How Does the NT Use the Word Kingdom?

 How does the NT use the word kingdom? What does it mean to enter the kingdom, seek the kingdom, or even proclaim God's kingdom (Acts 28:31)?  

1.  The word kingdom appears 157 times in 148 verses in the NT, but it does not have a single consistent meaning or definition from Matthew 3:2 to Revelation 16:10. What we find is that context matters.

2. Most often, kingdom means the 'reign of God' as it does in Matthew 6:33, 'seek first the kingdom of God.' First, above everything else, seek that God reigns in your life. Is He your Lord? When we pray 'your kingdom come,' we are praying for two things simultaneously. We are praying that the reign of God will grow, and we are praying for the return of Christ to establish his reign.  

3. There is no difference between the 'kingdom of God' and the 'kingdom of heaven.' Matthew alone uses the term ‘kingdom of heaven’.  Both refer to the absolute rule and reign of God in heaven and in individual lives as they submit to his R-E-I-G-N.  Read Luke 17:20-21.  Christ said, 'my kingdom is not of this world.' And the thief on the cross said, 'remember me when you come into your kingdom.'  Revelation 11:15 promises that 'the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ.'  And that ‘he shall reign forever.' In one verse, we see an example of the already and not yet aspect of God's kingdom. 

4. Sometimes kingdom refers to the R-E-A-L-M where God is, and where the believer goes when he or she dies (Acts 14:22). Jesus said, 'unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God' (John 3:3,5). This kingdom is eternal (2 Peter 1:11) and heavenly (2 Tim 4:18). 

5. Occasionally kingdom refers to earthly kingdoms or the realm over which Satan is ruling as in Matthew 12:16 and Revelation 16.10. 

6. One can quickly get confused concerning the kingdom. Paul said the kingdom is not what we eat or drink (Rom 14:17), but Jesus said, 'the kingdom is not coming in ways that can be observed' and 'we will eat bread in the kingdom of God' (Lk 17:20 & 14:15). This shows me the strikingly different ways the NT uses the word. Paul is speaking of something present in a spiritual sense, while Jesus describes it both ways. 

7. Finally, what is the gospel of the kingdom of God?  Jesus said, 'And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come' (Mt 24:14; Acts 8:12).  The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that the king died for your sins so that you don't have to die in your sins (Jn 8:24). The good news of the kingdom is the king who died for your sins is not dead—He rose from the grave, ascended to his throne in heaven, and is returning to establish an eternal kingdom on this 'new' earth and you by faith in him can be part of this eternal kingdom. The question is: ‘Will you be?’ 


Seeking the City which is to Come

        In the middle of Hebrews 13 is a simple yet profound verse that impacts our understanding of what the future holds.

For here, we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come (v. 14)

The writer of Hebrews tells the Jews that they do not have a lasting or enduring city on this earth. The Jews were in love with Jerusalem; it was the capital and, more importantly, the temple's location.  But for the follower of Christ, that temple is meaningless. When Christ gave up his last breath on the cross, the curtain of that temple was torn in two. And then, about two decades later, the Romans destroyed the temple in 70AD.  Simply put, the NT is done with that temple. We, the believers, are the new temple. Physical sacrifices have been replaced by spiritual sacrifices. The sons of Abraham are now all who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And we are the people who are now seeking the city which is to come.

               Hebrews 13:14 is the third reference to this city in this book. Previously the writer has told us about a better country, the city of the living God, and the heavenly Jerusalem.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (11:16)

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, (12:22)

Where else is this heavenly Jerusalem mentioned and described? Revelation 21 is the chapter that contains John's vision of this city coming down to the earth.  Read the text with me:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Now, if one subscribes to the assumption that Revelation 4-22 is a chronological presentation of the events to come in the future—that is to say the writer never circles back and describes events again from a different perspective (recursive parallelism) then we are left to conclude that there are 1000 years of time on this earth where Christ is here, but we are still looking for the heavenly city.  The language of the text is 'we are seeking the city to come.'  

                It is difficult to imagine how Christ would be ruling on the earth, yet the city of God is yet to come. But this is precisely what one must conclude if there is a future 1000-year kingdom separating the return of Christ from the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem.  Look at the language in the text: 'as a bride adorned for her husband.' Is Christ ruling on this earth for 1000 years without his bride?  Or will Christ be on this earth ruling separate from God the Father in heaven for 1000 years?  Pause and think about what I am saying.   Paul says in Titus 2:13 that we are "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." Are we waiting for Christ, and then once Christ returns, we turn to waiting for the city to come?  Will we be with the Son but not the Father? Is the heavenly city empty for 1000 years?

               However, if we dispense with the idea that Revelation 20:6 is a future kingdom on this earth, then our problems are eliminated. And our eschatology becomes so much simpler.   We live in this age and long for the age to come (Mk 10:30). For in the age to come:

·        Christ has returned with all his Saints

·        Believers are given new bodies

·        Satan, the Beast, and his followers have been defeated

·        The dead are resurrected for judgment

·        The sheep have been separated from the goats

·        A new heaven and new earth have been created

·        The enemies of God are consigned to the lake of fire

·        The heavenly Jerusalem has descended to the new earth

·        Death is defeated

·        All tears are wiped away

·        The dwelling place of God is with man

·        The eternal kingdom is inaugurated

The greatest obstacle to this understanding of the future is the issue of the binding of Satan.  As described in Revelation 20:2-3

And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Yet Peter says Satan "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).  So, which is it? Is Satan bound, or is Satan loose seeking someone to devour?  Jesus provides us much help in reconciling the issue as to whether Satan is bound or loose presently?  Jesus said, "no one can enter a strong man's house [this world] and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man [the Satan]. Then indeed he may plunder his house" (Mk 3:27).  If we assume that the binding of Satan has yet to occur, then the instruction Jesus provides concerning binding the strong man is meaningless. Jesus says one must bind the strong man but then does not bind him.  There is no reason for Christ to wait until after the Great Commission has been fulfilled to bind Satan. The church needs Satan's ability to deceive the nations bound now since it has been charged with making disciples of all the nations now—not in the future (Matt 28:19).  And Mark 13:10, "the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations." Clearly, there must be a connection between 'the nations' in Revelation 20 and Matthew 28 and Mark 13. It seems best to conclude that Satan's power to deceive the nations has been bound until just before the end of this age when he will be permitted to deceive the nations one final time before the final battle of this age (Revelation 19-20). But this binding does not eliminate the degree to which Satan remains the enemy of God and the people of God.  The parameters of the binding are limited to what Revelation 20:3 says, 'so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.'