Who is Jesus? by the Northern California Bible Fellowship

Who is Jesus?

Introduction

In my view, in order to understand who God is, it is necessary to know who Jesus is.

This is particularly true because most Christian denominations believe that Jesus, himself, is actually Almighty God.

So, in this presentation, I would like to discuss my beliefs about who Jesus is - and who he is not.

Is Jesus actually Almighty God?

Almost all Christian denominations believe that Jesus, himself, is actually Almighty God - by virtue of the fact that he is the "second person of the Trinity."

The question is, does Scripture actually teach that Jesus is Almighty God?

Let’s examine Scripture, to see what it actually says about Jesus - in order to determine if he really is Almighty God.

(All verses are from the ESV.)

What are God’s Characteristics?

Let’s start off by taking a look at some of the characteristics of Almighty God - i.e., some of the "qualities" that He has.

Then, we will see if Jesus has those same characteristics.

If Jesus actually is Almighty God, then - by definition - he must have the same characteristics that God has.

Almighty God is Omniscient

Almighty God is "omniscient" - that is, God knows about everything that has ever happened. In other words, God sees every event that occurs - even if things are done in secret.

For example, see Matthew 6:3-6.

Jesus, however, does not know everything. For example, he does not know who touched him in Luke 8:43-46, and he does not know if the man could see in Mark 8:22-26. [See also Mark 11:13 - Jesus did not know that there would be no figs on the tree!]

In addition, God knows when He will send Jesus back to earth; but Jesus does not know when he will return - see Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32.

Since God is omniscient - and Jesus is not - that is an indication that Jesus is not Almighty God.

Almighty God Cannot be Tempted

Another quality of Almighty God is that He cannot be tempted - i.e., He cannot be enticed with evil. That is explicitly stated in James 1:13.

However, Jesus was tempted - he was tempted by the adversary for 40 days, in the wilderness. This is stated in Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:13 and Luke 4:1-2.

Since God cannot be tempted - and Jesus was tempted - that is another indication that Jesus is not Almighty God.

Almighty God is Immortal

A third quality of Almighty God is that he is immortal (see 1 Tim 1:17, [6:16] ). This means that God cannot die - He is not subject to death.

However, Jesus did die. All four gospels contain records of the crucifixion - in which Jesus died.

Since God cannot die - and Jesus did die - this is yet another indication that Jesus is not Almighty God.

Does Jesus have a "Dual Nature"?

Most Christian denominations do not "pay attention" to the contradictions listed above - they try to "explain away" those contradictions with the "dual nature" doctrine.

According to this doctrine, Jesus is both "fully God" and "fully man". In other words, according to that doctrine, Jesus is "100% God, and 100% man". So, according to this doctrine, Jesus’ "human nature" is not omniscient, but his "God nature" is omniscient.

However, this "dual nature" doctrine does not appear anywhere in Scripture. Of course, any doctrine that is not listed in Scripture cannot be relied upon as being the truth.

What did the prophets say about Jesus?

There are many, many prophecies about the promised Messiah - Jesus - in the Old Testament.

What do those prophecies say about him?

In particular, do those prophecies say that the Messiah would actually be Almighty God?

"I will raise up your offspring."

God told David the following, in 2 Samuel 7:12:

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

This tells us that the Messiah will be a literal, genetic descendant of king David - in other words, that David’s DNA will be passed down to the Messiah.

The reason why this is important is because part of the Trinity doctrine is the idea that Jesus is the "incarnation" of God. This means that God "transformed" Himself into a human embryo - and then He implanted Himself into Mary’s womb. If Jesus is the incarnation of Almighty God, though, then he is not a genetic descendant of David. So, this "incarnation" doctrine contradicts Scripture.

"A prophet like you."

God told Moses the following information, in Deuteronomy 18:18:

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

In the above passage, God states that the Messiah will be a prophet "like Moses"; and that he will be "from the Israelites". Of course, the prophet in question is Jesus. If Jesus is actually Almighty God, then how is he "like Moses" - and how is he "from the Israelites"? After all, neither Moses nor the Israelites are Almighty God.

Also, if Jesus is actually Almighty God, then why does God state that "he shall speak … all that I command him"? If Jesus is actually God, then that passage states that "God shall speak … all that God commands him".

"The LORD says to my Lord"

In Psalm 110:1, we have the following prophesy:

The LORD says to my Lord:

"Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool."

This verse shows us that The LORD is not the same as my Lord. The word for LORD in that verse is the personal name of Almighty God - the four Hebrew characters YHVH.

However, the word for my Lord is the Hebrew word adoni.

Of course, YHVH refers to Almighty God - because it is His name. However, the word adoni never refers to Almighty God, anywhere in Scripture. From the New Testament, we know that "my Lord", in that verse, refers to Jesus. Since Jesus is referred to as adoni, that indicates that Jesus is not Almighty God.

What did Jesus actually say about himself?

The next topic we will explore is what Jesus, himself, actually said about himself.

In particular, we will determine, from Scripture, if Jesus actually stated that he is Almighty God or not.

Most Christians assume that Jesus did state that he was God - but let’s see what is actually written in Scripture.

"Not as I will, but as you will."

In some cases, Jesus’ will is different than God’s will:

Matthew 26:39:

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

(Mark 14:36 and Luke 22:42 contain similar information.)

If Jesus is Almighty God, then - by definition - his will is God’s will. Of course, we can see from the above verses that sometimes Jesus’ will is not God’s will. This indicates that Jesus is not Almighty God.

"I am ascending to my God and your God."

Jesus stated that he has a God - in fact, he has the same God that we have:

John 20:17:

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

(Many verses are similar; see Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34, 1 Peter 1:3, and Colossians 1:3, among others.)

Almighty God, Himself, does not have a God - because Almighty God is the most powerful being in all of creation. Since Jesus does have a God, that indicates that Jesus is not Almighty God.

"The Father is the only true God."

Jesus explicitly stated that the Father is the only true God, when he was praying to his Father:

John 17:3:

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

There are two beings mentioned above: the only true God, and Jesus Christ. Since one of those beings is the only true God, that means that the other being - Jesus Christ - is not the only true God.

As a result, we can see that the Father, alone, is Almighty God - and that Jesus is not.

"Why do you call me good?"

Jesus explicitly stated that only Almighty God is intrinsically good:

Mark 10:17-18:

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

(Matthew 19:17 and Luke 18:19 contain similar information.)

In the above passage, Jesus explicitly tells us that he, himself, is not Almighty God. He objects to being called "good" - because only Almighty God is intrinsically good. That definitively indicates to me that Jesus is not Almighty God.

What did the apostles say about Jesus?

The apostles personally knew Jesus - so it is very instructive to see what they had to say about him.

If the apostles thought that Jesus was actually Almighty God, then they certainly would have stated that in their writings.

So, let’s see what the apostles actually did have to say about Jesus.

"A man attested to you by God."

In Acts 2:22, the apostle Peter tells a group of Jews the following about Jesus:

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—

Peter does not say anything about Jesus actually being God - rather, he states that Jesus is a man that God approved of.

"God has made him both Lord and Christ."

In Acts 2:36, Peter states the following about Jesus:

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

If Jesus actually is God, then Jesus would always have been our Lord - from the beginning of time. In other words, God would not have had to exalt Jesus to that position - because Jesus would always have held that position.

"There is one God, and there is one Lord."

In 1 Corinthians 8:6, the apostle Paul states the following:

yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

In that verse, Paul explicitly states that only one person is Almighty God - and that one person is the Father. If Paul had believed in the Trinity, then he would have stated that there is one God, who exists as "three co-equal persons".

Paul also states that there is one Lord - Jesus Christ. Jesus certainly is our Lord - i.e., he is our "master", or "boss". However, he definitely is not Almighty God - because Paul tells us that only one person - the Father - is God.

"The man Christ Jesus."

In 1 Timothy 2:5, the apostle Paul states the following:

5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

In that verse, Paul tells us that Jesus is the mediator between God and [sinful] mankind. Of course, in order for Jesus to be that mediator, he cannot actually be God.

(By definition, a "mediator" is a third party, who stands between two other parties.)

Paul also states that Jesus is a man. This is important, because Paul wrote that passage after Jesus had ascended into heaven. This means that even now - in heaven - Jesus is still a man!

What About These Verses?

Most Christian denominations point to a number of "proof texts", in order to support their doctrine that Jesus is Almighty God.

However, those proof texts do not actually state that Jesus is Almighty God, when we take all of Scripture into account.

Let’s take a look at some of these proof texts - to see if they actually say that Jesus is God.

"I and the Father are one."

One of the most commonly cited proof texts is John 10:30, which reads as follows:

"I and the Father are one."

Trinitarians claim that this verse means that Jesus is "one in substance" with God - and therefore, that Jesus is God.

However, in John 17:11, Jesus prayed this about his disciples:

"Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."

So, if John 10:30 means that Jesus is actually God, then John 17:11 means that the disciples are also God!

From the context, the term "one" - in both verses - apparently means "one in purpose"; i.e., that they are in agreement with each other.

"Before Abraham was, I am."

A rather infamous proof text is John 8:58, in which Jesus says the following:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

Trinitarians compare that verse to Exodus 3:14, in which God refers to Himself as "I AM WHO I AM." From this, they draw the conclusion that Jesus, himself, is Almighty God.

The Greek phrase which is translated as "I am" is ego eimi. In every other verse where that phrase appears, it is translated as "I am he". In John 8:58, though, it is rendered as "I am" - presumably to try to identify Jesus with God.

My understanding of John 8:58 is that Jesus said "I am he" - and that means that Jesus is the promised Messiah, who was prophesied about long before Abraham was born.

"Making himself equal with God."

Another common proof text is John 5:18, in which Jewish leaders claimed the following about Jesus:

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

From this, Trinitarians draw the conclusion that Jesus is actually equal to God - and therefore, that Jesus must be Almighty God Himself.

However, it was the Jewish leaders - the Pharisees - who made that claim. Did Jesus, himself, claim to be equal to God?

In John 14:28, Jesus explicitly says, "The Father is greater than I." Similarly, in John 10:29, he states that "The Father is greater than all." Also, in John 5:19, Jesus states that he cannot do anything of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.

Jesus never claimed to be equal to God. On the contrary - he always stated that God is greater than he is.

"My Lord and my God."

In John 20:28, the disciple Thomas exclaims the following, when he sees the resurrected Jesus:

Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

Trinitarians use this verse as proof that Jesus is actually Almighty God.

This verse is an example of the Hebrew concept of "agency". In ancient Israel, it was common for people to authorize other people, to act in their behalf. For example, person "A" could authorize person "B" to act in his behalf.

Almighty God also uses this concept of "agency".

There are many examples of this concept in scripture. For example, in Exodus 7:1, God tells Moses that Moses will be "like God to Pharaoh". Does this mean that Moses is actually Almighty God? No, it means that God has authorized Moses to act on His behalf.

Similarly, in Exodus 21:6 and 22:8, human judges are referred to as "gods" (Hebrew elohim) - because they represent Almighty God.

So, in John 20:28, Thomas acknowledged that Jesus represents God - i.e., that Jesus is the agent of God.

"I am the first and the last."

In Revelation 1:17, Jesus describes himself as "the First and the Last":

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last"

Almighty God also uses that phrase to describe Himself; e.g. in Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12. Trinitarians see this as proof that Jesus is actually Almighty God - since Jesus uses the same phrase to describe himself as God does.

This passage is another example of the Hebrew concept of "agency". If person B is acting as the agent of person A, then person B is treated as if he actually were person A.

There are many examples of this. In Exodus 3:2-6 (the burning bush) an angel states that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Genesis 31:11-13 (Jacob’s dream) an angel states that he is the God of Bethel. Those passages do not mean that the angel is actually God - they mean that the angel is acting as the agent of God; i.e., the angel is speaking for God.

Similarly, when Jesus says "I am the first and the last", he does not mean that he is actually God. Instead, Jesus means that he is the agent of God - he is speaking for God.

"The Word was God."

The most famous proof text of all, by far, is John 1:1. That verse states the following:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In addition, John 1:14 states the following:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Trinitarians use those two verses as absolute proof that Jesus is actually Almighty God, in human flesh.

This passage is very complex. Basically, the Greek word which is translated as "Word" is logos. That Greek word is more properly translated as "thought", or "plan". So, all of the references to "Word" can be replaced with "plan".

As a result, a paraphrase of John 1:1 is as follows: "In the beginning, God had a plan. The plan was in God’s heart, and the plan was divine."

Also, John 1:14 would read: "The plan became flesh, and walked among us." This means that a human being - who would carry out God’s plan - was born. That is, God caused Jesus to be born - in order to fulfill His plan.

Who, exactly is Jesus?

If Jesus is not Almighty God, then who is he? My belief is as follows:

First, Jesus was a part of God’s plan of salvation, from the very beginning of creation. That is, Jesus "existed" in God’s plan. In other words, God had Jesus "in mind", when He began creating the universe.

About 2000 years ago, God caused Mary to conceive - that is, He caused one of Mary’s eggs to become fertilized. That, in turn, caused Jesus’ life to begin. So, Jesus is literally the Son of God.

Three days after Jesus was crucified, God resurrected Jesus. During that resurrection, God gave Jesus a "glorified" body - so that Jesus will never die again.

Jesus is currently in heaven, with God. At some point in the future, God will send Jesus back to earth - and when that happens, Jesus will establish the kingdom of God, on the earth.

This basic set of beliefs is called the "Biblical Unitarian" doctrine.

Is Jesus a "mere" man?

Most "mainstream" Christians object to the Biblical Unitarian doctrine - because they claim that that doctrine reduces Jesus to a "mere" man.

Well, Jesus certainly is a man - because that is exactly what Scripture tells us he is. However, there is nothing "mere" about him:

• He is the only man who was conceived in a virgin, by power of the Holy Spirit;

• He is the only man who lived a completely perfect life - i.e., he never sinned against God;

• He is the only man who died for the sins of all mankind;

• He is the only man who has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth;

• He is the only man who will rule the kingdom of God, on the earth.

Jesus is not a "mere" man at all - he is a completely unique and special man. He is also our Lord - so we should try to follow him. In other words, we should try to obey God - like Jesus did.

Taken from Northern California Bible Fellowship

Slightly edited.

NB: Although I agree with their view of "who Jesus is!"

I do not espouse to all of the beliefs expressed on their site.

The Kingdom of God by the Northern California Bible Fellowship

The Kingdom of God

Introduction

In this document, I would like to discuss information about the kingdom of God.

From my experience, there is quite a bit of confusion about what the kingdom of God actually is, among the various Christian churches. In other words, different Christian denominations have completely different ideas about what the kingdom of God really is.

So, I would like to discuss my understanding of the kingdom of God, in this document.

What Does the Word "Gospel" Mean?

To begin with, in order to understand this presentation, it is important to define what the word "gospel" means. The modern English word gospel is derived from the Old English word godspel, which means "good news". The word godspel, in turn, is a translation of the Greek word euangelion, which also means "good news", or "good message". So, the literal definition of the word "gospel" is good news.

As a result, when the word "gospel" appears in Scripture, it refers to "good news". So, that raises the question – what is the good news that Scripture is talking about, when it uses the term gospel?

What Did Jesus Preach About?

Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ actions – i.e., what he did while he was on the earth. In other words, most Christians know that Jesus performed miracles, and that he died for our sins.

However, from my experience, most Christians are not very familiar with Jesus’ words – that is, what he said while he was on the earth.

So, here is a question for all of you: What was Jesus’ primary message – that is, what was the main subject that Jesus preached about?

Some Christians believe that Jesus’ primary message was about him dying for our sins; i.e., about his death and resurrection.

Some other Christians say that Jesus’ primary message was about following God’s commands; i.e., about living a moral life.

Jesus did speak about the above subjects, of course. However, were either of those topics his primary message? In other words, were either of those subjects the message that God sent him to proclaim?

Let’s take a look in scripture, to see if we can discover what Jesus’ primary message was. (Note that there are many more verses similar to the ones below.) Unless otherwise indicated, all verses are taken from the New American Standard Bible.

Mark 1:14-15

4Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Luke 4:43

43But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."

Luke 8:1

1Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God.

Matthew 9:35

35Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

The above verses look pretty clear – the primary message that Jesus preached was: the kingdom of God. In fact, the very reason why God sent Jesus was to preach about the kingdom – and that message about the kingdom is called the gospel! As mentioned in the last section, the word "gospel" means good news.

So, the "good news" that Jesus preached about was: the kingdom of God.

What Did the Apostles Preach About?

Some Christians believe that the apostles – especially Paul – preached a completely different message than Jesus did. In other words, some Christians assert that the apostles’ message has absolutely no relation whatsoever to Jesus’ message. So, let’s take a look at what the apostles preached about:

Acts 8:12 (Philip)

12But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.

Acts 19:8 (Paul)

8And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

Acts 20:25 (Paul)

25"And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.

Acts 28:30-31 (Paul)

30And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, 31preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

As we can see, the apostles kept on preaching about the kingdom of God – just like Jesus did! The only difference is that the apostles added information about Jesus to their overall message.

The Christian Gospel Message

As we have seen previously, the message Jesus preached is called the gospel of the kingdom – and of course, the word gospel means "good news". So, Jesus preached good news about the kingdom of God.

The apostles continued preaching about the kingdom of God – and they added information about Jesus to their message. So, it appears that there are two separate "pieces" of good news, which are part of the apostles’ message:

- The kingdom of God;

- The death and resurrection of Jesus – which allows us to enter the kingdom of God.

However, from my experience, most Christian churches only focus on one of the above items – the death and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, most churches hardly ever talk about the kingdom of God. As a result, most Christians are only receiving one half of the Christian gospel message!

I believe it is important for Christians to understand the entire gospel message. So, in this presentation, I want to focus on the other "half" of the good news – the kingdom of God.

Synonyms for the Kingdom

Before we go into what the kingdom is, it is important to note that the kingdom of God is referred to by several different terms in scripture. In other words, there are several "synonyms" for the kingdom of God. Here are some of the most common synonyms:

The kingdom, itself, is known as the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Heaven, and the kingdom of his beloved Son.

Information about the kingdom is called the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, the word of the kingdom, the word of God, the word, and the seed.

What is the Kingdom?

Since the kingdom of God is such an important part of the Christian gospel message, you may be wondering – what, exactly, is the kingdom?

An interesting point to note is that Jesus never explicitly defined what the kingdom is. That is, Jesus never said: "The exact definition of the kingdom of God is: such and such".

Not only that, but no one ever asked Jesus to define the kingdom! In other words, no one ever said, "Say, rabbi, what is that "kingdom of God" that you keep talking about?"

There is a very good reason for both of the above points – it is because the kingdom of God is already described, in detail, in the Old Testament [the Hebrew Bible]. As a result, Jewish people who lived in the 1st century were already very familiar with what the kingdom of God is! During the centuries since that time, though, knowledge about what the kingdom is has largely been lost.

The first point to note about the kingdom of God is that it is an actual kingdom – i.e., it is a government that is ruled by a king. There are many, many passages in the Old Testament which explicitly state that fact. Basically, the Old Testament tells us that the kingdom of God will be established in the future – and that God’s chosen Messiah will rule, as king, over that kingdom. Here are six of those passages:

2 Samuel 7:12-13

12"When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.

13"He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Psalm 2:6-8

6"But as for me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." 7"I will surely tell of the decree of YAHWEH: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

Jeremiah 23:5

5"Behold, the days are coming," declares YAHWEH, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.

Daniel 7:13-14

13"I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14"And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Isaiah 9:6-7

6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore The zeal of YAHWEH of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah 42:1-4

1"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2"He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3"A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4"He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

Where will the Kingdom be Located?

Now that we know what the kingdom is, the next question to ask is: where will the kingdom be located? That is, where will people live, when the kingdom is established? To start with, here are some descriptions of the kingdom:

Ezekiel 34:25-29

25"I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

26"I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing.

27"Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am YAHWEH, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

28"They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid.

29"I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore.

Isaiah 2:2-4

2Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of YAHWEH Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of YAHWEH, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of YAHWEH from Jerusalem. 4And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

Isaiah 11:6-9

6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 9They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of YAHWEH As the waters cover the sea.

Zechariah 9:10

"The warriors bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth."

To get even more specific, the following verses explicitly address the question of where people will live, in the kingdom of God:

Psalm 37:29

29The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

Psalm 115:16

16The highest heavens belong to YAHWEH, but the earth he has given to man.

Isaiah 65:9 (NAB)

9From Jacob I will save offspring, from Judah, those who are to inherit my mountains; My chosen ones shall inherit the land, my servants shall dwell there.

Matthew 5:5 (ESV)

5Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Revelation 5:10

10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.

All of the verses that we have seen, on the last few pages, indicate that people will live on the earth – not in heaven – during the kingdom!

Where will God and Jesus Be?

There is another important item to note about where the kingdom will be located. Scripture indicates that both Jesus, and God himself, will live with us – on the earth – during the kingdom of God:

Psalm 2:6

6But as for me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.

Psalm 132:14

14Zion is my resting place forever; in her I will dwell, for I prefer her.

Isaiah 24:23

23For YAHWEH of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem.

Micah 5:2 (ESV)

2From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.

Revelation 21:2-3 (ESV) [THAT IS, AFTER A 1000 YEARS - Rev. 20.5-7]

2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

The Promise to Abraham

God’s promise to Abraham also shows us that people will live on the earth, during the kingdom. God made a very explicit promise to Abraham: He promised that Abraham would inherit the land of Canaan (modern day Palestine) – and that he and his descendants would own that land forever. That promise was then repeated to Abraham’s son Isaac, to his grandson Jacob, and to his 12 great-grandsons:

Genesis 13:14-15 (Abraham)

14 YAHWEH said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.

Genesis 17:8 (Abraham)

8"I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Genesis 26:3 (Isaac)

3"Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

Genesis 35:12 (Jacob)

12"The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you,

And I will give the land to your descendants after you."

Genesis 50:24 (12 sons of Jacob)

24Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob."

As we can see from the verses above, God explicitly promised that Abraham would inherit the entire land of Canaan – and that he and his descendants would own that land forever.

However, scripture also tells us that Abraham did not inherit the land of Canaan while he was alive – he did not inherit even one square foot of it:

Acts 7:4-5 (Stephen, speaking about Abraham)

4"Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.

5"But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM.

From the above verse, we can see that God’s promise to Abraham was not fulfilled, while Abraham was alive. So, the question now is, why didn’t that promise get fulfilled? Did God lie to Abraham?

I don’t think so – since scripture tells us that God always keeps his promises. So, is there some other explanation?

Hebrews chapter 11 provides more information about God’s promise to Abraham:

Hebrews 11:8-9,13 (ESV)

8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

13These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

The above passage tells us that Abraham actually lived in the land that God promised him – that is, Canaan – but he did not inherit that land while he was alive. It also indicates that God will fulfill that promise in the future. Basically, Abraham "saw the promise from afar" – which indicates that Abraham knew that he would inherit the promised land, in the future. So, overall, the promise to Abraham agrees with all of the other verses that we’ve seen – because that promise tells us that Abraham will live on the earth, during the kingdom of God!

Remember: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

The Christian Hope

As we have seen, God made very specific promises to Abraham and his descendants, about inheriting land on the earth, in the future.

At this point, you may say: "Those promises are all well and good for Abraham; but what does that have to do with me?" After all, most Christians are not literal descendants of Abraham. Scripture has an answer to that question:

Galatians 3:29 (NIV)

29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 4:16 (NIV)

6Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

The above verses tell us that if we "belong to Christ" – i.e., if we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and if we follow him – then we will be co-heirs with Abraham! In other words, we will also inherit land during the kingdom – just like Abraham will!

Summary of the Kingdom

From all of the material in this presentation, I will make the following three assertions about the kingdom:

1. The kingdom of God is the literal kingdom that Jesus will establish, on the earth, when he returns.

2. When Jesus returns, he will resurrect faithful believers. That is, he will bring those believers back to life – so that those believers will live forever with him, on the earth. As a result, God’s promise to Abraham, about inheriting Canaan, will be fulfilled at that time.

3. During the kingdom, the earth will be restored to its original, paradise conditions. In other words, the earth will be restored to the conditions that existed during the Garden of Eden.

Why Haven’t I Heard This Before?

As mentioned previously, the kingdom of God is the primary message that Jesus preached. As a result, you may be wondering: why isn’t the kingdom discussed more often?

(From what I have seen, most Christian churches very rarely discuss the kingdom of God.)

Jesus gave us an indication about why the kingdom of God is not preached more frequently, in one of his parables – the parable of the sower. That parable is listed in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.

Luke 8:5-8 (ESV)

5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus then explained what the parable of the sower meant. Here is his explanation for the seeds that were sown on the path:

Matthew 13:18-19 (ESV)

18 "Hear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

Luke 8:11-12 (ESV)

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

Jesus’ explanation of this parable is extremely important. Basically, Jesus tells us that the adversary doesn’t want us to know about the kingdom – because that knowledge will lead us to salvation!

In other words, the reason why information about the kingdom is not very well known today, is because the adversary is actively trying to prevent that information from being known!

Final Thoughts

It may be that some of you are still not convinced that people will live on the earth, during the kingdom of God. If so, that is not very surprising – because after all, 99% of Christian churches believe that people go to heaven when they die.

So, there is one final thought that I would like to share with you, about where people will live during the kingdom. In order to discuss that item, we need to go back to the very beginning of the Bible – to the creation of Adam and Eve.

Here are three questions, about Adam and Eve – along with the answers to those questions:

Question: Where were Adam and Eve created?

Answer: In the Garden of Eden.

Question: Where was the Garden of Eden located?

Answer: On the earth.

Question: How long would Adam and Eve have lived, if they had not disobeyed God?

Answer: Forever.

The information on above tells us the following: If Adam and Eve had never sinned against God, then they would have lived forever, on the earth!

That indicates to me that God’s entire plan for humans is that we should live forever, on a paradise earth. After all, if God intended for humans to live in heaven, then why didn’t He create Adam and Eve in heaven in the first place?

In other words, why did God bother with the Garden of Eden at all, if His plan for humans is that we should live in heaven?

I believe that God’s original plan for Adam and Eve was that they would live forever, on the paradise earth that He created for them. However, Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused sin – and death – to enter the entire world. As a result, human beings are currently mortal; and the earth is no longer in a paradise state. Basically, Adam and Eve’s sin caused a temporary "delay" in God’s plan for humans.

However, when Jesus returns, the earth will be restored to its original, paradise conditions. In addition, Jesus will resurrect faithful believers, and grant them everlasting life – so that believers will live forever, on the restored paradise earth.

In other words, when Jesus returns, he will restore God’s plan for mankind. Hallelujah!

Acknowledgements

In closing, I would like to acknowledge the following three individuals – because the information they provided greatly assisted me in my research about the kingdom of God:

• Juan Baixeras, an independent theologian. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5257/
• Anthony Buzzard, from The Church of God General Conference. http://focusonthekingdom.org/
• John Schoenheit, from Spirit and Truth Fellowship International. http://www.stfonline.org/

All three of those men have published numerous books, documents, web pages, etc about the kingdom of God – so if you are interested in obtaining more detailed information about the kingdom, then I certainly recommend visiting their web sites!

Taken from Northern California Bible Fellowship

Slightly edited.

NB: Although I agree with their view of the Kingdom of GOD,

I do not espouse to all of the beliefs expressed on their site.