The Kingdom: Now, But Not Yet
1. In 1999, an article in Time Magazine discussed the influential people of the millennium. The article said, quote, “"It would require much exotic calculation to deny that the single most powerful figure—not merely in these two millenniums but in all of human history—has been Jesus of Nazareth… A serious argument can be made that no one else’s life has proved remotely as powerful and enduring as that of Jesus." (Man of the Millennium. Time Magazine, Dec. 6, 1999).
2. If Jesus is really the Savior, the Messiah, then we need to understand as much as we can about Him and His plan.
3. If the Bible is the Word of God, we need to understand as much as we can about it.
4. The motivating force behind the educational push of the Puritans was so that people could read and deeply study the Bible.
5. To read the Bible, you first have to be able to read. To read, you need to learn the alphabet.
6. So it is that we must sometimes study material that helps us to interpret the Bible so that we can understand it better, and that better understanding seems to affect our lives directly, even though what seems to be preliminary study does not seem to apply to life. But it does.
7. And understanding the nature of the Kingdom of God affects more than you realize: daily life, your decisions, your expectations, and even your political views. So today, I am asking you to think, and to think deeply. Come to this sermon with a view to learn, not just to be inspired.
What you learn today will pay dividends as you read & study the Bible on your own.
8. But in order to understand the end times, we need to delve into the realm of prophecy itself.
In the Bible, many prophecies have a DOUBLE fulfillment: a near (in time) LESS literal fulfillment and a further (in time) MORE literal fulfillment.
Psalm 22:16b-18 "They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."
Indeed, the church age is the “last days” in the less literal sense, while the Tribulation is the “last days” in the more literal sense. We see this double fulfillment everywhere, even in the NT.
*If you accept this pattern, it logically leads to a recently defined school of interpretation called Progressive Dispensationalism
MAIN IDEA: In a less literal sense, the Kingdom of God is now; in a more literal sense, it will be established when Christ returns to reign. We can bank on it, because God is a Sovereign who keeps His promises as originally understood.
I. In one sense, the Kingdom of God has BEGUN.
A. When Christ’s ministry BEGAN
• Matthew 12:28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."
• Matthew 16:28 "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
• 2 Peter 1:16-18 and double fulfillment
B. On PENTECOST
• The prophecy of Joel was fulfilled in a less literal way
• One day, it will be fulfilled more literally
If you allow God to be the King of your life, if you have a relationship with Him, you are in the realm of His Kingdom! Are you in His Kingdom? If not, why not?
II. In its most literal sense, the Kingdom will come when Christ RETURNS.
A. The disciples’ QUESTION of Acts 1:6-7.
1. 40 days of TEACHING (1:1-3)
2. Had been anointed by the SPIRIT
3. Note that this Kingdom will be given to ISRAEL
• Zechariah 8:20-23 reads:
20"Thus says the LORD of hosts, ’It will yet be that (peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, "Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go."
So)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to (entreat the favor of the LORD.’
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, ’In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."’"
• A Protestant Minister and a Catholic Priest enjoyed teasing their Rabbi friend, continually asking him when he was going to convert to their faith.
When the Holidays rolled around, the Rabbi sent them a card with the following: ? "Season’s Greetings! ?Roses are reddish, ?Violets are bluish; ?When the Messiah comes, ? You’ll wish you were Jewish!!"
Of course, if we change that to Messianic Jewish, it might be more accurate!
4. Christ did not give them a date and He did not CORRECT their understanding.
B. This is why the Lord’s Prayer is Still VALID.
• According to Jewish Tradition, the world is to stand for 6000 years - 2000 of confusion, 2000 with the Law, 2000 with the Messiah. Then, 1000 years of peace. In this tradition, the last 1000 years represents a Sabbath rest, the millennium. SOURCE: Jeff Strite. Citation: "Lederer Letter" by Barry Rubin of Jews for Jesus September 1991. Referenced on Sermoncentral.com
• Although the Bible does not confirm the 2,000, 2,000, 2,000 and 1,000 pattern, it does confirm the last 1,000 year pattern:
• Turn to Revelation 20:1-6 (this is where the term Millennium comes from)
C. Note the offer of this Kingdom after PENTECOST.
• Acts 3:19 "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time."
• If you agree only with point one, you hold Replacement Theology (of which Covenant Theology is one form); if you hold point two alone, you are a Traditional Dispensationalist; If you agree with all of the above, you are a "Progressive Dispensationalist" like myself. I used to be a Traditional, but my studies have lead me elsewhere.
In a less literal sense, the Kingdom of God is now; in a more literal sense, it will be established when Christ returns to reign. We can bank on it, because God is a Sovereign who keeps His promises as originally understood.
III. Lessons for LIFE
A. Because the Kingdom is here, we have RESPONSIBILITY.
1. Christ will physically conquer when HE comes.
2. NOW God wants to give us SPIRITUAL victories.
3. We are to be IN the world, but not OF it.
B. We need to get our mission STRAIGHT.
1. Christians who do not understand the end times are confused about what the church is supposed to do; are we supposed to bring in the Kingdom (Utopia), to reform society, or to make disciples? (Make disciples)
2. Do we have the right to take over? (No)
3. Can we solve the nations moral and spiritual problems with politics? (no)
Charles Colson writes in his book, How Shall We Live, the solution to the modern day identity crisis of the American Christian. "How do we redeem a culture? How do we rise to the opportunity before us at the start of a new millennium? The answer is simple: from the inside out. From the individual to the family to the community, and then outward in ever widening ripples. We must begin by understanding what it means to live by Christian worldview principles in our own behavior and choices. Unless we do, we will interpret the biblical commands according to the spirit of the age and will therefore be conformed to the world rather than to God’s Word" (307).
Contributed by: Michael McCartney, Sermon central
4. What standards should we expect the world to observe? (The Noahide commands)
C. We must adjust our EXPECTATIONS.
1. A great time awaiting planet earth, but mankind will never create Utopia: God will
2.George Bernard Shaw is perhaps most renowned as a free thinker and liberal philosopher. In his last writings we read, "The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshippers in the temples of a thousand creeds. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith."
Contributed by: Bart Leger, Sermoncentral.com
3. Things on earth can only get so good; always problems, injustice, evil…just a matter of better or worse
CONCLUSION
1. So who are Christians now? Members of the Kingdom, like the scouts surveying the Promised Land. They were in Canaan, but part of the Children of Israel.
2. The Kingdom of God is present in some form when the King’s subjects are gathered.
3. But one day, the King will return to conquer this world, and then His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. Why? Because He is faithful and He is Sovereign; nothing is unplanned for, nothing is unforeseen.
4. And because God is faithful, He keeps His agreements and promises, admittedly in His time, but He keeps them indeed.
