Thy Kingdom Has Come

 

By Dr. Ken Matto

 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

 

Recently I was listening to a radio program and it was dispensational in foundation.  One of the statements that the preacher made was “The first time Christ came He could not establish his kingdom because he was rejected.”  Being ex-dispensational I had heard that many times but I had forgotten about it until I heard it again.  Once again the dispensational view of Scripture reveals another one of its heretical tentacles.  By that particular statement, they are saying that when Christ came the first time and if he was not rejected, then he would have established an earthly kingdom, and of course, Israel would have been the center of it with the city of Jerusalem being the central place of rule.

 

This particular teaching is as heretical as you can get.  If Christ came and established an earthly kingdom 2000 years ago, then anyone reading this who is saved would never have become saved.  In an effort to exalt the nation of Israel above every nation on earth, dispensational preachers forget some very important biblical facts:

 

Fact #1 – If Christ did not go to the cross then he could not have fulfilled all the righteous demands of God’s holy law.

 

Fact #2 – Christ fulfilled all the prophecies written about him as the lamb of God who became the final sacrifice for sin.

 

Fact #3 – If Christ was not rejected and did not go to the cross, then the Scriptures would have been broken meaning they were not truthful and were not written by God. 

 

Fact #4 – If Christ did not go to the cross, then no one could be saved since the righteousness of Christ is imputed to all believers in both the Old and New Testaments since righteousness did not come by the law.

 

Fact #1 –  Matthew 5:17

 

Fact #2 – Isaiah 53:3-11

 

Fact #3 – Mark 15:28; Luke 4:21; John 10:35

 

Fact #4 – Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 7:19

 

Now let us attend to the Kingdom issue.  The term “Kingdom of God” is found 70 times in the New Testament in 69 verses.  The term “Kingdom of Christ” is found 1 time in Ephesians 5:5.  The issue is not whether the Kingdom of God has come to earth but how.  The Israelites were looking for a physical kingdom.  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)  They were thinking of the restoration akin to the times of David and Solomon.  They didn’t know that in 37 years the nation of Judah would be wiped off the map by the Roman army.  The dispensational Christian is also looking for a physical kingdom but unlike the Disciples, they place it in the future and it is referred to as the Millennium when they believe that Christ will return and set up a physical kingdom for 1,000 years.  He will then be ruling from Jerusalem.  However, this kingdom too will not come to pass because it is arrived at by very bad theology.  So then what kingdom is in view?

 

In the time of Christ, the kingdom of God was already on the earth.  This is because it is not a physical kingdom.  The only time that the kingdom of God is visible on this earth is when believers get together whether it be in a church or in some type of gathering but after dispersal it is back to invisibility.

 

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. (John 3:5)

 

The way a person enters the kingdom of God is when one becomes born again or saved.  Only a saved person can truly see the kingdom of God.  Why?  Because they are no longer spiritually dead but spiritually alive.  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)  The natural or spiritually dead person cannot see the kingdom of God because they are dead.  Once a person becomes saved and the Holy Spirit indwells them, then they have spiritual sight to see the kingdom of God.  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3) When you became saved, did you enter into some golden kingdom on earth or did you return to your life with a new perspective?

 

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. (1 Corinthians 15:50)

 

Now Paul gives us a straight statement here concerning the nature of the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood, that is, the natural state of man cannot inherit the Kingdom of God because at this point in time, God saves the soul of man but the flesh is consigned to the grave until it will be changed on the last day. This is why works will never get anyone into Heaven, there must be a spiritual transformation of the soul. The unbeliever does not know anything about the Kingdom of God, when they see a gathering of Christians, they call us religious nuts, not realizing they are seeing a gathering of the redeemed of God.

 

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: (Luke 17:20)

 

Then the Pharisees in speaking with Jesus demanded to know when the kingdom of God should come. The word “demanded” is a stronger word for “ask” which is the same type of response the authorities want when they “demand” an answer from a prisoner. The Pharisees like the rest in Israel were looking for a physical kingdom and even the disciples had hoped that Jesus was going to bring in the Kingdom of God. Jesus then gives them a reality that the Kingdom of God does not come with observation. It will not come in by any who observe the law nor will it come in by anyone who will be making close observances to the happenings. It would not come slowly by observing political movements which could seem to be progressive in nature. It will not be a political kingdom of any kind.  The kingdom of God will not be like other kingdoms of the world such as Rome, Babylon, Assyria or ones like it.  The Kingdom of God will not be visible to the natural eye only to the spiritual eye.

 

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21)

 

Then they will not claim that the Kingdom of God is in different places around the region or world, especially the nation of Israel, which is where they believed that the physical Kingdom of God would come in and the Romans would be ejected from that area. Now since it is not going to be a visible, political kingdom, Jesus states that the Kingdom of God is within you. Those who have become saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit have been transferred from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) The book of Colossians was written between 60-64 A.D. when the above verse was penned. At that time there was still no visible Kingdom of God which means it is a spiritual Kingdom and not a visible political Kingdom. This also includes the mythical thousand year reign of Christ teaching.

 

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

 

When Paul was discussing the situation concerning the eating of certain foods, he makes this statement under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We are being told that the Kingdom of God is not found in things like food or drink, or anything external. Eating and drinking provide for the flesh sustenance for physical life but does not supply anything for the spiritual life.  The Kingdom of God, in this present age, is invisible to the world. The only time the world can see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God is when the church comes together on Sunday morning. The Christian is saved in their soul and the great manifestation of the Kingdom of God is not going to come until the last day when the believers receive their glorified spiritual bodies for eternity. Until then the Kingdom of God is dispersed all over the world. The Kingdom of God is not just a church or a denomination. For the Kingdom of God is made up of only the true Elect of God because it is only they which the Holy Spirit indwells. So the Kingdom of God at this time is found in the true believers who have received their resurrected souls and the present manifestation of the Kingdom is the works that the believer does motivated by their salvation.

 

And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. (Luke 13:29)

 

Jesus gives them a piece of information which would be a blow to the national pride of Israel. They believed that the Messiah was just for them alone and not for the world. Here Jesus tells them that the true believers who are the spiritual descendants of Abraham will come from all directions, in other words, the Kingdom of God is going to be universal and people from every country in the world will become saved and that will place them into the Kingdom of God. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;  (Revelation 7:9)  To sit down means they have a place already prepared.  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4)  It also means they are established in the kingdom of God and that comes by means of the sacrifice of Christ.

 

But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Matthew (12:28)

 

Now Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees and states that if He was casting out the devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto them. They were ascribing the works of Jesus to Satan and never considered the fact that the devils were being exorcised by the power of God. Their hatred of Jesus caused them to not only accuse Him of being under Satan’s power but it lead to their eternal condemnation with no chance of salvation. The Pharisees may have gained a following but they also gained condemnation. They also did not realize that the Kingdom of God was personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Even before the cross, the Kingdom of God was present.

 

Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:60)

 

Luke 9:60 is the commission for the believer.  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. (Matthew 8:22)  Here Jesus counsels that disciple to follow Him. The words “Follow me” are in the Imperative Mood in the Greek making them a command. The last part of that verse is also a command. Jesus is telling this disciple that let those who are spiritually dead, bury the physically dead. The spiritually dead do not have a divine calling on them. Those whom the Lord Jesus makes alive through salvation have a divine calling on them and are to be ready to go wherever the Lord commands them to preach and proclaim the true gospel. The second part of that verse can also give us a principle. Once we are in the kingdom, then we should remove ourselves from the cares of this world. What I mean by that is the goals we had before salvation such as wealth building or career building should be abandoned in light of the present calling of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the world go on with its business and we are to be busy about the Lord’s business. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:4)

 

Summary

The idea that Christ came to establish his kingdom the first time that he appeared on this earth is a false teaching.  His first time that he came was for the purpose of salvation of his people.  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)  He was not here to establish a physical kingdom.  As soon as he  appeared on this earth, the kingdom of God was here because Christ was the personification of the Kingdom of God.  We have also seen that the Kingdom is not coming by means of observation or as a physical kingdom like Rome.  The physical Kingdom of God will come after the last day when all judgments have been completed and God makes the New Heaven and the New Earth where the believer will dwell forever.  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)  So, no, Christ’s first coming had nothing to do with building a physical kingdom, that is a created teaching out of the mind of man.

 

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