Page 41 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Future Aspect of the Kingdom

We must also be about the Master’s business of preaching the gospel of
the Kingdom to the nations.

His Coming Will Be with Judgement and Reward

When Jesus comes again, He will come with both judgment and reward.
He will judge those who rejected Him and reward those who believed in
and obeyed Him. A final separation will take place. Jesus said, “At that
time I will tell the harvesters: ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in
bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’”
(Matthew 13:30). The wicked will thus be judged and they will “go away
into eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46). Ultimately, they will be sent
to the “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v. 41). The
righteous, however, will enter into the joy of their Lord (vv. 21–23).

For the righteous, there will be a glorious “messianic banquet” and a
great “rewards ceremony” given in their honor. This event is known as
the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
(Matthew 8:11; 22:1–2; 26:29;
Mark 14:25; Luke 14:15–24;
22:28–30). Jesus said that the In the coming Kingdom
righteous will “go away…to the righteous will share
eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
They will inherit the Kingdom Christ’s fellowship and
“prepared for [them] since the authority to rule.
creation of the world” (v. 34).
They will then “shine like the
sun in the kingdom of their
Father” (Matthew 13:43). Further, in the coming Kingdom the righteous
will share Christ’s fellowship and His authority to rule (Matthew 26:29;
Luke 22:29–30).

The Character of Christ’s Future Kingdom

The future Kingdom will come in two phases. It will begin with a 1000-
year reign of Christ on earth, called the millennial kingdom. It will then
continue with the eternal reign of God and Christ in the new heaven and
the new earth. This phase of the kingdom of God is sometimes called
the eternal kingdom. Let’s look first at the character of the millennial
kingdom, and then at the character of the eternal kingdom.

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