“Shalom” means peace in Hebrew

REVIEW

Sadly, evil came into the world when Adam & Eve disobeyed God.   Yahweh God does not like evil because God is love and He wants the best for His creation.  Evil causes death and destruction and sickness and suffering.  So sad.

But God has a plan!  He has a plan to save us from the evil.  Even His name tells us that!   His name is “YAH saves!”!  (Yahshua in Hebrew, or Jesus in English!)  He has a plan for His Kingdom on earth!   Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come”!

So our lesson today jumps to the New Testament of the Bible, the part that was written after Jesus Christ came to earth, for it’s key verse!

KEY VERSE

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but  of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

When Jesus Christ, our Savior, walked on the earth, He announced to everyone that God’s Kingdom was near!

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Matthew 4:17

Just as sin entered the world when Adam disobeyed, the Kingdom of God entered back into the earth when Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s plan.   Since then God’s Kingdom on the earth has been growing and expanding.   One day Jesus Christ, the King of Kings will return to the earth that He created and there will be peace on earth again!

A TALE OF TWO KINGDOMS

Let’s think about two kingdoms.   Right now, ever since Adam sinned, there is a big, big battle between good and evil going on in the earth, a battle between two clashing kingdoms.

On one side is the Kingdom of Darkness and Satan, the leader of the devils.  He’s trying  to takeover the earth.   Boooo!

On the other side, is the Kingdom of Heaven and King Jesus Christ, the leader of the good angels!     Yeah!

We have a choice as to whom we will follow in this fight.   When we listen to the devil, we are joining the devil in his fight against God Almighty!   But you don’t really want to do that, do you?   Then choose to follow and obey King Jesus!   His Word tells us how to obey Him!  His Spirit in us, when we decide to follow the Savior Jesus, helps us to obey!  And He forgives us when we do sin.  God knows that people can be weak and foolish and that sometimes we are tricked by the devil, just as Eve was.    So He forgives us, if we are sorry!

THE WINNER IS…….

Who do you think is going to win this battle over the earth?   The Word of God tells us that Jesus Christ will!   Satan will be thrown into a bottomless pit!  (Granny Vee thinks this pit might be what scientists call a black hole!  Just a thought.)  

“And he [God’s angel] laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him…”  Revelation  20:2-3

So the devil will be locked up so he can’t kill, steal and destroy any longer.   God has to lock up the devil so that everyone else will be safe and happy.

Then later, God will throw the whole Kingdom of Darkness, the kingdom of hell into the “lake of fire”. (Rev 20:14)   

So God wins!  Don’t you want to be on Jesus’ side?   Just believe and receive  Jesus Christ as your Savior and He will move you from the Kingdom of Darkness into His Kingdom of Light and Joy!

THE KINGDOM OF JOY

God’s Kingdom is wonderful because God is wonderful!   It is His Presence, His being there, that makes His Kingdom such a wonderful place!  Aren’t you happy to spend time with people who love you?  Yahweh God loves you more than anyone else!

Here are some Scriptures that tell us about the joys of God’s Kingdom:

“You make known to me the path of life; in your Presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  Psalm 16:11

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  Isaiah 35:10

“He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (rev 21:4)

Our sorrow and sadness will be turned into JOY when we see our Savior Jesus!

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,”  Psalm 30:11

Let us pray as Jesus taught us,  “Thy Kingdom come, O Lord!”  Praise God for He is so very good to invite us into His Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy everlasting!       “HalleluYAH!”

 (“Hallelujah!”  is Hebrew for “Praise YAH!”  meaning “Praise the LORD!”)  Granny Vee likes to write it, “HalleluYAH!” so that we remember God’s name is in this expression.)

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QUESTION:   Did God make the devil? 

ANSWER TO QUESTION:  God made everything!   But God made a good, beautiful angel named Lucifer, now more commonly called Satan or the devil.  One day, Lucifer decided that he wanted to have his own throne and kingdom.  (Isaiah 14:12-14)  So he rebelled against the God who made him and started his own little kingdom.   God threw Satan and the other disobedient angels who followed Satan out of heaven.  That’s why they are called fallen angels or demons or devils.   

So God made a good angel.  That angel, in his pride, chose the wrong path.  Satan became bad through his own disobedience, rebellion and sin.

God made us, too, but we choose ourselves to be good or bad.   We should choose to love God and obey Him.  He will help us by His Spirit to choose good.