far I have risen.” One day we, as members of the Church, which is the Bride of Christ, shall come back to the place where we have struggled all our days on earth; and in that day we shall be “ kings and priests,” and shall rule over the earth! And in that day we shall under stand why we have had testings here—that we may the better enjoy the glory that awaits us, that we may the better serve our Lord throughout eternity. The apostles, as the foundation stones of the Church, are to occupy a unique place in Christ’s Kingdom. They are to occupy the twelve thrones of Israel, and adminis ter laws to the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus said to His disciples: “ In the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28). That will be in fulfillment of Isaiah 1:26: “ And I will restore thy judges as at the first.” Now, a judge in Israel was not the judiciary official we know; but, on the contrary, his was an administrative office. And these Scriptures shall be fulfilled when the twelve apostles sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 3. Israel Shall Be Honored Among the Nations. There are literally hundreds of verses that prophesy the glory of the nation of Israel in the time when Christ shall reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Chosen People will in that day look upon Jesus, and recognize Him as the Son of God. They will be established in the land of Palestine; and God will put them to glory in every land where they have been put to shame. When Jews move into a section now, the Gentiles move out; but in that day God will make them the most honored nation. Their temple will be rebuilt, according to the specifications given by Ezekiel, far surpassing in glory the one built by Solomon. It will be the time of Israel’s glory! 4. The Gentile Nations Shall Be Blessed. You ask, “Which nations?” There are some Gentile nations upon the earth today for whom there will be no glory in the time of Christ’s Kingdom; there will be a time of terrific judgment for some of them. Those nations that are grind ing down and oppressing the poor—monsters of selfish ness and cruelty, feasting upon the blood of innocent people—such nations will be wiped off the face of the earth, because they will ally themselves with the Anti- Christ. The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul, tells us that this shall come to pass “because they received not the love of the truth; that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned (judged, R.V.) who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess. 2:10-12). If any man rejects the truth of God, if he re jects the claims of the Lord Jesus upon his heart, God will see to it that he accepts the delusions. Likewise, there will be judgment for those nations which reject Christ, but a time of blessing for other nations— so-called heathen nations, like China and the isles of the sea. These will enter into the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus in that day. They will share in the administrative part of Christ’s Kingdom. How? We read in the nineteenth chapter of Luke the story of the man who went into a far country. That man, who is a type of the Lord Jesus, when he returned, called his servants unto him for an accounting. To the one who had been given ten talents, and who had gained ten more with it, he said, “Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” After the same manner, the other servants were rewarded, each according to his faithfulness. Let me ask you, how could that promised authority be exercised in Heaven?
God is the authority there. That authority will be exer cised on earth, when the Son of God returns in glory. 5. Justice and Peace Shall Prevail. No man in that day shall own anything, for Jesus will own everything. There will be no piling up of wealth. The Son of God shall mete out to every man his portion. Conditions to day are tragic. Men are starving to death for lack of food, while others are accumulating masses of wealth which they cannot possibly use. Some today are worth billions of dollars, while countless others cannot find employment. Jesus is going to solve that problem! It is not going to be solved by Socialism or Communism, but by the Son of God Himself! Someone once asked, “What is the difference between Communism and Christianity?” And the answer was this: “ Communism says, ‘All you have is mine;’ while Christianity says, ‘All I have is yours’.” And that is true, too; and when Christ rules, there will be justice for all. When Christ reigns on earth, we shall not need such places as West Point and Annapolis; for “he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4). The Prince of Peace will be ruling and reign ing. 6. “ And There Shall Be No More Curse.” The mil lennial period will also be a time of blessing to all crea tion; that is, it shall be once more as it was before the first Adam sinned and caused the earth to be cursed. “ Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (Isa. 55:13). In that day the desert shall blossom as the rose. I could not help thinking of this as I was going through the Suez Canal some years ago, and looked out over the vast, undulating wastes, with miles and miles of sand. The vast Sahara, with its heat and its barrenness; the wilderness in the heart of Australia—all such desert places shall be trans formed; for when the Son of God comes to earth, He will lift the curse. We are told in the third chapter of Genesis that God cursed the ground and said, “ Thoms also and thistles shall it bring forth.” But when our Lord bore the Cross all the way to Calvary, He wore on His brow the emblem of creation’s curse, thus purchasing redemp tion not only for humanity, but for the earth as well. And when He comes again, He will lift that curse. The animal kingdom also will be changed in that day, when the curse is removed. In the beginning, when God gave Adam dominion over beast, fish, and fowl, things were not as they are now. Oxen ate straw, but so did the lion; for the animals did not feed upon one another. And when the last Adam comes, the curse will be lifted. The serpent alone shall remain under the curse; for in Isaiah 65:25, we read: “ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.” The serpent will continue to crawl upon the earth, with his face to the ground, because he will be left as a re minder of the fact that it was sin which brought the curse upon the earth. Therefore, for a thousand years, this instrument of Satan will be as a warning to the na tions. But because Christ shall rule over all creation, the prophet’s message shall be fully realized: “ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw (concluded on page 29)
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TH E K IN G 'S BU SINESS
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