Although, Jesus is the ruler of the Kingdom of God and it is said of the coming of the Kingdom that it will not come in a visible way, the Bible says otherwise of the coming of Christ:
Luke 17:24 For just as lightning flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer a great deal and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 So it was in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed all of them. 30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
Isa 66:15 For, behold, Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire will Yahweh execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and the slain of Yahweh shall be many.
The verses above tell of the great devastation that faces mankind during Jesus’ return. During these days of the Lord’s wrath destruction happens and the first resurrection occurs; those who believe in Jesus Christ will witness a transformation in connection of which they are raptured away:
Luke 17:34-35 I tell you, two people will be in the same bed that night. One will be taken, and the other will be left behind. Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left behind.
In the first resurrection, the dead in Christ rise up, and together with those who live on earth and are participating in the resurrection, they all rise up to meet Christ in the clouds. This is called the rapture.
Rev 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
Zec 12:1 An oracle. The word of Yahweh concerning Israel. Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:… 12:10: And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Most people will realize the coming of Christ but not all. It takes a long time before humanity reaches a similar state of happiness as in the beginning in Paradise. Jesus will renounce the kingdom to God the Father when all is subdued under his power, that is, at the end of the thousand years. Before this has happened, some people resist God’s administration, judging from the fact that the Bible tells the Kingdom Government to use the iron scepter to break the resistance.
Or the verse:
1 Cor 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
Changes in society will surely happen, but to the outside, the empowerment of the new government and the establishment of the Kingdom will not appear in great ceremonials like parades and orchestras. People need to feel the Kingdom in their hearts. It is not to be read in newspapers that now this and that country has been joined to the Kingdom.
If God’s kingdom does not appear in a visible way it could be due to the fact the administration of the kingdom of God is in the heavens. The coming of Christ would, however, be a very visual event to all. We may ask, how is it possible to control mankind if the “little flock” or the “saints” are in heaven invisible to people? The apocryphal Book of Tobit tells of the angel Rafael who was on earth for a long time without anyone noticing anything odd or supernatural about him. It was only later that he revealed he was an angel of God. “I am Rafael, one of the seven angels next to God who are admitted to his presence… Praise the Lord here on earth and give all glory to God. I will rise to him who sent me.”
Jhn 14:1-4 Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. Where I go, you know, and you know the way.
Jesus said that he will come again and take his own to join him. So knew the apostles as we do where Jesus is: in heaven with Father. According to the previous verses, it seems like the location of apostles and the Kingdom administration is in heaven, not on earth. This can be interpreted otherwise as well. Jesus promises to come back, that is for sure. “I will take you to me” may mean for two things: Jesus promises to take them where he has gone that is to heaven, or: Jesus will take them to him in resurrection on earth where he has returned. In any case, it is certain that Jesus and his apostles will be together. – The question of in heaven or on earth must be solved by other parts of the Bible. The question of heaven or earth needs to be solved on the basis of other Biblical passages.
Even the book of Moses describes the fallen angels who take a human form in the flesh without permission and who married human daughters and had children with them… “When the sons of God joined with the daughters of men and they bore children to them”.. (Gen 6:4). Perhaps rulers who act as kings and priests actually are in spirit body but are allowed to appear in the flesh. In fact, they could have access to heaven but they could still rule the earth as if they were in flesh and blood.
Some believe that Jesus has already in 1914 taken power and rules over earth invisibly from heaven. Some believe that the word referring to coming, parousia, means in this case “presence” meaning Christ had not only come back but in fact rules the earth already. It is hard to see signs of the government of Jesus, so ungodly are the times on earth. Satan said in the desert to Jesus that the earth has been given to him to rule. After his resurrection, Jesus was raised above all in heaven and earth. There cannot be two rulers on earth and at this time it is still Satan. For this reason, I do not consider it possible for Christ to be the invisible ruler of the earth. It would feel right to believe that the beginning of the government of the kingdom of God on earth would be a one-off event connected to the second coming of Jesus and not only to his invisible presence, parousia. Again, one must remember what the Bible said about the Kingdom to come; it will not come in a visible way. Ruling the earth is actualized on the day of the Lord’s wrath by the destruction of God’s enemies. In Psa 110:2 Yahweh will send forth the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies.
The second coming of Christ also precedes action by Satan. He causes great miracles and many fall into keeping them true, even the chosen ones. On the other hand, Jesus promised that the believers will make grand miracles, even bigger than he did at His times. According to Bible, no one but God the Father knows the exact time but in any case, we are living in the last days before the great tribulation and the day of the Lord. Everyone can study the signs of the time and be ready.
Isaiah Speaks of the Millennial Kingdom
In Isa 66 it is told how after the establishment of the Kingdom, teachers are sent to foreign lands. Those that need to be taught are gentiles without knowledge and faith. When the Kingdom will have, at least in the beginning, both righteous believers and pagans, one must understand that the Kingdom will have people who are still “wordly” and not all of them righteous believers. The righteous ones were givreceived the first resurrection and with it eternal life in order to govern with Christ.
66:19 I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, who have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
Isa 65:19-25 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Yahweh, and their offspring with them. 24 It shall happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says Yahweh.
Death has not been overcome. The life span of man has been prolonged and a hundred year old is young in death, and no infant mortality exists. Death is removed last, that is, at the end of the Millennial Kingdom when Satan is destroyed. The true kingdom of God will come after Jesus has surrendered power back to the Father at the end of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. What happens after the Millennial Kingdom has ended and the last judgment has been implemented and Christ has given up power? On the throne of God both God the Father and His Son (whom the Bible calls ‘Lamb’) are seated. The last chapter of the last book of the Bible confirms this: Rev 22:3 There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him.
The Kingdom of God is eternal kingdom which will never perish. The Millennial Kingdom of peace governed by Jesus and the Saints lasts for a thousand years.
