We are Now Victorious: The Kingdom Came!

Once again the purveyor’s of fictitious millennial hogwash have ground out what they say will be the final installment of their ever popular series of books called the, “Left Behind Series.” Thank goodness that this is the final installment…praise God! However, it is too bad that this series of literary hocus pocus has already done so much more damage on untrained and unlearned religious minds. These sub par “Harry Potter- ism,” novels are very high on fiction, and oh so low on actual truthful consumable Bible meat to feast upon, I’m so sorry to say.

Tim LaHay and Jerry Jenkins claim that their work is fiction and that it is based upon facts that are expressed and represented within the pages of the Bible. However, sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. It is truly sad to say that the Left Behind books should indeed have been left behind where they belong, in the inner dark recesses of the minds of these seize the day (and wallets) pie in the sky penmen.

First of all their supposed facts are hopelessly well outside any doctrine found within the Bible as we shall see. And yes, I know that I go against the grain of popular religious teaching here. Yet, the truth of scripture in various circles of popular thought is muddied enough as it is without having these two self aggrandized millionaires mucking up the confused landscape of Apocalyptic mumbo jumbo yet even more.

I have to admit it, to dream up such imaginative stories as Tim LaHay and Jerry Jenkins have done in such a fashion as this is rather clever. Mix fiction with what the religious majority understand to be fact within multiple installment novels, and timing them for release at just the right time, is indeed skillful. It certainly has put dollars in their bank accounts. Sadly though, it has only furthered a doctrine that has put no sense in the minds and the hearts of those that are weak and unlearned in the Word of God.

Ever since Hal Lindsey’s‘, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” in the 70’s, it seems that folks have worked themselves all up into a lather over these notions of Jesus reigning on Davids literal earthly throne right here on this literal earth from the once literal Holy Temple of Jerusalem for a literal thousand years.

I have one thought before I get started here. There are over 1 and 1/2 billion Muslims in this world who would love nothing more than to have a bunch of over zealous Jews and Christians attempting to dismantle their mosque (dome of the rock) in order to build a new temple for Christ to rule from. Folks…it ain’t gonna happen! But that is something else for another day I guess.

In the Bible we find that the kingdom is spoken of in the Old Testament as being in the future. Many of the prophets spoke of the King who would one day arrive and set up His kingdom. Moses, David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, Zechariah. all prophesied on the subject of the King and His kingdom. Many aspects of the kingdom were revealed by these prophets of God. Daniel even plainly speaks of the time in which this kingdom would arise. Let’s read what Daniel had to say to King Nebuchadnezzar in response to what this king wanted to know of a dream that he had dreamed:
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Daniel 2:31-45

We now know historically that the kingdoms that Daniel mentioned are, in order;

Babylon    Medo-Persia    Greece     Rome

The kingdom of Christ

We can see from this prophecy that Christs kingdom would indeed be established during the reign of the Roman kings. Meaning the Roman dynasty of old, not a future Roman rule that we are to look for today! How ridiculous a position to hold, as if the Romans will once again dominate the whole world. If you believe this silly doctrine, this is the position you are taking. It just does not hold water whatsoever.

And so we have established that the king and His kingdom was promised to mankind some time in the future. And then we have narrowed the time down to the Roman kings. That being said we move on.

Enter doctrinal error number one. The Pre-millennialism premise begins here. It is surmised that because the Jews, “unexpectedly,” rejected Jesus as their King, that God delayed or postponed the coming of the Kingdom until a later date. Is this true? Does the Bible indeed show this to be fact? No!

As a matter of fact it was no surprise at all. Isaiah had predicted this happenstance some 700 years before and it is recorded in Isaiah chapter 53. Let’s read it: Isa 53:3 ” He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Sounds to me that God knew Jesus would be rejected and it was no surprise at all. How in the world could or would anyone think that man could surprise God? How does anyone think that by mankind’s actions that God will change His plans that have been decided by Him before the foundation of the world? Matthew 25:34  “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” It is most silly to be swayed by such nonsense as this theory of a delayed kingdom.

People want to see, smell and touch don’t you know? They want the physical thing, not the spiritual. What did Jesus say? “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”  John 18:36-37
Unfortunately this is what the Jewish people wanted. Jesus did not fit the bill of the One who would liberate the Jewish race from the cruel Roman overlords. He was not in their eyes a logical successor of the great King David of yore. He was meek, gentle and did not strike one as being anything special. Where was His kingly clothes? His grand army that would destroy Rome? Had they been learned in the scriptures they would have known who Jesus was. I will take this opportunity to ask, do you know who Jesus is? Is he this day your king?

John the Baptist arrived on the scene and began to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand:
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Matthew 3:1-3

Now we know that the kingdom was close by. It would not be much longer naturally until the King would arrive. And then… He does arrive on the scene:
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.  Mark 1:14-15

John is now in prison and Jesus picks up where John left off preaching that the kingdom was at hand. Verse after verse tells of the kingdom very near.

The icing on the cake is with this particular verse found within 3 of the gospels:
Matthew 16:28  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.  Mark 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.                                                                                               Luke 9:27  But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

Jesus told the people here that  some of them would live to see the  kingdom in all of its power and glory. If this did not occur, then there are some mighty old people walking this earth!

Now, Marks account above is most telling here. He says that Jesus averred that the kingdom would come with, “power.” In relating to the disciples future events that they did not yet fully understand, Jesus told them that they would be endued with, “power,” from on high:
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And ye are witnesses of these things.
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Luke 24:46-49

The book of Acts continues on this thought with additional information about this. “power,” that they (apostles) would receive:
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part 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 power did indeed come to the apostles who were gathered in Jerusalem as instructed by Jesus. We read of it in Acts chapter 2 and there can be no mistake made as to the power and it’s source. The Holy Spirit which had been promised by Jesus made His grand entrance about and within the apostles. The kingdom was about to commence just as Christ had said it would. Is there any doubt? If so lets read:
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Acts 2:14-36

To, “sit,” means to reign. One cannot reign without a kingdom, this we know. Christ did receive His crown and He rules over His kingdom now, right now at this time. Those who have humbled themselves in obedience to His gospel and became one of His subjects are servants in His kingdom.

From Acts to Revelation the kingdom is spoken of as in existence, such as:
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Colossians 1:12-14
Also:
And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: Hebrews 12:27-28

There are many other verses to show that the kingdom is now a reality and Jesus begs for those who would to obey Him to accept His kingdom as a child. But how do we enter in unto the kingdom? Just as Jesus declares!

One must hear the gospel of Christ; Romans 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

They must believe; Acts 8:36-37  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

We must repent; Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

One must confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; Rom 10:9-10  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

One must be baptized; (Folks don’t like this command made by Jesus) Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

One must live a life within the kingdom of Christ as an obedient subject, fit for every good work and service. We must serve God and one another as Jesus did while He was upon this earth. He served as the perfect example of lowliness and humility devoid of human traits such as pride and evil deeds and thoughts.

The kingdom of Christ has indeed destroyed every other worldly kingdom that satan leads. When Christ was raised and His kingdom was established, the devil was beaten and humiliated. His worldly kingdoms can never rival Christ’s great kingdom that will never fall nor fail.

Remember, in the Old Testament the kingdom is, “future tense.” In the gospels the kingdom is, “at hand.” And finally from Acts 2 through the New Testament the kingdom is, “present tense.”
One more thing. It might surprise you to know that the church and the kingdom are one and the same divine institutions. We know this by the reading of 3 verses found in Matthew chapter 16:
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:17-19

The interchangeable use of the words church and kingdom by Christ within 2 verses here proves without a doubt that the church and kingdom are one and the same. Throughout the New Testament we read of the kingdom just as readily as we read of the church, and we read that they are both now in existence.

Do not be mis-led by these wild and fanciful teachers of Biblical fiction. They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Romans 10:2 The kingdom has indeed come!

Gary

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