Part 1 of the Kingdom of Heaven series.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:1,2)
The Bible is clear: God will have His world back. The Serpent has reigned for thousands of years, yet his fate is certain, sealed in Heaven; darkness will lose, light will win. The Kingdom of Heaven will come, and is at hand as I write.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven… (Rev. 21.2, emphasis added)
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6.10, emphasis added)
Jesus the King has already come once to plant the first seed of His Kingdom. He did this by freeing our sin-chained souls and recreating them in His image. This is the New Covenant, sealed with His Own blood. But as of yet He has only planted the seed. The truth is the current state of the Church is not the final form of the Kingdom. Jesus isn’t physically with us, and we will still die. “My kingdom is not of this world” He said. His kingdom is not established on mortal powers, nor bought with perishable gold. God can’t save the world using resources from the world. No, He needs something pure and incoruptible, and that something is the Word Jesus Christ.
But going back to the seed part… All Christians will face death. We are told that death is planting our bodies as seed that will one day grow up into something new.
It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (I Cor. 15.43,44)
It is sown in shame, it is raised in Christ’s glory. It dies in weakness, it is revived in power. It returns to dust, it is raised a body from Heaven, filled with the Spirit of Christ.
So the dead are seed waiting for the sun.
When our bodies are raised into glory, we will live in a new world, “wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (II Peter 3.13) This is the consummation of the Kingdom of Heaven. Where Jesus reigns in justice, where men commune with God, where the fulness of glory can be seen in every square inch, where God finally has His world back, where He wins and the last enemy, death, is defeated forever.