Topical Studies
Government of God
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Mark 1:14-15 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The word "gospel" means good news, or glad tidings. Jesus went about preaching the good news of the coming Kingdom of God! The gospel of Jesus Christ is simply the very same gospel He preached. Jesus' gospel is not primarily a message about Himself personally, or about "receiving Jesus." It is not primarily a message about the events in His life and of His becoming the Savior of the world—although it most certainly does include all that. Notice the four things necessary to constitute a kingdom: 1) territory, 2) a king or ruler, 3) subjects or citizens, 4) laws and government. In the coming Kingdom of God, the territory will be this earth; the king will be Jesus Christ; the subjects will be this earth's peoples; and the laws will be God's Ten Commandments and spiritual principles administered by the divine government of God.
Why Study the Bible in the Space Age?
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Acts 1:6-7 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The message that the apostles took to the world was one of great hope—the hope of a Savior; the hope of a Redeemer; the hope of a King who will establish the government of God on earth, one of truth and justice. This government will feature Christians bearing rule under Him, if they remain loyal and overcome. However, it had just not unfolded the way that they had expected it would. As time went on, conditions became worse, and sometimes it was difficult for them to maintain their loyalty to Christ.
John W. Ritenbaugh
How to Know We Love Christ
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2 Corinthians 11:13-14 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The spirit will be reflected in the preaching: It will be anti-Christ even though it proclaims Christ, which is really deceptive. The "anti" part will be revealed in a lack of submission to the doctrines or to the government of God. This is very serious. God gave religion the responsibility to give moral, spiritual, and ethical guidance to man. If mankind does not realize the spirit behind the false preaching, he will naively reflect the evil spirit that is there.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Right Use of Power
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2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Notice that II Thessalonians 1:8 says that God will take vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. This idea has a strong tie to the book of Revelation, as the gospel of Jesus Christ is the "good news" that He brought. His good news is not primarily about Himself, but rather it is the message that He brought from His Father about the Kingdom of God being established on earth (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 4:23; 9:35; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 16:16-17). After the gospel is preached in all the world as a witness to all nations (Matthew 24:14), God will be justified in punishing all of those who reject it. The end of this present world will come when God takes vengeance on those who have heard the gospel message—which, at that point, will be everyone alive on earth—but who refuse to repent and submit to God's rule on earth. The tie to the book of Revelation is that the unveiling of Jesus Christ, when He removes man from governing the earth and takes that responsibility to Himself, is the fulfillment of the gospel message that He brought. When Christ is revealed, the Kingdom of God will be at hand. Revelation fills in the explosive details of how the governments of this world will come under the rulership of God. Even though the word gospel means "good news," people typically do not think of the book of Revelation as being encouraging or uplifting. For most professing Christians, the gospel that Jesus preached is not good news. They prefer a gospel that is limited to the forgiveness of their sins. When they hear that God's Kingdom includes repentance and obedience to His laws, they cannot tolerate it (Romans 8:7). For those who will not obey the gospel, the book of Revelation is not good news at all, because it foretells their judgment for idolatry and disobedience. For true Christians, though, this book is wonderful news! It may not be "good" news in the sense of being pleasant, enjoyable, or attractive. Instead, its news contains a zealous, righteous goodness—an active pursuit of what is good for mankind, a deliberate and forceful bringing to pass of those things that will make life good for everyone. The entire creation will rejoice when the present principalities, powers, and broken governments of men are replaced with a King who will powerfully impose all that is good upon a sin-sick world.
David C. Grabbe
What Is the Book of Revelation?
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Revelation 3:12 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
No matter what a person's name means, it identifies him. Our new names will identify us with a person ("God"), a place ("New Jerusalem"), and very likely a function or responsibility in God's government ("My new name"). Obadiah 1:17, 21 gives us an insight of what our function may be: But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. . . . Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
John W. Ritenbaugh
God's Promises Are Sure!
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