Question:
You say you believe in “Jesus Christ… who shall shortly return to be king of the whole earth” and you write of your “devotion to the cause of Christ.”
My question: How can you publish, as fact, that Jesus Christ is a yet future king, when Scripture plainly reveals that He is right now, and was in the first century, a king ruling from heaven? And He is not just any king, but a present-ruling king over the entire earth and all its inhabitants. Where is it written in Scripture that Jesus Christ is a yet future king (in our future)? Your comments would be interesting.
Answer:
Since the Bible was written some nineteen centuries ago, what was future at the time of its writing could easily have been fulfilled by today. However, if Jesus is already king, then we should see the fulfillment of Scripture which describes what the earth will be like after the coming of the Kingdom.
To begin, the Bible has a number of statements indicating Christ and His saints will administer, on earth, the affairs of the new government. In Revelation we read: “God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4). Similarly, Zephaniah prophesies: “The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. ” (Zeph. 3:15). This is echoed in Isaiah 12:5-6 where Christ is again described as reigning in the midst of His people. Isaiah also prophesies a time when all eyes “shall see the king in his beauty” (33:17). And in Revelation 14:1, the Lamb, representing Christ, is pictured not up in heaven, but as standing on Mount Sion with the 144,000. Additionally, Jesus told His disciples that he would eat and drink with them in His Father’s kingdom. (Luke 22:29-30; Matt. 26:29). This would be impossible were the Church Christ’s Kingdom and were He ruling from heaven.
The Bible also associates the second coming of Christ with judgment, the rewarding of faithful servants, the setting up of a new government and the conquest of all nations. Those judged faithful will be His co-rulers (1 John 3:1-3) and there is no indication that their thrones will be anywhere but on the earth (Rev. 3:21). The Bible even names the kingdom’s great metropolis: “Jerusalem… the city of the great king” (Matt. 5:35).
Jesus describes the Kingdom as a time when all the faithful will be present together; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets, etc. (Luke 13:28-29; Matt 8:11). This has not yet happened in the history of the church. Additionally, the faithful are said to be “heirs of the Kingdom” ( James 2:5; Rom. 8:17) and heirs are yet to possess their inheritance.
Psalm 110:1-2 reads: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God, waiting for the time when He will rule. Should we still wonder, Isaiah also prophesies that, at the time when Christ will be King, that “the inhabitant shall not say ‘I am sick’” (Isa 33:24). This condition has never and does not exist upon the earth.
There are many other specified conditions that will exist worldwide when the Kingdom is established on earth, none of which have been satisfied by the New Testament Church. For example, no more war or learning of war (Mic. 4:3), worldwide righteousness (Isa 60:21; 61:11), universal peace (Ps. 72:7-8; Isa. 32:17-18), no violence (Isa. 60:18), no sorrow, crying, pain or death (Rev. 21:3-4), no opposing or insubordinate governments on earth (Isa. 60:12; Zech. 14:9; Ps. 72:8; Rev. 11:15; Dan. 2:44), universal justice (Isa. 9:7), security for all (Mic. 4:4; Isa. 11:9), everlasting joy (Isa 35:10), God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). These conditions are clearly prophesied as being “everlasting” once began, so we should see them today had the Kingdom come on Pentecost or any other past time. However, our world is far from this blissful state.
Peter assured his brethren that if they were diligent in living in obedience to the commandments of the Lord, “an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11) —a promise for the future.