The land of. Israel – Palestine – Holy land. Will become the political, spiritual and cultural centre of world government – Christ will reign there in person.

The very idea of such a kingdom may never have occurred to you for several reasons such as: Unfamiliarity with the Bible – Or other ideas which are not found in it. Or an incorrect understanding of what is written in it.

Nevertheless the Good News of the kingdom of God on earth is part of the teaching of Jesus Christ in what we know as the Lord’s Prayer "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" What this really means is clearer when you come to understand God’s plans in the Old and New Testaments.

Traditional thinking suggests that given enough time God’s kingdom will come on earth when "the church" and its teaching has come to all men. This cannot be true as mankind is going in the opposite direction to this idea. Neither does the prayer suggest that there is a kingdom in heaven, as Jesus is actually saying that we should seek the mind or will of God who is in the heavens.

According to scripture, God created the earth to be inhabited. Mankind now accepts that left to himself he has the capacity to destroy the earth which could come about through overpopulation. Seriously! Is that what the creator God intends to happen? Or even if overpopulation were not a problem do we really consider that God intends to allow the chaos the world is in to go on for ever?

On the contrary scripture tells us of God’s plans for the future with Jesus as King over a world government on Earth, The Earth as we know it is not some kind of staging post on the way to a kingdom elsewhere – If that were true, can we really believe that the earth will drag on for ever until either God destroys it, or man does by one of ways which we are told it could happen?

If this idea is either new, or seems to be far fetched for you. We would like to share with you some knowledge which is freely available to all.

There is only one source of Christian knowledge - The Bible. The year 2011 will see the four hundredth anniversary of the translation of it into the English language. This made it possible to expose the errors and false doctrines of the traditional church. The Bible could be read in the mother tongue, it is now available in over 450 languages.

In this short exposition we will explain:
• The need for this Kingdom of God on Earth.
• When it will happen.
• Where its centre will be.

If you have some knowledge of the Bible you will know that Jesus was prophesied to come in the Old Testament. We are told in several places what he would be like, and that in time he would rule over God’s kingdom on earth which would be a place of peace and good will.

The Old Testament Prophet. Isaiah. Was inspired to pen the following found in, Chapter. 11 verses 2 &3. "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, and the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth"

This scripture describes the qualifications of the one God sent into the world, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, He alone is referred to again by Isaiah as competent to take the power and reign. Let us look at Chapter.9 verse 6 & 7.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this"

On reflection, here is the need! We are able to see the difference between the governments we have, and that which God has said will be. The world has never had this type of government yet. So when will it happen? The penultimate paragraph of this paper gives some words of Jesus and reference to the writings of the apostle Paul who describes how the world would be at the time Jesus returns. Scripture does not give a day or year when Jesus will return. But it does describe the state of domestic and political affairs with particular reference to the Middle East. These all suggest the time is incredibly near.

The third question as to where the centre of operations and the throne of Jesus will be, is explained in the last section of this paper - The Glad Tidings (or Good News) of the Kingdom of God.

Before we look at the New Testament, we comment on how the writings found in the book of Isaiah affect those who profess the Truth. Even in much of the christian world they are articulated around once a year and one wonders what people understand in, or of them, as nothing seems to change year on year.

To be fully committed to the Truth one has to understand them, and your whole life is motivated by a faith which is based on understanding and transforming ones thoughts and lifestyle to that which is truly Christ-like, not being a nominal member of a church or doing your own thing.

What about the New Testament? In a sense this was something new, but inextricably linked to the old, indeed - the first verse of the New Testament at, Matthew. Chapter 1 v 1 reads. "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" Before the birth of Jesus, God’s dealings was mainly with His chosen people Israel.

Three of the Gospel accounts explain the birth of Jesus; it was to be through him alone that salvation would be made possible to all peoples and nations.

Going now to the Bible, we will take references to Jesus and what he said. These are from His early preaching, and in each reference Jesus explains not just what he was doing. But what was to come, and what his hearers should do to save themselves by God’s Grace to become part of His kingdom.

Matthew. Chapter 4 v 23. "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom"

Luke. Chapter 8 v 1. "Jesus, went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God"

Mark. Chapter 1 v 4 – 5. "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God" And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe the gospel"

From these scriptures we select 3 points which we will then review;
i. Repentance.
ii. Believe the gospel.
iii. The Glad Tidings of the Kingdom of God.

Repentance. This is to acknowledge our sinful nature and make a commitment to Jesus. (This is really another subject; we will explain what is required in another article as its important)

Believing the gospel. This is to understand God’s purpose in sending His only begotten Son into the world, His birth, teaching, death and resurrection, and why he will return to the earth.

The Glad Tidings (or Good News) of the Kingdom of God, is about this coming world changing event which is spoken of in the Old and New Testaments. From the Bible we understand that Jesus is to return to the same place on earth from where He ascended to heaven over 2000 years ago. You will find this reading in the Bible book called, "The Acts of the Apostles" Chapter 1 verses 1 – 11 (say) a great help. In this same book we are given the reason for the return of Jesus in Chapter 17 verse 30.(NIV) Here, Paul had been explaining to the people at Athens God’s past and future plans concerning the earth and man on it. He said. "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead"

It may be asked why Jesus is to return to the spot near Jerusalem from where He ascended. Israel is God’s land of choice for the centre of the coming kingdom. It is not without some considerable significance that there is ongoing strife in that country today. The answers to these problems are in the Bible which speaks of a restoration of the land, and of God’s future intentions for it.

Zechariah the Old Testament prophet spoke of the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of Jesus, we note in Chapter 2 verse 12. It is written, "And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall chose Jerusalem again"

In brief. The Glad Tidings or the Good News is that the Kingdom of God on earth will necessitate the return of Jesus. God will not allow man to reject Him a second time as he will come with infinite power according to scripture. He will end mans reign because as we said at the beginning the world has never had true Christianity, and it is dispensing with it daily. Jesus knew this would happen, Jesus knew that he would have to come again to instil God’s will. He said. Luke. Chapter 18. verse 8. "When the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?" This indicated a perverse state of affairs which the apostle Paul described in his 2nd letter to Timothy, verse 3. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come" You may like to find this verse and those that follow it which aptly describe today’s world.

To draw it together – Israel will become the political, spiritual and cultural centre of world government – Christ will reign there in person.