\u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Daniel 2:44<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Daniel 7:13-14<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nDaniel 2<\/strong> speaks of the kingdom being established and Daniel 7<\/strong> speaks of the One to whom the kingdom is given, which is Jesus. He is the one who \u201ccame to the Ancient of Days\u201d<\/em> in this prophecy as the Risen Christ who ascended to the Father and is currently seated at His right hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFurther proof that Jesus is King of this Kingdom can be found in Luke 1:32-33<\/strong>. The Angel Gabriel, when speaking to Mary about Jesus, says this: \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThat being said, the \u201ckingdom of heaven\u201d<\/em><\/strong> is here now<\/strong>. When Jesus ascended to the Father he was given the kingdom spoken of in Daniel\u2019s prophecies. This is why Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 28:18<\/strong> that \u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.\u201d <\/em>He had received the kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs a result of having been inaugurated as King, he tells his disciples to \u201cmake 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\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 28:19<\/strong>). The Great Commission as it is often called was Jesus\u2019s mandate as King for his servants to advance his kingdom. The disciples started the process and Christians today are continuing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is Meant by the Kingdom of Heaven Being \u201cat Hand\u201d?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAs briefly explained, that the kingdom of heaven was \u201cat hand\u201d<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\nJesus\u2019s presence alone, however, did not initiate the kingdom. If it had, both he and John would have said \u201cthe kingdom of heaven is here\u201d. But the fact that it was \u201cat hand\u201d<\/em> proves that it hadn\u2019t been established yet. That\u2019s because Jesus had not yet laid its foundation. This, however, is what he did throughout the course of his ministry by \u201cteaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 4:23<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nCorrecting False Expectations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/strong>). <\/p>\n\n\n\nThey 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<\/strong> when they sought to take Jesus by force and make him king. This fact is also alluded to when the disciples asked \u201cWho is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 18:1<\/strong>) and again in Matthew 20:21<\/strong> when James and John presumptuously asked to sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom. <\/p>\n\n\n\nJesus, 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 \u201crepent\u201d<\/em> and to \u201cbear fruit in keeping with repentance\u201d<\/em>. 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<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nJesus 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<\/strong>); 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<\/strong>); 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<\/strong>), and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOnce 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n