The Kingdom Shall Come

MEMORY VERSE: “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” —Revelation 21:6

REVELATION 21:3-7, 22-27; 22:17

THE apostle wrote, “He [Christ] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him, that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”—I Cor. 15:25-28

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) Here the prayer is for the Creator to establish his rulership over the earth and in the hearts and lives of men, and the Scriptures reveal clearly that this will be accomplished through Christ. And when it is fully accomplished the Creator will be the recognized Lord of earth, even his beloved Son being subject to him—which, of course, in reality he has always been.

Our Scripture lesson for today reminds us of God’s position in connection with the re-establishment of divine control in human affairs, and also the relationship of Jesus and his church, who live and reign with him to bring about the accomplishment of the Creator’s will. John sees “a new heaven and a new earth,” and he sees “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”—ch. 21:1,2

The “new heaven” and “new earth” is the new social order to be established under Christ. The new Jerusalem is a symbol of the messianic kingdom in which Christ, the “Lamb,” and his bride will reign. (Rev. 19:7; 21:9,10) The establishment of this kingdom leads to the time when “the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them.” “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

This glorious consummation will not be reached until the close of the thousand-year reign of Christ. It will be then, as it is said in our memory verse, “It is done.” Truly, all things will be new—no more pain, no more death; nothing to mar the happiness of the restored race.

It has been difficult for narrow human reasoning to grasp the fullness of divine love and mercy as it will operate toward the human race during Christ’s reign. Verse 24 reads, “And the nations shall walk in the light of it”; that is, of the symbolic holy city, Christ’s kingdom. But someone during the Dark Ages improperly added the restricting words, “of them which are saved.” These words are not in the older Greek manuscripts, and whoever added them did not realize that the “holy city” arrangements would function for a thousand years for the very purpose of making the salvation purchased by the Lamb available for all mankind.

Entering into this “city” symbolizes the reformation of mind and heart required to bring them into harmony with the divine will. Those who do not, during that favorable time of enlightenment and help, desire to submit themselves to God’s will, and to accept the redemption provided through Christ will, of course, be destroyed.—Acts 3:23

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (ch. 22:17) Not until the marriage of the Lamb takes place will there be a “bride” to say, “Come.” It has required the entire age since Jesus’ first advent for the bride to make herself ready. This work is still going quietly on, unknown to the world. The marriage is still future.

But when the marriage does take place, then the invitation will go out to all the peoples of the earth to come and “take the water of life freely.” All will be given a full opportunity to accept that glorious provision of divine love.

QUESTIONS

What will be the full accomplishment of the reign of Christ?

In what sense will “the tabernacle of God” be with men during the Millennium?

How do we know that “the Spirit and the bride” is not now saying, “Come”?

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