The Daily Word of Righteousness

Enduring to the End, continued

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44—NIV)

The wars and other disasters of history are an expression of the rebellion that took place in the spirit realm before the material realm was created. God is bringing into existence a kingdom that will displace all the kingdoms of men and make certain that never again will a self-willed creature, angelic or human, bring rebellion and agony into His creation.

In order to establish His Kingdom on the earth, God sent the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the righteous Kingdom, who was perfected in obedience during His stay on the earth.

Next in line are the victorious saints, the holy remnant of believers who have been brought forth in the churches throughout Church history.

During the era to come, the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the remainder of the elect will be brought to perfect reconciliation to the Father.

Finally every saved person will receive a portion of eternal life and find his place in the new world of righteousness.

Meanwhile, wars and rumors of wars must continue as God permits Satan-inspired men to produce the circumstances that result in the perfecting of the saints. All things are working together for good for those whom God has predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.

"But the end is not yet."

The existence of wars and rumors of wars inform us the end is not yet. The sign of the end will be the existence of a worldwide peace brought about by Antichrist. It will be a peace apart from God, a peace in which man is his own God.

"All these are the beginning of birth pains."

Current translations present "the beginning of sorrows" as the beginning of birth pains. The change from sorrows to birth pains is significant. It shows us the increasing darkness of our age does not herald the end of all that is good but rather the beginning of all that is good. The darkness is preparing us for the morning of the age of righteousness.

Why it is necessary for God to bring mankind through an age of moral horrors before permitting people to enjoy the glorious world of righteousness that is to come we cannot say, except that by means of this severe trial we are tested to see if we are worthy of the Kingdom that God has in mind. Also, the Bride of the Lamb must be purified by suffering and be separated from the man-directed religious institutions.

Which [persecutions and tribulations] is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (II Thessalonians 1:5)

The woman goes down into the valley of the shadow of death to bring forth a baby. The creation is going down into the valley of the shadow of death to bring forth the Kingdom of God. In the darkest hour we can look up to the throne of God and know our redemption, our release into glory, is at hand.

To be continued.