HOME
Heaven on Earth
Home
Past Issues
End Times

     Too often the only thing people worry about is getting into Heaven. But there is so much more to Christianity than getting saved. Jesus wants us to bring Heaven to earth. It’s why He prayed, "Let your will [Father,] be done on earth as it is in heaven."

By Destin Michael

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

     Often Christians make the mistake of believing their goal in life is limited to bringing the message of salvation to unbelievers. But no where in the Bible did Jesus ever command His students to "preach the Gospel of salvation." His command was always, "Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom," (Matthew 10:7, Luke 9:2, Luke 10:2). And, there is so much more to being in the Kingdom of God than being saved from your sins.

     In John 3:3 Jesus told a man named Nicodemus, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." In other words, He said we could not become citizens in God’s Kingdom until we are saved. But, that was only the entrance part. When we receive Jesus as our Savior, that only gives us the ability to "see" God’s Kingdom. Now we must begin to walk in it. That means we must follow the laws of the Kingdom, and work to spread God’s Empire throughout the rest of the Earth.

WE ARE GOD'S AMBASSADORS

     In Mark 16:15 Jesus tells us, "Go into all the world, and preach the good news to every creature." In the Greek, this word for "world" actually means "every sphere of influence." So it is saying Christ wants us to bring His Kingdom into our politics, our family life, our schools, the media, the entertainment world, the business world, and every where we go... not just into our Church life. We need to learn what the Bible says about all these things, and work to bring God’s control over our society.

     Often we pray for God to bring peace and prosperity to our nations, but we forget that Luke 12:31 says, "Seek His Kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." When we let God use us to influence our workplaces and schools, we are gradually bringing His rulership over them. He is being made King over our lives and the lives of those around us, and as a result, more people will be supplied with the blessings that only He can give. More people will learn how to manage their money according to the principles in the Bible, and how to have peaceful relationships with their families. More people will understand God’s political views, and see why His ways always work better than ours. This is why Jesus came to save us. He said in John 17:18, "As you [Father,] have sent me into the world, I also send them into the world." We are His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:2), sent to negotiate with our peers and work to accomplish God’s goals on the earth.

LET US GO IN AND TAKE THE LAND

     The Bible says in Matthew 24:14, "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." That means we have a lot more to do than just give everyone a chance to be saved before the "rapture" comes. This is why Jesus prayed in John 17:15, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." If we are soon to be removed from this earth, then that means we have no time to make plans for changing the world, which is what we are called to do.

     Like Christ, let us make it our goal to have "God’s kingdom come– His will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven," (Matthew 6:10). We will obey the words of Joshua 1:11, and "go in and take possession of the land the LORD our God is giving to us for our own." This is what we were made for. It is what God said of the first humans He ever created in Genesis 1:26: "Let them have dominion [control]...over all the earth!"

 
Visitor responses to this article:
 
     "Wow! God is such an influence in everyday life that so many people don't even realize. All you ever hear is the worry of people wanting to get into heaven but it's not very often that you see people acting as though that is really what they want at all. Why is it ok for people to go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and think thats all they have to do. Disregarding the rest of the entire week is something I witness so often in life. Why do people think that being a saint on two days of the week and a sinner the rest of the week should be ok. It is a spiritual battle I can't seem to figure out. If you want so badly to be welcomed into heaven why do you not seem to care on any other day?"
- April

Unless otherwise stated, all articles presented on this Web site are original work and are held under copyright. Please refrain from making any reproduction of this work.