Editor’s note: Joseph Farah is leading a tour of Israel through Nov. 13. While he is away, WND is republishing some of his relevant columns from the past.
Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom of God. There are more than 70 references to it in the New Testament.
But when I ask most Christians about it, they don’t have a clear picture of it in their minds.
Most can’t define it. Some think it’s here already. Some think it’s just some spiritual shorthand for their future life in heaven. Others think it’s an allegorical reference.
Yet, Peter in Acts 3 said about this very real future kingdom of earth that it is what all the prophets from Creation forward spoke about – the restoration of this world as it was intended to be before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
As I say in my new book, “The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age,” there aren’t many sermons delivered on this subject. There aren’t many Bible studies conducted on it. There aren’t many books devoted to the topic.
That’s what made the matter so compelling to me.
If all the prophets actually pointed to this kingdom, it must be pretty important. So why aren’t there movies about it? Why don’t we hear more about it in churches? Why do so few even discuss it at prophecy conferences?
If this is where followers of Jesus the Messiah are going to spend a thousand years, who wouldn’t want to get a glimpse into that future kingdom.
What I found in my research affirmed what Peter said: This is what all the prophets wrote about – the redemption of the world, a kingdom full of truth, justice, peace, prosperity under the rule of the Messiah from Jerusalem, on the throne of David.
Would you like a glimpse of what it will be like?
Even nature itself will be regenerated to Edenic perfection. Food will be in abundance (Ezekiel 36). The animals that today are predatory will eat grass and wheat (Isaiah 65). The deserts will bloom (Isaiah 35). Clean, fresh, “living” waters will “break forth (Zechariah 14). Fruit trees will yield more than we can imagine (Joel 2).
The curse that was placed on the earth at the fall of man will be lifted (Philippians 3 and Romans 8).
It will be a time of rest, quiet, singing, rejoicing for the whole world, not just Israel (Psalms 96, 98, Isaiah 14).
Weather will be ideal, just as it was in the garden – no extremes of temperature, no natural disasters, floods, droughts or destructive storms. There will be no pollution.
And for mankind, no more strife, no more wars. For God will rule over the earth in absolute justice. No more weeping and crying and suffering. Those that live to be 100 will be thought of as a mere youth (Isaiah 65).
One might think, however, that without poverty and injustice, there would be no rebellion, no rejection of God. But that’s not the case. the Scriptures show. That’s why there will be another judgment after the thousand years are complete. Even though the entire human race experiences God’s physical presence and daily miracles that will make the parting of the Red Sea seem like a sideshow, still there will be those who turn away from their Creator, who they can see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears.
There’s so much more to learn if this is not entirely familiar to you.
That’s why it took a book to provide a complete picture – at least as complete as we can discern from literally hundreds of scriptural references.
I invite you to explore all the dimensions of this future kingdom by reading “The Restitution of all Things,” using it as a guide through your own personal Bible study of this fascinating, compelling, under-appreciated consummation of what all the prophets foretold with exhilaration and expectancy in their hearts.
See the book trailer for “The Restitution of All Things”:
[jwplayer aFDRfht7]
