Behold! the Kingdom

By Crosbie Barnes

'Behold! the Kingdom' is a study that attempts to remove the fog surrounding our perception of God's Kingdom. It may be a source for some new ideas and revelation challenging those commonly held about the Kingdom and attempting to set the foundation for how we should view God's Kingdom. It looks at how the coming of the King impacts the world and its people in every generation, revealing an invitation to take our rightful place in His Kingdom. It examines the mechanics and the dynamics of our inclusion into the Kingdom, and how it is expressed within His creation. We examine its nature as it emerges in the lives of individuals who embrace the King. And, finally, it looks at the structure, role and intrinsic values of the Church in the context of God's Kingdom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326222680

Book preview

Behold! the Kingdom

BEHOLD! the KINGDOM

by Crosbie Barnes

Copyright © 2011 by Crosbie Barnes. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise – without prior written permission of the publisher.

Publisher: Lulu.com

Publication date: 11-04-2015

First Printing: 2014

ISBN 978-1-326-22268-0

Crosbie and Wilma Barnes

Old Station House, Ellerhayes, Hele

Exeter, Devon EX5 4PU (UK)

References:

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture included in the text is from the Modern King James Version (MKJV), copyright © 1962-1998 by Jay P. Green, Sr.  All rights reserved.

Other resources used:

American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901.

Bible In Basic English (BBE), 1949/1964.

Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (YLT), by J. N. Young, 1862, 1898.

Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV), copyright © 1976-2000 by Jay P. Green, Sr.

Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament of the Holy Bible (ALT), copyright (c) 1999-2001 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light Ministry.

The Good News Bible (GNB) – Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society.

GOD'S WORD (GW), copyright © 1995 by GOD'S WORD to the Nations Bible Society.

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge (TSK) by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others about 1880, with introduction by R. A. Torrey.

Word Pictures in the New Testament (RWP) by Archibald Thomas Robertson.

A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (JFB) by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown.

Vincent's Word Studies (VWS) by Marvin R. Vincent, D.D. 1886.

Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament (KD) by Johann (C.F.) Keil (1807-1888) & Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), James Orr, M.A., D.D., General Editor.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary by Andrew Robert Fausset (1821-1910), co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE.

Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1897, M.G. Easton M.A., D.D.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.

Footnotes and Citations

Footnotes and citations are, unfortunately, only available in paperback (ISBN 978-1-326-05698-8) or hardcover versions (ISBN 978-1-326-20277-4), available through Lulu.com, Amazon, etcetra, and pdf versions of 'Behold! The Kingdom' (BtK). These footnotes, along with an index of all Scripture references included, represent an important part of BtK if the book is being used as a study text. In the hard-copy versions, Scripture quotations throughout BtK are often footnoted with the reference. BtK formatted for eBooks cannot easily include footnotes without compromising the readability of the book.

Part 1: GOD'S ETERNAL KINGDOM

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your kingdom. (Hebrews 1:8)

Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst! (Luke 17:21)

INTRODUCTION

Among a wide variety of opinions within western Christendom, perhaps the most common belief regarding God's Kingdom is that it began its influence on Earth with the coming of Jesus, that it has been under development since then, and that it will be completed and expressed in its fullness at the 'second coming' of Jesus. This book is intended to reassess these ideas.

My discovery began to unfold as a teenager after our family had moved from one Canadian community to another. We began attending a different church fellowship and, as is the requirement of the denomination in which we were members, I had to complete a form answering a barrage of theological questions. In short, I failed! I was then presented with a stack of books that were to help me 'get it right', as if I were studying for a driving test. Although I now find the whole process to have been rather absurd, I am nevertheless grateful to have been subjected to the challenge. For it was the impetus to a life-long search to know more about God and His Kingdom.

This book is a synopsis of some of my discoveries as I have journeyed on my pilgrimage with Jesus. Although much of my study began merely as an academic exercise, I have come to see how God has been burrowing deeper into the soil of my being, mainly through daily life. For each of us who search, what emerges is the manifest presence of God's Kingdom.

Amidst the search, as is common with all of us, I have simultaneously encountered difficulties, the occasional crisis, along with innumerable blessings from our merciful, faithful and gracious Father. It has shown me that any real study of God's Kingdom intrinsically coincides with life. As I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness… everything is being added to me. In the light of what is being revealed about the Kingdom there comes the realization that its truths and its nature have an influence upon us. A process of development is taking place causing us to become who He intends us to be, percolating His nature and His ways through our lives, making us to be like Him.

One of my primary premises in this book is that God's Kingdom is, and has always been, present with us. Not surprisingly when trying to verbalize these propositions to friends I have often been rebuffed with statements like: If this is all there is to the Kingdom then it's not something I'm interested in. Or, This is not the hope to which I've signed up! I suspect, however, that this kind of snubbing reveals a misconception about the nature of the Kingdom, its influence on us, and our place in it. The coming of Jesus to Israel shows us just how difficult it is for people to grasp the concept of His Kingdom. Relatively few believed that He was the promised Messiah. And soon after His resurrection even His closest disciples – witnesses of His wonders – grieved, believing that their hopes had been dashed. And later, having persevered in waiting for the coming of His Spirit as a living Witness to the kingship of Jesus, His apostles often had to encourage the new believers of the veracity of the presence of God's Kingdom among them. Peter, for example, warned the beleaguered followers against scoffers who denied that life under Jesus as the Messiah was anything different. Where is the promise… all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. (2 Peter 3)

It is my hope that this study will help to remove the fog surrounding our perception of God's Kingdom. Perhaps it can be a source for some new ideas and revelation – views which may differ from those commonly held with regard to God and His Kingdom, including eschatological matters. Some have even suggested that my proposals are heretical, but they are not! Heresy (Greek) means to choose, and so to divide, as a denomination or sect (see Acts 2:14). These are simply the honest search of a disciple of Jesus who has asked, sought, and found.

Much like the current rethinking about what 'church' really is, this study questions other aspects of Christian concepts that have been taken for granted over the past couple of centuries. I believe that our Heavenly Father is thrilled when we seek to know Him more deeply, even if it challenges long-held unquestioned tenets to which the Church and its scholars dogmatically adhere. In the early 1980s Wilma and I were involved in the youth work in our local church. For one of our Bible studies we drew up a list of questions which reflected some basic fundamental doctrinal positions held by that particular denomination. As each question was answered we presented Scripture that seemed to have directly opposed the customary view. We were subsequently challenged by the church leadership implicating us with trying to mislead the young people. But the purpose of the exercise was simply to promote searching the Scriptures and seeking God for a deeper revelation and experience of Himself. A lot of fear came to the surface regarding the search to know God better. But we must come to see that, under His care, there is no need to fear. We must learn to recognize that God's Holy Spirit is actively revealing to us what He wants us to know about Himself and, like the Father He is, does so with utmost care and wisdom. He is intimately concerned for each of us, and He is sovereign. Let us, therefore, seek His truths in the comforting embrace of His loving arms.

Part 1 of this study attempts to set the foundation for how we should view God's Kingdom, based on the Hebrew Scriptures and the records of Israel's prophets.

Part 2 examines a dramatic culmination of heavenly events that reaches their climax in the arrival of the King of God's Kingdom among us. That which was afar off has come near!

Part 3 looks at how the coming of the King impacts the world and its people, revealing an invitation to take our rightful place in His Kingdom.

Part 4 takes a closer look at the mechanics and the dynamics of our inclusion into God's Kingdom, and how it is expressed within His creation. We examine its nature as it emerges in the lives of individuals who embrace the King.

And then part 5 looks at the structure, role and intrinsic values of the Church in the context of God's Kingdom.

It would be beneficial to have a Bible at hand as you read, for there is an abundance of Scriptural reference, each of which is important to making a fair assessment of my assertions. My hope is that you will find this book a tool that can help in the honest search for both understanding and experiencing God and His Kingdom, and that you will become as excited as I am about what emerges from these pages. I entrust your journey of discovery to the Teacher – the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 1.1: GOD's DOMINION

(1 Chronicles 29:11-12) O Jehovah. Yours is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. For all in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Jehovah, and You lift up Yourself to all as Head. And the riches and the honor are from You, and You reign over all. And in Your hand is power and might. And it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all.

Historically, within the ancient Semitic framework of understanding reality and, by extension, within Christianity, it has been acknowledged that all of creation is within the dominion of God. Not only is He head over His created objects – like trees, animals and planets – He also has dominion over mankind and the empires that we might attempt to build. That goes for Satan’s devices as well. Whether they are realms that we can see or not, whether we know of them or not, whether we have a direct influence upon those spheres or not, is irrelevant: God’s throne – His seat of authority – extends from the furthest reaches of the universe, tangible or intangible, all the way to mankind and over all that we know about ourselves. As Psalm 99:1-2 says, God-Eternal reigns; let mankind tremble. He presides among cherubs; let the earth quake. Eternal God is great in Zion, and He is high above all peoples. Despite the vastness of the universe, whether apparently chaotic or ordered, God is sovereign and all things are overseen by Him.

It has always been that way, and always will be. To the Jews this was not such a mystery. Plenty of evidence for it could be seen simply by observing one's surroundings and noting the course of history. Their acknowledgement came not only by experiencing and understanding such things as the cycles of nature or the study of the sciences and psychology but, astutely, they simply witnessed God’s displays of extraordinary and inexplicable power, calling it 'signs and wonders'. Their experience of having been led from Egypt to Palestine is a case in point.

But it seems that, unless we are enlivened to the reality of God, it is easy for our limited intellect and perception to lose recognition of Him. In a sense, that is what Jesus was, and is, here for. As part of His purpose to save and restore Israel and the people of the world to God, He taught and revealed His Kingdom…that which was spoken of throughout the annals of history. He sat with multitudes of inquisitors, explaining long forgotten, if ever known, attributes of His Kingdom: for example, that it belonged to the poor in spirit and to the persecuted; that no one need fear or go without provision under its governance; and that, although apparently intangible and (perhaps merely) subjective, love is its pervading atmosphere.

Jesus taught that not only was this Kingdom something to perceive or assent to, but that it was a realm in which to be dwelt. And although God was head of that Kingdom (for it could be no other way) it was also a realm to which mankind could be granted not only entrance but co-ownership. For He says, as an example, that the poor in spirit are blessed because the Kingdom of the heavens – God’s Kingdom – is theirs. Not will be, but is! Unlike the prospect of salvation, which always seems to be something to which we are attaining while alive on Earth (for we are told that we 'shall be saved' and that we are yet to attain salvation in fullness while we are Earth-bound), something about God’s Kingdom is realized – actualized, consummated, implemented, inhabited or occupied – in a different way.

Throughout this study we will look at what this Kingdom and its nature is like in some detail. But first we must recognize its reality, and that we have a place in it. It is noteworthy that, whereas the idea of a kingdom implies subjection and submission to a king or allegiance to a nation, God’s Kingdom, on the other hand, is a dominion in which we are received as friends of the King. In ancient Semitic thought friendship with a king was of the highest honour. It was like equality with him -- a co-authoritative union. And it is in just this way that God said to Adam: Let Us give him dominion… Consistent with God's intentions for His people, Jesus told His disciples that He was handing over the responsibilities of this Kingdom to them. He said to them that He was, at that moment, conferring on them a Kingdom. That is to say that He was imparting and entrusting it to them.

So how is it that one can live in God’s Kingdom? Jesus said that no one can see, or perceive, the Kingdom of God unless he is 'born again' (John 3:3-6). Salvation has to do with the restoration of our body and soul to God. But being 'born again' has to do with our inheritance – our place in His Kingdom. Our spirits must be fertilized, enlivened; the spirit of a human must undergo a birthing as well as the human body for the purpose of coming to a completeness of life. Just as our bodies and souls are born, our spirits must be born; and the spirit is simply born by God’s Spirit. As soon as we turn, body and soul, to embrace God our creator, He impregnates the ovum of our spirit with His Spirit, giving life. This is how we are ushered into His Kingdom and begin to perceive it. This spiritual birth opens one's inner eyes to an existence that is beyond matter and enables us to both recognize God’s Kingdom and find our way in it. We must learn its parameters, its attributes, its authority, and we must learn how to walk in it – just like babies learn to walk and talk and grow to become fully active, whole and responsible adults. This is really what it is to be a disciple of Jesus.

It can be difficult to get one's head around the idea or proximity of this Kingdom. We are so used to being able to sense something; or our conception is such that it is based upon what we know of physical human experience and observation. But we have to grasp an understanding that our preconceptions are usually based upon superficial reality. Not that such awareness is bad either! Being born into this world and perceiving one's environment is a necessary part of the process; it’s part of the scheme of things. But there is more: we were born of water, or flesh, but now we are to be spiritually born as well. Beforehand, everything was viewed and understood from a temporal mortality. Afterwards, we recognize that there is a whole other reality, or at least more dimensions to the reality that we thought we knew. Jesus said to his captors that His Kingdom was not of this world; that is, it is not perceived by people who live only in the physical dimension, nor are its ways and values of such a diminutive kind.

At the same time He told them that His Kingdom was 'now'. "But now my Kingdom is not from here. At this stage in history, some two thousand years after the sacrifice of Jesus on Earth, we need to understand that He was not talking about a Kingdom that would be established at some time in the future. As well, He was not saying that, finally, after thousands of years of waiting for a God-led Kingdom to come and rule over the nations on behalf of His chosen people, Israel, finally that Kingdom has arrived. No! Jesus is saying that His Kingdom was among them 'presently'. It was the same Kingdom that David and Moses were given the privilege of witnessing hundreds of years earlier, and it was still present. And now Jesus was opening the door through which each Jew, as well as the rest of human-kind, could enter so that His Kingdom could be lived in and partaken of. (We might question: why, then, did Jesus teach His disciples to pray Your Kingdom come…" We will look at this 'Lord’s Prayer' in Part 2 to discuss His prayer.)

God’s Kingdom is not like the Borg Cube of the television series 'Star Trek, The Next Generation'. The Kingdom is not a monstrous alien space-ship coming from a distant galaxy to take over the earth…a Kingdom of aliens of a more benevolent nature. Nor is His Kingdom necessarily a place to which we might take the occasional vacation; and we don’t have to wait until we are dead to see it. It is more than something to be touched or experienced or visited in that way. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is a reality where virtues are as tangible as food. As he said to the Galatian church, there is fruit which grows in us by the Holy Spirit; fruit which can be consumed by ourselves and others. Things like love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, and others.

Many teachers try to assert that the Kingdom of Heaven is not fully established; that it will one day be 'established' or consummated when Jesus returns for us after some millennia of time. We often hear of Christian intentions to do such and such 'for the furtherance of' or 'for the establishment of' the Kingdom. But the truth is that God’s Kingdom does not need to be furthered or established or consummated. If by consummation one means 'fulfilled', we will see in this study that the Kingdom is in no need of any such fulfilment. If by consummation one means that the Kingdom will one day have intercourse with its wife for the first time, the picture is simply illogical. Jesus, who is the King of His Kingdom, is the Bridegroom who intends to be, and is, at one with His Bride within His Kingdom. If there is a consummation, each persons spiritual birthing proves that there has had to have already been a kind of intercourse between Bride and Bridegroom.

Paul explained to the Ephesian church: We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. Correspondingly, therefore, a man leaves his father and mother and joins to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians  5:30-32. Note that I have chosen words to more accurately convey the meaning of the Greek translation.) As the 'body of Christ', the Church is already married to its Bridegroom. As we shall discover, one can only have his spirit born if the Spirit of Jesus has had intercourse with that person as an individual. The reception of God's embrace in this way brings birth to one's spirit. And such an embrace represents the consummation of marriage to Jesus. This picture may seem to be at odds with our notion of how a modern-day marriage comes into being, especially in western cultures; but it more precisely mirrors the primitive eastern experience where an agreement is simply made between two people (or the fathers of two people), consummation occurs, and then there may be a celebration. For the Church of Jesus, this celebration is a constant. We have each come to a marriage feast that will continue eternally.

Here we should note that the coming of Y'shua – Jesus, the Messiah – to Israel was so that, like the coming of an expected Bridegroom, He could take His chosen Bride with Him into His bed-chamber to consummate their marriage together. What Jesus found, however, was a people who, for the most part, were not prepared to receive their Husband. Yet there were indeed thousands who did receive Him at His coming. The amazing thing was that the idea of receiving His Bride was extended not only to the Jewish peoples but to anyone who would willingly receive His embrace. And now each person, Jew and non-Jew, as the generations continue through history, has the privilege of embracing Jesus in this way. Not only that, it is vital to the continuation of each individual life.

If there is any kind of consummation yet to be had in relation to the Kingdom, it is only a matter of our personal engagement with it; the Kingdom is constantly ready to engage with us. As the Church – the Body of Christ – once an individual's spirit-birthing is complete, our interaction with Jesus and His Kingdom is not a matter of consummation or establishment but, rather, of ongoing intimacy. Questions and confusion can arise from pictures that represent the kinds of interaction occurring between God and man, and marriage is just one of those confusing pictures. Like any picture or parable, problems in applying them may arise if we try to imagine them as the actual experience; a picture describes the experience, it does not necessarily fully represent them. For example, if the Church is the Body of Christ, how is it that Jesus is the Bridegroom of His own Body? Here we must understand that the picture simply reveals the intimacy, commitment and union that is the aim of God's interaction with His human creation.

The matter of 'kingdoms' is another picture that facilitates our understanding of the Creator's interaction with mankind. It is a visual representation that, perhaps, on one level reveals some clarity about our relationship with the Creator. And the main thing that we will learn while unravelling Scripture about the Kingdom of God is that His position in relation to His creation is already established and always has been. It is here in its fullness; it is not awaiting fulfilment…we are! In fact, it is because the Kingdom has been established from the outset of time that there is a process in place that enables us to be raised up into the wonders of it. That is God's design for His creation.

If there is a 'consummation' to be experienced, it is that which is experienced by those who believe the faith of Jesus, who make Him Lord of their lives and are born (again) by His Spirit. They, now at this present moment, are able to experience life in the household of His Kingdom. Not only has God delivered us from darkness, but He has translated us into the Kingdom of His human expression – Jesus. That is why Paul could say to the Ephesians that, in God’s rich mercy, they were at that moment raised up together in the heavenlies in Jesus. For those who are hoping to have such a supernatural experience of transport, called 'translation' or 'rapture', they need look no further. All that is needed is a refocus of vision and perception. It is a bit like looking at those computer generated 3D art compositions (autostereogram): you stare at it and see nothing but a flat page of patterns until, suddenly, when the eyes have readjusted to look more deeply, a three dimensional image emerges and you feel your whole being has entered into it. But sometimes, regrettably, one becomes tired of maintaining that perception; the image is lost and replaced by the two-dimensional flat page again. But at least it has become known that there is something more there. Being born in spirit is like entering into that kind of recognition…yet one's natural familiarity with pre-spirit life can often cause us to loose focus. Although, as Jesus explained (Matthew 13:22), in such cases the anxiety of this world, and the deceit of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful, we are all being given the opportunity to experience God's Kingdom, for to everyone a measure of its substance (faith) has been given.

Chapter 1.2: RULE of the KINGDOM FORETOLD

The Kingdom to which we are referring is the same Kingdom of God referred to throughout Scripture. It is true that God’s purposes are still being fulfilled, for there is always a Divine process at work; the work of the Spirit of Jesus will continue until He has eradicated all chaotic and conflicting influences. But that does not mean that His Kingdom and sovereignty is not fully in place already. The fact that Jesus has won the right to sit upon the throne of God's Kingdom does not mean that His Kingdom was not already a reality. What has transpired in Jesus is that He now reigns as the first-born of creation – the first human being – resurrected to eternal life. And He will reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. When that happens, it will represent the end of the work of the Human Being that the Spirit of God had brought to life by fertilizing the womb of a woman. Jesus is the Anointed One who is ordained to fulfil His purposes, along with the spirit-born whom He has called His Body.

Daniel, while exiled in Babylon with his people in the 6th century BC, foresaw the time when Satan's power would be taken away and destroyed forever, and the sovereignty and authority of his kingdom and the kingdoms of the world would be handed over to the people of God. Although Israel's return from exile in Babylon, led by a priest called Y'shua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) sitting as high priest around 490 BC, hailed an historical fulfilment of Daniel's vision, Zechariah heard from God that the priest, Y'shua, and his associates were symbolic of a time that was to come still another half millennium later. At such a time all other governments would become subject to the authority that was placed in the hands of God's people. Daniel prophesied that this would be the end of the matter! We have developed the habit of overlooking the fulfilment of the prophecy of the coming of the high priest, Y'shua of 490 BC, as the precursor to the coming of the subsequent and final coming of God's Salvation in Jesus.

Luke 22:25-30 speaks of the very time of which Daniel spoke, when Jesus confirmed to His disciples, I appoint a kingdom to you, as My Father has appointed [it] to Me. Although Israel had been reminded of Daniel's vision of Y'shua's establishment as high priest in a rebuilt temple, Daniel was seeing the time when Jesus came as the Messiah to fulfil God's purposes in asserting His rulership. The establishment of earlier pre-Messianic leaders (such as Y'shua, Joshua or Jehoshua) were symbolic, as Zechariah had prophesied, pointing to the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. The coming of Jesus was not a symbol of some other 'coming' still to occur in some future millennium; rather the fifth century BC priest called Y'shua was the one who was a symbol of the coming of Jesus the Messiah who would, at that time, sit upon His throne in His Kingdom forever. Understanding his times, Paul assured the Ephesian church that, because of responding to the coming of Jesus, they were "now seated with Him in heavenly places. In agreement with this, Luke records Jesus' promise that His disciples would imminently eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." When Jesus won His victory on the cross, it represented the historical point at which all prophetic events were fulfilled.

Paul explained that we were given the opportunity to become spiritually born and sit with Him at His right hand in heavenly places. The 'right hand of God' refers to His authority. Being spiritually born is to begin the journey of adopting the things of God's living Kingdom into our lives. The Kingdom is not being established! Rather we are being established in it. This means that we take on the name of the authority of His Kingdom; that is, we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus and share in His authority. This is the inheritance that God had promised to the fathers of His people, Israel: an inheritance that would be extended through Israel to the rest of the world throughout the ages.

There is lots of confusion over ideas like the inauguration of Jesus' Kingship, or the establishment of His Kingdom. When is the Kingdom conferred upon Jesus? When is it conferred upon us, and then transferred back to the Father? The disciples of Jesus wrongly thought that the issue of God's Kingdom was about restoring Israel's kingdom. Answering this, Jesus aimed to steer them away from thinking that there were other future cataclysmic upheavals that might have anything to do with the coming of God's Kingdom. Such things as the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms were a matter of the Father's 'times and dates'. But, regardless of those times and dates, His Kingdom had presented itself to those who wanted its government and who would be baptised into it.

The reality of God's Kingdom was that His disciples would receive God's power and authority whenever His Holy Spirit came upon them throughout the ages. When that happened they would become witnesses of His work and His Kingdom. And to be a witness was much more than to be an evangelist; it was to be one who saw and experienced the things of Jesus and His Kingdom. In whatever circumstance they found themselves, witnesses would continue to be those who saw and experienced the Kingdom and its King; and that in itself would have an influence on those around them. Like Jesus, His witnesses would do what they saw their Father doing. They would be a chip-off-the-old-block!

The fulfilment of this began when those disciples of Jesus waited until the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came, baptised and empowered them. This was their establishment into the Kingdom of which Jesus was given the right to rule as a Human-son, as well as a God-son. If we have to wait for anything regarding the coming of God's Kingdom, it is simply that we, ourselves, welcome the coming of His Spirit so that we can be birthed into the family of God and, thereby, receive the inheritance for which we are being preserved.

Chapter 1.3: GOD's KINGDOM YESTERDAY

(Exodus 19:5-6) And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.

(John 18:36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight so that I might not be delivered to the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here.

The Church generally believes that we are waiting for God’s Kingdom which is yet to come. However, so often and in so many ways we are told that God already has a Kingdom among us. And, in fact, He does not have to reclaim anything for that Kingdom. He does not have to fight to get it back. It is an established fact that, as He says: The whole Earth is mine.

Of course, there are things which He simply does not want and will not have in His Kingdom: sin, for example. So it is that as much as we are in alliance with 'sin' we are not in submission to His Kingdom. What we are really waiting for is not so much the coming of His Kingdom, rather our inclusion into it. It’s all about receiving the Heavenly Kingdom (that is already established throughout the universe, as well as on Earth) into our lives.

Out of even the most humble of people He could build an embassy to Himself, a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Even though man rebelled against God while enjoying His presence in the 'garden in the land of Eden', and though man showed contempt for the privilege of sharing in God’s dominion, God is still working to offer us a way back into His Kingdom. God is bringing a humbled people back to Himself.

A kingdom is a territory with possessions and subjects. God does not seem to be subduing nations in the way man does. If the people of Israel would receive God’s invitation, they would be made His subjects and be transformed from a lowly, fleeing tribe into a holy nation of priests – ambassadors of His Kingdom. His people would be a holy people because God, Himself, had separated them from captivity and brought them into the glory of His presence.

There is no indication that they (Israel) were to wait for something that remains to be in the future. The process, whether in the twinkling of an eye or gradual, was initiated by God upon their acceptance of His invitation. There was, however, an agreement to be made between God and those whom He freed from captivity. It was made clear to Israel that they must obey God’s voice and keep His covenant. As we have seen throughout history, it seems as though it was impossible for God’s people to comply with such a covenant…as, in fact, it is today. There are principles applied to living in His Kingdom, but it seems to be impossible to comply with His qualifications. Yet, if His covenant was to be obediently complied with, this would result in life being lived in the Kingdom of God in all its fullness.

When Israel arrived at the 'promised land' they were granted permission to elect a leader. But they did not seem to grasp who the real King of the Kingdom was. Even though the Israelites were being led by a manifestation of God’s physical presence through the desert out of captivity to a land flowing with milk and honey, they moaned about how God was feeding them, albeit miraculously and until they were full. Their shoes and clothing never wore out and they always had water to drink. Now that they had arrived at this place which God had promised them, it did not result in the end of their moaning. Human nature quite naturally continued to pervade their thinking and actions. With their perceptions limited to their basic carnal needs and desires, God allowed them to appoint a personal representative over them. Remember how they wanted Moses and Aaron to be their intermediary at Mount Horeb in Sinai rather than to see God’s presence themselves.

Therefore the appointment of a king was granted. This was to be for the purpose of administration and  judgement; he was to be a magistrate, or arbitrator, over the affairs of the people; and the king was to be an example to the people of a relationship with God. He was not to think of himself any higher than anyone else in the Kingdom. The king was to immerse himself daily in the laws of God to ensure that he learned and maintained reverence for the true King. This appointed ruler would learn, day by day, the 'fear of the Lord'. And, in so doing, he would be a servant to God’s people; and in this attitude of servitude he would be a proxy-king. He would exemplify the principle that in God’s Kingdom the first would be last and the last would be first: he who would be first should be the servant of all, as Jesus said.

The ways of man are different than the ways of God. For one thing, God’s way was that His people would be free of an imposing hierarchical government. It is suggested in the Chronicles text that God spared Israel from difficulties with other nations when He led them out of Egypt; that His appointed representatives were commissioned to 'feed My people'; and that they would remain free from oppression…until they decided for themselves that they needed a king. From then on they again experienced oppression from neighbouring countries. But God was true to His covenant with Abraham and his seed, Israel, by blessing them with what they wanted.

So it was that when the king (David) wanted to build a temple for God, Nathan rightly said to him, Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you. But that night Nathan heard God’s heart about the matter of God’s Dwelling Place: that God’s people were not to build something for Him, rather that He was building something for His people. God is revealing that I so easily expose my arrogance, even in that which I think I am doing for the Lord to bless Him…like building something for Him. The whole intent of God was to establish the 'throne' of His Kingdom for the One whom He called His Son. His intent was not to establish His Kingdom; His Kingdom was in no need of establishment. The message from God to Nathan was that He, first of all, did not intend to be known as dwelling in a tent forever. Secondly, He did not intend to move to a dwelling place made with man’s hands. His intent was to dwell within a 'house' that was built by His Son; and His Son would then sit on His throne forever. This would become the visually perceptible expression of His Kingdom on Earth, insofar as men were able to see it.

Although God has declared that the earth and everything in it is and always has been His, He reveals that there is a purpose which He has set out to accomplish: the 'perceptible expression' of His Kingdom. In other words, God wants the world to recognize His Kingdom. An establishment is an organised body with power and authority set up on a permanent basis and recognised as such. God said that this is what He wanted to do with Israel in that He would make them a priesthood and a holy nation. The plan is to 'establish' God's people as the expression of His Kingdom under the authority of its King.

It is important to understand that God’s dwelling place has always been, and always will be, in His Kingdom – a place where people have been welcomed pending their obedience to the King. Note, however, that there is a distinction between the Dwelling Place and the Kingdom. The Dwelling Place is in the Kingdom. What then is this dwelling place that His Son would build?

David was somewhat short-sighted. He believed that Solomon was the son who would build a house for God where there would be a throne on which he (either David or Solomon) would be king forever. David confused Nathan’s desires for him with Nathan’s prophecy: do what is in your heart, against my Son shall build me a house. Although the prophecy said that God would raise up an offspring to David after his life was over, he insisted that this son was Solomon, having given him the name 'Peaceful'.

God’s people have struggled fervently to erect a dwelling place for God even though God said that He, Himself, would do that: "the Lord will build a house for you." We continue to define God’s Kingdom within the limits of our own understanding unaware, as David was, that God’s Kingdom is very different than that which we have seen or might want to see. Yet it is real and must be searched for and lived in. Where do we search, and how do we live in it when we have found it? Although David persisted in having a dwelling place (or a footstool) built for God, and imagining that he and Solomon would be kings forever over God’s Kingdom, there remained a glimmer of truth and reality in his heart.

Before his death, David passed on to his people the covenant which God intended to keep with them, that they should keep His commandments. David found that when he ruled by his own understanding of God’s Kingdom, there was fighting and bloodshed. God would not accept a dwelling place built by subjects who were in sin and blood-stained. Thus, David hoped that Solomon would be a man of peace, obedient to God, and thereby worthy of building God’s house, and worthy of His throne. History proves otherwise, and proves that Nathan’s prophecy would be fulfilled.

David’s heart was in a much better place than his understanding. We know that his thought was that it was granted to his lineage to build a dwelling place for God. And so he went about this task in spite of Nathan’s prophecy. Yet he correctly perceived that all glory, power and sustenance were God’s; and all things came from His hand for His glory: Praise be to You, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the Kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honour come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.

The Kingdom had very much to do with God’s people living in the fullness of life. This is what God offered Israel. God had said that He would dwell with them; but He also said that He, Himself, would build His dwelling place. David was torn by this, believing that he could build a house for God of cedar, and yet he could praise God in the fact that God alone had the power to do such a thing.

Solomon continued in his father’s footsteps and finished the temple of cedar. But God reveals what He thinks of this house by calling it a 'temple of sacrifice' rather than a dwelling place. It seems that God is amazingly flexible because of His love for His people. He sees the heart-cry of His people and responds to them. I believe that He did not intend to have a temple of sacrifice but, because of Solomon’s prayer of dedication, He granted that His Name would be over this man-made edifice; that is to say, the temple would be used as an abstract of Himself and His purposes towards the Jews. In other words, having accepted it as a gift from David and Solomon, God in His wisdom chose to use the temple for purposes other than a dwelling place.

Up to this point God had proven to His people that His covenant with them still stood, so long as they continued steadfastly in His commandments. To this point nothing had changed. Kingdom life was still sustained by obedience to the King, while God's compliance with His part of the covenant was inevitable. God’s word would be fulfilled when He said, …doing according to all I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying: There shall not fail you a man to rule Israel.

God warned Solomon that if they would not remain obedient, He would ban them from His Kingdom and destroy this temple of sacrifice. And on at least two future occasions just such destruction occurred. Nevertheless, at the same time, God’s word was sure, that He would indeed build for Himself a dwelling place, whether or not Israel obeyed God and whether or not their temple was destroyed. The house built by man’s hands was far too fragile for God to dwell in.

So, what is this dwelling place if it is not a man-made temple? Again, what is the difference between God’s dwelling place and His Kingdom? And what part do we play in His Kingdom? We know up to this point that His people are in His Kingdom, and that they have the privilege of living in obedience to Him as King. It is a foregone conclusion that, no matter what things may appear to be, God is ruler among the nations. And He was ruler among the nations even before His Messiah came to fulfil His purpose to be 'established' upon His throne in His Kingdom; and He continues as ruler to this day.

When suggesting this, some have replied with  dismay, No way is that so! If this was all we could expect from God’s Kingdom, I wouldn’t want any part of it. Christians deny such a reality based on an apparent lack of evidence. And non-Chrisitans deny it because of a lack of its evidence among Christians. Yet God has declared that He is indeed ruler of His Kingdom, and as such, ruler over the earth and the kings of the earth. He does not say that one day He will be ruler; He declares that He is. It can only be our limited understanding of its nature and our compliance with it that would leave us with the conclusion that the Kingdom is only that which can be perceived within the limitations of mortal experience. What we see around us often looks like the reckless abandon of evil with its resultant immorality, pain and injustice. When being cynically grilled by the Pharisees about the coming of God's Kingdom, Jesus corrected them, saying that its coming is not observable! Nor shall they say, Lo, here; or lo, there; for lo, the reign of God is within you. The recognition of its presence is about how it influences people and circumstances from the inside out.

So what does the Kingdom look like? Praise God that through His Messiah He has revealed to us what His Kingdom is really all about. Yet to this day there remains a fog in our minds about the teaching of Jesus regarding the Kingdom. The 'gospel of the Kingdom' is something that is rarely talked about or understood, let alone experienced. How can we presume to obey a commission to go and preach the 'gospel of the Kingdom' if we do not understand what it is? Obviously we cannot until we know.

Jesus is the expression of God's Kingdom, made perceptible to us on Earth. And God is pleased to continue to reveal to us what His Kingdom is all about if we would remain there as His chosen people having accepted His covenant. Today His covenant is ratified by the sacrifice of Jesus (God’s Salvation: Y’shua) and offered to all the nations of the world, including Israel, because of His resurrection from death to life and to eternal kingship, as was prophesied through Nathan to David.

Now, how do we go about living in His Kingdom, especially if we do not know what it is? It is true that all things will pass away, from dust to dust, and yet His Kingdom, which is over all these things that pass away, shall be everlasting. His Kingdom, though over this world, is not of this world. This fact was known to God’s people before Jesus declared it to Pilate during His trial before He went to the cross. Until the coming of this Messiah, one's only apparent link to this heavenly Kingdom was his righteousness and obedience in response to God’s invitation to Israel.

David sang: All You have made will praise You, O Lord; Your saints will extol You. They will tell of the glory of Your Kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of Your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. (Psalm 145:10-13)

Is it not an understatement to say that I am a sad representation of God’s Kingdom. We claim to be a Holy Priesthood. And praise God that, if this is so, it is only because of His grace. Yet how is it that God is blessed by us? Does His creation praise Him? Do His people uplift Him? Do we have anything to tell of the glory and splendour of His Kingdom? Are we able to describe it? Do people witness the mighty acts of His Kingdom? Perhaps we avoid speaking of the glory of His Kingdom because we do not know what it is. When we do see its power we often mock it or stifle it, often not knowing that we have seen it.

Here is one of innumerable examples which reveal our lack of understanding and perception of God’s Kingdom: When a baby whimpers in public, what do we do? We try to keep it quiet so that it does not disturb anyone. When the children display enthusiasm, we try to control them. And yet Jesus says, Let them come to me, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus quotes David, saying, From the lips of children and infants (babies who cannot even speak) you have ordained praise…to silence your enemies. There are countless examples of how God’s Kingdom is a reality among us. But it seems we often deny its presence because of our refusal, albeit ignorant or innocent, to let its characteristics flourish within us, or around us. When assessing our environment and the wider world we sometimes recognize its beauty, but it isn’t long before chaos and trouble raises its ugly head. And to our peril we as the Church can find ourselves too often obsessed and distracted by the world’s chaos, causing us to believe that God's Kingdom is not actually established. But this only represents a misconception of what His Kingdom is.

When asked, What is Kingdom life? What is it like? we often hear answers like, I don’t know much about the Kingdom! said with shrugged shoulders, as if it had little to do with the reality of everyday life. Or the answer is sometimes heard, We will have to wait and see! usually referring to some future dispensation. Can these possibly be the people David referred to as saints? Can these be the holy priesthood who convey the glory of the Kingdom?

Chapter 1.4: THE FULFILMENT (part 1)

The Kingdom of God, which is the same Kingdom that had been described by the Psalmist and iterated by the prophets throughout the Scriptures, is the Kingdom that is with us and within its people now in its fullness. Although our desire is that God's Kingdom is present and His will is (therefore) done on Earth as it is in Heaven, as was expressed in the prayer that Jesus shared with His disciples, the reality is that His Kingdom will 'come' in no greater degree than it is here now. In Jesus, the Kingdom had become manifest to His disciples while He was present with them. (The word translated as 'come' in Matthew 6:10 is the Greek erchomai which actually denotes presence.) Its 'coming', or presence, was not the crux of His prayer, for they, along with everyone and everything, were always under its jurisdiction and influence. Rather His prayer was about the realisation of God's will among them. What we are waiting for is that each one of us become subject to His Kingdom and to be transformed into perfect representations of it. The earth and everything in it groans in anticipation of this. And that is, to a great degree, up to us; it is a matter of decision and compliance with God’s Holy Spirit, and will continue to be so for as long as mankind exists. We are not waiting for the Kingdom, the Kingdom is waiting for us. A lack of our compliance with God's Kingship is the only reason why we experience any apparent lack of the Kingdom's presence.

Such compliance has to do with 'dying' to the world. God has already put everything under His feet, but the last thing for Him to do is to destroy death and sin, and that is what He is proceeding to do. Now, Jesus has already defeated death. One day death will be purged once and for all, as well. If we are looking toward the future, that is our anticipation.

And just as the terminal power of death has been overturned and will be eradicated, so the protagonist of death – Satan – has also been subjugated by Jesus. Daniel envisioned this judgement and defeat of Satan. He saw that at the time of Satan's defeat, all the sovereignty and power of Earth’s kingdoms would be handed over to the people of the Most High God. He saw that, in this way, God’s Kingdom would be an everlasting kingdom in which His people, having been granted His authority, would be worshippers living by the directives of His headship. This is the privilege we can experience now to the degree in which we are willing to perceive and comply.

Perhaps we need to reassess what it was that Jesus accomplished when He came to us as Messiah. Although many of us have grasped something of His incredible sacrifice for us in becoming a man and taking upon Himself the consequences of our separation from God, it seems to me that its implications are far bigger than we are often able to accredit to it. The event of the Messiah’s death and resurrection marked the judgement of Satan, as Daniel saw it. We love to read the ninth chapter of Isaiah at Christmas time, about the baby born to us. But do we grasp what God, through Isaiah, says about the event of the Messiah's coming? The government will be upon His shoulders; of the increase of His government there would be no end (as long as Earth exists, and beyond the confines of Earth and time), to rule and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward.

Speaking of this judgement, Jesus says to His disciples, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance – the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world… Now I know there are some of us who want to imagine that Jesus is speaking of a time yet to come: the last days, the end times. That has been the popular opinion since the 19th century. But I think such teaching needs to be challenged. It is robbing the Church of the wonders that God has for each of us right now.

Is it possible that, in denying the inheritance that is ours to partake of today, we are missing out on the vitality of the Kingdom that we otherwise long for? Is it possible that today we should be seeing the lion laying down with the lamb? There is such an expectation in the Church today to see more of the manifestation of the goodness and power of God to effect the world we live in. And that is certainly the desire of God’s heart as well. For that is what has been granted us through the sacrifice of Jesus. When he saw the coming of the baby King, Isaiah continued his prophecy to Israel (chapter 11): when the Branch from Jesse appears, the Spirit would rest upon Him and He would judge in righteousness and save the meek; He would be a glorious resting place after whom the Gentiles would seek. It is within that context that Isaiah sees the wolf dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid, the calf eating together with the lion, the child playing by the cobra’s hole.

The Holy Mountain that Isaiah saw is the present Kingdom of God upon which such things are a reality --  where there is no longer any danger or harm, and where we learn to live within an ever increasing understanding of God's ways. It is our ascent upon that mountain that unveils the wonders and majesty of the Kingdom to us. And when we dwell in that place, these realities will become like waters flowing down that Mountain until it covers the whole earth like a sea, bringing life.

The End of the Ages

Each generation of the Church is constantly looking towards another cataclysm that will mark 'The End' of the world as we know it, believing that it will usher in yet another coming of Jesus. But this is a trait of fleshly (soulish) thinking among humans who have an ingrained propensity for the dramatic, for something more exciting than that in which we are already embroiled, in order to bypass the mundane or, perhaps, our own accountability. The news industry takes advantage of this propensity by constantly seeking out new and more spectacular stories with which to titillate its viewers. Having worked in the advertising industry, I learned that this was a way to attract customers. As an example, an American distillery was known to have used subliminal advertising, superimposing skull and cross-bones in its glass of beverage, in order to appeal to the death-wish of many of its potential buyers. Its success was huge.

Although many want to experience the spectacular – supernatural powers, angelic sightings, even apocalyptic cataclysm, etcetera – it was never given to us to know about times and dates subsequent to the coming of Jesus some two millennia ago. There may be wars and rumours of wars, and volcanic eruptions; but these have nothing to do with what we think of as 'the end'. (Matthew 24:3-14) To quote Jesus as saying the end is not yet, or the end is not come, is to mis-translate His words. A proper translation would read, contrarily, this is no conclusion. In other words, what you think signifies 'the end' has nothing to do with it. Likewise the translation of Jesus' conclusion, saying, "And this