For the past couple of months, I have been thinking about the kingdom of God. I have never seriously thought about the subject, always leaning on the popular phrase, “already, not yet,” when being confronted with the subject. Yet a couple of my favorite teachers, and a post-election theological think tank have led me straight into the subject.

I’m still trying to get my feet wet, but I’m creeping towards the conclusion that the kingdom of God is entirely future. That above mentioned phrase just does not cut it for me as I feel it lacks sufficient understanding of the kingdom of God.

The first reason I say this is that, in God’s purpose, the kingdom was always a physical kingdom that would be established by a God-appointed king, Jesus the Messiah. The earth was always the place where God intended to dwell with humanity. Even after the fall, His intention was that His government would be on the earth – a physical kingdom. So to say that the kingdom is “already,” is to say that the kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom, but a “spiritual” one. This is against the promise of the Old Testament and the expectation of the apostles.

The second reason ties in with the first because it has to do with the idea of hope. The primary expectation and hope of the apostles was the coming of the Lord. The reason for this is because they were looking for Him to return to resurrect the dead, judge the wicked, and establish His kingdom in Jerusalem where He would reign with His saints as their reward. They were not running around believing that they were somehow establishing the kingdom. They were preaching about the kingdom and suffering for the kingdom because they had hope that Jesus was the Messiah who would soon establish the kingdom.

I am seeing that hope is one of the most precious things that I possess. I cannot and should not give out my hope lightly. My hope must be placed completely on Jesus the Messiah and His coming kingdom. We do not hope in the next revival. We do not hope in Church buildings or programs. We do not hope in a president. We do not hope in a promotion or a fulfillment of our calling. We hope in our Messiah who will soon split the sky to resurrect the dead, slay the wicked, and set up His kingdom. This is our hope because that is the only thing that is sure.

“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:24-25)