in order to be considered fit for the Kingdom of God, one has to be commended by God. And what God commends people for is detailed in the faith chapter of Hebrews 11. And you’ll notice that these all died in faith! (Heb 11:13).

God gave Solomon the Wisdom of the ages to see and understand many things, and truly Solomon’s contributions to the Word of God reveal many wondrous things. For instance, Solomon recorded this: Eccl 9:3-6 "This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. ⁴ Anyone who is among the living has hope – even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! ⁵ For the living know that they will die, BUT THE DEAD KNOW NOTHING; THEY HAVE NO FURTHER REWARD, AND EVEN THE MEMORY OF THEM IS FORGOTTEN. ⁶ Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun."

Many people believe they have eternal life inherent in them, and some have even suggested that everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected to have another go at life. It’s usually couched in such terminology as ‘having their opportunity at salvation’. What a lie that was! There is nothing in the entire Bible to suggest such a thing. In fact, there are plenty of references to refute it. David, the father of Solomon, had this to say: Ps 17:13-15 "Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword. ¹⁴ O LORD, by your hand SAVE me from such men, from men of this world WHOSE REWARD IS IN THIS LIFE. You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. ¹⁵ And I – in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness."

We are seeing the truth of David and Solomon’s words today in Israel. Just because the heathen have life, it doesn't mean they are entitled to it. Plenty of people have lived and died and never distinguished themselves in the manner prescribed by God. Should God then give them special consideration in a world gone mad? Consider for a moment the madness of the Arab population in the Middle East. They have vast areas of empty land to do with as they please. Yet they live like sand vipers and are never satisfied. They never do anything except to demand what they don't possess. What possible reason could they have for wanting the Israelis removed? One might simply put it down to the fact that they are racist, murderous killers who contribute nothing to this earth except to introduce death and squalor as they've done for centuries. As the Prophet Job once said, "I would disdain to put them with the dogs of my flock" (Job 30:1).

For all those who truly want to be like the Son of God – the Lord Jesus, then they must be willing to truly emulate Him and follow Him! It really is a precious thing to God to see this type of faith, and God makes it clear: Ps 116:14-16 "I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people. ¹⁵ PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS. ¹⁶ O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains." A saint, of course, is someone who possesses God’s Holy Spirit. It is a precious thing when saints die in faith, and they can look forward afterwards to the resurrection of His saints. Death will free many of these from their chains.

Apart from the saints, the rest of humanity has no such hope. Isa 26:13-14 "O LORD, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your Name alone do we honor. ¹⁴ They are now dead, they live no more; those departed spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them." It’s unconscionable to believe that God has any interest whatsoever in anyone who never served Him, except in accordance to God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God’s only interest is in those of the House of Israel – the descendants of Jacob (Israel). In fulfillment of this, God has allocated special rewards to 12,000 of each of these Tribes with the exception of Dan, and Dan’s portion will go to Joseph. The total number of these is 144,000 (Rev 7:4-8). Beyond this there will be many survivors from the House of Israel, and these will be led back to their ancestral homeland – the Promised Land. These will be nurtured and cared for, and eventually God will pour out His Holy Spirit on them all, and for a thousand years they will live in peace. During this period they will bear children and will grow into a huge nation. They will live – and they will die at a great age: Isa 65:20-25 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. ²¹ They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. ²³ They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. ²⁴ Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. ²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my Holy Mountain," says the LORD."

It’s very plain that the House of Israel will live as human beings in the Kingdom of God; they will build their houses, grow their crops, marry and have children, and most importantly, they will live in peace. For the people of Israel, there is even hope beyond this. And this is emphasized through the need for God’s Holy Spirit and the rewards that come after death for all His saints. God plans to pour out His Holy Spirit on all the House of Israel who survives: Eze 39:25 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my Holy Name. ²⁶ They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. ²⁸ Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. ²⁹ I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD."

As a point of interest, Ezekiel, chapter 39, is the chapter that precedes the description of the Temple – yet to be built. The next eight chapters detail the Temple, and culminates with the description of the River of Life (Eze 47:1-12) and confirmation of the allotted territory for all the Tribes of Israel (Eze 48:1-29) It also confirms where the LORD God will dwell for ever (Eze 43:7) after He leaves His present dwelling-place (and God lives in a specific dwelling-place at the present time, and this is called the Majestic Glory – 2Pet 1:17 and also mentioned in Eze 43:1).

Concerning the River of Life (Eze 47:1-12), the Book of Revelation describes it like this: Rev 22:1-6 "Then the angel showed me the River of the Water of Life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month (see Eze 22:2). And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the City, and His servants will serve Him. ⁴ They will see his face, and His Name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. ⁶ The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place." ⁷ "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

The Book of Psalms also mentions the River of Life and the place where the Eternal God will dwell: Ps 46:4-7 "There is a River whose streams make glad the City of God, the Holy Place where the Most High dwells. ⁵ God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. ⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts. ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah"

There is so much more to say and so much prophecy yet to be fulfilled, but we have come to the end of an era, a time of the end of the mighty power of the Tribes of Joseph. A time of terror, hardship and calamity! A time of retribution and a time of punishment! Few people could argue that the Almighty God, who is a jealous God, would tolerate such hostility towards Him forever. God made the rules long ago, and has instructed the Tribes of Israel to: Mal 4:4 "Remember the Law of my servant Moses, the Decrees and Laws I gave to him at Horeb for all Israel." Predictably, they have chosen not to! Instead, they have chosen to speak lies in God’s Name and to vilify His Laws!

There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. There will be a new dawn, mentioned by Peter in 2Pet 1:19, a time of reconciliation and a new spirit of understanding of God’s requirements. But what will precede this is a long, dark night that will span many years – a time of unspeakable horror. Two Tribes will feature prominently in this revival of fortunes – Ephraim and Judah. It’s these two tribes that feature most prominently in the cascading events of Bible Prophecy at this present time. And it’s these two tribes that will be the bloodstock of the new Kingdom of God in the initial stages. It goes without saying that this is in addition to God’s very own tribe (Num 8:16) – the Tribe of Levi.

This is how God describes these things: Eze 37:15-28 "The word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁶ "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ ¹⁷ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. ¹⁸ "When your countrymen ask you, ‘Won't you tell us what you mean by this?’ ¹⁹ say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph – which is in Ephraim's hand – and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ ²⁰ Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on ²¹ and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. ²⁵ They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my Sanctuary is among them forever."

The choice was always yours, whether you would serve God in righteousness, or whether you would learn righteousness through the things that you will now suffer. The Sons of Jerusalem, who have been taught by God, will be establishing God’s Kingdom among [see the Bible margin] the Jews (Luke 17:21) – just as Jesus said!

How long have you got? A month? a year? Longer? Well, it’s Satan’s next move and he hasn’t been idle – as every observer would appreciate from the mounting hostility and unrest in the world today. As for God, He will surely do nothing without first revealing it to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7-8)

And just a few parting words concerning this and how the Kingdom of God will be established and the relationship to John the Baptist: Matt 11:7-17 "As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. ⁹ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹¹ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been FORCEFULLY ADVANCING, and FORCEFUL MEN lay hold of it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears, let him hear. ¹⁶ "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ¹⁷ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’" Well, we never danced to their music, and nor will we mourn when they sing their dirges. And they only have themselves to blame.

John the Baptist never had the opportunity to forcefully advance the Kingdom of God; he was prematurely beheaded. But forceful men will lay hold of it, and you will see it forcefully advancing. These are the noble ones, while the common ones will be busily singing their dirges like little children (Heb 5:13-14) and wondering what went wrong.