The
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is not
eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
What is the Kingdom of God? Is it in heaven or is it on earth? These are some questions people ask when the
Bible speaks many times about the Kingdom of God. My first thought was that at the end of the
Tribulation, when Jesus would come to rule and reign on this earth that the
Kingdom of God would be established. Let’s
look at a couple of scriptures regarding the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God has always been planned and we can
see this in Daniel 2:44, “And in the days of these kings the God of
heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom
shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
Daniel lived in Old Testament times and was called to King
Belteshazzar who wanted Daniel to interpret his dream. The dream showed many kings to come during
times ahead. This is what Daniel was
referring to when this verse spoke of ‘in the days of these kings’. Then he tells of a day coming when God will
set up a kingdom that will stand forever.
Going on into the New Testament, in the book of
Matthew 3:1-2, it says that “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the
wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand!" What does that mean, ‘it’s at hand’?
It means ‘near’. How could that be near;
we haven’t seen it yet? No and it won’t
happen until after the Tribulation. The Bible is written for a future time when
all of the prophecies will come to pass.
I believe that time is not far off.
In the meantime, we need to go about our lives as usual.
The finality of all this is when the New
Jerusalem comes down from heaven and earthly kings and kingdoms no longer
exist. “Then the seventh angel sounded: And
there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have
become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" [Revelation 11:15]
This is when the Kingdom of God becomes the only Kingdom on earth.
This Kingdom is where you
will want to be, but there is something you need to do to be a part of it. Step I is praying to God and confessing your
sins and asking forgiveness. Step 2 is
believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died on the cross for you.
Step 3 is to ask him into your heart and accept him as your Lord and
Savior. You may have heard that before,
but that isn’t where it ends.
If you are really sorry for
your past sins, you will “Repent”. That
means to change; to turn your life around and stop sinning. Every person knows right from wrong so there
is no excuse. There is a better life for
you if you make that decision.
God wants to have everyone
to be in His Kingdom, but he left the choice up to us. Don’t wait!
The Kingdom of God is not far off.
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