What God has achieved in the past through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son is the foundation for what He will certainly do in the future, at the end of the age, at the consummation.This is our hope as Christians – it is not a wishful ‘good feeling’ but a confident expectation of a definite certain tomorrow, rooted in what had taken place in the past.
The ‘blessed hope’ of the Christian, and thus the controlling theme of biblical eschatology, is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), at which time He will consummate the kingdom of God.
The focus of Christ’s ministry on earth was the announcement of the coming of the kingdom of God (both by John the Baptist and Jesus). We must appreciate that for the religious leaders of Jesus’ day as well as for the common people, the coming kingdom of God would be a matter of national liberation and the military defeat of the pagan oppressors.
Jesus was claiming that the fulfilment of the Old Testament hope with its attendant blessings was in fact present in his person and ministry when the declaration “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15; Matt. 3:2; Luke 4:43) was made. The fulfilment, however, was not taking place along anticipated lines and according to the expectations of the religious leaders and people. The unexpected element was that fulfilment was occuring in Jesus, but without the eschatological consummation.
The message of the Lord Jesus then was that before the kingdom would come in its eschatological consummation, it has come in his own person and work in spirit and power. The kingdom, therefore, is both the present spiritual reign of God and the future realm over which he will rule in power and glory.
Thus the kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God, or his sovereign lordship, dynamically active to establish his rule among men. There are two dramatic moments in the manifestation of this kingdom – first, as it is fulfilled within history in the first coming of the Son Jesus, whereby Satan was defeated and men and women came into the experience of the blessings of God’ reign; and second, it will be consummated at the close of history in the second coming of the Son, when he will finally and forever destroy his enemies, deliver his people and all of creation from evil, and establish his eternal rule in the new heavens and new earth.
The kingdom which is to come in the future in power and glory has, in point of fact, already entered into the world in advance in a hidden form to work secretly within and among men (see Mark 4:26-32). Thus we must think in terms of both “the present realm of righteousness or salvation when men may accept or reject the kingdom, and the future realm when the powers of the kingdom shall be manifested in visible glory. The former was inaugurated without outward display, and those who accept it are to live intermingled with those who reject it (the wheat among the weed) until the consummation. Then the kingdom will be disclosed in a mighty manifestation of power and glory. God’s kingdom will come; and the ultimate state will witness the perfect realisation of the will of God everywhere and forever”.
In the meantime, before the latter, God’s people must be prepared to live in the midst of suffering, hardship, illness, and spiritual warfare – the devil knows that his time is running out, and he would do his utmost to destroy, and to try to undo God’s purpose, and to harm God’s people (see Matt, 24:22-31).
The redemption we will experience at Christ’s return is the complete and final eradication of all sin, of every trace of the corruption in spirit and flesh, that was ours prior to that moment. The natural creation awaits that day because, then, it will in like fashion be fully redeemed and delivered (Rom. 8:22-23). Thus the redemption and glory of creation are co-extensive and in tandem with ours. The fullness of God’s presence among His people necessarily demands the banishment of any and all forms of suffering associated with the old creation.
Christian endurance means living lovingly, joyfully, peacefully, and patiently under conditions that we wish were different. Suffering is specified in Scripture as part of every Christian’s calling. Suffering must be expected, and even valued, by all believers without exception; it is to be expected and we must prepare for it as we await the consummation of God’s eternal purpose.
For believers, suffering sanctifies our suffering to good ends. Our suffering produces character (Rom.5:3); our suffering glorifies God (2Cor.12:9-10); and our suffering fulfils the law of the harvest. Before there is blessing anywhere, there will first be suffering somewhere. Jesus first announced this law when he declared, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit”(John 12:24).
Finally, after all has taken place according to the Scripture, God will be all in all and His people will experience the fascination and wonders of His presence, and we will reign with Him forever and ever (Rev.22:5) in the new heavens and new earth. The call remains: Persevere to the end, for the end would be glorious! This is God’s promise to all His people who continue to be faithful.