This is the most clear and convincing explanation I've read about when the Kingdom of God came into power. It's long, but I couldn't see anything I could cut out from this (and this isn't the entire blog post):
Not surprisingly, even the staunchest of futurists will readily admit that the kingdom of God was initiated at the ascension of Jesus in fulfilment of 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. The scriptures leave no room to doubt this fact.
Acts 2:30-35
“And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
Peter says that the resurrection and ascension of Jesus fulfilled the promise that God made to David to give to his “Seed” his throne and kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-13). As a result, this also fulfilled the prophecy of God’s Messiah ruling from Zion (Psalm 110). This is undeniably the inauguration of Jesus as King, and the initiation (the beginning) of the establishment of the kingdom of God.
Paul shares some similar thoughts….
Acts 13:32-34
“And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’ As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.
Paul likewise says that the resurrection and ascension of Jesus meant that God had enthroned His King in Zion (in the New Jerusalem) fulfilling Psalm 2. Through the resurrection, God had given Jesus the “sure blessings” of David, which points again to the fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7:12-13.
For Peter and Paul, the Messianic kingdom of God had been initiated in AD30 through the resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus, the rightful King of Israel. Thus, having established the time of “kingdom initiation” (AD30), let’s now establish the time of “kingdom consummation”.
AD70-KINGDOM CONSUMMATED
The entire book of Hebrews is in a sense a contrast between the two covenants. In chapter 12 the writer of Hebrews encourages his struggling and persecuted Jewish readers to remember that they had come to a New and better Covenant in Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them…. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than that of Abel.
As they were leaving behind the Old Covenant mountain which “could be touched” and “shaken” (it was earthly), they were metaphorically ascending their New Covenant mountain which could neither be touched nor shaken (it was heavenly).
Hebrews 12:26-28
And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more, and I will shake not only the earth, but the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken…”
I believe that the immediate covenant-context in Hebrews 12 is enough to clearly identify what is being shaken, and what is remaining in verses 26-28. However, when we take into consideration what the writer has said previously in his letter regarding the two covenants, we are literally forced to interpret the “things which can be shaken” as the Old Covenant order, and the “things which cannot be shaken” and were thus “remaining” as the New Covenant order – the new creation. Let’s consider those things.
Recall Hebrews 8:13 where the writer says that the Old Covenant was “growing old” and “ready to vanish away”.
“When He said, “A new covenant” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear”
Notice the present tense of this verse, the Old Covenant was at that time in the process of becoming obsolete. In the “covenant context” of both Hebrews 8 and 12, is it not both contextual and logical to say that what was “being shaken” in Hebrews 12:27, was the Old Covenant of Hebrews 8:13 which was “ready to vanish away”?
The answer becomes even more obvious when we also consider Hebrews 10:9.
“Then He said, “Behold, I have come to do your will”. He takes away the first in order to establish the second”.
Notice again that this verse was written in the present tense. Hebrews 10:9 says that the Lord was at that time “taking away” the first (covenant), in order to “establish” the second (covenant). So again, in the “covenantal context” of both Hebrews 8 and 12, it is not both contextual and logical to say that what was being “removed” in Hebrews 12:27, was the Old (first) Covenant of Hebrews 10:9 which was being “taken away”?
And, wouldn’t what was “remaining” in Hebrews 12:27, be the New Covenant of Hebrews 10:9 which would be “established” when the Old (first) Covenant was taken away?
Can you see the connection, especially since all three texts (Hebrews 8:13, 10:9, and 12:26-28) were spoken in a covenantal context? Now, consider one more verse which was also spoken in a covenantal context, and how it parallels Hebrews 12:27.
2 Corinthians 3:9,11 (NKJV)
For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousnessexceeds much more in glory…. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
It is universally agreed that in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul is contrasting the “glories” and the “ministries” of the two (Old and New) Covenants. Notice again the present tense of this text. Verse 11 plainly teaches that the Old Covenant (which had glory) was at that time in the process of “passing away”, and the New Covenant (which was much more glorious) was “remaining”.
Please take the time to compare this text with Hebrews 12:27. Once again, in the “covenantal context” of both Hebrews 12 and 2 Corinthians 3, is it not both contextual and logical to say that what was “being removed” in Hebrews 12:27 was the Old Covenant of 2 Corinthians 3:11 which was “passing away”?
And, wouldn’t what was “remaining” in Hebrews 12:27 be the New Covenant of 2 Corinthians 3:11 which was likewise “remaining”?
The below charts [removed, but in link] are a powerful demonstration that all four texts (Hebrews 8:13, 10:9, 12:26-28, and 2 Corinthians 3:11) refer to one and the same “covenantal transition”, when the Old Covenant was passing away, and the New Covenant was being established in order to remain forever.
When the Old Covenant which was being shaken had served its prophetic purpose in redemptive history, it would be completely removed so that the New Covenant which could not be shaken, would remain forever. This is what I call “covenantal transition”. And notice, the result of the removal of the Old and the remaining (the establishment) of the New, would be the coming (receiving) of the kingdom.
Hebrews 12:28 (NKJV)
“THEREFORE, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken…”
The word “therefore” makes the receiving of the kingdom the RESULT and the PURPOSE of the establishment of the New Covenant. In other words, as they were receiving the New Covenant (and its promises), they were receiving the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, when they received the established New Covenant in AD70, and the full application of its promises, they received the consummated Kingdom of God. According to Hebrews 12, to possession the New Covenant and its promises, is to receive the eternal kingdom-inheritance.
This is the message of the book of Hebrews, indeed, the entire New Testament. When the Old Covenant had been shaken and removed, and the New Covenant fully established to remain, then the Hebrews (Israel according to the flesh) and the grafted in Gentiles would receive the anticipated Messianic Kingdom of God. This happened historically when the Old Covenant and the entire “Old Covenant world” (Jerusalem and Judaism) were shaken and removed through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies as the judgment of God in AD70.
Now, this is where things get interesting and perhaps confusing for the kingdom-futurist. To rephrase a point we made above:
If the “receiving” of the kingdom through the establishment of the New Covenant in Hebrews 12:28 was not the final coming (arrival) of the kingdom that was initiated at Pentecost, then what was it? And, what was its significance for the body of Christ? I mean no disrespect to the “kingdom-futurist”, but if you do hold to a paradigm of a future earthly kingdom, please seriously consider what follows.
The prophet Daniel prophesied that the kingdom was to come in the “last days” (Daniel 2:28), which would be the days of Rome – the fourth beast in Daniels’s vision – and at that time, the “saints would possess the kingdom”. (Daniel 2, 7)
Jesus arrived in the last days (Hebrews 1:1) when Rome (Daniel’s fourth beast) was in power (Luke 2:1-2), and proclaimed that the kingdom of God was “near”. (Mathew 4:17)
Jesus not only proclaimed that the kingdom was “near”, he promised that it would arrive in “power and glory” at his return (second coming) in the first century, before all his contemporary generation had died. (Mathew 16:27-28)
Jesus even taught that the kingdom would be taken from Old Covenant Israel and given to “another people” in fulfillment of Daniel 7:18,22. He said that this would happen when the unfaithful Jews were judged and destroyed for their murder of the prophets and himself. (Mathew 21:33-45)
Then, after his victorious resurrection over sin and death, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father to receive the Davidic kingdom and to initiate His kingdom-reign in fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Psalm 2, and 110.
10 days later, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the nation of Israel so they would be “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49), which initiated the kingdom-restoration of Israel (Isaiah 32:15). It also further confirmed to Israel that they were in fact living in the last days (Acts 2:15-17), and that the kingdom would soon be established and received according to the prophet Daniel.
Years later, Paul the apostle taught that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and its manifestations, was the “pledge” (the guarantee down-payment) that they would receive the fullness of their kingdom-inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, Mathew 25:31-34) within their lifetime, just as Jesus had promised. (Mathew 16:27-28, Luke 21:28-32).
Then, after years of kingdom-anticipation, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells his readers that when the Old Covenant would be fully removed and the New Covenant fully established, they would “receive” the kingdom of God (a direct quotation and fulfillment of Daniel 7:22 and Mathew 21:43).
Therefore, since the Old Covenant has been fully removed, and the New Covenant fully established, the kingdom of God has already been received. The fact is according to Hebrews, wherever you place the removal of the Old Covenant and the establishment of the New, is where you must place the arrival and reception of the Messianic kingdom of God. ~
https://reformedeschatology.com/the-kingdom-has-come-but-do-we-look-for-another/