In Matthew 3:2 we read of John the Baptist saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Just one chapter later in Matthew 4:17 we see Jesus announcing the same thing.
But what exactly is the “kingdom of heaven” and what did they mean when they said it was “at hand”?
For lots of believers the kingdom of heaven is understood as nothing more than the eternal state which is to be inherited by the saints. It’s the place where no sickness exists, where death will be no more, and where we’ll spend eternity in fellowship with our Savior.
While it’s true that the phrase “kingdom of heaven” is sometimes used to refer to the eternal state, it isn’t always. That being said, the kingdom of heaven is much more than many of us realize and has implications for us today, on this earth and in this life. Let’s now take a look at what the kingdom of heaven is, and then we’ll discuss why it was referred to as being “at hand”.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
The kingdom of heaven can be better understood as the kingdom which originates from heaven. That is, heaven is where its authority comes from thus making it superior to any earthly kingdom that ever was or will be. It is the Kingdom of the Messiah which was prophesied about in the Old Testament. In short, it represents the rule of God through the Messiah, to whom the kingdom was given.
Other phrases that are synonymous with the kingdom of heaven are:
- Kingdom of God
- Messianic Age
- Rule of Christ
- The Gospel Dispensation
- The Millennial Kingdom
- Etc.
So when John and Jesus both proclaim that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand”, they’re essentially saying that the kingdom which has been prophesied about in the Scriptures is about to become a reality; that its presence is near. The Greek word used here for “at hand” is “eggizó” and implies an extreme closeness or an immediate imminence of the event being spoken of.
Their Jewish audience would have immediately understood the “kingdom of heaven” as referring to the Messianic Age which they were expecting. The Old Testament predicts the establishment of God’s Kingdom and the arrival of the Messiah to rule over it.
Two prophecies concerning the establishment of this kingdom can be found in Daniel 2 & 7:
“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.”
Daniel 2:44
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14
Daniel 2 speaks of the kingdom being established and Daniel 7 speaks of the One to whom the kingdom is given, which is Jesus. He is the one who “came to the Ancient of Days” in this prophecy as the Risen Christ who ascended to the Father and is currently seated at His right hand.
Further proof that Jesus is King of this Kingdom can be found in Luke 1:32-33. The Angel Gabriel, when speaking to Mary about Jesus, says this: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
That being said, the “kingdom of heaven” is here now. When Jesus ascended to the Father he was given the kingdom spoken of in Daniel’s prophecies. This is why Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 28:18 that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He had received the kingdom.
As a result of having been inaugurated as King, he tells his disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). The Great Commission as it is often called was Jesus’s mandate as King for his servants to advance his kingdom. The disciples started the process and Christians today are continuing it.
What is Meant by the Kingdom of Heaven Being “at Hand”?
As briefly explained, that the kingdom of heaven was “at hand” simply meant that it was about to become a reality. The prophecy about its establishment, which inherently brought with it the arrival of the Messiah, was about to be fulfilled.
Jesus’s presence alone, however, did not initiate the kingdom. If it had, both he and John would have said “the kingdom of heaven is here”. But the fact that it was “at hand” proves that it hadn’t been established yet. That’s because Jesus had not yet laid its foundation. This, however, is what he did throughout the course of his ministry by “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23).
Correcting False Expectations
Jesus first had to teach the truth about the kingdom before it could be fully established. The Jewish people had an idea of what it was supposed to look like, and what the Messiah was to look like as well. They had false expectations that the Messiah was to be a great military leader like David, from whose lineage he came, and that He would lead Israel out of Roman rule and restore their nation to its former glory (Acts 1:6).
They also thought that the kingdom was to be an earthly one from which the Messiah would rule. This is seen expressly in John 6:15 when they sought to take Jesus by force and make him king. This fact is also alluded to when the disciples asked “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1) and again in Matthew 20:21 when James and John presumptuously asked to sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom.
Jesus, however, quickly sought to correct the false expectations the Jewish people had surrounding himself as Messiah, and the kingdom he was there to establish. John the Baptist started this process by telling the people to “repent” and to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance”. He said this to them because they were under the impression that just because they were descendants of Abraham that they were automatically qualified to be partakers of the kingdom (Matthew 3:8-9).
Jesus continues the process by teaching that it’s not the self-righteous religious elite that will inherit the kingdom, but the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3); that the kingdom does not immediately rid the world of wicked people, but that the wicked and good continue until the last day (Matthew 13:24-30); that the kingdom does not arrive in the fullness of its power, but that it grows slowly and gradually over time (Matthew 13:31-32), and so on.
Once Jesus had taught what the kingdom of heaven was actually like, the stage was set for its establishment, and his coronation as King over it.
When Was the Kingdom of Heaven Officially Established?
While Jesus was still actively teaching, the kingdom of heaven was in its preliminary form. The stage was still being set for its establishment. Once Jesus ascended to heaven and was seated at the right hand of God, thus marking his coronation as King, the kingdom was then established.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, he fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14. At that moment, when he “came to the Ancient of Days”, the kingdom was given to him, and dominion over “all peoples, nations, and languages” was his. This marked the official beginning of the kingdom of heaven, or the Messianic Age, and it wasn’t until then that Jesus commissioned the disciples to go out and advance his kingdom. This commission was the result of him having received “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18-20).
That being said, Jesus is now currently and actively reigning over his kingdom. We, as his servants, are the means by which his kingdom on earth advances.
1 Corinthians 15:25-26 says, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
Through the Church body, Jesus is carrying out his will and subduing all who oppose his rule. As time goes on, people from all nations will come to know Christ as his kingdom spreads, just as he said it would in the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32). Eventually, the rule of Christ will infiltrate every sphere of life and will have dominion over all things, just as he said it would in the Parable of the Leaven (Matthew 13:33).
It’s not until every enemy of Christ is subdued that he will return and then at last, death will be defeated. That being said, we need to understand that our responsibility as Christians goes further than simply telling someone about Jesus. We must, as Christ said, “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). It’s only by creating more true followers of Christ, who are obedient to his word, that the kingdom can advance and have its life changing influence over every person and every area of life.