Hello all,

It seems that the great majority of modern day Christians actually believe that the Kingdom that Jesus came to establish was postponed until some future time. They do this by believing there is some future 1000 year time when Jesus will bring this Kingdom to earth. Does one know the impact of believing such a thing really says about the Lord God, and His only Begotten Son?? It is saying that one believes that God failed at the Cross!! This is not something to be taken lightly!! Therefore, the Lord placed it on my heart, this morning, to write about the eternal Kingdom that Jesus founded, and how we, who are saved by His Grace, are already ruling and reigning in this Kingdom, right now, here on this earth, and in this world.

The kingdom that Jesus established by His coming the first time, is an eternal Kingdom that shall never pass away. Plainly He tells us that we are to focus on this Kingdom above all other things in this life, here in this world. This world and its kingdoms are temporary and they will pass away when He comes the second time.

Mat 6:31-33
"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Let us look into what the Bible tells us about this eternal kingdom. First we will look at the promises of this Kingdom from the Old Testament.

OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES

Gen 49:8-10
"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. (9) Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (10) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. "

Note in these verses that "scepter" means Kingship, and "Shiloh" equals a Messianic title.

Next, let us look at God's promise to David.

2Sa 7:12 -13
"And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. (13) He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom FOREVER."

Jehoiachin was the last Davidic King:

2Ki 24:8-12
"Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. (9) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. (10) At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. (11) And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. (12) And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign."

Jehoiachin was put in prison, and although he was released and treated kindly by the king of Babylon, he was never to reign again.

2Ki 27-30
"And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; (28) And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; (29) And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. (30) And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life."

Daniel's Prophecy:

Dan 2:44
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it SHALL STAND FOREVER."

THE COMING OF JESUS

Promise to Mary:

Luk 1:30-33
"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (33) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; AND OF HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END."

John the Baptist's pronouncement of this coming Kingdom:

Mat 3:1-2
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, (2) And saying, Repent ye: for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND."

The call of Jesus:

Mar 1:14-15
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into 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 ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus preaching the Kingdom:

Luk 4:42-45
"And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. (43) And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. (44) And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

The nature of the Kingdom:

Luk 17:20-21
"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: (21) Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

Jesus before Pilate:

Jhn 18:33-37
"Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? (34) Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? (35) Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? (36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (37) Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."

THE KINGDOM ESTABLISHED

The authority of Jesus:

Mat 28:18 -20

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. Amen."

His called out ones are in His Kingdom:

Col 1:13-14
"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:"

The duration of the Kingdom:

1 Corinthians 15:20-26
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (21) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (24) Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (25) For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (26) The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

The Kingdom in the Book of Revelation:

Rev 1:9
"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and IN THE KINGDOM AND PATIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

(Note that John says that he is IN THE KINGDOM.)

If one believes that the Kingdom of God does not start until after His Second Coming, and will be established during some future 1000 reign, these things you must also believe:

1. His Kingdom is not yet established.
2. It will be an earthly kingdom in the world.
3. Jesus failed at the Cross, and Israel's rejection of Jesus foiled God's Plan.

If one believes the Truth established in the Holy Word of God, then one also believes:

1. Jesus in heaven now has all authority.
2. Those in submission to Him reign in His kingdom HERE and in the life to come.
3. No apostasy or persecution can overcome it.
4. It continues ETERNALLY.

Jesus told us that He would be with us until the end of the Age, the age of Grace. He would be our King and we would be in His Kingdom during this time on earth. This age of Grace is temporary, and it will end. But His Kingdom is not of this world, it is an Eternal Kingdom and it will last FOREVER.

We who are in His Kingdom now, will be in His Kingdom forever. When we are born again from above, we enter this eternal Kingdom, and no worldly power can take us out of it. And when His kingdom takes over the Whole earth and makes everything new, we will reign with Him on the New Earth. The Age of Grace will end, and soon, but the Kingdom that He established at the Cross will go on forever. We are in His Kingdom now, and we will be eternally. There is no other future Kingdom of God that will be established. The Kingdom of heaven that He established by His first Coming will go on forever, but when He comes the second time, He will set up this Kingdom on the New Earth, and we will be with Him in Spirit and in Body.

Do we realize how far from the Truth we are when we think that His Kingdom did not come yet, and it is something future that needs to be fulfilled? What do we not understand about His statement on the Cross of Calvary? He said IT IS FINISHED!! How can we call ourselves His followers when we do not believe He had the power to accomplish all that He set out to do?

Maybe most do not even think about this, and how it affects their beliefs. Yet, it is very important to see that if we do not believe in the FINISHED WORK OF JESUS AT THE CROSS, then can we really ever know the Truth? It is a major stumbling block to many, not to see that Jesus is our King now and forevermore. We are in His Kingdom now, and need to keep spreading the good news. The good news is that if we receive Him as our King and Savior, we are in His Kingdom, and we as His servants are to occupy until He comes.

Jesus came the first time as a Savior, and He succeeded in saving all that believe and are born again into the Kingdom of God on this earth. He is our King now, and He rules from Heaven and we are to carry out His commands while we are in this world.

When Jesus comes a second time, He will come as a Judge. He will judge the world, and all those who did not enter into His Kingdom, that He established at His first coming. We, who are already in His Kingdom have no fear of being judged, as we are already His, and we believed and are part of His eternal Kingdom.

How can we call Him Lord if we do not believe that He established His Kingdom when He came in the flesh and died for us? If we do not we must be believing "another Gospel of the Kingdom of God".

It is crucial that we take a look at this and find out where we stand. People say this is not a salvation issue, but I beg to differ, it most certainly IS!!

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

BUMP

Inspired to bump this up by listening to radio show about same subject that is posted here today Dec 7th..refreshing to see others question this issue of a millennium...