Have you really caught the vision that Jesus Christ brought to this earth and that His disciples proclaimed to this world? Do you really grasp the scope of the vision that God revealed to His prophets of old? What impact has this vision of the future had on your mind? Has the reality of that vision changed your life in any way?
Every year at the Feast of Tabernacles we invariably hear the same question: “Why are we here?” We have probably heard it so many times that it no longer causes us to stop and really examine our reasons for going to the Feast! It is easy to assume that we know the answer—we are there to keep the Feast and enjoy a foretaste of tomorrow’s world, where Jesus Christ and the saints will rule during the Millennium. However, knowing the right answer does not mean we have caught the vision!
Catching the vision entails being able to see the reality of the coming kingdom of God—that it is actually going to happen—and that you can begin to prepare now for important roles in the coming kingdom of God. Catching the vision means that you will begin changing any aspect of your life—the way you think or act—to follow God’s instructions more perfectly, because you realize we are in training for future opportunities in God’s Kingdom. One of our major responsibilities in the kingdom will be teaching others how to live God’s way of life (Isaiah 30:20–21). We will not be able to teach what we ourselves do not really believe and do not fully follow now! When you really catch the vision of the coming kingdom of God—when it is real to you—the pulls, thrills and priorities of this world will no longer have the attraction they once had. Your primary focus will be on preparing for the future, and that focus will guide your decisions about how to use your time and where you devote your energies.
But how do we really catch the vision? How do we bring that vision into focus? What do we do when we catch the vision? How do we make sure that vision does not become fuzzy or pushed aside by other more immediate concerns? How can we avoid losing sight of this incredible and exciting vision?
Vision Defined
To catch anything, we first must have a clear idea of what we are trying to catch. Today, when we hear the word vision, it may bring to mind a weird supernatural or surrealistic experience totally unassociated with reality—a dream that can easily be dismissed. People who take dreams seriously are often viewed as a bit crazy. However, a real vision is a practical dream—something you can visualize in your mind—a dream with a deadline. It is something you want to do or accomplish; something that you develop plans and a strategy to achieve. It is something you can imagine really happening and being part of—a goal that you can see in your mind and feel in your heart, that you will sacrifice for in order to achieve it. A person with a vision understands what is coming—just out of sight over the horizon—that other people do not grasp at this time. When people catch a vision, they begin to structure their life and channel their energies toward achieving that vision—they focus on a future that is real and attainable!
Choosing the right vision is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Developing a sense of vision will also have a powerful impact on your life because it will set you apart from the average person—you will no longer fit in with many of your friends—or even family members. The novelist Jonathan Swift once wrote, “vision is the art of seeing things that are invisible to others.” The American humorist Will Rogers stated that “the fellow who sees a week ahead is popular because he is looking with the crowd, but the one who sees years ahead has a telescope and people find it hard to believe him.” In order to stay focused on a vision, it must be real to you—and you must see the benefits to yourself and others of achieving the vision. The benefits of making the vision a reality must outweigh any short-term rewards you might have to sacrifice. The Feast of Tabernacles and other festivals of God are designed to help us focus on the vision—to gain a better grasp of the plan of God, what it means for the world and how we can prepare to participate and contribute in the coming kingdom of God. These are some of the real reasons for attending God’s festivals.
Vision of Jesus
But what was the vision that Jesus Christ brought to this earth and proclaimed as the gospel? Sadly, the only gospel—the only vision—that many professing Christians have heard and accepted is about the person of Jesus: that He loves them, gave His life for them and will bless them if they love Him and everyone else. All too often this translates into a gospel of feelings and emotion that actually ignores and obliterates the incredible message Jesus preached and the awesome implications of that message. Yet the Bible is very clear about the vision that Jesus conveyed to His disciples.
Mark records that “Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying… Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15). Jesus’ ministry involved “teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness” (Matthew 4:23; 9:35). When Jesus called His twelve disciples “He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1–2). Jesus later commissioned His disciples to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). While Jesus understood that part of His mission was to die for the sins of mankind (John 3:16), so we can be forgiven upon repentance (Acts 2:38), His major focus—as the Bible reveals—was preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom of God. Jesus said that His message came directly from His Father (John 6:38; 8:26) and that He was totally devoted to the work that would entail (John 4:34). Jesus was a man with a mission who was focused on a vision of the kingdom of God. If we believe His teaching and follow His example, we will be focused on the same vision.
Apostolic Christianity
What was it that attracted people to the message of Jesus Christ? Why were many willing to die for their beliefs? What was the vision that the Apostles conveyed to the world? Jesus’ disciples readily understood that positions of great responsibility awaited them in the kingdom of God. Jesus told the Apostles that their reward would be to inherit eternal life and “sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:23–30). The mother of James and John asked Jesus to let her two sons have top jobs in the kingdom (Matthew 20:21), which led Jesus to explain that the critical attitude necessary to be in the kingdom was to learn how to serve others (Matthew 20:26–28). Individuals that God will use in positions of responsibility in the kingdom will develop their talents now to function as servant leaders tomorrow!
It took time for the disciples to understand the importance of developing the proper attitude and motivation for entering the kingdom of God. However, they saw the big picture and were excited about this incredible future! Luke mentions that the major topic of Christ’s conversations with His disciples after the Resurrection involved “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). The big question on the minds of the disciples concerned their reward: “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They were not babbling with emotion about how much they “loved the Lord.” They caught the vision and they wanted to know when it would become a reality. That was their focus. That is why they were excited!
The disciples explained that God would forgive sins, and grant His Spirit, to those who repented, and that He could save them from the fate of a world heading for destruction (Acts 2:36–41). However, they continued to preach the same gospel and proclaim the same vision that had captured their hearts and minds. When Philip went to Samaria “he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). When Paul spoke to the elders in Ephesus he reminded them he had come to them “preaching the kingdom of God” (Acts 20:25). Later, in Rome, Paul was still “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ… from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets” (Acts 28:23, 31). Decades later the Apostle John was still describing the awesome future for individuals willing to share this vision, as he explained that God has “made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10; see also 1:6), and that those who qualify for the kingdom of God “shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). The Apostles never let go of that vision! For them, the kingdom of God was their magnetic north—it kept them pointed in the right direction—toward the right goal.
This amazing vision of the kingdom of God was the driving force in the expansion of true Christianity during the early centuries of the Church—before misguided teachers began to lose the vision and turn aside to another gospel. Historian Edward Gibbon provides an amazing account of how this occurred. He writes, “The ancient and popular doctrine of the Millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ… that Christ, with the triumphant band of saints and the elect who escaped death… would reign upon earth till the time appointed for the last and general resurrection… The assurance of such a Millennium was carefully inculcated by a succession of fathers from Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who conversed with the immediate disciples of the apostles… Though it might not be universally received, it appears to have been the reigning sentiment of the orthodox believers; and it seems so well adapted to the desires and apprehensions of mankind, that it must have contributed in a very considerable degree to the progress of the Christian faith.… But when the edifice of the church was almost completed, the temporary support was laid aside. The doctrine of Christ’s reign upon earth was at first treated as a profound allegory, was considered by degrees as a doubtful and useless opinion, and was at length rejected as the absurd invention of heresy and fanaticism” (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1, chap. 15). That is a remarkable statement about what happened to the central and most powerful aspect of the gospel that Jesus Christ and His disciples proclaimed to the world. The facts of history record that the mainstream of Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) simply lost the vision and now preach another gospel—about going to heaven!
Early Warnings
This gradual, yet dramatic, departure from the truth was anticipated, and warnings were issued to alert anyone who would listen from losing sight of the real vision. Jesus predicted that “many will come in My name… and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). Paul marveled when individuals he had personally taught turned away to a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6–9). We are warned that at the end of the age many will be deluded into believing lies because “they did not receive the love for the truth” and because “they did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10–12). Paul warned some would grow tired of hearing the truth and would prefer the novelty of speculative ideas and fables (2 Timothy 4:3–4). This is what can happen to anyone who never really catches the vision, or who allows the vision to become fuzzy and clouded over or pushed aside by other more immediate, short-term concerns, or who simply lets go of the vision. This is why Jesus cautioned, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back [takes his eyes off the vision], is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). This is also why Jesus encouraged His disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Details of the Vision
But where do we find the exciting details of the vision of the kingdom that the disciples of Jesus Christ seem to have understood, yet say little about in the New Testament? Paul indicated that his source of information was the writings of Moses and the prophets (Acts 28:23). John’s assertion that we will be kings and priests and reign on the earth comes from Exodus 19:6, Isaiah 61:6 and Daniel 7:18, 27. God gave the Old Testament prophets numerous details about the coming kingdom of God that many professing Christians have never heard or do not understand. Isaiah reveals that in the coming kingdom of God the laws of God will be proclaimed to the world from Jerusalem and that nations will not “learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2–4). All nations will learn to keep the Sabbath (Isaiah 66:23) and the Holy Days (Zechariah 14:16–19). Jesus Christ will establish a world government to teach people the way to peace (Isaiah 9:6–7). The environment will be restored (Isaiah 35:1–6) and cities will be rebuilt (Isaiah 61:4) with pedestrian malls (Zechariah 8:5) and green belts to allow mankind contact with nature (Isaiah 11:6–9). Human beings will no longer have to live in dwellings that are crammed together (Isaiah 5:8); they will live in gardenlike settings (Genesis 2:15) where private ownership is an incentive to care for and develop their property (Micah 4:4). Sickness will be eliminated as people are taught and begin to follow the dietary laws and sanitary principles outlined in Scripture (Isaiah 35:4–6; 66:15–17; Leviticus 11–13). The whole focus of the Millennium will be on a total restoration of a way of life based on the laws of God (Acts 3:19–21).
When you begin to catch the vision of what tomorrow’s world is all about—what is actually going to happen on this earth when the kingdom of God is established—it gives you a clear goal to prepare for. Catching that vision will provide the motivation for gaining not only a knowledge of the Bible, but learning how to apply scriptural principles to every aspect of life: agriculture, architecture, animal husbandry, child-rearing, city planning, civil engineering, conservation, ecology, economics, education, entertainment, forestry, government, health, literature, marriage, music, nutrition, recreation and wildlife management, to name a few—the list is almost endless.
Few seem to realize that the Bible contains fundamental guidelines that provide the right approach to so many important disciplines. This is why we are told that “the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Biblical principles provide the real starting point for any field of study. This is why Peter advises Christians to “grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” and to diligently “add to your faith” if we hope to attain the kingdom (2 Peter 3:18; 1:5–11).
When we really grasp the vision of what the kingdom is all about, we will not merely put in time waiting for the kingdom, we will be actively preparing for it. This is what it means to catch the vision!