So tonight we continue our study of eschatology, which is just a big fancy word for the doctrine of the last things. We have looked at personal eschatology, what will happen to various individuals, thinking of believers and unbelievers, at death and after death. And now we are looking at general eschatology, the great events that affect the whole world. And we're in the middle of studying the two ages, with the already and the not yet. We saw last time that we studied this doctrine that Jesus speaks of two different ages. He speaks of this present age and he also speaks of the age to come. And we saw similar terminology in the epistles as well. Now, tonight we want to consider the Messianic kingdom of God. And as we do so, we will continue to study what we call the already and the not yet. Look at your notes and you will find a diagram that I have created. I will probably be adding to this diagram throughout this series. You will note there Christ's first coming and Christ's second coming. And you notice that this age, using the terminology of Jesus from Matthew 12, 32, extends to Christ's second coming. And then the age to come, using again the terminology that Jesus used, starts at Christ's second coming and goes on into eternity. We're going to be seeing how at Christ's first coming, he inaugurated the kingdom. At His second coming, He will consummate the kingdom. And so currently, between the two comings, we live in the time of the already. There are some aspects of the kingdom of God that we already experience. After Christ's second coming, we will experience what we call the not yet, the things that are still to come. There's an aspect of the kingdom that has not yet been established. We'll be talking about that tonight. But it's not just the kingdom. There are different ways, we started to see it last time, where right now, in this present age, now that Christ has come, we already are experiencing things of the age to come. And tonight we will consider the phrase that you find both in the Old and New Testaments, the last days or the latter days. And you will see that it starts with Christ's first coming and then comes to an end sometime after Christ's second coming, after the kingdom is consummated. So, we want to dive into these things tonight. We want to start with the Old Testament, thinking about the Old Testament prophets in general, about what they said about the future. The Old Testament prophets foretold a glorious era in which Israel would be exalted and the nations made subservient to Israel's God. The Lord would reign over the whole earth. The son of David would serve as king and the exile would be over. The New Covenant would be fulfilled, God's people would keep His law, and the promised new creation would become a reality. The Lord would pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed would become a reality. The Old Testament prophets called the beginning of this glorious era the latter days. The prophets foretold both things that were in their near future and things that were in the distant future. And the things in the near future have already been fulfilled before the first coming of Christ. But what we are looking at tonight concerns those things that they prophesied that would occur in the latter It was the distant future for the Old Testament prophets. So, I want to look at a few passages that use this phrase, the latter day or the last days. So, please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 2, the prophet Isaiah chapter 2. I'll start reading at verse 1. And there is a parallel to this passage in Micah chapter 4. So later on, you can compare the two and see how they are very, very similar. Starting here in verse 1, the word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days. So note that term. the latter days. That's what we're talking about. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it. And many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. So this is prophesying a time where we have a fulfillment. of a promise all the way back in Genesis. What is that promise in Genesis that this prophecy talks about will be fulfilled in the latter days? It was the promise made to Abraham. All the nations will be blessed through Abraham's seed, through his descendants. And so we see here in the latter days, all the nations will come and will come to worship the true God. Verse four talks about how there will be peace established throughout the world. So there will no longer be a need for swords, for spears. Those things can be turned into things used for agricultural, for peaceful purposes. There's a whole lot here, but what I want you to note is that term, the latter days. Let's turn over to another example. Look at Daniel chapter two. Daniel chapter 2. Daniel is filled with prophecy. It's not just a narrative of Daniel and his friends in the land of exile. But there's much prophecy here. Look at Daniel chapter 2 verse 28. Verse 28, Daniel's speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar. He says, But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the vision of your head as you lay in bed are these." Remember that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and uncharacteristically, he asked his magicians to tell him what his dream was, not just to interpret it, but to tell him what the dream was. Of course, they couldn't do it. But Daniel, he's able to do that by the Spirit of God. And Daniel introduces this by saying that the dream that God gave him concerned what will be in the latter days. Now, let's go down to verse 44, the end of the interpretation of the dream. Verse 44, and in the days of those kings, he talked about different kingdoms that would rise in this world after the time of this dream. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms, and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever." So this is the messianic kingdom that we're going to be talking about later on this evening. The kingdom that Messiah would reign over. And it was introduced back in verse 28 as something that would happen in the latter days. And this kingdom, the kingdom of Messiah, is going to bring all the nations into submission. His kingdom is going to be a worldwide kingdom, and it's going to be an eternal kingdom. Turn over to Hosea, the minor prophet Hosea chapter 3. Hosea is an interesting book because of the parable, the living parable, that the Lord instructs the prophet to enact with Gomer. Most of the book is prophecy. In chapter 3, verse 4, the prophet says, shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward, the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God. David their king and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days." So again we have the term the latter days. This time the prophet is speaking about a restoration. Israel was under judgment because of their sin. But God would not leave his people under judgment and discipline forever. He would provide restoration. He'd restore his fallen people. It says, they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. And then I give you in the notes other references that use those terms in the Old Testament. When we come to the New Testament, we see more occurrences of this same phrase, the last days. As the New Testament apostles and prophets declared that we are now in the last days with the coming of Christ and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. I put in your notes Acts 2 verses 16 through 17 which we of course studied in detail about a year ago or so on Sunday morning and where after Peter begins to speak to the crowd that has been gathered after the 120 or so disciples have been speaking of the things of God in languages that they had never learned. Peter says, but this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. And then we have a quotation, but it's not an exact word-for-word quotation, at least not at the beginning. The quotation says, and in the last days it shall be. Now in Joel, Chapter 2, where he's quoting from, you do not find that phrase, the last days. It just says, after these things. But Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, understands that these things that Joel prophesied that are being fulfilled in their midst, these are things that belong to what the prophets in the Old Testament called the latter days. So he says, but this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, and in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. This pouring out of the spirit for the new covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit. This was part of what the prophets had prophesied would happen. in the last days. So we are living in the last days. Hebrews chapter one, verses one through two. Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. the coming of the Messiah, which in the Old Testament prophets was not sharply distinguished as a first coming and a second coming. It was all grouped together. There was not the precision in the Old Testament prophecies that we have in the New Testament revelation of the fulfillment of these things. And so, The prophets had prophesied that in the last days the Lord would send His Messiah. And now that the Messiah has come, we are in the last days. God has spoken to us by His Son, and so He's not going to now speak to us in the ways that He did before the last days. Now we have the Son, who is the perfect revelation of the Father, who has revealed through directly and through his apostles, the New Covenant, and so we live in a very special time, the last days. And I gave you some other references in your notes to other similar passages. Now, central to the Old Testament promises of what would occur in the last days was the promise of the Messiah's kingdom, the messianic kingdom of God. I want to look at a few Old Testament prophecies of the kingdom. Now, as you're turning to Isaiah chapter 9, do you understand that the Bible speaks of and eternal kingdom of God. God is always sovereign. He's always on the throne of this world. He's always ruling and reigning over this world, controlling all things that happen, fulfilling His perfect plan and purposes for the world. So the Bible can speak of the kingdom of God, referring to the eternal kingdom of God. That's not what we are looking at in eschatology. It's not what we're looking at in these Old Testament prophecies. This is, from the point of view of the Old Testament prophets, a future kingdom that would be ruled over by the Messiah. Let's look at Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. Very familiar to us, we read it at Christmas time often. Verse six, for to us a child is born. To us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. On the throne of David. and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." So this prophesies Christ, prophesies his birth. It's prophesies that he will sit on the throne of David over his kingdom, establishing it, upholding it, and so forth. Now when we see this terminology of one who would sit on the throne of David, this is building on some promises that were given earlier in the Old Testament. What was that promise that was given earlier? Think of a promise that was made to David. that he would never cease to have a son to sit on the throne. The Lord would establish his throne forever. So in the Davidic covenant, the Lord prophesied the coming Messiah who would sit on the throne of David. And so this is building upon that in this prophecy of the messianic kingdom of God. Now turn over to Daniel 7. We already saw reference to this kingdom in Daniel 2.44. Let's look further in Daniel. We'll now look at Daniel chapter 7. We'll start with verses 13 and 14. These have been read a good number of times in the past year or so, especially in Sunday school, the adult Sunday school class, when we were studying the Gospel of Matthew, and we saw that title for Jesus, the Son of Man. We'll go back to this passage, because this is where that title for Jesus came from, the Son of Man. Daniel 7, verse 13, I saw in the night visions And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." There's a lot of similarities between this prophecy and some of the others that we have seen of the Messianic kingdom. Here it's not referring to the king as the son of David as he was referred to in some of the other passages we looked at. Here he's called the son of man, but it's the same individual. The Gospels make very clear, same person. Now let's go down further. Go down to verse 18. 18 says, but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever, and ever. So Christ will include his saints in this kingdom. His saints will receive the kingdom. They will possess the kingdom forever, forever, and ever. And then this is built upon. As you continue through the chapter, more and more is revealed. Let's go down to verse 21. 21 says, as I looked, this horn, it's an individual who has power. A horn symbolizes strength, power. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them until the Ancient of Days came. And judgment was given for the saints of the Most High. And the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. So we see here that a judgment is going to be involved in the establishment of this kingdom, after which time that the saints will possess the kingdom. And then it's developed even further later on. You can look at that on your own time. Now, when you come to the New Testament, the New Testament teaches that the kingdom was inaugurated. Now, we don't find that word inaugurated in the text of Scripture. Theologians use the term inaugurated. What we mean when we say the kingdom was inaugurated, we mean it was established initially. The New Testament teaches that the kingdom was inaugurated with Christ's first coming, resurrection, and ascension. Let's look at a few passages. Look at Matthew 3, verses 1 and 2. Here we have the ministry of John the Baptist. He's that voice that was prophesied in Isaiah, who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Matthew 3, verse 1. In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We can translate it, the kingdom of heaven is near. In Matthew, we often see the phrase, the kingdom of heaven. In the other Gospels, we don't see the phrase the kingdom of heaven, we see the phrase the kingdom of God. Understand that those are interchangeable, they're synonymous, they're referring to the same kingdom, the kingdom of Messiah. So John the Baptist is preaching repent because the kingdom of heaven is near. He's saying to enter the kingdom, one must repent. When the kingdom is established, the Lord is going to judge the wicked, and they're gonna be excluded from the kingdom. So repent, the kingdom of heaven is near. Turn over to Matthew 4, chapter 4, verse 17. We see the same words in the mouth of Jesus now. Verse 17, from that time Jesus began to preach saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is near. He was urging people to enter that kingdom through repentance and faith. Turn over to chapter 12. Chapter 12, verse 22. In verse 22 we read, then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, that's brought to Jesus, and he healed him. So the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed and said, can this be the son of David? The Messiah would exercise such authority. He would exercise power over Satan and over demons. All the people were amazed. They said, can this be the son of David? This miracle pointed to him being the son of David. That is the correct interpretation of that sign. It shows he is the son of David. Verse 24. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man cast out demons. So they are denying that Jesus is the promised king. He's not the son of David. Because it's not by the power of God he's doing this, it's by the power of Beelzebul. Christ will do this by the power of God. Verse 25, knowing their thoughts, he said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste. And no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? So he's showing them how illogical the statement, the accusation is that they just made. 27. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." So Jesus is clearly teaching here that the kingdom of God had come upon them. That Christ had brought the kingdom. Evidence? He's doing what the Messiah would do. He's exercising power over Satan and demons. And he's healing people. He's freeing people who have been in bondage to Satan. He's setting them free. This is the Messiah, the king of the kingdom. Turn over to chapter 13. In chapter 13, we have parables of the kingdom, a good number of them, starting out with the parable of the sower. I want us to look at verse 18 where Jesus begins to explain the meaning of that parable. Verse 18, hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what he has sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. Now, what I want you to note here is that phrase, the word of the kingdom. He's talking here about the preaching of the gospel. And he calls the gospel the word of the kingdom. We're going to study next week the phrase the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel by which we as Christians have been saved is termed by Jesus the gospel of the kingdom. We often probably don't think so much of the kingdom when we think of the gospel, but it is very involved in the gospel. Here, this parable is communicating about four different types of hearts and the effect of the word of the kingdom upon those hearts. Of course, the heart that's been prepared by the Holy Spirit receives the word of the kingdom. where the kingdom takes root in that heart, and it grows up, and it produces much fruit. The person is saved, and they grow in doing what is pleasing to the Lord, and so forth. Now, go down to the next parable, the parable of the weeds, in verse 24. He put another parable before them saying the kingdom of heaven may be compared to. A lot of these kingdom parables start that way. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to. Here it is. It may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. This is going to be using the word seed in the same sense that was used in the previous parable. We're talking about sowing the word of the kingdom, sowing the gospel. Make him be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? He said to them, An enemy has done this. So the servant said to him, then do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, no, lest in gathering the weeds, you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn. Many of these kingdom parables end in a very similar way. speaking of the judgment that will happen when Christ returns. Will there be a separation of the wicked and the righteous? A separation of the ungodly and the elect? A separation of the evildoers and the redeemed? And what we see in this parable is in this in-between time between Christ's initial coming, in which he proclaimed the word of the kingdom, and his second coming, at which there will be a judgment and a separation. In the meantime, there are people who come into the kingdom, and they grow, and at the same time, there are other people who, what this parable emphasizes is there's other people who appear to also be in the kingdom, but are not truly in the kingdom. And at the judgment, their true nature will be shown for what it is, and they will be cast out. Cast out of the kingdom, cast into utter darkness, cast into eternal judgment. So many of these kingdom parables speak about the present form of the kingdom, as does the next parable. Look at the next verse, verse 31. He put another parable before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree. So the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. He told them another parable, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour so it was all leavened. Both of these two parables that I just read speak of the current form of the Messianic kingdom. It starts out very small. It started out with Christ's small group of disciples. It starts out very small, and it's growing, and it's growing. It's increasing all the way until Christ comes again. In fact, it's spreading all throughout the whole world. It's spreading to every tongue, tribe, and nation. So the kingdom parables very clearly teach that the kingdom of Messiah has already been inaugurated with the first coming of Christ. Then look at Luke 17 for another passage that teaches this. This time it's in the third gospel, the gospel of Luke chapter 17. We'll start at verse 20. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. See, they understood that the kingdom of God was prophesied in the Old Testament. So they were anticipating the coming of the kingdom. They were desiring the coming of the kingdom. So he's asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. Of course, they're going to ask him that because he's been preaching about the kingdom. They asked him when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. They correctly understood there would be a future form of the Messianic kingdom. What they did not understand was that the kingdom had already begun. It had already been inaugurated here in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the king of the kingdom. They were rejecting him. But here he is. He says, look, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Because he was in the midst of them. Here is the king of the kingdom. And where the king is, there is his kingdom. Now, Jesus here is not denying that there is a future form of the kingdom that's even greater. If you go on to verse 22, He said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there or look here. He's talking about, you know, talking about the second coming of Christ. He's coming in power and great glory, very differently than He came in the first coming in a humble way. This is the Daniel 7 way. The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there or look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. Here he's prophesying his second coming. This is going to be people who are going to mislead you. We're going to say the second coming has already occurred when it hasn't. This is going to be obvious when it occurs. Now he's talking about that final form of the kingdom. It will be consummated at his return. So he has both of them in mind here. But what I really want you to see is what he says to the Pharisees at the very beginning, that the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. It's already been inaugurated here at the first coming of Christ. I put in your notes John 3, verses 3 and 5. We studied this recently, where Jesus answered Nicodemus, And then later on, Jesus answered, Jesus taught. that now is the time to enter the kingdom. Don't wait for Christ's second coming to enter the kingdom. You must enter the kingdom now. And to enter the kingdom, you must be born of the Spirit. God must sovereignly work by His Spirit in your heart. He must regenerate you. One must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom. So again, we see that already the kingdom has come in some sense. Turn over to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, starting in verse 29. Here we return to Peter's Pentecost sermon. What we looked at earlier tonight was his introduction. Now we're coming to the meat, the heart of his message. He says in verse 29, brothers, he's just quoted from Psalm 16. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch, David, that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day. being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." Now stop right there. What I want you to notice is the connection between In verse 30, God had sworn with an oath to David that he would set one of his descendants on his throne. That promise is connected with what is said in verse 31. He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ. He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, Having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this, that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." He's saying the resurrection and then the pouring out of the Spirit. Where did Christ have to be to pour out the Spirit? He had to be at the right hand of the Father. He had to be on the throne of God to pour out the Spirit. The resurrection, ascension, and pouring out of the Spirit show that Jesus has been seated on the throne of the Messianic Kingdom. That the promise to David finds its initial fulfillment in the exaltation of Jesus Christ after his resurrection and ascension. Peter connects it all right here. So we see again, the Messianic kingdom has been inaugurated. Right now, Jesus Christ is sitting on the throne of God, I'm sorry, the throne of David, ruling over the Messianic kingdom of God, the eschatological kingdom. I put in your notes Colossians chapter 1 verses 13 through 14. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So once again, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been placed into this kingdom over which Christ rules and reigns. And I gave you other references in the New Testament. Now, the New Testament also teaches that the kingdom will be consummated. Now again, the word consummated does not occur in the biblical text. It's a word used by theologians to mean established in its final form and fullness. The New Testament also teaches that the kingdom will be consummated with Christ's second coming. The whole thing is not yet established. There's more that has to be established. Turn over to Matthew chapter 7. I want to show this to you. starting in Matthew 7 in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus speaks much of the kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. There's a well-known passage starting in verse 21 In 21, Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord. Now, this is how you speak to the king of the kingdom. You address the king of the kingdom as Lord. Be very significant when we're talking next week about the gospel of the kingdom. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. So Jesus is foretelling the judgment that is to come. The judgment that will occur with his second coming. And he says that in that day, not everyone who says to him, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. So here he's using the terminology of entering the kingdom, not in the sense that we use when we say that you as a believer have already entered the kingdom. Not the terminology of John chapter three, but this is a future entering of the kingdom, entering into the fullness of the kingdom, entering the final form of the kingdom. Turn over to chapter eight. We'll look at verses 11 and 12. Verse 11, I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. So he's saying many Gentiles. will come and recline a table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth." So, you know, he's talking about a future judgment again. He's talking about people being thrown out of the kingdom and the kingdom being established in its fullness. And at that time, Gentiles, along with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will recline together at table in the kingdom. Final form of the kingdom. Turn over to chapter 25. Chapter 25, starting at verse 33. Speaking again of the final judgment, this is the sheep and the goats, verse 33. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Now, the sheep are already in the kingdom. They've already been converted. They've already been regenerated. what Colossians chapter one speaks about has already happened for them. Yet, on at that judgment, the Lord will say to his people, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom. In some sense, in that future day, we will inherit the kingdom. We will receive the fullness of the kingdom. There's more to come, you see. Turn over to Luke 22. Luke 22 is the Last Supper and the institution of the Lord's Supper. Luke 22.18, and I think the Apostle Paul refers to this in 1 Corinthians 11. Jesus says here to his disciples, for I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Now, earlier, he said the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Here, he's speaking about a final form of the kingdom, a future form. I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Future sense. How about the epistles? Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We were in 1 Corinthians 15 on Resurrection Sunday, and we want to look at two parts of this chapter on the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15, let's begin at verse 24. 24 says, Then comes the end when He, that is Christ, delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule. and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." So he's talking about when Christ returns, he is going to establish the kingdom in a greater sense than it has already been established. Right now he is reigning, according to verse 25, he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. He's begun to put his enemies under his feet, but the last enemy has not been destroyed yet. That's death. Death will be destroyed at the resurrection. Christ's resurrection is the first fruits of what is to come. He will raise all who are in Christ with glorified bodies, a fit for being with the Lord forever in heaven. And at that time, the enemy of death will be utterly destroyed. We will be in bodies that are not subject to death, like our current bodies are. There are so many afflictions in our midst. I'll tell you about some more tonight with our prayer time. Our bodies are decaying. Our bodies are headed towards death. They are perishable bodies. We are subject to death. but Christ is gonna destroy death. And we'll be given a body that's not subject to death. And at that point, when the last enemy of God is destroyed, then the kingdom will be completely established and the Son will hand it over to the Father. So here we see a future sense of the kingdom, fullness that is yet to come. Go down to verse 50. Verse 50, I tell you, this brother's flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. He's talking about flesh and blood. He's talking about our current bodies, which he describes here as perishable. Perishable bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Only imperishable bodies can enter the kingdom, enter the final form of the kingdom. So here he's talking about that final form. Then turn over to one last passage on this, 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy, where does 2 Timothy fit in the chronological order of Paul writing epistles? The last one, his last epistle, 2 Timothy. What was he expecting would happen very soon? He'd be with the Lord. He would be executed, and he would go home to be with the Lord. So, see what he writes about what will happen upon death, what will happen in his future. Look at verse 18. In verse 18, Paul writes, the Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. In one sense, Paul understands he's already in the heavenly kingdom. He's in the kingdom of Christ. He's been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. But there's another sense in which he will enter the kingdom. Upon death and Christ's second coming, he's going to enter into the heavenly kingdom. You can see how we have two different phases of the kingdom, different forms of the kingdom. Now, we see some of the, what I'm calling, and theologians call the already and the not yet, when we compare Jesus' quotation from the book of Isaiah when he was in the synagogue at Nazareth, when we compare what he quotes from Isaiah with what's in Isaiah. I put in your notes Luke 4, 17 through 21. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began to say to them, today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. For comparison, I put underneath where Jesus is quoting from, Isaiah 61, one through two. Notice what I put in bold. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, Christ quoted that, and then he said, this is fulfilled today in your hearing, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God. The day of vengeance of our God, that's part of the not yet. The prophet Isaiah saw it all together. Christ would come, bringing the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance. But it separated out into two comings. Christ has come as the king of the kingdom. As the king of the kingdom, he has brought the Lord's favor. His favor is spoken of in different ways in this prophecy that Jesus quotes. There's an already sense, there's an already fulfillment of the messianic promises, the kingdom promises, but there's also a not yet. The complete establishment of the kingdom with vengeance against all the wicked. So I want to just briefly bring up some application as we think about the kingdom of God. We can find this a very intellectual exercise to seek to understand what the Bible teaches about the messianic kingdom, but it shouldn't just be seeking to mentally understand these truths. We need to apply the reality of the kingdom to our life. And so I put two references for you for application. Matthew 6, 10, what is the request in the Lord's Prayer that relates to the kingdom? Your kingdom come. This is part of how we are to always pray. This is part of the outline for the disciples' prayer life. We're to be praying for the coming of the kingdom. Your kingdom come. We're to be praying for that growth of the kingdom spoken of in those parables of the leaven. and the mustard seed, pray for the increase of the kingdom, and going beyond that, praying for the return of the king and his complete establishment of his kingdom. And then the other point of application is Matthew 6.33. Can anyone quote that for us without looking in your Bible? Matthew 6.33. Yes, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well. When Christ talks about what we should be seeking in our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ, what does he point to? We should be seeking the kingdom of God and God's righteousness. We seek the kingdom by seeking to serve the king. We seek the kingdom by seeking to advance the purposes of the king. We seek the kingdom by being faithful to the king with what he has entrusted to us while he is away. Jesus makes it very clear, the king has entrusted very specific work to us in his absence. And when he comes again, he will evaluate what we have done with this responsibility that he has given to us. It's kingdom work that he's given to us. We're to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Not seek first the things of our earthly existence. Not seek first what we're gonna eat, what we're going to drink. No, we're to seek first the kingdom of God. and His righteousness, that we would do the righteousness of God and that we would become in our living righteous as God is righteous. So this is not just some intellectual study. We're studying the very thing that we are to seek with our whole lives as disciples. Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness.