Has Not Yet Appeared
But one may ask, did not Jesus Christ say the Kingdom of God was "at hand"? Yes, we quoted this, in the beginning of this article, from Mark 1:15. This naturally led some to mistake what He said, and what He meant, and assume the Kingdom of God was established and set up during Jesus' ministry. Thus some supposed it was the Church.
But Jesus did not say the Kingdom of God had been established. It was now being preached (Luke 16:16). He did not say it was already here. Jesus, Himself, corrected this false notion. Will you read this IN YOUR OWN BIBLE?
Will you then believe Jesus Christ — or will you call Him a liar and believe so-called "Christian" traditions of men? Will you believe YOUR BIBLE?
Notice — read it in your own Bible: Jesus "added and spake a parable . . . because they thought that the Kingdom of God should immediately appear" (Luke 19:11). WHY did Jesus speak this parable? Because some, even then, mistakenly thought the Kingdom should immediately appear — because some thought it would be THE CHURCH!
Now continue: "He said, therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom, and to return." (Verse 12) Christ is that "nobleman." He is speaking of His ascension to the throne of God His Father, in heaven. Notice, He went there to be given rulership of the Kingdom — to receive the Kingdom. Notice, too, He is to return, when He has received it! He has not yet returned! Other Scriptures explain this. We will turn to them a little later.
But continue: "And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." The original 12 tribes of Israel had been divided into TWO nations, immediately after the death of King Solomon. The nation Israel rejected Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and set up Jeroboam as their King. They made the city of Samaria their capital. But the tribe of Judah seceded from Israel, in order to retain Rehoboam as King, and Jerusalem as their capital. Then the tribe of Benjamin joined them, and many Levites. The northern Kingdom then became known as the TEN TRIBES.
Now Jesus Christ was born of \the tribe of Judah. The promise of the "Scepter" — or kingly tribe, from which Messiah was to be born — was divinely given to Judah. Consequently when it is stated that Christ "came unto His own, and His own received Him not," it is speaking of His having come to the Jews of the Kingdom of JUDAH, dwelling then in Palestine, with its capital still at Jerusalem. At that time the TEN TRIBES had migrated from Assyrian captivity northwest across Europe. They were far away, had lost their identity, were speaking a different language. It was then 700 years after their captivity and removal from northern Palestine.
Not Church Language
And so the nobleman's citizens who rejected him were the Jews at Jerusalem and dwelling in Palestine. And notice, Jesus is here talking about a KINGDOM which is a literal GOVERNMENT. His citizens would not accept Him as KING — they refused to have Him REIGN over them. That is not CHURCH language — that is civil government language!
So it becomes plain that the ten servants of the parable, to whom He gave the ten pounds, represent the TEN TRIBES, who had become known as the LOST Ten Tribes. After the Jews rejected Christ, He sent His original apostles to the "LOST sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL" — and the term "House of Israel" always applies, after the division, to the ten-tribe kingdom — never to the Kingdom of Judah — or, as often called, the House of Judah.
Continuing the parable, spoken because some thought the Kingdom of God was immediately, then, in the first century, to appear: "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" (Verse 15). When Christ returns, we shall all ire called before the Judgment Seat of Christ — to give account!
Now notice: in verse 17, the one who had gained ten pounds is given authority to RULE CITIES "have thou authority over ten cities!" To the one who had gained five pounds, he said, "Be thou also over five cities."
This is speaking of the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST and of His delegating authority to rule to saints converted during this Christian era, between Christ's first and second appearing on earth.
This parable, then, was spoken to make clear to us that the Kingdom of God is a literal GOVERNMENT, to be set up AT CHRIST'S SECOND COMING — and not before! The CHURCH, then, cannot be the Kingdom of God. But the true Church of God is to be changed, by a resurrection and instantaneous change from mortal to immortal, INTO the Kingdom of God. The Church, when all its members have been changed to immortality, shall BECOME the Kingdom of God. But it is not, now, the Kingdom!
Saints to Rule
Now read the description of Christ's actual receiving authority to RULE the Kingdom. He is the nobleman who went to heaven to receive this kingship, and to return.
We have already seen how the prophet Daniel recorded the setting up of the Kingdom of God — at Christ's coming — to consume all present national governments on earth, and set up the world-ruling Kingdom of God. This was recorded in the second chapter. Notice now chapter seven:
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man (Christ) came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him" (Verse 13). Jesus continually referred to Himself as the "Son of man" — all through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Christ ascended to heaven in clouds (Acts 1:9). He ascended to the very throne of God in heaven (Mark 16:19). Now continue:
"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Verse 14 — Daniel 7)
That is plain! Christ ascended to the throne of God in heaven. God is Sovereign over the entire universe. This vision shows God Almighty, Father of the resurrected living Christ, conferring on Christ dominion. Dominion means sovereign or supreme ruling authority. Also given to Him was "a kingdom." Where is that Kingdom to be? It says "a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him." The people, and the nations speaking different languages, are here on earth. He is given dominion over ALL NATIONS — the whole world!
Important Word "UNTIL"
Now will you read, in your own Bible, Acts 3:21? It says the heavens have received Jesus Christ UNTIL — not permanently, just until a certain time. Until when? Until the times of RESTITUTION of all things. Restitution means restoration to a former state or condition. It is speaking of restoring God's laws, God's government — of restoring happiness and universal PEACE.
In this 7th chapter of Daniel, the prophet had experienced a dream, and visions. He had seen four wild animals. Notice, verse 16, the interpretation begins verse 17. This is GOD'S inspired interpretation — not mine: "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the KINGDOM, and possess the Kingdom forever, even forever and ever." (Dan. 7:17-18).
NOTICE IT! Not only is Christ to rule — but the saints — that is, converted true Christians — those begotten as sons of God — are to take and possess the Kingdom! They are to rule under, and with Christ! In the New Testament it is recorded that converted saints are co-heirs with Christ!
In this same 7th chapter, Daniel explained another power. The fourth beast of his dream — the fourth Empire — the Roman Empire, was pictured as an animal having ten horns — explained here and in Revelation 13 and Revelation 17 as ten revivals or resurrections of the Roman Empire, after its original fall in 476 A.D. But among them — after 476 A.D. — arose another little horn — a religious kingdom, actually ruling over the last seven of the other "horns" or revived Roman kingdoms (Verse 20).
Now read about this "little horn" — the religious kingdom — verse 21: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, UNTIL (note, another "UNTIL") the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the Kingdom."
The saints — then no longer human flesh and blood, but immortal — are to possess the Kingdom, at the second coming of Christ!
Jesus Christ makes that plain. It is Christ who is speaking in Revelation 3:21, and 2:26-27: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne." The Father's throne is in heaven — where Jesus Christ is now; but Christ's throne, in which the saints shall sit with Him, is the throne of David, in Jerusalem (Luke 1:32).
Further: "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron."
Can't Know the TIME
After His resurrection, on the Mount of Olives at the very hour of His ascension to heaven, Jesus was explaining to His disciples how they would receive the inspiring God-begetting POWER of the Holy Spirit on the approaching day of Pentecost.
His disciples wanted to know whether the Kingdom of God was to be set up at that time! The CHURCH was established on that imminent day of Pentecost. Was that CHURCH, then, to be the setting up of the Kingdom?
"Lord," they asked, "wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?"
Jesus again made plain that the Church is not the Kingdom.
"And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hash put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight" (Acts 1:6-9).
The commission He had given the CHURCH was to preach His Gospel to all the world. They were to receive the Holy Spirit, begetting them as saints — as Christians — putting them into God's CHURCH. This would infuse them with the power to carry out the mission of the Church. But it was NOT the setting up of the Kingdom of God. Of that they were not to know the time.
Just what did Jesus mean, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons?" He explained it another time.
It is recorded in Matthew 24:36: There He was speaking of the end of this world, and His second Coming:
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." He was speaking of His second coming, and setting up of the Kingdom, the time of which no man knows, but only the Father.
However, though we do not, even now, know the day or the hour, we do know, from God's prophecies, that it is today very near! Notice this, in Luke 21:25-31: He had been foretelling the world events, right now beginning, leading to "distress of nations" in world troubles and world wars, "with perplexity" — "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth" — world trouble such as never before experienced. "When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled."
The Two Fateful Alternatives
This world trouble began in 1914, with World War I. There was a recess from 1918 until 1939. We are in a second recess now — although we are in what we call "COLD WAR." But now at last we have nuclear energy. We have hydrogen bombs stock-piled in such power and volume that they could blast all human life off this planet several times over. There are two other destructive weapons today in existence, either of which could erase humanity from the earth.
Today world-famous scientists say only a super world-government can prevent world Cosmocide. Yet MEN cannot and will not get together to form such a world-ruling government.
It's time we face the hard, cold, realistic FACT: humanity has two alternatives: either there is an Almighty all-powerful GOD who is about to step in and set up THE KINGDOM OF GOD to rule all nations with supernatural and super-national FORCE to bring us PEACE — or else there will not be a human being alive on this earth 25 years from now!
If the deceived religionists who think the CHURCH is the Kingdom of God were right, and there is not going to be any supernatural and all-powerful WORLD GOVERNMENT which is the Kingdom of God, then humanity is utterly without HOPE — there will not remain a living human in twenty-five more years!
But notice what Jesus Christ said!
Can you BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST?
Where is your trust — in the Word of God, or in paganized, empty, deceiving teachings falsely labeled "Christianity" — inherited as "Christian tradition" — which says the CHURCH is the Kingdom of God; or, that the Kingdom is merely a meaningless frothy and ethereal sentiment "set up in our hearts"? It's about time you come to know who are the false prophets, and WHO is speaking the true Word of God faithfully!