Recently I had the opportunity to teach about the coming Kingdom of God as it is presented in the parables of Mark 4. There are a few positions that people hold concerning the subject, one being that the Kingdom is presently here in a spiritual sense in the life of each individual believer. This view equates the "Kingdom of God" with the "Church" and the two are often used synonymous of each other. However, I believe when we boldly claim that the Kingdom is something that is merely spiritual, that it is present now, and that it is synonymous with the church we will run into some problems when we read the Scriptures. 1) Revelation 20-21 seems to imply that there will be a literal Kingdom set up after Satan, his Angels, and everyone who is not found in the book of life are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. Besides this I know of no where in Scripture that says that the Kingdom is spiritual. 2) If the Kingdom were here in this present age why are we still considered strangers in this world? This world is just as much our home as a snake pit is to a mouse. Why would would we say that God has the submission of everyone and everything in this kingdom, Satan and the unbelievers included? I know people who hold this view wouldn't say this, but they probably should to be consistent. It's obvious that evil, unbelievers, and that wretched serpant that has been tempting man from the very beginning are still free to roam the earth, so by the definition of surrender it's clear that these haven't done so before God. 3) To see the Kingdom as synonymous with the church is to misinterpret the passages in Scripture that speaks of the Kingdom as being something future. Besides that if God's Kingdom was already set up and present now, why is Ephesians 2 still at work? Why is Satan still roaming around seeking whom he may devour? Why are there still sons of disobedience? Why is evil still in the world? There is a Kingdom of man and a Kingdom of God which are at hand and we must make the distinction between the two. The Kingdom of God is when all things will be under His authority, the unbelievers will be judged, God's enemies will be put away, and there will be a return to Eden. A sanctified, eternal, and good Kingdom, where God reigns and because of His grace and the imputed righteousness of Christ, we will reign with Him. This is a day when all things will exist in perfect submission to King Jesus, the Alpha and Omega!
So what is our role as citizens of the coming kingdom as we trod through this kingdom that is not our home? 1 John says that we are the light of this Kingdom. Therefore, we are the lights in this world that shine forth the rays of the coming Kingdom. John reminds us that the cares of this age are passing away. Today marked the second anniversary of my Grandpa's death. The dash of his life in which he crawled, played, worked, and died lasted a mere 76 years and as he passed away he mirrored forth exactly what will come to us all should Jesus tarry. "The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). In contrast to this fleeting thing we call natural existence, which John calls "darkness," there is a "true light that is already shinning." That true light is the church and herein lies our task as citizens of the kingdom God in the kingdom of man.
Imagine you are on the east coast early in the morning before night has ended and the day has begun. You are sitting on the sand looking over the waters; that in itself makes you feel a little small. Just before Dawn you see the rays of the sun peaking over the horizon. Finally, the day is coming and the night is coming to an end. This is our job. Let us shine the light of the coming kingdom in the night of darkness we are now in, so that others can see the hope of the better day that is coming. This is a day which will never pass away. The sun they will see is the Son of the Most High. So, lest we be caught unprepared let us kiss the Son and not perish for the kingdom of God comes as a thief in the night. "Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matt 25:13).
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