Difficult Passages
According to the New Testament, Jesus has already been enthroned on David’s throne (Acts 2:29-36), and the community of believers, not physical Jerusalem, fulfills the prophecies about Jerusalem (Gal. 4:24-30; Heb. 12:22-24). Jesus became the ruler of the kingdom of God at his exaltation (Dan. 7:13-14; Matt. 26:64; Heb. 1:3; 2:9), but the kingdom only came with full force in AD 70, when the old covenant passed away (Matt. 24:30; 25:34; Heb. 12:26-28). As I have argued, this view is clearly taught in the New Testament. Nonetheless, there are some passages that are thought to be difficult for this interpretation, which we will discuss here.
Ezekiel 40-48
The first difficult passage is Ezekiel 40-48, which describes in great detail the Mountain of God (Ezek. 40:1-4), the Temple of God (40:5-42:20), the glory and worship of God, including ceremonial laws and sacrifices (43:1-46:24), the River of God (47:1-12), the Land of God (47:13-48:29), and the City of God (48:30-35). Since these are all described as physical things, and yet none of these things have existed yet, many believe that this prophecy has to be fulfilled in the future. This would require the existence of a future physical kingdom centered in the land of Israel, unlike the New Testament teaching of a present spiritual kingdom in the community of believers.
However, this interpretation of Ezek. 40-48 completely ignores the New Testament, and especially the epistle to the Hebrews. According to the Hebraist, the old covenant and all of its physical sacrifices are no longer useful except as a type of Christ’s sacrifice (Heb. 10:1-4). There is no need anymore for physical sacrifices or a physical temple, because Jesus has offered his sacrifice once for all in the heavenly temple (Heb. 7:27; 9:1-14, 23-26). In fact, physical sacrifices are worse than useless, because “in them there is a reminder of sin from year to year” (Heb. 10:3). Rather than offering physical sacrifices, we are being built up into a spiritual Temple to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Pet. 2:4-5; cf. Eph. 2:19-22).
When interpreted literally, the prophecy in Ezekiel says that physical sacrifices will again be offered in the physical temple, which completely goes against this! Some premillennialists claim that these future sacrifices will be a ‘memorial’ of Christ’s sacrifice, not meant to provide atonement. However, according to Isa. 66:3, useless sacrifices are as evil to God as idolatry (cf. Isa. 1:11-15; Amos 5:21-24). Moreover, this explanation explicitly contradicts Ezekiel, who says that these sacrifices are for atonement (45:13-17). Thus, to avoid contradicting the New Testament, Ezekiel 40-48 cannot be interpreted to refer to a future kingdom centered in Israel.
How, then, should this prophecy be interpreted? There are three possible interpretations. First, it may be seen as a hyperbolic description of the physical Second Temple after it was rebuilt under Ezra (cf. Hag. 2:1-9). This is supported by the fact that the invasion of Gog described in Ezek. 38-39 appears to have been fulfilled when “Haman the Agagite” (Esth. 8:3; cf. Ezek. 39:15) led armies from all across the Persian Empire (Esth. 1:1; cf. Ezek. 38:3-6; 39:6, 21) to attack the people of Israel living in unwalled villages (Neh. 1:3; Esth. 3:12-15; cf. Ezek. 38:7-13), but was defeated by the Jews and by his own people (Esth. 8:11-13; 9:3; cf. Ezek. 38:17-22; 39:3-6, 17-20), and the Gentiles converted when they saw this (Esth. 8:17; cf. Ezek. 38:23; 39:7, 21-27). [1] If Ezekiel 38-39 prophesies the attack described in the book of Esther, then Ezek. 40-48 may prophesy the rebuilding of the Temple under Ezra.
Another possibility is that the physical blessings in Ezek. 40-48 were only meant to come true if the Jews responded favorably, and they did not. This is supported by Ezek. 43:7-12, which states that the people of Israel would only know these things if they “put away their idolatry and sacrifices to kings,” which never happened. If this is correct, then there is no need to look for a future fulfillment, because this prophecy will not be fulfilled.
Finally, the interpretation that I favor is that this prophecy symbolically describes the community of believers. We are ourselves “a city set on a hill” (Matt. 5:14; cf. Ezek. 40:1-4; Phil. 2:15). We are being built up into a spiritual Temple, complete with a holy place and an altar to offer spiritual sacrifices (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; cf. Ezek. 40:5-42:20; 43:13-46:24). We are ourselves filled with God’s spirit, which is the water of life (John 7:38-39; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; cf. Ezek. 43:1-12; 47:1-12). We are citizens of heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22-24; cf. Ezek. 48:30-35). The Gentiles have been grafted into this community of believers, and there is no distinction (Rom. 11:11-24; Gal. 3:28; cf. Ezek. 47:21-23). The only difficulty with this view is the amount of detail in Ezekiel’s prophecy; however, there is no reason why allegory cannot contain detail.
In summary, the prophecy in Ezek. 40-48 is interpreted by many to describe physical blessings in the future kingdom centered in Israel. However, this interpretation contradicts the New Testament teaching that physical sacrifices and the physical temple are now useless (in fact, worse than useless). Therefore, this prophecy cannot be interpreted to refer to a future physical reality. Instead, it may be interpreted to hyperbolically describe the physical blessings under Ezra and Nehemiah, or to allegorically describe the spiritual blessings that presently belong to believers.
Matthew 19:28
Another difficult passage is Matt. 19:28-29, in which Jesus states,
Truly, truly I say to you, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has followed me who has left houses, or brother, or sister, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit age-during life.
This passage seems to describe physical blessings for those who follow Jesus, including the ability for the twelve disciples to judge Israel, which apparently never took place. Hence, premillennialists argue that this must be fulfilled at a future time, after the Second Coming of Jesus.
However, this interpretation suffers from a few issues. First, the authors of the New Testament are unanimous in saying that the Son of Man already “is seated on the throne of his glory,” and that this took place at his exaltation (Matt. 26:64 [cf. Dan. 7:13-14]; Acts 2:29-36; Rom. 8:34; Col. 3:1; Heb. 2:9; 8:1; 1 Pet. 3:22; Rev. 3:21). Furthermore, “age-during life” is something which believers already possess in the present tense (John 5:24; 6:47; 10:28; 1 John 5:11, 13). Therefore, the promises in Matt. 19:28 must be a present reality, not yet to be fulfilled.
How, then, can it be said that the twelve disciples “judge the twelve tribes of Israel”? First, it’s important to note that the Jews who did not believe in Jesus were “utterly cut off from the people” (Acts 3:22-23), that is, they were no longer a part of the true people of Israel (Rom. 9:6; 11:1-5). The twelve apostles were indeed appointed to lead the Israel of God, that is, the remnant of Jewish believers (Matt. 16:18-19; Eph. 2:20; Gal. 2:7-9). Therefore, they were judging true Israel after Jesus sat on his throne at his exaltation. Another possibility is that this refers to the fact that the apostles, especially Peter, were allowed to judge and condemn unbelieving Israel for the murder of Jesus (Acts 2:22-23; 3:13-15; 4:9-11; 5:30).
As for the statement that believers will “receive a hundredfold” of what they lost, this need not refer to physical blessings, but spiritual blessings. It’s nonsensical to interpret this strictly literally, as that would mean that everyone who lost a sibling or a child will receive a hundred siblings and children! Instead, this likely refers to the fact that God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Furthermore, the Markan and Lukan accounts state that the hundredfold blessings would be received “in this age” (Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30), which means the disciples already received those blessings, and they cannot be physical blessings in a future kingdom.
But what about the fact that Jesus says this will occur “in the regeneration”? Some interpreters equate this with “the restoration of all things” mentioned in Acts 3:21, at which time Jesus is said to return from heaven, in which case this cannot refer to the present time. However, “regeneration” (Gk: palingenesia) is a different word than “restoration” (Gk: apokatastasis), and there is no need to equate the two. In fact, the word palingenesia is used only twice in the New Testament, and in the other instance (Tit. 3:5), it refers to our present renewal that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Luke 13:28
The next difficult passage for the view that the kingdom of God is a present reality is Luke 13. In this passage, someone asks Jesus whether there will be many people who are saved, and he responds that only a few will enter the kingdom of God, and:
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God.”
This is difficult for those who believe that the kingdom of God exists now, because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets died long before Jesus spoke. It’s especially difficult for those who recognize that the Bible teaches that the dead have no conscious experience (see especially Ecc. 9:5-10), which means that the patriarchs and prophets will be unable to experience anything until their bodily resurrection. How can this be reconciled with the New Testament teaching that the kingdom of God is a present reality for believers?
The patriarchs and prophets did not receive the promises that they looked forward to by faith, although they will receive the promised salvation from sin and “be made perfect” with us at the resurrection (Heb. 11:13-16, 39-40). According to the Hebraist, believers already receive these promises now as citizens of “Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” who “are receiving an unshakeable kingdom” (Heb. 12:22, 28). Because true Israel now receives the promises which were originally made to the patriarchs, it may be figuratively said that they are “reclining at the table” with them (Matt. 8:11), even though the patriarchs don’t exist currently.
Furthermore, Jesus’ main point in this passage is not about the actual existence of the patriarchs in the kingdom of God. Instead, he is pointing out that his hearers, despite their Jewish ancestry, will not receive the promises made to their ancestors, whereas many who “come from east and west and north and south” will receive the promises (Matt. 8:11-12; Luke 13:28-29). Jesus only mentions the patriarchs and prophets to further illustrate the fact that they will not receive the promises of their ancestors. Since the main point of this passage is not about the actual existence of the patriarchs in the kingdom of God, it would be unwise to read too much into this statement, and this difficult passage should be interpreted in light of the many clearer passages which state that the kingdom is a present reality.
Acts 1:6-8
A fourth difficult passage for our interpretation of the kingdom of God is Acts 1:6-8. In this passage, the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus responds, “It is not yours to know times or seasons which the Father set by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Premillennialists argue that the disciples’ question implies they believed that the kingdom of God would be a physical polity in Israel.
Some interpreters claim that the disciples were merely mistaken, as the Bible is clear that Jesus received the kingdom at his exaltation (Dan. 7:13-14 [cf. Matt. 26:64]; Luke 19:12). However, this is quite unlikely, because Jesus had just finished speaking to them about the kingdom of God for forty days (Acts 1:3), and he did not correct their ‘misunderstanding.’ Moreover, they went on to “proclaim the kingdom of God” (Acts 8:12) without any indication that they had been or needed to be corrected. How then should we understand their question?
Again, it’s important to recognize the fact that “not all who are of Israel are Israel” (Rom. 9:6). Those who do not believe in Christ are “utterly cut off from the people” (Acts 3:22-23), which is to say that they are no longer a part of the people of Israel. The true Israel is the remnant of Jewish believers in Christ (Rom. 11:1-5). It is this people, which Jesus called “my church,” that would receive the kingdom of God, rather than the physical polity of Israel, which was rejected (Matt. 16:18-19; 21:43). Consequently, there is no need to see a physical kingdom in the disciples’ question about the kingdom coming to Israel.
This can also be seen in Jesus’ answer to the disciples. He says that they cannot know the time that the kingdom will come — “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8). The implication is that the coming of the Holy Spirit, which took place only ten days later (Acts 2:1-4), is when the kingdom would be “restored to Israel”. Thus, Acts 1:6-8 provides no difficulty for the view that the kingdom of God is a present reality; in fact, careful exegesis of this passage supports that view.
1 Corinthians 15:50
The final difficult passage that we will discuss here is 1 Cor. 15:50, in which Paul states that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” According to some interpreters, this means that no mortal can live in the kingdom of God, which means that it is either a future polity that will exist after the resurrection, or it now exists somewhere that no mortal human can inhabit (such as heaven). Either way, this would be fatal to the view that the kingdom of God is a present reality for believers. But is this what Paul was actually saying?
First of all, it’s important to note that Paul elsewhere describes the kingdom of God as something present. Namely, he states that “the kingdom of God... is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). He also says that God “has brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). Even in this very verse, “able to inherit” (Gk: klēronomēsai... dunatai) is in the present tense. Unless we wish to attribute contradiction and confusion to Paul, we cannot interpret 1 Cor. 15:50 as saying that no mortal human can inhabit the kingdom of God. Moreover, according to Isaiah 65:20, mortal humans actually do exist in the kingdom of God.
Rather than interpreting 1 Cor. 15:50 as saying that no mortal human can exist in the kingdom of God, in the larger context of Paul’s writings, it should be interpreted to mean that no unsaved human can exist in the kingdom of God. Throughout his epistles, Paul describes those who are unsaved as fleshly, and those who are saved as spiritual (Rom. 8:1-9, 12-13; 2 Cor. 5:16; 10:2; Gal. 3:3; 5:24; Eph. 2:3; Phil. 3:3, 4; Col. 2:11-13). Moreover, he states, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest... those doing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). It appears that the same idea is being expressed when Paul says that “flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). Therefore, this passage is compatible with the view that the kingdom of God is a reality for believers in Christ.
Conclusion
The nature and timing of the kingdom of God is a very disputed topic among Christians. Nonetheless, the testimony of the New Testament is clear that Christ already sat down upon his throne when he was exalted to God’s right hand, and that believers are citizens of spiritual Jerusalem, which fulfills the promises of the Old Testament. The kingdom of God is already a spiritual reality for believers, as it refers to Christ’s rule over the church and the spiritual blessings that we receive from that (see esp. Rom. 14:17). Therefore, there is no need to look for a future physical kingdom.
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[1] https://kaysercommentary.com/Sermons/Old%20Testament/Esther/battle%20of%20Ezek.md
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