Joseph of Arimathaea

Even after Jesus was crucified, had died, and Joseph of Arimathaea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, the kingdom was yet to come, as the Scriptures state that Joseph “himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God,” Luke 23:50-54, [“Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.”].

Each of these Scripture references point to a FUTURE establishment of the kingdom.

Again, let’s recall that Jesus said that He would build His church, Matthew 16:18. In the very next verse, He refers to His church as “the kingdom.” [Matthew 16:13-19: “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ 14 So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15 He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ 16 Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 17 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” And since the kingdom was predicted, or prophesied, therefore, the church, also, was predicted, or prophesied.

Jesus gave another prophecy when He said in Mark 9:1, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” This is an absolute profound statement. Of course, every statement, we could argue, that the Lord made was profound. But this an especially profound statement when it has to do with the establishing of the kingdom, because what the Lord says is that “There are some of you who are standing here, some of you who are hearing My voice right now, this day, who will still be alive, who will be here to witness the coming of the kingdom of God with power.” That one verse right there, really, is like a torpedo that should “sink the boat” on anyone’s argument that the kingdom has not yet been established.

I remember many years ago, I was having a discussion with a person of the Jehovah Witness persuasion, and he was talking about this very matter, the establishing of the kingdom, and the fact that, according to him, it was going to come sometime in the future. I turned to Mark 9 and verse 1, and I let that person read that Scripture, and there was almost a stunned silence! He had never seen it before! He didn’t know it was there! And really, he had no explanation about it.

Well, in my arrogance, I pointed out to that fellow the following. I said, “You know, my friend, there are three possibilities here: 1) Jesus was completely mistaken—He was a false prophet, or 2) His kingdom has been established already, or 3) we’ve got some people walking around on this earth that are, well, more than two thousand years old Take your pick.” Well, as I said, he really had no response.

And so, that is a very powerful statement that the Lord makes there concerning, yes, the establishing of His kingdom, but moreover, the timeframe in which it would be established. It would be established in the lifetime of some who there listening to the very Words that He spoke on that occasion.

After His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” This prediction of the Lord, this prophecy concerning “all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,” harkens back to what the prophet Isaiah said in the long ago that we read in Isaiah, chapter 2. In other words, what Jesus is saying here is, “This prophecy of Isaiah is about to be fulfilled.”

Well, what are, then, “the last days”? Shortly before Jesus ascended back to heaven, the disciples asked Him if He would “restore the kingdom to Israel,” Acts 1:6 [“Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’”]. And Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His Own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you….”

The Lord made it known at this point that power would come with the Holy Spirit. And when we establish the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit, we will know when the power came. We will also know when the kingdom, when the church, had its beginning.