Kingdom Ready Blog

By way of review, many misconceptions about the Kingdom of God come from interpreting the few passages which speak of the Kingdom of God as being present in some sense without keeping in mind the great majority of Scriptures which present it as an eschatological event.  Most often when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God, he meant the future time when he would rule over the nations on a restored earth. This period of time would be preceded by God’s cataclysmic intervention (Matthew 24:27-31; Mark 13:19-27; Luke 17:24-37; 21:20-28), ushering in a new age. The new age that is to come was the hope of Israel, as well as that of the early Christian Church.

John equates it with “eternity” and “eternal life” but those words can be misleading in English, because we are accustomed to thinking of eternity being something “beyond time” just as we tend to think of heaven as a “realm beyond earth.” But such thinking is foreign to the Bible.

There are two Greek words translated “world” – one is kosmos which refers to the ordered creation. The other word is aion from which we get our English word “eon.” This word refers not to place but to time. It is literally an “age” which is a better translation than “world,” and is so rendered in some of the more modern English versions.

When the use of this word is traced through the Bible, we find that Scripture speaks of two “ages.” One is the present evil age (Galatians 1:4), and the other is the Age to Come. Matthew 12:32 refers to the entire time of man’s existence, and describes it as including “this age, and the age to come.” Paul also refers to this age and “that which is to come” in Ephesians 1:21 (the Greek word for “world” in the KJV is aion). In Mark 10:29-30 Jesus refers to having blessings with persecutions in this “time” (kairos) and eternal life in the age (aion) to come, showing that it is contrasting two periods of time. Jesus didn’t speak of rewards in another “place” but in another “time.”

Satan is called the god of this age in II Corinthians 4:4. The word for “course” in Ephesians 2:2 is aion, and “world” is kosmos. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course (aion, age) of this world (kosmos), according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” This describes the nature of this current evil age as worldly and devilish rather than godly. In the parable of the sower, the cares of this age choke the Word (Matthew 13:22).

This age is destined to end, and in the Age to Come, Messiah will rule with God’s authority, and there will at last be peace on earth. The transition from this age to the next is clearly defined in the Bible. Matthew 24:3 identifies the coming of Christ with the end of this age, while Luke 20:34-36 connects the resurrection from the dead with the future age.

Matthew 24:
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [aion, age]?

Luke 20:
34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world [aion, age] marry, and are given in marriage:
35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world [aion, age], and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

Taken together with the Old Testament prophecies, we can see that the present age will come to an end when Christ returns and the dead are raised, and then the next age, in which Christ reigns, will begin. This cataclysmic change from the present age to the next is what the Old Testament called “the Day of the Lord,” which the New Testament also refers to (I Corinthians 5:5; II Corinthians 1:14; I Thessalonians 5:2; II Peter 3:10).

The adjective form derived from the root aion is also an important word to understand. It is aionios and is most often translated either “eternal” or “everlasting.” But this does not give a clear understanding of its meaning. Being from the root aion, it literally means “age-lasting” (Young’s) or “belonging to the age” (Bullinger). Eternal life is literally “life in the age to come” and refers to life in God’s Kingdom that is coming when this present evil age is over. It is only then that we will gain immortality. Until then those that have died sleep in the dust of the ground (Daniel 12:2).

The parable of the nobleman in Luke 19 clearly illustrates the fact that the Kingdom involves Messiah and his saints ruling over an earthly kingdom, as well as the fact that it would not happen immediately.

Luke 19:
11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

The nobleman going away to receive the kingdom and then returning illustrates a kingdom that had not come yet, but would come after a period of time, when the nobleman returned. In addition, the returning nobleman rewarded the faithful servants with authority over cities. Jesus offered his followers not only life in the age to come but also the chance to rule with him in his Kingdom (Daniel 7:22,25,27; I Corinthians 6:2). This is much more real a hope than “going to heaven.” One can see how it motivated the first century believers to give their all. One can also see why Satan will do anything to keep this truth from being known. Man was created to live on earth, and when God’s Kingdom is fulfilled, God will finally get what He created man for in the first place. He has always wanted people to love and worship Him and to rule the earth on His behalf. As followers of Jesus the Messiah, we can be a part of that. This is the Good News of the Kingdom.

Next: The Mysteries of the Kingdom (Why didn’t Jesus set up the Kingdom as prophesied?)