Obstacles to the Kingdom (1)

Most Christians have a totally distorted view of what is going to happen next. They believe that a few signs will be fulfilled, a nasty European Anti-Christ will pop up, then Jesus will return to rule as the divine demagogue. We just have to hang on a bit longer till he returns. Christians with these views love signs and they do not mind failure, because it means that Jesus is getting closer.

The scriptures teach something quite different. Jesus had a mighty victory over evil on the cross. He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. From there, he poured out the Holy Spirit on the Church. The Holy Spirit is now working on earth through his Church to establish the Kingdom that Jesus inaugurated. He will not return until that task is complete.

Jesus will not return to rescue us. He is returning to receive a kingdom that we (the Holy Spirit and the church) have prepared for him. A little bit of evil will not bring Jesus back. He will not come back to save a struggling church. The only way to speed Jesus return is to allow the Holy Spirit to establish a Kingdom that is a gift worthy of Jesus.

God gave us Daniel and Revelation, so we can understand how the Holy Spirit will bring the Kingdom of God to victory. These books teach that two serious obstacles must be cleared away before the Holy Spirit can establish the Kingdom of God.

• The Kingdom of God cannot come to fullness during the Times of the Gentiles.

• Trust in human government undermines the Kingdom of God.

Both these obstacles give power to the forces of evil that must be taken away. I will explain them in more detail and explain how they will be removed in the next few posts.