When Yahshua came to the world, he had one major mission to accomplish, saving souls for the Kingdom of God his father. He therefore went around in the regions of Judea, Jerusalem, Galilee, and Samaria among many other places to spread the Good News about the coming Kingdom of God. After his ascension, the apostles took over the mantle from him and continued to proclaim the Good News about the coming Kingdom, starting with the Jews in Jerusalem and to the gentiles too. They had been commissioned to preach the Good News to people from all nations and make them disciples of Messiah. This is the same role that believers are commissioned to do even today, to proclaim the word of God to people from all nations. Everyone who believes and is baptized, will be saved and in addition to that he will receive eternal life and be made a heir in the Kingdom of God.

This is a promise that is made to everyone who believes in God and as a result, some of the following questions can arise relating to:

When will this kingdom come, and what events will precede its establishment?
Where and how will the kingdom be?

This article aims at finding answers to these questions so that this issue can be demystified once and for all! The bible states very well in the book of Hosea 4:6 that people get lost and destroyed because they lack knowledge. When people lack the knowledge of the scriptures, they will be prone to make mistakes not on significant matters only, but also on the smallest things. The Lord encourages us to seek knowledge from the scriptures as recorded in Isaiah 34:16.

We are also advised to seek for the wisdom from above because God gives it generously to those who pray unto Him as recorded in the book of James 1:5.

When will the Kingdom be established?

In order to answer the question on when this kingdom will be established, we can refer to the book of Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 7. The second chapter of the book of Daniel gives an account of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream which details all the kingdoms that will dominate the world before the Messiah comes for the second time, to establish his millennial reign. Prophet Daniel was a man full of great insight and wisdom from Elohim and we find him interpreting the king's dream about a mighty and exceedingly bright image of a man. He explained to the king that his empire was the first one among the four major kingdoms that would rule the world before the end comes. The first kingdom which was symbolized by the golden head that belonged to the Babylonians and the key leader during this dispensation was king Nebuchadnezzar. It was however overthrown by the second gentile kingdom and the most significant king during this period was King Cyrus as recorded in the book of Ezra 1:1 and Daniel 5:13-30. The third kingdom belonged to the Greeks and the most significant person during this dispensation was King Alexander the Great. The fourth and the final gentile kingdom was that of the Romans, and the product of this kingdom is still in effect in the modern world.

If we read the book of Daniel 2:34-35, we realize that prophet Daniel knew what would happen after the fourth kingdom come to an end. In the king's dream, he saw a stone, which was cut by no human hands striking the large image at its feet and broke it into pieces. The stone became a large mountain, which filled the whole earth. According to the interpretation recorded in Daniel 2:44, the stone represents the kingdom of God which will be established and will stand forever, Halleluyah! This is also found in Daniel 7:25-27.

If we read in Daniel 2: 45, we understand that Daniel was very sure about the interpretation. As a matter of fact, events about all the four kingdoms have been fulfilled with precision and therefore we can only expect the establishment of the kingdom of God to happen precisely in a similar manner according to the interpretation.

The bible explains some of the things that will act as an indication of the second coming of Yahshua. Though no one knows the day nor the hour of his coming, there are some occurrences that will take place prior to his coming as explained in Mathew chapter 24. In verse 14 of this chapter, Yahshua taught that the gospel will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations, then the end will come. Currently, the gospel is being taken to almost every part of the earth through the help of the internet and other computing technologies.

While addressing the church at Thessalonica, Apostle Paul encouraged them not to be anxious about the second coming of Yahshua. "Now concerning the coming of our Lord Yahshua the Messiah, and our being gathered together with him...let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition..." 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. The man of lawlessness is currently not yet revealed, instead, he is looked upon by the whole world as the most divine being. However, the bible clearly indicates that the coming of this man of lawlessness will be by the activity of Satan, with all power, signs and wonders in order to deceive many (2 Thess. 2:9). This man will have authority and will fight against Gods people as recorded in Revelation 13: 7-8 "Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain." The time before the second coming of Yahshua will be of great tribulation, because the wounded beast of Revelation 13 will have healed and will rise from the bottomless pit (Revelation 11:7), to make war against the saints and kill them. However, Mathew 24:29 shows that immediately after the tribulation of those days, the Son of man will come down from heaven with great power and great glory, with his multitude of angels to bring all dominions of the earth to an end, and establish his everlasting kingdom.

Where and how will the kingdom be? Is it in heaven or somewhere else?

There are many scriptures that support the idea of establishment of God's kingdom on earth. For instance, in the Lord's Prayer, we always ask for the kingdom of God to come here on earth (Mathew 6:10). Moreover, while teaching his sermon on the mountain, Yahshua declared that blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Mathew 5:5). It is also recorded in Revelation 5:10 that when we received salvation through the blood of Yahshua, we were made kings and priests unto our God: and we shall reign on the earth!

In Revelation chapter 21, Apostle John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem coming down from heaven as a bride adorned for her groom. Remember this is the "father's house" that Yahshua was talking about in John chapter 14: "In my Fathers house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also". He had assured his disciples not to be troubled because he would be going back to heaven to prepare a place for them with many mansions. The key issue here is to understand where his kingdom will be, because wherever he will be, the righteous will be also.

According to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Apostle Paul has explained about the second coming of our Messiah. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Messiah shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

The dead will rise first and then the righteous people who will be alive will be transformed, so that they can all be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. It is important to note that many bible scholars usually misinterpret this verse to imply that the kingdom of God will be in heaven. However it is important to search the scriptures so as to understand what other incidences will follow after the manifestation of Messiah in his second coming. It is recorded in Isaiah 35: 10 "And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." After we are caught up in the clouds, we shall return with Yahshua to Mount Zion with singing for an everlasting kingdom. Mount Zion is in Jerusalem ("For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more..." Isaiah 30:19), and therefore, that is when the prophecy in Luke 1: 32 will be fulfilled, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David." Yahshua is coming back the second time on earth to reign for one thousand years with an iron rod. What this implies is that all kingdoms and dominions of the earth will be subject to him, because he will be exalted above all creation as explained in 1 Cor. 15:23-26 "...Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet."