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Jude spoke of the fact that glory and majesty and Dominion and power belong to God, "…Both now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1.25). John saw a kingdom in which the Lamb reigned eternal (Revelation 5.13-14). Daniel prophesied that "…the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed" (Daniel 2.44). These are not different and competing kingdoms but they are one and the same. This kingdom is similar in some ways to earthly kingdoms but it is dissimilar in other ways. Consider these points as we continue this study.

Connect the dots concerning the everlasting kingdom when you read this account: "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’" (Matthew 16.13-19).

Connect the dots further by considering: "‘For whoever is ashamed of Me [Jesus] 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, ‘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 8.38-9.1). The time was near at hand for the appearance of the kingdom of God as evidenced by the fact that Jesus predicted that some then living would not die prior to that event. We are left with a few options: 1) The Lord’s prophecy was flawed and the kingdom of God did not appear in the lifetime of those to whom He was speaking, 2) There are some still living to whom Jesus spoke, or 3) The kingdom came just as He predicted and in the timeframe predicted (i.e., during the lifetime of some of His disciples. For the rational Bible-believer, it is not a hard choice to see that the third option is the only viable choice.

Jesus promised to build His church and He promised to give Peter the keys to that kingdom. Further, Jesus predicted that some of His disciples would not taste of death until they witnessed the establishment of that kingdom. Jesus fulfilled His promises and He fulfilled the prophecies made and/or interpreted by Daniel. The disciples of Jesus misunderstood the kingdom promises much the same as some misunderstand them today. The kingdom was NEVER intended to be an earthly kingdom but it only shared some likenesses to such a kingdom.

Just as God cannot be made in our image, neither can His kingdom be made in the likeness of earthly kingdoms. He defines His kingdom in Scripture; as loyal citizens, we just need to submit.

Questions:

1. There are no literal keys to the kingdom. What do keys symbolize? If not literal keys, what was Jesus going to give Peter?

2. In what generation did Jesus predict the kingdom would be established?

3. If the kingdom has not come, what conclusions must we reach concerning Jesus’ prophecy?

4. In the term "everlasting kingdom" (see Daniel 4.3 & 7.27), what indicates we are not talking about an earthly kingdom?

Focus Text: Jude 1.25

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

A World of One