But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom
forever, even forever and ever — Daniel 7:18.
Regarding the coming of the kingdom, the false doctrine of a future Great Tribulation (Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21) is taught by practically all churches today including, but not limited to, Evangelical Churches, Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostal Churches, Adventist Churches, Latter Day Churches, New Age Churches, and so on. This error leads to fear, confusion, myths or fables, unfulfilled expectations, loss of genuine faith in God (see Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 18:8b below) and ultimately destruction and results from the failure of the churches of today to apply the very first principle of interpretation of prophecy, namely, that Scripture must be allowed to interpret Scripture as written in 2 Peter 1:20-21, Proverbs 3:5 and elsewhere.
2 Peter 1:20-21
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.
Many sincerely believe that they have faith in God but they will be surprised to learn that what they sincerely believed was their faith in God was actually a fatal delusion. Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 18:8b and other portions of Scripture illustrate this fact. Those who refuse to accept the truth as recorded in Scripture are given over to a strong delusion including believing the fake or lying signs and wonders or fake miracles performed in the churches and earning damnation for themselves — refer to 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. Among such are those described in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 as having itching ears, who gather to themselves teachers that teach them exactly what they wish to hear instead of the truth of sound doctrine.
Luke 18:8b
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?
Matthew 7:21-23
21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
In The Great Tribulation, we demonstrate the clear and certain teaching of Scripture that the Great Tribulation, Coming with Clouds and related events prophesied in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 1:7 and elsewhere in Scripture are past events that all took place in the first century AD during the lifetime of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ and that correspond to the events surrounding the Fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Second Temple occasioned by the Roman Empire sometime around 66-70 AD.
Who are the Saints of the Most High who possess the kingdom?
Those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus — Revelation 12:17b.
What are the commands of God that must be kept? As written in Romans 13:8-10, all the commands are summarized in the command that we love our neighbor as ourselves.
Romans 13:8-10
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
And what is this testimony about Jesus. The testimony is laid bare in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, namely, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
In The Future According to Scripture, we outline what we can confidently look forward to in the future based on the sure testimony of Scripture.
And in Why We Believe, we provide evidence for the veracity of the prophecies contained in Scripture.