Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come
Matthew 6:9-10; Revelation 12:1-12, 20:1-3

Matthew 6:9-10 (NASB95)
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

– A common view of many biblical scholars is that all the Bible can be viewed from a two-kingdom perspective:

1) The kingdom of God (heaven)

2) The kingdom of Satan (earth/self)

– There are 3 requirements necessary for a kingdom to exist:

1) A king

2) Kingdom subjects

3) The reign of a king over his subjects

– “Thy kingdom come” can not be truly understood without understanding what I call, “The War Of All Wars” described in Revelation 12:1-12 and 20:1-3.

1. Questions which must be answered to grasp an understanding of God’s kingdom:
1) Has it come yet?

2) When did, or will it come?

3) If it has come, is it still coming?

4) If it is still coming, will it ever stop coming?

5) What difference does it make as to when it comes?

2. Scriptures in the 4 gospels to consider in trying to answer the above questions:
1) Mark 1:14-15 “It (the kingdom of God) is at hand”

2) Mark 9:10 “Some standing here will not die until they see it (the kingdom of God) come with power”

3) Mark 12:34 (Jesus to an inquiring Scribe) “you are not far from it” (the kingdom of God)

4) Mark 15:43 (regarding Joseph who took the body of Jesus) “He was waiting for it” (the kingdom of God)

5) Luke 17:20 “It (the kingdom of God) is not coming with signs to be observed”

6) Luke 17:21 “It (the kingdom of God)is in your midst”

7) Parables of the kingdom – very small at first but grows slowly until it is huge. i.e. the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32)

Matthew 13:31-32 (NASB95)
31 “He presented another parable to them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.’”

3. Definition of “The Kingdom of God”
The reign of Christ the king in the lives of His kingdom people – a reign which grows intensively (deeper in Christians) and extensively (larger through Christians)”. RP

4. What Revelation has to say about when God’s kingdom comes:
It begins to come at the 2nd war between God and Satan described in Rev 12:1-12 (especially vs 7-12)

Revelation 12:1-12 (NASB95)
1 “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2 and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.*
7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,
8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
12 For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

*1260 days – symbolic number referring to the New Testament church age from Christ’s ascension to His second coming (not a literal 3 ½ years in the future, but described as 42 months and “a time, times and a half” – all referring to the same time period. This is imagery of Old Testament themes such as in the wilderness for Israel & 3 ½ years of drought experienced by Elijah.

Revelation 20:1-3 (NASB95)
1 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”

5. The key term “thrown down”
1) Luke 10:17-18 (when the 70 disciples return)
“Demons are subject to us in Your name!”
“I was watching Satan fall (thrown down) from heaven like lightning”

2) John 12:31 (regarding interested Gentiles)
“Now the ruler of this world shall be cast out” (thrown down)

3) Rev 20:1-3 (regarding Satan)
“… bound for 1000 years and threw (thrown down) him into the abyss and shut it so that he should not deceive the nations any longer … after these things, he must be released for a short time”

6. Implications
1) The millennium is now

2) Though Satan is bound from deceiving the nations, he still persecutes and tempts the believer

3) Now, while Satan is bound, Gentiles can come to Christ
Psalm 2:8, 72:11 “all the nations will serve Him and will be given to Him”
Acts 14:16 “And in generations gone by, He permitted all nations to go their own way.”

4) Based on Revelation 12:10-11
“Now the Kingdom of God…has come”
“Now the authority of His Christ has come”
“because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their (believers) testimony”

5) Christ’s reign began at His death and resurrection (thus, His kingdom)

6) After 1000 years, (not a literal 1000 years but used to refer to a long, but definite time – much like the Psalmist’s use of this number to refer to the cattle that God owns on “a thousand hills”, in Psalm 50) Satan will be released for a short time (followed by Armageddon – the swift defeat of Satan and rescue of the church)

7) So, the kingdom:
●Has come (at the death and resurrection of Jesus) – past,

●Is coming (now during the millennium) – present, and

●Will come in completion (when Christ returns and judges all things) – future.

*an abbreviated recording of this teaching can be found at randypope.org (scroll down to find the mp3)

8) The bottom line:
(1) We win!

(2) As Christians, we need to seize the opportunity before Satan is released from the abyss. (Or as would be said in the deep south, “get while the gettin’ is good”.)

9) According to 2 Corinthians 5:15, as Christians we have two options for living our lives:
(1) The pursuit of the kingdom of self (“my kingdom come”), focused on
• Enjoying our world, and
• Impressing our world

(2) The pursuit of the kingdom of God (“Thy kingdom come”), focused on
• Impacting our world

2 Corinthians 5:15 (NASB95)
“He died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

7. What does it mean for retirees to pray “Thy kingdom come?”

My Journalled Thoughts
Regarding God’s Kingdom as Retirees

As retirees we have two options from which to choose for our few remaining years of life:
1) The pursuit of the kingdom of earth (a “my kingdom come” mindset)
2) The pursuit of the kingdom of heaven (a “Thy kingdom come” mindset)

1. Regarding our three “most unwanted gifts” from God; suffering, weakness & denied abundance:
1) A “my kingdom come” mindset has no hope in times of suffering, weakness and God-denied abundance and sees these as hindrances to a fulfilled life during one’s brief stay on earth.

2) A “Thy kingdom come” mindset sees suffering, weakness and God-denied abundance as a gateway to preparedness for obtaining the maximum amount of “glory”, to enjoy now and for all eternity.

2. Regarding our sharing of the gospel:
1) A “my kingdom come” mindset has little burden to share the gospel with the lost and makes little effort to be equipped with the tools necessary to do so.

2) A “Thy kingdom come” mindset embraces a continuous burden to share one’s faith with the lost and to do whatever is required to get equipped with the tools necessary to do so.

3. Regarding our use of time:
1) A “my kingdom come” mindset views retirement as a well-earned opportunity to rest, travel, play and enjoy the few years of life remaining on this earth.

2) A “Thy kingdom come” mindset views retirement as an outstanding opportunity to share the gospel, mentor and disciple those who are younger in age (or spiritually) and spend much time in prayer.

8. What does it mean for grandparents to pray “The kingdom come?”

My Journalled Thoughts
Regarding God’s Kingdom as Grandparents

As grandparents we need to pursue the hearts of our grandchildren. In doing so, we must include in our “grandparenting curriculum” the reality of the most important choice of their lives – the choice between two kingdoms that are equally real. One is easily seen and thus embraced by all people, even little children. The other kingdom cannot be seen and thus it is difficult to believe it exists. Therefore, our lifelong instruction should be to warn them of the first kingdom and to point them to the second kingdom. I want my grandchildren to picture two banquet tables, both of which are offered to them every day. One is physically seen, and the other is not.

The first table is the banquet table of the kingdom of this world. It is piled high with very enticing commodities, which promise emotional highs when embraced and successfully pursued – popularity, sex, drugs, money, beauty, etc. Some of these are not bad in themselves, but are wrong when pursued, believing that they will make them happy – and worse yet, believing that without them they cannot be happy. And, by the way, these offerings are advertised as free of charge, when in reality they have to be paid for with deep heartache and much worse.

The second banquet table is the table of the kingdom of God. It is piled high with things which cannot be physically seen. However, these commodities ultimately bring incredible fulfillment and happiness – and are all free for the taking. These commodities include things such as love, forgiveness, righteousness, hope, eternal life, etc.

*To see an example of what I call a “Thy Kingdom Come” grandparent curriculum go to randypope.org/grandchildren.

Success!