THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Luke 17:20-37 An Answer to the Pharisees. v. 20-21 It’s difficult for people to visualize a kingdom that isn’t simply a political system with geographical boundaries. We should think of the kingdom of God as a present reality, not merely as a future event. The teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ about the kingdom of God was not grasped by the Pharisees, who understood from the Old Testament scriptures that God promised blessings for Israel in the future. The Messiah, God’s Son, will rule the world as the King of kings and Lord of lords. These promises are true, and they will come to fruition, but the kingdom of God encompasses much more than that.
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, learned from the Lord Jesus that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. The Pharisees did not want to repent of their sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, or accept Him as their personal Savior and Messiah. That would mean they would be subservient to the Son of Man, and they desired just the opposite.
A spiritual kingdom is where the King holds authority over the hearts of His people, not just their lives. He reigns supreme when He is truly Lord over spirit, soul, and body, which He has purchased with His own blood. Such a kingdom is not observable but rather experiential. When the kingdom of God is “within,” it is both personal and “among you,” referring to the population of a group of people. Given that there are born-again individuals worldwide, the kingdom of God today casts its influence among the nations through the lives and service of citizens of this spiritual kingdom. Paul the apostle wrote, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
The kingdom of God was not “within” the Pharisees, who did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but was “among” them in the group of people to which they belonged. There were those in that group who were in the kingdom of God and connected to the Lord by faith in the King. Although the gathering of people on the Lord’s Day is meant to hear the word of God and learn kingdom principles and practices, it is only those who have been born again in that meeting who are truly in the kingdom of God. It is a work of the Holy Spirit that places a person into the kingdom of God.
An Answer to the Disciples. v. 22-37 There was a particular aspect of the promise of the kingdom of God involved in the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was that the Door opened to “whosoever will may come,” as the Son of Man who can seek and save the lost. Those who are born again are in the kingdom of God among all the earthly kingdoms of the world today. When Christ returns in glory to reign as King, the kingdom of God will swallow up all earthly kingdoms. The kingdom of God has two phases: one at the present time, when individuals enter the kingdom by faith in Christ, and one in the time to come, when our Lord will reign as King.
When the kingdom of God is established on earth, God prepares the King to reign and then gathers people for Him to reign over when the Jews are regathered. That is happening now. Then the King will be the Ruler over the entire realm of the earth. Presently, the kingdom is known by God and exists unseen to people, but is openly visible to God. It exists alongside the earthly kingdoms, where those who are heavenly citizens live among all the people of the world as pilgrims and strangers on their way home. The influence of heavenly citizens living here among all the nations is like salt and light in the midst of evil and moral darkness. When the Lord Jesus Christ rules and reigns, He will share that with His own people to whom He has given eternal life.
The disciples of the Lord believed in Him and knew Him as their King, so He provided them with further teaching about the coming kingdom's future aspect. He knew that false Christs would arise and attempt to gather followers for their personal gain after He had ascended to heaven. The first time He came as the Son of Man to seek and save the lost. He lived among people as one of them, blessing and helping them, but the majority did not receive or believe in Him. The next time He comes to earth, everyone will see Him and recognize Him as the King. His arrival will be as open and clear as lightning, whose flashes illuminate the entire sky when its power is unleashed. He will come in power and will be revealed in all His great glory.
No one knows or can know when the rapture of the church will occur, nor when the revelation of the Lord will be visible to the entire world. What we do know is that it will commence with a period of judgment, known as the tribulation, which will interrupt normal life and impact the entire world. When the Lord first came, He preached that the kingdom of God had arrived and sent His disciples out with the same message. In this context, near the end of His ministry, His teaching extends further into the future to speak of the “days of the Son of Man.”
The flood and the destruction of Sodom illustrate the disaster that will occur when the future judgment of the tribulation is experienced worldwide. Those who teach that the coming of the kingdom of God is only in the future are not conveying the complete truth. The people whom God saves now are part of the kingdom of God. Those who will be saved during the tribulation will also be in the kingdom of God. In the apostles’ time, some taught that the Lord had already come and that the resurrection had happened in the past.
False teachers have been setting dates and making unfounded predictions based on their own interpretations of the Bible and past events. The order of events in the future begins with the Lord coming for His church, which will open the way for seven years of tribulation, during which many more Jews will return to Israel. They will face persecution, and when the nations gather to oppose the anti-Christ, who will make Jerusalem his center of rule, the Lord will descend from heaven with multitudes of the “heavenly host.” This marks the earthly phase of the kingdom of God when the Lord Jesus Christ sits on the throne of David and rules as the promised King.
People will carry on with their daily activities and pleasures as they always have, and then suddenly, the Lord will appear. Believers should not be overly concerned about what we possess or even our own lives, as all of that is in the hands of our Lord Jesus. Before He returns, the Jewish people will face unprecedented opposition. Throughout the ages, believers have encountered opposition and persecution in various forms because they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and understand that their security for the future lies in Him alone.
The disciples were not to hope for the Son of Man to be glorified before He personally suffered rejection and bore our sins on the cross. The revelation of the Son of Man in glory will occur at the end of the period of wickedness during the tribulation, such as has never been seen. The only way to survive will be for those living to flee without trying to take everything with them. Warning them to let go of all earthly possessions and anything that ties them to their past life conveys the sense of urgency that the Lord imparted. If they don’t leave everything behind, Lot’s wife serves as an illustration of what happens when someone seeks to maintain any connection with an evil society.
To attempt to preserve life as it has always been experienced and as one wishes it to remain is to lose it and all one hopes for. Only those who have prepared in advance will be saved. It is of utmost importance for a person to have been born again by the Spirit of God. A spiritual new birth enables a person to live a moral and righteous life in a sinful and dark world system, despite what the majority of people do. Such individuals will not be caught unprepared by the suddenness of the Lord’s return. We know enough about the “last days” and the foreshadowing of events we already see to understand that those who have been saved in this day of grace are safe at His return. This time of grace we have been given will end with His return.
Those saved during the time of tribulation will experience the effects of God’s righteous judgment on an ungodly and unthankful world filled with sinful people. Those who manage to escape being taken by the powers that oppose the Lord Jesus Christ will be physically saved if they endure to the end. During the tribulation, many believers will face physical death but will be eternally and spiritually saved. Those who refuse to submit to the anti-Christ’s demands and his evil authority will be killed. We can already see evidence of how this will occur in various things that happen to Christians today.
At first glance, it may seem there is no difference between believers and unbelievers, but the time will come when one will be taken and the other left. The contrast between judgment and blessing will then be evident. Separations will occur between those who are bound by natural ties but distant spiritually. Those who work together may not appear significantly different until the moment arrives when one will be taken and the other left behind. Where individuals go when the Lord comes depends on whether they are spiritually dead or alive. As the signs of His coming increase, we should feel more motivated than ever to pursue the interests of the kingdom of God.
Materialism serves as a significant hindrance for many today who reject God’s salvation due to their preoccupation with accumulating things that appeal to our fleshly interests. Vultures can locate a carcass. Even though some individuals recognize their need for salvation before the Lord returns, they prefer to delay their preparation until a more convenient day in the future. Others say, “Your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth,” thereby rejecting what God declares and refusing to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord based on their own opinions. Skeptics remain unconvinced of the need to be born again to enter the kingdom of God because they struggle to understand or accept the dynamics of taking action by faith without knowing the outcome beforehand. As a result, they choose not to accept the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, nor will they place their faith in the truth of the Word of God as revealed in the Bible. The Holy Spirit guides people into all truth as they read and learn from scripture.
LUKE 18