The Kingdom of Heaven

Six hundred years before Christ, Daniel interpreted a dream for the king of Babylon. After describing four powerful kingdoms, he says of the last one: “And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed—and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). Has this prophecy been fulfilled?

At the time of Jesus’ birth came the prophecy, “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). God had appointed a kingdom for His Son. Did He receive it?

Just before Jesus began His ministry, John came to prepare the way; the message he preached was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). Matthew 4:17 continues this thought: “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Later, Jesus sent out His twelve apostles and charged them to preach: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:7).

Is the kingdom that was at hand the one prophesied by Daniel? Of the four world kingdoms, three are identified in Daniel: Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece (Dan. 8:20-21). Any student of history knows that the fourth nation (which succeeded Greece) was Rome, during which time Jesus was born.

Jesus, then, entered the world “in the days of these kings” and preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. To eliminate any confusion about what at hand might mean, Mark records Jesus as adding the phrase, The time is fulfilled (Mark 1:15).

The kingdom prophesied of by Daniel would be established in the days of the Roman kings by Jesus who preached, as did John, that the time was at hand. Jesus also promised: “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power” (Mark 9:1).

Either the kingdom was established then, or some extremely old men are hiding out somewhere on the earth. Either the kingdom was established, as foretold, or Daniel’s prophecies failed. Either the kingdom was established, or Jesus did not speak the truth.

Then what is this kingdom? Jesus identified it in Matthew 16:18-19. In verse 18, He promises, “on this rock I will build My church,” and in verse 19 He adds, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” What is the kingdom? The kingdom is the church, as shown by the fact that the two words are used interchangeably.

In the same passage that says Jesus “is the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18), Paul writes God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (1:13). The church-kingdom (kingdom of heaven) had been established. It came with power “in the days” of the Roman kings.