In Luke 17:20-21, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. They were wanting to know the cosmic signs that would precede the coming of the kingdom so they could be sure they wouldn’t miss it. We, too, want to know when the kingdom of God will come and what signs will indicate that His kingdom is coming. But Jesus didn’t give cosmic signs or date. He told them that the kingdom of God was right there in their midst! The kingdom of God was standing among them and they didn’t even recognize Him.
The kingdom of God will not come in ways to be observed
Certainly the Bible tells us things that must occur before Jesus’ return to earth. But what Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know was that the kingdom of God comes quietly and is only evident in the change in people’s lives as they surrender to Jesus and place their faith in Him as their Savior. Because Jesus lives within us, we too can say that the Kingdom of is in our midst.
What is the Kingdom of God?
The easy answer would be to note that a kingdom is that territory over which a king reigns. Since we understand that God is the Creator of all things, the extent of His realm must be the whole world. Manifestly, then, the kingdom of God is wherever God reigns, and since He reigns everywhere, the kingdom of God is everywhere. But the Pharisees were asking about God’s messianic kingdom. It is a kingdom that will be ruled by God’s appointed Messiah, who will be not just the Redeemer of His people, but their King.
When Jesus stood before Pilate, he said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” In one sense, His kingdom is something spiritual that takes place in our hearts when we accept Him as our Savior. But Jesus’ kingdom will also break through into this world and be a kingdom that is ruled by God’s anointed Messiah. So in this sense, the kingdom of God will come. But at the same time, Jesus is King right this minute and he sits ready for his Father to say, “Son, God get my children!” And in that moment, the rapture will happen and Christians all over the world will leave this world and be taken to heaven.
Our citizenship is in Heaven
American theologian and preacher Robert Sproul told this story:
In 1990, I was invited into Eastern Europe to do a series of lectures in three countries, first in Czechoslovakia, then in Hungary, and finally in Romania. As we were leaving Hungary, we were warned that the border guards in Romania were quite hostile to Americans and that we should be prepared to be hassled and possibly even arrested at the border.
Sure enough, when our rickety train reached the border of Romania, two guards got on. They couldn’t speak English, but they pointed for our passports, then pointed to our luggage. They wanted us to bring our bags down from the luggage rack and open them up, and they were very brusque and rude. Then, suddenly, their boss appeared, a burly officer who spoke some broken English. He noticed that one of the women in our group had a paper bag in her lap, and there was something peeking out of it. The officer said: “What this? What in bag?” Then he opened the bag and pulled out a Bible.
I thought, “Uh-oh, now we’re in trouble.” The officer began leafing through the Bible, looking over the pages very rapidly. Then he stopped and looked at me. I was holding my American passport, and he said, “You no American.” And he looked at Vesta and said, “You no American.” He said the same thing to the others in our group. But then he smiled and said, “I am not Romanian.”
By now we were quite confused, but he pointed at the text, gave it to me, and said, “Read what it says.” I looked at it and it said, “Our citizenship is in heaven.”‘
Who acknowledges Jesus as King?
On that train were a group of people who were citizens of the kingdom of God. But to the casual eye, it wasn’t observable. Of course, the whole universe is God’s kingdom. But when the New Testament talks about ‘the kingdom of God’ it OFTEN means the sphere which acknowledges Jesus as king.
The magi who found Jesus as an infant acknowledged him as KING OF THE JEWS.
Jesus’ disciples acknowledged him as king. Simon Peter told him, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ I think that counts as acknowledging him as king.
Two demons in Gadarenes says to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” They certainly knew who he was because they had been in heaven as angles before following Lucifer in a rebellion against God and found themselves cast out of heaven. They also know their time is coming where they will be confined to hell, so they are asking Jesus if he is sending them before the appointed time.
The people who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem acknowledged him as king. They shouted, ‘Blessed is THE KING who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Pilate acknowledged Jesus as king. He had a notice prepared which said, ‘THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.’
One of the criminals crucified with Jesus said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” You can’t have a kingdom if you’re not a king.
The sacrificial king
Yes, people in Jesus’ day proclaimed him as King. And because the Son of God lived and walked among them, there was a sense in which God’s kingdom HAD come. But in that moment, it was partial and it wasn’t yet observable. The people were looking for a royal king who would remove the Roman hold on them and re-establish the throne of David. But Jesus was the son of a poor, teenage girl, who in the eyes of the people was pregnant before marriage. Can you imagine the Pharisees looking Jesus up and down, sniffing and thinking, ‘That isn’t very impressive!’
The Pharisees couldn’t recognize Jesus as king because they didn’t understand that his role on earth was to be a sacrificial king. He came to give his life as payment for our sins. The kingdom of God that was in the midst of the Pharisees couldn’t be observed because they were looking for a conquering king rather than a sacrificial king.
Thy Kingdom come
But wait! There’s more! Yes, the kingdom had come and stood in the midst of them, but in the “Lord’s Prayer” Jesus taught the disciples to pray and part of that prayer is “Thy kingdom come.” He was teaching the disciples to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom. Jesus is coming again. The question is will you be ready? The Pharisees, despite all the training they had in the scriptures, still didn’t get it that Jesus, the Messiah, stood in their midst. They were not ready.
Are you ready for the coming of the kingdom of God?
After his encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus turns to his disciples and tells them about the Kingdom of God that will come. Whereas the coming of God’s kingdom was not observable when Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, on the day when he comes again to take up his kingship there will be no mistaking it! His coming will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.
Great News! Jesus is coming again.
For those of us who have put our trust in Jesus, the fact that Jesus is coming again is wonderful news. We look forward to the time that Jesus will return. The Bible tells us that as His return, a trumpet will sound we who have placed our faith in Jesus as our Savior will be taken up into heaven in a “twinkling of an eye.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) The “twinkling of the eye” is the time it takes for light to enter the eye, reach the back of the eye, and be reflected back out. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so the Twinkle is about one billionth of a second. In the millisecond it takes to be raptured, we will find ourselves in the presence of the Lord! We will “meet the Lord in the air.”
But for those who are not ready, the news isn’t so good.
Somber news for those left behind
But regrettably, it isn’t a wonderful outlook for everybody. In Luke 16, Jesus told the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Both men died, but the rich man went to hell and Lazarus was taken to heaven. In brief, his message was, ‘Reject God’s salvation and the time will come when you will regret it.’ That’s a somber message. In Luke 17:26-37, we find that some will be taken at Jesus’ return, some left. For those who are left, there will be judgement. The vultures will gather. There will be death. That’s also a somber message. Don’t be a procrastinator for Jesus! Today is the day to be sold out to Him… not tomorrow!
Because of the Rapture, tomorrow may never come! If your not ready for the coming of the Kingdom of God, now is the time to repent and ask Jesus to be your Savior. My friend is coming and when he does, every knee will bow and proclaim him King.
Now you can enhance your Bible Reading with the Verse Mapping Template
Our Verse Mapping download is FREE and includes 6 pages: 3 pages of instructions for using the template and the 2 page template, plus the cover page. If you’re looking to go deeper into God’s Word, learn more about God and develop a stronger spiritual life, Verse Mapping will help you dig into the scriptures. As you apply God’s Word to your life, you will develop a more intimate knowledge and relationship with God.
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Download our Free 2021 Bible Memory Verse Plan
We’ve put together 52 memory verses for you to hide God’s Word in your heart! You can download the full document for free and then print a new verse each week and as many copies as you’d like. Each verse prints four times on a page so that you can then cut them into index size cards and place them in prominent places where you will see them frequently throughout the day to help you remember to memorize them. Just because you visited our site, they’re yours for free! Download today.
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Download our Free 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan
With just 30-40 minutes per day, you can read the entire Bible in one year. The One-Year Bible Reading Plan consists of both Old Testament and New Testament readings for each day of the year. The Bible is God’s personal Word to you. What is He saying to you today? Open your Bible and find out!
One Year Bible Reading Plan
Download our Free Self-Care Wheel
The Self-Care Wheel provides ideas for practicing self-care in six dimensions of yourself: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Sensory, and Social. NOTE: You will need 11X14 paper to print the wheel.
Want to know more about self-care? Our Self-Care blog series targets people who serve in any ministry position and takes a Biblical approach to self-care.
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This week’s new Christian Tees designs:
The tassel was worth the hassle
This week, we are celebrating the accomplishments of the class of 2021. If you have a high school, college, or university graduate this year, our “Tassel was worth the Hassle” shirts and products make a great gift. View the samples below and other products in this design in our Spreadshop store. Once in the store, you can click on the customize tab and add your school name or graduate’s name!
See our other graduation tees and products:
Graduating Seniors, Class of 2021 and #Done2021
Once in the store, you can click on the customize tab and add your school name or graduate’s name!
See our other graduation tees and products:
Graduating Seniors and Class of 2021
Once in the store, you can click on the customize tab and add your school name or graduate’s name!
The slide show below highlights some of our favorite Christian Tees designs available in our Spreadshop and Teespring stores.
Jesus is our Peace 
Fight on my knees 
Godfidence 
Walk by faith 
I’m only talking to Jesus today 
Known Loved Worthy Enough Chosen Child of God 
2021 Trailer – All things possible – Be still – It’s fine 
Large view 2021 Trailer – All things possible – Be still – It’s fine 
Grace wins 
Living for the world to see Jesus 
Way Maker 
Walk by Faith 
Script Unstoppable God 
Print Unstoppable God 
Unstoppable Force 
Steps of a Good Man 
Something New 
Seek and Find 
Revive Us Again 
Resist the Devil 
Raise a Hallelujah 
Prayer Warrior 
Beloved- Mr and Mrs 
Mr and Mrs – God’s Plan 
Man of God 
He Left 99 for Me 
Cast All Your Cares 
Giants 
Faith over Fear 
Don’t Worry 
Faith Can Move Mountains 
Don’t Quit 
Created to Praise 
All things are Possible 
What the Lord Requires 
All Things New 
Anything is possible 
With my song I will praise Him 
Names of God 
All things are possible 
Run with perseverance 
Blessings head to toe-hearts 
Revive us again, Lord 
Isaiah 41:13 
Blessings head to toe – roses 
Jeremiah 29:11 
Blessings head to toe 
Be Still 
Blessings head to toe – floral 
God’s starting point
Canvas art and posters are available in the Teespring store. Many of our Christian Tees are also available at Teespring.
To see the collection of Canvas and Poster Prints
Need some music to get you through the day? Check out one of our Playlists on YouTube
You can also watch our animated devotionals on the YouTube Channel
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce
What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:
- Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
- Conversation Starters.
- Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
- Romance Builders.
- Relationship Builders.
- Personal reflections.
- Date ideas.
- Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.
Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.
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