Good News - The King is Coming ...by Rick Joyner

The seventh and last trumpet of God in the Book of Revelation is the message "our God reigns!" This is the last message that will go out from God at the end of this age and will help usher in the age when God reigns over the earth through His Son Jesus, and His Bride, the Church.

Jesus purchased the earth by His own Blood, and He is not coming back to destroy it but to restore it, as we read in such texts as Revelation 21:1-7:

Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

"He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son."

The Greatest Hope Ever Heard on Earth

We have the greatest hope that has ever been heard on the earth. It is a hope that will not disappoint. It is the Gospel, or "Good News," of the Kingdom. One of our primary purposes at the end of this age is to proclaim the coming Kingdom of God. This is not bad news about how things are falling apart and judgment coming, but the good news that the King is coming. He is going to make everything right again. The earth will be restored, and it will be the paradise it was originally created to be.

The text above begins with declaring the coming of a new Heaven and earth, but this is not speaking of the physical earth but rather the spiritual. There was also a new heaven and earth after the flood, which spoke of a new spiritual realm and a new social order on the earth. We are told that God is going to establish His dwelling place on earth among men. In places such as Daniel 2:44, we are told that the Kingdom He establishes will last forever. The Lord did not suffer on the Cross to come back and destroy the earth but to save it.

Jesus won the authority to set up His Kingdom and could have done it immediately after His resurrection. However, He is seeking a Bride to reign with Him. There were other reasons why this age had to play out, but the main one was "training for reigning" for His people. The overcomers of this age will be resurrected with a new spiritual or heavenly body like His, but we, too, will reign with Him over the earth. He has not given us many details about this, but He has given us just what we need to make it through this age.

Build a Highway to Prepare the Way for the Lord

The highway that is spoken of in such places as Isaiah 40 is the bridge between this age and the next. A highway is a prepared road for people to travel on. Some cut through bushes, forests, and swamps, bringing mountains down and raising up the low places so that others could get on the road they have made so they can make it to their destination much faster and easier. Therefore, one of our basic goals should be to make the way easier for all who come after us.

So, our first mandate is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom, and our second mandate is to help build a highway to prepare the way for the Lord. The highway is God's "higher way." While we see the kingdoms of this world collapsing as in Daniel 2, the little stone grows into a mountain and then keeps on growing until it fills the whole earth. That little stone is the Kingdom of God. It is growing now. We need to understand how it is in contrast to the kingdoms of this world, and we need to recognize where it is growing.

We also see in Revelation 11:15 that when the seventh and last message goes forth, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord. A transition is coming. Not all of the kingdoms or governments of this world are evil and will be destroyed. Though none are in perfect harmony with God at this time, some which have been built may be a part of the highway that will help lead mankind to the Kingdom. For this reason, it should be our resolve that our nation would be one of these. This is why we are devoted to being the salt and light we are called to be in our nation, engaged in the times as representatives of the Kingdom, helping to make the way easier for others to travel.

"Simplify"

For the last few years, we have gone through times when a new crisis or major controversy seemed to be happening every month, to now, when it seems like we are facing two or three a week. Certainly these times are becoming more intense, but this does not mean that we need to feel increased pressure in our personal lives. We have a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. If we have built our lives on that Kingdom, the whole world can shake, but we won't. If we shake every time the world does, then we need to examine where we may be wrongly connected to the world instead of the Kingdom.

One word that Christians seem to be getting everywhere is to simplify. Studies on happiness have found that the happiest people on the earth are those who have the simplest lives. We are not here just to be happy, but if we are abiding in the King and His Kingdom, the Scriptures make it clear that we will be full of joy. We are called to bring peace to a world falling into increasing chaos, and we cannot do this if we do not have peace in our personal lives. The times of conspicuous consumption and basing our lifestyles on our ability to borrow are likely gone for good. This is a new day, but it can be a better day for everyone.

If you are still looking at a mountain of problems, take encouragement from the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6-7:

"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts.

'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!'"

First we need a plan and specific goals for simplifying our personal lives. Then we need to look at the mountain we may be facing and declare the grace of God over it. God's grace is far more valuable than a lifetime of effort. When we turn to the grace of God, as we always should, we can expect the mountain before us to become a plain. It may not happen all at once, but it will happen.

A Peace the World Will Not Be Able to Comprehend

Remember that ANY JOB IS DOABLE IF BROKEN DOWN INTO SMALL ENOUGH STEPS. Determine that your mountain is going to be moved and that you will not stop until it becomes a plain before you. The Holy Spirit is not "the Doer," but rather the "Helper." He will not do it without us, but if we engage, He will make it happen.

Then determine that you are going to enjoy these times! One of our purposes is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Gospel is good news that is going to be a great contrast to all of the other news people are hearing. We are also told in Romans 14:17, "for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." So to proclaim this good news, we will need to be demonstrating the righteousness, the peace, and the joy in the Holy Spirit.

If we are walking in righteousness, which is doing what is right in the sight of the Lord, we will know a peace the world will not be able to comprehend, and it will cause us to stick out more and more in the times to come. This peace leads to a joy that will likewise becoming a shocking contrast to the despair that the world is experiencing. This is why, as we are told in Isaiah 60, that when darkness is covering the earth and deep darkness the people, the glory of the Lord is appearing on His people – and the nations will come to the light. The darkness will only make the light that much brighter, and the light will prevail.

So let us resolve that each week we will make some progress in getting our lives simpler and ourselves freer to do what we are called to do. These are the times that all who have walked with God have foreseen and longed to see, and we get to live in them! So let us really live, which we do as we abide in Christ who is our Life.

Rick Joyner