which is peculiarly related to the people of Israel and God's purpose for them as made

known in the Old Testament.  Here, Christ's ministry and that of the twelve was

exclusively to Israel (Matt. 15: 24; 10: 5, 6), which is the central channel, from a human

standpoint, through which God planned to bring in His kingdom the world over, taking

the knowledge and light of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, so fulfilling His original

promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is aptly expressed in the Lord's prayer of the

Sermon on the Mount. ". . . . . Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in

heaven . . . . ." (Matt. 6: 10), or as Moses expressed it centuries before: ". . . . . as the

days of heaven upon the earth" (Deut. 11: 21).  After the forty days instruction by the

Lord after His resurrection, the disciples do not hesitate to ask: ". . . . . wilt Thou at this

time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1: 6), showing clearly that this earthly

aspect of the kingdom is linked with the people of Israel and not the Church.

The occurrences of the kingdom of God in the Gospels are parallel to this, as a

comparison of Matthew 11: 11 with Luke 7: 28 shows, but we must not infer from this

that these expressions are synonymous, but as the lesser is included in the greater, the two

can now be parallel as far as the Divine purpose is expressed in the Gospel records. The

final realization of God's kingdom upon the earth awaits the return of the King of kings

and Lord of lords (Rev. 19: 11-16; Matt. 24: 29-31). At that time, the kingdoms of

this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign

for ever and ever (Rev. 11: 15).

What is the character of this kingdom? Is it spiritual or literal and visible, or a

combination of both? That it starts in a spiritual sense is made clear by such passages as

Matt. 21: 31, where Christ declared to the chief priests that publicans and harlots were

entering the kingdom before them. If God's kingdom is ever to be realized on earth or in

heaven, then its subjects must have changed hearts and minds and God always begins

with the inward and works outwards. Consequently the kingdom of God begins with the

new birth (John 3: 3), and basically the "kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but

righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14: 17).  Here the

spiritualizer and amillennialist will heartily agree, but Scripture makes it plain that this,

of itself, is not the complete fulfilling of the kingdom; it is only its beginning. A

moment's reflection will surely make clear that if every inhabitant of, say, a large city

were saved and practically exhibiting the Christian life, there would be sure to be a

practical effect on the outward conditions of that city. Going wider, if a whole nation

became truly saved believers in Christ, it would be sure to have an overwhelming effect

upon that nation and its daily life, and also upon every nation who had any contact with

it. Going wider still, when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth, "as the waters

cover the sea" (Hab. 2: 14), the effect on the world in its actions and practical business

relationships will be tremendous. It will be nothing less than a colossal revolution. Such

a kingdom could not possibly be confined to the mind and heart alone. The final

realization of the kingdom of heaven upon earth is therefore both inward and spiritual,

outward and literal, and to see anything less than this is to fall short of the Biblical