How Well Do You Know Jesus

If you were asked the question above, what would your answer be? There are many people in this world who know about Jesus. But there is a very big difference between knowing about someone and knowing that person intimately. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian really knows Jesus. Are you a know-about-Jesus Christian, or are you walking, talking and fellowshipping each day in an intimate way with your Beloved Savior, Bridegroom and Friend? This is the kind of relationship that a true disciple of Jesus will have. 

The Apostle Paul was one who truly knew Jesus. His focus was always on this great Love of his life. In 1 Cor. 2:2 Paul states, “For I was resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul was not satisfied with just a superficial knowledge of Jesus as so many Christians are. He said again in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...” Indeed, Paul had a wonderful, intimate relationship with his Lord and Savior. 

Many have knowledge of Jesus based on the traditions of their church’s teachings. By this we mean that many know Jesus only by what others, their grandparents, parents or ministers have told them. History reveals that religious traditions have a way of taking on a life of their own. Lord Jesus warned the Pharisees that their traditions had supplanted the very commandments of God (Matt. 15:6-9). It is no different today. For some, the understanding of the person and work of Christ is filtered through denominational, social, national, racial and ethnic traditions rather than the direct statements of God’s word in the gospels. This often paints a distorted picture of who Jesus truly is to his followers. Even the earnest seeking Christian, without the firm foundation of Scripture we can be “tossed about with every wind of doctrine” (Eph, 4:14) and come to hold a hearsay, myth-oriented misconception of our precious Savior with limited knowledge of facts and events. Have you ever felt that you are in this condition? If so, the best thing to do is to clear our minds of everything learned and start afresh with a clean slate, by going to the Bible for exact information about our Lord Jesus Christ, for we must learn about him before we can come to an intimacy with him. We will begin in the four Gospels of the New Testament. 

Who was our Lord Jesus Christ? Many books have been written about the life of our Lord; therefore, it is not our purpose to add one more to the many. In this study we shall concentrate on his person, his offices, his prophecies and his teachings. This is a large order, but we shall be brief without omitting vital information, so that we can give to each student the facts on which to lay a firm foundation for his faith and knowledge.

According to the Scriptures and Jesus’ own testimony, our Lord was the first and only direct creation of his God and Father. The angels are called “sons of God,” and Adam, in his perfection was also called a “son;” but only Jesus, known as the Logos in his pre-human existence, was God’s uniquely “only begotten Son.” We are not told when the Logos was “brought forth,” but it must have been many millenniums before other creations came into existence. In confirmation of this we read in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” See also Hebrews 1:1-9, John 1:10 and Proverbs 8:22-36, wherein our Lord speaks of himself under the name of “Wisdom.” Indeed, he is “the wisdom of God,” as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:24. 

In the Heavenly Realm, the splendor, glory and beauty of God’s “only begotten Son” must have been something to behold, for he was superior to the angels, archangels, seraphim or cherubim; and to Lucifer as well, whose description at his creation is so beautifully portrayed in Ezekiel 28:13-15. Following the fall of man into sin and death (Genesis 3:1-19), in due time God sent His Beloved Son to earth to become man’s Savior and Redeemer. Since God knows the end from the beginning, He had planned for our Lord to take this step back “before the foundation of the world.” See 1 Peter 1:20. 

We are told that the Logos “emptied himself” of all the glory, honor and majesty that he had in heaven, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, his life was transferred into the womb of the virgin Mary. In this way Jesus could be born a perfect human being, without being tainted by sin and imperfection as all of mankind are. Having God for His Father and Mary for His mother, he was thus truly “the Son of God” and yet just as truly “the Son of man” (through Mary). He was born “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). 

God’s Plan for redeeming Adam and all the human race was for a perfect human being, being obedient in all things, to voluntarily give his life in exchange for the lost life of Adam, “a life for a life,” thus satisfying Divine Justice and at the same time purchasing the whole human race. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “ For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” At Jesus’ Second Advent and return to this earth, he will restore it to the perfection that was lost when Adam sinned. God’s Loving Plan is wonderful indeed! Please read Acts 3:19-21; Luke 19:10. 

Our Lord’s humble birth, in the little town of Bethlehem, was highlighted by the angelic announcement to the shepherds and the prophetic song of the angels when in due time men will give “Glory to God in the Highest, (and then there will be) peace on earth and good will among men.” See Luke 2:8-20. This event was followed by the visit of the Wise Men some time later, with their gifts to the Holy Child of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. See Matt. 2:11. 

Our Lord’s youth in the town of Nazareth of Galilee must have been similar to that of other boys his age, with the difference that he kept himself pure and was always obedient to Joseph and his mother Mary. Except for the visit to Jerusalem for the annual feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41-52) when he was 12 years old, nothing is known of his childhood and adolescence except that “...Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). Jesus learned that he must return home with Mary and Joseph and be subservient to them until he was 30 years of age. 

As he was about to become thirty years of age (Luke 3:23), he left Nazareth and went to Judea to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. This was the start of his ministry which was to last three and a half years. At his baptism, as he was emerging from the water, the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16, 17). It was at this time that our Lord was filled with God’s Spirit, and he went into the wilderness for forty days to be with his Father in meditation and there withstood the three temptations of Satan. 

Our Lord had compassion for the multitudes of poor people, and helped them by healing their diseases, driving out evil spirits, teaching them properly, and on several occasions feeding them and even raising the dead. His miracles of healing should have been to the religious leaders of that time sure signs of his Messiahship and Sonship, as well as a preview of what will be accomplished for all mankind when Jesus returns to be the Ruler and King of the entire world, upon establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. See Isaiah 35:5-7 and Rev. 21:4. 

Our Lord has been rightly called the Great Physician. He still is today, though not always are his disciples healed physically. The Lord knows what each of us need, and he will overrule for our highest spiritual interests. A true disciple will always leave the choice for healing up to him. Jesus has promised us many things, i.e., freedom from worry, fear, and sin as we look earnestly to him. When we trust him implicitly and are obedient to his commands, he has also promised us his victory. He is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). 

Jesus is the same compassionate, tender, loving Shepherd who cares for his sheep. Since he willingly laid down his life for his sheep, we can know he will do all we could possibly want or need, according to our faith and trust in him. He will always hear us, and if we “ask according to his will,” fully believing, we can be assured that at the right time and in the right way our petition will be answered. See Matt. 7:7; 21:22; John 14:13,14; 15:7,16. What a precious Shepherd and Savior is ours! 

Our Lord Jesus is also the Greatest Teacher the world has ever seen! No wonder he was addressed as Master by his disciples as well as by the multitudes! His Sermon on the Mount is matchless in its purity, beauty, wisdom and truth (Matthew 5-7). He instructed his disciples how to worship God (John 4:23, 24); how to pray (Matt. 6:9-13; 26:41; Mark 1:35); how to be forgiving (Matt. 6:14, 15; 18:35; Luke 17:3, 4; 23:34); how to be loving (John 13:34, 35; 14:15; 15:12; 19:26, 27); how not to be worried or anxious (Matt. 6:25-34). However, he never claimed credit for himself. He always gave the credit and glory to God as the Source of all the things (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 3:35; 5:20, 30). “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). 

For millenniums, bread has been called the staff of life. Even today in many countries, bread is the mainstay, the principal food to sustain life. Our Lord emphasized our spiritual need of him when he stated he was “the bread of life.” As we need literal bread for the needs and sustenance of our bodies, so we need spiritual bread for our spiritual growth. On one occasion our Lord said that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). He plainly stated, “I am the bread of life...this is the bread that cometh down from heaven (his former abode)...if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever (not in this present life, but after the resurrection); and the bread that I will give is my flesh (which he did when he died on the Cross) which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51). 

This Jesus did symbolically when during the Last Supper, he broke the bread into pieces and told his disciples, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24 - KJV). On the following day, he literally gave his body (his life) while hanging on that cruel Cross of Calvary for you and me (Matt. 27:32-55). We, as his disciples, have the privilege of “eating” this “bread” every day of our lives through study, meditation, prayer, and communion with our Lord Jesus.

Jesus is the “door” to eternal life. He is the only entrance to the Father. This door to eternal life had been shut since the fall of Adam, following the condemnation of death to all mankind. By His coming He opened this door “to everyone that believeth,” a door to eternal life. We should note here that the LORD dealt differently with the ancient Heroes of Faith that are listed in Hebrews 11. Their faith in the Father and in what was yet to come was “counted to them for righteousness.” We are told by Jesus that “Abraham saw my day and was glad.” And of Moses we are told in Hebrews 11:25-26, “....choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” (KJV) 

We must also go to Jesus, the only source of life, knock at this door, and when it is opened to us, walk in fullness of faith. The world offers us many doors. Each heathen religion has its own door, and even with some Christians, Mary and the saints are offered as doors to obtain favor and life. But our Lord declared most clearly that he is the only door. Other doors lead nowhere; they are just dead-ends. Only Jesus could truthfully declare, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).

According to the story of Creation in Genesis 1:3, the first thing that God created was light. “Let there be light, and there was light.” We all know and recognize the need and paramount importance of light. Light in a way means life; it is a symbol of life, while darkness is a symbol of death. Our Heavenly Father is said to be light in 1 John 1:5: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

Applying this principle in a spiritual sense, we quickly realize that spiritual darkness means ignorance, lack of discernment, and this type of spiritual knowledge often leads to outright superstition; while spiritual light means knowledge, freedom, boldness, peace of mind, confidence, faith and a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

With the expulsion of man from the Garden of Eden, shortly thereafter, mankind was plunged into the abyss of spiritual darkness. Later, various great (?) religions came into the world and were believed by millions, which claimed to provide a guiding light for man, but all ended in darkness. Only with the coming of Jesus Christ did God’s Light become again available, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, which means to all mankind. Jesus was “A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:32).

Our Lord Jesus himself declared, “I am the Light of the World; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Indeed, he is the true light “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). He also declared, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46). 

For thousands of years, the whole world has been, and still is, enveloped in a blanket of ignorance and superstition, despite the thousands of churches and the millions of Bibles bought every year. God has promised, in due time, to remove this “covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations” (Isaiah 25:7). But we can be freed now from this covering, and pass “from darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Have you taken this most important step yet? If not, do not hold back any longer. Step into the light...live in the light...rejoice in the light; thus you shall be a child of light (John 12:36), a child of God and a footstep follower of the Lord Jesus Christ who will become the Sovereign King of your life! It is the most wonderful experience to be a born-again, new creation “in Christ,” and this opportunity to answer the heavenly calling is one that will not again be repeated. 

According to the Mosaic Law, a priest had to be from the tribe of Levi, and had to be in good physical and mental condition. He was to be set aside for the Lord’s service by serving the people for a period of twenty years, from thirty to fifty years of age. He could also be married and have a family (Numbers 1:47-54; 3:5-12; 4:3 ; Exodus 6:25). 

The most important functions of the priesthood was the responsibility of the High Priest (usually the father in the family) - Lev. 8 and Ex. 29:1-9. This line of High Priests lasted from Aaron, the first High Priest, until about the year 70 A.D. at which time Jerusalem, the nation, and the Temple were all destroyed by the Roman army under Titus. Thus the Priesthood was also curtailed. Since that time the Jews have been without a High Priest, but we as Christians have had one in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7:26: “ Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.“(See also Hebrews 5:6; 7:16, 17; Psalm 110:4.) 

The High Priest was to offer gifts and sacrifices to God for his own sins and then the sins of the people, especially on the Day of Atonement. He thus obtained cleansing and forgiveness from God according to the law ritual. But, “When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11, 12). “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). 

“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean, sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:13-15). 

Therefore, “let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised” (Hebrews 10:22, 23 - ASV). What the Apostle is telling us here is that we now have Jesus Christ in heaven, on the right hand of God, as our High Priest, our Advocate and Defender. He stands beside us to defend our cause before God’s majesty and justice and obtains our pardon for all our sins through His precious blood. Here is how the Apostle John states it: “My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1, 2 - ASV). 

This is how our sins are forgiven: It is through repentance and confession made to God in the name of Jesus. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, 10). Our sins are remitted without any penance being required from us, and completely forgotten by God: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” (Isaiah 44:22 - ASV). 

One of our Lord’s offices was that of a prophet. Through inspiration, Moses had foretold to the people of Israel that at some future time “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (Moses); unto him ye shall hearken (listen, believe and obey)” (Deut. 18:15). This great Prophet to come was our Lord Jesus Christ. We find confirmation of this in Acts 3:22 and Acts 7:37, where the Apostle Peter and Stephen declare that Jesus Christ was the promised Prophet.

Our Lord was a great Prophet indeed—the greatest. He prophesied his own death and resurrection (Matt. 12:38, 39; 16:21); the fall and destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and the Jewish nation; events that would happen in the world from his first to his second advent; the persecution and growth of the Church; the re-birth of Israel; the great tribulation to come; the “day” of God’s wrath; his return in power and great glory; the binding of Satan; the setting up of God’s Kingdom on earth; the resurrection of the dead, and other events a thousand years from now. He fulfilled eminently his office as a Prophet of God. Surely, in this, as in all things, he has the pre-eminence.

The Lord Jesus Christ is now King of the saints, but he is yet to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the world of mankind. When our Lord stood before Pilate and was asked if he was a king, he replied, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.” We who are his followers in this Gospel Age have already been taken out from Satan’s kingdom and transferred to our Lord’s: “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:12, 13). For the world, however, the time has not yet come for them to be his subjects. The purpose of his Kingdom is to apply the benefits of his ransom sacrifice (his death and resurrection) to restore all mankind to perfection, in full harmony with God and His laws. This has already begun with his Church and will continue during his Millennial reign of righteousness here on earth for which he taught us to pray, “ your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Many people have lost sight of this important declaration of our Lord Jesus in his hour of trial—“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth...” (John 18:37). 

Almost two thousand years have passed, and our Lord has not yet returned to become King of this world. Why? We answer, because he must wait until God’s due time and the completion of his Church and Bride. In Psalm 110:1 we read: “The LORD (Jehovah) says to my Lord (Jesus): ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Now we know that since his ascension to heaven, our Lord has been sitting on the right hand of God (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9; 7:56; Rev. 3:21), so when God’s due time will come, our Lord will return to become the King of the World and rule all people in righteousness, love, and justice for one thousand years, restoring the dead to life, and the living and all nature to perfection (the restitution of all things preached by the Apostle Peter in Acts 3:19-21). 

He will then destroy all evil, sickness and wars, and eventually death itself. At the end of the thousand years he will hand a perfected earth and perfect society to his Father. Hence we read: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” 

(Daniel 7:13, 14). “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). Also please read Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-10; 25:6-9; 35:1-10; Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 19:11-16.

One of the greatest titles of our Lord is that of Savior. It means he came to earth to save that which had been lost. “For the Son of man came to save that which was lost” (Matt. 18:11 - ASV). “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him” (John 3:16, 17 - ASV). “And if any man hear my sayings, and keep them not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (Jn. 12:47 - ASV). 

Due to Adam’s sin in disobeying God’s command (Genesis 2:16, 17), all mankind by heredity was plunged into the abyss of sin and death. Billions upon billions have been and still are subject to corruption, crime, immorality, sin and violence, causing untold sorrow and suffering and ultimately death. For 6,000 years death has reigned supreme on this earth, breaking hearts, tender bonds of love, and causing untold sorrow and tears. The “god of this world” (1 Cor. 4:4), Satan, has made of this earth a scene of desolation of which every cemetery is proof. But this permission of evil will have taught mankind an everlasting lesson that they will never forget. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to save all mankind from such a sorry state, and to do so he first had to pay the penalty for Adam’s disobedience by offering his perfect life to Divine Justice in exchange, or more correctly, as a ransom for Adam’s lost perfect life. This was not as simple for him as it may sound to us. Besides setting aside his heavenly glory and power and being born as a perfect man to Mary, during the three and a half years of his ministry our Lord had to endure the envy, hatred, and persecution of the religious leaders of his day, i.e., the Scribes and Pharisees, the Sadducees and the priests. We are told in Hebrews 12:3 to “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” 

But it was during the last twenty four hours of his life on earth - from the beginning of his agony in Gethsemane until on the Cross he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30) - that he physically, mentally and emotionally suffered indescribable pain and anguish of heart and body. Isaiah vividly describes his suffering and tells us it was “not for himself.” Isaiah 53:3-6: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Matthew 26 and 27; Luke 22 and 23; Mark 14 and 15; and John 18 and 19 describe our Lord’s suffering, agony and death so that he could become our Savior, and free us from sin and death. 

This he fully and faithfully accomplished. It is now guaranteed to us through his glorious resurrection. 

How could we not love, cherish, serve, and obey such a Wonderful Savior? How could we be indifferent before such Great Sacrificial Love? To think otherwise is to be blind, hard-hearted, ungrateful, and unworthy of such love. Yes, and also unworthy of the life he has purchased for us. But you may say, “All this happened almost two thousand years ago, and today sin and death still hold sway over all mankind.” This is true. But everything in God’s wonderful Plan of the ages moves like clock-work. Each event happens exactly when it becomes due, not a moment too soon or too late. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). We must await God’s perfect timing.

God has set aside a period of time which we call the Gospel Age, during which a special call is made to men. This is a “High Calling” in which God is choosing a special company of believers out of this world. These are to be the Bride of Christ if faithful. They will also be his joint-heirs. Romans 8:17 tells us, “ 

Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” The faithful overcomers are promised to join their Bridegroom in bringing the world back to perfection and reign with him. Revelation 20:6 gives us this blessed hope. Of these we read, “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

This Heavenly or High calling to glory, honor and immortality is still going on today, but it is nearing its completion. When it has come to an end, the Lord will return for his church. We are told of this glorious time when his saints, both living and dead, will rise to meet their Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

After the marriage has taken place, spoken of in Rev. 19:7, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready,” and those on the earth have come through the great time of trouble, called Armageddon in the Bible, mankind will be ready to hear the Lord. “Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:8-10 - NKJV)!

And again, “‘Therefore wait for Me,’ says the LORD, ‘Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All my fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy. For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one accord’” (Zephaniah 3:8-10 - NKJV).

Jesus, as King, will shorten the Day of God’s Wrath on earth when he and His Bride, the Church Triumphant, will return together and begin their reign. Then Satan will be bound for a thousand years. “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended...” (Revelation 20:1-3). 

As the Kingdom commences, the grand work of reconstruction will begin. There will be the gradual resurrection of all the dead and the destruction of all sin and evil on earth. Peace, harmony and brothrhood—justice, equality, tranquility and love will prevail as all walk in the paths of righteousness. 

Isaiah 35 gives us a beautiful picture of this wonderful Kingdom: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water:in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (KJV) 

At the end of the thousand-year Kingdom, Satan will be loosed a little season to give mankind its final test. Those who pass this test will become God’s sons and go into everlasting life. “He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:7), and those who are not desirous of walking the path of righteousness will go into second death and be everlastingly destroyed. (Revelation 21:8).

Grand and terrible things are about to come to this earth. In many parts of the world this has already begun. Will you be on the Lord’s side? This Bible study has endeavored to present to you the Lord Jesus Christ, his person, offices, and work so you will better appreciate his sacrifice and great love for you, personally. However, you must study the Gospels for a deeper appreciation of our Lord, and this we hope you will do. May our dear Heavenly Father and Wonderful Savior lead you to true heart repentance from your sins, so that you will accept the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart and mind as your Healer, Teacher, Bread of Life, Door, Light, High Priest, Savior and King of your life, for your full salvation. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made  unto salvation” (Romans 10:10 - NKJV). 

And now, “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26- NKJV). This is our heartfelt prayer for you.

CHRISTIAN DISCIPLING MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL
32 Chapel Lane, Somersworth, NH 03878