What did Jesus mean when He said “The Kingdom of God is at hand?
Mat 4;17
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Jesus seems to be saying that God’s kingdom was right there at that point in time and that would also mean that it is still here and now.
If God began by being master and owner of all that is, and he spans or owns the whole of creation, and scripture is right that says he does not change, then logic says that we are now in is God’s kingdom and we never left it.
Ps 139 8
If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
These also seem to confirm that God is everywhere, even in hell, where he is working at saving lost souls and that would make the following quote also true.
2 Peter 3;9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Obviously, nothing and no one can thwart God’s will. He always gets what he wills even if at times we cannot understand how he does it. All souls are therefore saved and none perish.
Now I know some will say that there cannot be anything evil in God’s kingdom. Consider that Satan was in heaven before God made him the prince of this world. Therefore, there can definitely be evil in God’s kingdom. In fact, the myths of Eden and Job both show God consorting with Satan. In Eden, he allows Satan access to A & E and in Job, to Job.
If hell and earth are no longer in God’s kingdom, then that would mean that God lost some of his original holdings/kingdom, and I cannot see any good reason for him to change from full ownership of what was, to partial ownership of what is.
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