The Kingdom of God! What is it?
by Harley Pinon
How many millions have committed the Lord’s Prayer to memory? In part it says: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Mat 6:10 KJV) So almost everyone has heard this phrase, but what does it mean? What is the kingdom? Has it come? Is His will being done on earth as it is in heaven? Is this just a wishful thought? An ideal? or is it to be a reality? Many questions, but where are the answers? The Bible, of course, but it is a big book, and it contains many statements about the kingdom. The word kingdom occurs 333 times in the NKJV of the Bible. Many of these are references to worldly kingdoms. Then we come to the New Testament, and the number shrinks to less than half that number: 158, but now most of these references have to do with the Kingdom of God.
How do we find the word kingdom being used?
“The gospel of the kingdom” is found four times in the New Testament:
Three times in Matthew (4:23), (9:25) & (24:14), and once in Mark. Then we don’t find the expression “gospel of the kingdom” again in scripture. However, the statement in Mark is worth noting: (Mark 1:14-15 NKJV) “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, {15} and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
Many students of the Bible have a great deal of difficulty with some of the time statements of the Bible. For example the kingdom of God is at hand in this verse. In our way of thinking, at hand must have our understanding of immediately! But is it true? Many would say yes, and then go on to show that the church is the kingdom.
My conclusion is that the church is a phase of the kingdom, but I also believe that the full glory and power of the kingdom is yet to come. As we consider (Mat 6:10 KJV) “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” I must believe that this is referring to the time when God’s kingdom will come in full power and glory. When that happens, then God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
During Jesus trial before the high priest, ‘He said, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mat 26:64 NKJV) Obviously, Jesus hasn’t yet returned in power, “sitting at the right hand of the Power,” but that day is coming.
Peter said, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (2 Pet 3:10 NKJV) Much is said in scripture about the day of the Lord.
(Joel 3:14-17 NKJV) “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. {15} The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. {16} The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel. {17} "So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again."
As the angel spoke to Mary concerning Jesus who was to be born to her, he said, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. {33} "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33 NKJV) So here is a promise that Jesus would sit on David’s throne. Has it happened yet? I don’t think so. As Jesus was about to ascend back to heaven, “they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6 NKJV) His answer follows: "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. {8} "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8 NKJV)
So as Jesus was about to leave earth, what was the question? "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And what was the answer? "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” He did not say they had asked a stupid question and that they should understand that Peter was about to preach what is often called “the first gospel sermon,” and the church would be established, and the church and the kingdom were one and the same thing. That just didn’t happen.
So what are we to conclude? My conclusion is that the kingdom is yet future. I believe that it will be ushered in shortly after the Lord returns in glory. His return is called the Day of the Lord. There are numerous passages that refer to the Day of the Lord. It will be an awesome day. It will be a day in which God’s enemies will be destroyed. Jesus described all of this in one of His parables:
He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. {38} "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. {39} "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. {40} "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. {41} "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, {42} "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. {43} "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Mat 13:37-43 NKJV)
"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. When is that to take place? We just made reference to it: “the harvest is the end of the age” So what happens at the end of the age? "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. and may we add, God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That will be a glorious day, a glorious time, and yes, a glorious kingdom.
But what about the Church? Isn’t the church the kingdom? Well, that depends on what you mean by the kingdom. I believe that the church is a phase of the kingdom as I mentioned earlier, but not the final glorious kingdom that is going to be established by God and Christ here on this earth.
Paul says of God, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: {14} In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” (Col 1:13-14 KJV) So, yes, when we are members of Christ’s body, the church, we are translated into the kingdom of His dear Son, but the full realization of what that means is yet to be revealed.
John put it this way, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2 NKJV) Yes, now we are children of God. Now we have been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son, but we will not know the real meaning of it all as yet. As John says, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him.” That is a glorious, wonderful promise. How great it will be to see His will done on earth as it is in heaven. That prayer finally answered. His Kingdom finally fully established here on earth.