GOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Study 6 — Was the Kingdom Postponed?

Jesus began His ministry with an announcement:

“The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
— Mark 1:15

That sounds simple enough.

The time had come.
The Kingdom was near.

But there is another way of understanding what happened.

Some Christians believe Jesus offered Israel an earthly Kingdom, but Israel rejected Him as King. Because of that rejection, the Kingdom was postponed. The Church began instead, and the promised Kingdom will finally be established when Jesus returns.

That raises a very important question.

Was the Kingdom postponed—or did God's plan happen exactly as He intended?

Let's follow the text.

Was the Cross Plan B?

This may be the most important question.

If Israel's rejection caused the Kingdom to be postponed, we might get the impression that the cross became necessary because something went wrong.

Jesus offered the Kingdom.

Israel refused.

So God changed the plan.

But is that how the New Testament describes the cross?

Peter told the people in Jerusalem:

“This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge.”
— Acts 2:23

Notice those words:

God's deliberate plan.

The cross wasn't an emergency response to an unexpected rejection.

It was the plan.

The Cross Was in the Scriptures All Along

Long before Jesus was born, Isaiah described God's suffering servant:

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.”
— Isaiah 53:5

Psalm 22 describes suffering in language that finds a remarkable fulfillment in the crucifixion.

Zechariah spoke of the one who would be pierced.

Daniel spoke of an anointed one who would be put to death.

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples what was going to happen:

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
— Mark 10:45

Jesus didn't come intending to avoid the cross if Israel responded correctly.

He came to die.

Jesus Went to Jerusalem Knowing What Would Happen

Jesus wasn't surprised by His rejection.

He told His disciples:

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
— Luke 9:22

Notice the word must.

Not:

This might happen.

Not:

This will happen if Israel rejects the Kingdom.

It must happen.

The cross was part of God's purpose.

But What About the Kingdom?

Maybe the cross was planned—but perhaps the Kingdom was still postponed.

Let's see.

Jesus said:

“The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near.”
— Mark 1:15

Later He told some of His disciples:

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
— Mark 9:1

That's an important time statement.

Some people standing there would still be alive when the Kingdom came with power.

So whatever Jesus meant, He wasn't pointing thousands of years into the future.

Jesus Was Crowned—But Not in Jerusalem

This is where Daniel 7 becomes extremely important.

Daniel saw:

“One like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Where was He going?

Read carefully.

“He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.”
— Daniel 7:13

The Son of Man isn't coming from heaven to earth in this vision.

He is coming to the Ancient of Days.

And what happens when He arrives?

“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.”
— Daniel 7:14

This is a coronation.

The Son of Man approaches God and receives His Kingdom.

Now listen to Jesus.

Again and again He called Himself:

“the Son of Man.”

He was pointing us back to Daniel.

Jesus Ascended to the Throne

After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven.

What happened there?

Peter explained it on Pentecost.

He quoted David and then said:

“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.”
— Acts 2:32

Then:

“Exalted to the right hand of God...”
— Acts 2:33

And Peter concludes:

“God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
— Acts 2:36

Jesus died.

Jesus rose.

Jesus ascended.

Jesus was exalted to God's right hand.

The King reached His throne.

That sounds remarkably like Daniel 7.

Where Is Jesus Now?

Paul tells us.

God raised Christ:

“from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”

And where is Jesus seated?

“Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.”
— Ephesians 1:20–21

How much authority does Jesus possess?

Jesus Himself answered:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
— Matthew 28:18

Not:

Someday it will be.

Jesus said:

It has been given to Me.

Peter Says Jesus Is on David's Throne

On Pentecost, Peter also speaks about God's promise to David.

David knew:

“God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.”
— Acts 2:30

Then Peter immediately speaks of Christ's resurrection and exaltation.

Peter doesn't tell the crowd:

The throne is still empty. Wait until Jesus returns.

His whole argument is that God's promise to David has reached its fulfillment in the risen and exalted Christ.

The rejected Jesus is King.

Were Christians Already in the Kingdom?

This gives us a very simple test.

If the Kingdom was postponed, Christians living in the first century shouldn't have been able to say they were already in it.

But Paul did.

He wrote:

“He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
— Colossians 1:13

Notice the tense.

Not:

He will someday bring us into the Kingdom.

But:

He has brought us into the Kingdom.

John says something similar:

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom...”
— Revelation 1:9

John was already sharing in the Kingdom.

How can people be in a Kingdom that hasn't begun?

Hebrews Says We Are Receiving It

Hebrews says:

“Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful.”
— Hebrews 12:28

Again, the Kingdom isn't described merely as a distant political arrangement waiting to begin.

Christians were already participating in the reign of Christ.

That doesn't mean everything has reached its final condition.

Obviously it hasn't.

Death still exists.

Sin still exists.

Satan still opposes God.

Christians still suffer.

So there is an important distinction.

Already—but Not Yet Complete

The Kingdom is already here, but its final victory is still coming.

Jesus is already King.

We are already His subjects.

We have already been transferred into His Kingdom.

But not every enemy has yet been destroyed.

Paul explains:

“For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:25

Notice something easy to miss.

Paul doesn't say:

Christ must wait until His enemies are defeated, and then He will begin to reign.

He says:

He must reign until His enemies are defeated.

Christ is reigning now.

Then Comes the End

Paul continues:

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:26

And then something especially important:

“Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:24

Think about that.

At Christ's return and the final defeat of His enemies, Paul doesn't describe Jesus as finally receiving a Kingdom He has been waiting thousands of years to begin.

He describes Christ handing the Kingdom over to the Father.

The reign has already been taking place.

The Cross and the Crown Belong Together

Here is where the postponed-Kingdom idea can unintentionally separate things the New Testament holds together.

The cross was not the failure of Jesus' Kingdom mission.

The cross was the way the King won His victory.

Jesus conquered through suffering.

He defeated sin through sacrifice.

He defeated death through resurrection.

He ascended to heaven.

He sat down at God's right hand.

And He reigns.

The crown didn't replace the cross.

The cross led to the crown.

God Didn't Lose Control of the Story

Israel's rejection of Jesus was real.

Human beings were responsible for crucifying Him.

But none of that caught God by surprise.

Peter puts both truths in the same sentence:

“This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death.”
— Acts 2:23

Human beings acted.

God's plan was accomplished.

The Kingdom wasn't postponed because God's first plan failed.

The King came exactly when God intended.

The King died exactly as Scripture had foretold.

The King rose.

The King ascended.

And the King reigns.

God Has Left the Building

Now we can see how this fits our larger story.

If Christ's Kingdom is already present, we don't need to wait for God to move back into Jerusalem before Christ can reign.

We don't need another temple.

We don't need another curtain.

We don't need another earthly priesthood.

We don't need another animal sacrifice.

The King is already on His throne.

And where is His temple?

His people.

God's plan isn't waiting for the old system to start again.

It is moving toward the day when the King destroys His final enemy—death—and God dwells openly with His people forever.

The Kingdom wasn't postponed.

The King has already been crowned.

And He is reigning now.

NEXT STUDY

Study 7 — One People, One King, One Kingdom

We have followed the temple.

We have followed the covenant.

We have followed Israel.

And we have followed the King.

Now we bring the pieces together.

Does God have separate plans for separate peoples—or has Christ created one new people under one King?

And where is this entire story going?

Back to Jerusalem and another temple?

Or forward to something far greater:

God and His people together forever.