GOOD NEWS FOR THE FUTURE
WE have become so accustomed to bad news that it is hard to believe that there ever can be good news again. This past millennium has been a time of wars and rumours of war, of distress and hardship and worry and care. At the end of life came death, believed to be inevitable. The words of the Psalmist in Psalm 90:10 sum up not only the past century, thousand years, but the past 6000 years:
‘The days of our years are threescore years and ten and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.’
THE GOSPEL
What really is good news? The only genuine good news is the Gospel. This good news we will find in only one book, and that is the Bible. But what is the Gospel? There are many interpretations. In much of the preaching we hear of a so-called superman appearing at the end of the age, performing all kinds of miracles, taking control of this world and putting his seal of 666 on all his followers, and woe to all those who have not this mark!
But all this is the imagination of the various preachers. There is no specific mention of this in God’s Word. But we do read of a SUPERMAN in the Scripture. He was born 2000 years ago; it was a miracle birth. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He performed miracles, walked on the water, healed the sick, raised the dead, multiplied the bread and the fishes, stilled the storm, arose from the dead and was called the Son of God. His Name is JESUS!
THE JESUS MILLENNIUM
I believe He is coming very early in the new millennium. He will change everything. He will destroy the whole present system controlled by its political, economic and religious systems. It surpasses our imagination. It can best be described by the total destruction and grinding to powder of Nebuchadnezzar’s image which he saw in his dream (Daniel 2). Gone will be all systems of government, all financial institutions, all ecclesiastical systems, all and everything that is not of God. It will happen suddenly, in one hour (Rev. 18), in the twinkling of an eye (I Cor. 15:52). It will be the moment of the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6; I Thess. 4:13-18). It will be the shortening of the days for the sake of the elect (Matt. 24:21,22), and also the gathering of God’s elect from the four quarters of the earth (Matt. 24:31). It will be a time of great destruction, of wailing and of woe. It will be the time when the Christ will come in power and great glory (Matt. 16:27) to take over the government of this world (Isa. 9:6,7), to come and sit on the throne of His father David and reign upon this earth for 1,000 years (Luke 1:31-33).
It will be a new millennium in very deed, a time that the world has never seen, nor can imagine, yes, that is why I call it the Jesus Millennium. At the beginning Jesus will come and take away all ungodliness from Jacob (comprised basically of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic and kindred people) see Romans 11:25-27. It will be the time of the greatest awakening of the entire Israel People, the literal descendants of Jacob and their filling with the Holy Spirit, an event that we cannot even dream of without the illumination of the Scriptures by the Holy Ghost, see Ezekiel 37:1-28.
A nation will be born in a day (Isa. 66:8). This travail of Zion spoken of by the prophet is the time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jer. 30:5-8) brought about by the final onslaught of the enemy to destroy God’s covenant people. Revelation 19: 11-21 describes for us this final clash between the armies of Satan and the armies of God in which both heaven and earth will be locked in battle to decide once and for all the lordship over this world:
‘And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. And he had on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh’ (K.J.V.).
After He had destroyed these armies that came up against Him, he reigns for a thousand years with those who had qualified to reign with Him by living the overcoming life (Rev.3:21; 2 Tim. 1:12; Rom. 8:17; Matt. 19:28).
During this period He restores the earth to its splendour and perfection in which the Father originally created it. The last enemy that will be done away with is death (I Cor. 15:24-28). During this blessed period He dwells in the midst of His people and all the earth shall see His glory (Lev. 26:11,12; Ezek. 37:27,28.) This is Good News indeed! This is the True Gospel, the Gospel last heard in the time of the Apostles. Yes, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14; Zech.14:9).
GOOD NEWS
To fit us for a place in this ‘Jesus Millennium’, this ‘Super Man’, (the Lord Jesus Christ) came and took our sins away (Matt. 1:2 1), and made us new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). He will give us new bodies like unto His glorious body (Phi. 3:20,21; 1 John 3:1-3; Rom. 8:29,30; Psa.17:15).We are already heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8: 17).
This is good news indeed for Israel! We will take our place according to the promise to Israel that we will be the heirs of the world (Rom. 4:13) and become masters of the earth according to Hosea 1:9-12.
‘Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi (i.e. not my people): for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God (See John 1:12). Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land (and they shall become masters of the earth – New English Bible; Cp. I Cor. 6:2,3): for great shall be the day of Jezreel.’
