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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24.30-31; emphasis mine, jb). The coming of Son of Man in this text is His coming in His Kingdom; today’s message will address this fact.
The Kingdom of Jesus Christ
Chapters and verses can be a great tool in studying the Bible, but they can also get in the way of understanding if not used wisely. The following passage is a case in point; there is no break in the thought but there is a break in the chapter; I shall present the text with no break. “‘For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’ And He said to them [His disciples], ‘Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.’” (Mark 8.38 & Mark 9.1). Look at the similarity in Mark 8.31 (i.e. the coming of Jesus in the glory of His Father) and the words in our opening text of Matthew 24.30 (i.e. the coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory). It is obvious that the two passages could be speaking of the same event.
Look further at the time marker of Mark’s record. Jesus said, “I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Either the Kingdom has come as Jesus predicted or there are some incredibly old men still living! Notice how Mark’s time marker is completely consistent with Matthew’s time marker. Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24.35). The generation would not pass and some standing there would not taste of death – both terms have exactly the same meaning, and they both limit the time during which the Kingdom of Jesus Christ would be established. Just as surely as Jesus is Messiah, His Kingdom was established during the first Century AD!
John came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3.2).Jesus came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 4.17). Jesus sent out His twelve apostles on the limited commission preaching, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10.7). Although Peter did not use the word kingdom in the first recorded Gospel sermon, he explicitly stated that Jesus was seated as both Lord and Christ on David’s throne (Acts 2.29-36). Philip the evangelist preached to the Samaritans and “...they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” (Acts 8.12). Paul, speaking for himself and for all fellow-believers said, “He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,” (Colossians 1.13).
Surely the evidence does not have to piled high in order for the Bible believer to see that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ came in the First Century. As a result of that event, we are compelled to say with the writer of Hebrews, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Hebrews 12.28).
Questions:
1. Did Jesus speak the truth when He preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand?
2. Did Jesus speak the truth when He said that some of the people hearing His voice would not die before they had seen the kingdom come?
3. Into what did Paul say that believers are translated/conveyed?
4. What responsibilities rest upon us as believers today because we are receiving this self-same kingdom?
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