“THY KINGDOM COME”

Why did our Lord teach His disciples to pray “Thy Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10), yet later say to Pilate in John 18:36, “My Kingdom is not of this world”?

How can I reconcile these statements?

It may be said on the face of it that, if we take the expression, “Thy Kingdom come,” by itself, there is nothing to affirm that the Kingdom referred to is of this world. The expression is often used to-day of what would be termed “God’s cause”—”not meat or drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” When we speak of the Kingdom of God coming, why, it may be asked, should we not be referring to the spiritual Kingdom? However, I am not advocating this use of the term, as we ought to take the words in their context. Such a question as this shews how important it is “rightly to divide the word of truth,” and to recognise the dispensational change, which occurred even in the brief space of our Lord’s ministry.

The kingdom that John, and subsequently our Lord and His apostles, proclaimed, was the Kingdom for which the disciples were taught to pray. This Kingdom, as we have shewn more than once lately, was the fifth Kingdom foretold by the prophet Daniel (chap. 2. ). Babylon, Medo-Persja and Greece had lost their power, and for nearly a century Jerusalem had been subject to Rome. The Lord Jesus was born King of the Jews. Born of the seed of David according to the flesh, He was the rightful heir to the Throne. He offered Himself as such. His miraculous works were His credentials, but these were in Matthew 9 and 12 imputed by His foes to Satan, and His rejection on the day of His entry into Jerusalem became a foregone conclusion.

This in no way set on one side the necessity of atonement, but that is kept in the back-ground till Matthew 16:21: “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples how that He must suffer and be killed and be raised again the third day.” The Lord could not reign over an unrepentant people, and only, if repentant, on the ground of atonement. The setting up of the Messianic earthly kingdom was then postponed, so that the Lord’s words to Pilate fit into their place: His Kingdom had then for the time being lost its earthly character. When once more He claims the Kingdom, it will be as the Son of Man, coming in glory, and then it will be established by force. It will be said in that day, “The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” The Millennial Kingdom will be the vestibule of the “Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

W.H.

• A Christian friend is "claiming her boys for Christ," even if the rapture occurs. Is this sound?
• Are earthquakes a sign of the end of the world?
• Are the ten virgins a picture of backsliders?
• Are there more earthquakes occurring in our world?
• Are there two Babylons?
• Are those whose graves were opened when the Lord died typical of the Rapture for us?
• At the Judgment of the Nations, do the condemned go directly to the Lake of Fire?
• At the transfiguration, did Moses and Elijah have physical bodies?
• Can the 144,000 be those who claim to be Jehovah's Witnesses?
• Did Matthew misquote Jeremiah and Zechariah?
• Did saints who rose from the dead after Jesus died go to heaven?
• Did the Mayan Calendar predict the end of the world in 2012?
• Do the churches of Revelation show a historical timeline?
• Do worshippers offer animal sacrifices during the Millennial reign?
• Does "that day" refer to the same day in its three uses in 2 Timothy?
• Does "the coming of the Son of Man" refer to the Rapture?
• Does God treat people differently in different ages?
• Does Revelation describe the Roman Catholic Church?
• Does the Bible phrase "one shall be taken and the other left" refer to the rapture?
• Does the parable of the 10 virgins teach a second chance of salvation after the Rapture?
• Does the Parable of the Ten Virgins refer to the Rapture?
• Has prophesy been fulfilled in our lifetime?
• How are Psalm 22 and Psalm 24 related?
• How can I understand the Bible book of Revelation?
• How do the churches of Revelation prophetically show ages of the church?
• How will believers during "the tribulation" differ from believers in this age?
• How will the weather be affected during the Millennium?
• Is Bible prophecy literal or figurative?
• Is Israel ever going to be removed from it's land again?
• Is John the Baptist the same as Elijah?
• Is the "prophetic view" of Revelation two and three an interpretation or an application?
• Is the "Rapture" distinct from Christ's return to earth?
• Is the Great Commission for a future dispensation?
• Is the Pope the Antichrist?
• Is the rapture found in the Bible?
• Is the tribulation less than 7 years long?
• Is there a connection between the resurrection and the timing of the Levitical offerings?
• Is there a time gap in Daniel 9:26 and 27?
• Please explain Romans 11:26, "All Israel shall be saved."
• Please give a clear understanding as to the terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven?
• What are the "signs of the times" according to the Bible?
• What are the "sure mercies of David"?
• What does "for as the days of a tree are the days of my people" mean?
• What does Ezekiel's vision of dry bones mean?
• What does Nebuchadnezzar's dream mean in Daniel 2?
• What does the Bible mean "He that endures to the end shall be saved"?
• What does the parable of 10 virgins mean?
• What does the phrase mean "wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together"?
• What does the phrase mean We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed?
• What events tell us that the Lord's coming is imminent?
• What happened to the people who rose from the dead when Jesus was crucified?
• What is "my Father's Kingdom" in Matthew 26?
• What is behind the present aim to bring all the groups in Christendom back to the "mother church"?
• What is the 70t week of Daniel? How long is the tribulation?
• What is the difference between the Day of Christ, the Day of the Lord, and the Day of God?
• What is the difference between the rapture and the coming of the Lord?
• What is the Illuminati conspiracy theory and One World Government?
• What is the interpretation of the parable of the ten virgins?
• What is the significance of the hidden manna and the white stone?
• What is the significance of the terms
• What language will be spoken in the Millennium and beyond?
• What will happen to infants whose parents are taken at the Rapture?
• When did the 2,300 days in Daniel 8:14 begin and end?
• When will Jesus drink of the wine in his father's kingdom?
• When will Old Testament believers be resurrected?
• When will the Old Testament believers be raised from the dead?
• Where do the eastern religions fit into "mystery Babylon"?
• Who are the 24 elders of Revelation?
• Who are the beheaded saints of Revelation 20?
• Who are the overcomers in Revelation?
• Who were some messengers sent from God?
• Who will be saved in the Great Tribulation?
• Why do the 144,000 not believe "the lie" after the Rapture?
• Why does Peter use the word "heavens" instead of "heaven" in 2 Peter?
• Why is the 70th week of Daniel still future?
• Why should disciples pray for the kingdom to come?
• Why was the Revelation given by God to Christ, Who gave it to John?
• Why will animal sacrifices be required in the Millennium?
• Why will there be sacrifices made in Jerusalem during the Millennium?
• Will a fourth temple be built during the Millennium?
• Will believers and unbelievers die in the Millennial reign?
• Will believers reign on the earth in the Millennium?
• Will the Church be present in the tribulation?
• Will the Church be sent to separate the wheat from the tares?
• Will the Church go through the Tribulation?
• Will the Holy Spirit no longer be working on earth during the tribulation?
• Will there be night in the Millennium?
• Will young children be taken in the rapture?