As a part of my Kingdom Series of blogs, which can be found here and here, we have been taking an intentional look at the Kingdom of God and what implications it has for our lives. In this blog, we will ask, when does this Kingdom come about?

The short answer is:

Now/Not Yet.

When Jesus first started teaching about the Kingdom of God, he would tell people that it was ἤγγικεν. That term is translated as “has come near.” Note that it is not has come, will come, is coming, is here, or has already been coming. Think of it not as the kingdom is on its way, but the Kingdom has come close to you. 

In a sermon that I gave at Vintage Church that can be found here, I suggested that the gospel, or good news, that Jesus came to bring wasn’t simply that he was going to die. When Jesus talked about the good news, he was talking about the coming of the Kingdom of God. 

I felt as though I should explore this concept a little further. This series of blogs gives me the opportunity to do just that. So buckle up and put on your thinking caps. Remember, there is absolutely no downside to learning more biblical knowledge about something that was important to Jesus. The first three blogs in this series will be more research and biblical study based, while the final three will be focused on how Kingdom-based thinking can change the way we look at Christianity. 

Let’s see how and when this word is used and what it means.