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[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:17) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.

Our topic is "Will There Ever Be Peace on Earth?" Here's Rick and Jonathan.

[Rick] (0:19 - 0:27) Welcome everyone, I'm Rick, I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over twenty-five years. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?

[Jonathan] (0:28 - 0:35) Psalm 145:13: "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations."

[Rick] (0:36 - 1:34) In our last episode about God's vengeance bringing the end of the world as we know it, we examined several Old Testament prophecies that pointed to how God's vengeance works in the dismantling of all the vestiges of our present and sin-ridden world. When these dramatic prophecies are focused on without the context of the rest of God's character, they're often understood to paint a bleak and harsh picture of who God is. In this episode, we will again focus on Old Testament prophecies.

However, this time, we'll be looking at what happens after the vengeance of God is exercised. What we find is a breathtaking view of not only who God is, but what His plan REALLY has in store for ALL of humanity. If you truly want to know who God is, then follow along as we unfold the rest of this prophetic story!

[Jonathan] (2:03 - 2:16) Rick, here's where we left off and it doesn't sound good; 2 Peter 3:10, 12: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up...looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" Peter is recapping what the Day of Vengeance looks like as the symbolic heavens and earth pass away in the intense heat of the end times. He described it the same way twice so we could feel the impact.

[Rick] (2:17 - 4:00) You're right, he did. In our last episode, we went through many prophecies that just give you the sense of gloom, doom, fire, destruction, pain, suffering, and then there's nothing left. You look at that and say, well, that's God's vengeance.

What? How come? Well, let's look at it a little further, but from a slightly different perspective.

We're going to get to the other side in a second here. But in Isaiah, the 40th chapter, we actually have a softer description of these things. Isaiah 40:4-5. Here's what it says:

"Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low..." See, it's a softer version of what you just talked about. "...and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley;

then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." You can see that you've got a sort of a calmed-down version of all of the tumult, and then it says "all flesh will see it together," because this is what God said. This "glory of the Lord" is being revealed and is seen by "all flesh!"

That's what it's saying here, "by all flesh." This is important! This is preparing all to understand that God's vengeance is the small and necessary step to dismantle the world's sinful systems so that God's true plan can be fully revealed.

God's glory will shine out after the destruction and the trouble. When we look at this, what we see is man makes the mess. Man's allowed to do whatever they're going to do, and it's got to be taken apart so the glory of the Lord can shine out after that destruction and after that trouble.

[Jonathan] (4:00 - 4:47) In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quoted the following prophecy, though he stopped in the middle of a sentence. Isaiah 61:1-2: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD..."

Now Jesus stopped reading here and said that this was being fulfilled before his audience and did not continue with the rest of the prophecy. But this is what comes next: "...and the Day of Vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn."

Rick, why did he leave out the rest of the prophecy?

[Rick] (4:47 - 6:09) It's so interesting. Literally, you're right. He stopped in the middle of a sentence.

I'm here "to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord" because he was there to say, here's the kingdom. I bring the kingdom. I bring you what the kingdom looks like and how it will operate,

but it doesn't come until after the Day of Vengeance of our God. In that prophecy, he's talking about binding up the brokenhearted and all those beautiful things. He introduced all of that in his first advent,

but the "Day of Vengeance" has to come. Then after that, it says "to comfort all who mourn." The happily-ever-after comes after the vengeance first, which comes after Jesus introducing everything.

You can see God's prophecies have to unfold over time because the Day of Vengeance and ultimate comforting of all who mourn was yet to come at his return. Jesus, he was telling us that God's plan unfolds in stages. Jesus came and called disciples to follow him to a heavenly reward.

That's what he came for two thousand years ago. Now, after two thousand years, he returns and he brings God's vengeance. You say, why would he do that?

Because that opens the door to comforting all who mourn. There's a process. God's vengeance is merely a piece in the process puzzle that brings us to something greater.

[Jonathan] (6:10 - 6:36) The Lord's Prayer reflects this two-part approach. Matthew 6:9-10: "Pray, then, in this way: "Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth..." Let me say that again. "...on earth..."

Oh, one more time! "...on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus taught us to pray for God's kingdom on earth because it was a reality not yet revealed.

[Rick] (6:36 - 7:57) What do you mean it was a reality not yet revealed? It was a reality that was spoken. Whenever God says something is going to happen, that's a reality.

It may not be unfolding at that moment, but when God says it will, that means it's a fact. That kingdom on earth was a reality when two thousand years ago it wasn't there yet. That's the way prophecy works.

Prophecy is God's graciousness in giving us a glimpse of what He knows the future is. If God knows something is in the future, it's a fact. The reality, "thy kingdom come on earth," even though they didn't see it, was real

because it was absolutely, unequivocally going to come. The prophet Daniel sums this up for us, reminding us that what is presently in place has to be removed. Here's the way it reads in Daniel;

Daniel 2:44: "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom..." Now it's in the "days of those kings

the God of heaven" sets up a kingdom. "... which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people..." Here's what it will do. "...it will crush and put an end to all those kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever."

[Jonathan] (7:58 - 8:01) Wait, Rick, how long does it endure for? What did it say?

[Rick] (8:02 - 8:06) It said for a few minutes.

No, it didn't say. It said forever!

[Jonathan] (8:06 - 8:07) Wow.

[Rick] (8:07 - 8:43) It takes these other kingdoms out. You can see that God's vengeance is part of this. It--God's kingdom--will endure forever.

Let's go on to another prophecy. Psalm 145 is a song of praise as well as a prophecy. It is a beautiful prophecy just to read if you want to be encouraged.

It helps us to see things in a bigger, bigger way, but it's also a prophecy of the future. We're going to unfold Psalm 145 as we go segment by segment in this episode.

Jonathan, let's get started by reading Psalm 145:1-5:

[Jonathan] (8:44 - 9:22) "I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever..."

How long? Again, that's forever. "Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate." Okay.

In the history of mankind, have we ever seen this magnitude of praise unfold with multiple generations at the same time?

[Rick] (9:22 - 10:27) No, we haven't, because it hasn't happened. Yet this Psalm is saying, here's what to look forward to.

It talks about "I will praise Your name forever and ever." Your name is blessed "forever and ever," to be "highly" praised.

It's putting things in perspective. When we have God's vengeance's fear overwhelming us, this is a great Psalm to turn to, to say, hey, let's put that peace in the perspective of forever and ever, generation after generation. Psalm 145 is a beautiful place to build a foundation to say this is who God is, and God's vengeance works towards this.

You wait. Psalm 145, I think it's really, really good. This is just the introduction.

We put these pieces in place. Now let's get a little bit more specific. God's kingdom's work is to be accomplished through those who are called to follow Jesus.

This is important because we need to put all of the scriptures, all of the accounts in place so we know how they dovetail together. Let's look at 1 Peter 2:9, 12:

[Jonathan] (10:28 - 11:17) "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God..." Well, when and where?

Listen to this: "...in the day of visitation." Rick, that's the Day of Judgment. This is not a twenty-four hour day, but it's over a period of time. As followers of Jesus,

what we do now does matter because others are watching and they're going to share later our example of Christ's likeness. To God be the glory.

[Rick] (11:18 - 12:35) That's the point. You said something really important; what we do now matters, especially for followers of Christ.

But what we do now also matters if we're just regular people. One of the questions that we were talking about in our last episode on God's vengeance is, well, okay, if God's vengeance comes, what about justice I deserved? What happened to that?

How come I didn't get the justice I deserved? If there is justice that went unnoticed or unfulfilled, the Day of Judgment puts all of that in order. By the same token, you can say, okay, I'll finally get what's coming to me.

Yeah, you will. If you did wrong to others, guess what happens as well? There has to be a making good for all of that.

That's where the true followers of Christ come in. They're a "chosen" generation, "a royal priesthood." What does a priesthood do?

It ministers to the people. "...a holy nation," "a people for God's...possession"-- they're put in place to work with Jesus in the work of mediation for reconciliation. That's what the call of the church is about.

It's not going to heaven to sit on a cloud, it's going to be with Jesus to do this wonderful work in the day of visitation, in the Day of Judgment. Jonathan, we're laying some groundwork here, and what we want to begin to do here is to Crack the Code of God's Kingdom:

[Jonathan] (12:35 - 12:53) God's vengeance is a tool. Its function is to prepare. That preparation encompasses the serious process of disassembling all that this world now has to offer.

Once this is accomplished, the foundation for God's kingdom can be understood and built upon.

[Rick] (12:53 - 13:13) Got to be disassembled first for the understanding to be able to be made plain. It's a process. So much depends upon how we decide to see what the Bible puts in front of us!

Will I complain about the details, or will I glory in the conclusions?

[Jonathan] (13:14 - 13:22) In a way, God's vengeance is the introduction to His kingdom. What does the foundation that his vengeance clears the way for look like?

[Rick] (13:23 - 13:58) The foundation of God's kingdom actually has three distinct levels of operation, all of which are put into practice by those proven faithful to God's will. As we will see, these three levels are designed to accomplish the mighty works of instituting an indestructible system of righteousness that will endure for all eternity. We're going to look at these three distinct levels of operation as the foundation of God's kingdom, and we're going to go through them one at a time.

[Jonathan] (13:58 - 14:41) Before we do that, Psalm 145 continues with praises for God's mighty acts, greatness, goodness and mercy. Psalm 145:6-10: "Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness.

They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good..."

To whom? To just a few? No! It says: "...to all, and His mercies are over all His works.

All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, and Your godly ones shall bless You."

[Rick] (14:41 - 15:38) It's a beautiful Psalm when you look at it, like the first verse you read, verse 6: "Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts." It says they haven't done it yet, but this is what will happen.

It's looking forward. Like you said, God is good to not just a few, but to ALL. "All your works," God, will "give thanks to You."

It shows a mighty power and governing presence that changes everything. How does it change everything? There are three distinct levels of operation.

Let's start with the first kingdom foundation, the first level of operation. First and foremost, this kingdom is built upon Jesus Christ the righteous, period. End of statement, that's what it's built upon.

You don't have to go any further. There's more, but that's the core of everything. Jonathan, let's look at Revelation 11:15:

[Jonathan] (15:38 - 15:55) "Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." Rick, last week we talked about destruction and earthquakes, but here we see the world goes on forever.

[Rick] (15:56 - 16:25) Who reigns "forever and ever?" Christ reigns under God. That's the basis of the foundation.

Once the present systems are removed, then the world will see evidence of the resurrection. How are they going to see it? What are they going to know?

Well, what will happen is the resurrection is going to begin. Let's just take a quick look at that process in Jesus's own words; John 5:28-29:

[Jonathan] (16:26 - 16:43) "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, and those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." This word "judgment" means "decision."

[Rick] (16:44 - 18:31) A resurrection of decision--where things have to be put in order. There are other scriptures that talk about men being accountable for their deeds and their words and so forth and so on. Again, if the justice that we deserved wasn't met, there's a recompense for that.

If we did injustice to others, there's a recompense for that. The resurrection is to bring out everyone from the grave so they can work through all of the issues of life. We're going to get to that a whole lot more as we unfold this particular episode.

We've got this first foundation. It's unequivocal to understand it. Jesus Christ the righteous;

he is the basis for everything. The next level of the kingdom's foundation is built upon the faithfulness of Jesus's true disciples. Before we look at an Old Testament prophecy on this, you get that from the New Testament.

You get that from the words of Jesus, from the words of the apostles, and the writers of the New Testament. You see how all that works together. The amazing thing is that in the Old Testament, it showed us that's what was going to happen.

See, folks, understand, many Christians look at the Bible and they've put the Old Testament sort of aside and say, well, you know, it's kind of like the basis, and you really don't need to work on the basis. I want to work on the meat. You miss how the gospel actually works if we don't look at the Old Testament.

Listen to this prophecy. These are just a few lines here. Daniel 7:27:

"Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; his kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him."

[Jonathan] (18:31 - 18:32) I have a question.

[Rick] (18:33 - 18:33) Okay.

[Jonathan] (18:33 - 18:35) Who are the saints ruling over?

[Rick] (18:36 - 19:48) The saints are ruling over the rest of the world.

Remember that Peter scripture you read about, when in "the day of visitation," they'll see your "good deeds...in the day of visitation," a holy people, a priesthood for "the day of visitation." That's the people they rule over because it's what Jesus came to pay for. The price was to reconcile sin through Adam and bring life through Christ.

It's all of humanity. This is why we are Christians. We're not Christians to go to heaven and have a good time.

We're called to be Christians to follow in Jesus' sacrificial footsteps, to learn how to be ministers of this amazing reconciliation. Let's go to the third foundation. It starts with Jesus Christ the righteous.

The second is the faithful ones in the Christian age. There's a broader picture of just the most faithful. We're not going to get into that right now.

The third foundation is built upon the restoration of the nation of Israel. This third foundation is on the earth. Here's a terrific prophecy that puts this all in order.

We're going to go to Jeremiah 31. We're going to break it up in pieces. Let's start with Jeremiah 31:27-30:

[Jonathan] (19:58 - 20:21) "Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast." In the near future, all 12 tribes of Israel will be one and not divided. Mankind and even animal life will all be in harmony with them. Continuing with verse 28:

"As I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster..." Now wait a minute. That doesn't sound good! But let's finish the verse. "...so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD. In those days they will not say again, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge."

[Rick] (20:41 - 21:13) You see how the equality of true justice comes shining out in this. It was to overthrow and bring disaster. It's like, wait, wait, we don't want to go back there.

No, we don't need to go back there now, because now we're beyond that. We're looking at this equity in justice and application. You can't say at that time, it was his fault that I did that.

At that time, every human being is responsible for themselves, because they've been bought back from Adam's sin by Jesus.

[Jonathan] (21:14 - 21:21) Can you imagine Israel being restored after all they have gone through throughout all history? That would be amazing.

[Rick] (21:21 - 21:53) We are seeing that unfold before our very eyes. The fact that they even got back to their homeland, and all of the things they've gone through, that's all part of the prophecies. Let's remember that Jesus and his now glorified faithful followers--now glorified meaning at this point in time, looking forward--oversee this merciful justice upon the nation of Israel.

Let's continue now. As we're about to see, going back to Jeremiah 31, God's promise to them and through them is going to be extraordinary. It's going to be magnificent.

Let's look at Jeremiah 31:31-33:

[Jonathan] (22:26 - 22:37) "Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Look how wonderful this New Covenant will be compared to the old Law Covenant, which no one could keep but Jesus. It will be written on their hearts. Amazing!

[Rick] (22:37 - 23:39) It is. That's a tremendous transformation, because the Law Covenant, remember, was where Israel had its basis, and they couldn't keep it. This will be a transformation from the inside out.

"I will write it" upon their hearts in contrast to the Law, which was working from the outside in. These are the things you must do. Because mankind--Israel first--is brought back from Adam's sin, their hearts can now be molded in a different way.

God will say, here, I'm going to give you the basis of righteousness. Now work with it. Let's finish Jeremiah 31, this particular prophecy, by just adding verse 34:

I love this verse! "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the LORD,

for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the LORD..." Why?

"...for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

[Jonathan] (23:39 - 23:45) There will be complete forgiveness of past sins. That's huge! A clean slate for the world.

[Rick] (23:45 - 24:22) That's the point of Jesus's sacrifice. That's why he is the primary foundation for how this kingdom works. You've got Jesus as the primary foundation, his faithful followers follow up that, and then Israel transformed follows that up.

Let's go the next step. OK, we're working our way. We got to Israel, but now let's expand that.

This transformation of heart and elevation of favor will serve to draw the rest of humanity towards God, the rest of the people. How do we know that?

Another prophecy from another prophet. Zechariah 8:20-23:

[Jonathan] (24:23 - 24:26) "Thus says the LORD of hosts, It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go. So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."

[Rick] (25:02 - 25:39) Can you imagine that?

That's a very descriptive picture. Hey, wait, wait, wait, sir. Sir, don't walk away.

I've heard God, I've seen God with you in your nation. I want to come.

I want to be a part of that. I want to learn. I want to understand.

There's this magnetism toward the grace of God that will work through the Jewish nation. How do we know? Because the prophecies are saying it.

You notice, Jonathan, we don't have to draw conclusions. We don't have to say, well, hmm, this might mean thus and so. These are plain scriptural statements.

This really helps us Crack the Code of God's Kingdom:

[Jonathan] (25:40 - 26:01) The foundation of God's kingdom works from the top down, as it is founded in the power and authority of Jesus, who is given a name above every name. This foundational power filters through his faithful ones who dwell with him in heaven and on down to those faithful to God as human beings on earth, beginning with Israel.

[Rick] (26:01 - 26:21) You can see that it permeates everywhere, but it is a process that needs to be unfolded. No wonder this foundation cannot be destroyed. It's built on loyalty to God and the divine power that comes with that loyalty.

[Jonathan] (26:22 - 26:28) What will planet Earth look like with a solid foundation of God's kingdom as its base? Does everything change?

[Rick] (26:28 - 27:00) Well, when because of Jesus' sacrifice, sin is removed from the world, things do change. When because of Jesus' sacrifice, the curse upon the ground that God put in place as a consequence for Adam's sin is removed, things do change. Humanity will still be mortal and the earth will still be the earth, but ALL will grow and develop as God had originally designed them to grow and develop. That's the difference-- that's the change!

[Jonathan] (27:01 - 27:45) Back to Psalm 145.

It continues with praise, and now it gets specific about some details of this kingdom. Psalm 145:11-16: "They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endorsed throughout all generations. The LORD sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time.

You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing."

[Rick] (27:46 - 30:24) If you want to begin to grasp the character of God, read these verses again and again; Psalm 145:11-16. It says the word "kingdom" four different times and the word "dominion" once.

It's giving you this clarity. Here's what Your kingdom looks like. It's full of Your power, Your mighty acts.

You take care of everybody. It's a beautiful place. It's a wonderful circumstance, and all of the verses of praise in Psalm 145 were leading up to this.

They were showing at a future time, at a future time, and here You've arrived. This is what God's kingdom looks like. Let's expand that now, and now we're going to spend the rest of this particular segment in the book of Isaiah.

Why? Because Isaiah has probably more kingdom prophecies than any other book of the Bible, and it just gives you an expansive view of what the kingdom looks like. Now remember the kingdom works because of Jesus.

It's based on justice, period, okay? It's based on justice and accountability, and it produces peace. Let's begin with Isaiah.

Let's go to Isaiah 11, and we're going to read this prophecy in Isaiah 11. We're going to start with verses 1-5 and read it in a couple pieces. Isaiah 11:1-5: "Then a shoot will spring up from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit."

Now this is talking about Jesus. Think about this now with Jesus in mind: "The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And he (Jesus) will delight in the fear of the LORD (God), and he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear..." You say, wait a minute, why wouldn't he do that?

Listen to this. "... but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth..." It gives you a sense that the justice will be absolutely comprehensive and complete.

It won't be based on just an observation. It will be based on the truth of everything. " ...and he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked."

There will be the separation of those who won't follow in the kingdom, and they end up going into what's called the second death, because they decide not to. They have every opportunity, but they decide not to. Isaiah 11:5: "Also righteousness will be the belt about his loins, and faithfulness the belt about his waist."

You've got righteousness, fairness, and faithfulness describing Jesus overseeing this amazing kingdom.

[Jonathan] (30:25 - 30:31) There is justice and judgment at that time. Conformity to righteousness is a requirement for the world.

[Rick] (30:31 - 30:53) It is. We need to take a look at that and say, okay, you've got the picture of Jesus here, but what does that bring? Well, God's creation will be brought back to the harmony that was present in the Garden of Eden. How do we know that?

Because in Isaiah 11:6-9, now you've got Jesus in place. Look at what the rest of the circumstance looks like:

[Jonathan] (31:27 - 31:34) "And 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. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." Rick, what do you think? Were the lions, leopards, and wolves eating other animals in the Garden of Eden?

[Rick] (31:34 - 32:51) No, they were not. Now you say, well, how can that be possible? Because they're carnivores, and they're built to eat meat, and on and on, and you're right.

They are. But in the Garden, there was no death. There was no disharmony.

Everything was harmoniously living and working together. How is that going to work? I don't know.

All I know, and folks, please, please, please be clear on this, all we know is if the Scriptures tell us that's what the description is, then the Scriptures are telling us a fact before it's presented. Once the fact unfolds, then we'll be able to see, isn't that amazing? Jonathan, what that describes is what the Garden of Eden was like.

There's a reason for all of this. God put man in the Garden because He was showing them, this is what I have.

This is my gift to you. Now, sin messed all that up, but not forever. You can see God's plan has something much bigger here.

In God's kingdom, each will have ample space and ample opportunity to take care of, to support themselves. Think about that. Let's go to another chapter of Isaiah and see that report, Isaiah 65:21-25:

[Jonathan] (32:51 - 33:50) "They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of My people; My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, and they and their descendants with them.

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD."

Everyone will have shelter and resources for eternal life, but each one must make progress in their heart and minds to be in harmony with God. Evil won't be allowed to flourish.

[Rick] (33:50 - 36:06) It won't. Personal responsibility will be the order of the day, not only for each individual taking care of themselves and contributing to others, but the personal responsibility of person to person and person to God. There is that responsibility that says, this is God's kingdom, it's run God's way, and we are loyal to Him. But the beauty of this is that each has the capacity to care for themselves.

Again, in this chapter of Isaiah (chapter 65), just like in Isaiah 11, it talks about the lion, the wolf and the lamb feeding together (Editor's note--it talks about the wolf and the lamb feeding together and the lion eating straw). It's not a coincidence. It wasn't mentioned once as a poetic expression.

It's mentioned to show us that this is what the Garden of Eden looked like, and this is what God's kingdom will look like. Let's go further to another chapter of Isaiah. God's government through Jesus will assure all that war will forever cease!

War will be done. Isaiah 2:2-4: "Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD (the government of God which we have been talking about) will be established as the chief of the mountains (the chief of all the governments), and will be raised above the hills (above every earthly organization); and all the nations will stream to it."

Now, Jonathan, when nations are streaming to it, you get this sense of everybody wants to go there. This is better than Disney World at its peak, okay? Everybody wants to go there.

"And many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, that we may walk in His paths" I mean, think about the enthusiasm of going there. Continuing Isaiah 2:3-4: "For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And 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." What a powerful prophecy!

[Jonathan] (36:06 - 36:11) This prophecy is describing how the kingdom will look nationally and physically.

[Rick] (36:11 - 36:35) Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It really puts us into a very, very strong position to say, wow, there's a lot described here. You've got the government of God, you've got the results of humanity doing what they need to do, the physicality of taking care of themselves, and then the fact that wars cease because of God's governing through Christ, through the faithful ones, the way that he puts things in place.

[Jonathan] (36:35 - 36:49) Revelation 21:1 agrees with Isaiah. It says: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away..." The word "new" in Revelation means "freshness from its former condition."

It's renewed.

[Rick] (36:50 - 38:12) That's the key. It's renewed. We had the Garden of Eden that was completely lost.

It was cut off from mankind. What these prophecies are telling us is those conditions will be renewed. Now we are really getting into Cracking the Code of God's Kingdom:

JONATHAN:

God's Kingdom will bring a renewed earth that has the capacity to be abundant and fruitful for the sake of all living things. It will bring a renewed ability for each individual to be able to care for themselves. It will bring renewed peace and harmony, which will turn fighting, war and unrest into mere distant memories. All of this is the paradise of Eden restored!

RICK:

This is biblical prophecy. If you notice, it hasn't been said just once. It's repeated again and again.

There's a method to this. We need to understand the power of God's word when we put it all together. When we put all this in place, all of a sudden this vengeance of God, you kind of forget that, right?

It's like, huh, yeah, remember that? See, it's a distant memory because you see all of these new things gloriously unfolding. No wonder the message of Jesus was called the gospel!

This is the best news that anyone could ever hope for and it will become a permanent reality!

[Jonathan] (38:13 - 38:19) What will all of humanity look like when they are raised to life to live throughout the vast expanses of planet earth?

[Rick] (38:20 - 38:55) That really is the key question. After all, 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us that, "As in Adam all will die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." Life for life.

That's what you see there. Made alive to what kind of life and what kind of future? Here we go back to the breadth of God's character first to form our answer.

God is just and He is loving. He is wise and He is powerful. Put these attributes together and now watch the future unfold.

[Jonathan] (38:55 - 39:15) Unfortunately, Rick, we see in different Christian denominations how they misrepresent God's character by creating a doctrine of eternal torment that contradicts all the scriptures we've read. Please search "hell" at ChristianQuestions.com for multiple episodes of in-depth scriptural analysis on the subject.

[Rick] (39:16 - 39:45) As you do that--and we would encourage you to do that--think about the multiple prophecies that we've gone through just in this episode that are plainly stated to show what the future holds. Let's go back to Psalm 145 one last time, because Psalm 145 had just spoken about the kingdom again and again and again. Now it shows us how life will work in that kingdom.

Jonathan, let's go to Psalm 145:17-21:

[Jonathan] (39:45 - 40:16) "The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He will also hear their cry and will save them. The LORD keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever."

Now, Rick, it doesn't say all spirit beings. It says "all flesh will bless His...name."

[Rick] (40:20 - 42:39) Details! God's kingdom is in the details of the prophecies. We need to look at that. He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him.

He's "near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." We have all those other prophecies that describe how that happens. This is a powerful picture of what the future looks like.

Folks, understand this is biblical prophecy again and again and again. There's very little interpretation here. Just read the words.

Just let the Bible soak into you and realize this is why Jesus came. This is the reason. This is what he came to fulfill.

This kingdom is everlasting. All will be taught of God through Jesus to comply with godly righteousness. Let's go back to Daniel 7:13-14.

This helps us to see that again. "...And behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming (Jesus)... and to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom,"

No surprise here now because we've seen all the pieces come into place. "That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language"--not most languages, not the most common languages, not the biggest languages--"of every language might serve Him." Like you said, Jonathan, all people.

There it is. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away. I mean, power.

"And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." What a blessing we are afforded, the whole world is afforded.

It's in the Bible, and it's there again and again and again and again. In all of these different prophecies, it keeps showing up.

Why? Because Jesus paid the price. That's why.

Because Jesus did what needed to be done to right the wrong and therefore put justice in order. Because the price has been paid, the delivery of this kingdom is guaranteed. You haven't seen it yet, but it's guaranteed that it will happen because this is what God said.

Let's go to Isaiah 9:6-7.

[Jonathan] (42:39 - 43:07) This is from the NIV, New International Version: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders... of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." This is God's will!

This has been His design from the very beginning.

[Rick] (43:07 - 43:51) That's the point. This was in place in His mind from the beginning. That's why it says the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the earth (1 Peter 1:19-20), because all of this needed to unfold.

God understood. It says "the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." This is God's--not just a wishful thought on God's part--

the power of His being will accomplish this. This is the kingdom that is of God and through Christ. What does this do for humanity?

Now we've talked about it again and again, but one more time. Let's go through it and just focus in on humanity specifically. The kingdom brings all kinds of physical healing.

I'm going to go to Isaiah 35:4-6:

[Jonathan] (43:52 - 44:20) "...say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution..." Wait, wait.

Remember our last episode where it started with vengeance and destruction and how scary it looked? Well, let's read on. "...He will come to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be open and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy."

[Rick] (44:20 - 45:13) You can see that it starts with vengeance. Why? So He will save you. After that, then the eyes of the blind are opened and the ears of the deaf.

Then you have the healing of the nations. You can see that the vengeance is there to sweep away the other things that man put in place, that Satan drove, so that now it's all godly. Here's what happens with that godliness--

humanity is restored! The kingdom restores humanity and it also brings renewal to the earth. The next verse is in Isaiah 35:6-7.

It says: "... Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become like a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow."

[Jonathan] (45:14 - 45:16) Turn on the water of life!

[Rick] (45:17 - 46:03) The message is that the earth will be fruitful, completely fruitful. Why? Because God designed it to be that way.

Well, it's not fruitful now. You're right. It seems like it's impossible.

You're right. But the fact that God wrote it means God will do it. When I say God wrote it, He wrote it through the hands and the minds of those prophets that He touched with His spirit to say to them, these are the things that you need to put in place so the world will see the greatness of God Almighty.

Now finally, the kingdom brings reconciliation to all of humanity. We've talked about that through this entire episode. Let's look at it in Isaiah 35:8-10:

[Jonathan] (46:03 - 46:47) "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be there for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it;

wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,

and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." Satan, like a roaring lion, won't be able to interfere. No ravenous beast, meaning false religions, they won't be there to control through fear.

Mankind will flourish without hindrances.

[Rick] (46:48 - 48:31) Not only do they flourish; "everlasting joy will crown their heads" and "joy will overtake them." And "sorrow and sighing," they're things of the past. They're gone.

It's just an amazing picture and it's all true. You don't see it yet because it's not time yet.

Let's look at one last scripture to sum up what this kingdom really is all about. Let's look at Micah 4:1-3, the first part of verse 3. Again, you're going to hear a lot of repetition here, but it's there for a purpose:

"And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD..." --there you go again with that mountain of the house of the Lord-- "...will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it." Sounds like a prophecy we just read before.

"Many nations will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations." Sounds like something we just read, but it's a different prophet.

Jonathan, that's the point. These are things that are not just mentioned by one prophet in one circumstance. These are things that are mentioned again and again and again throughout the Old Testament to say there's something big here.

It's bigger than you can even imagine. You've got this "mountain of the house of the Lord" and people running towards it so they can learn of God. The power and might of God's kingdom will be unquestioned as righteousness is put in place.

Jonathan, let's finish the Micah 4 prophecy by reading the latter part of verse 3-5:

[Jonathan] (48:53 - 49:00) "Then 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 train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 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." Let me add an "Amen."

[Rick] (49:00 - 49:39) Amen to that! Again, it's you saying, yeah, but we already talked about that. Right. Different prophecy, different time; same view of the same future.

Please, folks, understand the power of God's word when we let it interpret itself. The kingdom of God on earth is a self-interpreting truth that will come to be and the prophecies lay it out for us. We just need to be humble enough to listen and rejoice in them. Jonathan, this is Cracking the Code of God's Kingdom:

[Jonathan] (50:09 - 50:13) God has ALWAYS had a plan for His human creation to live in peace, harmony and righteousness for eternity. This plan required the harsh experience with sin and godlessness to have their full effect, and then it required the sweeping away of all of the pain, suffering and death that they brought. The end result is life and loyalty to the love, justice, wisdom and power of our Creator forever and ever!

[Rick] (50:13 - 51:59) That's why Jesus came. That's the reason. That's why all of these things happen. That's why sin was allowed,

so the experience could be put in place forever so that we could learn from it, so that the retribution could be put in place, so that the kingdom could be set up, so that we would be going back to what God originally put in place. Just one last verse here as we wrap this up. Revelation 21:3-4:

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them..." Pause there for a second. Remember in the Garden of Eden, they could hear God walking in the garden?

JONATHAN:

Yes.

RICK:

God is saying, I'm back. I'm back because sin is gone, because Jesus has taken care of it. I am back and I am present with you.

His being present (Revelation 21:4): "...and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; for those former things are passed away."

They are done. They are gone. They are over forever.

Why? Because God said so, and because Jesus did the work that he did. This is what God's kingdom is.

This is why God's vengeance is an important small step in the process of taking down the things of this world, so God's kingdom can be here forever and ever for the benefit of every single human being. Think about it. Folks, we love hearing from our listeners.

We welcome your feedback and your questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "Does God Punish Us When We Break a Promise?"

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