“What Is the Kingdom of God?”
This is the title of a small, less than a page, tract put out by Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are four panels—two on each side. Underneath the title on page one, they ask, “Would you say it is . . .” and then they list the following choices: “something within your heart?”; “a picture of speech”; “government in heaven”? The two inside panels attempt to answer the question. In fact, they write: “What the Bible Says,” and then they quote part of Daniel 2:44: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.” They do not, however, have a clue that this kingdom has already been established.
They look at verses like these as still to be fulfilled in the future. They speak of a righteous government that had yet to be established that will benefit everyone personally. Jumping all the way from Daniel (written in the sixth century B.C.) in a single bound to Revelation (written near A. D. 100.), they advocate: “In a coming new world,” there will be “life in perfect health and happiness” (Rev. 21:3-4). Daniel and John are talking about two entirely different time periods. John is describing the church in eternity—a city foursquare (Rev. 21:9-27). Everything evil is outside of it (Rev. 21:8). The description continues in Revelation 22.
However, Daniel describes the kingdom that would be established in the days of the kings of the fourth world empire that were all part of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan. 2:1-45). This is the kingdom of heaven which was “at hand” in the first century (Matt. 3:2). It is a spiritual kingdom, the church, which Jesus personally promised to build (Matt. 16:18-19). Jesus is the Head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23), and He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). He is the King, but His spiritual kingdom is not of this earth (John 18:36). None of us needs to wait for this kingdom to come in the future; Jesus established it in the days of the Roman kings, and the church-kingdom has been in existence ever since He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God (Acts 2:29-33; cf. Col. 1:13-14).
The tract goes on to affirm that Mathew 24:3 and 7 are being fulfilled today when, in fact, they were fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70 (Matt. 24:1-36). The tract wants everyone to imagine what earth will be like “under the rule of God’s kingdom.” We are already under the rule of that kingdom; we do not have to wonder about it. Jesus is our King, and the church is His kingdom. The kingdom is like this: We have the forgiveness of sins; we have brothers and sisters all over the world; we have the hope of eternal life (1 Peter 1:3-5); we have a loving King, full of grace and truth; and we have a divine purpose—to take the gospel to the whole world. Don’t imagine it; be part of it.