The Kingdom

I don't know that there is a more central theme of the Bible than "The Kingdom." I can safely say that because throughout the Old Testament there was a looking forward to the coming Kingdom, the one that Jesus would bring, a spiritual kingdom that would last forever (reference Daniel 2, Joel 2, Isaiah 2). In Matthew 4, John the Baptist was preaching, "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." When Jesus started preaching, He was preaching the "gospel of the Kingdom," (Matt. chapters 4 & 9). The Kingdom was the major topic of discussion.

In Mark 9:1, Jesus said, "Some here will not taste of death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power." Thus we know that the Kingdom of God was begun during the lifetime of some of the witnesses of Jesus. We see this actual beginning in Acts 2. And we know that Jesus is now reigning as the King, and we are His subjects. Note Colossians 1:13, where it says that we, as Christians, are "translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love."

The Kingdom of God, founded by Jesus Christ with Him as King, exists now with Him ruling. But it is a spiritual kingdom. People always wanted a physical king, a ruling king to dominate all nations around. But Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," (John 18:36). He never intended to build an earthly kingdom.

There are many people in today's world who are convinced that Jesus will come back to the earth one day and establish an earthly kingdom; they often reference Revelation 20 for this theory. But this contradicts what Jesus said, that His kingdom was not of this world.

Perhaps next week we will discuss the personal significance of the Kingdom of God; how it affects how we live and our relationship with God. See you then!