Thy Kingdom Come

Matthew 6:10a. “Thy kingdom come. . .”

The kingdom Jesus refers to in this prayer has not yet come.  It is a time when the lion and the lamb will lie down together; when all men, all nations, will be at peace with one another; when Jesus shall reign over the whole earth from His throne in Jerusalem.

This kingdom is promised in many scriptures in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament  (Zech. 14; Rev. 11:15; 19:11-20:10; Mt. 25:31-46).  If you want more scripture on this, you can easily Google the topic; or, run a word study in your Bible.  It’s a most interesting and timely topic, considering the political atmosphere of today’s world. We are ripe, ready, waiting. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

So, if the kingdom is already promised, why should be pray for it?

Didn’t you pray for a specific gift at Christmas, even though you were pretty sure it was coming? You wanted it so much that you never stopped asking until you were actually unwrapping it on Christmas Day.  That is the way we should pray for the promised return of Christ.

Do we want His return as much as we wanted that bicycle, football, doll, iPod, computer, or iPhone?  Do we wake up each morning feeling a sense of excitement that His coming draws ever nearer?  Do we pray, “Oh, Lord, please let it be today!”

Or are we so wrapped up in our own day to day lives that His soon coming has no reality for us?

Will we, the believers of the Church Age, be here when Christ returns to set up His kingdom, the Millenium?  I don’t believe so.  I am a pre-tribulation theologian.  I believe that we will be taken up in clouds to be with Him, celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven, during the seven years of the Tribulation.  There will be a remnant of Jews who will become believers during the Tribulation, and will proclaim the gospel during that period of time. It is after the Tribulation that Jesus finally returns to earth as a conquering King to establish His throne in Jerusalem.

I don’t have the space or the time to give you all the scriptures that support my belief, but here is a website you can trust if you’d like to study it out more thoroughly:

http://www.raptureready.com/rr-pretribulation-rapture.html

I’m always a little reluctant to endorse a site.  I have not read every single thing this writer has printed.  As far as I can see, however, his views line up with my understanding of the scripture.  Just keep in mind that the fact that something is on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true!

If you know your eschatology, which is a most fascinating subject, you know that when Christ returns to the earth, all the saints of heaven will come with Him.  We will have a part in the kingdom, and it will be, finally, a time when there is indeed peace on earth.