Notice that Christ Jesus is given rulership over all “peoples, national groups and languages” and that those associated with him will “rule as kings over the earth.” Who, then, will be the subjects of this Kingdom? Those who respond positively to the good news that is being preached today. Subjects also include those who will be resurrected to life on earth and who will have the prospect of living forever.
The Bible eloquently describes the blessings the people will enjoy under the Kingdom. Here are a few of them:
“He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire.”—Psalm 46:9.
“They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating.”—Isaiah 65:21, 22.
“[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:3, 4.
“At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped. At that time the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness.”—Isaiah 35:5, 6.
“The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his [Jesus’] voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life.”—John 5:28, 29.
“The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Psalm 37:11.
That is certainly good news! What is more, fulfilled Bible prophecies show that the time is near for the Kingdom to establish its righteous rule over all the earth.
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Como vimos, la Biblia indica que a Jesús se le concedió gobernar a gente de todos “los pueblos, grupos nacionales y lenguajes”. También explica que quienes gobernarán con él reinarán “sobre la tierra”. Pero ¿quiénes son esas personas de todas las naciones que vivirán en la Tierra bajo este gobierno divino? Son aquellas que respondan bien a las buenas nuevas que se están predicando hoy. También serán súbditos del Reino los que sean resucitados para vivir aquí, en la Tierra. Todos ellos tendrán la oportunidad de tener vida eterna.
Muchos pasajes bíblicos describen con todo lujo de detalles lo que el Reino de Dios hará por la humanidad.
Estos son algunos:
“[Dios] hace cesar las guerras hasta la extremidad de la tierra. Quiebra el arco y verdaderamente corta en pedazos la lanza; quema los carruajes en el fuego.” (Salmo 46:9.)
“Edificarán casas, y las ocuparán; y [...] plantarán viñas y comerán su fruto. No edificarán y otro lo ocupará; no plantarán y otro lo comerá.” (Isaías 65:21, 22.)
“[Dios] limpiará toda lágrima de sus ojos, y la muerte no será más, ni existirá ya más lamento ni clamor ni dolor. Las cosas anteriores han pasado.” (Revelación 21:3, 4.)
“En aquel tiempo los ojos de los ciegos serán abiertos, y los oídos mismos de los sordos serán destapados. En aquel tiempo el cojo trepará justamente como lo hace el ciervo, y la lengua del mudo clamará con alegría.” (Isaías 35:5, 6.)
“Viene la hora en que todos los que están en las tumbas conmemorativas oirán su voz [la de Jesús] y saldrán, los que hicieron cosas buenas a una resurrección de vida.” (Juan 5:28, 29.)
“Los mansos mismos poseerán la tierra, y verdaderamente hallarán su deleite exquisito en la abundancia de paz.” (Salmo 37:11.)
Sin duda, las buenas nuevas del Reino nos llenan de esperanza. Y lo mejor de todo es que el cumplimiento de las profecías bíblicas demuestra que falta poco para que ese Reino gobierne sobre la Tierra.
“This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”—MATTHEW 24:14.
THAT verse, scholars agree, is highly important. It is important because of the global scope of the work it describes. And it is important because it points to what Christians should be doing—a preaching work that would precede and herald the momentous and far-reaching event that Jesus called “the end.”
That prophetic verse is being fulfilled today. You are involved because the good news contains both an invitation and a warning. It offers you a choice: Accept God’s Kingdom or oppose it. The choice you make affects your very life.
Consider the context. Several days before Jesus was impaled, the disciples came to him and asked him about the future. They were interested in knowing about the establishment of God’s Kingdom, of which Jesus had so often spoken. They also wanted to know about “the conclusion of the system of things,” or as some translations render that expression, “the end of the world.”—Matthew 24:3, American Standard Version; King James Version.
In reply, Jesus foretold that there would be large-scale wars, famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes. He also said that lawlessness would increase, false religious teachers would mislead many, and true Christians would be hated and persecuted. All of this was bad news.—Matthew 24:4-13; Luke 21:11.
But there was also good news. Jesus next spoke the words quoted above, words that have intrigued and inspired men for centuries. Though people agree about the importance of Jesus’ words, they disagree about the meaning.
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“Estas buenas nuevas del reino se predicarán en toda la tierra habitada para testimonio a todas las naciones; y entonces vendrá el fin.” (MATEO 24:14)
PARA muchos teólogos, este versículo es de importancia trascendental por dos razones. En primer lugar, describe una obra de alcance mundial. Y en segundo lugar, revela que los cristianos tienen el deber de predicar las “buenas nuevas del reino”, una labor que precedería a la llegada de un acontecimiento que cambiaría para siempre la historia de la humanidad: “el fin” predicho por Cristo.
La profecía de Mateo 24:14 se está cumpliendo en nuestros días. Las “buenas nuevas” (o buenas noticias) tienen que ver con cada uno de nosotros, pues constituyen tanto una invitación como una advertencia: se nos invita a apoyar el Reino de Dios y se nos advierte que no debemos darle la espalda. La decisión que tomemos puede significar vida o muerte.
Examinemos el contexto de las palabras de Jesús. Pocos días antes de que fuera ejecutado, sus discípulos le hicieron ciertas preguntas sobre el futuro. Querían saber cuándo vendría el Reino de Dios, del que tanto había hablado su Maestro. Además, deseaban conocer en qué momento llegaría “la conclusión del sistema de cosas”, o como dicen otras traducciones de la Biblia, el “fin del mundo” (Mateo 24:3; Biblia de Jerusalén, Reina-Valera, 1909).
Primero, Jesús les dio malas noticias. Antes del fin habría grandes guerras, hambrunas, epidemias y terremotos devastadores. Además, la delincuencia y la maldad aumentarían, los líderes de las religiones falsas engañarían a mucha gente y el mundo odiaría a los verdaderos cristianos (Mateo 24:4-13; Lucas 21:11).
Pero también les dio buenas noticias, y pronunció la profecía citada arriba. A lo largo de los siglos, sus palabras han intrigado a muchos hombres y mujeres, a la vez que han llenado su vida de esperanza. Sin embargo, el significado de esta importante profecía permanece oculto para la mayoría de las personas.
“Keep your senses, be watchful,” warns the apostle Peter. Why? Because “your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.” (1 Pet. 5:8) Will that someone be you? Much depends on how well you learn to hate lawlessness.
Developing a hatred for what is bad is not easy. We are born in sin, and we live in a world that caters to fleshly desires. (1 John 2:15-17) By imitating Jesus Christ and developing deep love for Jehovah God, however, we can succeed in cultivating hatred for lawlessness. Let us be determined to “hate what is bad,” fully confident that Jehovah “is guarding . . . his loyal ones; out of the hand of the wicked ones he delivers them.”—Ps. 97:10.
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El apóstol Pedro nos hace esta advertencia: “Mantengan su juicio, sean vigilantes”. ¿Por qué razón? Porque “[nuestro] adversario, el Diablo, anda en derredor como león rugiente, procurando devorar a alguien” (1 Ped. 5:8). ¿Estaremos nosotros entre las presas que él logrará atrapar? Mucho dependerá de cuánto nos hayamos esforzado por odiar el mal.
Cultivar odio por la maldad no es fácil. Somos imperfectos y vivimos en un mundo que apela a los deseos egoístas (1 Juan 2:15-17). Pero si imitamos a Jesucristo y nutrimos nuestro amor por Jehová, lograremos aborrecer el pecado. Es preciso que todos los cristianos “odien lo que es malo”. Por lo tanto, adoptemos la resolución de obedecer ese mandato, con la seguridad de que Jehová “[guarda a] los que le son leales; de la mano de los inicuos los libra” (Sal. 97:10).
Jesus upheld Jehovah’s standard of sexual morality. He said: “Did you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will stick to his wife, and the two will be one flesh’? So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has yoked together let no man put apart.” (Matt. 19:4-6) Jesus knew that what we take in through our eyes can affect our heart. In his Sermon on the Mount, he therefore stated: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt. 5:27, 28) Those who ignore Jesus’ warning are in reality nurturing the love of lawlessness.
Satan promotes sexual immorality by means of pornography. The present system of things is awash with it. Those who view pornography find it difficult to erase the immoral scenes from their minds. They can even become addicted to pornography. Consider what happened to one Christian. He says: “I secretly viewed pornography. I created a fantasy world that I thought was disconnected from the world where I served Jehovah. I knew that this practice was wrong but told myself that my service to God was still acceptable.” What changed this brother’s thinking? He states: “Although it was the most difficult thing I have ever done, I decided to tell the elders about my problem.” This brother eventually broke free from this degrading habit. “After I cleansed my life of this sin,” he admits, “I finally felt that I had a truly clean conscience.” Those who hate lawlessness must learn to hate pornography.
Music and its accompanying lyrics can strongly influence our emotions and, therefore, our figurative heart. Music itself is a gift from God and has long held a place in true worship. (Ex. 15:20, 21; Eph. 5:19) But Satan’s wicked world promotes music that glorifies immorality. (1 John 5:19) How can you tell whether the music you listen to is defiling you or not?
You might start by asking yourself: ‘Do the songs I listen to glorify murder, adultery, fornication, and blasphemy? If I were to read the lyrics of certain songs to someone, would that person get the impression that I hate lawlessness, or would the words indicate that my heart is defiled?’ We cannot hate lawlessness in word while glorifying it in song. “The things proceeding out of the mouth come out of the heart,” said Jesus, “and those things defile a man. For example, out of the heart come wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thieveries, false testimonies, blasphemies.”—Matt. 15:18, 19; compare James 3:10, 11.
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