Lesson 6: WHEN GOD REIGNS

• the earliest human family displayed the nature that plagues us to this day. Human nature doesn't change! ...Genesis 3:1-7, 4:4-10, Jeremiah 17:9
  
• less than seventeen centuries after man's first encounter with his Creator this nature cried out for destruction ...Genesis 6:5-7
  
• despite God's correction by means of a universal flood human lust for power in only two generations drove men to build Godless empires. It has since been the pattern for all human civilization ...Genesis 10:6-12
  
• recall the description of the four world empires described by Daniel ...Daniel 2:36-43
  
• of special interest to our time is the fourth empire, which is predicted to wield massive authority over all the earth at the close of human rule. This world empire will be led by a fierce king who is none other than a front for Satan. This end-time "Nimrod" will "speak words against the Most High", and will seek to eliminate the tiny remnant who cling to the true religion despite persecution ...Daniel 7:19-26, Revelation 13:5-10
  
• this remnant of godly people will have a key role in the next world empire - God's
  
• the succeeding empire (kingdom) will be by divine appointment. God's Kingdom will destroy every vestige of human mismanagement of the planet ...vv.44, 45

After The Beginning

Earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, threats of catastrophic encounters with massive asteroids - all such begin to shake our confidence that we live on a stable planet. The awesome spectacular we witnessed when a string of comets gouged earth-sized hunks from the planet Jupiter shows just how naked and vulnerable we are, protected only by a few miles of invisible atmosphere. The planets of our system testify to bombardment from space. Earth, too, has experienced asteroid impact in recent times - even during the twentieth century. And it is destined to happen again

• prior to man's creation a catastrophic geophysical event destroyed the earth, resulting in a global flood the debris from which shrouded our planet in impenetrable darkness ...Genesis 1:1-4a
  
• God, through the Word, re-formed the earth into a planet more beautiful than we know today. In God's eyes the new creation was "very good" ...vv. 9-31, Colossians 2:16
  
• note that the first two "days" were mere reconstruction following the earlier destruction. They are not called "good" by God. Day three is devoted to preparation of earth and sea to receive the living creation of days four, five and six
  
• the pinnacle of all creation was mankind. All the elements essential to human life were created "in the beginning": man was the purpose of the material creation! The human race was created in the "image and likeness of God" - designed to care for the rest of creation, and eventually to share in the reign of God ...Genesis 1:26-27
  
• our planet, unique in the solar system, was made perfectly adapted to man, and of perfect beauty. It was ecologically balanced with full provision for every need of both man and the lower orders of creation. In God's own words "it was very good" ...vv.29,30
  
• in this Paradise God taught man the way to live in perfect harmony with his environment, and the laws which governed human health and happiness. They walked and talked with God ...Genesis 2:9, 16
  
• in Eden the foundation principles for harmonious human relationships were explained ...vv.20-25
  
• in the garden were both the tree of life and the tree of "the knowledge of good and evil". Adam had free access to the tree of life, but was forbidden to touch the second tree ...vv.17

Paradise Lost

Man's tenure of "Eden" didn't last for long. Before many years had passed, the "Adam family" rejected the Creator's instructions and disqualified themselves from being the curators of Paradise. Without God "in a11 their thoughts" it was downhill all the way for him and his posterity

• giving way to the thoughts implanted by the serpent, first to Eve and docilely followed by Adam, they forfeited their privileged position, became subject to death and by example taught his progeny to sin ...II Cor 11:3, I Tim 2:13-14
  
• as a result all mankind is subject to decline and death, for all of us have sinned ...Romans 5:12
  
• the end result, some sixteen centuries later, was the almost universal corruption of mankind and the animal kingdom to such an extent that God had to begin again with just one family, and selected animals ...Genesis 6-9, II Peter 3:1-6
  
• Jesus warned of a similar scenario just before his return as King of kings. Humankind will be going about their business and leisure pursuits oblivious to God and His laws - bringing swift destruction ...Matthew 24:36-44
  
• the book of Revelation is a step-by-step portrayal of events in the years leading to the end of human rule. The details will be the subject of a future Lesson. In sum, there will be, on an unprecedented scale: religious deception, wars, famine, disease and catastrophic natural disasters of such an extent that human populations everywhere will be decimated ...Revelation chs 6ff
  
• because of Adam's rejection of divine rule, God gave mankind a nominal "six-day week" in which to work out his own ways to implement human happiness. Where there has been success it has been when God's Laws were applied - whether knowingly or not
  
• prophetically, the "six days" are six thousand years, to be followed by a thousand year "sabbath rest" when God will reign over all mankind in the person of Jesus Christ ...Psalm 90:4, II Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:4
  
• as we have seen (Lesson 5), this is "the reign (or Kingdom) of God", prophesied throughout Scripture
  
• when Jesus contemplated the ruin of Jerusalem, he was brought to tears. His followers today, in this end of man's inept rule, will similarly weep over the open flouting of the divine laws at the highest levels of our society ...Luke 23:28-31, Ezekiel 9:4

A New Dawn

However, man's mismanagement of planet Earth will end. The night of human destructiveness will close and a new day will dawn. The Bible is a record of human failure to sustain right principles for long enough to make a permanent difference. But it also looks beyond in hope - to a time of peace, prosperity, health and all that the human heart longs for. That golden era will come only when Messiah (see Lesson 3) reigns

• Jesus asserted that he would come again. He is now in heaven where he will remain until a time of universal restoration. It's an era that was foretold time and time again by God's prophets ...John 14:3, Acts 3:21

• symbolically Jesus is "seated at the right hand of God". That is, he shares in bringing to pass the Father's plan to expand His Kingdom ...Ephesians 1:18-23

• in the physical realm Jesus by means of his awesome power sustains the universe. It was created with mankind as its purpose ...Colossians 1:16-17, Nehemiah 9:6, Ephesians 1:4-6

• spiritually, he is preparing his people for kingship, to reign with him having benign dominion over all the earth. It is the restoration of God's original purpose, and is foretold in the writings of the prophets ...Daniel 7:18, 27, Isaiah 2:2-5, Micah 4:1-3 etc.

Clearing The Chaos

Man's mismanagement of the planet, together with the future consequences of it, will require a direct intervention from God to render earth once again habitable

• one effect will be a serious depletion of earth's population ...Isaiah 24:1-6
  
• but it's not the "end of the world", for there are human and animal survivors! ...vv.6, 11:6-8
  
• also referring to this same end-time, God's own nation of Israel, for her sins, will be heavily depopulated ...Ezekiel 5:7-12, Zechariah 13:8-9, Amos 5:3
  
• the Kingdom of God - represented by Jesus Christ and "the saints" - will be tasked to bring about order from the chaos. They will reign over the confused and traumatized survivors of the coming attempt by Satan to rule the world
  
• Jesus Christ will fulfill his promise to return to our planet, at which time all true believers then alive will be gathered by angels to meet their returning Lord ...John 14:3, Acts 1:11, I Thessalonians 4:13-16, Matthew 24:31
  
• with them will be all the saints from all ages who are dead, or will have died by that time. This is termed 'the first resurrection' ...Revelation 20:4-6
  
• they will rise from the dead, or be transformed, with a different, a spirit, body ...I Corinthians 15:42-44, 50-54
  
• this world-shaking event of the first resurrection occurs at 'the last trump(et)' - the final one of seven prophesied stages in the unfolding of end-time events ...vv. 52, Revelation 8:2
  
• the resurrected believers, as co-heirs with Jesus Christ, will work with him in his task of re-building civilization ...Daniel 7:18, Revelation 5:10, Romans 8:17

One of the first actions of the returning Messiah will be to neutralize Satan's role in man's downfall. Although Satan cannot force us to sin, he has inserted his anti-God ideas into every aspect of human civilization. Through our institutions of government, education, military, religion, science and social activity Satan has all but succeeded in destroying true belief

• this incredibly evil being has from the beginning by lies and deceit blinded mankind to the true nature of the Creator, and to His purpose for us ...Genesis 3, Revelation 12:9, II Corinthians 4:4
  
• Satan, aided by his "angels" - called devils (KJV, Gk. daimon) - causes illness, accuses and tempts the people of God, generates false doctrine, ensnares and opposes Christians, affects the course of nations, hinders prayers, attempts to thwart the work of God through His church. Satan has an earthly governmental seat, and has his churches
  
• God has permitted the presence on earth of these evil spirit entities. God allows Satan to test and to correct His people. But Jesus Christ will remove their influence over mankind at the beginning of the thousand years of his reign ...Revelation 20:1-3
  
• Satan and his ('fallen') angels are on earth as a consequence of their opposition to God. Their continuing influence results from man's rejection of the ways of God as outlined in the Torah. Because of Adam's and Eve's submission to the Serpent, i.e. Satan, they became subject to death. Release from his influence is possible only through submission to God through Jesus Christ ...Hebrews 2:14, I Corinthians 15:54-58

The Age of Gold

In prose and poetry mankind has ever longed for a golden age of peace and prosperity, free from the pain and suffering that is part of life. When Christ returns he will begin a one thousand year era of reconstruction

• the cosmic events of the last few years before his coming will bring about major positive changes to the surface of the earth
  
• the topography of the area of 'Palestine' will alter, permitting the 'healing' of the Dead Sea. The coming of Messiah will be accompanied by the east-west division of the Mount of Olives, and by a new watercourse from beneath the new Temple. It will flow east then south causing the Dead Sea to become fresh, with new agricultural and fishing industries. Another branch will flow towards the Mediterranean Sea ...Zechariah 14:1-11, Ezekiel 47:1-12
  
• Jesus, as King of kings, will extend his political dominion to all surviving nations ...Isaiah 11:9, Revelation 17:12-14, 19:16
  
• his Kingdom will be governed by the Torah - the divine Law with which man was created to be in harmony. All nations will look to Jerusalem, Messiah's headquarters, for guidance ...Isaiah 2:1-4a, Micah 4:1-3a
  
• the destructive forces of mankind will be disbanded and all military training will cease, resources being channeled to productive agricultural effort ...vv3-4
  
• government will be in the hands of the resurrected and now immortal saints who will be guided and motivated by the Spirit of God. These have in this life been prepared for rulership. Some have already been assigned to office ...John 14:1-3, Jeremiah 30:7-9, Luke 22:28-30, Revelation 5:10, 20:6
  
• as Lord of lords Jesus will extend his religious dominion worldwide ...Revelation 19:16
  
• the only form of worship permitted will be that revealed by God (JHVH) in the Scriptures: No god other than the 'God of Jacob' (as revealed in the Old and New Testaments) will be worshipped. Those who fail to submit will be made to do so by physical pressures! ...Isaiah 2:5-22, Zechariah 14:12-20, Isaiah 66:16-23
  
• the one thousand years of divine rule over human beings will also see a massive reconstruction program, measures that will bring good health and prosperity for all people, harmony between man and nature. And above all, free access to the Spirit of God with the open choice for all mankind to live for ever! ...Isaiah 11, 58:12-14, 25:6-8, Joel 2:28-32

The next Bible Basics will look at the only way God invites us to worship Him. You will be amazed at how mankind has deviated from it - to our detriment.

Eminent historian Arnold Toynbee writes of "...the five or six thousand years that have elapsed since the first emergence of representatives of the species of human society that we label as 'civilization'" [Civilization on Trial, p.19]

"Real historyonly goes back to 6000 years BC" [John Glubb]

"The first rudimentary traces of man acting on his enviroment are barley seven thousand [years old] [JacquesBoudet: The Great Works of Mankind, Preface]

Said Jesus: "Except you repent [ie turn your life around] you will all likewise perish" ...Luke 13:3, 5

The apostles Paul and Peter also warn us to learn from history...I Corinthians 10:1-12, II Peter 3:1-8

"In [Talmudic Judaism, Nimrod] personifies both rebellion against God and military might in the earth. He is describes [in Scripture] as 'the first man of might on the earth'" [Marshall Pickering Bible Encyclopedia: art. Nimrod]

One of our Lessons will take you behind the scenes of the spirit world. Their activities explain much of what perplexes us!

Jesus made quite clear that the vast majority of mankind will choose the easy way in life. His real followers - that tiny remnant - will be treading a narrow and difficult path ...Matthew 7:13-14

In 1908 an ice fragment of some 100,000 tonnes exploded above Siberia and flattened an area of 1000 square kilometers

The materials of the universe were a divine creation - created perhaps billions of years before mankind appeared. Earth became "without form and void" (Heb: tohu, bohu). But this is not how it was created "in the beginning"...Genesis 1:1-2a, Isaiah 45:18

"he did not create it a chaos [KJV in vain, Heb tohu], he formed it to be inhabited"...Is 45:18

A future lesson will dicuss in detail the origins of earth and its myriad species

The history of ancient Isreal is a lesson in how national properity is a reflection of obedience to God's revealed instructions

Note that it is a fruitless task to try to set a date for "the end of the world", or the return of Messiah based on the Bible chronology. This is not complete, and the "six thousand years" is schematic. The time will become obvious to those who are alert to the "signs of his coming" as given in God's Word. Sceptics be warned - we are now in "the time of the signs"! ...Matthew 24 etc

The term applied to this earthly reign of Messiah is "millennium". It means, simply, thousand and derives from the Bible teaching that Messiah's reign will last for a thousand years

Several views about the millennium circulate. Review Lesson 5 for a summary

At present growth rates it is estimated the population will increase from the current six billion to over eleven billion on the planet by 2050AD [May 1998]

Amos' prophecy indicates only 1 in 30 of Isreal will survive their period of tribulation

saint refers in Scripture to any person alive or dead in whom lives the Holy Spirit of God. It is not a special category of Christian beatified for good works or special sanctity

Request the booklet Key To The Book of Revelation for a fuller explanation of the time-setting of the last days

To be a part of the first resurrection each of us must repent - that is, change our whole approach to God and to life. Request the brochure What Do You Mean - "Repent"?

Satan [=adversary], also called the Devil[Gk. diabolos = accuser, slanderer] is a created angelic being whose pride and ambition led to a massive rebellion against God. A later Lesson will discuss this parallel spirit world

It's dangerous error to reject the Bible teaching that Satan is an immensely powerful creature intent on the impossible task of frustrating the plan of God. 'Satan' is not hust a figurative expression for sin or human nature or evil

Satan and the demones are spirit beings originally created as angels with the power to choose. Through pride and misplaced ambition they rebelled, becoming adversaries to the work of God on earth

Use a concordance to make a word search on devil(s), satan. Young's Analytical Concordance is ideal, as it seperates the English translation into the original Hebrew of Greek

When our first parents changed allegiance from God to Satan they became subject to physical and spiritual death ...Genesis 2:17

The Mount of Olives (2684ft) lies directly to the east of Jerusalem, seperated from the city by the deep Kidron Valley, which is also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The Kidron is a seasonal torrent which flows south, emptying ower precipices into the Dead Sea.

The Bible prophecys tell us that before Jesus comes there will form a union of European nations, ten of which will unite to fight against the returning Messiah

The Bible symbolism mountains and hills represent nations

The 'Feasts of the Lord' are listed in Leviticus 23. They are practised today only by Jews and by the small remnant of the Church of God. Write to any of our addresses for more information on how and where you may observe these days

Satan, as the present 'god of this world' has decieved mankind into worshipping any way it pleases. God, however, has revealed but one way. Modern festivals, as Christmas and Easter, and the host of non-Christian forms of worship, God finds objectionable

This lesson barley scrapes the surface of the wonders of what God has in store for mankind. You are urged to study every quoted source in its Bible contxt and to yourself search the Scriptures concerning our millenial future. If you have unresolved queries please feel free to contact us at any of our addresses