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❖ The English Standard Version is published by Harper CollinsPublishers © 2001 by CrosswayBibles, a division of Good NewsPublishers. Used by permission.

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GladTidingso f t h e K i n g d o m o f G o d

132nd Year 1583A monthly magazine published by the Christadelphians (brothers and sisters in Christ) andavailable throughout the world.

Acknowledgements

Photographs:

Cover: Red Kite, iStock Other Illustrations:

Pgs. 9, 17, 19 iStock;pg. 13 Glad Tidings;pg. 3, 16, 18 Wikipedia Commons;All others: Clipart.com

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Mighty Wings............................3

“Come and See” ........................5

God in Creation ........................8

John the Baptist – a Disciple‘Like His Teacher’ ................10

Bible History – Making a Time Chart .............................12

Learning from the Pharisees..........................14

The World Made Perfect .......17

Its objectives are – to encourage the study of the Bible as God'sinspired message to men; to call attention to the Divine offer offorgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ; and to warn men andwomen that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge and rulerof God’s world-wide Kingdom.

ContentsContents

132nd Year 3

away! Most birds have eyes on thesides of their head, which gives them awide field of view to look out fordanger. But birds of prey have theireyes in front – just like other hunters –which gives them binocular vision. Thisis when both eyes can focus on onething at the same time. It makes itmuch easier to judge distances, which

is vital when chasing prey.

Eagles in the Bible

Where the Bible uses theimage of an ‘eagle’, theoriginal word in Hebrewmeans an eagle or otherlarge bird of prey – wemight use the general term‘raptor’. It does so in anumber of different ways.The first is in the context ofGod’s judgements. Nationsused by God to punishIsrael are described as

being like an eagle: fierce, swift andimplacable in their attacks. InJeremiah 4:13, the prophet is warningof impending invasion by the Babyloni-ans, whose “horses are swifter thaneagles”. In his mourning over the fateof Jerusalem, Jeremiah says:

Our pursuers were swifter than theeagles of the heavens (Lamentations4:19).

In Deuteronomy 28:49, Moses iswarning the people of Israel againstrejecting God. The punishment fordoing so will come from invasion byanother nation “as swift as the eagleflies”.

Soaring majestically amongst themountain peaks; diving at speed fromgreat height; ferociously catching anddevouring their target; birds of preycan capture our imagination. They area blend of beauty and menace, preci-sion and power; a force in naturewhich can make us hold our breath inwonder.

We associate these birds with speedand power, and rightly so. Whenhunting, peregrine falcons use a flyingtechnique called the 'stoop'. They flyhigh above their prey and close theirwings, going into a downwards dive. A‘stooping’ peregrine falcon is thefastest animal on earth, reachingspeeds of over 300 km per hour (200miles per hour). By reaching such aspeed, they are able to stun or oftenkill their target outright.These powerful birds have remar-

kable eyesight, because they havemany more light receptor cells in theireyes than humans. A buzzard can see8–10 times farther than we can: it canspot its prey from three kilometres

Mighty WingsMighty Wings

4 Glad Tidings

He goes onto describeGod watch-ing over Hispeople, pro-tecting andlifting themup out oftrouble andcaring for them with the dedicationand ferocity of a parent raptor:

As an eagle stirs up its nest, hoversover its young, spreading out its wings,taking them up, carrying them on itswings (v11).

This does not only apply at a nationallevel though. God sees His people asprecious individuals. A great exampleof this is the story of Ruth, an immi-grant to Israel, with no–one to providefor her and no practical hope. God pro-vided her with a husband, a family anda place in His purpose. Early in thestory, Boaz (who she would latermarry) described her as taking refugeunder the ‘wings’ of the Lord God ofIsrael (Ruth 2:12).

Vitality

Another dramatic use of eagles asillustration is to show the power of thelife that God gives to those who loveHim. He enables them to live dynamiclives today, energised by knowing Hisplan. And He promises an endless lifein His kingdom: one of strength, ofenergy and of divine purpose.

Those that wait on the LORD shallrenew their strength; they shall mountup with wings like eagles; they shallrun and not be weary, they shall walkand not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

Editor

Power to Nurture

It is easy to see how the birds’ pow-erful features enable them to catchtheir food and to fight off competitors.However, it is also fascinating to seethem apply their abilities in rearingtheir young.Birds of prey build large, robust

nests. In them, their chicks growquickly and need a lot of food, whichhas to be caught by the adults. Theparents will fiercely protect their off-spring from predators by land or air.When the young birds are ready to taketheir first flight, the parents are thereto encourage and coax them from thenest, and will feed and protect themuntil they can care for themselves.The picture of a raptor is also used

to describe God’s care for His people.This is a compelling idea, and it is alsocomforting, to think of the power of theAlmighty brought to bear in the nurtureof those who are His. When Goddescribed the way in which He broughtIsrael out of Egypt, He said:

You have seen what I did to the Egyp-tians, and how I bore you on eagles'wings, and brought you to myself(Exodus 19:4).

This speaks both of His might used todestroy the Egyptian army, and Hiscare exercised to protect and releaseHis people.Shortly before he died, Moses spent

time recounting to Israel the Law givenby God, as well as the events of theexodus from Egypt and the forty yearsspent in the wilderness. In Deuterono-my 32, he talks poetically about howGod cared for Israel. the nation wassaved from “a wasteland, a howlingwilderness… He kept him as the appleof His eye” (v10).

132nd Year 5

Nothing opposes human progress somuch as prejudice. When Richard Ark-wright invented the spinning frame, aninfuriated mob at Preston made himrun for his life, because they reckonedthe machine would ruin their industry.In Nottingham he met with the samesenseless sort of opposition. Therethey burned down his mills.

George Stephenson had to facestorms of ridicule when he publicisedhis steam engine, which could runmore quickly than the old stage-coaches. The astronomer Galileo discovered

that, instead of the sun going roundthe earth, the earth revolves round thesun. Prejudiced authorities flung himinto prison and tried in vain to makehim recant, because this did not fitwith their views.

Missing the Saviour

Blinded by preconception, mankindhas often rejected the most gloriousgifts. True prophets have been perse-cuted, benefactors slain. Through thedeadly work of prejudice, men andwomen through the ages have unceas-ingly rejected and repudiated JesusChrist, the Son of God, His gift sent tosave the world. This was even the caseduring Jesus’ life in Israel, 2000 yearsago, as one eye witness records:

He came to his own, and his own didnot receive him (John 1:11).

Jesus himself commented:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one whokills the prophets and stones thosewho are sent to her! How often Iwanted to gather your childrentogether, as a hen gathers her broodunder her wings, but you were notwilling (Luke 13:34).

Not willing? Why? Through prejudice.The Jews rejected the Saviour becausehe bore no resemblance to their expec-tations of the one who was to come,sent by God, to rule over them and thewhole world for ever.

Modern Misconceptions

The same applies today. Some areprejudiced against Christ by whatsceptics have said or written. To many,he has never been shown except incaricature. And there are those whoare blinkered by philosophy or theologywhich often obscures the real Jesus.

“Come and See”“Come and See”

6 Glad Tidings

Men and women also frequentlyjudge Jesus by his followers. They pointto poor conduct or inconsistencies inChristians’ lives, which colour theirassessment of him. Is this fair? Everygenuine Christian is Christ’s represen-tative, but how many truly reflect hischaracter? The answer is that we areall human, and therefore fallible, andso will sometimes fail to live up to hisstandards. That does not make Jesusless; it emphasises our need for for-giveness.As students of the Bible, we should

recognise that Christ was sinless, henever sinned. However, we see too thatwe all have the tendency to sin – todisobey God. In Romans chapter 7,Paul draws a picture of an internal con-flict: he does evil unwillingly, because

it is the opposite of what his God-fearing conscience wants; but histendency to sin makes him do wrongand unable to do the good that hewishes he could.

For I know that in me (that is, in myflesh) nothing good dwells; for to will ispresent with me, but how to performwhat is good I do not find. For the goodthat I will to do, I do not do; but the evilI will not to do, that I practice (Romans7:18–19).

To illustrate his point, Paul describesthis battle as every individual havingtwo parts:

❖ The ‘flesh’ (the lower animalnature)

❖ The ‘spirit’ or ‘inward man’ (themind which thinks and reasons).

This picture reminds us that all Chris-tians will fail at times, and everyoneneeds someone to deliver them fromthe power of this tendency to sin. Inverse 25 Paul gives thanks that this isJesus Christ, the indispensableSaviour, through his victory over sinand death.

Meeting Jesus

On one occasion when Jesus went toGalilee preaching the gospel, hecaught sight of Philip and called out“Follow me” (John 1:43). Enthusiasti-cally Philip sought Nathanael to sharethe good news, and the story is recor-ded in the subsequent verses.In verse 45, Philip tells Nathanael

the exciting news: “We have found himof whom Moses in the law, and alsothe prophets, wrote — Jesus ofNazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael's reaction was clearly

narrow-minded. “Can anything goodcome out of Nazareth?”.“Come andsee” retorted Philip, challengingNathanael to overcome his prejudice. As soon as Jesus saw him coming,

he exclaimed: “Behold, an Israeliteindeed, in whom is no deceit.”Nathanael remained sceptical, “Howdo you know me?”. Jesus answeredhim, “Before Philip called you, whenyou were under the fig tree, I saw you.”This implies supernatural know-

ledge, because Nathanael was out of

132nd Year 7

Come and see him meekly yet tri-umphantly dying on the cross, theinnocent victim and yet the ultimatevictor. This paradox is described inColossians 2:15. Christ won a greatvictory over sin and death and wants toshare it with us.The Lord Jesus Christ is the moral

and spiritual ultimate. His story didnot end at the cross, because he rosefrom the dead, ascended to heaven,and is waiting to return to the earth asking. We still have opportunity to comeand see him in the Bible, to get rid ofany false preconceptions and to bepart of the future world order. Don’t letprejudice rob you of a place in God’splan.

Claud Lamb

human view. Not only did Jesus seehim, he saw through him, and he sawno deceit in him. This motivated Nathanael’s change

of opinion, and doubt became belief.He made his confession, “Rabbi, youare the Son of God! You are the King ofIsrael.” Nathanael had seen a miracleof insight and knew for certain thatJesus was who the Bible says he was.

First-Hand Experience

‘Come and see’ is the best cure forprejudice. Isn’t it the same in all areasof life? Seeing the spinning jenny atwork convinced the Lancastrians of itstremendous utility. Actual experienceof the locomotive dispelled absurdprejudices and caused men to appreci-ate the potential of the railways.Coming face to face with a thing oridea can quickly dispel dislikes andsuspicions. Getting to know the idea orperson removes prejudice and helpsus make good decisions.In the same way, spending time with

Jesus himself, through the Biblerecord, will dispel prejudice againsthim. We get to know his character, hisinfluence and his faultless example.

Come and see Jesus:

❖ Sitting on the hill with the crowdaround while he pours out words ofwisdom never heard before.

❖ Passing from place to place,healing the sick, feeding thehungry, raising the dead.

❖ Confounding his critics, who couldnot out–reason the carpenter’sson from Nazareth.

❖ Gradually being recognized bysome as the Son of God.

If you want to access backnumbers of “Glad Tidings” youcan find copies for the last few

years on our website:www.gladtidingsmagazine.org

8 Glad Tidings

There are many ways in which we cansee the evidence of God in the worldaround us.Some may be particularly struck by

the intricate beauty of a flower. Othersare amazed at the majesty of the nightsky, especially when seen away fromthe intrusive lighting of our towns.Gazing heavenwards to look at thelight of distant stars, especially if usinga telescope and in some remote place,the number of stars and the vastnessof the sky can be awe-inspiring. For others, it is to delve with a micro-

scope into the intricacies of the cell.The detail and ‘technology’ which wefind in this building-block of livingmaterial can be breath-taking.

Many people look at the remarkablephenomena in nature and see quiteclearly that everything has beendesigned by a divine creator. Sadly there are many others who see

nothing of the sort. They will notaccept that the wonder and beauty ofour world is evidence of a designer orcreator. They see the diversity, beautyand stunning precision of this worldonly as evidence of blind chance. Thisconveniently removes the need toacknowledge the existence of a divinepower.Such an approach seems to stretch

reason beyond its limits, and to go wellbeyond established scientific princi-ples. It demands we accept that

Thinking About GodThinking About God

God in CreationGod in CreationI know God exists –The evidence is all around meSomeone made this fantastic worldAnd someone keeps it going.

I have only to lookAt a flower or a fishOr listen to a birdOr consider the marvels Of the eye, the ear or the brain…To know that someone designed them all.

The Universe above me and beyondMust have a glory all its ownAnd every galaxy a tale to tellOf the One who holds them allIn the powerful hollow of His hand.

Norman Owen

132nd Year 9

creation is the result of random coinci-dences far more unlikely than anylottery yet devised.

Knowing More about God

We may deduce some facts about theCreator and Designer of the world fromlooking at the earth on which we live.The fact that He made everythingmakes it clear that He is powerful. Wesee that He loves order and sets clearrules, because those laws governnature. However, this alone will not tell us

much about the character or purposeof God. For more detail we need to turnto the revelation God has made ofHimself, to His word, the Bible.Right from the outset, we notice that

the Bible is totally in harmony withwhat we deduce from observation. Thevery first verse of the Bible tells us thatit was indeed God who made all things.

In the beginning God created theheavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

The message is repeated in differentcontexts throughout the Bible, forexample:

I have made the earth, and createdman on it. I – my hands – stretchedout the heavens, and all their host Ihave commanded (Isaiah 45:12).

So the Bible is in agreement with whatwe can see, at whatever level we look.This means that to use the Bible as oursource of information about God istotally logical.When thinking about God, we really

need to look at God’s word to see whatelse it tells us about Him. This is aremarkable privilege; the Creatorinvites us to get to know Him and has

given us this record so that we can doso. In the Bible He tells us about whatHe is like, what is His purpose withthe world, and the relationship Hewants with men and women.The approach of ‘Thinking about

God’ accepts that we shall neverreally understand God fully, His mindis too wonderful, His power too greatfor that. The Psalmist recognised thiswhen he wrote:

Such knowledge is too wonderful forme; it is high, I cannot attain it(Psalm 139:6).

However, we can look at what we aretold and think about Him. Jesus toldus that this is a great privilege, andthat it can lead to living for ever:

“And this is eternal life, that they mayknow you, the only true God, andJesus Christ whom you have sent”(John 17:3).

Mark Sheppard

We are called to be disciples of Jesus,to learn from him and to practise whathe taught. Thankfully, we are notasked to attain moral perfection likehe did, as it would be impossible. Weare instead asked to try our best andto be like him. Jesus said:

A disciple is not above his teacher, nora servant above his master. It isenough for a disciple that he be likehis teacher, and a servant like hismaster (Matthew 10:24–25).

A man who understood this very wellwas John the Baptist. Jesus gave himthe exceptional commendation that“among those born of women there isnot a greater prophet than John theBaptist” (Luke 7:28). However, Johnhumbly believed that he was “notworthy to stoop down and loose thesandals of his teacher” (Mark 1:7).John pointed out that even thoughJesus was born after him, and startedhis ministry after him, he was ‘before’John in terms of authority and impor-tance:

This was he of whom I said, “He whocomes after me is preferred beforeme” (John 1:15).

John accepted that Jesus was alwaysgoing to be above him; he understoodwhat was (and was not) asked of him.It was enough for him to be like Jesus.

Same Sayings

John was like his teacher in a numberof ways, especially in the things which

he said. Many of his phrases recordedin the scriptures are identical to thoseused by Jesus. Below is a selection ofthem:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven isat hand• John – Matthew 3:2• Jesus – Matthew 4:17

Brood of vipers!• John – Matthew 3:7• Jesus – Matthew 12:34, 23:33

Every tree that does not bear goodfruit is cut down and thrown into thefire• John – Matthew 3:10• Jesus – Matthew 7:19

Gather the wheat into the barn• John – Matthew 3:12• Jesus – Matthew 13:30

Fire that shall never be quenched• John – Matthew 3:12• Jesus – Mark 9:43

Duplicate Deeds

John was also like his teacher in thethings that he did; his actions weredescribed in very similar, sometimesidentical terms to those of Jesus.Below is a selection of them:

The angel Gabriel prophesied thatJohn would be “great in the sight ofthe Lord” (Luke 1:15). That same mes-senger from God was sent to Mary, toannounce that she would give birth toa son called Jesus. He told her that

10 Glad Tidings

John the Baptist – a DiscipleJohn the Baptist – a Disciple‘Like his Teacher’‘Like his Teacher’

Jesus would be “great and… the son ofthe Highest” (Luke 1:32).

During his life, John was known byHerod as being a “just and holy man”(Mark 6:20). This makes his eventualexecution by that wicked king evenmore shocking. When Peter accusedthe Jews of denying Jesus and havinghim killed, he described Jesus asbeing the “Holy One and the Just”(Acts 3:14).

Mark 6:20 tells us that Herod “heardhim [John] gladly”. Regularly in the lifeof Jesus, we read that large crowds“heard him gladly” (Mark 12:37).

Repeated Rejection

Despite John the Baptist having allthese qualities, the ruling Jews did notrecognize him as God’s messenger,called Elijah in Malachi 4:5. Conse-quently, he was to suffer and be killed.Jesus told this to his disciples:

Elijah has come already, and they didnot know him but did to him whateverthey wished. Likewise the Son of Manis also about to suffer at their hands(Matthew 17:12). Despite all of Jesus’ qualities he was

not recognized as the Messiah. Rejec-ted by the leaders and most of thepeople alike, just like John, he was tosuffer and be killed.

Loved Alike

Both John and Jesus had disciples wholoved them and whose love towardsthem continued after they had died.We read after the death of John:

When his disciples heard of it, theycame and took away his corpse andlaid it in a tomb (Mark 6:29).

Similarly, when Jesus had been cruci-fied and was pronounced dead:

[Joseph of Arimathaea] bought finelinen, took him down, and wrappedhim in the linen. And he laid him in atomb which had been hewn out of therock, and rolled a stone against thedoor of the tomb (Mark 15:46).

John the Baptist was not the Christ,nor did he try to be (John 1:20). LikeJohn we should humbly accept thatJesus will always be above us.Although we cannot attain to hisperfect standards, we are asked to tryto copy him to the best of our abilities.However, John’s excellent example

shows that we can be like our teacherin word and deed. Like John, throughthe grace of God we can look forwardto becoming like our teacher, raisedfrom the dead and given immortality.

For if we have been united together inthe likeness of his death, certainly wealso shall be in the likeness of hisresurrection (Romans 6:5).

Stephen Blake

132nd Year 11

12 Glad Tidings

One wonderful way to learn more fromthe details of the men and women inthe Bible is to understand a little of thedates and times in which they lived.This helps us better appreciate thecontext of Bible events, and how theylink together.A simple way to do this is to con-

struct a time chart for ourselves. Thereare several very good ones available inbook shops and on the internet, butthe activity of making our own reallyhelps to cement the facts in our minds.What is more, we can add to it as wecontinue our Bible study. The dates used here are rounded up

or down to give whole numbers, andthe Bible references show where theperson is introduced. The time chart tothe right has been completed followingthe steps below, and is colour-coded tohelp build it step by step.

Step 1: 2000–year Sections

Start with periods of 2000 years,beginnning at 4000 BC and goingthrough to 2000 AD.

Begin with Adam and Eve (Genesis1:27, 2:22), placing them about 4000years before Jesus. Then measure2000 years on from that first pair, andwe arrive at 2000 BC. As we move for-wards through the years before Christ,so the numbers decrease. 2000 BC gives us the time of

Abraham (Genesis 11:27). He was thefounder of the Jewish nation, and therest of the Bible relates God’s dealingwith the Jews, from Abraham onwards.

Moving 2000 years after Abrahambrings us to the time of Jesus, and wenote that there is no year ‘0’ on history,we would go from 1 BC to AD 1. Justover 2000 years after Jesus brings usto our own day.

Step 2: 1000–year Periods

Now divide each of these time periodsinto half, giving 1000–year gaps.

Half way between Adam and Abrahamis 3000 BC, and it was about then thatNoah was born (Genesis 5:29).Mid–way from Abraham to Jesus,

King David ruled over Israel (1 Samuel16:13). He was a godly man who wrotemany of the Psalms and lived in about1000 BC. Half way between Jesus and our time

is about AD 1066, a date noted inBritain for the Battle of Hastings. Asthe New Testament was completed-within aound a hundred years of thebirth of Jesus, AD 1066 does not ofcourse feature in the Bible.

Step 3: 500–year Groups

Finally, we have to split these periodsof 1000 years into 500–year groups.

Approximately 500 years beforeAbraham, Noah built the ark and wassaved from the Flood. It is possible toadd up the years in Genesis 5, wherewe find that the more accurate date isabout 400 years before Abraham.Half way between Abraham and

David, Moses lived (Exodus 2:10). He

Bible History – Making aBible History – Making aTime Chart Time Chart

132nd Year 13

led the Israelites out of Egypt, andreceived the Law from God, which hewrote down and passed on to thepeople. Then in the final segment 500 years

after David, Zedekiah the last king ofthe southern part of Israel was takencaptive into Babylon (2 Kings 25:1).

Before the Flood

To avoid confusion, it is worthwhile tonote the ages of people living beforethe Flood. If you look at the informa-tion given in Genesis 5, you will seethat people lived for much longerbefore the Flood than after it. This ispossibly explained by there being acanopy of water surrounding the earth(Genesis 1:6–8), which filtered outmany of the sun’s harmful rays. Duringthe Flood, this water would have fallento the earth (Genesis 7:11), so reduc-ing the protective layer and the lengthof people’s lives.

Using the Time Chart

It can be interesting to keep adding toour time chart as we read our Bibles. Ifyou plan to do this, it will be worthwhilehaving a larger version on a largerpiece of paper, or using a notebookwith each time period starting on anew page. For those with a computer, aspreadsheet is a good way to do this.It is very useful to have a chart such

as this to hand whenever we thinkabout Bible characters. It helps us tobetter imagine the times in which theylived and the order in which theirstories took place. Looking at the Biblein this way also reminds us that thesewere real people, living real lives, witha part in God’s plan. Just as we can be!

David Simpson

❖ Pharisee means ‘separated one’.The Pharisees were a group whogrew out of a Jewish independencemovement around 150 years previ-ously. They were highly religiouspeople, who insisted on strictobservance of religious laws. ThePharisees were the moral leadersof their communities.

The scribes and Pharisees were theupright, peace–loving, clean–living,God–fearing, respectable pillars ofsociety in Jesus’ day. It’s interesting,and worrying, to see that it was thesepeople who opposed Jesus mostaggressively. When we consider someof the things the Lord said about them,we can learn a great deal.

Ruled by Rules

The scribes and Pharisees loved tomake rules. In the book of Exodus Godgave a law to Israel, but this group hadembellished God’s law with a whole lot

of extra traditions of their own. Some-times they used obedience to theirown complicated rules as a way ofside-stepping obedience to God’s law!The human heart is very devious.Mark 7:1–13 relates an occasion

when Jesus fell foul of one of their

14 Glad Tidings

Jesus had many followers and ad-mirers, but he also upset a lot ofpeople and made dangerous enemies.It’s surprising to see where his opposi-tion came from.Interestingly, as far as we know

Jesus never said a word against theharsh Roman overlords of first-centuryIsrael; and he seems to have taken noparticular interest in Herod, thedepraved puppet king in Galilee. Hedid however strongly rebuke the chiefpriests in Jerusalem, as they were acorrupt, self-serving elite who ran thetemple for their own profit and ruth-lessly exploited the common people.There was one particular group of

people who seem to have been Jesus’main opponents throughout his min-istry. They constantly criticized andprovoked him. It’s clear from his fiercecondemnation that he saw them as hismost dangerous detractors. Thesewere the scribes and Pharisees.

Good, Upright People!

Who were the scribes and Pharisees,and what was it that made them suchrelentless enemies of the Lord Jesus?

❖ Scribe is the English translation ofa Greek word meaning ‘student ofthe scriptures’ (referring to the OldTestament). Their occupation waswriting out copies of the scriptures,and teaching people what theysaid. Scribes were studious men,widely respected for their kno-wledge, and often addressed as‘teacher’. They served as judges inlegal cases, and so were alsoknown as ‘lawyers’.

Learning from the PhariseesLearning from the Pharisees

132nd Year 15

rules by not washing his hands beforeeating. The scribes and Phariseeswere indignant. But he reminded themthat God’s law was more importantthan their own laws, and he quoted theprophet Isaiah:

This people honours me with their lips,but their heart is far from me. And invain they worship me, teaching as doc-trines the commandments of men(Mark 7:7).

Rules and traditions can be useful:they provide order and structure indaily life, and they ensure good beha-viour. The same is true for rulesconcerning our service to God. But theexample of the scribes and Phariseesshows how they can be dangerous:

❖ There’s always the possibility thatour rules or traditions conflict withthe Bible. Never be afraid to reviewthem in the light of Bible teaching.

❖ However good the rules are, if ourreligion is just about obeying rulesit enables us to tick them off andthen sit back thinking we haveearned God’s approval. That iscompletely the wrong attitude.

What God wants is that we understandHim, and try to be like Him. This ismuch more than following rules. Asanother prophet, Micah, said:

He has shown you, O man, what isgood: And what does the Lord requireof you but to do justly, to love mercy,and to walk humbly with yourGod? (Micah 6:8).

Self-righteousness

You can read in Mark 2:15–17 aboutan occasion when Jesus and his disci-

ples were invited to a meal, and theywere joined by many ‘tax collectorsand sinners’ – the kind of people thata respectable person would not wantto socialise with. The local scribes andPharisees were scandalised. But Jesussaid to them:

Those who are well have no need of aphysician, but those who are sick. I didnot come to call the righteous, butsinners, to repentance.

Jesus preached God’s message of for-giveness and salvation to anyone whowould listen, and the Bible shows thatit was often the ‘sinners’ who respon-ded best. Fundamental to the Gospel is the

call to repentance (that is, turningaway from our sins). Those who areaware of their need of forgiveness willappreciate this – but it is meaninglessto those who have a high opinion oftheir own righteousness. The apostlePaul in his letter to the Romans puts itlike this:

All have sinned and fall short of theglory of God, being justified freely byHis grace through the redemption thatis in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23–4).

Hypocrisy

In the week before the Passover whenhe would die, Jesus was teaching inthe temple at Jerusalem. His enemiesattacked him on every side, trying totrip him up in his words, but theyfailed. Matthew 22 ends with thecomment:

And no one was able to answer him aword, nor from that day on did anyonedare question him anymore (verse 46).

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The whole of the next chapter,Matthew 23, is devoted to a warningabout adopting the attitude of thescribes and Pharisees, and Jesussums it up in one word – ‘hypocrisy’.

A hypocrite was an actor in a Greekplay. The actor often wore a mask infront of his face to portray the charac-ter he was playing. Jesus uses thisword about the scribes and Pharisees,because they were people who pre-sented to the outside world a falseappearance. Today we might call them‘two-faced’.

They say, and do not do (Matthew23:3).

They were good at telling other peoplehow they should live their lives, butsecretly behaved very differently:

All their works they do to be seen bymen (verse 5).

They loved to appear righteous, to beadmired by other people, but it wasonly skin-deep. They were concernedabout what other people thought ofthem, not about how God saw them.

It’s easy enough to put on a goodshow, and we may well fool otherpeople, but we cannot fool God.

The Lord does not see as man sees;for man looks at the outward appear-ance, but the Lord looks at the heart(1 Samuel 16:7).

The Warning

During his ministry, the Lord Jesuspreached the message of the Gospelto anyone who would listen. There arewonderful accounts of how hismessage reached the hearts of themost unlikely people. However, there was this one group

who were largely resistant to his tea-ching, and we’re given a lot of detailabout his analysis of their problem.Obviously there’s a reason the Biblewriters provide all this detail. It is awarning to us against falling into thesame trap. The scribes and Phariseesare a grotesque caricature showingwhat it can be like when religion goeswrong.The apostle Paul had been a Phar-

isee, but when he was converted toChristianity he renounced his formerlife. In his letter to the Philippians hereflects on the old life he has leftbehind:

I have suffered the loss of all things,and count them as rubbish, that I maygain Christ and be found in him, nothaving my own righteousness, which isfrom the law, but that which is throughfaith in Christ, the righteousness whichis from God by faith (Philippians 3:8–9).

Chris Parkin

Jesus hints at this in some of his para-bles, such as in Luke 19. Here anobleman gives money to his servantsand tells them to work for him, until hereturns. Reckoning with them on hisarrival, we read the master’s approvalto one of his faithful servants:

And he said to him, “Well done, goodservant; because you were faithful in avery little, have authority over tencities” (Luke 19:17).

The people of the world will be learningthe truths about God and His purpose.They will also be discovering that mostof the things their previous leadershad told them were wrong, both in reli-gious matters and in daily life.Jeremiah wrote about their reaction tothis:

The Gentiles shall come to you fromthe ends of the earth and say, “Surelyour fathers have inherited lies, worth-lessness and unprofitable things”(Jeremiah 16:19).

Malachi 4:5–6 reveals that the Jewswill also need to be converted to a trueunderstanding of God’s purpose. In

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The last few articles in this series havelooked at Bible teaching about theestablishment of God’s kingdom onearth. We saw that Jesus will return toearth to be king, sitting on the throneover that kingdom.He will judge all those who he called

to serve him during their lives, and ifthey have died, he will raise them tolife again for this judgement. Thosewho deliberately rejected him willthemselves be rejected and have nopart in the kingdom.To those who have pleased him,

Jesus will give immortal life,untouched by disease or other humanfrailty: they will be “like him” (1 John3:2). For them, and for Jesus himself,death will be a thing of the past. Jesussaid “Because I live, you will live also”(John 14:19). Then they will help himto rule the earth and fill it with God’sglory. These are the people that theBible calls ‘saints’ (for example, 1Corinthians 1:1–2) and to whom thekingdom is promised:

But the saints of the Most High shallreceive the kingdom, and possess thekingdom forever, even forever and ever(Daniel 7:18).

Teaching and Guiding

However, the people over whom Jesusand his saints rule will be mortal, likeyou and me now. Jesus will bring just,effective government, but there ismore to it than that. The saints will beguiding and teaching these mortalpeople in the ways of God, whereverthey live throughout the world.

A Christadelphian’s Faith - 34A Christadelphian’s Faith - 34

The World Made Perfect The World Made Perfect

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under his vine and under his fig tree,and no one shall make them afraid; forthe mouth of the Lord of hosts hasspoken (Micah 4:3-4).These words, which are also inscribed

on a wall near the United Nations, willfinally come true, but only throughGod’s intervention.

Perfection

At the end of the thousand years, therewill be one final revolt by people whoreject the authority of Jesus and stillwant to do things their own way. This isshown in a symbolic way in Revelation20:7–10.Then those who chose to obey God

during that millennium will be madeimmortal and will join Jesus Christ andhis saints in sharing God’s divine,sinless nature. Death will have beenabolished. Because all of this will havebeen achieved, God will finally be ableto actually live with men and women.This wonderful situation is announcedin the Revelation:

And I heard a loud voice from heavensaying, “Behold, the tabernacle of Godis with men, and He will dwell withthem, and they shall be His people.God Himself will be with them and betheir God. And God will wipe awayevery tear from their eyes; there shall

particular, they will need to recogniseJesus as the Messiah, or Christ –God’s anointed king. The prophetElijah will have a key role to play in this.

A Patient Process

The change will not be instantaneous.It is important to realize that crime,sickness, poverty and death will notdisappear suddenly at the beginning ofChrist’s rule. It took at least 6000years for the world to reach its presentplight, so it is not surprising that it willtake 1000 years to put things right.During this millennium, Christ’s

immortal servants will have the powerto keep crime and sin under control,and they will guide men and women inthe right ways of God. Revelationchapter 20 tells us about the saints’work in Christ’s kingdom:

They lived and reigned with Christ for athousand years. But the rest of thedead did not live again until the thou-sand years were finished. This is thefirst resurrection. Blessed and holy ishe who has part in the first resurrec-tion. Over such the second death hasno power, but they shall be priests ofGod and of Christ, and shall reign withhim a thousand years (Revelation20:4–6).

During this time, the problems of theworld such as illness, war and faminewill be brought under control. Peoplewill live long lives in perfect conditions.

He shall judge between many peoples,and rebuke strong nations afar off;they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up swordagainst nation, neither shall they learnwar anymore. But everyone shall sit

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be no more death, nor sorrow, norcrying. There shall be no more pain,for the former things have passedaway (Revelation 21:3–4).

This is the time when God is describedas being ‘all in all’. The expressioncomes from the apostle Paul, whogives us some insight into how this willhappen:

Now when all things are made subjectto Him, then the Son himself will alsobe subject to Him who put all thingsunder him, that God may be all in all(1 Corinthians 15:28).

A Promise to Everyone

This perfect end-state for the worldfulfils God’s purpose as stated severaltimes in the Bible:

Truly, as I live, all the earth shall befilled with the glory of the Lord(Numbers 14:21).

Blessed be the Lord God, the God ofIsrael, Who only does wondrousthings! And blessed be His gloriousname forever! And let the whole earthbe filled with His glory. Amen andAmen (Psalm 72:17–19).

The earth will be filled with the know-ledge of the glory of the Lord, as thewaters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Look to me, and be saved, all you endsof the earth! For I am God, and there isno other. I have sworn by myself; theword has gone out of my mouth inrighteousness, and shall not return,that to me every knee shall bow, everytongue shall take an oath (Isaiah45:22–3).

Here too we see the ultimate fulfilmentof those promises God made toAbraham and David. Abraham was pro-mised that through him and hisdescendant (Jesus), all peoples ornationalities would be blessed:

All the families of the earth shall beblessed (Genesis 12:3).

David was promised that his royallineage would be unending, and thathe would see it:

Your house and your kingdom shall beestablished forever before you. Yourthrone shall be established forever(2 Samuel 7:16).

These promises will be entirely fulfilledwith men and women from all nationsoffered a place in the Kingdom of God.That includes you and me. We cannotearn a place in that kingdom, but areinvited to be part of it through believ-ing God’s word, having faith in thework of Jesus, being baptised to showthis and living as people who want tobe in God’s kingdom.

John Woodall

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