Essential biblical truths every Christian should know
There are basically two schools of thoughts regarding the Kingdom of God. Some believed that it has already come, while others believe that it will only come when Christ returns. It is obvious that the two views cannot be both correct at the same time.
I fall into the latter camp. I believe that the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with the present-day kingdoms. According to inaugurated eschatology on the return of Jesus, God’s Kingdom is not yet fully realized. However, in the meantime, the good news that the forgiveness of sins is available through the blood of Christ. The Church is not the Kingdom of God, as many preachers have made their followers believe.
A careful survey of biblical eschatology reveals that the Kingdom of God is a world-ruling monarchy that God will establish on this earth after the second coming of Christ. Daniel prophesied about this: “In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44, NIV).
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This kingdom will be characterized by righteousness, peace and joy. Sorrow, pains, tears, terrorism, transgenderism, abortion, death and mourning will no more be in the midst of God’s people. Problem-free life will be enjoyed by all those who endure to the end. This is the actualization of the promise of God to believers (Revelation 21:1-7). Many who are hoping for a trouble free-life should have solace in these words of God concerning the soon coming Kingdom.
I am overwhelmingly convinced that the kingdoms and governments of this world are not of God. Jesus emphatically stated that this present earthly kingdom is not of His: “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place’” (John 18:36). The Jews proved this when they accepted Barabbas and rejected Jesus to be crucified (Mathew 27:21). The devil promised Jesus that he was going to hand over the kingdom of this world and all its splendors to Him if He worshipped him — but Jesus rejected the offer (Mathew 4: 8-10). If the kingdom of this world is of God, the devil would not have claimed ownership.
Instead of preachers teaching believers to accept the worldly splendors which Christ rejected, all in the name of possessing God’s kingdom here on earth, preachers should work hard to facilitate the coming Kingdom spreading the Gospel more passionately. Christ will not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached as a witness to all nations (Mathew 24:14). When believers take the Gospel to areas where the Gospel has not reached, we are not establishing the Kingdom of God, but we are preparing the people to be partakers of the Kingdom of God when Christ returns.
The raw truth about the Kingdom should be told. Pastors should not be afraid to tell their congregants that God’s Kingdom is accessible through many tribulations (Acts 14:22). God’s people should be aware that the way is narrow and difficult and that many will try to enter into it but only a few shall find it (Mathew 7:14).
We should know that God’s Kingdom is won through spiritual warfare (Mathew 11:12). We should also understand that anyone who makes excuses in matters of preaching the Gospel is not fit for God’s kingdom (Luke 9:59-63).
I strongly believe that when we are born again, our journey into God’s Kingdom begins and we are expected to abide by the biblical rules of engagement while in transit. The unfortunate thing is that many are hijacked by worldly philosophies and doctrines of men which are aimed at stopping gullible ones from getting access to the Kingdom. No wonder Christ said that many will try to enter it but only few shall find it (Mathew 7:14).
Let us run this race with the understanding that obedience to God’s Word is the gateway to God’s Kingdom.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. His calling is to take the gospel to where no one has neither preached nor heard about Jesus. He is the author of the book Mystery Of The Cross Revealed.
