The Kingdom according to.......

Certainly, God intended from the beginning that there would be a kingdom established on this earth with Christ seated on His throne.

• Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
• Matthew 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
• Matthew 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
• Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Let's take a brief look into what is involved with this kingdom spoken of in Mathew 25 and determine whether it is the same kingdom spoken of by Moses, Jesus, Peter and Paul. Starting with Moses, we see the kingdom promise goes to a certain group of people, that being Israel.....

MOSES:

• Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
• Exodus 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Doesn't that sound like the same thing from Peter in 1st Peter 2:9?

• 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Continuing on with Moses' understanding of the kingdom, let's see a few more scriptures.

• Deuteronomy 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
• Deuteronomy 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
• Deuteronomy 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

Let's add it up so far. We have a peculiar people, Israel, the issue of the law and statues, we have priests, Levites, all upon the earth. Pretty clear at this point it is a physical kingdom on the earth wouldn't you say? Let's move on and take a look at what Jesus had to say about the kingdom while He ministered to the nation Israel.

JESUS:

• Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
• Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
• Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
• Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
• Luke 9:2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
• Luke 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
• Luke 12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
• Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
• Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
• Luke 22:30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

What can we determine from what the Lord Jesus had to say about the kingdom? Jesus was indeed preaching the gospel of the kingdom and not the gospel of the grace of God which are totally different messages. The gospel of the kingdom is always associated with physical healing, Israel, the twelve tribes, twelve thrones, being on the earth, and so on. It is the exact same message that was given to Moses, then being preached by the Lord Jesus Christ, and appointed to the twelve apostle of Israel to continue preaching. Also note there is the mention of "eat and drink" in this kingdom, you will see it mentioned again by the apostle Paul as we continue....

PETER:

• Acts 3:18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
• Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
• Acts 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

The times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord speaks to Christ sitting on David's throne in the kingdom. No change in the message from Jesus concerning the kingdom, as a matter of fact, Peter goes on to quote Moses from Deuteronomy 18:18-20 in Acts 3:22-23 signifying it is the exact message all the way from Moses. Of course, the apostle Paul would have the same message about the kingdom wouldn't he? Let's investigate shall we.

PAUL:

• Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
• 1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
• 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
• Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
• Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
• Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
• Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
• Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
• Colossians 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
• Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
• 2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Amen! The difference in Paul's message concerning the kingdom is like night and day from what Moses, Jesus and Peter had to say. Paul speaks of a heavenly kingdom while Moses, Jesus and Peter speak concerning an earthly kingdom. What is missing from Paul's message about the kingdom speaks loudly to the fact that there is more than one kingdom in scripture. The absence of the law, Israel, statues, priests, Levites, the physical earthly attributes such as eat and drink from Luke 22 in comparison to Romans 14 is clear, this is new information given to only one apostle for this present dispensation of the grace of God and the new creature, the church, the body of Christ. You cannot mix the two programs, they are mutually exclusive one from another. We are to set our affections on things above while in Mathew, Israel is instructed to pray for the kingdom on the earth.
The next time you hear a preacher, read a blog or whatever, and the speaker mentions things like "living the kingdom life", "kingdom minded", this is a "kingdom church" or any other mention of the kingdom in which they are referencing from the Old Testament books of Mathew, Mark, Luke or John and at the same time attempt to place you in that audience, you know without a shadow of a doubt you are listening to an ignorant novice which should do himself and everybody within ear's reach a favor and sit down, shut up and study to shew himself approved unto God, rightly divide the word of truth, quit trying to usurp Israel's covenant position, get up to speed in what God is doing now instead of what God set aside over two thousand years ago and make a difference for Christ with the doctrine and message committed unto us through the apostle Paul in this present dispensation of the grace of God!! The days of following Jesus ended in Acts chapter 9 when Christ sent Paul with a new message named the Gospel of the Grace of God. That is different from the Gospel of the Kingdom, they are even spelled different!!