"And this GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM shall
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
and then shall the end come."

- Matt. 24:14

SUFFERING THE SLINGS &
ARROWS OF MY FRIENDS

Several years ago I first broached the subject of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" in my writings. Shortly thereafter I was viciously attacked by many people who said that in differentiating between the "Gospel of Salvation" and the "Gospel of the Kingdom" I was preaching a lie. I replied to my critics as follows:

"I was utterly shocked recently by some who apparently had no idea what I meant when I spoke of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" ... and who were mystified when I talked of it as something distinct and separate from the 'Gospel of Salvation'. Many people acted as if I had made this up out of thin air - even some who are closely and very positively associated with the ministry.

"This is extremely unfortunate because THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN THIS SPECIFIC GOSPEL, AND THAT IS SO BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE ON THIS EARTH AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY OF AN ENTITY - THE AMERICAN NEW WORLD ORDER SYSTEM - THAT FALSELY CLAIMS TO REPRESENT CHRIST ON EARTH.

"Such claims can only be a 'turn-off' to the poor of the world who see the American New World Order System and the church that justifies it as frauds. The fact is, most of the poor in the world today see Christianity as a rich, white man's religion having NOTHING to do with them. Sadly, Islam is more a religion of the poor than is Christianity. What do the poor of the world want to do with a religion that justifies the very system - i.e., the American New World Order System - that oppresses and brutalizes them? [We urge you to read our article, "A Woman Riding A Beast Going Forth Conquering and to Conquer" for insight as to how this partnership between the rich of the world and Christianity works; please also see our article, "Africa Awake: The American Church Is Not Your Friend" and "The Third World as a Model for the New World Order."]

"THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IS GOD'S ANSWER TO THIS DECEPTION. It has been calculated to rip away the mask of piety that the religious FRAUDS who wickedly justify this system hide behind - for example, Christian leaders like Rod Parsley and John Hagee - while at the same time revealing the evil, avaricious 'money-grubbing' that's really at the heart of the American Empire, and that animates ALL those associated with it. [Please see 'The Superman Theology of the International Christian Embassy's Feast of Tabernacles' for a discussion of the theology and eschatology that animates people such as Rod Parsley, John Hagee, ad infinitum; please also see our movie, Greed Is Good.]

"Once these frauds - and the system they excuse - are exposed for what they actually are, then the poor can see Christianity for what it really is: God's way of salvation for them; and see Christ for whom He really was (is) - a POOR carpenter who said of Himself:

'... Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head'. (Luke 9:58) -

"A Man who rather than placating the rich (as the leaders of today's church so shamefully do), said of them,

'... Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

'And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a (sewing) needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God'. (Matt. 19:23-24) [Please see our article, 'The Rich Have Seized Control of the Church'.]

THE FACT OF THE GOSPEL
OF THE KINGDOM

The FACT of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" - it's reality in Scripture - is, of course, NOT something I dreamed up; it is a reality that is taught at most fundamental Bible schools and seminaries throughout the country - for example Multnomah School of the Bible and Dallas Theological Seminary. Without meaning to offend those who have been perplexed by my rather unoriginal teaching on it, all I can say to them is what Jesus said to Nicodemus:

"... Art thou a master (or a teacher) of Israel, and knowest not these things?" (John 3:10)

These are, unfortunately, the kind of people about whom Paul said have not advanced beyond the rudiments of the faith:

"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again ... THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE ORACLES OF GOD; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat." (Heb. 5:12)

GETTING BEYOND THE
RUDIMENTS OF THE FAITH

Brothers and sisters, if we are to get anywhere with God, we must get beyond the rudiments of the faith (what Paul calls here "the first principles of the oracles of God"), especially if we are to play any kind of meaningful role in the "end of days." We must go further; we must get to the "strong meat" of the Word - and that's certainly true of all those who want to associate themselves with Antipas. The "Gospel of the Kingdom" is that "strong meat" about which Paul spoke - and knowledge of it does not come by means of osmosis or by inhaling it out of thin air, but by HARD and DILIGENT study. The Bible says:

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (interpreting) the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15)

So let us get down to this "strong meat," and to do that, let us use a reference guide that is universally accepted by "old-line evangelicals:" the Scofield Reference Bible. Concerning the differing gospels spoken of in the Bible, Scofield writes:

"The word 'gospel' means GOOD NEWS. As used in the New Testament, the word deals with different aspects of divine revelation."

THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM

In other words, there are various aspects of the "divine revelation" that the Bible vouchsafes to man. The "good news" of salvation, of course, is paramount; but there are other aspects of the "divine revelation" that go beyond the matter of salvation and are also a part of the "good news" of the Word of God.

One is the "good news" of the kingdom [i.e., the "GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" (Matt. 24:14)] which foretells the coming kingdom of Christ that will entail social justice and equity between and among all men; and still another is what the Bible calls the "ETERNAL GOSPEL" (Rev. 14:6) which forecasts the destruction of "Babylon the Great" (i.e., the American New World Order System) which the Bible says that antichrist will set up in the "end of days" in opposition to the coming kingdom of Christ.

Finally, of course, there is what the Bible calls a "DIFFERENT GOSPEL" (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6) which is NOT "good news" at all, but a perversion of the "good news" of the Bible. We are warned by Paul against it and all its "SEDUCTIVE" forms which are at war with God's "Plan and Purpose in the Ages."

THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION

Obviously, then, when the Bible speaks of "good news" it has more in mind than the "Gospel of Salvation." No doubt, the "Gospel of Salvation" is paramount, for without it, one cannot even think about what the Bible has in store for those who are called according to His purpose, especially as that purpose relates to the Kingdom of God. Concerning the "GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION," Scofield writes:

"Absolutely essential to man's salvation is the GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD [SALVATION] (Rom. 2:16). This is the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, that He was raised from the dead on account of our justification, and that by Him all who believe are justified from ALL things. It is described as the Gospel 'of God' (Rom 1:1) because it originates in His love; 'of Christ' (2 Cor. 10:14) because it flows from His sacrifice, and because He is the object of faith; 'of the grace of God' (Acts 20:24) because it saves those whom the law curses; 'of the glory of Christ' (2 Cor. 4:4; cf. I Tim. 1:11) because it concerns Him who is in the glory and who is bringing many sons to glory (Heb. 2:10); 'of your salvation' (Eph. 1:13) because it is 'the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes' (Rom. 1:16); and 'of peace' (Eph. 6:15) because through Christ it makes peace between the believing sinner and God, and makes inward peace possible."

A KINGDOM GROUNDED
IN SOCIAL JUSTICE

But once more, this is merely the "milk of the Word" - or, as Paul puts it, the "first principles of the oracles of God." As we just suggested, it is precisely this "milk of the Word" that we must push beyond in order to reach God's Plan and Purpose in the "Latter Days" as expressed in (1) The "good news" of the coming kingdom of Christ and (2) the "good news" relating to the destruction of Babylon the Great, i.e., the American New World Order System. [Please see our article on Babylon the Great, "In Search of Babylon: What Do the Scriptures Say?"]

This is what Scofield believes as well; he writes:

"Another aspect of the good news is the 'GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM' (Matt. 4:23), i.e. the GOOD NEWS THAT GOD PURPOSES TO SET UP ON EARTH THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST ..."

Scofield continues:

"The good news of this kingdom was announced by the Old Testament prophets (Is. 9:6-7), by Christ in His first coming (Matt. 9:35) AND WILL BE PROCLAIMED DURING THE ... TRIBULATION." [Note carefully for future reference when Scofield says this Gospel will be proclaimed: "during the TRIBULATION period."]

Again, the kingdom being proclaimed here will be a kingdom grounded in social justice for ALL mankind, a world of equity where men are not divided up between the "owners of capital" on the one hand and "labor" on the other hand, and where men and women are not divided up on the basis of their race or even their gender (Gal. 3:28); where the rich do not oppress the poor; where every man has equal access to God; where privileges cannot be bought by the wealthy; where there are no death squads, no poverty, no torture, no hunger, no disease, and no room for oppressors of any kind. [Please see our article, "Capitalism and Christianity;" please also see "The Marxist Paradigm."]

Very obviously, such a kingdom would be TOTALLY at variance to the world we now live in and with the American New World Order System that now prevails on the earth - especially the kind of world we described in our article, "The Horror of John Dimitri Negroponte and Everything He Represents." [Please see that article plus our article, "Algeria: A Study of the Dreadful, Two-Tiered Economic System the U.S. Is Promoting among Its Muslim Client-States."]

A world based on social justice where the rich do not oppress the poor? A world where there are no John Dimitri Negropontes, no Liamine Zerouals and no Augusto Pinochets? This, of course, is something much more than the "good news" of salvation, because while the "good news" of salvation promises redemption to the INDIVIDUAL, it does not promise to "make over" the world per se, and this is evidenced by the fact that from Pentecost until now there has been NO social justice and NO equity between and among men; tyranny and oppression have continued to flourish; and sickness, poverty and hunger have continued to wreak their horrible work on mankind.

This is NOT to take anything away from the "good news" of salvation; but very plainly social justice and social equity have yet to be established on the earth, which the coming Kingdom of Christ is calculated to accomplish.

THE KINGDOM OF
GOD IS "AT HAND"

The "Gospel of the Kingdom" announces the "good news" that the Kingdom of Christ is close "at hand." This, of course, is not the first time that the Kingdom has been announced to be close "at hand." It was announced the first time 2,000 years ago when the angels proclaimed it to the shepherds "in the field" at the time of Christ's birth in Luke 2:10-11):

"And she (i.e., Mary) brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL people.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:7-8, 10-11)

Shortly after - and in conjunction with what the angels declared to the shepherds - the Kingdom was announced to be "at hand" by John the Baptist, then by Christ Himself, and finally by the Twelve.

BUT THE KINGDOM WAS REJECTED BY THE JEWS in fulfillment of the Scripture that -

"... they (i.e., Israel) without us (i.e., the Gentiles) should not be made perfect." (Heb. 11:40) [Please see Chapter VI of the New Antipas Papers, "The Distinction Between Israel and the Church."]

THE KINGDOM IS
AGAIN "AT HAND"

Now, after an interval of some 2,000 years, the Kingdom is once again "at hand!" The so-called "church age" is all but past, and the Jews - once dispersed over the whole earth because of the rejection of their king - have now been re-gathered again to their land. Everything is ready! - and God is raising up a people to proclaim that the Kingdom is again "AT HAND." [Please see Part 4 of Chapter VIII of the New Antipas Papers, "The Two Witnesses."]

Concomitant with the proclamation of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" - and in conjunction with it - the "Eternal Gospel" will also be proclaimed. Specifically, Scofield says:

"The 'Eternal Gospel' (Rev. 14:6) is described as the announcement of divine judgment upon the wicked [specifically, Babylon the Great] ... It is good news for the suffering believers as it heralds their coming deliverance and reward (cf., v. 12). In view of this those who 'live on the earth' are exhorted to fear God and worship Him (v. 7)."

THE TRIBULATION SAINTS AND
SCOFIELD'S GREAT MISTAKE

Now note carefully here: while Scofield says that the "Gospel of the Kingdom" is again "at hand" - he does not believe that the church will be commissioned to announce it. Why? - because, according to Scofield, the church will be gone as a result of the rapture. Instead, he says that this commission will be given over to a special caste of pseudo-Christians he calls "Tribulation Saints." They are evidently not part of the church (because the church is gone), nor are they part of Israel. They're just there - suspended somewhere between "hither and thither." This, of course, is the NONSENSE dispensed by Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" series of books on the Tribulation and the rapture.

But there is no need to do such injury to the integrity of our understanding of the church by leaving some who call on His name suspended outside its blessed borders if one dismisses the pre-tribulation rapture of the church for the foolishness it is. Once one discards this teaching, the problem is solved; the lunacy dissolves that Scofield and others created when they allowed their imaginations to conceive a "special class" of Christians who are not part of the church. [We URGE you to read Chapter VII of the New Antipas Papers, "The Great Escape: Misconceptions Concerning the Rapture;" also Chapter VIII of the New Antipas Papers, "Tribulation and Judgment."]

As with the Gospel of Salvation, we - the members of today's church - are the ones to whom these commissions have been entrusted, IF SO BE WE CAREFULLY GUARD OURSELVES AGAINST THE SEDUCTION OF THE "GREAT DECEPTION" AND APOSTASY ("FALLING AWAY") OF THE "END OF DAYS." [Again, we encourage you to see Appendix 1 of this book, "The Peculiar 'Falling Away' of Babylon the Great."]

THE LORD IS COMING AGAIN

Listen to me dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Lord is "coming again" and we have been commissioned to proclaim His coming, the setting up of His Kingdom, and the destruction of "Babylon the Great" and all those who have allied themselves with her - AND WE HAD BETTER BE ABOUT DOING IT. Jesus said,

"Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

"Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods." (Matt. 24:46-47)

But those like C. Peter Wagner, D. James Kennedy, Charles Stanley et. al. who have forgotten what true Christianity is all about, and who have partnered with the rich of the world (and by doing so have portrayed Christianity as a rich man's religion) will not fare very well at His appearing. Jesus said of them,

"The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

"And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 24:50-51)

Now I don't know exactly what the Lord means when He says that He will "cut asunder" such people and "appoint them a portion with the hypocrites" (i.e., people who say one thing, but do another - who falsely represent what Christianity is really all about) where "... there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth," but I don't want to find out. And one must bear in mind that Jesus is talking to His servants here - people who claim to be "born-again." These are not words one would want to be cavalier about.

And so the warning goes out: Those who ally themselves with Babylon the Great (i.e., the American New World Order System) - either actively or passively, no matter - will pay a HORRIBLE price when the Lord returns. And how does a Christian get himself into such a mess? - by neglecting the physicality of Babylon, and the danger that that physicality presents.

WE HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED BY GOD TO
PICK UP WHERE JOHN THE BAPTIST LEFT OFF

So what do we have here? Precisely this: After 2,000 years we find ourselves as the "People of God" back in the EXACT place where John the Baptist found himself as he announced the "THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND." We have been commissioned by God to pick up where John left off. We begin with Chapter Three of the Book of Matthew:

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

"And saying, Repent ye: for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.

"For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

"AND THE SAME JOHN HAD HIS RAIMENT OF CAMEL'S HAIR, AND A LEATHERN GIRDLE ABOUT HIS LOINS; AND HIS MEAT WAS LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY.

"Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

"And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

"BUT WHEN HE SAW MANY OF THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES COME TO HIS BAPTISM, HE SAID UNTO THEM, O GENERATION OF VIPERS, WHO HATH WARNED YOU TO FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME?" (Matthew 3:1-7)

LAYING ASIDE THE
"AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE"

"And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey:" Obviously, John was not encumbered with the "affairs of this life" (2 Timothy 2:4) - AND THIS MUST BE SO FOR ANYONE WHO DARES TO WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JOHN as a herald of the coming Kingdom of Heaven (verse 27), the same John about whom Jesus said:

"What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

"But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts."

NOTE: One would do well to recognize what is being said here: Those who "live delicately" (e.g.., who live in "fine" homes, drive "fine" cars, array themselves in "fine" clothes, etc.) are EXCLUDED as heralds of the coming Kingdom.

"But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

"This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

"FOR I SAY UNTO YOU, AMONG THOSE THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE IS NOT A GREATER PROPHET THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST ..." (Luke 7:24-28)

The question before us now is, What was John doing to prepare the people for the coming of the "Kingdom of Heaven?" - HE WAS BAPTIZING THEM AND SAYING,

"REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM
OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND."

BAPTISM: DYING TO ALL THE CLAIMS (GOOD
AND BAD) THAT THE WORLD HAS ON YOU

Baptism symbolizes death and burial: Specifically, that we are DEAD to the world (both the "good" things of the world and the "bad"). The world can parade itself over our grave, but we will not (indeed, we cannot) respond to its demands - both those demands which one would think of as characterizing "good" behavior, and those demands that one would think of as characterizing "bad" behavior. While that may offend many, it's nonetheless the truth. The world must not have any demands on us if we are to be a "good soldier" of Jesus Christ, and follow in the footsteps of John. The Bible says:

"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." (2 Timothy 2:4)

You must understand something here: There's no differentiating here between the "affairs of this life" as they pertain to what we are in the habit of calling the "responsible things of this life" as opposed to those things that we consider "the irresponsible things of this life."

WHY OUR "EXPERIMENT"
IN CANADA FAILED

IT IS PRECISELY HERE THAT ANTIPAS FAILED IN ITS "EXPERIMENT" IN CANADA: IT'S INABILITY TO FIND ENOUGH CHRISTIANS WILLING TO LAY ASIDE THE "RESPONSIBILITIES" OF THIS LIFE IN ORDER TO ACT AS HERALDS OF THE COMING KINGDOM.  I had anxiously anticipated the difficulty of finding such people early on - a fact that led me to write an article in November 2002 entitled "Coaxing Christians out of Their Hiding Places." It was a call to those I felt God had deeply touched with the message of Antipas to lay aside the "responsibilities of this life" and join us in Canada so that we could all work together to make the message of Antipas come alive.

In "Coaxing Christians out of Their Hiding Places" I related the sacrifices the early Zionists were forced to make in re-establishing themselves in Israel; in that essay I touched upon the story of David Ben Gurion, one of the founders of the modern nation of Israel and its first prime minister, and his wife Paula - a story I knew would appall most of my readers and cause them to repudiate Ben Gurion's "hardness of heart." The story related the kind of hardship and sacrifice all those who wish to involve themselves in a "great cause" must embrace. I repeat that story now to relate to you what the Apostle Paul was talking about in his letter to Timothy [2 Timothy 2:4 (above)]:

"Finally, and perhaps most difficult of all, those who desire to ... [disentangle themselves from the American New World Order System and the church that justifies that system] - like the Jews who emigrated to Palestine a hundred years ago - must be prepared to not only sacrifice themselves, but also their families to the CAUSE. Again, take Ben Gurion: On a fund-raising trip to America in 1918, Ben Gurion married a young nurse, Paula, in New York whom he had met in a small "LOVERS OF ZION" meeting he had attended in the Lower East Side. Soon afterward he abandoned her almost penniless and in the sixth month of her pregnancy in order to return to the Holy Land and defend the Jewish settlements there which were coming under increasing attack from the Turks.

"While most people would probably be stunned by the seeming callousness and indifference of Ben Gurion toward his wife, Paula kept "soldiering on;" she continued to faithfully attend her twice weekly LOVERS OF ZION meeting, and did the best she could on the pennies that Ben Gurion was able to send back to her from Palestine. A number of extraordinary letters written by Ben Gurion to Paula during this time reflect Ben Gurion's "strange" mixture of tenderness and cruel will-power. The letters throw a fascinating light on the motivations of the small group of Zionist leaders who at that time were exiled or preparing for new action in Palestine. They also supply an unusual insight into the character of a man so totally obsessed by his dream that anything merely human became sheer trivia outside of its assimilation into the "CAUSE."

"In one letter written shortly after leaving his pregnant wife to her own devices, Ben Gurion commiserates a bit sheepishly with her over the 'immense difficulties' and the 'great suffering' he has caused her. He assures Paula that he left her not because he did not love her enough:

'I loved you even before I married you, and you know it, even though I never told you. My love for you has since grown ... you are my saint, the suffering angel hovering over me unseen'.

"Next he compliments her on her courage:

'What you did is infinitely greater than anything which I and others are doing, and your sacrifice is so great that sometimes I want to take off my hat to you and bow down deep ... I did what I had to do, for your sake too, and I assure you, my dear Paula, that a time will come - and it is not far away - when you will share this feeling and you will understand.

'I did not want to give you a small, cheap, SECULAR kind of happiness. I prepared for you the great sacred human joy achieved through SUFFERING AND PAIN. To the greatest joy of my life, I have become convinced that you were born for such happiness ... to SUFFER TOGETHER with me for a great cause and you deserve that I bow my head before you. Therefore I love you so dearly ... I know you were not ready for the suffering and hard test ... but I know you well enough to be certain that you will carry this heavy burden. Dolorous [i.e., mournful] and in tears you will arise to the high mountains from which one sees vistas of a New World, a world of gladness and light, shinning in the glow of an eternally young ideal of supreme happiness and glorious existence, a world only few will be privileged to enter, for only rich souls and deep hearts are permitted entry there. I know that your soul is rich and your heart great enough for the superb world and the superb life that I want to prepare for you'.

"Wow! - only a dreamer could write such a letter! To anyone else, it would seem to be nothing more than the product of a thoroughly self-absorbed, totally IRRESPONSIBLE, and completely reckless 'Utopian' who should be stood up against a wall and shot for his thoughtlessness toward his wife and unborn child. Amos Elon writes:

'Such sentiments - although perhaps less elitist in spirit - were shared ... by many pioneers: disdain for 'small, cheap, SECULAR' kinds of happiness; a desire to mount high peaks of chiliastic faith, to open glorious vistas of a 'new superb life' in a new, vaguely autonomous Jewish community in Palestine, based on a Messianic blend of Zionism and socialism. The Messianic sentiments became even more pronounced ... [as the years went on]'."

WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD
THE KINGDOM OF GOD

To most Christians in America, the seeming callousness with which Ben Gurion and his peers at the "cutting edge" of what was happening in the Holy Land treated their families and "secular responsibilities" is beyond comprehension. Still, it's EXACTLY this kind of zeal and dedication that it takes to build a revolution, rather than just dream about one from the safety of one's living room. And whether one is prepared to understand it or not, it is PRECISELY this kind of dedication that it takes to build the Kingdom of God; it's exactly the kind of dedication that Christ Himself exhibited towards the "Kingdom." It's not without reason that Christ said of Himself:

"The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." (John 2:17)

BUILDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT SOMETHING ONE DOES WHEN ONE HAS THE TIME FOR IT, AND WHEN "OTHER DUTIES" DO NOT IMPINGE ON ONE'S TIME! It takes TOTAL dedication, and to think otherwise is not only naive, but absurd - even asinine. The Kingdom of God CANNOT be built on the cheap! The Bible says:

"And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; BUT THE SON OF MAN HATH NO WHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD.

"And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

"Jesus said unto him, LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

"And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

"And Jesus said unto him, NO MAN, HAVING PUT HIS HAND TO THE PLOW, AND LOOKING BACK, IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD." (Luke 9:57-62)

And, again, Jesus said:

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is NOT worthy of me." (Matt. 10:37)

In other words, if you put the welfare of your loved ones - even your wives and husbands, your fathers and mothers, your sons and daughters - before Christ, you are NOT worthy of Christ! Now that's pretty heavy! Still, that's what Jesus said! If you have a problem with this, your argument is with God, not with me. The Bible continues:

"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." (Luke 10:1-2)

Now, the sequence of these sayings here is EXTREMELY important! How so? Well, put simply, what Jesus is very PLAINLY saying is that unless one is willing to SACRIFICE, as Ben Gurion put it, one's "secular" happiness and indeed one's "secular" RESPONSIBILITIES - even such "secular" necessities as a descent home, clothing (Luke 9:58), and taking care of one's family (Luke 9:59-51) - one cannot have a part in the "work of the Kingdom." And this is so much the case that ONLY AFTER warning His disciples of this harsh reality, did He choose the "Seventy" and send them out "into every city and place" with the words, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." (Luke 10:1-2) Plainly, Jesus wanted His disciples to fully understand what being His disciple was all about.

AND THIS IS THE CASE TODAY FOR THOSE WHO
DESIRE TO PICK UP WHERE JOHN THE BAPTIST LEFT OFF

Again, this is what Paul was talking about in his letter to Timothy:

"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." (2 Timothy 2:4)

And it's precisely this - the responsibilities of this life - that John the Baptist, in anticipation of the coming Kingdom, was calling on those who were being baptized by him to renounce.  That's what "REPENT" means: "TURN AWAY FROM" - specifically, to turn away from the "AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE" as John had so plainly done. [Please see The New Antipas Papers, Part 3 of Chapter VIII, "The World."]

It's only when we see ourselves as dead to the "affairs of this life" that we can become "ALIVE" to the "Kingdom of Heaven. I say again, no one can act as a herald of the "Kingdom of Heaven" - that is to say, NO ONE CAN PREACH THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM - if he still has an attachment to this world. That's exactly why John told the Pharisees and the Sadducees who came to his baptism:

"O generation of vipers (poisonous snakes), who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7)

John knew that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were deeply connected to the world system of man and the religious establishment that justified that system - and that until they RENOUNCED their connection to that system and the religion that justified it, they could have NOTHING to do with the "Kingdom of Heaven."

And he went on to say to them:

"Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." (Matthew 3:9)

Now that's heavy! - especially when one considers how many Christians today are in danger of falling prey to the portent of this verse. You must understand something here: When Jesus says "COME," one must be willing to lay aside EVERYTHING and COME. No questions asked, no hesitation countenanced. Such was the case when Jesus called His disciples:

"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, REPENT: FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

"And they STRAIGHTWAY left their nets, and followed him.

"And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

"And they IMMEDIATELY left the ship and their father, and followed him.

"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM ..." (Matthew 4:17-23)

There was no hesitation here; no saying to Jesus - as those FALSE disciples said to Him in Luke 9:57-62 - "I will follow thee, but suffer me first to go and bury my father;" and again "I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house." No! Simon (Peter) and Andrew, as well as both James and John, IMMEDIATELY and without hesitation left their loved ones and their "RESPONSIBILITIES" insofar as this life on earth was concerned and followed Jesus - NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Jesus COMMANDED, and they OBEYED.

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT DEALS FIRST
AND FOREMOST WITH KINGDOM CONCEPTS

And so now at last we come to the "meat" of the Gospel of the Kingdom as contained in the "Sermon on the Mount" - and in doing so, it is absolutely essential that we grasp this one point: THE CONCEPTS THAT WE ARE EXAMINING HERE ARE "KINGDOM CONCEPTS." THEY ARE, AS A RESULT, SOCIETAL CONCEPTS MORE THAN THEY ARE CONCEPTS THAT PERTAIN TO US AS INDIVIDUALS. This isn't to say that the concepts that are contained in the "Sermon on the Mount" and in the Beatitudes have no relevance to us as individuals and cannot be understood on that level, but it is to say that - in the first instance - they must be understood on a KINGDOM level.

I repeat: The "Kingdom of Heaven" is being introduced here; we are dealing with concepts and principles that pertain to the "Kingdom of Heaven;" we are not dealing with issues that pertain to personal holiness per se, as most Christians have been led to believe. People who ignore this reality, and teach others to do so are -

"... blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." (Matthew 23:24) - i.e., PEOPLE WHO EMPHASIZE PERSONAL HOLINESS, BUT IGNORE RIGHTEOUSNESS ON A SOCIETAL BASIS.

These are those about whom the Bible says -

"The god of this world hath blinded ... them ..." (2 Cor. 4:4)

They are those who cloak their societal sins behind a façade of personal piety (such as the late Ken Lay of Enron and John Ashcroft, the former Attorney General); the kind of people who -

"... make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

"Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

"Even so YE ALSO OUTWARDLY APPEAR RIGHTEOUS UNTO MEN, BUT WITHIN YE ARE FULL OF HYPOCRISY AND INIQUITY." (Matthew 23:25-28) [Please see our articles, "Ashcroft: Making a List of Dissenters," "Birth of a Christian Police State," and "John Ashcroft, Theodore Olson and the New National Security State;" please also see "The Business Right and the Religious Right: An Alliance Made in Hell."]

THE RECIPIENTS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

We begin first with those who are the coming Kingdom's promised RECIPIENTS.

In Luke 4:18 the primary recipients of the "Kingdom of Heaven" are announced to be the POOR of this earth - the "sons and daughters," so to speak, of Chad, the Congo, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Brazil, Vietnam, etc. - the people who have been so RUTHLESSLY and BRUTALLY oppressed by the American New World Order System. [Please see our article, "Christians in Africa Awake! America and the American Church Are Not Your Friends" and "Lee Kyang: The Rich and the Poor! God and America."]

These are the people about whom Jesus said:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, BECAUSE HE HATH ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL [OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN] TO THE POOR ..." (Luke 4:18)

This is substantiated in Luke 6:20 where Jesus said,

"Blessed be ye poor: FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." (Luke 6:20)

BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

This same verse is rendered "Blessed are the poor in spirit: FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" in Matthew 5:3 - "poor in spirit" being but the natural outcome of the condition of poverty, WHICH IN THIS LIFE IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE RESULT OF THE OPPRESSION OF THE RICH OVER THE POOR. [Please see our article, "The Third World as a Model of the New World Order;" please also see "The Congo and American Greed" and "Lee Kyang; The Rich and the Poor, America and God."]

It is these - the poor in spirit, those whose spirits have been broken by the wicked oppression of the rich - that Christ AS KING is coming to save; those who have been crushed by the mind-numbing, back-breaking labor imposed upon them by America's multinational corporations; those who make Nike shoes, Liz Claiborne clothes and Gucci handbags for the "DAUGHTERS OF BABYLON" for pennies a day in sweatshops scattered across the globe; those who labor in the copper mines of Chile for Annacondia Copper and the banana plantations of Chiquita Brand in Guatemala for barely enough money to rent a tin shack and put food on the table for one more day; those who have been chased off their farms in Mexico by Cargil and Archer-Daniels-Midland, and forced to migrate surreptitiously to the United States to work as "Illegals" picking tomatoes in plantation farms in the United States run by these very same corporations; those Iraqis and Afghanis who have been robbed by Exxon-Mobile, Haliburton, Shell Oil, etc. of their patrimony, and on and on and on.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD CONTRASTED
WITH THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD

Now it's imperative that one should take note of the way in which the Kingdom of Heaven stands in utter juxtaposition to the kingdom of this world (i.e., the American New World Order System) - and we can begin to see this in the way the Bible distinguishes the position of the rich against the poor insofar as Christ's coming kingdom is concerned. The fact is, while Jesus said, "Blessed be ye poor: FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" (Luke 6:20) and that when Christ comes again, He will "... fill the hungry with good things" (Luke 1:53a), the Bible also says that -

"... THE RICH HE WILL SEND EMPTY AWAY." (Luke 1:53b)

There is to be no room in the coming Kingdom for the rich of the world - and so much so is this the case, that the rich are warned -

"WOE unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

"WOE unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. WOE unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep." (Luke 6:24-25)

Indeed, so putrid and contemptible is the condition of the rich vis a vis the poor in the eyes of God, that the Apostle James went to great lengths to warn the early church against the rich in their midst:

"For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

"And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

"Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, HATH NOT GOD CHOSEN THE POOR OF THIS WORLD rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

"But ye have despised the poor. DO NOT RICH MEN OPPRESS YOU ...?

"Do not they [i.e., the RICH] BLASPHEME THAT WORTHY NAME BY WHICH YE ARE CALLED?" (James 2:2-7) [Please see our article, "The Rich Have Seized Control of the Church."]

That's heavy! - and so much so that the words of this great apostle are enough to take one's breath away. All this, however, is "forgotten history" in today's American church and the purveyors of the so-called "Green Gospel" - Bennie Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, D. James Kennedy, etc. - the list is endless.

The very real fact of the matter is, Balzac was right when he said,

"Behind every great fortune is a great crime."

And Jesus was right when He said:

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a [sewing] needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

THE REST OF THE BEATITUDES

AND SO NOW WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - AND WE DO SO BY CONTRASTING THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO INHABIT THE ONE KINGDOM AS OPPOSED TO THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO INHABIT THE OTHER. FOR EXAMPLE, WE SEE IN THE "FIRST BLESSED" (BEATITUDE) THAT THE POOR ARE TO BE INCLUDED, BUT THE RICH ARE TO BE EXCLUDED.

IT'S IN THIS WAY THAT WE CAN COME TO A "KINGDOM UNDERSTANDING" AS TO THE REST OF THE BEATITUDES - BUT, AGAIN, ONE MUST BEAR IN MIND THAT WE ARE DEALING HERE, IN THE FIRST INSTANCE, WITH SOCIETAL ISSUES RATHER THAN WITH PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL ISSUES:

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:4-12)

"Blessed are they that mourn" - mourn for what? Not so much over their individual sins and their individual condition, but over the condition of the world, and, specifically, the poor and dispossessed of this earth.  They are in AGONY with regard to this matter - and they are willing to sacrifice themselves and their personal happiness in order to alleviate the condition of the "wretched of the earth." "Bleeding Heart Liberals" - that's the name most evangelical Christians give to such people. But those who say such things are like the kind of so-called Christians about whom James the Apostle wrote:

"If ... [you see someone] naked, and destitute of daily food,

"And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?" (James 2:15-16)

And it's very easy to tell the difference between the fake and the real here: the first refuse to take any real action with regard to the poor in their midst; the second group are those who take action; the kind of people who - when they saw the destitution of the early church - sold their lands and houses -

"... and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

"And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

"And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The SON OF CONSOLATION), a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

"Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet."

These are the ones the Bible says will be "comforted" when the Kingdom of Christ comes.

"Blessed are the meek" - those who have been humbled by the haughty arrogance of today's brand of American Christianity; the kind of Christianity that says that if you are not rich, it's your fault; the kind of Christianity that has -

"... respect to him that weareth ... [beautiful clothes], and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool." (James 2:3) [The kind of Christianity that forces the poor to sit in the "rafters" (the nose-bleed section) in Joel Osteen's church in Houston, Texas, while the rich sit up front near the pulpit.]

The Bible says those who have been humbled in this manner are precisely those who will inherit the earth when Christ comes again.

"Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness" - those who hunger and thirst to see SOCIAL equity established in this earth shall see their dreams for social justice come try when Christ comes again. Sadly, however, like those who mourn in the Second Beatitude, I must report to you that there are more "Bleeding Heart Liberals" who fit into this category than there are evangelical Christians - evangelical Christians who have "bought into the LIE" that says we must fashion our Christianity to fit the condition to which we were born. If we were born into wealth, we should not feel guilty about it; and if and when we come into contact with the poor of this world, we have no real PERSONAL obligation insofar as their condition is concerned - after all, "God is sovereign, isn't he?"

The Bible says that those who hunger and thirst to see SOCIAL justice established in this world SHALL SEE GOD.

"Blessed are the merciful" - those who see the people whom the world condemns - gays and lesbians, liberal Jews, those in prison, the "Hollywood crowd," those who are unlike others, etc., in other words, all those who are HATED by today's American Christianity - and who do not condemn them; who pattern their lives after the example of the "Good Samaritan:"

"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

"And by chance there came down a certain priest [analogous to the "good Christian" of today] that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

"And likewise a Levite [again, analogous to the "good Christian" of today], when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

"But a certain Samaritan [Analogous to someone from the gay and lesbian community, or a "Bleeding Heart Liberal"], as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

"And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

"And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

"Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

"And he said, HE THAT SHEWED MERCY ON HIM. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." (Luke 10:30-37)

The Bible says that they (the "merciful") shall obtain mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart" - those in whom there is no guile, no "double-dealing," no hypocrisy. These are those who stand on principle and do not shirk those principles for "personal gain" - people like Schindler in Schindler's List, Wallenstein who saved the Jews of Hungary, etc. - people who were unremarkable in their personal piety, but who risked their lives to save others when there was nothing for them to gain in the endeavor; people like Martin Luther King who sacrificed himself not only for the downtrodden of the black community, but for the poor of the country as a whole - and who was assassinated by the rich for his effort; a man whom most evangelical Christians never tired of HATING for his personal shortcomings when he was alive, but who now honor him when he is dead. These are those kind of people about whom Jesus said:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye BUILD THE TOMBS OF THE PROPHETS, AND GARNISH [DECORATE] THE SEPULCHRES OF THE RIGHTEOUS,

"AND SAY, IF WE HAD BEEN IN THE DAYS OF OUR FATHERS, WE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN PARTAKERS WITH THEM IN THE BLOOD OF THE PROPHETS.

"Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

"Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, HOW CAN YE ESCAPE THE DAMNATION OF HELL?" (Matthew 23:29-33)

The Bible says that they (i.e., the "pure in heart") shall see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers" - the Desmond Tutus of this world, those people whom the Christians of today never tire of condemning as naïve; those nitwits (speaking here not of Tutu, but those evangelical Christians who condemn Tutu) that embrace war as a rational policy; people who embrace the wretched, non-Christian belief in a "Just War;" advocates of the American Imperium such as Henry Blackaby, the author of countless numbers of so-called "Christian devotionals," who told Agape Press that -

"Those who oppose the war to liberate Iraq need to read God's Word. There is no question that the current war to liberate Iraq is 'just'."

OR Chuck Colson who argued for a less restrictive understanding of Just War theory in the face of the terrorist threat. Remarkably, Colson writes that,

"Out of love of neighbor, Christians can and should support a preemptive strike [against Iraq]."

OR D. James Kennedy who said that church leaders opposed to the war in Iraq -

"Always take the position of blaming America first for everything - and everybody else is right. Why any churchman would choose to support that rather than to support our own president, I don't know. I think that some of them are doing it for purely political reasons, and [because] they have a very strong liberal bias - and George W. Bush is their favorite target. Anything he does, I think, in their eyes would be wrong."

OR" Pastor John MacArthur who said,

"I don't think we're starting a war. I think a war [has] already started. The only question is what are we going to [do with] a war that has already started."

OR Charles Stanley when he defended the so-called "War on Terror" by saying -

"Throughout Scripture there is evidence that God favors war for divine reasons and sometimes uses it to accomplish His will. He has also given governments and their citizens very specific responsibilities in regards to this matter. How can we justify the protests and marches against war? I understand that, in America, for example, we have a right to express our different opinions. However, there comes a time when our personal opinion is not a priority. The only reason we have the freedom to protest in this country is because thousands were willing to die for that liberty in the past."

Sadly, evangelical Christians dismiss people like Tutu, and embrace Stanley, MacArthur, Kennedy, Colson and Blackaby.

But it's the Desmond Tutus of this world whom the Bible says will be called the "Children of God," not people such as Colson, Stanley, etc.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." Now, come on! - be honest here; is that what's happening to you? Are you really being persecuted today for righteousness' sake? Are people really reviling you and saying all manner of evil against you FALESLY for the Lord's sake? Is that really what's happening to you? - OR are you like that sister who wrote me several years ago to say -

"Our faith is strong and true. We may not be doing all we can to testify in the streets now, but I sense our time has not arrived yet. At this point, not many will listen and we will be branded as insane. The time will come, however, when many people will be hungry for what we have to say and they will listen, and the Lord will use us in a mighty way."

What an unbelievable "cop-out." These are those who refuse to do anything with regard to the coming Kingdom on a "MEANINGFUL" basis; people who think that by talking with others of LIKE MIND about prophecy in the safety of their own living rooms or behind a computer screen is being obedient to the "heavenly calling," OR is tantamount to preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom." It's not.