____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ October 31, 1993 ____________________________________________________ A Peaceful Kingdom by Tom Edwards Though modern man has advanced greatly in science, medicine, and other technologies, and has given quite a ``facelift'' to the world in contrast to its old ``mug'' of 200 years ago and prior, there are still other areas in which people never seem to change. Morality is one such area. Many of the vices and iniquities of our generation are the same as those practiced by various peoples down through time. Micah, who wrote about 700 B.C., said of the people of his day that ``The godly man has perished from the land, and there is no upright person among them....'' (Micah 7:2). How deplorable the world must have appeared to this Old Testament prophet. It was just a few years ago that a news item had mentioned of a girl in Los Angeles who had been kidnapped by five men who were continually raping and abusing her. Finally, after almost a week, she was able to escape. Flagging over a car, she asked the driver to take her to the police station. The car was filled with a few men who took her to the park instead--and again she was molested and raped. Though the times looked bleak to Micah, God gave him a great radiance of hope by telling him of a very special Ruler who would come ``from long ago, from the days of eternity'' (Micah 5:2). This, of course, is a Messianic prophecy about Jesus. Of all who have lived upon our planet, only of Jesus can it be said that He came ``from the days of eternity''--for Jesus is ``the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end....'' (Rev. 21:6). These phrases refer to the eternal nature of Christ, as also does John 8:56-58 in which Jesus said to some disbelieving Jews in His day, ``Before Abraham was born, I AM'' (emphasis mine). Micah continues with this sparkling hope of the Savior by foretelling of the kingdom that He would establish (Micah 4:1-5). This reference is similar to Isaiah's (Isa. 2:1-4). Both Micah and Isaiah show that it would be in the ``last days'' that God would establish His kingdom upon the earth, which is the time that we are now living in. Actually, the ``last days'' began almost 2,000 years ago. In Acts 2:15-17, Peter indicates that the ``last days'' began with the onset of the gospel dispensation, as he preached that first sermon in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost around A.D. 33. This particular day was certainly a memorable milestone that marked the beginning of that time of which Isaiah, Micah, Joel, and others referred to as the ``last days.'' Daniel also spoke of this time in which the God of heaven would set up His kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2). Though he prophesied during the Babylonian reign, he also foresaw three other world-ruling empires that would reign in a succession--each one having conquered the former--and the final one, which was Rome, being the one in control when God's kingdom would be established. (Bible and secular history both show these other kingdoms following Babylon to have been the Medes and Persians, Greece, and then Rome.) Jesus, John the baptist, and the Lord's apostles lived during the time of the Roman empire; and they each proclaimed that the kingdom of God was soon to come (Matt. 4:17; Matt. 3:2; Matt. 10:7). In Mark 9:1, Jesus declared that there were some who were hearing Him that day who would not die until they had seen the kingdom of God come with power. A study through the Scriptures shows that the kingdom has come, and it is synonymous with the church (Matt. 16:18,19; cf. Acts 2:47 with Col. 1:13). John writes of that ``new song'' in which are the following words: ``Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom....'' (Rev. 5:9,10). According to this passage, Christ has made the kingdom possible by His blood that was shed (on Calvary); and that kingdom is the people (the Christians) who have been bought by that blood; but, also, in Acts 20:28, Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders about the church which was purchased by the blood of Christ (and the church is not a building of brick, wood, or any other material; it is the people who have been redeemed by Christ's sacrifice). These passages show that Jesus did not die for two DIFFERENT institutions, but rather the ``church'' and the ``kingdom'' are referring to the same thing. Furthermore, it is helpful to note that the law of the gospel is the same as the law of the kingdom. There are not two separate laws: one for those in the church and another for those in the kingdom. These laws are binding upon all--even the atheist! The law of the gospel which defines stealing as a sin, is also a law of the kingdom--and a law that if violated by even a non-believer will cause one to be a transgressor. The peaceful nature of God's kingdom is depicted in Isaiah 11:6-8 as a place where ``the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like an ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.'' This is not to say that there is coming a time when these animals will literally dwell in peace with each other--the gentle with those that normally prey upon them, such as the innocent lamb and the vicious wolf--rather, it is a figurative way of referring to the harmony that will exist among those in the church. The key to all of this can be seen in Isaiah 11:9, which says, ``They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain....'' Going back to Isaiah 2:1-4 or Micah 4:1-4, God's holy mountain is referring to that place where God's church (or kingdom) dwells. Though the world is filled with crime, violence, and wickedness, God's kingdom is to be characterized with ''...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit'' (Rom. 14:17). It is in the church today that we can find a refuge from the wrong type of pervading influences of the world, but animals can never be a part of the church for they were not created in God's image, nor do they have souls. This reaffirms the position that Micah's use of contrasting gentle and vicious animals in a peaceful setting is being used metaphorically and not literally. Paul points out to the brethren of his day that through the blood of Christ the long-existing wall of hostility between the Jew and the Gentile had been broken down, and there is now no more distinction between the two, for they have become one in Christ (Eph. 2:13-22). Now those who previously had no dealings with each other could be united in the same Spirit--even the Jew with the once-despised Samaritan (Jn. 4:9). In the church, Christians are simply Christians--regardless of racial background (Gal. 3:28)--and are to be harmoniously one in Christ (Jn. 17:20,21; Rom. 12:5; 15:5,6). Though the time of the church was a long way off from the days of Micah, he could still live harmoniously with God. As he writes in Micah 4:5, ``Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.'' But even so, there is a special blessing to all of us today who are a part of God's kingdom, the church. This inference can be seen in the fact that it was said of John the baptist, who had died before the church was established, that there ``has not arisen anyone greater than John the baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he'' (Matt. 11:11). This was because John was never in the kingdom--since the kingdom and the church are synonymous. Those who are in God's kingdom today have their citizenship already in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and they are made to sit in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 2:6). The Hebrew writer enumerates many ``better things'' we have in this New Testament dispensation as seen in contrast to the Old Covenant. Just as iniquity abounded in Micah's day and probably brought to him much grief as he viewed the world characterized by such, the world of today is also filled with a disregard toward the laws of God and is not always a very tranquil and caring place to be; but we can still find solace in being a part of God's enduring and peaceful kingdom. To become a citizen of this heavenly domain, you must hear the word of God (Rom. 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of your sins (Acts 3:19), acknowledge your faith in the deity of Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38), and be baptized in water in order to benefit from the Lord's sacrifice, so that your sins may be blotted out (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21). This will put you into the kingdom. Though many today would agree with most of this, they--far too often--disagree with the part about baptism; but we need to remember that Jesus made baptism part of the plan of salvation when He stated in Mark 16:16 that ``He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved....'' Parallel with this is the Lord's instruction to Nicodemus, that a man must be ``born again'' of ``water and the Spirit'' in order to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5). The only way in which water is ever seen in the New Testament in connection with one's salvation is in that watery grave of baptism for the remission of sins (cf. Acts 2:38). Won't you enter God's kingdom today that His peace may abound with you? ___________________________________________ The ``International church of Christ'' by Tom Edwards Recently I watched a newsmagazine show in which people of the ``International church of Christ'' were being interviewed. Some of these had testified of the church's use of harsh treatment--both mentally and physically. Several who had left the group with such despair because of all the indoctrinating, ended up committing suicide, having been stripped of all hope. They had been so ingrained with the teachings of this Boston group that they were made to think that there was no other alternative for them--but Hell--if they ever left this particular group. In another case, a cruel treatment was cited that had been used by the group to ``help'' people repent: the individual would be placed in a basement for about two weeks and not given any food. You certainly won't find this method in the Bible. It was shocking to hear of these and other testimonies given by people who had formerly been in the group. I'm always appalled at those who blindly remain and continue to have their lives twisted and shaped by such cultic ideas that can only derange and mislead further from the truth. I was relieved when the reporters clearly stated that the International church of Christ is not to be confused with the ``churches of Christ.'' But prior to this closing remark, the previous report helped me to realize even more why Paul was so opposed to the woman who had only said, ``These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation'' (Acts 16:17). Though, in this case, it was true in what she was saying, Paul was annoyed by her ``endorsement'' because she had been making her ``masters much profit by her fortunetelling'' (v. 16); and, apparently, Paul did not want to be viewed in any type of favorable affiliation with such an abominable practice. Even the thought of being identified with a group like the ``International church of Christ'' gives me the ``creeps''; and with the name they wear being fairly similar to the name we use, this concern had arisen. I, therefore, reiterate that we are not affiliated with this ``International church of Christ.'' I'm thankful to be a member of the church of Christ here in Ashland, Kentucky; and I'm thankful for my brethren the world over who are willing to stand for the truth and be a light in the community--and not as an eerie glow of repugnance, repulsion, or sometimes horror, as many cults are. May it be our desire to want to be the Christian that God wants us to be, to treat one another the way the Lord would, and to bring glory to God and not reproach upon His good and holy name nor upon His church that was bought with the precious blood of His Son Jesus (1 Pet. 1:18,19). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________