The Kingdom is not measured by world politics

Luke 17:20-21
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the Kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, Look, here it is, or There it is. For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.

Luke 9:27
But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God.

† Jesus never defined His Kingdom by world conditions. He never said nations would turn into a global utopia. He never tied the Kingdom to geopolitics, world peace, or the behavior of nations. He said plainly that the Kingdom does not come with observation and that no one would be able to say, Look, here it is, or There it is, because the Kingdom of God is within you. From the fulfilled perspective, Jesus was telling the Pharisees that the Kingdom was not going to be visible in the realm they expected. It was a covenant Kingdom, not a geopolitical one. Jesus also said that some standing there would not taste death until they saw the Kingdom of God, showing that the Kingdom was arriving in their lifetime, not ours.

The Apocalypse already happened in the world that was judged

Matthew 23:35-36
So that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Luke 21:22
Because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

Revelation 11:8
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

† The Apocalypse was not about global destruction. It was the covenantal judgment on the Old Covenant world. Jesus said all the blood of the prophets would come upon that generation. He said the days of vengeance were the fulfillment of all that was written. Revelation itself identifies the target when it says the great city is where the Lord was crucified. That was Jerusalem, the epicenter of the Old Covenant world. The world that ended was the Mosaic world of temple, sacrifices, priesthood, and Law.

The age that ended was the age of Moses

Matthew 5:17-18
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Hebrews 8:13
When He said, A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

1 Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

Matthew 24:34
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

† The apostles said the Old Covenant was becoming obsolete and ready to disappear. Peter confirmed the same truth when he wrote the end of all things is near. That world passed away in AD 70 exactly as Jesus said when He tied all end time events to that generation. The passing of heaven and earth was the passing of the covenant order of Moses, not the destruction of planet earth.

We're not waiting for the Kingdom, we are living in it right now

Colossians 1:13
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son.

John 18:36
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.

† Paul said we have already been transferred into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. The Kingdom was not something distant. It was not waiting for a future global crisis. It arrived in the first century when the old world was removed and the New Covenant was fully established. Jesus said His Kingdom is not of this world, meaning it is not defined by earthly circumstances. Being in the Kingdom does not mean the world stops having sin, governments, wars, or corrupt rulers. It means the covenant barrier between God and man has been removed.

The resurrection fulfilled the transition from the Old Covenant world into the New Covenant age, exactly as Paul described.

2 Timothy 1:10
But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:42-54
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy. The second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy, and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Colossians 1:5-6
Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing.

Colossians 1:23
If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.

† Paul said death has been abolished. He described the resurrection as the transformation from the Old Covenant body to the New. He said the gospel had already gone into all the world. The dead were raised into God's presence, the saints received the Kingdom, and the New Covenant age was established forever.

The Kingdom we received cannot be shaken

Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.

† The writer of Hebrews said we have already received a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. This Kingdom is spiritual, eternal, and fully in place. The Apocalypse was the destruction of the Old Covenant heaven and earth, not the destruction of the planet. Today we live in the finished work of Christ, not in an age of waiting for what He already completed.

If we judge the Kingdom by physical expectations, we will miss what Jesus fulfilled

† The Kingdom was never about earthly appearances. It was about access to God, the end of covenant death, the resurrection of the dead into His presence, and the full establishment of the New Covenant. Judging the Kingdom by world conditions will always blind people to the spiritual reality Christ established.

Historical references

† Josephus, Wars of the Jews 5 to 6, records the siege, famine, internal civil war, signs in the heavens, and the destruction of Jerusalem exactly as Jesus foretold. Josephus confirms the unique covenant judgment that fell on that generation.

† Tacitus, Histories 5, describes the same period from a Roman viewpoint, including supernatural signs, a sense of divine judgment, and the downfall of the Jewish temple system. These events match the New Testament's description of the end of the Old Covenant age.

† Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3, documents early Christian testimony that Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70. He also preserves accounts of the believers escaping the city because they recognized the signs Jesus gave.

How it applies to us today

† We live in the fully established Kingdom Christ promised. We do not wait for signs. We do not wait for tribulation. We do not wait for global peace. We stand in a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, where the presence of God is open, where death has been defeated, where the New Covenant is everlasting, and where Christ reigns without rival. Our faith is not based on world circumstances. It is based on what He already fulfilled.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies, Dan Maines.

Source Index
† Luke 17:20 to 21, Luke 9:27, Matthew 23:35 to 36, Luke 21:22, Revelation 11:8, Matthew 5:17 to 18, Hebrews 8:13, 1 Peter 4:7, Matthew 24:34, Colossians 1:13, John 18:36, 2 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 15:42 to 54, Colossians 1:5 to 6 and 23, Hebrews 12:28