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THY KINGDOM COME - SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL People who teach a-millennialism (no physical kingdom coming) do so because they have found scripture that indicates the kingdom to be a SPIRITUAL kingdom, rather than a literal and physical kingdom. It is quite common to find theologians and preachers claiming that we are in the kingdom now and that Christ is presently ruling from His throne in heaven. This view usually includes some blend of replacement theology where God's Old Testament promises to the nation of Israel are redirected to the church. That is, it is taught that since Israel rejected Christ and His kingdom, the promises of God are spiritualized and applied to the church. This is "proved" by quoting scripture that speaks of the spiritual nature of the kingdom and ignoring scripture that speaks of the kingdom's physical nature. For example, if I wanted to teach a-millennialism and replacement theology, I would proceed as follows:"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." (Col. 1:13) You see, brethren, we are not waiting for a kingdom; we are ALREADY IN the kingdom! When you received Christ, God put you into the kingdom! Paul said in Galatians 3:28-29 that "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." God is finished with Israel, and He is now focused on expanding His kingdom through the church, which is Abraham's seed, the new Israel, the spiritual Israel.That looks pretty good as long as a lot of scripture is ignored. It's easy to pretend that the kingdom is totally spiritual when only the spiritual verses are read, but it's not so simple when verses like Matthew 8:11 are considered:"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven."Well, either we somehow learn to fathom a spiritual east and west and a spiritual Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or we are dealing with a literal, physical and visible kingdom at some point in the future.SPIRITUAL, THEN PHYSICALSo, is the kingdom spiritual or physical? The true answer is, "YES." It is BOTH, but THE SPIRITUAL COMES FIRST. The kingdom is spiritual, but it is not ONLY spiritual, just as YOU are not only spiritual as a believer. You have been born again, born of the Spirit (John 3:1-8), or saved, but one day your BODY will also be saved. Paul says this very thing in Romans 8:23-25:". . . but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY. For we are SAVED by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience WAIT for it." (CAPS for emphasis, here and throughout the study)So, we ENTER the kingdom of God the moment we are saved, and then we SEE it when it appears at Christ's Second Advent. This is brought out quite well in Jesus' words to Nicodemus:"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot ENTER into the kingdom of God." (John 3:3,5)He spoke of SEEING the kingdom first, because the Jews were LOOKING for a physical and visible kingdom (Luke 19:11), but, in reality, no one sees and enjoys the coming kingdom without first ENTERING the kingdom by being born into it. You enter the kingdom now, and then you see it when it appears at the Second Advent.I John 3:2 also brings out this unfolding theme of the dual nature that is spiritual now and physical later:"Beloved, NOW are we the sons of God, and it doth NOT YET APPEAR what we SHALL be: but we know that, when he SHALL APPEAR, we SHALL be like him; for we SHALL SEE him as he is."You entered the kingdom as a son of god when you were saved, but you do not see the kingdom until it appears when Jesus returns. So, the kingdom is both spiritual and physical, spiritual now and physical later. This is very clear from the scriptures:SPIRITUAL KINGDOM: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." (Rom. 14:17)PHYSICAL KINGDOM: "Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I DRINK it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:25)SPIRITUAL KINGDOM: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU." (Luke 17:21)PHYSICAL KINGDOM: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye SHALL SEE him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Rev. 1:7)SPIRITUAL KINGDOM: " But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Mat. 6:33)PHYSICAL KINGDOM: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall SEE Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." (Luke 13:28)SPIRITUAL KINGDOM: "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not RECEIVE the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." (Mark 10:15)PHYSICAL KINGDOM: "And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have SEEN the kingdom of God come with power." (Mark 9:1)SPIRITUAL KINGDOM: "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and HATH TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM of his dear Son." (Col. 1:13)PHYSICAL KINGDOM: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at HIS APPEARING AND HIS KINGDOM." (II Tim. 4:1)SPIRITUAL: "I John, who also AM your brother, and companion in tribulation, and IN THE KINGDOM and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 1:9)PHYSICAL: "And then SHALL APPEAR the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Mat. 24:30)SPIRITUAL: "And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question." (Mark 12:34)PHYSICAL: ". . . in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Mat. 19:28)One can easily see how that any view of the kingdom can be taught by merely cherry picking choice verses and ignoring others. But, a fair and balanced study of the scriptures shows that the kingdom of God has a dual nature, spiritual now and physical later. In fact, just before ascending back to heaven, Jesus answered a kingdom question for the disciples. In Acts 1:6, they asked, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" What a golden opportunity for Jesus to clarify once and for all that the kingdom is spiritual! Yet, He did no such thing. Instead, he replied, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." (Acts 1:7) He knew they were asking about a literal and physical kingdom, and He didn't correct them for doing so. In fact, as He ascended into heaven, the two "men" that stood by them reiterated the literal, physical and visible nature of the coming kingdom by saying, ". . . Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come IN LIKE MANNER as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11) The Book is clear: a literal, physical and visible kingdom is coming.THE KINGDOM PROMISEDBeing the last book of the Bible and the Book which REVEALS God's prophetic plan, it should come as no surprise that Revelation says plenty about the Lord's coming kingdom:Revelation 1:6: "And hath made us KINGS and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."Revelation 2:27: "And he shall RULE them with a rod of iron . . ."Revelation 5:10: "And hast made us unto our God KINGS and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."Revelation 11:15: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, and of his Christ; and HE SHALL REIGN for ever and ever."Revelation 12:5: "And she brought forth a man child, who was to RULE ALL NATIONS with a rod of iron . . ."Revelation 12:10: "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the KINGDOM of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."Revelation 19:15: "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall RULE THEM with a rod of iron . . ."Revelation 19:16: "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."Revelation 20:4: ". . . they lived and REIGNED with Christ a thousand years."Revelation 20:6: ". . . they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and SHALL REIGN reign with him a thousand years."And this is not a new thing. The Old Testament is filled with promises of a coming righteous kingdom on earth, complete with a righteous King and righteous subjects to carry out His will. A few references should suffice:"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a KINGDOM, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." (Dan. 2:44)"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of HIS GOVERNMENT and peace there shall be no end, upon the THRONE of David, and upon his KINGDOM, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." (Isa. 9:6-7)"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for THE EARTH SHALL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Isa. 11:1-9)"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for OUT OF ZION SHALL GO FORTH THE LAW, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And HE SHALL JUDGE AMONG THE NATIONS, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isa. 2:2-4)"And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to WORSHIP THE KING, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain." (Zch. 14:16-17)"Behold, A KING SHALL REIGN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, and princes shall RULE in judgment." (Isa. 32:1)"Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that THE SAINTS POSSESSED THE KINGDOM." (Dan. 7:22)"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and A KING SHALL REIGN AND PROSPER, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." (Jer. 23:5)"Yet have I set MY KING upon my holy hill of Zion." (Psa. 2:6)So, the idea of a literal kingdom coming is a very common subject in the word of God, but one can become very confused, if he fails to rightly divide between the physical and spiritual nature of the kingdom.