Book of Genesis, chapter number one. If you found your place, stand with us and we'll reverence the Word of God as we read. I'm going to read verse 26 down to the end of the chapter. The Bible says, And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, and the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit. Lost my place, forgive me. Every tree which is in the fruit of the tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat, and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life. I have given every green herb for meat, and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Father, we bow in your presence again, and we thank you for this prayer meeting and time of Bible study that you've given to us this evening. Thank you for everyone that's here tonight. We pray for those who were unable to be here tonight. And we'd ask You, Lord, that as we look into Your Word and study the Scriptures, that You would help us to make sense of the things that are before us. May Your Word speak for itself. May it speak more loudly and more clearly than I could ever explain it. And Lord, we'll thank You for what You do in the preaching of Your Word. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Turn with me over to Revelation. The Revelation. chapter number 19, verse number 15. And this is when Jesus Christ comes back with His saints to set up His kingdom. He comes back to rescue Israel who's been going through the tribulation period. They have mourned and cried for Him. And here He comes again in verse 15, And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations. Notice this phrase, And He shall rule them with a rod of iron, and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God. I want to preach tonight on the dual nature of the Kingdom of God. The dual nature of the kingdom of God. And we have a God in heaven tonight who has a kingdom. Amen? But it has two aspects to that kingdom. There is a right here and now aspect of that kingdom. But there is also aspects of that kingdom that are future. I'll say it this way. There's an eternal aspect. There's a kingdom that's always been and will always be. But there's also a kingdom that's been prophesied of by God that we see being asked for, being promised, being guaranteed. And I think if we're not careful, there are some who would view the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, and those terms are synonymous, they can be interchanged. as being something that is purely spiritual, allegorical, or something that is only literal for the nation of Israel. And I believe it is something that must be interpreted literally, but literally as always having been in a spiritual realm, and literally as of that which God has promised in a physical kingdom. We see that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And I read Genesis in your hearing because the Bible says that when God got done making the universe and the solar system and the planet and the trees and the herbs and He separated everything out and He created the winged fowls of the air, birds, and the four-footed beast of the earth, and the fish of the sea, and all that dwells therein, it says that He said unto Himself, let us make man in our image. And when He made all of His kingdom, and that's what creation was about, God was creating a kingdom. And we know this because when He created man, He told man to rule it. And He gave man the dispensation of ruling His kingdom. A stewardship was passed to Adam when God said, Adam, this is My kingdom and I want you to rule over it in My place. We know that because the text tells us that. In verse 28, he says, "...be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it, and have dominion." And that word dominion literally means rule. Rule. It means to rule over something. To bring it into subjection is the idea. And Adam was God's first Chosen. God created Adam in his likeness, in his image. And He said, I want you to rule over everything that I've created. Well, we know the story. Adam sinned, he fell in the Garden of Eden, and he plunged the human race into sin and depravity. And as a result, man has been trying ever since to rule and to govern God's creation, and he's done a terrible job at it. But God is going to send His Son one day again, and He is going to rule upon the earth. And He's going to rule with a rod of iron, the Bible says. And He'll do what Adam couldn't do, as the second Adam that Romans talks about. That's why I read Revelation 19.15. Because it tells us that at the end, when Jesus comes again, that His coming is not going to be just in judgment and then the end. But notice in verse 15, future tense, He is coming and He will smite the nations, and He shall, that is future tense, He shall rule. And for people that say the kingdom started with Christ and the gospel, why in Revelation is John, after the church has already been in existence for 80 or 90 years, saying that it's yet something future? And so we know that God has a dual nature, dual aspect to His kingdom. And that's what we want to look at this evening. Turn with me to the book of Psalms again. And just as we give somewhat of an introduction, and then we'll dive into these several things that I want to point out that prove from Scripture this dual nature of the kingdom of God. But we've got in Psalm 90 verse number 2, the Bible says, Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. And again, that is just a reminder that our God has always been, and as God, He rules over the affairs of man and nature. He ruled in heaven before there was ever anything created. He still rules over His creation today, for all things were created by Him and for Him, and without Him was not anything created that was, the Bible says. And everything is upheld by the Word of His power. We know that right now He's ruling and we know that He's going to rule in the future. Psalm 146 verse number 10 says this, The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord. And we have a God who is ruling this very hour and will forever reign and rule as the King over a kingdom. But He is also going to come and set up a kingdom. And there's many important themes that we find in the Bible, amen? I mean, there's a lot in the Bible that we ought to really interest ourselves with. And some have called what we might say different themes throughout the Bible threads, and like a thread of yarn that's run through something that's been sewn. you'll see that same color of thread running through whatever the garment is. And that's how people have likened some of the themes of Scripture. That there are these threads that go through the Word of God and you'll find them time and time again. Some have said there is the green thread of God's creative power. seen woven into Scripture. You see it in creation. You see it after the judgment of God, in the day of Noah, whenever He brought forth life once again. You see it in the reviving aspects of God's creative power every spring. There's life, and it's a reminder to us that we have a God who's able to give life. As man has gone through this world, he has multiplied as God commanded, and every time a baby is born, and he's smacked on the bottom, and he starts to cry, it's the reminder that there's a God in heaven who gives life, and is creative, and has power to uphold His creation. And that's a glorious theme, isn't it? To think about the God of all heaven who's made everything and holds everything together, also holds our lives together. He's also got everything under control that we may be facing this very hour, that there's nothing that takes Him by surprise, whether it be political, financial, or whether it be our health. Our God is in the heavens, and He's in control, and we can rest in Him tonight. There's also the black thread of sin's catastrophic Influence that's seen woven through the Bible. You see from very early on when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, you see sin cropping up its ugly head over and over and over and over again. Sin all the way down throughout history. Sin in the day that we live in. What God has to say about sin. How God deals with sin. And ultimately what God did to make a way of escape for us from sin. There is a theme of sin in the Bible. And that's the bad news that many today don't want to talk about or hear about. A lot of preachers don't want to preach about it. They don't want to preach about what sin is. They don't want to preach about the effects of sin in life. And they don't want to preach about the judgment for sin in eternity. But beloved, the theme is scattered throughout the Bible. We have a God who judges sin. And sin is a very real theme, a thread that runs through the Bible. There's the white thread of God's holy perfection seen woven throughout the Bible. It's not long until you're introduced to the characteristics of our God and His attributes, and we find that He's holy, righteous, He's omnipotent, all-powerful, that He's all-knowing, that He's everywhere at once, that He's an eternal God, and it causes our hearts to bow before Him and to worship Him for who He is. But then let me say there is the scarlet thread of redemptive purpose that's seen woven through Scripture. And from the very early book of Genesis 3, verse 15, and all the way through the prophets, and all the way through into the New Testament, as Mark opens up with declaring the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you see that scarlet thread of redemption as it runs and it weaves through the Bible. But then there's the golden thread of God's kingdom plan seen woven through the Bible. And this seems to be one of the main central themes of all of Scripture. That God has a kingdom and He is the King. This seems to be one of the main central themes of Scripture and the theme that ties all of the other themes together. Many people reduce the gospel message down to just Jesus Christ. But the gospel is also about the kingdom. And it's about how one can be part of God's kingdom through Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us. And what a powerful message the gospel is and the kingdom is. As it sets forth God's plan for humanity, for God's chosen people Israel, for those who have trusted Christ and have been made a part of the church, and even those in the millennial reign who will serve and bow before the Lord God Almighty. We find this is a major theme throughout the Word of God. And the true gospel proclaims the vital truth of the Kingdom and the King. We find it revealed time and time throughout prophecy. And how God is working and how God is going to continue to work even after His coming. The kingdom of God should be considered, I would say, as one of the grandest one of the greatest truths that's presented in Scripture. An overarching theme of Scripture that encompasses all the other major themes of the Bible. And I want to deal with how we see what the Bible says about the kingdom of God in the Old Testament, but then I want to see what it also says about it in the New Testament. But before we do that, the message tonight, again, is looking at the dual nature of this kingdom. And establishing the fact that this kingdom is seen both as something that is earthly and literal, as well as something that God is right now reigning in, in heaven. And so let's look at this, and I've got several portions of Scripture that we're going to read, and my goal tonight is to let the Scriptures speak for themselves, and just to give you a lot of Bible. So there's twelve things that I've pointed out in my thinking and my study that we need to consider When we think about the kingdom of God, and if we'll consider these things, we'll see how there's a dual nature to them. First of all, there are certain passages in the Bible that present the kingdom as something that has always existed. A kingdom that has always existed. Psalm 10 verse 16 says, The Lord is King forever and ever. The heathen are perished out of His land. Psalm 145 verse 11 through 13 says this, They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts and the glorious majesty of His kingdom. But then notice what it says. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth, or thy rule endureth throughout all generations. But notice also that there's other places in the Bible where the kingdom has a definite historical beginning. Not only does the Bible present it as being eternal, but it presents it as having a beginning. Look with me in Daniel chapter number 2 and verse number 44. Daniel chapter number 2 and verse number 44. The Bible says, And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." You'll remember the vision that Daniel was speaking of was that statue, the vision that Nebuchadnezzar had. And it was a statue of a man, the head was gold, and then the shoulders, were silver, and then the stomach and the thighs were bronze, and then the feet were iron and clay. And you'll remember that was the prophecy of four different kingdoms. The fourth kingdom would be split between the Medes and the Persians, but then there would rise up another kingdom that would smash down this one, and that one was God's kingdom. And that was a kingdom that would have a beginning, but it would also never see an end. And so we see that some passages tell us that God's kingdom is eternal. Some passages tell us that God's kingdom has a beginning. Number two, the kingdom is described as universal in scope. In other words, that God's kingdom is not only in heaven right now, but it is also upon earth. That God rules and reigns in the affairs of men. That God is at work in all things, in all places. And that He is the sovereign God of heaven, the earth, and hell. the devil is not running hell tonight, friend, but God is the One who is in control of all things. The psalmist said, Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. This kingdom is in a universal scope. Psalm 103, 19, The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. But let me say this, the kingdom is also revealed as a local rule on earth. Not just as being over all dominions and all places, a universal scope, but it also speaks of an earthly kingdom. Isaiah 24, 23, Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously. Here He is talking about a physical place, a literal place, a place that right now you could go and stand on upon the earth. And that's where He is going to set up a kingdom for a thousand years, where He's going to rule and reign with a rod of iron. We see here is a dual aspect. Is God ruling right now in a kingdom? Yes, I do not deny that. He is sovereign and He rules from heaven. But beloved, there's coming a day that He's going to rule upon the earth. And He will rule upon the seed of His father David. His father's David throne was not in heaven. David's throne was not in heaven. His throne was in Jerusalem. And that's where God said that His Son, Jesus Christ, a rod out of Jesse, would reign. And that's what the Bible says. Notice number three. Sometimes the kingdom is pictured as the direct rule of God. The direct rule of God. That God is directly engaged in ruling over His kingdom. But then let me say this, that sometimes it's presented as the rule of God through a mediator. That God allows others to be a participant in helping to rule His kingdom. Notice first of all, the direct rule of God is seen in Psalm 22, 28. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is the governor among the nations. And as a governor, He governs as He pleases. Daniel tells us about this. We'll get to that here in a moment. But notice Psalm 59, 17. It tells us, Under thee, O my strength, will I sing, for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy unto Him." And here he is attributing God's personal relationship with himself, and how that God has taken a personal interest in his life, that God is directly involved with his kingdom. And he gives glory and honor to God for that. God does directly rule. But He also allows others to receive a dispensation or a stewardship over that which He has created and what is His kingdom. Psalm 2 verses 4 through 6 says, He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet, notice he says, yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. This is talking about the mediatorial work and reign of Jesus Christ upon Zion's hill in Jerusalem. Daniel 4, 17 says it this way, this matter is by the decree of the watchers. and the demand by the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." That God allows men to be set up to help rule and to steward over His kingdom. And He did that with Saul, and He did that with David, and He did that with Solomon, and He did that with all the kings of Israel, and He's done that with the kings of men even in the day that we live in. Those that are ruling this world are doing so by God's design, and God has put them in that position, and they'll give an account for how they rule in that position as a steward of God, whether they realize it or not. Daniel 4.25 says this about God ruling through others as a mediator. That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as an ox. And this was that judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar for lifting himself up above the Most High God, and God put him on the ground as a four-footed beast, and he had to eat grass for seven years. And it says here that he'll do that, seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth, notice what he says, in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. So God's kingdom is pictured as that which He directly rules, but also He allows others to share in the rule of. Number four, the Bible in some places describes the kingdom as an entirely future kingdom. An entirely future entity. While in other places the kingdom is portrayed as the current reality. Something that is right now happening. Notice Zechariah chapter 14 verse number 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one. That is futuristic. Not yet happened. He is right now not the king over every soul and their subjection to Him. Men rebel against God in this hour. And the psalmist said it this way, why do the heathen rage? And the heathen imagine a vain thing. The Bible tells us there's coming a day though that God is going to rule over all the earth. All the earth. And in that day, there will be one Lord, and His name one. Matthew 6.10 tells us this. Y'all remember Matthew 6? The model prayer, if you will. What does He pray in that model prayer? Thy kingdom is here. Jesus instructs His disciples to pray for a kingdom to come. Well, if the kingdom started with Jesus, was it not already there? John said it's at hand, but he didn't say it's here. And there is a kingdom that is to come that you and I are still to pray for. God, may Your kingdom come, because only in that kingdom will there be perfect peace and righteousness. But there's also an aspect that there's a kingdom which is portrayed as right now. being lived out. It's a current reality. Psalm 29.10, The Lord sitteth upon the flood, yea, the Lord sitteth king forever. He's the king right now. Daniel 4.3 tells us how great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And His dominion is from generation to generation. I don't deny that God has a kingdom tonight. But what I'm saying to you is He has a kingdom that's coming as well. There's a dual nature to the kingdom of God. If you miss this, you'll miss everything I'm going to be preaching on eschatology. You've got to get this. You've got to understand. There's a kingdom today, and that's why we preach to men. Repent and believe the gospel. And by being saved, they're made a part of the kingdom. We're doing kingdom work here at this church by witnessing and testifying and preaching. We're trying to advance the kingdom of God. But let me say, there's a kingdom coming. And we see it here, future. Number five, on the one hand, the kingdom of God is set forth as God's sovereign, unconditional rule. Again, Daniel 4.3, I just read that. But also in Daniel 4.34 and 35. And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, or reign, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. Verse 35, And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? Oh, we have a sovereign, reigning, ruling God over a kingdom right now. But on the other hand, it would appear in Scripture that this covenant is not an unconditional rule of God, but it is based on a covenant. between God and man. Notice what Psalm 89 says, verse 27 to 29. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven." This here is a psalm about David. That God, based on the covenant that He made with David, was going to fulfill that covenant by bringing out the seed of David, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to rule and reign upon His throne. We find here that God's reign at times is seen as unconditional. He rules no matter what. But there's times when His reign is also based upon, or His rule is based upon covenants that He's made with man. And we have a God in heaven who in Him is no changing. There's no variableness in our God. The Bible tells us in Malachi that our God changes not. And that's what the hope of Jacob was. He says, I am your God, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. And God was telling Israel, He was telling Jacob, He was telling His people that because of their sin, He had every right to write them off. But because of His covenant, He would never do that. When you find in the Old Testament him referring to Israel as Jacob, it's whenever he's referring to his people who have sinned, and he's angry with them. And he's not calling them by their covenant name Israel, he's calling them by his first name Jacob. You remember Jacob had his name changed to Israel after he wrestled with the Lord at Peniel. And we find that when God is dealing with a people He was angry with, even in His anger, He said, I change not, therefore you are not consumed. And God has not written off Israel. And He's not consumed them. And He's not done with them. And that's why He tells us in Romans 11 that that time has come of the Gentiles. But when the fullness of the Gentiles come in, that He is going to turn back to Israel and allow them to come back. And this is why he says he's going to do it. That the election of God might stand, not in the wisdom of man, but in God. And who God chooses and elects, that's His business. He has a right to do so. And when He chose Israel as His people, He made a covenant with Israel, not on the basis of their works, but on the basis of His faithfulness and His righteousness. And God will not break His covenant with His people Israel. If He did, then He could break His covenant in redemption with us, and we could be lost. If God can deny Israel the covenant He made with them, then He can deny you the covenant He made with you when He saved you by His grace. Anybody here believe you can lose your salvation? Then you can't believe that God would cut Israel off from the covenant promise He made to them. God's kingdom is said to be everlasting. Luke 1, 32, this is number 6, God's kingdom is said to be everlasting. Luke 1, 32 and 33, He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David. That didn't happen yet. Jesus has not received the throne of His father David. That throne's in Jerusalem. That throne's over a nation, a nation named Israel. That's not happened yet. Verse 33, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. It's an everlasting kingdom. But God will bring an end to part of his kingdom. Look at what it says in Hosea 1.4, And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel." And he did that, didn't he? He caused the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. But one day, that kingdom is going to be brought back in. God's kingdom is everlasting, but He also has the ability to cause part of it to cease, to end. Number seven, the kingdom is not eating and drinking. Romans chapter 14, 17 tells us that, for the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness and peace and joy and the Holy Ghost. Nor is the kingdom of God inherited by flesh or by blood. 1 Corinthians 15.50, he talks about there, not only shall flesh and blood not inherit the kingdom of God, neither shall corruption inherit incorruption. And the idea there is this old man is going to pass away. This body that I have before you isn't going to enter into heaven. My soul is. But there's going to be a physical, literal body that God gives me called a glorified body that will be reunited with my soul at the resurrection. And so there is an aspect of God's kingdom, that spiritual kingdom, that kingdom you're a part of if you're saved tonight by the grace of God, that is not physical. It's not what we eat, or what we drink, or what we wear, or where we go, or any of those things. It is a spiritual kingdom. Yet the kingdom is also spoken of in the Word of God as a tangible earthly kingdom. It's tangible in its different aspects. Notice what the Bible says in Micah chapter 4, verse 6-7. In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted. He's talking about Israel. And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast off, or cast far off a strong nation, and the Lord shall reign over them." Notice what this little word is right here. I don't want you to miss this. Underline this in your thinking. I am in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever. There is a literal place where God says, I'm going to reign over this nation that I have cast far off, but one day I'm going to bring back and make a great nation out of them. Where is He going to do it? In Mount Zion. Revelation 5.10, and this is such a strong verse, if you'll listen to it. The Bible says, "...and has made us unto our gods kings and priests, and we shall reign," what? "...on the earth." He has a kingdom that He is going to set up on the earth. That's in Revelation 5. That's after you have a mighty host that's already in heaven. That's whenever there's been a rapture of the church. And He is there declaring that those who are with Him are going to reign with Him on earth. Well, when He comes back, that means He's coming back to set up a kingdom if they're going to rule with Him on the earth. There has to be a kingdom on the earth for them to rule with Him. Does that make sense? Are we on the same page? You can't rule with Jesus on the earth if there ain't a future kingdom when He comes again. This is yes, this is no, and this is I don't know. And most of us may be in saying I don't know, and that's alright, because sometimes I don't know. But that's what the Bible says. We're going to reign with Him on the earth. And this is John, 80 years after, 90 years after the revelation was written in 94, 96 AD. And here John, he's saying this is going to happen in the future. In other words, he's saying, I'm not reigning with him right now, but this is something that after we all get to heaven, we're coming back with him. We're going to reign with him in the future. Number eight this evening. The kingdom was presented as being among the Jews. It was among the Jews while Christ was on earth. Luke 17 21 says, Neither shall they say, Lo here or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. He's talking there to the Jews. He was telling them that the kingdom of God was within them. There the kingdom was on the earth with the Jews. Yet Jesus also told His disciples, as we've already mentioned, pray that it would come. Matthew 6, 10. So there's an aspect, the kingdom was there. There's an aspect, pray that it'll come. Number nine, Paul preached the kingdom of God. And he was preaching the kingdom of God during the church age. The church age, Matthew 16, 18, the Bible tells us there that whenever Jesus asked Peter, who do men say that I am? And he gave that great confession that Jesus told him, and thou art Peter, upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And we find that Jesus began building His church with those early disciples. The church age, if you will. But in Acts 28, 31, Paul says that Paul, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. Paul was preaching that there was the kingdom of God during the church age. Number 10, children of the kingdom, the Bible tells us, can be cast into hell. Matthew 8, verse 12, "...but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." That tells us that that kingdom, it cannot just be a spiritual kingdom, but that God is reigning in a physical realm. But notice he goes on to say this about that, that only the righteous can inherit the kingdom. Are you seeing the dual aspect? If only the righteous can inherit the kingdom of God, that means only righteous people are in the kingdom. Then how can people be cast out of that kingdom into outer darkness? There's two kingdoms. Dual nature. And that's what I'm trying to get you to see this evening. Because there are times when you are reading prophecy and it is clearly talking about the kingdom of God in a sense of His everlasting kingdom. And then there are times when you read prophecy and it's obviously talking about a future kingdom when God is going to reign. Number eleven, the earthly domain has been temporarily handed over to Satan. Luke 4, 6, And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee in the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will give it. Satan was confessing even to Jesus in the temptation that I have all power, it's been delivered to me, and I'll give you the power of the nations if you'll bow before me. Ephesians 2 and 2 tells us that in times past, those of us who have been saved walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Who is the prince of the power of the air? It's Satan. And he's working even at this hour to deceive and to blind the eyes of them that are lost, lest they should believe the gospel. But, even though there's a kingdom that's been temporarily handed over to Satan, All the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Psalm 24, 1, a Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. There is a dual nature to the kingdom. Then lastly, number 12, the kingdom is for Israel. 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 11 through 13, here is a covenant that's being made with Israel and God is setting forth how He is going to to rule and have Israel to rule. The Bible says, "...And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies, also the Lord telleth thee that He will make thee in house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish His kingdom. And He shall build in house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom Forever. This was the Davidic covenant that God was making with David in 2 Samuel 7, when He promised that David's throne would have an heir that would rule and sit upon that throne. And yet Christ also gave it to the nations. This same kingdom that was given to Israel was given by Christ to the nations. Matthew 21, 43. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And it was taken from Israel. And God has turned from Israel. And who has He turned to? Thanks be to God, He's turned unto the Gentiles. And had it not been so, you and I would not be a part of God's redemptive plan. God, in His purposes and in His eternal decrees, saw fit that Israel in time would reject Him, He would turn them away, and He would turn to the Gentiles that there might be a great ingathering of souls. The Bible says, Behold therefore the goodness and the severity of God on them which fail. Severity, but toward thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shall be cut off." Here God is talking to Gentiles through Paul in the book of Romans. And He's saying, I cut off the nation of Israel that I could graft you in, but don't you get too proud and arrogant because I can cut you off just like I cut them off. That's what He's saying here. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." He's talking about Israel. God's able to graft them back in again. And that is if they abide not in unbelief. That means a Jew today can be saved and grafted in. They can become a Messianic Jew, if you will. A Jew that believes in Christ and has been saved by the grace of God, become a part of the church. He goes on, "'For if thou were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery.' Don't be ignorant of this mystery. "'Lest ye should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part is happened to Israel.'" Israel is blind today in part. Notice what he says, that this blindness is in part, it's happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Verse 26, And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away the ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them." He's not talking to us. Unto them. Unto Israel. Not unto the Gentiles. Not unto the church. But unto them. That God is going to come back. And He is going to honor His covenant unto them when I shall take away their sin. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's sake." Israel is even in this hour beloved of God. Well, preacher, they denied Him, and they rejected Him, and they crucified Him. It doesn't matter. God elected them. And because God chose them by election, they are His people. They are His nature. In the Old Testament, they're called the apple of His eye. And because God chose Israel, He's not going to forsake them. They are beloved for the Father's sake. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. And when God makes a promise, He never goes back on His Word. The gift that is grace and giving from God, and God's call upon a people or upon a nation, is unreversible. It is without repentance. Isn't that what gives us hope tonight? Anybody here saved by the grace of God? I know many of you are. Hope you are. If you're not, you need to be. Well, you know what gives me confidence and assurance that I am one of His children? The fact that God does not change, He does not go back on His Word, the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. And beloved, that's true of me. But in the text, He's talking about Israel. That what He did for Israel, what He promised Israel, is without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, Now the Gentiles are being brought in because of the nation of Israel set aside because of their unbelief. Even so have these also now not believed that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all. They are part of the unbelieving world so that God can have mercy upon all the nations of the world. And He is working through His church to accomplish that, and bringing many sons to glory. Then He says this in verse 33, and when you talk about the kingdom, you have to come to this verse, and this is where I'm going to close tonight. When you start thinking about God's kingdom that's ruling over all the affairs of men right now, but then you think about there's a kingdom that's future, You think about God's kingdom on which Satan has been given power, but Jesus is still over that in all power. When you think about a kingdom that has never had a beginning and will never have an end, but there's some that will have a beginning and will have an end. And we think about the kingdoms of God and how that there's a dual nature. There is but one kingdom of God, but it's seen in various ways throughout the Word of God. It brings us to verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. Beloved, there's one thing about at the end of the day when we study the Word of God, and we come to a conclusion, and maybe we're not sure about it, but we've got questions, we can rest in this. There's a God in heaven who is in control. And as we search out the truth of Scripture, we're going to find that the depths thereof are deeper than we can fathom. And the magnificence of it is glorious. And the truth of it is unsearchable. And God's ways are past finding out. Because God, He's not like us. And His ways are not our ways. And His thoughts are not our thoughts. It says in verse 34, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, who hath been his counselor, who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again. For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. The kingdom of God is dual in its nature. That means double, two, two natures. There's that kingdom where God is now, even now, He is ruling. Christ is seated at the right hand of majesty. The book of Romans chapter 1 verse 3 tells us that. But there's coming a day when He is going to rule upon this earth and there will be perfect peace and there will be perfect righteousness. And men will worship Him. The Bible tells in the Old Testament, prophesies that those who do not come up to Jerusalem to worship Him, He will send drought upon their land. And He will rule with a rod of iron. Beloved, what a glorious day it will be. I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know what all of our part is in that. Being a part of the church, Israel is going to be ministering unto God in those thousand years. Will we be ruling and reigning with Him? I think so. What are the other aspects of that? I'm not sure. But what a bright future we have as the children of God. This is the worst that we're ever going to know. It gets better from here. So keep your eyes upon the Lord. Keep looking up under the hill from whence cometh our help. Our help cometh from the Lord. And if you're not saved, oh, the most important thing about kingdom about kingdom talking, kingdom preaching, is that you get saved by the grace of God. That God will deal with your heart and make you a part of His kingdom before it's too late. Let's bow our heads tonight.