Please clarify this. Where is the epicentre of God's Kingdom? Which country are we talking about?
"My kingdom is not of this world"
John 18:
36 Jesus answered, “
My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Dan 2
31 “You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 32 The head of that statue
was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron,
and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You continued
watching until a stone was broken off without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. 35 T
hen the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces all at the same time, and they were like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the entire earth.
44 And
in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and
that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms
That event is still future - it is the 2nd coming of Christ - He will show up with the armies of heavens coming down out of heaven.
11 And
I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and
wages war. 12 His eyes
are a flame of fire, and on His head
are many crowns; and He has a name written
on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white
and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it
He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Matt 24:
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will
send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Is it a country chosen by Jesus Christ, or by the Court that sits in judgment in Daniel 7:26 (because the latter is clearly a human court, which is not a heavenly court at all,
Neither one.
It is in heaven -
9 “I kept looking
Until
thrones were set up,
And the
Ancient of Days took
His seat;
His garment
was white as snow,
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels
were a burning fire.
10
A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were serving Him,
And
myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The
court convened,
And the
books were opened.
That court is in heaven --
13 “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold,
with the clouds of heaven
One like a
son of man was coming,
And H
e came up to the Ancient of Days
And was
presented before Him.
14 And
to Him was given dominion,
Honor, and a kingdom,
So that all the peoples, nations, and
populations of all languages
Might
serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
God the Son - goes to God the Father (in heaven) -- to that court room in heaven and its result is to define the kingdom - the saved vs the lost -- here the saints are in Christ's kingdom and the wicked will be destroyed.
That is God "in charge" but it is also God demonstrating that He is both just and merciful (Rom 3) exposing the details in record books to the court that He set up to review all the cases.
Rom 9
21 Or does the potter not have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one object for honorable use, and another for common use? 22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known,
endured with great patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon objects of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24
namely us, whom He also called, not only from among Jews, but also from among Gentiles
Rom 9 says that God shows great mercy and patience even with those whom He knows to ultimately reject the gospel - and "why" ? He does so because it demonstrates His mercy to the saints - to those who are "objects of mercy". When the saints see their own precious lost loved ones, children, parents, dearest friends treated with such great kindness and patience and mercy by God "who is not willing that any should perish" 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,
not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
