By Ken Murrell Depew Church of Christ
“For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later” (Mark 9:31).
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” ( John 3:3).
Some religious folks who call Jesus Lord are still looking for God’s kingdom. They say it is yet to come, and that Jesus will return to the earth and reinstate Temple sacrifices.
Those ‘kingdom-looking’ people can’t see the kingdom of God. Jesus taught that the kingdom arrived nearly 2,000 years ago!
“And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9: 1).
Please, let’s consider together what God says about His kingdom. Studying God’s Word will help us see this.
“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant…they did not continue in My covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord” (Hebrews 8:6-9).
“Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up…Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place…But, only the high priest entered the inner room…only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this — external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands...He did not enter through the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:1-12)