Strong Man Of God Blog

          For those content in the conclusion democracy is flawed, but the best we have, faithful born again Christians with thanks and praise to God offer the biblical hope our best now, does not mean it is all there will ever be!  Indeed, for God Almighty has ordained His Kingdom shall reign over men and all creation; giving this assignment to His Son who already reigns and is at His Father’s “right hand” in Heaven (Psalm 110:1-2; Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 28:16-18; Acts 7:54-56, 9:1-9; Ephesians 1:15-23, NKJV).  As the Lord led me to declare in last week’s post, He is coming again to gather His saints to Himself first, then, He and they “shall reign on the earth,” (Revelation 1:4-6, 5:8-10, NKJV)!¹

          Like the sunrise that spreads over the horizon and scatters the morning darkness, the Lord Jesus Christ will come in a divine display of glorious, blazing light and power never before seen by mortal eyes (Malachi 4:2a; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; Revelation 1:7-8).  He calls His saints to Himself in the sky at the ear piercing blowing of a trumpet so they may be and reign with Him (1 Corinthians 15:50-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12).  After this, the Lord successfully wages war against all Kingdom enemies beginning with the Antichrist, the armies of earth’s kings, the false prophet and finally, Satan (Revelation 19:11-20:3).

          Then the King with His saints will stand triumphant on His “holy hill;” Jerusalem, the “Holy Mountain” where they shall headquarter and reign over the earth for a thousand years (Psalms 2:6, 48:1-8; Zechariah 8:1-3, 14:5b-11, 16; Revelation 20:4-6, NKJV).²  The Lord Jesus comes not by the will or election of those mortals who have survived by His grace, but the express will and election of His Father (Psalms 2:7-12, 8:1-9; Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:7; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:1-14, 2:5-10).  Not elected to His office of King by sinful mortals, Christ will be beholden to none.  But He will bring His Kingdom to the world and reign (Psalm 96:7-13; Isaiah 2:1-4, 11:6-10)!

          As with the Lord, not having had to campaign, secure support and funding or be elected, the saints will not owe their reign to any mortal or pay anyone back either.  Like Him too, in their spiritual, moral and ethical perfection they will not be corruptible by bribe or threat of bodily harm since they are immortal as well as imbued with divine power to govern with a “rod of iron,” (Psalm 149:5-9; Revelation 2:26-29, NKJV)!  They will reign in holiness, righteousness, justice, truth, firmness against sin and mercy for the poor.³  Many secularists and professed Christians will not admit it for pride, but this is the kind of government and leaders we all wish existed now, in our nation (Proverbs 29:2). 

          Instead today, the leading democratic nation on earth is on the verge of collapse in its chaos!  This is because democracy to work even close to the Kingdom of God must have citizens who at least share the same worldview drawn from the Judeo-Christian values of the Bible informing their morality and ethics that was once nearly the case with our nation from its founding until mid last century.  Now, willfully unmoored from such values, elections--the heart of democracy--are being trampled by political vitriol and violence; many candidates slander and tear each other down, are profane, selfishly ambitious and devoid of scruples.  Also, official voting misconduct is all too frequent with voter fatigue and I am among them.  Still, I vote waiting for my King and His Kingdom to come!

1 Read the October 30, 2022 post, With The Lord Forever!, under the category, Encouragement.

2 Note in Revelation 20:4 specific mention is made of the saints that overcame the Antichrist during the great tribulation among those conferred thrones and the right of
   judgment.  This  completes  the  Lord’s  theme  of encouragement and assurance in His Revelation that He will fully vindicate those who are martyred during that dark
   time  (Daniel  7:25-27;  Revelation  6:9-11,  7:9-17, 14:9-13, 15:1-4).  Truly,  Revelation 20:4-6 for all of the saints is yet another display of God’s justice and turnabout
   for  His  people  seen  throughout Scripture such as in the instance of Haman’s hatred and edict against the Jewish people that was miraculously reversed in the days
   of Esther and Mordecai (Esther 7:1-9:25).

3 The  Lord is going to severely judge those within professing Christianity that are attacking His biblically anchored call through me and others for Christian men and wo-
   men  to  be taught and helped to grow in His character (2 Peter 1:1-11).  As the Lord led me, I wrote about the character in His image of aspiring strong men and great
   women  of  God  in  my  book,  The  Strong  Man  Of God: Back To Basics and developed a curriculum drawn from it, the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group 
   Study  and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study for the equipping of the saints in the home and churches.  These can be purchased in the Strong Man Store,
   at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.

          Seeing the images from Bible prophecy of faithful born again Christians, the saints of God Almighty in Heaven at the end of last week’s post was deeply encouraging to me and I hope you also if you are a fellow believer.¹  They are victorious over the treachery and violence of the most evil man to ever walk the earth and all other haters!  How God loves us and cares for our encouragement to present these images to us in advance over nineteen hundred years ago.  Indeed, the images convey the tender love God has for all who believe in and follow Christ very powerfully displayed to His eleven disciples as He prepared to make His departure back to Heaven in the Gospel of John.

          Under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, this episode I am permitted to title, “The Lord’s Long Goodbye,” begins at John 13:1, the apostle writing: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end,” (NKJV).  From that launch point, the final Passover meal and evening together with what began as His twelve apostles proceeded with Him washing their feet and identifying Judas Iscariot as His betrayer he left to fulfill.  Alone fully grasping the moment’s significance, the Lord began to declare His and the Father’s glory in it (John 13:2-32)!

          Then, the Lord makes a shocking announcement saying, “‘“Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer.  You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, “‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’” so now I say to you,”’” (John 13:33, NKJV.)  From here there is His “new commandment” (John 13:34-35, NKJV), instruction, dialogue with the disciples and prayer to the Father that ends His long goodbye at John 17:26.  All of what is said during this time hangs on and is tied to the announcement of His impending departure which is my focus in this post.  As such, speaking from the heart “Simon Peter said to Him,” ‘“Lord, where are You going,’” (John 13:36a, NKJV)?

          Peter’s question had all of the astonishment, emotion, disappointment, fear of loss, change and the future we all have when confronted with the sudden news someone we care deeply about is leaving for whatever reason.  The Lord already knows every one of the other ten men feel the same way as Peter and answers him: ‘“Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward,’” (John 13:36b, NKJV).²  Not satisfied, Peter in all sincerity is insistent.  He wants to know “why” he cannot “follow” Him “now” and asserts his willingness to die for the Lord which He rebukes; revealing Peter will in fact “deny” Him “three times” before sunrise (John 13:37-38, NKJV).

          With great empathy the Lord Jesus begins to comfort the hearts of His eleven that have become deeply saddened by the announcement of His departure.  First, He encourages their faith in Him to be on par with their faith in God the Father (John 14:1).  Second, He assures, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” or rooms and He goes “to prepare a place for” them (John 14:2, NKJV).  Preparing a place has to do with paving the way and readying the rooms where they will live with Him in the “heavenly Jerusalem” though, final fulfillment awaits the New Jerusalem constructed in Heaven and brought down on “a new earth” by God (Hebrews 12:18-24, 13:14; Revelation 21, NKJV).

          Final future fulfillment in the New Jerusalem is made all the more sure by what the Lord says in John 14:3a.  If He is going to go to the trouble to prepare a place for His disciples, He will “come again and receive” them to Himself (NKJV).  What they did not grasp at the time was that the Lord’s departure and return had two parts.  His departure from them initially would be by way of death near to being carried out by crucifixion, but He would return on the third day after through resurrection in God’s plan for their eternal redemption (John 14:15-18, 16:16-22)!³  After this initial brief, but all important departure and following instructions He gives making plain why they could not go with Him, the Lord would ascend to Heaven and the Father before their eyes then, come again (Acts 1:4-11).

          Third and last, telling about the Lord’s love for His disciples in His long goodbye are the words, “that where I am, there you may be also,” (John 14:3b, NKJV).  This is clearly very important to Him for He petitions His Father for the disciples’ union as and with Their Own plus reunion with Him (John 17:20-24).  As He taught, His disciples knew where He was going and the way and were enabled to follow Him to the Father (John 14:4-6).⁴  Once more, this was so they could be with Him there and wherever He was to be thereafter; never to be separated again!  This is why in His coming again to earth He brings with Him the spirits of His disciples to resurrect and gather them with the living to Himself as His first priority act (Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19:9-16).⁵

1 Read the October 23, 2022 post, Revenge Of Those Without God’s Mark, under the category, Bible Prophecy.

2 With this statement, the Lord assures He was only leading out first.  His eleven would follow after Him to where He was going at a later time as millions have done until now,
   through death!

3 The Lord’s resurrection after securing the eternal redemption of His followers made possible the reality of Him, the Father and Holy Spirit taking up residence in them so that
   even though physically He would return to Heaven, He could still be with them as He explained (John 14:19-24).  Later, the apostle Paul celebrates being used of God to re-
   veal “the riches of the glory of this mystery…which is Christ in” us who believe, “the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1:24-27, NKJV).

4 This  truth  taught  by  the Lord is why no aspiring strong man or great woman of God in His image is found among the religious seeking to connect to the Father through any
   manmade  religious  means!  As the Lord leads I write about essential relationship with Him in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.  Get it along with the com-
   panion  Strong  Man  Of  God  Men’s  Group  Study  and  Great  Woman  Of  God  Women’s  Group  Study  for  the  equipping of the saints in the home and churches in the
   Strong Man Store, at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.

5 The  Second  Coming  of  Christ  for  the saints then, is not about rescue from tribulation as much as it is the union of Christ with His bride and their final reunion as eternally
   living, glorified immortals (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 50-57)!