Many modern Christians believe that God’s kingdom will be manifested solely in the future. This means that we are living in a purely secular kingdom with purely secular laws cut off from the governance of heaven. This is the worldview of deism! If this is the view of any part of the church, then the secularists are right in condemning the mixing of any of God’s laws with the State. How can God as a future King have any say in the affairs of a present kingdom under the rule of another king?
In the Parable of the Landowner, Jesus indicts the chief priests and Pharisees for their rejection of His Messiahship. He predicts that as the Heir of the Landowner, He will be cast out of the vineyard and be killed (Matt. 21:38). Jesus relates this to the kingdom in several ways. First, Israel had the kingdom, an extension of the Old Covenant kingdom, therefore, it was a present reality: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it” (21:43). Jesus could not take from them what they did not have.
Second, there is no mention of a postponement or a parenthesis. Jesus does not say, “The coming of the kingdom will be delayed for another time.” Third, the kingdom will “be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.” The “deed” to the kingdom is transferred to a new “nation.” Fourth, it is obvious from the apostles’ question in Acts 1:6 that they believed the kingdom had been taken from Israel, because they ask, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel.”
Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths
Christianity's failure to show itself practical in the past 150 years has guaranteed the success of secularism and militant Islam, both of which are doing incalculable harm at home and abroad. The rejection of any type of ‘this-worldly’ application of the Bible has resulted in the proliferation of man-centered worldviews that have steadily drained the life out of our world and left behind a spiritual vacuum. Will the church of Jesus Christ be prepared with biblical answers for the millions who will be ready to follow the light of the gospel as the folly of humanism and Islam is made manifest? (2 Tim. 3:9).
Buy NowIn today’s podcast, Gary deals with God’s Kingdom in time and space. Is this world controlled by God or the Devil? Is God’s Kingdom a current reality, or does it need to wait? In Chapter 13 of Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths, Gary discusses the present reality of God’s Kingdom.