sovereigngrace
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- Dec 9, 2019
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Yes, this isn't just a difference between you and me, but between many Christians of different varieties. So my argument is not just some stupid argument I hold to as an individual, but actually, a very time-honored argument.
Obviously, Christ inherited the Kingdom of God when he ascended into heaven. But it is equally clear to Christians like me that he did not immediately initiate God's Kingdom upon the earth. It remains "near," and not "here," as Jesus indicated in his Gospel message. He said his Kingdom is "near." That is the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
So naturally, the language would be similar between the ascension to obtain the Kingdom of God and the language concerning his return to establish God's Kingdom on earth. And I believe the language of Dan 7 has everything to do with establishing God's Kingdom on the earth, and not just with Messiah obtaining that authority.
Since Christ did obtain his authority over God's Kingdom at his ascension, as you indicated, and the context in Dan 7 has to do with Jesus' Return, it seems clear to me that the approach of the Son of Man to some kind of heavenly meeting did not have to do with the ascension of Jesus. Rather, it had to do with some kind of conference call to determine the fall of Antichrist, the "Little Horn." It was a matter of reestablishing Jesus' authority to establish God's Kingdom on earth in the context of Antichrist's resistance to God.
Paul's reference to Jesus' authority obviously has to do with the time of the resurrection, and thus with Jesus' ascension into heaven to obtain God's Kingdom. But as I indicated, this has nothing to do with the time he will establish the Kingdom of God on earth at his Return. And the fact Dan 7 here refers to Jesus' Return seems very clear to me since the language of the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven are the very words the NT uses to describe Jesus' Return.
Therefore, Dan 7 is not about the Ascension, when Jesus initially received the Kingdom at his resurrection, but rather, about his Return to establish God's Kingdom on the earth. The words are obviously similar, but the timing and contexts are very different, in my opinion.
That is simply not true. Christ ushered in the kingdom of God when He came. Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, “from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth (biazo) violence, and the (biastes) violent take it by force.”
Jesus said, in Luke 16:16, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man (biazo) presseth into it.”
We should immediately note: for men to be able to press into the kingdom and for it to suffer violence it must already exist. The Greek word biazo here means to force, to crowd oneself into, or to seize. The kingdom of God is shown here to be a present reality that the righteous enter upon salvation. This has been the case since John the Baptist. The spiritual kingdom Christ brought was very-much alive and active from the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry.
Sadly, the overwhelming majority of Jews missed their promised Messiah when He came. He just didn’t fit their expectation of who and what the Messiah was to be. Also, they had an erroneous political racial perception of what the kingdom was. They had a carnal earthly view of Messiah and His kingdom. They believed that the first thing He would do was subjugate all national Israel’s enemies, starting with the Romans. When Christ appeared at His first advent, the Jews imagined He would reinstate the now defunct earthly throne of Israel and reign victorious over the physical nation, restoring their ancient borders. The only problem was: they had a defective hyper-literalist understanding of Old Testament prophesies and a misconception of how the kingdom would look.
The kingdom of God exists wherever the king – the Lord Jesus Christ – exercises His spiritual jurisdiction. His kingdom embodies all those who possess the indwelling Holy Spirit – those who are born-again of the Spirit of God. Christ’s kingdom is therefore found wherever there are citizens of that Kingdom.
In John 3:3 Jesus declared: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
And in John 3:5 He says, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
The penitent sinner spiritually enters into a spiritual kingdom upon conversion. Entering in to that spiritual kingdom in this life brings an immediate realization in the ‘here and now’ and on this earth of true “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17) and is decisively personal to the recipient. That means if you have given Christ kingship of your life then you are in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God is in you! The King in God’s kingdom is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And since we got saved we are His subjects. The laws that govern Christ’s spiritual kingdom are found in this precious Book.
That means if you have given Christ kingship of your life then you are in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God is in you!
This is expressly a spiritual kingdom as it relates to the spiritual realm. The blessing and rewards of the kingdom are plainly spiritual in nature and pertain exclusively to the repentant sinner. It relates to the unseen realm where the people are governed by their mediator King. A kingdom must have a king to be considered a kingdom. Christ rules this kingdom, not by force, but love. Those that subject to His authority are administered by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Premil denies Christ His current kingship over His spiritual domain with its constant future focus upon the kingship of Christ. Whilst there is a future aspect to Christ’s kingship, there is also the current reality.
Colossians 1:12-14 tells us that God “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
There are two spiritual kingdoms on this earth in constant conflict – the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God. Every human being resides in one kingdom or the other.
Entry into the kingdom of God is through faith in Christ and His shed blood at Calvary. When you got saved you were delivered from one kingdom to another: from darkness to light, from the devil to God, from defeat to victory.
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