Israel Deut. 17:18

“the church”- Dan. 2:44Heaven - 2 Pet. 1:11

Kingdom?

In What Sense Has It Already Come And In What Sense

Are We Still Waiting For It?

“The religious Zionists are the ones we are concerned with. Why is that? Because at heart and core of this issue is the question of the nature of the kingdom. If you ask people today about Israel and the kingdom, they have one concept in mind. And that is the restoration of Israel as a theocracy. That is God ruling Israel through a visible form of a temple, a priesthood, a sacrifice, etc. etc. Israel is… in that theology Zionists’ perspective, that is Israel restored—the nation of Israel. They believe thathas to be done in our day and in our time…

“Muslims are on record as saying that if the Jews attempt to take over that Mount again it will be WWIII. You think prophecy is not relevant? Why do the Jews believe they want that Temple Mount again? To rebuild the temple. All of this has to do with the nature of the kingdom. We need to change the landscape of evangelical Christianity in regard to the concept of the nature of the kingdom.

(Preston, The Nature of the Kingdom 1).

We may agree with a “spiritual” fulfillment of the kingdom, but we disagree with Hyper-Preterist in other areas regarding the kingdom.For example:WHEN was the kingdom established? Pentecost or AD 70? (They would say it came on Pentecost, but not in its glory or power until AD 70.) Timing – Present or future? The hyper-preterist would ask... “If the kingdom was fully established in Acts 2, why isn’t Paul in it in 2 Tim. 4:18? (See also 2 Pet. 1:10-11)

The Amillennialist argument is usually expressed as follows: "The Lord is not coming back to establish a kingdom here on earth because the kingdom was established in the First Century in the form of the Church, and that is the only kingdom that will ever exist on earth.“ I know this argument well because I grew up in a church that taught it. We were so dogmatic about it that we refused to pray "The Lord's Prayer" because it contained the phrase, "Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven…"

Our position was that the kingdom had already come in the form of the Church, and therefore such a prayer was irrelevant, since it had already been fulfilled. This argument that "the Church is the kingdom, and therefore there is no future kingdom" is the cornerstone argument of most Amillennialists. It is usually accompanied with wild assertions that "Premillennialists degrade the importance of the Church," or "Premillennialists believe that."Jesus failed in His mission to establish the kingdom…

It should be kept in mind, too, that Amillennialists disagree strongly with each other. Some spiritualize the kingdom completely while others materialize it in the Church. Some deny that there will ever be a Millennium of any kind; others argue we have been in a spiritual Millennium ever since the Cross… There are even Amillennialists who believe that our eternal abode will be a new earth, whereas most would hotly deny this, arguing instead that we will spend eternity in an ethereal spirit world. (Dr. David R. Reagan, www.lamblion.com)

“What do you think of when you hear the word kingdom...territory, a realm ruled by a king? That is the more popular concept of kingdom. That would be the “concrete” use of the term. However, in the Bible, the primary thrust of the word is “sovereignty, royal power or authority, rule, reign, or dominion.”McGuiggan, 17.

“Kingdom”

Concrete – Israel (Deut. 17:18), various literal kingdoms of the OT.

Reign of God – Matt. 6:10, I Cor. 15:24

Church – Dan. 2:44, Matt. 16:19

Heaven – 2 Tim. 4:18, 2 Pet. 1:11

Psalm 45:6 - Your throne O Lord, is forever…

“There was never a man, there is not now a man, and there never will be a human who is not under the reign of God. They are all His subjects, they are all in His kingdom.” J. McGuiggan

Psalm 45:6 - Your throne is forever

Gen. 1:26 - Right to rule given to man

“Clearly, God couldn’t give them what He didn’t possess. Note that it is “dominion” that God grants to man! Right here we have a very definite allusion to the “kingdom” concept. Man the subject and citizen is given dominion. In this we see God exercising His sovereignty by giving another the right to rule.” (McGuiggan)

Psalm 45:6 - Your throne is forever

Gen. 1:26 - Right to rule given to man

Gen. 17:5-6 - kings come from Abraham

I Chron. 29:23 - Throne of David

The “church” is the kingdom now

Dan. 2:44, Matt. 16:18-19

“When Jesus spoke of the kingdom being imminent (Mark 9:1), He obviously spoke of a new sphere of God’s rule as promised by Daniel (Dan. 2:44 and 7:13-14). The same is true of what He tells the disciples about building His church in Matthew 16:13-19. His "called out" ones are those who choose to submit to His reign and rule. They do so by spiritual rebirth in contrast to the nation of Israel

…who were covenant people by physical birth. But it is too simplistic to use the terms as synonyms and miss the rich implications of each word.” (Tony Mauck)

We have already…

-Been brought into God’s kingdom (Col. 1:13)

-Christ has made us to be a kingdom (Rev. 1:6)

-We are a holy nation (I Pet. 2:9)

-God has rescued us from the dominion of sin and transferred us into His kingdom (Col. 1:13)

The kingdom contains both good and evil

Matt. 8:10-12; Matt. 13:41

Universal Reign of God

People who do not acknowledge that Jesus is King may not be citizens of His kingdom in one sense, but they’re still

under His authority; they’re still under His rule/reign/dominion!

Universal Reign of God

Kingdom entrance is conditional

Mk 10:15, Matt. 18:3-4, John 3:5

“What does all this mean? It can’t mean that Christ doesn’t rule territory, land mass – for He does! It can’t mean He rules only the righteous….”

McGuiggan, 60.

God reigned over all Israel, but not all Israel was Israel. Yes, God reigns over all, He is Lord of everyone’s life, but there is still a sense in which we must accept Him and recognize Him as Lord of our lives. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, but there is only value in doing so on this side of eternity. (Phil. 2:9-11)

“Is Abraham in the church? He’s in the kingdom! Are the sons of the evil one in the church? They’re in the kingdom. Can the church come? The kingdom can.” (McGuiggan)

“eat and drink…in the kingdom” (Luke 22:30)

The Lord’s Supper – I Cor. 10:16, 21

Churches of Asia (Rev. 1:4) are…

“partakers in the kingdom.” (vs. 6, 9)

Have been saved – Eph. 2:8

Are being saved – 2 Cor. 2:15

Shall be saved – Rom. 5:9

In What Sense Has It Already Come And In What Sense

Are We Still Waiting For It?

1. Can we pray “thy kingdom come” now? (Matt. 6:10)

2. How is the word kingdom being

used in I Cor. 15:24?

3. What are the possible dangers of limiting kingdom to the church only?