The Present And Future Kingdom - The One Year Heaven on Earth Devotional

Read: Luke 19:11-27

Because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. Luke 19:11

IN WORD

Jesus made statements that indicated the Kingdom had already arrived. “The time . . . is at hand,” He said (Mark 1:15, ESV). “The kingdom of God is in your midst,” He insisted (Luke 17:21, NIV). After all, the King was present. Therefore, so was the Kingdom.

But He also spoke of the Kingdom as a thing of the future. Yes, it had come; but it was also coming. And not as soon as the people thought. In fact, He told them a parable about waiting. A nobleman would be going on a journey to be appointed king, and no one knew how long he would be gone. His people would have to manage his resources while he was away, and one day he would return to assume his role as king.

How do we reconcile these statements? Has the Kingdom come, or is it going to come in the future? It isn’t hard to imagine both. Anything that’s a process involves a beginning and a time of fulfillment. And the Kingdom is certainly a process. The King had come, but He wasn’t widely recognized during His ministry. The fullness of His reign would become visible much later.

IN DEED

We live in the midst of the process, and we’re tempted by two extremes. One is to think the Kingdom has already come and whenever we have a bad day, to be discouraged that it isn’t a very good one. The other view, more prevalent in this era of history, is to think it’s entirely future—out there for us to experience one day, but not something we can experience and enjoy now. The truth is that the Kingdom has come, is now coming, and will finally come. The government of the King is ever-increasing (Isaiah 9:7), and it will break into our age with greater frequency and visibility. The Kingdom is wherever the King is. And He is both with us now and waiting to come again.

ADDITIONAL READING: Luke 17:21

In the gospel, Jesus is autobasileia, the Kingdom Himself.

ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA