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THE COMING KINGDOM. Howard Taylor.
100. Q. You have said in answer to question 93 that our salvation is not complete now. What will it be like when Christ comes again? A. It is impossible for human language to describe exactly what it will be like. We shall see things that no earthly eye has seen, hear things that no earthly ear has heard, and experience things that no earthly mind has imagined. The gift of tongues which God gives to some Christians is a foretaste of this, because quite often the one speaking in tongues is speaking of mysteries beyond human experience. 101. Q. Is the future completely uncertain? A. No. We know that at the coming of Christ there will be a judgement and separation of humankind and our salvation will be completed. Before that day the church will bear witness in all parts of the world and Israel will be a sign to the nations. 102. Q. In what way will our salvation be complete? First of all tell me how our justification and reconciliation with God will be complete in the new creation. A. We will see the Lord face to face. Heaven and earth, God and his people will be reunited. The dwelling place of God will be with us and we will live with him. 103. Q. How will our liberation from evil be complete? A. In the new creation we will be freed from the presence of Satan, sin and death, so that suffering will be no more. God will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away. 104. Q. In what way will our sanctification be complete? A. When he appears we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Our whole being, body, mind and spirit, will be made like him. He will transform our weak bodies, so that they will be like his glorious body. 105. Q. Will not the final establishment of the kingdom of God be gradual? A. No. Jesus said, 'As the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man'. 106. Q. When will this day be? A. No one knows except God. We must not speculate as to the exact date of Christ's coming. However, we must be ready for him and watch the signs that his coming is near. 107. Q. What are these signs? A. There are many. We must expect human wickedness and natural disasters to increase dramatically in the last days. However the Bible also gives us a vision of the church having spread to all parts of the earth before the final day of the Lord. It surely is significant that in the latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the 21st Century, the Christian church is growing more rapidly than ever in its history especially in Africa and Asia. Another significant sign is the nation of Israel. 108. Q. How can Israel still be in God's special purposes? Did it not reject Christ when some Jews had him crucified? A. Even though all the apostles and first Christians were Jews and maintained their Jewish identity you are right in thinking that most of Israel did reject Christ. Yet in their rejection of him they were representing the rebellion of all the world against God. Christ not only bore their sin against him, but through them, ours too. (See earlier Q. and A. 57.) The New Testament, drawing on the Old Testament, shows how God had actually purposed to use their sin in crucifying Jesus as the means by which he would bring salvation to all peoples. Throughout the history of the world evil forces have tried to eliminate the Jews but like the burning bush they can never be consumed. God has remarkably preserved them as a sign of his concern for all peoples. In their terrible yet extraordinary history God is sifting the conscience of the church and world. They will have a highly significant place in God's purposes towards the end of world history. Until they recognise Jesus as their Messiah they cannot recognise the true meaning of their history and how 'in all their affliction, he too is afflicted'. We must work and pray for the day when all Israel is saved. It will be a time of blessing for all the world. 109. Q. When the end does come, what will happen to those who have resisted the Holy Spirit and rejected Christ? A. The Bible makes it clear that on the last day there will be a judgement and separation of people. The destiny of many will be eternal separation from God. The Bible uses several words to describe this condition, such as: hell, the lake of fire, destruction, or more simply death. We do not know exactly that these words refer to, except that they refer to a destiny to be feared. 110. Q. What about those people who have never heard of the grace of God? A. The Bible does not tell us. But it does lay on us an urgent responsibility to preach the gospel to all people, because without Christ they did not know the way of salvation. As far as the final judgement goes, we can be confident that the Judge of all the earth will do right. There is no need at all to fear that he will be unfair. He knows far more about each individual person than we imagine. 111 Q. Will the coming of Christ have significance for the world of nature? A. Yes indeed. This is why so much of the Bible is not only interested in the chosen people but also the promised land and their relationship to it. The whole of creation is now groaning in pain waiting for the revealing of the children of God. Redeemed humanity will again take its place as leader of nature which will be re-created - a new heaven and earth. On that day the heaven will be glad and the earth rejoice. The Psalmist tells us that the sea will roar and all that fills it. The field will exult and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 112. Q. Does this wonderful hope mean that there is no point in us working for justice and peace in the world now? We do not seem to have the power to do much to save the world from evil. Should we not just wait for the coming of Christ? A. If we are truly one with Christ, then we will share his love for our lost world and His sorrow for its sufferings. This is why we can never be indifferent to all the oppression, injustice and wars that exist. Although we should not fear these things we should be passionately concerned for truth, peace and human dignity for all people. Although the church can never fully establish the kingdom of God on earth, we may influence the world for good far more than we imagine. We must hold fast to our faith not compromising it according to the fads and fashions of the age we live in. We must also seek to understand the world so that we can be effective servants of Christ in it. As the salt of the earth and the light of the world we must work to prepare a way for the coming of the Lord as we strive in his name for the cause of goodness among peoples and nations. (Prayer and discipleship are our powerful instruments.) Only as we so serve the Lord will we be ready for the coming of his eternal kingdom. REFERENCES 100. 1 Cor. 2:9; 13:1,9-13; 14. 101. Matt. 25:31-46; Rom. 13:11; Matt. 24:14; Is. 11:12. 102. Matt. 5:8; 1 John 3:2; Rev. 21:1-3, 22:3-5; Is. 62:4-5; 60:19,20; 65:17-19. 103. Is. 61:1-3; 65:17-22; Rev. 20:10; 21:4-7. 104. 1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:20-21; Rom. 8:29. 105. Zech. 12:10; 13:1; 14:3-9; Matt. 24:27-30, 36-44; Rev. 1:7. 106. Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:6,7. 107. Matt. 24:4-13,29; Is. 60:1-5. 108. (a) Acts 7:51-53; Acts 21:17-26,39; Rom. 9:1-5. (b) Deut. 29:2-4; Is. 42:18-20; 63:17; Rom. 11:8-14,25-32. (c) Exod. 1:8-22; Esther 3:1-6; Ps. 44:20-22; 83:3-5; Exod. 3:1-6; Mal. 3:6; Jer. 30:31; 12:14-17; Ezek. 36; Is. 63:9; Ps. 98:3; 102:16-18; Acts 1:6-7; Zech. 12:10; 13:1; 14:3-9; Rom. 11:12-15. 109. Matt. 23:33; Matt. 25:45-46; Matt. 7:13-14, 21-27; 10:28; 2 Thes. 1:9; Rev. 20:10-15; 21:6-8; Rom. 6:23. 110. Eph. 2:11-12; Acts 10:34-35; Matt. 28:18-20; 1 Cor. 9:16; Gen. 18:25; John 5:22; Rev. 16:7; Rom. 2:16; Ps. 103:11-14. 111. 1 Chron. 16:14-18; 15.35:1-255:12-13; Jer. 33:10-13Rom. 8:19-22; Ps. 96:10-13, 98:7-9: Is. 11:1-9, 65:25. 112. Matt. 5:1-16, 6:5-13,25-34; Is. 40:3; Mic. 6:8; Dan. 9:20-23; Eph. 6:18-20; James 5:16-18; Eph. 4:4-9.
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