The Kingdom of God is yet Future
“Understanding
that the kingdom already exists helps us give greater
attention to serving others around us. But we do not
forget that the completion of the kingdom is still
future. If our only hope is in this age, we don't have
much hope (1 Corinthians 15:19). We do not harbor
illusions about bringing the kingdom with human
efforts. When we suffer setbacks and persecutions,
when we see that most people reject the gospel, we
gain strength from the knowledge that the fullness of
the kingdom is in a future age.
The kingdom of glory will not be created by mortals,
not even mortals who are led by God's Spirit. No
matter how much we try to live in a way that properly
reflects God and his kingdom, we cannot transform this
world into God's kingdom. It must come through
dramatic intervention. Apocalyptic events are needed
to usher in the new age. Satan must be completely
restrained.
Numerous verses tell us that the kingdom of God will
be a glorious future reality. We know that
Christ is a King, and we yearn for the day he will
exercise his power in a great and dramatic way to stop
human suffering. The book of Daniel predicts a kingdom
of God that will rule the earth (Daniel 2:44, 7:13-14,
22); the New Testament Apocalypse describes its
arrival (Revelation 11:15, 19:11-16).
We pray for the kingdom to come (Luke 11:2). The poor
in spirit and the persecuted await their future
"reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:3, 10, 12).
People "enter the kingdom" on a future
"day" of judgment (Matthew 7:21-23, Luke
13:22-30). The weeds will be removed (Matthew
13:24-30). Jesus gave one parable because some people
thought the kingdom would become powerful right away
(Luke 19:11).
In the Olivet prophecy, Jesus described dramatic
events that would come before his return in power.
Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus looked forward
to a kingdom in the future (Matthew 26:29).
Paul speaks several times of "inheriting the
kingdom of God" as a future experience (1 Cor
6:9, 10; 15:50; Gal 5:21; cf. Eph 5:5), and otherwise
indicates by his language that he thinks of it as
realized only at the end of the age (1 Thes 2:12; 2
Thes 1:5; Col 4:11; cf. 2 Tim 4:1, 18).”
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