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Christ and His Kingdom
It is obvious to the Bible student that this subject is so extensive that one must confine himself to certain portions of it at a time. We shall center our attention on when His kingdom began, hoping that this information will enhance our respect and appreciation for it and understand its place in God's scheme of man's redemption.
The term "kingdom" is used in two senses, even though it speaks of the same institution, It is the church, here and now (Colossians 1:13). It is also the future existence of those in the church, the eternal abode in heaven (Acts 14:22). It is never used with reference to some earthly kingdom with Christ as an earthly king reigning in Jerusalem for a thousand years.
The kingdom, or church, has always been in God's plan. In Ephesians 3:11 Paul explains how God directed him to preach to the Gentiles, who had previously been excluded from the covenants, and how they would be made equal with Jews in receiving the offer of salvation. The existence of the kingdom was evidence of God's wisdom and was according to God s eternal purpose. As a building is evidence of the wisdom of an architect and builder, so the church is evidence of God's wisdom in saving mankind. This plan existed in the mind of God "before the foundation of the world." (Ephesians 1:4). As a painting existed in the mind of an artist before being put on canvass, so the church was in the mind of God before it became a reality.
Old Testament
In both the Old and New Testaments we read of prophecies of the coming of this kingdom. Daniel 2 tells of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an image with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron with feet a mixture of iron and clay. He saw a stone "not made with hands" smite the image and break it into pieces and grow throughout the world.
Daniel interpreted that dream as five kingdoms. The first was the Babylonian, then the Persian, Grecian and Roman empires. The fifth, the stone, was the kingdom of the Lord to be established during the days of the fourth kingdom (Daniel 2:44).
Again in Daniel, chapter seven, Daniel saw a vision of one like unto the Son of man coming to the Ancient of Days in the clouds and receiving a kingdom. When one reads Acts 1:8,9 he sees the fulfillment of this prophetic vision with the ascension of Christ in the clouds to the "right hand of God" and being given His kingdom where He now reigns from heaven, which is His throne (Acts 7:49).
Isaiah two contains a prophecy of when the kingdom would come and where it would be established. People were going to the mountain of God, the house of God, which was the kingdom of God, the church of God (I Timothy 3:15). The word of the Lord would go forth from Jerusalem and include all nations. These things would take place in the "last days," the last age (Hebrews 1:1,2). The fulfillment of these things is recorded in Acts two.
Acts two is also the record of the fulfillment of Joel two when Joel prophesied of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days. Peter said of the events on Pentecost, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." (Acts 2:16).
From these Old Testament prophecies, and many others that could be cited, we learn that the kingdom would come in the days of the kingdom which corresponds to the Roman empire. It would come after the ascension of Christ into heaven. It would begin in the last days at the city of Jerusalem, accompanied by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and would extend to all nations of people.
In the New Testament, closer to the time of the beginning, we hear John the Baptist preaching that the kingdom was "at hand." (Matthew 3:1). "At hand" means nearby, soon to be, nigh upon us. Jesus taught the same thing (Matthew 4:17). When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray He taught them to pray for the kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10). (Billy Graham contends this prayer was never answered, at least, not yet.) Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach the same message and He also taught that it would come with power in the lifetime of some of His hearers (Mark 9:1). This power is identified as the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Jesus promised, even after the death of John the Baptist, that He would build His kingdom (Matthew 16:16 18), where the words kingdom and church are used interchangeably. He taught how a nobleman would go away and receive his kingdom before returning (Luke 19:11ff), and applied the teaching to Himself.
The Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ and His disciples were taught He would not commune with them again in this manner until in the kingdom (Mark 14:25). We read of apostolic instructions to partake of the Lord's Supper in I Corinthians 11 when Paul wrote members of the church to observe that supper. This proves the kingdom had come by the time Paul wrote, and that the kingdom and the church are one and the same institution.
After the resurrection of Jesus Christ He stated that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47ff). This would occur when power came upon the apostles. Having already learned that the power would be the Holy Spirit, we read of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem and they preached repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).
Those who took down the body of Jesus from the cross still waited even at that time for the kingdom (Mark 15:43), which proves the kingdom had not yet come at the time of His burial. Acts 1:6 shows His disciples were still looking for the kingdom just prior to His ascension, which proves the kingdom did not come until after His resurrection and ascension.
Its Beginning
Acts two records the coming of the Holy Spirit, in the city of Jerusalem, in the last days, in the days of the Roman empire, after His ascension, with the message being preaching that Jesus said was to be preached. All of it was happening in the lifetime of some who had heard Jesus preach. Everything foretold in both the Old and New Testaments came to pass that day regarding the establishment of His kingdom. Beginning with Acts two the kingdom is in existence, and people are said to become members of it, observing the Lord's Supper in it. Not one thing that was prophesied in this matter of the beginning of the kingdom was lacking. Therefore, from Scripture, we must conclude that the kingdom had its beginning (Acts 11:15) on the first Pentecost after the Lord's return to heaven.
Why is this so important to me and you? We need to understand that God has not changed His mind nor altered His promises and prophecies. He did not go back on His word of prophecy. The kingdom came and now exists. God kept His word. Salvation is in His kingdom rather than in the devil's domain. The terms of entrance into the kingdom are the same conditions for salvation. When one hears, believes and obeys the gospel he become a citizen in the kingdom of God. Those in the kingdom have been "delivered out of the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son." (Colossians 1:13). They are also in the church.
Someday, according to God's wisdom and good pleasure, the Son shall return to claim His own, and those in the kingdom shall be delivered up to the Father into eternal glory (I Corinthians 15:24; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Illustration
Permit a brief illustration. Should one wish to become a citizen of the United States, what is the process? He must first recognize he is not a citizen. He must want to become a citizen. Having heard of the land, he must comply with the laws of this country whereby, when he obeys them, he is given citizenship.
The same principle is true in leaving the kingdom of the devil and entering the kingdom of Christ. We must recognize we are alienated from Him because of our sins. We must desire to be a citizen of His kingdom. We must comply with the terms of entrance into His kingdom, which are faith, repentance, confession of Christ, and burial in water in the name of Christ for the remission of sins. One is then added to the church (Acts 2:47), is born again (John 3:3-5), and is given citizenship into the kingdom composed of the redeemed.