How many times a day do you pray “Your Kingdom come?” Unless you are avoiding news reports entirely, you are constantly hearing of the evil, injustice and oppression that blanket most of the earth today. And, far from the utopian promises of technology bringing mankind an abundant new era, the reality of our 21st century is that billions now live in shocking poverty.
As The Economist magazine recently reported: “Of the 7 billion people alive on the planet, 1.1 billion subsist below the internationally accepted extreme-poverty line of $1.25 a day” (June 1, 2013, p. 11). In other words, 15.7 percent of all human beings in this “modern” 21st century are living in extreme poverty! More than one-third of the world’s population—more than 2 billion people—subsist on less than $2 per day. The global median annual income—half earn more, and half earn less—is $1,225. By the world’s standards, the American middle-class and working poor are very blessed with wealth. Not only do half of the world’s richest 1 percent live in the United States; a single American earning $34,000 per year is among the richest 1 percent of the world’s people. Of course, many who earn $34,000 in the U.S. are struggling to make ends meet, with rising costs of health care, food, energy, education and other necessities. In the U.S. itself, to be in the top 1 percent of U.S. residents requires an annual income above $500,000.
Did Christ envision a world with such inequity, where by some estimates the top 1 percent control about 39 percent of the world’s wealth, while the bottom 50 percent have less than 2 percent of the wealth? Our Savior is not a socialist nor a communist. Scripture teaches plainly that those who do not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Society is to provide for the weak, disabled and needy, but God values hard work and its rewards. Christ Himself said, “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (Luke 10:7). Whether one labors in the gospel, or in a factory, God’s way is not the way of exploitation of workers—as is so common in our world today.
Thankfully, there is a new world coming, a time when the world will be governed by the Prince of Peace and His servants the saints! Each year, anticipating that time, God’s people observe the Feast of Tabernacles that pictures this coming Kingdom of God on the earth. Those of you who have observed “the Feast” know the joy of God’s way of life. We visualize the promised future revealed in Bible prophecy. We see the contrast between God’s perfect way—which all the world will experience under Christ’s rule in the Millennium (Revelation 20:4)—and mankind’s 6,000 tragic years experimenting with humanly devised values and ways of life.
God’s plan has been in effect “since the world began.” In 31ad, the Apostle Peter spoke of the “times of refreshing” that will “come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Peter told his audience that God the Father will “send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (vv. 20–21).
Yes, “times of refreshing” and “the times of restoration of all things” lie ahead of us in the not-too-distant future. What will God “restore?” He will restore His government to rule the world for everyone’s benefit. We know that God’s Kingdom on earth will bring equity and true justice. Christ will rid the world of injustice, and the prediction of the prophet Amos will come to pass: “But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24).
Tomorrow’s Governmental Leaders
At the Feast of Tabernacles each year, God’s ministers remind us of our high calling. Our ultimate destiny is not to “roll around heaven all day” as the old song described. Rather, we will be active as kings and priests on the earth (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). We will “judge the world” as God’s “royal priesthood” and “holy nation” (1 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Peter 2:9). As our Presiding Evangelist, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, has reminded us numerous times, “We are now training to be kings and priests.”
Who else will serve in significant positions under Christ? We know that Jesus told His disciples, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:28–29). Obviously, at the time of the “regeneration,” when faithful Christians will be “born again” at the resurrection, the twelve tribes will exist and will be identifiable. We can only guess which apostles will be ruling over Ephraim (the British-descended peoples) and Manasseh (the American people) and the Northwestern European nations (mainly descended from other tribes of Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” as we find in Genesis 32:28).
And who will rule over the entire twelve tribes? Read Ezekiel 37:24–25, “David My servant shall be king over them [Israel and Judah, v. 16], and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.” Remember, God called ancient King David, “a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). As kings, priests, and judges in training, we must strive to follow King David’s example through Christ living His life in us (Galatians 2:20). We also will teach the world God’s commandments, statutes and judgments.
Think of the many others identified in your Bible as proven faithful servants of God. The “faith chapter”—Hebrews 11—lists such saints as Abraham and Sarah, and even “the harlot Rahab” (v. 31). Who else will be near to God in authority? Jesus particularly honored the three great patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, when He stated, “But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31–32). That powerful identification is repeated five more times in the New Testament.
Jesus also revealed two more top leaders in the coming Kingdom during the “transfiguration on the mount.” Christ told His disciples: “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). Later, He took Peter, James and John to a high mountain, and “He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him” (Matthew 17:2–3). Jesus gave these disciples a vision of the Kingdom including those two great servants of God. Both Moses and Elijah were prophets, although Moses also led the whole nation of Israel and exercised national government. Elijah not only urged Israel to seek the true God; he led schools for Israel’s prophets (2 Kings 2:1–5).
As we visualize the Kingdom, we look forward to these great leaders ruling, leading, governing and teaching major segments of the world. “Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead’” (Matthew 17:9).
God confirmed to Ezekiel three more servants who were faithful and righteous in His sight. Israel had hardened itself so severely that God said to Ezekiel, “‘Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness’” (Ezekiel 14:19–20).
Can you begin to see the structure of God’s loving, divine government, consisting of faithful men and women who will rule in God’s coming Kingdom as glorified, immortalized children of God? In his inspiring booklet, The World Ahead: What Will It Be Like?, Dr. Meredith challenges us to visualize that time: “In that magnificent future, soon to be established at Christ’s coming, we will be able to fellowship and interact with the greatest leaders of the Bible and many other such faithful servants—the spirits of just men made perfect now and forever!” (p. 34).
We look forward to the first resurrection, when today’s saints will be reunited with the saints who “sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). We will rejoice in the wedding with our Savior (Revelation 19:7). Even now we have fellowship with God the Father and Christ (1 John 1:3). Soon, we will have an eternity to fellowship with our Father and Savior, with the faithful saints of our time, and with those the Bible lists as heroes and heroines.
Opportunity To Serve in the Kingdom
God is reproducing Himself, preparing an eternal, royal family to serve all nations in the coming Kingdom. At the Feast of Tabernacles, we hear sermons helping us to see more clearly the glorious future God has planned for His called-out ones, to serve Him in turning the whole world to righteousness. At the Feast, one way to picture this and to prepare is to look for ways to serve your brethren. Pray that God will show you ways you can serve others. Use your talents, and give of your time to encourage those around you. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).
God knows every hair on our head (Matthew 10:30). He knows the talents and gifts He has given us. We should use those gifts now as profitable servants, training for our future service in God’s Kingdom. We will all be kings, priests and judges, but God will also assign specific positions of service. Some will rule over five or ten cities (Luke 19:15–19); some will rule over nations (Revelation 2:26). Philadelphians will be at the Headquarters of God’s Kingdom, pillars in the very temple of God (Revelation 3:12). As priests of God, we will teach the way of love and truth. What will flesh-and-blood human beings experience in the Millennium and the White Throne Judgment, when today’s resurrected firstfruits will be the teachers? They will find that “your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:20–21).
We have great potential for service in the Kingdom to use those talents and gifts God has given us. So, we must continue to grow and multiply our spiritual gifts—as instructed in the parable of the minas (Luke 19:12–27) and the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30). Christ warned, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vv. 29–30). We must strive to avoid being unprofitable servants!
A Transformed World
Today, 1.1 billion people live in extreme poverty. In God’s coming Kingdom, the world will prosper as it applies God’s laws of tithing, observes the Sabbatical year when debts are forgiven, conducts business in a way that will encourage godly living—and experiences the blessings of rain in due season. “But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken” (Micah 4:4).
Our present world of war, conflict and oppression will be transformed. Christ will put all enemies under His feet. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:22–25). “Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Micah 4:2–3).
Brethren, pray for God’s Kingdom to come. Work while it is day, for “the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Let us rejoice in the Feast and exercise the vision God has given us. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18). Thank God for His revelation of our glorious destiny. Let us go forward with faith, committing ourselves to the commandments and promises of God. Faithful saints have set the example for us: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).
As we picture the Kingdom, we must ready ourselves to rule. Let us look forward with all our hearts to the time when Christ will return and we, the firstfruits, will assist Him in His rule. As Dr. Meredith so movingly described in a powerful Living Church News article several years ago, “That is why we are called now. That is the magnificent future we can look forward to—the opportunity to assist Christ in ‘wiping away every tear,’ healing the sick, delivering the troubled, releasing captives from prison and bringing joy to the entire earth. Again, as we saw in Jeremiah’s inspired prophecy: ‘There is hope in your future, says the Lord’ (Jeremiah 31:17)! That hope—that magnificent opportunity to straighten out this earth and bring genuine peace and joy to millions—is what should motivate all of us to press toward the Kingdom of God with all of our hearts!” (“Are You Ready To Rule?,” September-October 2009, p. 4).
Brethren, let us rejoice in the Feast, embrace the promises God has given us, and visualize the coming Kingdom of God on earth!