THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST

For almost 2,000 years, theologians and preachers have misunderstood the true gospel. They were and still are preaching the gospel about the Person of Christ instead of the gospel of Christ - which is the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom of God is NOT the gospel of grace or about the Person of Christ. Instead, Christ is to be preached in conjuction with the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father as a Messenger to proclaim the coming kingdom of God that will be ushered in when He returns to reign over all the earth and displace Satan as the god and ruler of this world (2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). If the gospel is about saving grace and the Person of Christ, it would be meaningless since when Christ started to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God with His disciples, none of His disciples then knew that He would be crucified, and could not have preached the gospel without having any knowledge of it!

Jesus Christ came to be KING over all the earth when He returns to reign with the kingdom's headquarters in Jerusalem. The kingdom of God will be the time of  'Sabbeth rest' that those who are called and chosen to be sons - members of the Divine Family - they will have to strive now (Hebrews 4:11) to become overcomers (Rev 3:21) in order to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). When the kingdom of God is ushered at His return, sufferings, misery, wars and evils will disappear - world peace and prosperity, happiness and righteousness will prevail over all the earth. In essence, the gospel is the Good News of the coming government of God that Christ was sent by the Heavenly Father to preach (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43) and all His disciples are commissioned to do likewise (Matthew:28:19-20).

The Apostle Philip preached the gospel of the kingdom of God AND the name of Jesus Christ to the Samaritans (Acts 8:12) as two separate matters. Similarly, Paul preached the gospel of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles for three months (Acts 19:8). And  to both the Jews and Gentiles, Paul preached the kingdom of God (Acts 20:25)... repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 21)... showing that the gospel is preached alongside the role of Christ as Saviour and Lord. When Paul was in house arrest, he faithfully preached the kingdom of God AND teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31).

The Apostle Paul warns in 2 Cor 11: 4 about preaching 'another Jesus or a different gospel'.  If Christ is the gospel, why would Paul cites these two as separate doctrinal errors? Paul plainly distinguishd the teaching of a false Jesus and a false gospel as two separate errors! All these clearly show that the Messenger is Christ and the gospel message is the kingdom of God. A deceived world has confused the gospel message with the Messenger. They simply focus on the Messenger and ignore His message. Such grave ommision will bring about God's judgement upon the coming Day of the Lord!

The message about the coming kingdom of God is the very core of the Bible. Enoch - Noah's great grandfather - prophesied that the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all (Jude 14-15),  a reference to Christ's Second Coming to reign as King over all the earth. Noah is the eighth preacher of righteousness (the coming kingdom of God) - 2 Peter 2:5 - while Enoch is the seventh preacher, showing that there were eight preachers in all proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God with Abel as the first preacher of righteousness in the centuries leading to the Flood.

The same gospel was also preached to Abraham (Galatians 3:8) - probably by Melchizedek - in that through him all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This can only happen when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth. Since Moses penned the book of Genesis, he must have known of the gospel of the kingdom. In many of his Psalms, David wrote of the coming kingdom of God, like 'For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth' (Ps 67:4). The major and minor prophets of the Old Testament all preached the gospel of the kingdom of God.

The prophet Isaiah is a great preacher and writer of the coming kingdom of God. In the often quoted but misunderstood verses of Isaiah 9:6-7, he prophesied of the First and Second coming of Christ Who will sit on the throne of David (currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II of UK) to establish His government of peace and righteousness forever. It will be a time when the knowledge of God will be made known throughout the entire world (Isaiah 11:9) and how the government of God will be spread throughout the earth and war will be no more (Isaiah 2:2-4). The prophet Micah recorded this identical prophecy in Micah 4:1-3. Christ spoke of this in His parable of the leaven recorded in Luke 13:20-21 in which the kingdom of God is like a leaven which spreads until it fills its host.

 The prophet Jeremiah foretold of a time when Christ the King shall reign over all Judah (Jews and Benjaminites) and Israel (the 'lost ten tribes of Israel') as the THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5). This can only happen when Christ has returned to earth to reign as the King of kings and Lord of Lords! Ezekiel describes of a time when God will bring all the Israelites, who are now scattered all over the earth, into the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) - Ezekiel 36:24.  Daniel wrote of a time when God will set up a kingdom that will stand forever (Daniel 2:44).

As to the minor prophets, with the possible exception of Jonah (he probably did but was not recorded), all of them wrote and preached the gospel of the kingdom of God (Hosea 2:16, 19; Joel 2:21-27; Amos 9:11-15; Obadiah 21; Micah 4:1-3; Habakkuk 2:14; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 14:1-3, 8-9; Malachi 3:1-3) in one way or another. The Apostle Peter spoke and wrote that God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets the gospel of the kingdom since the world began (Acts 3:21). All who are called by God to be His servants will preach the same message as Christ preached, as did all the prophets and the Apostles. The Lord Christ Himself affirmed that, 'the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me' (John 14:24).

Make no mistake, no man can bring about the kind of government that will solve man's problems. Only a miraculous divine intervention through Christ will bring about permanent change ruled by the Family of God with Christ as the King. The ultimate destiny of man is to be born again as immortal spirit god-being upon resurrection to participate in the future spreading of God's government - not just upon the earth, but throughout the universe (Isaiah 9:7)! Those who have ears, let them hear.

JESUS CHRIST OF THE BIBLE (2)

Most traditional churches believe that Jesus Christ was in the grave from Friday to Sunday - celebrated by Good Friday and Easter Monday. But in truth, He was in the grave from Wednesday to Saturday when He arose on a Sabbath day - a full three days and three nights in the grave! As Jesus said that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17) so shall the Son of Man be  (Matt 12: 39-40) - nothing more and nothing less.

Jesus Christ was the WORD made flesh upon His incarnation as a Human Being. He was with God the Father right from the beginning (John 1: 1-2) and was the SpokesPerson of the Old Testament in the encounters with Moses. After His incarnation, the WORD became known as Jesus Christ, a Man born of the virgin Mary. Jesus always spoke and expressed the truth and will of God the Father. The truth and will of God are expressed in the Bible (The WORD in written form), the Laws of God and the gospel of the kingdom of God which Christ was commissioned to preach ('I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent ' -Luke 43).  Most preachers ignored the gospel and preach only the Person of Christ, mistaken that the kingdom of God is the church or the gospel about Christ (different from the gospel of Christ that the Lord preached) - but they are all separate and distinct (See Acts 8:12, Acts 28:31). A true minister of Christ must preach the full gospel or none at all.

The question as to why Jesus was delivered to the Romans to be executed is not fully understood by most Bible teachers. Most taught that the Jews do not have the mandate to put any of their own to death, citing John 18:31, 'It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death' . However, in practice, they do have the power to authorise capital punishment except where it involved treason or sedition against the Roman government. Stephen was accused of blasphemy and was stoned to death by the Jews (Acts 7:59-60), there is no mention of Roman government involvement in that case. On several occasions, the chief priests and scribes attempted to kill the Lord Jesus (Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47) and even the Jews (John 10:31), with or without approval from the Roman authority.

Although accused of blasphemy by the high priests, the religious leaders conspired to finish off Jesus through false charges of treason - by leaving the unpleasant task of execution to Pontius Pilate.  They were all mistaken into believing that Jesus was going to set up the kingdom of God there and then in His first advent. That would threaten their own authority among the Jews with tacit support from the Roman government. Fast forward two thousand years later, the church is still mistaken that Christ had already set up the kingdom of God when He first came - in the church and the through preaching the gospel of grace! The truth is the kingdom of God has yet to be established, but will only be when He returns (Rev 11:15).

It is a fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of mankind and accepting Him as Saviour will give the hope of eternal life after resurrection. But this hope of eternal life will be realised only after His Second Coming, not anytime before. All who are dead, both believers and unbelievers, are sleeping in the grave, and not in heaven (John 3:13) or roasting in hell (Proverbs 30:4) as many Christians believe. Acts 2: 29 and 34 state unequivocally us that not even David - a man after God's own heart - has gone to heaven but is in the grave. Hebrews 11:13 further confirms that even the founding fathers of the Old Testament times have all died in faith, yet to receive their promise of eternal life! The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:19 states, 'the creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of God' - all those who are called and chosen as members of the Divine Family will be in the first resurrection when Christ returns.

The rest of all humanity who have ever lived will be resurrected as reconstituted flesh and blood mortals in the second resurrection towards the end of the millennium age and be given all the truth to accept Christ as Saviour. Those who refused will be annihilated in the lake of fire. All who received forgiveness and salvation though the shed Blood of Christ (Acts 4:12) will be given immortal life in the kingdom of God. Christ and His chosen saints will rule the earth and then the universe for all of eternity. All these and more are clearly stated in God's Plan of Salvation for mankind through the seven Holy Days' festivals found in Leviticus 23. These are God's universal truth meant for all mankind regardless of race, background or when they lived. But only a small group will have the faith to believe the WORD at face value and will be greatly rewarded.

JESUS CHRIST OF THE BIBLE (I)

Millions of people are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ the world over every Christmas season. But sadly, few understand Who is He and what is the purpose of His ministry on earth and why is He coming again. Millions and perhaps billions down the centuries taught they know better, since the message of Christmas is well publicised and rooted in the festive season of merry-making, celebration and commerce. However, the true Jesus Christ of the Bible is far different from 'another Jesus' that the Apostle Paul spoke of in 2 Corinthians 11:4.

To begin with, Jesus was certainly not born on December 25 as the story weaved it out to be. Luke 2:8 tells us that there were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night when Christ was born. Since it is winter season in December, both sheep and shepherd could not  be out in the field as it is rainy and cold. The likely explanation is that in the Roman world, December 25 is a time of merrymaking to celebrate the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia with exchanges of gifts and presents.

From a young age, Jesus was well acquainted with the Law of God - the commandments, statutes, precepts and judgments. He kept the Holy Days of God while He walked the earth. After all, as the Rock of the Old Testament (1 Cor 10:4), it was Jesus Christ who delivered the Ten Commandments to Israel atop Mount Sinai. As God of the Old Testament (John 1:1-3), Christ knew and understood the customs and traditions of the Jews very well.

Movies and paintings portray Jesus Christ as an effiminate Guy with long hair, as theologians mistaken Him to be a Nazarite sworn with Nazarite vows. But nowhere in Scriptures is mentioned that Christ had sworn such vows, otherwise He would not have drank wine and touched any dead body as that would be forbidden and considered unclean. If Jesus Christ had worn long hair, that would have gone against the customs of His times as man of those days kept their hair short. Scriptures teach that Christ escaped His enemies several times by merging with the crowd, and if He had kept long hair that would distinguish Him like a sore thumb. Besides, the Apostle Paul advised against keeping long hair for men (1 Cor 11:14) as it is a dishonour to do so. Certainly, such a distorted image of Christ falls squarely against the teachings of the Bible!

During the first centuries B.C and A.D., the Jews were very much oppressed by the Roman occupation in paying of taxes (up to 40 percent of their crop produce) in addition to the tithe (10 percent) for the Temple. In such harsh conditions, many were hopeful of the Messiah to come and deliver them from oppression of the Roman authorities. Many had been deceived by self-proclaimed false christ during those times, but only few truly believed Jesus Christ as the true Messiah as prophesied and sent by God the Father.

The Jews of the times of Christ could not accept Him as their Messiah because they misunderstood Scripture. They thought that their Messiah would come in pomp and glory to demolish the Roman Empire and set them free from bondage and establish an eternal kingdom based on various Old Testament prophecies. But man's ways are not God's ways (Isaiah 55:8). God sent Christ to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom and to die for the sins of man, so that man can be reconciled back to God. Christ's first advent was to qualify to rule the kingdom of God upon His return when He overcome the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. Because Christ was obedient to the Father's will, He was granted the right to rule in the coming kingdom - the divine government that will bring justice and peace to the whole world. That has yet to happen - the Jews missed the mark and so do millions of Christians in Christendom today!

The Roman authorities felt threatened, and so do the Jewish religious leaders in the days of Christ because they were fearful that their own standing among the Jews and hence their jobs as civil servants of the Roman Empire would be undermined.  They inderstood that Christ was preaching the Gospel of the kingdom - the divine government that will replace all human governments - but they misundersood the exact timing. The religious leaders mistakenly thought that the kingdom of God would come in Christ's time on earth. Even Christ's own disciples got the timing wrong right up to the time of His ascension, when they asked Him, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' (Acts 1:6).

It is God the Father,  and not Christ Who called each and every one of His children to repentance (John 6:44,65) and lead the Christian way of life so as to be born into God's kingdom at the first resurrection (happen at Christ's Second Coming). And to be born into the kingdom of God - His divine Family - one must live according to the laws governing the kingdom of God. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is the epitome of the laws and principles governing the kingdom. What the millions in Christendom believe and practise today are mostly contrary to Scripture, being deceived into believing that the Old Testament has been done away with as 'Christ had nailed it to the cross' -and that those teachings are only for the Jews. As foretold by Christ and the Apostle Paul, most will simply miss it all!

GOD'S HOLY DAYS (2)

The first three festivals represent the personal responses to the workings of those whom God has called and chosen. But the Feast of Trumpets heralds the start of God's intervention in the affairs of mankind on a global basis.  The Feast of Trumpets typifies the Second Coming of Christ Who will return to earth to establish the kingdom of God. Revelation reveals the sequence of events leading to His return in a series of seven trumpet blasts. The sounding of the last trumpet blast by the seventh angel culminates the establishment of the kingdom of God (Rev 11:15).

The establishment of God's kingdom on earth is the consummation of the blessed hope prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah 9: 6-7; Daniel 2:44, 7:18,22, 27) and reinforced by His disciples in the New Testament (Acts 1:6). This Feast speaks of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) coming to rule as a King with authority and power. Christ on His first advent had clearly differentiated between His first and second coming (John 18:36-37). The Lord had emphasised the importance of spreading the gospel - the good news of the coming kingdom of God - instead of focusing on when it will happen (Acts 1:6-8).

The Feast of Trumpets also signals a resurrection of the dead. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first  (1 Thess 4:16) -  and this is followed immediately by the people of God who are alive at that time (verse 17). Scriptures call this 'the first resurrection' - Rev 20:5, which is also known as  'a better resurrection' - Heb11:35. When Christ returns to establish His millennial kingdom on earth, there will be perfect government, peace, prosperity and an abundant way of life like never before.

While the Passover symbolises the shedding of Christ's blood for the atoning for our past sins, The Day of Atonement typifies the reconciliation of God and all of humanity. The difference between the two is that the Passover is applicable to those whom God has called, The Day of Atonement  carries universal application to all of mankind. Moreover, it signals the removal of the main instigator of sin - Satan himself will be incarcerated for a thousand years during the milliennial rule of Christ (Rev 20: 2-3).

The Day of Atonement is looking forward to the time when mankind will no longer be under the deception and influence of Satan and his demons. The sending away of the 'scapegoat' into the wilderness  (Leviticus 16: 21-22) is a typology of the removal of the sins of the people and placing it upon the evil spirits to whom it belongs. Since spirit beings cannot be annihilated, Satan and the demons will probably be cast into the outer corner of the universe where there is blackness of darkness forever and devoid of anything good (Jude 12-13) - an existence far worse than death!

The next Holy Day in God's Master Plan for mankind is the Feast of Tabernacles. The Apostle Peter spoke of the times of refreshing and the times of restoration of all things (Acts 3:19-21) on the day of Pentecost. But what exactly do these mean?  The times of refreshing refers to the banishment of Satan depicted by the Day of Atonement and the times of restoration of all things refers to the return of Christ's reign on earth when He comes symbolises by the Feast of Tabernacles. Together with the sons of God being born again as immortal spirit beings into the Divine Family, they will begin the restoration of planet earth and all the value systems of this world (Satan inspired) being replaced with God's laws and righteousness. That is the good news for the future of the new Jerusalem and new earth will be as paradise.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied not just of Christ's birth and His earthly ministry (Isaiah 9: 6-7), but also His return in power and glory (Isaiah 66:15-16). The Feast of Tabernacles is also a reflection of the rest symbolises by the weekly Sabbath (Hebrews 4:1-11). It celebrates the great harvest to come for all of humanity when they will all know Christ and the ways of God the Father. One of the restoration processes is to reverse the effect of sins, when the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap and the deaf will hear (Isaiah 35:5-6) without the need of medicine and surgery. Even the nature of the animal kingdom will be changed as they live in harmony with each other (Isaiah 11:6-7).

The purpose of the millennial rule of Christ is to bring the multitudes into the kingdom of God with the help of kings and priests who are called during the church age (Rev 5:10). They will be given power over the nations (Rev 2:26). Since it is God's desire that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4), the Lord Christ explains how this will come to pass. In John 7: 37-38, Christ mentioned on the Last Great Day (the eighth day - Lev 23:39) that all who thirst will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, a symbolism that the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh (Joel 2:28) - but this has not fully taken place in the church age. Billions  of people who have died without their spiritual needs being met will be resurrected (John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15) to have the opportunity to learn God's truth and be refreshed after Christ's return.

GOD'S HOLY DAYS (1)

God' s holy days are specific commandmants for all man to keep, whether Jews or Gentiles. These holy days are spelt out in Levitius 23 but man change it to holidays. As such millions are celebrating man-made holidays without knowing and understanding their origins in the mistaken belief that they are worshipping and honouring God. But nothing is further from the truth - they are actually worshipping and honouring God in vain - 'And in vain they worship Me,  teaching as doctrines the commandments of men' (Mark 7:7).

The prophet Daniel prophesied in 7:25 that a 'ten-horn' kingdom would change the times and law of God - a direct reference to a revivied Roman Empire now forming in Europe. The current Eurozone turmoil bear testimony to what is forming and going to happen as prophesied in Scriptures. The fourth commandment on Sabbath keeping was and still is on the seventh day (Saturday) and never on Sunday. Similarly, Christmas and Easter were never God's holy days to keep, but Christianized by churches, theologians and preachers in collaboration with businessmen of the world for merry-making and profits.

Such pagan holidays as Christmas (Saturnalia), Easter (festival of Ishtar), New Year and Halloween are variations of sun and idol worship and are condemned in the Old Testament as idolatry. They were practised by the Romans and the Greeks long before the first advent of Christ. Many have misunderstood the true meaning of Colossian 2:16-17 - what it actually meant is that only the true Church (body of Christ) can decide on what is the sabbath (which is Saturday) as determined in Exodus 20:8-11 and God's holy days as determined in Leviticus 23. Such important commandments should not be determined by men.

God's seven annual Holy Days are also called Feasts or Sabbaths. Each of the seven Holy Days is a typology of the Master Plan of God the Father for mankind, which many theologians wrongly assumed it is only for the Jews. Four times in Leviticus 23, God states that His Feasts are a statute forever (14, 21, 31, 41) to be celebrated as the promise of hope for all mankind. The first is the Passover (Lev 23:5; 1 Cor 5:7) which Paul instructed the church to keep the feast (1 Cor 5:8), although the mode is changed but the spirit of it should be intact. The Passover denotes God's plan for His chosen people (Israelites ) to be free from slavery in Egypt. The church is the modern equivalent as a people called out from the systems and values of the world. The Passover feast was observed by Christ, His apostles and the church of the New Testament (Matt 26:2, 17-19; Mark 14: 12-16; Luke 2: 41-42, 22:1, 7-20; John 2: 13, 23, 6:4, 13:1-30; 1 Cor 11: 23-29). Paul and the other apostles consistently taught that all Christians are to follow the example of Christ (1 John 2:6).

This is followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23: 6-8; Acts 20:6), the lesson of leaving sin behind in our life after the cleansing Blood of Christ. It is also known as the Days of Unleavened Bread (Acts 12:3). When the Israelites fled Egypt ( a type of  'former sinful life' ), they ate unleavened bread for seven days (Exodus 12:15). Jesus kept this Feast of Unleavened Bread as a child (Luke 2:41) and as an adult (Matt 26:17).  The celebration is a remembrance that God delivers us from our sin and eternal death. Our observance of the Feast is to remind ourselves of Christ's help in delivering us and helping us overcome sin through the indwelling Holy Spirit in our life.

God reminded His people how they harvested their crops is how He is going to harvest people for His kingdom. The next festival, The Feast of Pentecost ( Lev 23: 15-22; Acts 20:16 - also known as Feast of Harvest  in Exodus 23:16) represents the firstfruits (the church - James 1:18)) gathered at the spring harvest in ancient Israel. The gift of Pentecost is the Holy Spirit signified by the speaking in various languages, with the people of different language group hearing the speech of the disiples in each of their own native language as if different interpreters were present, but there were none except God's Holy Spirit. Because of human weaknesses and frailty, all believers would need the help of the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God. Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8: 29) and the church is the firstfruits (James 1:18) - which means that subsequent fruits will come after Christ's return (Acts 15:17).

THE THREE RESURRECTIONS

The Bible is clear on the resurrection of the dead. But not all humans who have ever lived will be resurrected at the same time . For there is an order of the resurrection, as the Apostle Paul states in 1 Cor 15:22-23, ' For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming'. Those who are Christ's - meaning those true disciples who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit  (Rom 8:11) - will be in the First Resurrection (Rev 20:5) as the firstfruits of the salvation. The rest of humanity will have to await the Second Resurrection towards the end of the Millennial Age - 'But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished (Rev 20:5)'.

The Apostle Paul describes the First Resurrection clearly in 1 Cor 15:51-53 thus, ' Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.' Those raised at the First Resurrection will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev 20:5-6). Those in the First Resurrection will never die again - they are born again as spirit beings and immortal (Rev 20:6)! This is a 'better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35) as they will bear the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2), the image of the heavenly Man (1 Cor 15:48).

The rest of the dead (Rev 20:5) are all who died but never truly knowing Christ (though many claimed otherwise  -Matthew 7:21-23) including all those who rejected Him as their personal Saviour are two different groups of people facing different destinies. Those who never rejected Christ but yet do not have the real truth will be offered salvation at the second resurrection at the great white throne judgement recorded in Revelation 20: 11-12. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied of all the dead Israelites coming back to life as their graves were opened to become flesh and blood human beings again (Ezekiel 37:1-10). A merciful God will not allowed any to perish without first letting them know the truth.

Millions wrongly assume the Great White Throne Judgment as condemnation for all mankind who never knew Christ. But this is inconsistent with Christ's teaching in Matthew chapter 11. Jesus clearly teaches that all who are in the graves (all the dead) will hear His voice (John 5:28). Christ warns in Matthew 11:21-22, 'Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.'  What Christ is teaching here is about a future judgment when people of His day and age will be judge alongside those who lived centuries earlier.  And all these people will be judged according to their works. They will given ample opportunities to repent of their sins and receive salvation after the second resurrection!

Going down in Matthew 11:23-24 , Christ was comparing Capernaun and Sodom. Even though the people of Sodom sinned greatly some 2,000 years before the time of Christ, they would had repented had Christ done a similar work among them as He did to Capernaum! But all will be given opportunity to repent after the judgment by Christ and offered salvation for those willing to truly repent of their sins as the blood of Christ is available for all people of all ages. Even more astonishing teaching came from Christ in Matthew 12:41 where Christ states that the men of Ninevah will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented in the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. Similarly, the queen of the South (Queen of Sheba)  too will be resurrected in a future judgment to condemn the state of unbelief during the times of Christ, when that generation lived some one thousand years earlier than the times of Christ (Matt 12:42). Since there is no indication that the queen was saved, she could not have arisen to condem the spiritual state of another age during the time of judgment if she is 'burning in hell'.

Paul affirmed the similar truth in Romans 11:26 when he states that the whole house of Israel will be saved . How can this be since most are non believers and were already dead long time ago? For there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just (first resurrection) and the unjust (second resurrection)- Acts 24:15. Why is this so? Because blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has all come in - Rom 11: 25. God's MasterPlan has a timeline for everything under the sun, but only those who are called fully understand the truth (Proverbs 25:2; Matt 13:11).

A perfect and merciful God has to be just. Those who knowingly and wilfully defy God will be judged in the final and third resurrection for which there is no possibility of resurrection - the second death - in the lake of fire (Rev 20:14-15). The wages of sin is death and not eternal life in hell. God in His mercy will annihilate them in the lake of fire (Malachi 4:1) as if they have never been born, to put an end to their misery.

WHY ALL THE HUMAN SUFFERINGS?

The issue of human sufferings has been debated for millennia and will continue so till Christ returns to set up the kingdom of God on earth. As long as life exists on earth, sufferings in whatever form looks set to continue and will get increasingly worse as this church age draws to a close. The problem of sin is real, but most have no clue what sin or sins are involved that cause all the tragedies, with many incidents befalling on innocent lives. However tragic these sufferings were and are, a time is coming when all the sufferings will be history, and that is the good news the world is ignorant about.

Everyday, newswire is flooded with events of disaster and seemingly hopelessness of one kind after another. Diseases, natural disasters like volcanic eruption, tsunami, flooding, drought, poverty, conflicts and wars within and without borders  are happening at double quick time all over the world. The governments and power that be are powerless to address these problems, and will never be able to do so. The big question in the minds of most believers is why isn't God doing something, if He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient as the Bible claims Him to be so.

While it is true that sin can bring sufferings, it is not the only cause of it. In fact, many innocent people suffer tremendously in this life and died without knowing why. But all the sufferings in this world is not in vain and certainly not without God's knowledge. God is not intervening to prevent it from happening because suffering is part of God's Master Plan for mankind to develop character of Christ-likeness. In Galatians 5:22, longsuffering  - which is to suffer long - is mentioned as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. One of the reasons Christ suffered was so that He could learn obedience to God the Father (Hebrews 5:8).

I remembered as a kid watching the workers from my dad's hardware shop hammering out a piece of molten red hot iron into the desired shape they intended to form. My dad told me that the more times the malleable red hot iron is cooled in cold water after each shaping, the harder the tool implement will turn out to be. Such lessons on character formation and development had left an indelible mark on me. Little did I know then, that whatever I had seen and experienced as a child have great implications and applications for Christian living later on in my life!

Those who are called in this church age will suffer trials and tribulations in order to qualify as sons  of God to rule and reign with Christ in His coming kingdom (Acts:14:22; 2 Tim 2: 12). All others who are not called in this church age suffer as a consequences of sin of this fallen world whom Satan is currently in control (2 Cor 4:4).  Sometimes, good people faced tragedy or disaster simply because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. They may have done nothing sinful or evil to cause their death.

The Good News of the Gospel of the kingdom of God is that when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth, there will be peace and prosperity on all the earth. War and suffering will be history and all peoples on earth will learn the ways of God (Isaiah 2; 2-4). Even the animal kingdom will be reconciled to one another (Isa 11: 6-8), for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (v9). But till then, things will get worse before it gets better as the world marches towards the Great Tribulation with cataclysmic events of sufferings such as it had never seen or experienced!

The world has to undergo sufferings so that mortal humans will learn the lessons  of sins and disobedience to God's holy laws. Those who eventually learned and accept God's ways in exchange for lasting character will be born again into spirit being of immortality in the world to come and into eternity. They have great work ahead to develop the whole of the universe! All these are part of God's Master Plan for man in this present mortal life to be made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Those who are not called in this present church age will have the opportunity to learn the whole truth come the millennial age.