In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord himself teaches his disciples how to pray. He says in verse "This, then, is how you should pray: `Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'" The prayer continues in verse 10 "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven...." (Matthew 6:9-10) Do the words "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" lead to the belief that someday this world will have been completely transformed into the perfection of the Kingdom of God?

Not only would such behavior of believers not be furthering a purpose of God but encouraging believers to do this implicitly denies God's true purpose by replacing it with an ungodly one. To believe that the transformation of this world is God's purpose is to deliberately create an ungodly goal that leads people away from the purpose and mission that God has for believers--which is to point unbelievers to Jesus, to God-come-in-the-flesh. "Many will say to me (Jesus) on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:22-23; see also Isaiah 64:6) "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36) To focus believers' or unbelievers' attention on any objective that is not a godly one is a distraction. Hence this meditation.

The part of the Lord's Prayer which says "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" must fit in with all the Lord's teachings. It cannot be an isolated and overriding truth that obliterates and cancels out other fundamental teachings (doctrines) of Christianity. Expressed in different words--Praying for this result cannot be praying for a result that empties other biblical teachings of all truth, relevance and meaning.

The rest of this meditation points out some of the other doctrines of the Bible or Events in God's history which I believe show why this prayer cannot mean that this world is going to be gradually transformed into the Kingdom of God in which there will be perfect peace and harmony with God and between all the inhabitants of the kingdom.

Before getting into the theme of this meditation perhaps a statement about what this meditation does not do will clear the air: what it does not do is to try to explain or to combine the different ways the Kingdom is clearly spoken of in the Bible-- 1) the way the 'kingdom' is said to be already here--in the hearts of believers (Matthew 6:33; Luke 17:21; John 18:36; Acts 8:12; Romans 14:17) 2) the way in which the 'kingdom' is spoken of as having come into the world with the coming of Christ (Matthew 12:28; Isaiah
9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33; 9:1; 11:20; 16:16; Acts 10:38; Hebrews 12:28; 1 John 3:8), and 3) the way The Kingdom of God is spoken of as being in heaven and in the future (Matthew 25:31-34; Mark 14:25; Luke 13:22-29; 19:11-27; 21: 27, 31; 22:14-17).

What are the other fundamental teachings--realities and events in God's plan--that this prayer must fit in with that lead me to the belief that it is not God's intention that this world is ever going to transformed into one in which God's will 'will be done on earth as it is in heaven' ?    

I believe this will never happen is because what characterizes the Kingdom of God is not what characterizes this world.

THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE KINGDOM

• "Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.’"(Numbers 35:34) 
  
  
• For the LORD your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly." (Deuteronomy 25:16) 
  
   
• In Psalm 15 God's standards are stated in the clearest words: "LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?  He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart." (Psalm 15:12-2) The rest of the psalm continues to set forth his standards.
  
  
• In the Book of the prophet Habakkuk God's attitude towards any kind of impurity is summed up in these words: "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong." (Habakkuk 1:13)
  
  
•  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20)
   
• "The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil." (Matthew 13:41)
  
  
• "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:5)
  
  
• "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)  
  
  

•  "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life." (Revelation 21:27)
  
  
  
                                        THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS WORLD

What characterizes this world, on the other hand, is that it is a mixture of 'light and darkness'. This world is not a pure place but an amalgam or mixed multitude consisting of believers and unbelievers the way a stew always consists of different ingredients. And this characteristic will continue until God again intrudes into time and history. While the kingdom of God will be a place where there will be peace and total conformity to the will of the ruler, total subjection of heart, mind & body to the king of the kingdom- God, this world up until another God intrusion will never be anything but an amalgam or composite of both kinds of people (the righteous and unrighteous). This world is a dark place. The coming of the light (Jesus) did not turn this world into a light place and the Bible does not teach that the spread of the Gospel by Christians will bring about that result either. This world will not cease to be characterized by what characterizes it now and has characterized it since the beginning of history .

While on earth even within the hearts of believers there is 'residual sin', the sin that clings to the flesh. (Romans 8:13; 13:14; Galatians 5:16-17; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 John 2:15-17)

One of the ways the Bible reveals this fact is by the 'either/or' statements that describe the position of everyone on earth. The many statements in the Bible that describe the only possible position of everyone on earth--as 'either/or' cannot be overlooked or set aside. Such categorical statements of God abound. "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters." (Matthew 12:30; see also 2 Corinthians 6:15)

Every individual is in one category or the other. Every individual on earth is either in category of people that revere God-fear God (Matthew 10:28; Isaiah 66:2; Hebrews 11:6) and desire to obey and therefore have a particular destiny in the 'next world' or he/she is in the category of people who do not revere God, fear God, or obey God and who also have a particular destiny in the 'next world'.

•  "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36)
  
  
•  "All will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:12)  
  
  
•  "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) 
  
  
• "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)
  

The Bible says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) But for everyone else the destiny that lies ahead of them is one of condemnation and eternal punishment. This truth was vividly set forth in the destiny of Noah's family in the Ark contrasted with the destiny of everybody else outside the Ark whose future was to be drowned. (Genesis 7:1,13,21)  

• "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8)

•  "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:14-15)
  

A 2nd way the Bible sets forth the significance of the fact that there are two categories of people in this world is the duration of this condition.

It is not recent development. It is not a temporary or superficial maladjustment. This division of the peoples on earth has existed since the beginning of the human race. This division between the people of God (those who revere and fear him) and those who reject him appeared in history in the first generation after Adam and Eve sinned--in their sons. (Genesis 4:8) And the fact that the peoples of this world fall into two categories--the righteous and the unrighteous--is not destined to cease a long as this world exists.

• "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous." (1 John 3:12)

This 'either/or' division of people is not a reality of limited application like a disease that is found only in a certain remote tribe or race of people but, on the contrary, is a reality that touches or confronts every person on earth. (In a way the coming of Jesus did not bring peace into this dark world but only made this division between peoples and the time for showing where your heart is that much clearer or more evident. (Mathew 10:35; see also Luke 12:52-53)

A 3rd way the Bible 'reveals' that this world consists of two distinct kinds of people and will continue to consist of those two kinds of people is its teaching about the event at the end of earthly history: the Judgment or Wrath of God

Until 'that day', the day when the physical separation of the Righteous and the Unrighteous occurs this world will remain an composite of both kinds of people. The visible and physical separation of the righteous from the unrighteous or wicked is a very frequent and clear teaching of the Bible. That this event (when believers will be separated from unbelievers) will take place in the future, that it will be sudden and definite, is just the opposite of a process in which there is a gradual blending or making the two peoples into one people fit for the pure Kingdom of God. This world will never be transformed into the Kingdom of God.

On that day the fact will become apparent that there are two kinds of people in this world--those who have been acquitted and those who are to begin the punishment to which they have been sentenced. Each group of people will go to their appointed destinies. (Matthew 25:31-33,34,41)

• "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)  
  
  
•  "For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: " `As surely as I live,' says the Lord, `every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" (Romans 14:10-11)
  
  
• All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world..... "Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels " (Matthew 25:32-34,41) 
  
  
•  By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:7) 
  
  
• "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)

What destiny lies in front of the enemies of God? "Only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:27; see also 2 Peter 2:6) 

• Whether a person believed or not was not a an inconsequential matter. Jesus often spoke in very harsh realities."And you, Capernaum, (a Jewish town where Jesus had taught and wrought many miracles) will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." (Matthew 11:23-24)

The next quote illustrates in what sense the coming of Christ the first time was a judgment. Refusing to believe in Christ when he was present or is presented in evangelism is a critical or decisive time--that was the 'time' (or is the time) when the 'guilty' verdict was rendered but the beginning of the sentence is delayed until 'eternity' begins--which is after the death of the body) "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." ( John 3:18)  

• "He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." (Revelation 14:7)  
   
• "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed." (Romans 2:5)
  
  
• "And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day." (Jude 1:6)
  

Many times the statements in Scripture which refer to this event--the Judgment of God is spoken of as the Wrath of God.

• The Bible describes the benefit of believing the Gospel as the deliverance from the consequences of sin. The believers in Thessalonica are commended for having turned from idols to serve the living God "and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (1 Thessalonians 1:10; see also Romans 5:9)
  
  
• "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient." (Ephesians 5:5-6)
  
  
• Believers are told bluntly, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming." (Colossians 3:5-6)
  
  
• "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed." (Romans 2:5)
  
  
• "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36)

In the last book of the Bible in which the events of the last days are set forth in pictorial imagery we read: "The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18) And, "They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Revelation 6:16-17)

THE PRESUPPOSITION OF EVANGELISM

A 4th way the Bible 'reveals' that this world consists of two distinct kinds of people (believers or unbelievers) is the concept of evangelism.

• Jesus said to the apostle Paul,"I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them  to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:17-18)
  
  
• "For they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)  
  
  
•   Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24)
  
  
• "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
  
  
•  "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)
  
  
• "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.  He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:11-14; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:9) 
  
  
• "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:8; see also 2 Peter 2:6)

A 5th way that this world and the Kingdom of God are revealed to be separate entities is that believers and unbelievers look upon totally different places in time and space as their homeland--'the Here and Now' or 'the Eternal'.

• In the apostle Peter's 2nd letter he summarizes that attitude which should characterize all believers: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." (2 Peter 3:11-13)
  
  
• The apostle Paul brings out the contrast between the believers' eternal home and the 'here and now' home of unbelievers "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." (2 Corinthians 4:17--5:1) 
  
  
• The writer of the Book of Hebrews described the outlook of the Old Testament Saints in these words--"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16)
  
  
• In another of his letters the apostle Paul put it this way: " Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our (=believers') citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. " (Philippians 3:18-20)

Believers are told about the inheritance that awaits them--an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:4; see also 5:4)

The apostle Paul wrote in his last letter when he knew his life on earth was just about over--"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)

The totally different outlook on 'life' of believers and that of unbelievers is set forth in the Bible with the greatest force and clarity. God does not mince words.

• Jesus said, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39; see also Luke 9:61-62)
  
  
• Another verse of scripture which brings out the total difference in the value system of believers ('what important') from the value system of unbelievers is Jesus' statement--"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37)
  
  
• Jesus illustrated the contrasting 'homelands' in a parable. The unbeliever whose eyes see only this world said-- "`This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' '"But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' (Luke 12:18-20)
  
  
• Many other verses point to the total difference in outlook on life. The apostle Paul declared, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.... I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" (Philippians 1:21,23).
  
  
• The believer's homeland--where he looks is different. Moses "regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (Hebrews 11:26; see also vv.11:13-16) 
  
  

Perhaps the best illustration of how absolute and total the gap is between believers and unbelievers is the language the Bible itself uses to describe the gap that lies between believers and their own sin: "as far as the east is from the west." As far as east is from west is how far God has "removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) The gap between the two groups of people is fixed and unbridgeable. It is impossible to abolish or eliminate the gap. The Bible express the idea-- "What fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial (Satan)? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15) While the gap is fixed an unbridgeable that does not mean God cannot visibly move individuals into the category he chooses they be in. (Matthew 19:25-26) Believers have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13; see also Ephesians 5:8; John 5:24; 15:19) and made "citizens of heaven" (Philippians 3:20) Believers know their real home is not here on earth.(2 Peter 3:13)


Because believers are looking at the next world the consequences that occur there is an influence on the behavior of those believers in this world. "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:29-30) Behavior in this world has consequences in this world. Both believers and unbelievers know this. But only believers know that the consequences which will occur in the next world are infinitely more significant and long lasting. 

THE KIND OF WORLD BELIEVERS ARE TO EXPECT

A 6th way the Bible that reveals that this world consists of two distinct kinds of people is Jesus' teaching about the kind of world or environment that Jesus' disciples (all believers) should expect.  

As long as this world exists it will continue to contain two groups of people, the righteous and the unrighteous. Jesus did not tell believers, his disciples, that they would be appreciated in the present or in the future. Not only are there two groups of people in this world--believers and unbelievers--but the relationship between them is not now and never will be a peaceful one. Jesus told his disciples that they should expect to be hated and be treated accordingly by people under the dominion of Satan; by citizens of the kingdom of darkness.

• Jesus told his apostles what to expect. "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.  On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." (Matthew 10:16-18)
  
  
• Jesus said to his unbelieving brothers, "The world....hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. " (John 7:7)
   
  
• Jesus said to his disciples-- "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own....Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also." (John 15:18-19,20; see also 17:14; 1 John 3:12-13) 
  
  
• The apostle John records Jesus' words to his disciples thus: "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God." (John 16:1-2) 

The apostle Paul in his instructions to Timothy his protègè puts it this way: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12)

The Bible does not say that the enemies of the gospel are going to gradually disappear or that they are going to gradually cease to be enemies. Believers are told, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.   Therefore," the apostle Paul tells believers to  "put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."(Ephesians 6:12,13)  The writer of the book of Hebrews put it this way: "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (as Christ did.) (Hebrews 12:4)

When Christ was on earth he knew what lay ahead for him--his sacrificial death. He also knew that this world was not going to become a better place because he had come. He knew that in this world conflict and wars will continue.

"But mark this," says the apostle Paul. " There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God."(2 Timothy 3:1-4) 

Jesus said to his disciples, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,  and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:6-14) 

The time when nations "will beat their swords into plowshares," when "nation will not take up sword against nation and will not train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:4), the time when "the wolf will live with the lamb" etc, (Isaiah 11:6ff) will not come about as the natural development of innate forces already in this world. To think that a man can pull himself up by his own bootstraps (as the idiom expresses it) is what unbelievers think --'there is a basic goodness in men even if they continue to be unbelievers'. But that is not what the Bible says (Galatians 3:22; Romans 8:7; Hebrews 11:6)

This world is not now a place where everybody is of one mind and heart that acknowledges that God is the Creator and Sustainer of everything that exists. And Jesus' coming clearly did not initiate the gradual transformation of this world into a place of peace and harmony. In fact, it is impossible that such a state of harmony between believers and unbelievers could ever exist. The Bible expresses the impossibility bluntly--"What fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial (Satan)? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

• Jesus said, "The world....hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. " (John 7:7)
  

• "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21)
  
  
• "The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8;see also Hebrews 11:6) 

The coming of Jesus, the teaching of Jesus, the example of Jesus, the sacrificial death of Jesus didn't change the character of the world. He didn't expect it to change

Jesus knew what lay ahead of him--that his sacrificial death was part of his mission. "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." (Matthew 16:21; see also John 12:27). He expected opposition "[He] endured such opposition from sinful men" (Hebrews 12:3) In his first letter the apostle Peter reminded believers of Jesus' example--how he responded to his treatment by unbelievers: "When they hurled their insults at him (Jesus), he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." (1 Peter 2:23) But that was not the end. "For the joy set before him (Jesus) endured the cross, scorning its shame,...(Hebrews 12:2; see also Philippians 2:5-8) 

The work and witness of the incarnate Son of God did not produce a changed world, a 'better place to live. The perfect behavior in heart as well as body personified in the life of Jesus did not bring about a lessening of opposition to his teachings, a lessening of hostility to his perfect behavior. That part of the world where Jesus lived a sinless life, wrought many miracles of healing, did missionary work and died a sacrificial death did not bring about harmony, peace or the acceptance his person or his teaching. On the contrary, the opposition in the world increased until it got rid of him altogether by executing him as a criminal.

That the Son of God was treated this way was not unexpected. This was not a disruption of the plan of God as if somebody had thrown a monkey wrench into God's plan. The Creator and Sustainer of this world knows its character and that it is not changeable. (Galatians 3:22; Revelation 22:11)

TO CHANGE THE CHARACTER OF THIS WORLD INTO ONE OF LIGHT, PEACE AND HARMONY WAS NOT THE PURPOSE OF GOD

A 7th way the Bible reveals that this world will continue to consist of a population in two categories only is Christ's teaching about the results of, and the purpose of, his mission

If the result of Jesus' perfect behavior, Jesus' perfect witness, even his miracles of healing and raising the dead did not result in bringing peace into the world or even eliciting approbation from the world as the subsequent history of this world shows is there any godly reason to think that God wanted the imperfect witness of believers however faithfully carried out to bring about the transformation of this world into the Kingdom of God? 

• Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.  From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three." (Luke 12:51-52) 
  
  
• In the Gospel according to Matthew Jesus expressed the same idea in different words, saying, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--  a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' (Matthew 10:34-36)  

What the work of God accomplished was not to change the world but to remove his people from the world, to make them citizens of heaven. (Philippians 3:20; John 15:19; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 11:16) What the work of God accomplished was to turn unbelievers into believers who recognize where their real homeland is. Believers have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13; see also Ephesians 5:8; John 5:24; 15:19) and made "citizens of heaven" (Philippians 3:20) Believers know their real home is not here on earth.(2 Peter 3:13)

The part of the Lord's Prayer which says "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" must fit in with all the Lord's teachings. It cannot be an isolated and overriding truth that obliterates and cancels out other fundamental teachings (doctrines) of Christianity. Expressed in different words--Praying for this result cannot be praying for a result that empties other biblical teachings of all truth, relevance and meaning. The other biblical truths which lead me to believe that the words in the Lord's prayer "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" cannot mean that this world is going to be transformed into the Kingdom of God are summarized below.

3) The Judgment or the Wrath of God when the separation between the righteous and the unrighteous occurs is a definite event that is yet future. It has not occurred and is not occurring now. God's word speaks of this event frequently and it is that event that gives meaning to what kind of behavior humans display in this world. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)  "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming." (Colossians 3:5-6) "Without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14) It is that event that makes the proclamation of the Gospel so needful.

5) The different places that individuals in each group recognize as their homeland reveals how basic the division is. People in one category--the unbeliever category-- look to this world and to the present as their only home and as the only place where all life takes place. People in the other category--the believer category--look to the Kingdom that lies beyond the physical death of the body as their home. And it is there in the Kingdom that eternal 'life' takes place.

A 7th way the Bible reveals that this world will continue to consist of a population in two categories only is Christ's teaching about the results of, and the purpose of, his mission. It was  not the purpose of Christ's mission to produce a changed world. What the mission of Christ did accomplish was to call a people out of this world. To qualify them for a new home in the Kingdom of God. Christ "gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. " (Titus 2:14) You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9; see also Colossians 1:12,13)

 

(If you appreciate what you read here please tell your friends about this URL and sign my guest book on the homepage. Also, if, as you read any of the meditations, you feel you know of a situation that beautifully illustrates any of the points made I would be delighted to learn of it. I might incorporate it.) mailto:camppp21355@comcast.net

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