The Kingdom of God

Tonight we're on lesson number 11 in our study of eschatology. We're looking at the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is one of the premier teaching points in the Gospels. You find this all throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It's also in the New Testament and in the Old Testament. And it's very critical that we understand what the kingdom of God is, and also its relation to what we studied last week, to this age and the age to come, because the kingdom of God has both aspects in it. And to understand the kingdom of God is to understand Christ, because He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Okay? So let's begin with Bible point number one.

Scripture's storyline is centered on Jesus Christ. Scripture chiefly reveals what Christ the Messiah has done to save humanity and make us a new creation in Him. Jesus is the Anointed One, that's what Messiah means, who came to save His people from their sins.

The kingdom of God is God's sovereign dominion. Dominion is the first blank. The kingdom of God is God's sovereign dominion over all things through Jesus Christ for the salvation of His elect people and the renewal of His creation for His own glory. So when we talk about the kingdom of God, it's His sovereign rule, His dominion over all things through His Son Jesus Christ for the benefit of the elect and also for the renewal of all creation, because Christ came to save not just humanity from their sins but to restore creation to where it was before the Fall.

The kingdom of God is not, not is the third blank, is not limited to any particular nation nor reduced to God's reign in the hearts of His people. It's not limited to just Israel or to just the Gentiles; it's for all people. His rule is over all nations, right? And it's not spiritualized; it's not limited to just in the hearts of His people. His dominion is over all things. "Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

The kingdom of God was fulfilled by Christ in His first coming as He ushered in the messianic age in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The kingdom of God is now a present, present is the fourth blank, a present reality. The kingdom of God is also a future certainty. It's both present and also future. Just as we talked last week about this age and the age to come, so is the kingdom of God. It's a present reality, but it's also a future consummation.

The kingdom of God will be consummated. This is the fifth blank. So the first blank is dominion, the second blank is through, the third blank is not, the fourth blank is present, the fourth blank is consummated. The kingdom of God will be consummated at Christ's second coming when He returns to vanquish His adversaries. Can His rule really be supreme when there are those in rebellion against Him? No. Rescue His saints, resurrect the dead, bringing an end to death, glorify His saints, bringing their salvation to completion, right? Their sanctification will be done; they'll be conformed to the image of Christ. Judge the wicked and bring about the new heavens and earth. At His second coming, what is already accomplished in part will receive its final and full expression. All things will be brought under His feet at that point.

Matthew 6:13 says, Jesus in His prayer to teach the disciples how to pray says, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Notice He says, "Yours is the kingdom." He's talking to His Father, and He's saying, "Deliver us from the evil one." Satan would soon be crushed at the cross, right? But there waits a day when Satan will be cast into the eternal lake of fire. So that's where His kingdom is both this age and in the age to come.

The application for number one: Is God's kingdom located in a palace or a person? Person is the blank. Is it located in a palace? We think of kings. And what do you think of when you think of the king of England, King Charles? You think of Buckingham Palace, right? That's where that king resides. But is the kingdom of God in a physical place, or is it in a person? It's in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bible point number two: although the term kingdom of God is not expressly used in the Old Testament, in other words, you don't find that exact phrase, the kingdom of God, in the Old Testament, God's reign, dominion, and rule is found in the Old Testament. Yahweh is called, quote, "the sovereign Lord" in Deuteronomy 19:26. He's called the King of Israel in Deuteronomy 9:26, Zephaniah 3:15 as well. He's called the King of glory in Psalm 24:10. It's said that He's enthroned as King forever in Psalm 29:10 as well. The King, the Lord Almighty, you'll find that description in Isaiah 6:5 and also in Zechariah 14:16–17. These titles all describe God's rule, authority, and divine sovereignty. Sovereignty is the first blank for number two.

All these things, speaking of His kingship, the King of Israel, the sovereign Lord, the King of glory, it's referring to His dominion, to His rule. God reigns over all the nations. We find that in Psalm 10:16, Psalm 22:8, and Psalm 47:8. God reigns forever, Psalm 146:10. We find that other places. Speaking of that, you think of Isaiah 9, that of His kingdom there'll be no end, right? "Heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool," Isaiah 66:1. He rules over everything and everywhere. His rule is not limited to just America or just one specific place.

God's holy throne is founded in righteousness and justice. We find that in Psalm 89:14, Psalm 97:2, and Psalm 103:6. That's really important. We talked back when we discussed the nature and attributes of God about God's chief attribute being that He is holy. And for Him to be holy means that He must punish sin, that's what we call justice, and He must reward the righteous. Therefore, His throne is established in justice and in righteousness. He must reward the righteous and punish the wicked, or He's not God. He's not a holy God. God reigns over all the nations. Heaven is God's throne, and the earth is His footstool. God's holy throne is founded in righteousness and justice.

The promised Messiah would be a righteous Branch from David who would execute judgment. Judgment is the second blank. And righteousness, righteousness is the third blank, in the earth, because God is holy. His Messiah, who was God made flesh, would be holy too, executing righteousness and judgment. We find that in Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15, Psalm 2, and Psalm 110, the great messianic psalms.

The Messiah's kingdom would consume all others, fill the earth, and stand forever. We see that in Daniel 2. That's that great vision that Nebuchadnezzar has, a dream where he sees a four-part statue composed of four different elements representing four different kingdoms. And what does he see? But a stone that was uncut by human hands. Who's that stone? Christ. It smashes that into oblivion and fills the whole earth. It grows to be a great mountain, right? Because His kingdom rules over all. That's what the Messiah will be. The Son of Man would enter God's throne room and forever, forever is the fourth blank, rule all peoples and nations in an everlasting kingdom. We find that in Daniel 7, that vision of the Son of Man coming before the Ancient of Days and receiving the throne of God, and all worship is given to Him. That's a picture of His prophetically told in Daniel 7.

We're on the back. I want to look at a reference verse here for Isaiah 66:1–2. This is in the Old Testament discussing God's throne. "…and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me?" Again, God doesn't reside in a palace, right? "And where is the place of My rest? For all these things My hand has made, and those things exist," says the Lord. "But on this I will look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word." It's amazing that God in Christ deigns to dwell within us, those who tremble at His word, right? In whom His Spirit dwells.

But back on the front, the application for number two: Christ, on His throne, is the worthy, worthy is the blank, is a worthy object of our worship. Christ, on His throne, as we see in Daniel 7 as He takes the throne, that is the worthy object of worship. What does worship mean, but to ascribe worth to, right? What do we do with our lives? Isn't much of our lives low-key worship? We worship what we think is important, right? Whether that is something benign, such as family, but any misplaced priority can become an idol, right? Whether that's entertainment, whether that's money, whatever it is. But in Christ, we have the perfect object of our worship, the only One who's worthy of our time, of our effort, to pour out our hearts before Him.

Bible point number three: Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God prophesied in the Old Testament. He ushered it in in His very incarnation. The New Testament opens with John the Baptist saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Hand is the first blank, Matthew 3:2. That verb basically means it's here. John is proclaiming that in Christ comes the kingdom.

Likewise, Mark opens with Jesus, quote, "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'" It's amazing what Jesus does to start off the Gospel of Mark. He's preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. He says, "Repent." He says, "The kingdom of God is at hand. Believe in the gospel." To believe in the good news of Christ is to believe in His kingdom, right? The King of kings, the Lord of lords, made flesh.

The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are interchangeable terms in the New Testament with no distinction. This is very important. You can look through simply a concordance, particularly in the Gospel of Matthew, which many people say, "Well, Matthew was written particularly to the Jews because he has so many Old Testament references." That's the theory behind that. It's neat to see that kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God are interchangeable. I only bring that up because there's many different forms of dispensationalism, but the original form, what we call the classic dispensationalism represented by Scofield, he would deny that the kingdom of God was in any way present in this world. He said that Christ came to offer it, the Jews rejected it, so He took it back to heaven with Him. He'll bring it back whenever He returns. They made a distinction. They tried to split hairs between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, but a simple concordance, look up the verses. You'll see that they're interchangeably used, kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven, not just in Matthew, but all throughout the Scriptures. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are interchangeable terms with no distinction in the New Testament.

Jesus said that the time predicted by the prophets is now fulfilled in Himself. You find that in Luke 4:21, which we'll read in a minute. In Christ's preaching, teaching, and miracles, the kingdom of God was manifested among men. You'll find that in Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:33, and then Matthew 10:7, where He sends out His own disciples, and His own disciples are working miracles because the kingdom of God has been put forth into this world. Jesus could thus truly say, "The kingdom of God has come," come is the third blank, "come upon you." First blank is hand, second blank is fulfilled, the third blank is come. "The kingdom of God has come upon you," He says that in Matthew 12:28 and Luke 11:20. He says it's here; it's arrived.

The kingdom of God is inseparable, that's the fourth blank, inseparable from the person of Christ. He is the King, and wherever He goes, He brings His kingdom. Jesus equated His own self with the kingdom of God in the story of the rich young ruler. He actually equated His life, His name, His person with the very kingdom of God. We'll look at that in just a minute when we look on the back at our reference verses. Philip also makes the same equation with the kingdom of God and Christ in Acts 8:12. Likewise, Paul makes this equation between the kingdom of God and the person of Christ in Acts 28:13.

Flip over on the back; let's look at these. First of all, in Luke 4, we have where Jesus famously preaches His first sermon in Nazareth, His hometown synagogue. "So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written." And here He's quoting a messianic psalm. This is psalm, I'm sorry, Isaiah 60 and 61. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives." What does the king do? He sets people free, right? "And recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Acceptable year of Yahweh. "Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,'" saying, I am He. I am the messianic King. "So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?'" They were having a hard time putting this together, the way He spoke and the authority that He had.

Look at Luke 11:20. Jesus says, "But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you," saying, I am proof that the kingdom of God is here by doing this. I am coming here, and I'm casting out demons. I have bound the strong man. I have bound Satan to be able to release these from their demonic bondage.

Luke 17:20–21: "Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, "See here!" or "See there!" For indeed, the kingdom of God is,'" what? "'within you.'" He's talking about the spiritual nature of the kingdom. The Pharisees were looking for a messianic king who would ride in on a white horse like the Roman conquerors and throw off the yoke of the Roman Empire and set Israel free from that bondage. They'd no longer have to pay taxes. They could have self-rule again. That was their concept of the Messiah. And what does Jesus say? He says, No, you're looking at the wrong kind of a kingdom and the wrong kind of Messiah. The kingdom of God is within you. It's a spiritual kingdom.

John 3:3, look what He tells Nicodemus. "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" It takes regeneration, right? It's a spiritual entrance into that kingdom. You must be born again.

And look here, Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29, and Luke 18:29. I have all three written here. These are all three from His discussion of the parable of the rich young ruler. And look how Jesus equates the kingdom of God with His own name, with His own person. In other words, they're inseparable. He says, I am the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:29, He says, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mothers or wife or children or lands for," look what He says, it's underlined here, "for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life." He's saying that those, unlike the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful because he had to sell all he had and give to the poor, those who follow after Me, they'll be blessed in this life and in the life to come. But He says, "for My name's sake."

And look at Mark 10:29, Mark's account of this. "So Jesus answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or fathers or mothers or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's.'" Again, He's equating here the kingdom of God with "for My sake and the gospel's," because the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. And look what He says in Luke 18:29. "So He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God.'" So He's taking all three, the kingdom of God, the gospel, and His own person, and they're the one and the same. They're inseparable. Christ is the King who has come and brought His kingdom into this world.

Flip back over on the front. In the Beatitudes, Jesus says in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for" what? "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Who are the poor in spirit? They're those who have no righteousness. They're those who have no way to earn God's favor, which is all of us. We're the spiritually bankrupt. We come before God as impoverished beggars. We say, "Please remember me when You come into Your kingdom." He gives us His mercy. He gives us His grace. And ours is the kingdom of heaven.

Application for number three: wherever the King goes, He is King, King is the blank, and reigns over all. You've probably seen movies where the president, whatever plane he's on, that plane is what? Air Force One, right? Wherever the president goes, he's the president. Wherever the king goes, he's the king. And Christ brought His kingdom into this world when He took on flesh and added humanity to His deity.

Bible point number four: the ways that Christ made present the kingdom of God were manifold. I have ten of them listed. There's more than ten, but these are ten of the most prominent ones. Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here by casting out demons. Demons is the first blank. We find Matthew 12:28. In fact, read that on the back with me. "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. For how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." Christ, the conquering King, came in, and He bound Satan in a limited sense, bound Satan's power because His power is greater than Satan's, right? To be able to cast out demons, right? So He manifested the kingdom of God through His exorcisms, through casting out demons.

Look at the second bullet point. Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here when Satan, Satan is the blank for the second bullet point, fell from heaven, Luke 10:18–19 and also Revelation 12:10. Why did Satan fall from heaven? Because Christ's kingdom came on this earth, and he was cast out. Flip over on the back. I'll read that to you. We find... Do I have it here? Yes. Luke 10:17–19, also Matthew 11:2–5. Actually, I don't think I have that reference. I'm sorry. Do I? Yes, 10:18–19. I'm sorry. "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.' And He said to them, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on servants.'" Or serpents. Who was Satan symbolized by but serpents, right? He was that serpent of old from the garden, right? "'And scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.'" Because God's kingdom had come, He delivered that power over to His apostles, who went out proclaiming the gospel, and they were given signs to authenticate that gospel, illustrating and demonstrating that God's kingdom had broken out in this world.

Flip back over on the front. Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here by performing miracles. This is part and parcel with that. This is the third bullet point, miracles. We find that in Matthew 11:4–5. This is verse 2: "And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'" John had said, "Even now the ax is laid to the root of the tree," and you're ready to be cast into the fire. He was expecting Christ to actually bring judgment right here and now, right? But Jesus wasn't. He was healing. He was going out freeing people, delivering the good news of the kingdom. So you can understand John's natural questioning. Verse 4: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: the blind see.'" Then we read that in Isaiah 60, right? That the Messiah would make the blind to see. "'And the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them,'" saying, By My miracles, by My works, I am bringing the kingdom of God here. I'm setting captives free.

Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here by the preaching of the gospel. We just read that in verse 5. He says, "And the poor have the gospel preached to them," Matthew 11:5. Matthew 11:12: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." What He says there is that John came preaching repentance, and what happened? Everyone from Jerusalem and Judea all came out, not just the commoners, but even the Pharisees and the religious leaders came out to see what this commotion was, what this prophet was preaching, repentance, that the kingdom of God was at hand and that fire was going to break out at any moment and they were going to be judged. And those who repented are pressing in to the kingdom. In other words, we're called upon with all of our might to turn from our wicked ways and to turn to Christ. And John said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" This is from those days until now; the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force, meaning that those who repent and turn to the kingdom will receive the kingdom, right? They come into the kingdom.

Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here by forgiving sins. We find that in Mark 2:10. In the Old Testament, it prophesied that the new covenant would be marked by the remission of sins. You'll find that in Jeremiah 31, you'll find that in Micah 7:18, you'll find that in Isaiah 33, you'll find that in Zechariah 13. I encourage you to look those up in your own time. But look at Mark 2:10. Jesus says, "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins," He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." He had already said, "Your sins are forgiven." And he said, Who's this man that says He can forgive sins? He says, That you may know, I'm going to confirm it here. Rise up and walk. And the man did, right? Because Messiah would be the One who would bring His kingdom to be able to turn us from our sins, to actually remove our guilt from us.

Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here by defining it as a spiritual kingdom. We already read Luke 17:20–21. But look at John 18:36. It's on the back. "Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight,'" right? They had to take up arms. "'So that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.' Pilate therefore said to Him, 'Are You a king then?'" Are You a king at all? If You don't have a palace, if You don't have an army? "Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.'" Here's the King's voice. Of course, what does Pilate say? "What is truth?" It's one of the saddest words in Scripture. The truth of God is standing right in front of him, and Pilate dismisses that.

Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here in God's work of regeneration, John 3:3. It says 33. It should be John 3:3. And that's, of course, where He tells Nicodemus that you can't even see the kingdom of heaven unless you be born again.

Jesus showed the kingdom of God is here by urging us to gain it. What does He say in the parables of Matthew 13? He talks about a man who finds a treasure in a field. And what does he do? He sells all that he has, and he buys that field, right? Or a merchant finds a pearl of great price. What does he do? He sells everything, and he buys it. He's urging us to gain it. Would He urge us to gain something that is not real, right? That hasn't come? No, not at all. And to count the cost. He uses the same thing about an army going to battle and a tower being built. Who sets about to wage war or build a tower unless he first counts the cost, right?

Jesus showed that the kingdom of God is here by teaching that it belongs to those with only faith. Faith is the blank for the ninth bullet point. We find that in Matthew 5:3. We just saw that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit. We also see that in Matthew 19:14, where Jesus refers to the little children as a figure of those who have childlike faith in Him. He says, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven," right? All they have is faith, right? A little child doesn't have money or any way to be able to earn that favor. But you have faith in God. If you come as little children, it's by faith.

And the kingdom of God is here in the apostolic testimony that says that all believers are part, part is the blank for the tenth bullet point, are part of it. All believers are part now of God's kingdom. Let's look at those references here. Colossians 1:12–14: "giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." We've been brought out of darkness and put into Christ, because Christ is the kingdom, right? We've been conveyed into the kingdom of the Son through His blood.

Romans 14:17: "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the" what? "The Holy Spirit." Union with Christ. Not only are we in Christ, but Christ dwells in us through His Holy Spirit. The kingdom is in you.

Revelation 1:9: "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience," or long-suffering, "of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." John says, I'm your fellow companion, not only in the tribulation, but also in the kingdom, right? And that kingdom is present right now, of Jesus Christ.

Flip back over on the front. The application for number four comes again from the Lord's Prayer: "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." His kingdom has already broken out here. We just went over ten different distinctions that show it being present, but yet we still pray for it to come in its consummation, right? "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," both in our own lives, in the life of the church, and in the life of the world.

Preaching of the gospel. By the preaching of the gospel, yes. Jesus in Matthew 11:5 says part of what Messiah would do, in the servant song that we find in Isaiah 60, was that He would declare good news to the captives, right? And that's where we find the word evangelize in the Old Testament when you read it in the Greek, and it's used here too. He preaches the good news. That's part of the kingdom of God. Because how do we gain faith but by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God?

Bible point number five: Scripture teaches both the present kingdom of God, present is the first blank, and its future, future is the second blank, its future consummation. The present reality of the kingdom of God shows Christ as both the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises within history and the coming consummation at the end of this age when He returns, returns is the third blank, to raise the dead, judge the world, and create the new heavens and the new earth. So He brings the kingdom into its full consummation at His return, when the dead are raised, when He judges the world, and He brings about the new heavens and the new earth.

Let's look at that. First bullet point: the consummation of the kingdom of God coincides with the resurrection of the body. Remember, before the dead are judged, there is the general resurrection, the resurrection of the body, 1 Corinthians 15:50–52. Let's see if I have this here on the back. I don't; that's okay. But that's, of course, where God through Paul says, "In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed."

The consummation of the kingdom of God coincides with the glorification, that's the second bullet point, the glorification of the saints. In Matthew 13, it says that the sons of the kingdom will shine forth as the sun. Saints are glorified at His return. God's kingdom cannot be consummated until we're glorified, until we're conformed to His perfect image.

The consummation of the kingdom of God coincides with judgment. Find that in Matthew 7:21–23; Matthew 25:31–46, that's the separation of the sheep from the goats at His return; and also John 5:26–29, that's famously where Jesus says that when He returns, He will shout forth and the dead will rise, some to the judgment of condemnation, some to eternal life. So the consummation of the kingdom can't take place until that judgment takes place, when He is shown to be the perfect Judge and all wrongs are dealt with.

The consummation of the kingdom of God coincides with the eternal separation of the wicked. Find that in Matthew 8:11–12 and Matthew 13:47–49. You'll find again in each of these references, when you look them up, the kingdom of God explicitly referenced in relation to this. We can't have God's perfect kingdom where the righteous are dwelling side by side with evil rebels, right? They are separated, the sheep and the goats, at His return.

The consummation of the kingdom of God coincides with the eternal destruction, destruction, of the wicked. Matthew 13:41–42 and 50 speaks of the tares being burnt up, and the chaff, and the wheat being gathered into His pot. The consummation of the kingdom coincides with the gathering of the saints to God, Matthew 25:43, the gathering of the saints to God.

The consummation of the kingdom of God coincides with the new, new is that seventh blank there, the new heavens and earth where righteousness dwells. We've read this, of course, in 2 Peter 3. The entire creation will be redeemed by Christ from the effects of sin, and suffering and death will be no more. Creation right now toils under the effects of sin. The ground is cursed because of Adam, right? The vegetation pushes up thorns. When Christ returns, it is no longer going to be a fallen creation. He is going to recreate it, a new heavens and a new earth fit for righteousness.

Flip over on the back; let's look at these verses here. Romans 8:19–23 speaks of this in coincidence with His return. "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing," the apokalypsis, "of the sons of God." When Christ returns, we'll be conformed into His image; we'll be revealed to be His sons. "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope." He knew He could overturn that and would overturn that in Christ. Verse 21: "because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now." It knows it's not right; it knows that God's kingdom isn't fully consummated yet. Verse 23: "Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." A glorious doctrine that is: when Christ comes, we will be resurrected; we will be glorified. And His Holy Spirit is the down payment who yearns within us and testifies of that heavenly reality, the down payment of the kingdom of God.

Look at Ephesians 1:7–10. "In Him," in Christ, "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation," or the administration, "of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, in Him." In the new heavens and the new earth, it'll be made fit for righteousness to dwell. All creation, the rocks and the trees, will shout forth the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ in that glorious day.

Colossians 1:19–20, a parallel passage here: "For it pleased the Father that in Him," in Christ, "all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile," that means to be brought back together, "all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." All people, all nations, all created things, everything in the created realm will be brought to Him.

And of course, we see this pictured in Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, the first four verses. "And he showed me a pure water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life." Where did we first see that? In the garden. Now it's restored, right? It's not paradise lost, but paradise regained and surpassed, even better, in the new heavens and the new earth. "Which had been twelve… And on either side of the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him." Just as God walked with Adam and Eve in the coolness of the garden, now in the new heavens and the new earth, Christ dwells among His people once again, right? "They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." We never hear that spoken of Adam and Eve, that His name was on their foreheads. "There shall be no night there." Jimmy sang a song one time called "No More Night." I don't know if you remember that. What a beautiful hymn that is. "They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." He shares His throne with His people. What a glorious picture that is.

Application for number five: Revelation 3:20, what does Jesus say? "Behold, I stand at the door and," what? "knock. He who hears My voice," what? "I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." I'll sup with him, right? The application is for us to dine with Christ now. We have all eternity where we will be with Him and see His face and bear His name, but why wait? That sweet fellowship. We have His Word. We have His Spirit. We have brothers and sisters in Christ to edify and encourage us. Let's celebrate Christ now. Let's know Him now, not wait for the age to come, but take advantage of knowing Him in this age, right?

Bible point number six: the kingdom of God has not been postponed, postponed is the first blank, in any sense. I mentioned, again, not all dispensationalists are the same. Most of them do not believe the postponement of the kingdom like the original classic dispensationalists did, but my granddad used to have a Scofield Bible. I'm very familiar with it. They said that the kingdom of God was postponed, which is not in any way true. We just looked at how it's already broken out in the present, right? The kingdom of God has not been postponed in any sense. It's both present in this age and coming in the age to come. It's both this age and yet to come.

Christ's second coming is not an initial and temporal, T-E-M-P-O-R-A-L, temporal, meaning a temporary stage leading to the consummation. In other words, it was not an intermediate kingdom. Christ's consummation is His return. Christ's second coming is not an initial and temporal stage leading to the consummation. Christ's return is, is, is the third blank, is the consummation of the kingdom of God. That's what we just looked at in Bible point number five. We saw the resurrection, the glorification of the saints, the judgment of the wicked, the separation of the wicked, the destruction of the wicked, the gathering of the saints, the new heavens, the new earth; they were all contemporaneous with His return. No space is ever mentioned in these passages between the two. Christ's return is the consummation of the kingdom of God.

The consummation of Christ's kingdom will not come as a culmination of human, human is the third blank, human achievement. There are some who believe that we build the kingdom of God in things, institutions, and culture and governments, and eventually it'll get better and better, and Christ's kingdom is realized through that. That's what we call, and we'll look at that when we look at millennial views, it's called postmillennialism. That's more of a modern take on it. The older postmillennialists like Jonathan Edwards were actually good. They believed simply that it was through the gospel that God's kingdom would come. In other words, it's through conversion of hearts, not through building physical kingdoms and physical structures and whatnot. But the point is that this kingdom is not something that's brought about by man; it's something that's wrought by God first and foremost.

Christ's kingdom will fully come in His sovereign timing in accord with His divine long-suffering, 2 Peter 3:9. Why does Jesus say that His return seems like it's been delayed? It's because of the long-suffering of God. He's not willing that any should perish, right?

Our duty is to receive, that's the fourth blank, receive Christ the King by grace through faith. That's our duty, is to receive Christ. It's not to bring His kingdom; to get His kingdom is to receive Christ, because Christ is identical with His kingdom. The gospel is identical with His kingdom. Our duty is to preach, preach is the fifth blank, to preach the gospel of the kingdom, Matthew 24:14. "Woe is me," Paul says, "if I don't preach the gospel." I'm not declaring that Christ is King if I do not preach the gospel. Our duty is to hope in Christ and to look, look is the sixth blank, for His appearing. We're to look and hope for Him to bring His kingdom in its culmination. What a glorious day that will be.

Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." You know, we worry about where our next meal is coming from, and we worry about clothing, right? All these worldly cares. Jesus says, "Seek first," what? "the kingdom of God," and all these things will be added to you. The application for number six is simply this: seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else. Put Christ first, put the gospel first, receive Christ, preach Christ, and look for His return.