The Restoration Plan – The Kingdom Of God

‘Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.’ ~ Revelation 21:1-5

When the great merciful creator saw the horrendous mess that man made through his sin, and all the curses he had brought upon himself and the earth, he conceived of a master restoration plan.

What is this wonderful restoration plan? What details has God revealed to us about it? What will be the experience of those who will take part?

The Kingdom of God Is God’s Restoration Plan

It is commonly taught that heaven is God’s plan for the righteous. This teaching is not found in the Bible but rather the following scriptures make clear that God’s restoration plan is what the Bible calls The Kingdom of God and it was the primary message all the Prophets and Apostles.

Matthew 24:14 ~ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The message of The Kingdom of God is the good news of God’s restoration plan that must be shared will all the nations of the world before the end.

Luke 4:43 ~ He said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God himself, said that the purpose that He was sent to this corrupt world was to share this message of The Kingdom.
He was specifically sent here to make all men know of God’s love for them and the great restoration he was planning.

John 3:3 ~ Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

In fact, the entire reason Jesus said that a man must be born again was so that he could be a part of this coming Kingdom.

Acts 1:3 ~ To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

After Jesus rose from the dead, he had a limited amount of time to continue teaching his disciples. He took this opportunity to teach them about things pertaining to this Kingdom.

Acts 28:30-31 ~ Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence.

Paul the great Apostle spent much time preaching the Kingdom of God.
When he had a chance to teach people who came to him for instruction his great focus was on two subjects. First the Kingdom of God and second, the great King of that Kingdom, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 23:13 ~ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Since this Kingdom is God’s true restoration plan for man’s benefit, our enemy Satan does not want anyone to obtain it.
The prime objective of Satan’s children is to shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men, to ensure people are not able to enter this Kingdom

This Kingdom Will Be All Powerful & On The Restored Earth

Daniel 2:44 ~ In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

All God’s prophets have taught that God promises to set up a new Kingdom that will not be subject to corruption.
This one Kingdom will consume all the governments and kingdoms currently existing and its rule will never come to an end.

Dan 7:13-14 ~ Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days.… There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The King of this Kingdom will have glory, dominion and authority over all the nations. This dominion will be eternal and the Kingdom will never be destroyed.
Before Jesus came to earth, it was prophesied that this King would be a Son of man, a human being just like us. This truly is Jesus Christ, the Messiah!

Luke 13:28-29 ~ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

The Kingdom will be a real physical place where all the righteous people from every generation will be sitting with each other in enjoyment.
The greatest pain and anguish you could experience in life is to realize that you had missed out on Gods restoration plan. To realize that you could have sat with all the prophets of God and enjoyed this eternal Kingdom but instead lost it all for a few brief pleasures of a corrupt world.

Luke 22:28-30 ~ Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.

When the disciples asked Jesus what their reward would be for forsaking their lives and following him Jesus did not say they would go to heaven.
Jesus promises rather that they would inherit a Kingdom where they would eat, drink, and rejoice in Jesus presence.

Revelation 5:9-10 ~ Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood… And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The great promise to all God’s people that have been redeemed to him is that they will be kings and priests to God in this Kingdom.
Clearly, this Kingdom will not be in heaven but will be ‘on the earth’.
Remember how God originally planned for mankind to subdue the earth. Now God says that in this new Kingdom we will reign on the earth.

2 Peter 3:10&13 ~ The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Here we get a glimpse of how this restoration project will unfold. The old heavens and earth will be melted and burned up with fire.
Consider this as a great recycling project. What was all corrupted and defiled will go through the great fervent heat and come out brand new.
What will result is what may be called a new heavens and a new earth and this will be the future home of the righteous.

Romans 8:21 ~ The creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

This new earth will actually be the old earth recycled, made new, and completely delivered from the corruption it was subjected to in the curse.

It Will Be Pain Free, Glorious, & It’s Citizens Are Immortal

Revelation 21:1-5 ~ I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

What a marvelous picture is here given of this Kingdom. There is a new heaven and a new earth and a Holy City or Kingdom. Now God once more dwells with mankind. The righteous now eternally become his people and he is their God.
There is absolutely no more curse in this Kingdom. There are no more tears, sorrow, crying, pain, or death. The restoration plan is now complete and all the old things have been done away with. All things have been made new. How glorious!
The angel said ‘write’, meaning share this message with all mankind. Preach the good news of this Kingdom. Why? Because the words of this revelation of the coming kingdom are absolutely faithful and true!

Revelation 22:14 ~ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

God promises that those who keep his commandments will be able to enter through the gates into this City / Kingdom.
Remember the Tree of Life in the garden… The one mankind was barred from so that he would not be able to live forever? God promises here that in this Kingdom we will once again be granted access to this tree that gives immortality. We will now be able to live forever!

God Has Revealed Who Will Inherit This Eternal Kingdom

Matthew 5:3&10 ~ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus taught extensively about the Kingdom and who would enter it. He teaches that it will be those who are righteous and persecuted because of it.

James 2:5 ~ James 2:5 Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Those who are poor in this present world and yet are rich in faith and love God will inherit this Kingdom.

Daniel 7:18 ~ The saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Only those termed saints will receive this Kingdom. Saints is a term that means sanctified or separate from the world.

Matthew 13:40-43 ~ As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus makes it clear that a man’s moral state will determine his eligibility to enter the Kingdom.
Those who commit sin and do offensive things will be cast into the furnace and burned but those who are righteous will shine in the Kingdom.

Matthew 25:34 ~ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Jesus here teaches that righteous acts of kindness are the reason these people were inheriting the Kingdom.
Those who have lived a life of self-denial and been a blessing to God’s people will truly be the ones who will inherit this Kingdom.

The Kingdom Already Exists Spiritually And Must Entered Now

Luke 17:20-21 ~ The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Although the Kingdom is coming in the future in its physical sense, it is already here in a spiritual sense. God is on the throne with Christ reigning at his right hand. The Kingdom exists and must become a present reality within ourselves.
We must not only look to the coming physical Kingdom but it is imperative that in this life we enter into The Kingdom spiritually.

Matthew 13:38 ~ The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Even now, those who are righteous are termed children of the Kingdom. This means that they already have their citizenship and have obtained rights to a place in the coming Kingdom.

Philippians 3:20 ~ For our conversation [politeuma: citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

In this coming Kingdom, citizenship is something that must be obtained before the Kingdom physically appears.
Through following the plan God has laid out for our salvation we can presently obtain this citizenship, which will guarantee our entrance and acceptance in the coming Kingdom.

Colossians 1:12-13 ~ The Father… Hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

It is when a person escapes the power of darkness through the salvation of God that they are spiritually implanted into this Kingdom.
In fact, it is this entering the Kingdom spiritually now, which grants our citizenship and guarantee’s entrance into the physical Kingdom to come.

Romans 14:17 ~ For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

When a person enters the Kingdom of God spiritually, there is a spiritual manifestation of the Kingdom in their hearts. It is the evidence that they have entered and have now obtained citizenship.
A major part of this evidence in the heart is that they are now filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit of God!

Ephesians 1:13-14 ~ In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest [arrhabon: a pledge or down payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

When we enter The Kingdom, we also receive a seal upon our lives, which acts as a sort of down payment in hopes of the full reward.
If we possess and continue to possess this seal of God’s Holy Spirit until the end then we will receive the full purchased possession, The Kingdom!

2 Peter 1:10-11 ~ Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Because these things are so, we must give all diligence to make sure we are now citizens and remain citizens of this Kingdom.
If we do these things, we can know that we will be granted a grand entrance into this everlasting Kingdom!