253 – COHERENCE  IX

 Jesus Christ has a kingdom that has been prepared since the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). A kingdom of love (Col. 1:13). A kingdom of peace and joy (Rom. 14:17). And the kingdom of Jesus is not of this world where we live (John 18:36). And it is the kingdom of righteousness (2 Pet. 3:13).This kingdom of glory is not on the earth — it is a celestial kingdom (2 Tim. 4:18). In the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which is also the kingdom of God, there will not be crimes, or criminals. There will not be lies or liars, envy, pride, selfishness, cruelty, perversions, murders, or abnormal men. There will not be any thieves, traitors, vengeances, curses, or prisons, hospitals, drinks, drugs, or smokers. There will not be any more wars or terrorists. There will not be any more bacteria, viruses, germs of any kind, syphilis, heart strokes, or operations. There will not be any more poisonous serpents, spiders, scorpions, etc. The kingdom of Christ has nothing to do with this world.

Who ruled this world before Jesus took the form of man? Jehovah! He said, “The earth is Jehovah’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Ps. 24:1). These words do not mean authorship of a creator, but ownership of a dominator. Jehovah governs this world through the angels(Ps. 103:19-22; 1 Kings 22:19-23).

Jehovah declared himself to be king of this world (Ps. 47:2-8; Is. 43:15; Ps. 22:28; 99:1; 96:10).During his rule Jehovah commanded slaughters and plunders (Josh. 6:19-21; 11:18-20; Deut. 2:33-34). The case of king Saul is blatant. Jehovah commanded Saul to kill Agag, the king of the Amalekites, a people Jehovah hated for 400 years. He also commanded the death of men, women, nursing boys and girls. Saul did not kill Agag and became a cursed one of Jehovah. For this he was rejected and condemned to death with his children (1 Sam. 15:1-8; 28:18-19; 31:1-2). This judgment came through the mouth of a sorcerer (1 Sam. 28:6-19). The angels of Jehovah are killers like him (2 Kings 19:35; 1 Chr. 21:14-17). It is interesting to observe that Jesus stripped the angels on the cross (Col. 2:14-15). The angels want to keep Christians far from the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39). Jesus established the Church to judge the killer angels of Jehovah during his kingdom (1 Cor. 6:1-3).

The question is the following: Why did the true God, who is righteous, allow these atrocities? Why did he wait for as long as 4,000 years, until the interference of Jesus, to strip the angels? Now, the coming of Jesus was the judgment of this world (John 12:31; 16:11). The prince of this world, whom Jesus referred to, was an angel; therefore, the coming of Jesus was the judgment of the angels. The angels were submissive to Jehovah, but not to Christ (Ps. 103:19-22; 1 Pet. 3:22). God, the Father, would be waiting until today, if Jesus did not come down from heaven, for Christ is the author and perfecter of faith (Heb. 12:2). Christ came down of his own accord. The Father is love, and love does not make war, does not kill, does not condemn or takes vengeance. Love only saves and does good. God allowed the atrocities and wars of Jehovah (Ex. 15:3; Num. 21:14; 1Sam. 18:17; 25:28), because the evil and arrogance of the ruling angels had to be manifested in unjust and wicked works. Christ came at the right time and at the climax of the kingdoms that had conquered this world. An angel ruled each of the kingdoms. The angel Michael is the prince of Israel (Dan. 10:21; 12:1). The Persians and the Greek had each their prince, that is, an angel (Dan. 10:20). The angel of the kingdom of Persia fought against the prophet Daniel (Dan. 10:13). Jesus stripped the angels, as we saw above, and the wars continue: how come? And they are more technical and violent. When Christ came to this world, it was revealed that the work of the angels was not approved. Jesus established the Church to continue his work, and the Church, from the third century and for many years after that, took the command of the wars. It seems that the angels did not submit to Christ, and even seduced the Church. The spiritual songs in the Churches speak only of wars and conquests. It is quite clear that the angels will be condemned for the unrighteous works they practiced, and men will also be judged by their works (Rev. 20:11-15; John 5:28-29). And both groups—angels and men—will receive the same destine, for we read in the Gospel of Mark, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). And why will bad men’s destine be the same as that of the bad angels? Because the fallen angels are of the devil (2 Pet. 2:4). And the fallen men are of the devil, too; the apostle John says that. “The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

by Pastor Olavo Silveira Pereira