What Is The Kingdom of God? | God’s Kingdom Territory

Jesus taught us not to worry about the things of this life. Instead, and above all else, we are to seek first the Father’s kingdom and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:24-34)

But, What is God’s kingdom? Also, where is it, and when will it fully come onto the earth? This post will answer 3 main questions:

WHAT is God’s Kingdom?
WHERE is God’s Kingdom?
WHEN is God’s Kingdom?

WHAT is God’s Kingdom?

Every kingdom requires a king, a territory, and a people over which the king reigns.

King
Territory
People

The King of the Kingdom of God

Jesus is the King of God’s kingdom. After His resurrection He declared to His disciples,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”
Matthew 28:18

According to Revelation 19:6, Jesus is ‘the King of kings and Lord of lords.’

Therefore, Jesus is now the King in YHWH’s kingdom, with royal authority over all in heaven and earth.

When all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.
1 Corinthians 15:28

After His millennial reign on earth, when Jesus has put all YHWH’s enemies under His feet, Jesus will deliver His kingdom to His Father, so that YHWH may be ‘all in all.’

The Territory of the Kingdom of God

How does the kingdom of God claim territory? God’s kingdom exists (in heaven and on earth) wherever His creatures are submitted to His authority and cooperating to accomplish His will.

For example, while Jesus now has all authority in heaven and on earth, His authority isn’t recognized by the Devil and his angels in heaven, or by billions of people on the earth. But His authority is recognized by the majority of angelic spirits in heaven and millions of people on earth.

Subjecting everything in heaven and earth to Jesus will take time, but it’s exactly on schedule according to God’s plan.

The People of the Kingdom of God

God’s kingdom is an everlasting, spiritual kingdom that flesh and blood cannot enter. You must be spiritually born-again, through humility, repentance, and believing faith to see it and enter into it.

Nobody is good enough to enter the kingdom; only those who are willing to humble themselves in sincere repentance for their sinfulness can enter God’s Kingdom.

Here are a few Bible verses that support this statement:

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
(John 3:3-8)

There is none righteous, not even one.
(Romans 3:10)

My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from this world.
(John 18:36)

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
(1 Corinthians 15:50)

The first Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
(1 Corinthians 15:45-48)

Attributes of God’s Kingdom

A Righteous Kingdom

Righteousness and peace are the foundation and spirit of His realm.

Of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.”
(Hebrews 1:8)

The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
(Matthew 13:43)

Reign in Life, Not Physical Force

Today, politicians, soldiers, and policemen rule their subjects by force, ruling their subjects by fear of punishment.

But, in God’s kingdom the peoples’ compliance won’t be governed through fear. They’ll enthusiastically seek to walk in God’s righteousness because it will give them extended life, peace, and blessings.

Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
(Romans 5:17)

Kingdom Blessings and Curses

Deuteronomy chapter 28 lists the covenantal blessings and curses between God and Israel; blessings if they obeyed the voice of YHWH, and curses if they disobeyed His voice. In the verses below, please notice the emphasis wasn’t on obeying the Mosaic law, it was upon obeying YHWH’s voice. YHWH’s voice will never contradict His law, but the written law should never replace His living voice in our lives.

Here’s what Moses said,

Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God
Deuteronomy 28:1-2)

Some people today teach that Christians must obey the laws of Moses, while others teach that Christians aren’t under the Mosaic law, but under grace.

My opinion is that Jesus is ‘the prophet who is to come’ (Deuteronomy 18:15). Even before He instituted the New Covenant, His teaching superseded the Mosaic law, meaning that His disciples are under a higher law of the Spirit. This is evident in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) when Jesus said many times, “You have heard it said… but I say…” Jesus’ law is more stringent than the law of Moses because the law of Christ deals with the thoughts and intents of our heart and mind, not just our actions.

One man regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Romans 14:5

Regardless how you feel about the law vs grace controversy, we should be able to agree that all Christian disciples have the Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts, and His role is to lead us into all truth, speaking continuously to us regarding everything we need to do. Therefore, the important thing is that we listen to and obey His voice. If we do that we will automatically and naturally exceed the righteousness of the Mosaic law.

With that having been said, Gentile disciples are grafted-in to Israel (Romans 11), and I believe Israel’s blessings and curses apply to all Christians under the New Covenant today.

Blessings for Obedience

For those who obey God’s voice, He promises to ‘set them high above all the nations of the world.’ In addition, He promised they’d experience all these blessings for their obedience:

Your towns and your fields will be blessed.
Your children and your crops will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.
The LORD will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

Curses for Disobedience

However, all these curses will overwhelm those who choose to walk in rebellion–those who refuse to obey God’s voice:

Your towns and your fields will be cursed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be cursed.
Your children and your crops will be cursed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks will be cursed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be cursed.
The Lord will send you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do.
The Lord will strike you with diseases, scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew.
These disasters will befall you until you die.

WHERE is God’s Kingdom?

Until Jesus’ physical return to earth at the Battle of Armageddon, the territory of God’s kingdom is spiritual, not physical. It’s both in heaven and on earth, in every spirit and person who is following God’s Spirit.

Jesus has disciples in every tribe and language and people and nation.
(Revelation 5:9)

“All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
(Romans 8:14)

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
(Luke 17:20-21)

Therefore, today the kingdom of God’s territory on earth isn’t seen in buildings, flags, uniforms, or borders. Instead, it’s evidenced in the righteous lives and the actions of people following Jesus through the Holy Spirit’s voice within them.

WHEN is God’s Kingdom?

Jesus, and all of creation, are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, the overcomers who cause the Dragon and his angels to be cast down from heaven to earth. This event will kickoff the Great Tribulation, the defeat of the Antichrist armies at Armageddon, and the establishment of Jesus’ earthly rule for 1000 years over all the nations.

Following this event, Jesus will extend His reign over the entire territory of heaven and earth. He will do this two ways:

The heavenly territory will be purged and cleansed when the Dragon and his angels are cast down to earth. From then on, all of heaven will be kingdom territory.
On the earth, the 144,000 sons of God will be scattered among all nations, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God with the power and glory of God. As a result of their supernatural ministry, an ‘innumerable multitude’ of new disciples, from every tribe and language, will be brought into the kingdom of God.

The ‘manifestation of the sons of God’ corresponds to stage #3 in the next section.

Starting with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, God’s kingdom will come to earth in four stages, with each stage being a greater revelation of God’s reign on the earth than the last.

1. In 27 A.D. Jesus Proclaimed ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand’ to Israel

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Matthew 4:17)

“And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”
(Matthew 4:23)

Jesus Proclaimed the Kingdom of God Only to Israel

Jesus, the sinless ‘last Adam,’ proclaimed the good news that the Kingdom of God was arriving, through Him, to the people of Israel.

Before the New Covenant began (Luke 22:20) the Mosaic Covenant between God and Israel still applied. As a result, Jesus said,

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
(Matthew 15:24)

At this time, all the other nations were still under the delegated authority of the archons–70 spiritual principalities God appointed as authorities over the 70 nations after the Tower of Babel. This is explained in the free book The Overcomers’ Treasure Map.

If the Jews in Jesus’ day would’ve repented and followed Jesus, they could have been born-again as citizens of God’s kingdom, with Jerusalem as His capital city. They’d enjoy all the blessings of Deuteronomy 28, and history of mankind would’ve been rewritten.

Israel Rejected The Messiah

But, alas, the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus. As a result, their nation was invaded, their temple destroyed, and their people scattered to the wind for 1878 years, from 70AD to 1948. Instead of the blessings of Deuteronomy 28, they received the curses. Here are Jesus’ words:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!”
(Matthew 23:37-39)

“Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”
(Matthew 21:43)

2. From 28 A.D. to Today: The Kingdom of God Came with Spiritual Power

Before His crucifixion, Jesus proclaimed God’s kingdom only within Israel.

At the end of His earthly ministry, however, as “the Son of Man’ Jesus established the ‘New Covenant’ between God and all of mankind, in His own blood, when He was crucified as the Passover ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ (John 1:29).

Jesus is Crowned with Glory and Honor

Three days later, His body was resurrected and Jesus became the first immortal, incorruptible, glorified, heavenly man. As a result of His crucifixion, Jesus’ kingly authority now extends everywhere in heaven and on earth, including all angelic principalities and all nations.

At present, we do not see everything subject to him, but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
(Hebrews 2:9)

The Kingdom of God Proclaimed to All Nations

After His resurrection, but before Pentecost 50 days later, Jesus commissioned His disciples, saying,

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20)

Satan and All Principalities Stripped of Their Authority

Because Jesus lived a perfect and sinless human life, and then became the atoning sacrifice for the world’s sins, Jesus stripped Satan of all earthly authority that he stole from the first Adam.

And having stripped the principalities and the authorities, he made a shew of them openly — having triumphed over them in it.
(Colossians 2:15)

Also, as a resurrected and glorified man, Jesus can never again be tempted to sin, so His position as the Lord of everything in the spiritual and material universe is forever secure.

On the Day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem, God poured the Holy Spirit into 120 disciples from many nations. They carried the good news of God’s kingdom back to their nations, empowered by the Spirit of God.

Later, the Apostle Paul would teach and proclaim the Kingdom of God to the nations as God’s ‘apostle to the Gentiles.’

Jesus is now seated at God’s right hand, waiting for all His enemies to be made His footstool. This will be accomplished as a result of the ‘culmination of the gospel in this age’ (see #3 below).

The Current State of God’s Earthly Kingdom

In 28A.D., Jesus’ last earthly command to His disciples was to use His authority to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” (Acts 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23, 28:31)

Today, after almost 2000 years, God’s kingdom on earth appears to be in shambles. All the nations live in rebellion to God, and the worldwide Church is wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. (Revelation 3:17)

For Almost 2000 Years, the Nations Reject the King of kings

While Christian believers and disciples exist in every nation, all the nations reject Jesus’ lordship over them. Even Israel and the USA walk in rebellion toward God. For example, they actively promote the sins of Sodom, kill unborn children, and either resist or forbid the name of Jesus (or Yeshua) to be honored in the public arena.

The Great Apostasy

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless ‘the apostasy’ comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
(2 Thessalonians 2:3)

‘The Apostasy’ is also called ‘the great falling away’, referring to the sinful, powerless, unbelieving state of the visible Church in the end-time. The Apostasy is happening now, but not for much longer.

Weeds in God’s Kingdom

In Matthew 13 Jesus told the Parable of the Tares, or weeds, which the Devil maliciously plants in God’s kingdom. The weeds are children of the Devil. At the end of the age, God will send His angels to gather these weeds out of His kingdom and burn them with fire.

“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

3. Between Now and Armageddon: The Culmination of the Gospel in this Age

After the weeds are removed from the Church, probably through persecution, the righteous will ‘shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.’

Romans 8:19 says “The anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the manifestation (unveiling) of the sons of God.” This will be the most glorious event since 120 disciples received the Spirit at Pentecost in 28AD.

This ‘manifestation of the sons of God’ is the Culmination of the Gospel of the Kingdom in this age.

For a more in-depth teaching about this manifestation of the sons of God, read the free book Arise, Shine!

The Great End-time Harvest

When the glory of God is unveiled in the mature sons of God (‘sons’ includes female disciples) and the glory of God visibly radiates from them, multitudes will see God’s glory and billions of people from all nations, including kings, will seek them to learn the way of the Lord.

For more details about this, read Arise, Shine!

4. At Armageddon: The Kingdom of God Coming In Authority

“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”
(Revelation 12:10)

While God’s kingdom on earth appears to be in shambles today, that’s because He hasn’t yet started His end-time offensive to defeat His enemies and take control of the nations and the earth. (For background on God’s enemies, their conflict, and God’s eternal purpose and plan, read the free book The Overcomers’ Treasure Map.)

Just as YHWH judged Israel in 70AD for rejecting Jesus as their King, so all the nations will be judged for following the Devil and rejecting Jesus as their Savior and King.

In the next few years, every nation on earth will be thrown into great tribulation. The whole earth will convulse with economic collapse, wars, famines, genocides, natural catastrophes, etc. These are the birth pangs that will result in the birth of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Just as in human childbirth, once the birth pangs of the new age begin there will be no turning back until His saints are glorified, Satan is cast down to earth, the nations are subdued, and God’s kingdom is established from Jerusalem over the entire earth.

TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World As We Know It

The birth pangs of the new age are beginning.

For more details about prophetic end-time events, go to the TEOTWAWKI page.

For a proposed schedule of end-time events, read When Will End-time Events Occur?

In Conclusion

This article answered these 3 questions.

WHAT is God’s Kingdom?
- Jesus is the King
- All of heaven and earth is His rightful territory
- You must be ‘born again.’ No flesh may enter; only those begotten-again by God’s Spirit.
WHERE is God’s Kingdom?
- Today it is spiritual, in every angelic spirit and person who is following God
- After Jesus’ second coming His kingdom territory will also be earthly. He will rule all nations from Jerusalem.
WHEN is God’s Kingdom?
- God’s kingdom on earth has 4 stages of revelation.
  1. Jesus preached the kingdom only to Jews.
  2. Since Pentecost, the kingdom is proclaimed by Jewish and Gentile disciples by the power of the Spirit.
  3. The ‘culmination of the gospel’ when the sons of God are revealed at the end of this age. The Dragon is cast down from heaven, starting the Great Tribulation, and an innumerable multitude of souls is harvested out of all nations.
  4. Jesus returns at Armageddon to establish His throne on earth.

What Do You Think?

Did this article answer all your questions on this topic? Please leave a comment below and tell me:

Were you satisfied by the information in this article?
Or, did it leave you wanting more?