The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God

by Samuel Bland

08/16/2014

The purpose of this is to better understand what is meant when the Bible discusses the Kingdom of God. Please note that this is a concise overview of what I have been studying, and there are many others with a much deeper, greater understanding than I on this subject; if this interests you, I pray that you study deeper the things of God.

1.) The Old

To better grasp the New Testament mentionings of the Kingdom, I will briefly discuss what was mentioned in the Old Testament and how that leads into the New.

In Daniel chapter 2, we learn that there were to be four kingdoms, or world empires. The first one is revealed to be the Babylonian Empire, and subsequent chapters show the second is the Medo-Persian and the third is the Grecian. The fourth is generally understood to be the Roman Empire both by the description given and also by its timing. So we have this so far:

1.) Babylonian (Daniel 2:38)

2.) Medo-Persian (Daniel 2:39a, 5:28, 8:20)

3.) Grecian (Daniel 2:39b, 8:21)

4.) Roman (Daniel 2:40-43)

All of these empires have come and gone, just like Daniel prophesied. History confirms what was revealed to Daniel. Bible prophecy truly is amazing! I would like to point out that the kingdoms listed here in Daniel are all successive, meaning they all occurred one after the other without breaks or pauses. So, we continue reading descriptions of these kingdoms until we get to verse 44. Here is where it gets interesting:

Daniel 2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Since we are talking about the Kingdom of God, I am sure you know what it means when it says that God shall set up a Kingdom (the Kingdom, to be exact!). What can be interesting is the timing of this Kingdom. We read that “in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.” We have just established that these kings/kingdoms have all come and gone, so does that mean God has set up His Kingdom? To quote one of my favorite authors: More on this later!

I would like to point out that 4 times in the book of Daniel, it is said that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” Just something to consider as we move forward.

When we get to chapter 9, we read of the 70 Weeks of Daniel (please note: I won’t be getting too much into this part other than using it as a time frame). It is understood that 1 of these weeks mean 7 years, so 70 weeks actually means 70x7, or 490 years. This is not a random number! How many times did Jesus say we are to forgive our brethren?

So, Daniel received this prophecy of things to happen in the next 490 years, including the coming of Messiah. Lo and behold, at the latter end of these prophetic 490 years, Jesus came! Once again, we see history supporting the Bible. I would like to mention that when Jesus was born, He was born when the Roman Empire was in power; from this we know that the preceding three kingdoms have already gone away by this time. Also keep in mind that God said He would set up His Kingdom during these kingdoms.

2.) The New

For the next 400 years or so, God did not speak to man. Then, out of nowhere, a lone voice cried out in the wilderness. John the Baptist came and started preaching. What was his message?:

Matthew 3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He came not only preaching about the Kingdom, but also that the Kingdom is at hand! Expressions like this shouldn’t be excused so easily. If we claim to interpret Bible the way it was written, how should we interpret this?

Some people think the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are two different things. Let’s see what the Bible says:

Matthew 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Jesus mentions the Kingdom of Heaven in the book of Matthew concerning John the Baptist. What does Luke say?:

Luke 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Both of these are the same stories and same circumstances, but Matthew and Luke recorded different words. Is this a contradiction? Absolutely not! The fact of the matter is that these two terms are used interchangeably. Here is another example:

Matthew 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Once again, Kingdom of God is used interchangeably with Kingdom of Heaven. Now that we have established that, what exactly is the Kingdom of God? First let’s see what it isn’t:

Luke 17:20-21  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

In other words, the Kingdom cannot be seen. This gives us an understanding that the Kingdom is intangible or spiritual.

John 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

It is a heavenly Kingdom! The Kingdom of God is not like the four previous, earthly kingdoms.

Romans 14:17a  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;

Simply put, the Kingdom is once again not physical, like meat and drink of this world. It is not something you can touch or grasp. So what is the Kingdom?

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

This further drives home the point that the Kingdom is a spiritual one!

3.) The When

To reiterate on what has been discussed thus far:

• We know that God would set up His Kingdom during the four kingdoms prophesied by Daniel.
• We know that Jesus came during the final, fourth kingdom of the Roman Empire.
• We know that the Kingdom of God is the same as Kingdom of Heaven.
• We know that the Kingdom of God is spiritual and not physical.

So, what does the Bible say about the timing of the Kingdom?:

Matthew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mark 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

We see that Jesus emphasized the imminency of the Kingdom. Mark even records that the time was fulfilled! I want to teach what the Bible teaches.

Luke 9:27  But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

Jesus spoke these words. He stated that there were some that were standing right there next to Him 2,000 years ago who would not die until they actually saw the Kingdom! How else should we interpret this? There are many, many more verses just like these in the Gospels, please feel free to check them out on your own. For the sake of brevity, I kept the list short.

How does one enter the Kingdom?:

John 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

We know that this relates directly to Acts 2:38, but when does this “entering” occur?:

Colossians 1:12-13  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Paul wrote this. The “hath translated us" part is indisputably present tense.

Luke 11:20    But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

In closing, I would like to make a note: I have kept my commentary on these verses limited, as I believe that Scriptures interpret themselves.

Having said all of this, I would like to end with this statement:

Welcome to the Kingdom!