Study God's written revelation. Understand the Messiah's Kingdom.
Discover the believer's identity, purpose, and how we should live.

The Kingdom of Christ is at the heart of studies on the Biblical understanding of:

As such, a Biblical understanding of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is essential and foundational for a healthy Christian community because it is so relevant to who they are, their purposes and goals, authorities in their lives to include the present King of Kings, and the confidence and comfort that is found in understanding the big picture of human history.

Below are works on or links regarding the subject from differing views. Admittedly, none promote the popular "Left Behind" pre-tribulation rapture view that is popular in the "Left Behind" book series (and movies) and in many American churches.

Christians throughout the world, who are suffering harassment, discrimination, violence, tortures and death (visit the websites of Voice of the Martyrs and International Christian Concern , One News Now) for living out their Christian faith are not so prone to cling to an idea that Jesus will return before a "great tribulation". They are in the midst of it. Scripture itself never promises escape from tribulation but instead promises that,

¹² Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)

In his prayer to the Father for his people, Jesus requested,

¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
John 17:13-18 (ESV)
(Bold and italics are the authors additions)

Some of Jesus' last words to his disciples were,

³³ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
John 16:33 (ESV)
(bold and italics are the authors additions)

Right there you have a call to action (abide in Christ if you want to understand his peace [and joy → John 17:13] that surpasses all understanding), the reality check about tribulation in life, and the encouragement based on what Jesus has already done (overcoming the world). This verse is at the heart of what this web page is about.

²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Acts 14:21-22 (ESV) [refer again Dan. 2:40-44; Dan. 7]

While the saints have been instructed that they will suffer tribulation in this world, Jesus has promised them that He is in control, having overcome the world, powers of darkness, and death itself. Jesus ask the Father to protect his people from the wicked one (Satan, the spiritual enemy who is more powerful than any earthly enemy) even as we deal with the earthly tribulations and troubles. In the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, God has given the saints a peace that passes all understanding. The Church is described as a kingdom of priests, a Holy Nation,

⁴ This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;
⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the commander of all the rulers of the world. All praise to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.
⁶ He has made us his Kingdom and his priests who serve before God his Father. Give to him everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever! Amen!
Revelation 1:4-6 (NLT)

⁹ I am John, your brother. In Jesus we are partners in suffering and in the Kingdom and in patient endurance. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and speaking about Jesus.
Revelation 1:9 (NLT)

As Christians, we are in the world to worship Christ Jesus, be Ambassadors for Him (sharing the gospel), battle for righteousness as good soldiers, love and care for the body of Christ, and teach others the whole counsel of God. While we, of all people should enjoy life and all the good things He has provided, God didn't leave us here to be entertained. Our identity and purpose are wrapped up in this, we are loving servants and soldiers advancing the Kingdom of Christ.

The Pre-tribulational view is promoted well-enough elsewhere, and many of its promoters may very well like you to think that it is the only view in Evangelical Christianity. Not only is it not the only view, but of the four major views, Dispensational (mostly Pre-tribulational) Premillenialism (DP) is a recent development, within just the last 200 years of Christianity's 2000 years of history. It's origins are quite interesting as well. The "Prophecy Conferences" and the stories of John Darby and John Scolfield are a whole study in themselves. The focus of this page, however, is predominately what the Bible teaches regarding Christ's Kingdom and kingdom life (living), and secondarily, His return. Other related topics are also included. Understanding the Kingdom of Christ is of vital importance for it affects one's perspective on all of life as demonstrated by the teaching of Jesus himself. In fact, it should consume the believer.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Mt. 6:33)

 With such a direct and clear command from the Lord of the universe Himself why would there be any question as to the kingdom's relevance or importance in the believer's life? The context of this passage (Mt. 6:25-34) clearly affirms that we should not be worrying about our daily, earthly, physical circumstances and needs, but rather be focused on Christ's kingdom and his righteousness. We can trust our Father to take care of his children's needs. Also, the family of God, functioning properly, will be taking care of its own members. His Kingdom and righteousness (all its principles and commands) take priority over our concerns for food and clothing - the most elemental and necessary things.

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life , as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Mt. 6:25 ; see also 2 Tim. 2:3-4)

Some argue that Jesus is talking about God the Father's Kingdom and not his own - that Christ's kingdom is yet to come and will be an earthly kingdom, directly contradicting Jesus' clear testimony before Pilate,

³³ Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"
³⁴ Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?"
³⁵ Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?"
³⁶ Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
³⁷ Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
John 18:33-37 (NASB)
(bold is the authors, See also Mt. 27:11, Mk 15:2, Lk 23:3 )

Notice what Jesus did not say, "I am not a king yet, but I will be sometime in the distant future." or "I am not an earthly king yet."
or "I was intending to be King of the Jews, but — since they don't want me to be their king, I am scapping that plan for now, going away, and will come back after several thousand years and try again."

Neither did Jesus say, "My kingdom is not of this world — yet! It will be later, though."

Another translation renders verses 36-37 as follows,

³⁶ Then Jesus answered, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."
³⁷ Pilate replied, "You are a king then?" "You say that I am a king, and you are right," Jesus said. "I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."
Jn 18:36-37  (NLT)
(bold and italics are the authors)

and another...

³⁶ Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
³⁷ "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
Jn 18:36-37 (NIV)
(bold is the authors)

So when was the Messiah's kingdom established exactly?

For some more clarity we can listen to what God the Father states about His Son being established as King in Zion and inheriting the nations all the way back in Psalm 2. Very carefully compare and study Psalms 2 with Daniel 2:20-45, Dan. 7 (especially 7:13-26); Dan. 8:19-23; and Dan. 9:20-27. Do not add to Scripture a gap between the 69th week and 70th week in Dan. 9 like many Premillenialist do. God gave Daniel a simple, chronological, historical vision. Study the history (an overview) of the kingdoms of Medo-Persian, Greece, and Rome. Throw away the assumptions and traditions you have, and compare Scripture with Scripture - and history. 

In the New Covenant revelation, the Messiah came to earth, fulfilled his sacrificial mission and ministry, was buried and raised himself from the dead. After the resurrection, this one who proved himself to be the Divine Annointed One, the Divine King and Son of David, did NOT state that, "All authority in heaven and on earth will be given to me sometime in the future...", but that "All authority in heaven and on earth HAS BEEN given to me, therefore go and make disciples in every nation...".
The harvesting is in full swing, and the laborers are few. The gospel of the kingdom (Mt. 4:23, 9:35; 24:14; Mrk 1:14,15; Lk 16:16; is advancing through all the earth - in the midst of great persecution and tribulation in many areas. Our Sovereign King will return to collect his kingdom and judge all humanity.

One of the clearest presentations of the "millenial" Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah in the Divine chronology is 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, a key passage in which Paul presents the gospel of Christ (vv. 1-4) and defends the essential doctrine of the resurrection. This passage deserves very careful study. The implications are tremendous for the formation of a Biblical understanding of the Messianic "millenial" Kingdom,

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
²⁷ For " God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
²⁸ When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
1 Corinthians 15:20-28 (ESV)

Both our Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles spoke of Christ's kingdom and Christ's Kingship as present reality, not something in the distant future.

Don't just trust our word or anyone elses on these teachings! You are responsible for what you believe! You are responsible to research and discover the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the whole counsel of God's truth. The Berean's were considered more noble than the Thessalonians because they did not simply trust the apostle Paul's teachings, but rather they researched and checked what he said with what scripture said.

There is so much more. Are you salivating for truth yet? Read, research and enjoy all the education and illumination God grants!

We want to promote study and we especially pray that the foundational principles of hermeneutics will be grasped by the students. Don't despair — and always be gracious with those who differ in their view. It is worth repeating a well-known phrase, "The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know". God's universe is greater than our miniscule imagination, yet he has intentionally revealed much about himself and his truth through the Sacred Oracles (Holy Bible). In fact, God has revealed to us in Sacred Scripture everything we need to know "...pertaining to life and godliness..." (2 Peter 1:2-8). The sooner hermeneutics are understood and practiced (such as keeping things in context, comparing scripture with scripture, interpreting the unclear passages in light of the clear passages, etc.), the sooner one can come to a good understanding of many of these teachings. Loraine Boettner's work is an excellent one covering the four views, although it is weak in presenting all the evidence for his own view.

J. Stuart Russell's The Parousia is a classic (full preterist view) on the subject and one of the most thorough research works, covering all the New Testament passages and much more on the subject of the end times and the return of Christ. This book includes reviews by C. H. Spurgeon and R.C. Sproul. Goehring Enterprises (GEnt)highly recommends the book for research while reminding you of our disclaimer.

[For better research abilities of The Parousia, download the FREE Online Bible Software and their FREE digital copy of the book.]
You can also view online excerpts from specific sections. The Parousia is also back in print.

Also available with the Online Bible Software is Larry Simmons' Unmasking Pre-Trib Fallacies.

Milton S. Terry wrote the "standard" work on Hermeneutics according to Christian Research Institute's (CRI) founder Walter Martin and others. Terry writes on the issue of prophetic/eschatological passages. Find his works below.

** Some of the following are downloads. Unless otherwise noted, items are HTML links. **

Foundational Studies

Kingdom/Millennium Studies

Studies on other topics

For another large resource center on the subject with FREE books, etc. from the earliest Christian (e.g. Theologian Tertulius, historian Eusebius) and other writers such as early Jewish historian Josephus on the War of the Jews to current authors of varied fields and backgrounds visit THIS SITE. This is one of the sites we would particularly remind the reader of our disclaimer. While there is a lot of good material to be found on this site, we do not agree with some of the key propositions of the website. We also acknowledge that we have not read everything on every site linked to or even looked at every page of every site, so we do not know everything that is being proposed or promoted. We are eager to discuss with readers anything you wish to discuss.

DISCLAIMER: Goehring Enterprises does NOT necessarily agree with all the views or condone all the content of linked pages. Our mission is to provide you with some of the best resources from differing points of views for information gathering and research.

Copyright © 2005 Goehring Enterprises