God’s Kingdom

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

This post will answer 3 questions:

1. WHAT is God’s Kingdom?
2. WHERE is God’s Kingdom?
3. WHEN is God’s Kingdom?

WHAT is God’s Kingdom?

The Everlasting Spiritual Kingdom

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.

Here are a few Bible verses that support these statements:

“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)

“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11)

“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)

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)

The Righteous Kingdom

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

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

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

Deuteronomy chapter 28 lists the covenantal blessings and curses between God and Israel. These same blessings and curses apply to disciples under the New (Renewed) Covenant today.

Blessings for Obedience

For those who fully obey God, 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, for those who refuse to obey God, He said all these curses  would overwhelm them:

• 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, God’s kingdom is spiritual, not physical. It’s worldwide, in every person who is being led by 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 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?

Starting after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, God’s kingdom is coming to earth in four stages, with each stage being a greater revelation of God’s kingdom 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 event is explained in 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 Rejects the King

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: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 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

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 forbid the name of the King of kings (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 the manifestation of the sons of God, read 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 Overcomers’ Treasure Map.)

Just as Israel was judged in 70A.D. for rejecting the King, so the nations will be judged for following Satan and rejecting Jesus as their 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 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?