Peter gave Paul and Barnabas one parting word when they finished their meeting, one exhortation they must not forget as they preached the gospel in the world – remember the poor!

How blessed we are to know the King of kings as our Savior, to be citizens of His Kingdom, to participate in His Kingdom plan, and to know that the final victory is secure. Though His return in judgment will be a day of distress and anguish for many, it will be a day of joy for us as the King returns to complete our salvation and exalt us as the ancient promises foretold.

Judgment was indeed a sobering subject. And the certainty of the judgment to come had an impact on the apostles and their mission. The Apostle Paul, who was so quick to judge before he was saved and obtained mercy from God, urged his son in faith, Timothy, to be faithful to the ministry of preaching the Gospel. Judgment was coming.

The ends of the ages have come upon us, Paul said! All the purposes and plans of all ages of human history are now finding their fulfillment in the events that have been transpiring since Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom in the world. All the faithful acts that those Old Testament kings and prophets performed were the warmup to the main events that have been occurring since Christ came into the world. Therefore, we who have lived since the first coming of the King have the greatest reasons to live holy lives. The climax of human history has come upon us all. We are living at the end point of all the ages. The King has come and has started the countdown. With this in mind, let’s live for Christ.

How wonderful to realize that we, too, can participate in the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies as we obey Jesus’ command to take the message of His Kingdom victory to the ends of the earth. Right now as I speak, many of God’s people are fulfilling the Messiah’s prophecy to be a light to all the nations so that His salvation may reach to the end of the world. But all of us can fulfill His prophecy as we obey His final command and work with Him to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We can say with Paul and Barnabas, “For thus the Lord has commanded us!”

There is a reason why the first Christians excelled. They understood that their position in the Kingdom carried with it a historic responsibility. They realized that they were the key players in this present phase of God’s Kingdom plan for the world.

The first believers understood their identity well as recipients of the promises and citizens of God’s Kingdom. As we understand our identity as citizens of a triumphant kingdom, we will be taking an important first step in preparing ourselves to do our part in fulfilling the Kingdom mission.