1 What Is the Kingdom of God?
Back to 1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!
This chapter would not be complete without at least a brief description of what it was Jesus meant when He spoke of the kingdom of God.
Matthew 6:33 states, “But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness…” If you are to seek something as your first goal in life, all would agree you should know what it is!
Matthew 6:1-34 also contains what many call “The Lord’s Prayer” (Mt 6:9-13). Jesus instructs Christians to pray “after this manner,” and then continues by adding the phrase, “Thy kingdom come.” One must know what he is praying for or prayers have no meaning! It is not this chapter’s purpose to explain everything there is to know about God’s kingdom, but understanding some basics is essential.
We should at least ask: What is the kingdom of God? Again, the word kingdom simply means “government.” Of course, you cannot have a government without a nation to govern. Therefore, a kingdom is at least one nation with a government.
There are four necessary components of any kingdom: (1) Land, property or territory—however large or small. In other words, one must have a specific and definite set of boundaries establishing the size of the kingdom, (2) people or subjects living within the territory governed, (3) a system of laws and rules, and a basic structure of government, and (4) a ruler, king, monarch or governor leading the government.
No kingdom is complete without all of these basic elements.
But how does this apply to God’s kingdom? Is this to be a literal, physical place on Earth, with people and laws, presided over by a ruler?
Most do not understand even these most rudimentary things of the kingdom of God. Some believe this kingdom is in the hearts of men. Others believe it is wherever you find a particular church. And others think it is the British Empire. Still others we saw believe it is Jesus Christ Himself. Some believe that it is on Earth now, with others believing it is yet to come, but not understanding how or when this will occur.
Such confusion!
It has been the duty of this Church to answer all of these questions, and so many other, related questions—through various publications and books such as this one, as well as in World to Come broadcasts—about the coming kingdom of God, and how this divine government will solve ALL problems on Earth!
The True Gospel—A Coming Utopia!
Billions today live with no hope. Yet all wish for better lives, a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. More and more are those who recognize that the collective future of all nations seems equally hopeless. If one considers history, the course of the past 6,000 years, it is difficult to avoid pessimism. When the full picture is brought into view—when all facts are considered—this world is hopeless. Modern civilization is beset—overwhelmed!—with every conceivable problem, evil, and ill that competing, grasping, self-promoting human beings could devise. Having always been sick, it is now deep in terminal illness, wheezing out its final desperate gasps before breathing its last.
The present world is a condemned building. It is like an old, empty row house—abandoned, overgrown, burned out, littered with trash, marred by broken windows, and covered in graffiti. Built on a wrong foundation from the beginning, its already weak underpinnings have now eroded to the point of collapse under its own weight. Like all condemned structures, dangerous if left standing, this “building” must come down. With “explosive charges” in place, it is soon to be imploded and the rubble scraped away in advance of a new and magnificent “world architecture” foretold long ago to replace it.
The plight of all nations today stands in stark contrast to the world that is coming—to what the governing kingdom of God will mean to all peoples. An artistic masterpiece soon to be unveiled, a fantastic future—truly incredible!—lies ahead for every nation of the world! But it will not, and could never, occur under the hand of men.
Everything on Earth begins with government. The governments of men do not, and have never, worked. Themselves one of the biggest problems, these ineffective human inventions will not—and in fact are unable to—“snatch victory from the jaws of defeat” at the last moment before disaster!
But a better, perfect government—one not left to the devices, machinations, and confusion of men—is coming. It will usher in peace, happiness, unity, abundance, and prosperity for every human being and every country on Earth. While such a vision may seem impossible, it will happen—and in your lifetime!
It was always the Creator’s Plan that a whole new and infinitely better world would come—one built from the beginning on the right foundation. Large sections of the one-third of the Bible that is prophecy describe the establishment of another world, one completely different from anything ever before seen on planet Earth. The coming utopian age that God planned long ago will be absolutely marvelous—breathtaking to behold!—and it appears scripturally in vivid colors, with sharp outlines, and in exquisite detail, as a stunning, beautiful, panoramic, and previously unimagined future worldscape.
A wonderful new world is on the way, and this offers but the smallest advance preview!
I repeat: It has been the task—and truly inspiring responsibility—that the awesome announcement Jesus Christ began 2,000 years ago be continued and completed through His little, but faithful, flock. There has never been a more awesome announcement heard on Earth.
The Beginning of the Fulfillment
The chapter’s introduction stated that in Matthew 24:14 Jesus foretold that a worldwide effort to spread the gospel would come onto the scene at some point before the end! This means someone will be preaching it now, in our present age, because the end—close as it now is—has not yet come!
Preaching the truth of the gospel to the world was restored by Herbert W. Armstrong beginning in 1934. From the time of the apostles, until the beginning of the 52-year ministry of this one man, the true gospel did not go out in any real power to the world as a whole. It was primarily preached locally by resident faithful pastors here and there as they could. There were always a few conversions in every age, but the means simply were not available for a great—globe-girdling—Work to all nations prior to the twentieth century.
Mr. Armstrong reached an unprecedented hundreds of millions during his long ministry. This included a readership of approximately 25 million people (in seven languages) of The Plain Truth magazine just at the time of his death in 1986. Mr. Armstrong personally visited over one-third of all heads of state during the last two decades of his life. He always brought the message of God’s coming kingdom. There were few places on Earth where it was not heard on either radio or television.
An immense administrative superstructure—much of which was in Pasadena, California—produced an incredible number of quality media programs. Beginning for over 40 years with The World Tomorrowradio program, Mr. Armstrong later permanently moved into television under the same name, and this program grew in viewership until it was number one in the Arbitron ratings for all religious programs in America. (These programs served double duty as radio broadcasts in some areas of the world.)
As a student, I was in awe of the television production department and, looking back, at how advanced it was for that time.
Then there was the colossal publishing operation that distributed three monthly, four-color magazines (The Plain Truth, The Good News, Youth 81, 82, 83…) and a tabloid, biweekly newspaper called The Worldwide News for church members.
But there was much more that the Church published in the form of many books, booklets, brochures, reprint articles, Bible story books, youth Bible lessons in seven levels, an extensive Bible correspondence course and hundreds of form letters, all sent from headquarters and the regional offices by the millions annually.
The production of these quality magazines was itself truly something to behold. The sheer magnitude of what took place with just The Plain Truth—published month after month—was staggering! I could never forget regularly binding and sacking them for mailing in 1969, during the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college.
Inseparable from the publishing operation, and directed from the Church’s headquarters, was the Plain Truth Newsstand Distribution Program. Under the umbrella of this highly structured program and regular close communication regarding it, local churches around the world achieved what could only be called spectacular success in distributing countless millions of magazines in multiple languages so that God’s truth could be accessed everywhere on Earth. Stories of how this program was blessed by God and what it achieved are legion.
The true gospel went out in power—like no other time in history!
Christ’s prophecy is still true! Today, His commission continues in power, but for only a few more years.