So Much More: Moving Beyond Kingdom Principles to Kingdom Power (28 page)

The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God on this earth that Jesus came to reintroduce. It is a present reality demonstrated by the authority He took over the kingdom of Satan. He has empowered us by His Spirit to live in and operate in this kingdom now. But there is also a coming future kingdom, the millennial kingdom, when Christ will rule on this earth and the kingdom of Satan will be completely destroyed.

Many people believe this millennial kingdom is figurative and is speaking of the church age, but I believe the prophecies are clear that this is a literal rule and reign of Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. This kingdom in which He shall reign is not in heaven but is on earth. We are not going away to heaven, but rather heaven is coming to earth. We will go away to heaven between now and when Jesus comes back, but at the second coming the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth become one. King Jesus will rule on this earth. This is not figurative but literal. The physical Jesus with a human, resurrected body, will rule and reign in bodily form on this earth.

Zechariah prophesied,

A day of the L
ORD
is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the L
ORD
will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the L
ORD
my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the L
ORD
—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. The L
ORD
will be king over the whole earth.

—Z
ECHARIAH
14:1–9

Several things are prophesied here that haven’t happened yet but will on the day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord was a common term in Scripture referring to the second coming of Christ. The nations have not yet been gathered to wage war against Jerusalem and the Lord has not yet taken up battle against the nations, but it will happen on that day. And Zechariah wrote that on this Day of the Lord King Jesus will set His feet on the Mount of Olives and it will be split in two. I have been to Israel twice and have stood on the Mount of Olives. It is still one mountain, but on that Day it will be split in two.

Some teach that this is figurative and not literal. But if this is figurative, why does Zechariah use specifics like the feet of Jesus and a specific mountain like the Mount of Olives? One of the rules of interpreting Scripture is: literal where possible, figurative only where necessary. I believe this is a literal promise, and it hasn’t happened yet but it is going to happen because God promised it would. Zechariah also prophesied that on this Day the Lord, Messiah will rule over the whole earth. It doesn’t say that He will rule over all of heaven, but rather that He will rule and reign over the whole earth. This is the millennial kingdom, and we will rule with Him in this kingdom. In Revelation 20, John describes what he saw: “I saw the thrones, and they [saints] were sat on them. . . . And they lived [they came alive—we are talking about the resurrection] and reigned with Jesus for thousand years” (Rev. 20:4,
NKJV
).

During this time of the millennial kingdom, the kingdom of God will be fully restored. The kingdom of God will be manifested in every way, affecting every single area of our lives. The evidences of Satan’s kingdom, his rule and reign, will be gone; and we will live in the full effects of the kingdom restored! It will be a period of unprecedented blessing for the earth. Jesus will restore the earth to the conditions before the fall in the Garden of Eden. There will be no sickness, pain, or death. There will be no demons to battle against. There will be no mourning or sadness. Jesus will wipe every tear from our eye (Rev. 21:4).

During this millennial kingdom, Jesus will personally govern the earth as the King of all kings. He is the King of kings now, but the problem is that many kings disregard Him. There will come a day in this millennial kingdom where every knee will bow to King Jesus.

Daniel prophesied about a holy coronation of King Jesus. Daniel was writing 500 years before Christ and saw an open vision of a Jewish man being crowned King over the nations.

As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. He gave me this explanation: “The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.”

—D
ANIEL
7:21–27

The ancient of days, God Himself, gave the kingdoms of the earth to this Man to rule and reign over the earth. This place will be perfect, incredible, as God intended in the first place; and we will reign with Him. It will be heaven on earth.

I heard a story about an eighty-five-year-old couple who had been married for sixty years and were tragically killed in a car accident. They found themselves transported outside the pearly gates where St. Peter met them and ushered them through the gates into heaven and began to give them a tour. He took them first to a beautiful mansion with an incredible master suite, a Jacuzzi, and a swimming pool in the back yard. Peter said, “This will be your home for all of eternity.” The old man asked, “How much is this going to cost?” Peter said, “You don’t get it. This is heaven. It’s free.”

The house bordered a beautiful golf course. Peter told them, “This is where you will have playing privileges. Of course, every day the course will be changed into another beautiful course so you’ll never get bored of playing at the same place.” Again the old man asked, “How much are the green fees?” Peter responded, “You don’t get it. This is heaven. It’s all free. There are no tee times either. You can just play whenever you want.”

Then he took them to the clubhouse. “This is where you will eat.” It was a banquet hall filled with incredible food. The old man looked around and said, “It looks great but where is the low fat, low cholesterol table?” Peter said, “You don’t get it. This is heaven. The food is free and you don’t have to worry about things like fat grams or cholesterol. You can eat whatever you want.”

At this the old man took off his cap and started stomping on it and throwing an absolute fit. Peter and his wife tried to calm him down. His wife said, “Honey, why are you so angry?” He looked at her and said, “It’s all your fault. If it wasn’t for those blasted bran muffins I could have been here ten years ago!”

Why is it that whenever someone tells a story about heaven and they picture it in terms of living in an incredible home or eating amazing food or having unbelievable places to play, we immediately assume we’re hearing a joke? Why is it that when most of us think of an eternal kingdom we go to when we enter the afterlife we think in terms of living among the clouds, floating around aimlessly, and strumming on harps?

John Eldridge wrote, “Nearly every Christian I have spoken with has some idea that eternity is an unending church service. We have settled on this image of a never-ending sing-along in the sky, one great hymn after another, forever and ever amen. And our hearts sink. Forever and ever? That’s it? That’s the good news? And then we sigh and feel guilty because we’re not more spiritual.”
¹

Heaven is not mentioned in the Bible as existing in the clouds or the fog. The biblical picture of heaven is not some figment of our imagination. It is not a state of mind. It is a literal, physical place that is one with this earth. It is His kingdom in perfection.

Then I saw a “new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

—R
EVELATION
21:1–3

John talked about his vision of a new heaven and a new earth. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, comes out of heaven to earth, and earth and Heaven are brought together as one where God dwells with mankind. Think about this for a moment. Is John indicating that our ultimate destination is not in heaven somewhere but for heaven to be brought to earth and God to dwell with man? I think that’s exactly what he is saying, and I think the rest of Scripture supports that idea.

Throughout Scripture the promised destination of God’s people is not a non-earth where we will live in some unearthly existence up in the clouds somewhere. It is a new earth. It is a physical place. God’s purpose from the beginning of time has been to live with man on a curse-free earth. In the beginning, when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, this was how it was. God would come in the cool of the day and walk with them. But then Adam and Eve sinned. When they sinned and Satan usurped the dominion given to mankind and this earth became his kingdom, everything on earth has been different ever since. This earth is not as God originally intended it to be. Jesus came to reintroduce the kingdom and allow us to live in the kingdom of God today. It is not here in totality yet, but it will be when the kingdoms of heaven and earth become one.

The fall of man never caused God to abandon His original purpose. As you read Genesis, you will see that following Adam and Eve’s sin they were removed from the Garden of Eden but Eden was never destroyed. What was destroyed by sin was man’s ability to live in Eden. Man has been homesick for Eden ever since. Throughout the Bible we read prophecies that a day will come when God will make the world once again what He intended it to be in the first place. God’s plan for the future is so incredible. It involves more than just redeeming mankind from sin through Jesus dying on the cross so we can have eternal life; God’s plan also includes redeeming the earth from the curse it was placed under so we can experience life as God intended it to be in the first place.

It will be the ultimate restoration project. We love that concept don’t we? That’s why we watch those makeover shows like
Extreme Home Makeover
or
Design on a Dime
, because we love to see the old become new. Jesus must remain in heaven “until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21). Notice Peter said that when Jesus comes God will restore everything. He does doesn’t say when Jesus comes God will destroy everything, as many of us have been taught. Peter said the Old Testament prophets talked about this renewal of all things (v. 18).

Let me give you an example:

See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

—I
SAIAH
65:17–19

The doctrine of the new earth where all things will be made new is talked about throughout the Bible. The prophets talked about it. The apostles taught on it. But where is this new earth that will be united with the new heaven going to be? I believe you are on it. Revelation 21:1 says there will be “a new heaven and a new earth.” The word translated “new” means new in quality, not new as though it never existed. I might say to you, “Stop by and take a look at my new kitchen.” It’s not necessarily new in that I never had a kitchen before. It is just new because it has been restored and is now better than ever. We have never seen the earth as God made it. Our planet as we know it is only a shadowy halftone of the original. When God created the world in its original state, God said it was good (Gen 1:31). It wasn’t bad until Satan and sin entered the picture.

When Jesus came, He came to reintroduce the kingdom and put an end to Satan’s rule and reign on this earth. We can live in the kingdom now, but the kingdom is also not yet. When Jesus returns to rule and reign on this earth, everything under the curse will be redeemed and renewed and restored, including the earth; “no longer will there be any curse” (Rev. 22:3). The curse that God placed upon the earth when Adam and Eve sinned will be lifted. The earth will be purged and all things made new.