“…For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you…” Luke 17:21
One purpose Jesus had in His first coming was to establish a kingdom on earth. The kingdom that He started was not a visible kingdom, but an invisible one. Christ’s kingdom is in our hearts. Jesus Christ is the King, reigning as the Lord of our lives.
We know that Jesus is coming again. He will return to defeat the nations of the world and then reign on the earth for 1,000 years, a time known as the Millennium. Until then, Christ’s kingdom is growing and gaining strength all over the globe, the Kingdom that is in the hearts of believers.
God’s purpose for the time period in between the first coming and the second coming is to reach people from every nation. The Bible refers to this season as the “time of the Gentles.”
Luke 21:24 “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Because Abraham received God’s promise by faith, anyone who receives Christ by faith is a child of Abraham (Romans 4:16, 17). In this time period that we have been living in since 70 AD, the time of the Gentiles, the Gospel has spread around the world. The Kingdom of God has been growing in the hearts of people from nearly every nation.
Does God have a set time for this season to end? Yes, He does. Daniel 11:35 and other scriptures tell us that there is an appointed time, or set time for end-time events. Within this Gentile time period, the Gospel will be heard in every nation. Whatever we haven’t done, God will do so that His promise of the Gospel being heard in every nation will be fulfilled (Revelation 14:6).
In the appointed time, the last set of seven years that Daniel prophesied for the Jews will unfold. When Jesus returns, the time to share the Gospel will have run out. Now is the time to share the message of salvation. Now is the time to work together to go into unreached places! The time is short. Now is the time!
Application: When Jesus is the king of our heart, we live to serve Him. Pray and ask the King who you can share the Gospel with? Who can you pray for? What missionary can you help send? Now is the time!