The Church and the World

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD

* * *

Today’s belief about the Kingdom of God is that there will be two groups of people in the age to come: the saved, and the lost. This is not the case. There will be three groups of people in the age to come: the Church, the nations of the saved, and the lost. The Tabernacle of the Congregation is a model of the Kingdom of God portraying the saved who rule (Israel, the elect of God), and the saved who are ruled (the saved nations of the earth—Revelation 21:24). In addition there will be those (hopefully few in number) who are lost forever to God and His saints.

* * *

The prevailing belief about the Kingdom of God is that there will be two groups of people in the age to come: the saved, and the lost. This is not the case. There will be three groups of people in the age to come: the Church, the nations of the saved, and the lost.

And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:24)

“Shall walk in its light.”
“The nations of those who are saved.”

“It” is the Tabernacle of God, the new Jerusalem, the Church of Christ.

“The nations of those who are saved” are the inheritance of Christ and His saints—the people of the world who are not part of the elect but whom God has found worthy of eternal life.

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matthew 25:34)

Until this design is grasped, the Hebrew Prophets are not readily understandable. The current perception of the Kingdom of God is that it consists of a happy group of Gentiles living in mansions in Paradise and having nothing significant to do.

The truth is, the members of the Church will be serving God as His representatives throughout the saved creation—especially in the earth. The Church is the Body of Christ, the Body of the Servant of the Lord. As such it will be performing the work of the Servant described in Isaiah, Chapter 42 and in similar passages.

The victorious saints will govern the saved nations of the earth with a rod of iron—a stern rule that shall crush all resistance.

“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; (Revelation 2:26,27)

At the conclusion of the thousand-year Kingdom Age the saints will face an angry populace but God will intervene.

They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp [fortress] of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. (Revelation 20:9)

During the past two thousand years, being saved and being part of the Church have meant much the same thing. This is because the purpose of the Christian Era has been the calling out and perfecting of the Church, the Wife of the Lamb, the Body of Christ.

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

When the Church, the Israel of God, has been perfected, God will use the Church as His instrument for judging, delivering, blessing, teaching, and ruling the nations of saved peoples of the earth.

The design of the Tabernacle of the Congregation reveals the relationship of the Church to the saved peoples of the earth. The Most Holy Place typifies the firstfruits of the Church, the holy, warlike remnant. The Holy Place portrays the Church. The Most Holy Place and Holy Place taken together represent God’s elect, Israel, the Temple of God, the eternal center of government of the Kingdom of God.

The Courtyard speaks of the nations of the saved. All are within the linen fence of righteousness. All are saved. All are part of the eternal Kingdom of God.

Some other names for the Church are as follows: the elect, the saints, Israel, the sons of God, the victorious saints, the Wife of the Lamb, the Body of Christ, the new Jerusalem, the holy city, the brothers of Christ, the royal priesthood, the Church of the Firstborn.

The design of the Tabernacle of the Congregation is the design of the Kingdom of God. The Church has been called out from the nations of the earth that it may become, through Christ, the Presence of God among people.

We will not discuss at this time the godly remnant, the firstfruits, the strongest among the members of the Church. The firstfruits of the Church will, as Christ enables and directs, assist the weaker members of Israel as they come into the fullness of the new covenant.

These are the ones who were not defiled with women [not married to the world], for they are virgins [spirits are pure]. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4)

We think the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle speaks of a firstfruits to God and the Lamb who will be raised in the first resurrection. The balance of Israel is portrayed by the Holy Place, and they will receive back their bodies at a later time, according to our understanding.

By the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age the Tabernacle will be one whole. All of God’s elect, all Israel, will have become the perfected Wife of the Lamb.

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God [the Church] is with men [the saved nations], and He will dwell with them, and they [the nations] shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:3)

Our emphasis in the present article is on the Church, the Tabernacle building, including the Most Holy and Holy places as one whole. The Kingdom of God includes the saved who rule (Israel, the elect of God) and the saved who are ruled (the nations of saved peoples of the earth).

In addition there will be those (hopefully few in number) who are lost forever to God and His saints.

The Prophets of Israel declare plainly that the Israel of God will govern the nations of saved peoples of the earth. In fact, apart from the doctrine of Israel governing the nations of saved peoples of the earth the Prophets are not understandable.

For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined. (Isaiah 60:12)

It is obvious from the above that there will be nations and kingdoms that serve God’s Israel, and that those nations and kingdoms are not lost but saved. However, they are not Israel, not the Church.

Let us think for a moment about the current Christian teaching that the Church is a spiritual kingdom destined to abide in Heaven while the writings of the Hebrew Prophets have to do with an earthly Israel. If this doctrine is true our model is incomplete.

If the current teaching is true, the government of the Kingdom of God will be divided into two parts: (1) a heavenly government made up of the members of the Church, the Body of Christ; and (2) an earthly government consisting of the nation of Israel—the Jews by race.

It is our point of view that the doctrine of the Church being a heavenly government while the Jews by race constitute an earthly government is incorrect and introduces chaos into one’s thinking concerning the Kingdom of God.

It seems to us that there hardly could be a doctrine more confusing, more destructive of sound biblical interpretation, than the concept that the Lord Jesus Christ has two brides, two bodies, two kingdoms; and that there will be two comings of the Lord, one for His heavenly bride and one to His earthly bride.

The Apostles Paul and Peter were Jews by race and yet members of the Church. Are Paul and Peter part of a spiritual government in Heaven or are Paul and Peter part of the future government of Israel on the earth?

Think about the following passage:

So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)

It does not seem reasonable that the Apostles of the Lamb would be ruling over Jews on the earth while the “Gentile Church,” which is the fruit of their teaching, would be living in bliss in the spirit Paradise. Do you agree?

According to the Lord Jesus, one cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God until he has been born again (John 3:3,5). Being born again makes one a member of the Church, the Body of Christ; for it is Christ who is born in us.

How can any teacher of the Scriptures seriously hold the concept that there will be a nation of Jews on the earth who never have been born again and yet who are in the Kingdom of God?

Or are there two kingdoms?

To our knowledge, the Scriptures never, in any instance, speak of two kingdoms. There is one King, one Lord, one Kingdom, one Israel of God, one Wife of the Lamb, one holy city, one fold, one Shepherd.

having abolished in His flesh the enmity [between Jew and Gentile], that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two [Jews and Gentiles], thus making peace, (Ephesians 2:15)

“One new man.”

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

“One body and one Spirit.”

“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:16)

“One flock and one shepherd.”

“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. (Ezekiel 37:24)

The Lord Jesus Christ will sit on the Throne of David in Jerusalem. He is the King over all nations, particularly over His own elect.

The members of His Body will govern the nations with Him.

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. (Isaiah 32:1)
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (I Thessalonians 4:17)

“And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)

The Scriptures teach that there is one Kingdom of God, the kingdom that is coming to the earth. The Kingdom of God consists of those persons in whom Jesus is dwelling and ruling. There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile in the Kingdom of God.

The Hebrew Prophets when proclaiming the truths of Christ were not addressing physical Israel.

To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12)

The new covenant, the Christian covenant, can be made only with God’s Israel, the elect of God. Notice carefully the following:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Hebrews 8:10)

The new covenant is made only with Israel. In order to enter the new covenant we must become part of Israel. When we enter the Lord Jesus we become part of true Israel, the Israel that is by promise (Romans 9:6-8).

The New Testament does not speak of any covenant made with Gentiles, only with Israel.

There only is the one good olive tree—the Seed of Abraham by promise.

The teaching that a Gentile Church will rule in Heaven while those of Jewish lineage will rule on the earth is incorrect. Only the victorious saints will rule the nations of the earth, and they will rule on the earth (although they will have complete access to the spiritual heavens).

The victorious saints are the firstfruits of Christ’s Body. The victorious saints are drawn first from the Jews and after that from the Gentiles. Those who are part of Christ, of the Kingdom of God, are no longer identified as Jews or Gentiles.

The oneness of Jews and Gentiles in the Church of Christ is taught clearly in the Scriptures.

The new covenant is made with the house of Israel and only with the house of Israel. We Gentiles must become, through Christ, part of the one Seed of Abraham or we cannot inherit the promises of God.

Nothing we teach is meant to imply that the physical land and people of Israel have not had, and do not continue to have, a special place in the purposes of God. The Jews by race assuredly do continue to have a special place in the purposes of God, and this will become increasingly clear as time goes on. The Kingdom of God is always to the Jew first.

The Kingdom of God consists, first of all, of the Church, which is the royal priesthood; then of those saved peoples whom the Church will govern and whom it will serve in a priestly function, bringing the knowledge, blessing, and Presence of the Lord to them.

Several passages of the Book of Isaiah have to do with the Servant of the Lord, Christ—Head and Body. During the coming age the Lord’s royal priesthood, Christ and His Body, will deliver, rule, teach, and bless the nations of saved peoples of the earth.

Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion [body of Christ] shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)

Isaiah 2:3 is not a picture of the Body of Christ making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to seek the Lord. In that day the Lord’s elect already will “ever be with the Lord.” Neither is it a prophecy of the nations of the earth coming to the physical Jews to learn the Torah.

Isaiah 2:3 portrays the coming of the nations of saved peoples of the earth to Jerusalem, to the center of government of the whole earth. There Christ and His Body will be ruling, and there the nations will find God.

We who believe in Christ already have come to Mount Zion and are Mount Zion. We stand with Christ on Mount Zion.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, (Hebrews 12:22)

The pilgrimage of the nations of the saved to “the house of the God of Jacob” will take place on this earth. The casting of Satan and his angels out of the heavenlies, and the ascension of the saints to the spiritual thrones that govern the earth, will create a peaceful, godly atmosphere on the earth. The nations then will desire to “beat their swords into plowshares.”

The nations of the saved of their own choice will decide to “go up to the mountain of the Lord.”

We are coheirs with Christ of the nations of the earth. This is why we are being trained so rigorously, not that we may dwell in Heaven above but that we may bring the Presence of God to the nations of the earth.

The nations that choose to go up to Jerusalem and be taught of the Lord are not lost. They are not in Hell. They are not in the Lake of Fire. They are saved people living in peace on the earth and they are being governed by the Israel of God, which consists of all who are in Christ (Galatians 3:29; 6:16).

The sixtieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah reveals that at the time of the world’s greatest darkness the Glory of the Lord will arise on the saints. This passage refers to the same event for which Jesus prayed, as set forth in John 17:21-23. The Lord prayed that His Glory would be given to the elect and that the nations of the earth would see the unified Church and realize it is God who has sent Christ, and that God is in the Church and loves the Church as He loves Christ Himself.

“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent Me.
“And the glory which you gave Me I have given them [His body], that they may be one just as we are one:
“I in them, and you in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as you have loved Me. (John 17:21-23)

“That the world may know.”

Isaiah, Chapter 60 portrays the answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus:

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)

The Church is the light of the world but it is not stated that the Church is the light of Heaven.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14)

Whenever the Glory of God is given to the Church the nations of the earth will come to the light; for the Church is the only Divine Light in the world. When the Church is filled with Divine Glory and in union with Christ, the world will believe in the Divine Redeemer.

This is what is being portrayed here:

“Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. (Isaiah 60:4)

The sons and daughters who come to the glory that has risen on the Lord’s people are not part of the Church, the Wife of the Lamb. They are of the nations of saved peoples of the earth. They are the inheritance of Christ and His coheirs.

Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. (Psalms 2:8)
Therefore your [the Church’s] gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession. (Isaiah 60:11)

It is abundantly clear, in the above verse, that “your gates” refers to the Lord’s elect, and the “men” who come to the gates of the Church are saved. Certainly they are not coming from the Lake of Fire. Yet they are not part of the Church.

The Church and the nations of the saved can be observed also in the sixty-first chapter of the Book of Isaiah—the passage of Scripture the Lord Jesus read at the beginning of His ministry.

To console those who mourn in Zion [the Church], to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3)

“That they [the members of God’s elect] might be called trees of righteousness.”

First the members of Zion are built into “trees of righteousness.” Then the trees of righteousness, who are the Israel of God, the Lord’s elect, serve as a royal priesthood to the nations of saved peoples of the earth. Notice the following:

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles [nations], and in their glory you shall boast. (Isaiah 61:5,6)

Here we have portrayed the Lord’s “priests,” and also the nations of saved peoples of the earth (the “strangers”) who recognize that the saints are representing the Lord God. Since the elect at that time already will have been raised from the dead, and this will not be true of the nations of the saved whom they will be serving, it appears that the saints will be ministering to the nations while clothed in their glorified bodies. The nations of the saved will still be flesh-and-blood people. During the Kingdom Age the members of the royal priesthood will be filled with eternal resurrection life in spirit, in soul, and in body.

The saved peoples of the earth will recognize that God is tabernacling in us because they will see engraved on us the name of God, the name of the new Jerusalem, and the new name of Christ (Revelation 3:12).

The nations of the saved will not be permitted to choose whether they wish to come to experience the Glory of Christ in the saints, they will be required to do so.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16)

The nations of the saved will “keep the feast of tabernacles” by coming to the Wife of the Lamb and receiving the blessing of the Presence of God, who will have established His throne, and the throne of the Lamb, in the Church, the Body of Christ, the new Jerusalem. The Church will have become the eternal Temple of God.

Out from the saints will flow the rivers of living water, as Jesus prayed during the observance of the feast of Tabernacles.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. (Zechariah 14:8)

Since Jerusalem is between the eastern nations and the western nations, the water of God’s Holy Spirit will flow from Jerusalem to the farthest corners of the earth. The living water always comes from the Throne of God. It will flow from the personalities of the members of the Body of Christ, from those who have entered the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles, becoming the Throne of God and of the Lamb.

The living Water will bring spiritual life to the “dead sea” of mankind.

“And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:9)

The Lord Jesus will perfect His Body, His Church, in order that the world may believe and be saved.

having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. (I Peter 2:12)

The nations will “glorify God in the day of visitation” if the saints practice the righteous deeds of the Kingdom of God.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

The light of the Church is the good works of the Church, the good works that the Church practices because Christ has been formed and is dwelling in the Church.

Christ’s purpose in perfecting the Church in Himself is that the entire earth may be filled with the Glory of God. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Before Christ is finished He will have accomplished His goal of revealing the Glory of God through His saints in the sight of the nations of saved peoples of the earth.

For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)

When the Lord God builds up His Church the nations of the earth will behold the righteousness and Glory of the Lord.

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. (Isaiah 62:1,2)

The twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew portrays Christ the King assigning some nations to everlasting fire and other nations to eternal life.

“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32)

Notice that the basis of separation in this instance is not their receiving Christ as Lord and Savior or their repenting or their being baptized in water or their being born again. The judgment of the nations is based on how they treated the Lord’s brothers, His elect, His witnesses, His saints.

‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; (Matthew 25:35)

It is our understanding that the “sheep” and “goat” nations represent all the nations of history, including the people who are alive on the earth when the Lord returns. The principle of assisting or rejecting God’s witnesses, whether Jewish or Gentile, with the resulting rewards or punishments, holds true for all of human history. If we are correct, then the judgment of the sheep and goat nations will take place at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the time when the dead are raised.

The following is an example of someone assisting the Lord’s witnesses:

And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us. (Acts 16:15)

And then an example of rejecting the Lord’s witness:

Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. (Acts 16:22)

Matthew 25:31-46 may be speaking especially of how the nations of the earth treated the Lord’s witnesses during the period just prior to His return from Heaven, during the great tribulation. Perhaps this is the meaning of “the earth helped the woman” (Revelation 12:16).

It is the writer’s point of view that the Spirit-anointed elect will be forced to flee from the face of Antichrist after the latter-rain testimony (the testimony symbolized by the “two witnesses” of Revelation, Chapter 11) has been concluded. The true Israel of God, the elect Jews and Gentiles, will, we believe, be protected and nourished in the wilderness areas of the earth throughout the great tribulation.

At that time the nations of the earth will choose whether to assist the saints or whether to join with Antichrist in persecuting them. The people that assist the saints will be brought into the Kingdom of God. The people that ignore the plight of the saints (the saints being the “brothers” of Christ) will be thrown into everlasting fire.

Notice again that the nations are not saved by receiving the doctrine of the atonement and resurrection but on the basis of how they received Christ in the saints.

The three groups of mankind, the Church, the nations of the saved, and the lost, are portrayed in the Book of Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22. First, the Church.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)

What is the new Jerusalem? The new Jerusalem is the Wife of the Lamb, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the Scripture states:

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:9,10)

The new Jerusalem is a real city, we believe, but it is also a portrayal of the virtues of the Church. It is the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife. According to Ephesians 5:31,32 it is the Church that is the Wife of the Lamb.

What significance does the Spirit attach to the descent of the new Jerusalem from the new heaven to rest on a “great and high mountain” of the new earth?

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God [the Church] is with men [the saved nations], and He will dwell with them, and they [the nations] shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:3)

The Church, the Wife of the Lamb, is “the tabernacle of God.” There is no other tabernacle of God.

in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)

Where will the tabernacle of God be placed? The Church, the tabernacle of God, will be placed on the earth. It is the light of the world.

The Church will be placed on the earth so that the Presence of God in Christ will be available to the members of the nations of saved people.

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God [the Church] is with men [the saved nations], and He will dwell with them, and they [the nations] shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:3)

With what men? With the saved peoples of the earth.

What will the Lord do for the nations of saved peoples of the earth when He has come down from Heaven to live among people in Christ—Head and Body?

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God [the Church] is with men [the saved nations], and He will dwell with them, and they [the nations] shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:3)

Did the Hebrew Prophets proclaim that the God of Heaven would come to earth through His people, and rule and bless the nations?

They did, in many instances. One of the principal themes of the Old Testament Prophets is the return of Christ to bring justice to the nations God has chosen.

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles [nations]. (Isaiah 42:1)
“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;
That they [God’s saints] may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the LORD who does this thing. (Amos 9:11,12)

“All the Gentiles [nations] who are called by my name.”

The Tabernacle of David, which was the Ark of the Covenant separated from the Tabernacle of the Congregation and kept in a tent near Jerusalem, symbolizes the Presence and Glory of God that will be with the firstfruits of saints, with those who are pressing on to complete victory in the days in which we are living (Philippians 3:14).

The coheirs with Christ, those who suffer with Him, will receive the nations for their inheritance (Isaiah 53:12; Romans 8:17; Revelation 2:26).

One of the fundamental prophecies that governs the Church can be found in Genesis 22:15-18. Notice the relationship of Christ (and all who are part of Him) to the nations of the earth.

“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:18)

“All the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Divine Seed to whom all the promises have been made is the Lord Jesus Christ and those who are an integral, eternal part of Him.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

Heirs of what? Heirs of the nations and of the farthest reaches of the earth.

For how long a time will the Church, the Seed of Abraham, govern and bless the nations of the saved? Forever.

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

How will the Lord God, who at that time will be dwelling in His Fullness in His holy ones in the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles, behave toward the nations of saved peoples of the earth?

“And God will wipe away every tear from their [the nations] eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things [sufferings] have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

What will be given to the believers who, through the grace of Christ, overcome the sins and pressures that afflict the members of the churches?

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:7)

By far the most important aspect of the inheritance of the overcomer is union with God through Christ. The possession next in importance is the nations of saved peoples of the earth. The nations of peoples are our inheritance in the Lord.

Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea [many people] shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles [nations] shall come to you. (Isaiah 60:5)

What will be true of the individuals who refuse to be made new by the Glory of God in Christ in the saints?

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone [burning sulfur], which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

There will be three groups of people throughout the ages to come: The Church, the nations of the saved, and the lost. We have spoken of the Church and the nations of the saved.

Finally, the lost.

The common Christian teaching of our day is that all who stand before the great white throne in the Day of Judgment will be lost, will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, there to be tormented for eternity. This group, according to the current belief, includes those who never have heard the Gospel. Some people stress that babies also will be thrown into the Lake of Fire because they have not “received Christ.” So great is the blindness and hardness of heart!

Such is not our point of view.

God judges people only by the light they have received, not by light they have not received.

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
“He who hates Me hates My Father also.
“If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. (John 15:22-24)

“They would have no sin.”

(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. (Romans 5:13)
I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. (Romans 7:9)

Where there is no law, there is no accountability for sin. Adam and Eve were without guilt and “alive” in the sight of God until they received the knowledge of good and evil.

There will be a wide variety of rewards and punishments given to the first group, the members of the Church, the Body of Christ.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. (Revelation 22:12)

It may be true also that a wide variety of positions and punishments will be given to the second group, the nations of the saved. Every individual, whether of God’s elect or of the nations of the saved, will receive the evil he has done and the good he has done.

tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 2:9,10)

God is not mocked. His Word shall stand. He does not respect the person of any individual that He would overlook the sins of some and severely punish others who do the same things but who are not of God’s elect.

For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (Romans 2:12)

The nations will be judged largely on how they treat the Lord’s brothers, His witnesses.

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

The nations that bless and comfort the Lord’s saints will inherit the Kingdom of God, entering eternal life.

The nations that do not assist the Lord’s saints will be led away into the fire.

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41)

It does not appear that there are divisions among the lost in the Lake of Fire. The individual who is thrown into that most terrifying of prisons is lost forever to God and His purposes. It is a fate beyond all other fates in its dreadfulness. Hopefully there will be few people who are assigned to the eternal flames prepared for the devil and his angels.

The marriage of the Lamb will be the greatest event of all history. It is the uniting of Christ, the Lamb of God, with a company of people who forever will be part of Himself. It is the fullness of the incarnation of the God of Heaven.

The Divine Glory being issued in order that the marriage may be perfected is so abundant that all the persons of the earth may attend and be blessed.

The nations are invited to partake freely of the “good wine” that has been kept until now.

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:6,7)

(“The Church and the World”, 3741-1)