Postscript: A Title Deed for God’s Kingdom

Much of the correction described in this book comes straight out of the prophecy of Jeremiah. But Jeremiah’s message is not negative. It is a spectacular, hope-filled vision.

Much of that hope is bound up in Jeremiah’s hometown, Anathoth. This was a city of Levites. It should have housed Jeremiah’s greatest supporters. Instead, the priests of Anathoth were some of his bitterest enemies. Some even tried to murder him! (Jeremiah 11:21).

Today, the priests God planted and raised up have become very hostile against God’s very elect! At one time they delivered the very prophecy of God—now they are working to destroy that message and the messenger! They were fighting for God—now they are fighting against God. God promises to punish them (verses 22-23). No remnant will be left. The ministers who plot against Jeremiah’s message today will probably be a part of the 50 percent of the Laodiceans who die forever! (Matthew 25:1-10).

Yet God also made clear this was not the end of the story for Anathoth.

While Jerusalem was under siege and Jeremiah was shut up in prison, God told him to invest in some real estate in Anathoth. He said that Jeremiah’s uncle would soon offer to sell a field in his hometown. Jeremiah could preserve the family inheritance by buying the field. God had him do so.

Jerusalem and Anathoth were to be destroyed, and the Jews killed or carried into slavery. What difference would owning land and preserving an inheritance mean at such a time?

Jeremiah prayed, “See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. And yet, O Sovereign Lord, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians” (Jeremiah 32:24-25; New Living Translation).

Why did God tell Jeremiah to buy that field? The purchase signaled that His Work would continue. He assured Jeremiah: “I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. … Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev, too. …” (verses 37, 44; nlt).

With the world falling apart around Jeremiah, God had him take practical steps to build the new nation of Israel that was to come.

Some of the Philadelphia Church of God’s building projects may seem unusual, especially given the urgent message in this book. We have spent millions of dollars building a beautiful headquarters campus, including a majestic auditorium, even as America is on the brink of nuclear destruction.

We tend to see only the problems on this Earth and not God’s overall plan. We must foresee the imminent collapse of Israel—but like God and Jeremiah, we must also see the wonderful World Tomorrow that follows. Then Christ will be ruling the world from David’s throne.

Christ’s future rule on this Earth ought to be as real as a piece of real estate!

We should be willing to invest our time, money and energy in God’s glorious Work today. This Work will usher in the World Tomorrow. Doing God’s Work is an investment in that incredible future!

In a way, our headquarters property and all our properties around the world point back to Anathoth—and forward to God’s coming Kingdom.

God’s Work does not stop during the Tribulation. It doesn’t even stop at Christ’s return. It flows on through and beyond it! God is having us build for that new world right now.

This is a major theme of the book of Jeremiah. Jerusalem fell. Judah went into captivity. The king’s eyes were plucked out and his sons were killed. But it was not the end for Judah, Jerusalem or the royal line. God’s Work continued.

God enabled a large group of Jews to return from 70 years of captivity. He empowered them to rebuild Jerusalem. And He had Jeremiah move the throne of David to the British Isles.

Christ will set up a glorious new world when He returns. That world is already here, in embryo, in His Church.

God is actively building the World Tomorrow right now in the Philadelphia Church of God. We are actively preparing Jerusalem to be God’s headquarters, clearing the dust and rubble from the very location where God will reestablish the throne of David. The World Tomorrow will flow right out of this Church! It is the same Work of God, the same government of God, the same Family of God!

You can be a part of it. You can help build something truly important and lasting.

Through Jeremiah, God delivered tough correction for Jerusalem, Judah and God’s priests. But this prophecy brims with hope. It shows that all that correction serves a purpose too wonderful to fully describe!

After Jerusalem fell, God’s Work continued. After Herbert W. Armstrong died, God’s Work continues. After Britain and America fall, that Work will go on.

Those who refuse to be corrected will die forever. There will be no more pain or suffering (Revelation 21:4), but the most tragic part is that they will miss out on all the joy and excitement of being part of God’s eternal Work! You don’t want to miss out on that even for a moment!

You can have that same joy and excitement right now. You can be a part of the Work that is about to flow out into the universe. God has called you to the greatest adventure in the history of man!

Will you answer that call