What is the Kingdom of God?
By Gregory L. Kiser
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Every New Testament scripture that speaks of the Kingdom of God indicates it is indeed a Spiritual Kingdom. Look it up yourself and see. A simple PC Bible will show you every NT verse with the word "Kingdom" in it. Read each one and allow it to paint a picture of its characteristics from what each writer says about it.Mine shows 150 NT verses using the English word "kingdom". Here is a good summary of all of the NT verses and what they have to say.Notice that in NONE of them is there even the smallest HINT that it is geopolitical. It was at hand in Jesus' day. The gospel is of this kingdom. It belongs to the poor in spirit and they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. It takes faith to enter it and faith to see it. It must be sought after. It is evidenced by the works that are accomplished (i.e. casting out devils; healing the sick,etc.) . It is full of mysteries. It has spiritual keys that unlock its blessings. Jesus was to bring its manifestation. It is based on the principle of sowing and reaping. It was to be taken from those who took it by force and give to people who would bear it's fruits. It was to be preached in all the world. It would come with power before the last apostle died. It is hard for a rich man to enter it. The first-century folk were waiting on its arrival. It is everlasting and never has an end. It was to be given to the saints as an inheritance. It does not come with observation. Its residence is inside the believer. It was to come in concert with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.It has a spiritual table that we can eat and drink with Jesus in. You must be born into it to enter it. It is not of this world. By preaching it, the apostles in Acts saved many lost sinners and healed many sick. There is tribulation in the entering of it. It is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.It is not in word, but power. The unrighteous will never enter it, nor any other sinner. It was to be delivered up to God when Jesus had put down His last enemy. Flesh and blood can not enter it. Believers are translated into it by faith in Christ. We are called unto it . It was to come at the time there was a judgment of the living and dead and when Christ Himself appeared. It is called heavenly. The first century saints were in the process of receiving it. We are heirs of it. So yes, the kingdom of God is invisible only to unbelivers, but as a believer you should be able to see it. When someone loves someone else: when there is giving and true forgiveness: where there is kindness and mercy; where there is power and healing, where there is worship and true love. It is what binds us together in faith. In this kingdom there is no death, sorrow, tears, etc. There is only peace,love,joy,happiness, power , healing, kindness, mercy,grace, etc. There are things we can possess and taste NOW; we don't have to wait for our physical death! Start enjoying the kingdom NOW! Though there are no prophetic events in our future, there are ongoing fulfillments. The Kingdom og God is spreading and growing and we, as heirs of the kingdom, are ruling and reigning in it now. We are to continue to spread this kingdom through the preaching of it and we are to continue to be a source of life for all the earth and be healing to the nations. These are ongoing prophecies that are being fulfilled. But, in my humble opinion, there are no more "events" to occur (see Daniel 2:35,44 ; Isaiah 9:7, Ezekiel 47: 1-12; Revelation 22:2 ). As far as all "events" having taken place; note also this pivotal scripture: Luke 21:20, And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains: and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengence, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Working backwards from this statement, all things would be fulfilled in the days of vengence. During the days of vengence, those in Judea were to flee to the mountains, those that are in Jerusalem are to depart, and those that are outside the country are not to go into the country. The time of this escape was to be signaled by Jerusalem being surrounded with armies. So, in the near future of when this statement was made, was there a time when Jerusalem was surrounded with armies? Yes, 66-70 AD in the Roman-Jewish War. Now, if one concludes that 70AD was indeed what Jesus referred to, then you are forced to believe that that was the time of the "days of vengeance" and it was the time in which " all things which are written" were fulfilled. This would mean that you would have to believe that all the Old Covenant prophecies and the law were fulfilled by 70AD, including Daniel's seventy weeks. If you conclude that 70 AD was not what Jesus referred to, then you are forced to believe that that event was relatively unimportant with regards to this prophecy and that the "days of vengeance" are still ahead of us and there are still "things which are written" awaiting their fulfillment. This would mean there are still Old Covenant prophecies, like Daniel's seventy weeks and parts of the law that have not been fulfilled yet. But ask yourself the following questions: Which one makes more sense to believe? Which one would Jesus' original audience have though? If they lived 40 more years from when Jesus spoke these things (30 AD + 40 = 70 AD ), would they perceive that the events they were witnessing (Roman armies surrounding the city) were a fulfillment of this passage? Or would they understand that Jesus referred to many generations in their future? One of these conclusions leads to a past fulfillment position of eschatology, the other to a future fulfillment position. If I choose the past fulfillment position then the prophecy is simple and makes good sense that all was fulfilled in the past 70 AD event. If I choose the futurist position then I must explain why it makes better sense to skip over the 70 AD event and look for another one in our future in which the city and the temple must be rebuilt just to be destroyed again in a future tribulation. The futurist take a " literal" position as something to " hold onto" I suppose- imagining literal kingdoms- literal houses- that is the familiar. The unfamiliar is what is really real, and you are more at home in the spirit realm than you think. Just because it is spiritual doesan't make it unreal. Think about it. Logic demands that the spirit realm is MORE REAL than this realm. Why? Because God Himself is a SPIRIT! And He MADE THIS REALM ! Therefore logic demands that the lesser be made by the better. The spirit realm is MORE REAL than this realm. When we see clearly into it at our physical death, we will enjoy it's realities and be more fulfilled. A book I recommend , Try reading " My Dream of Heaven" by Rebecca Springer. She died and had a vision of heaven and was allowed to come back and write about it in the late 1800's. I believe you will enjoy it greatly and it will make the heavely realm more real to you. We are now living in the eternal age. The government is on Jesus' sholders and His Peace is forever on the increase! Isaiah 9 (6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDERS; and The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE THERE SHALL BE NO END, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The Zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Praise Him ! Greg L. Kiser, Bluff City, TN. e-mail gregkiser@juno.com |
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