The Kingdom of God is the Church of Christ Mark 9:1

Mark 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power

Regarding the use of the word Kingdom, notice that the “kingdom of heaven” is used only by the book of Matthew cf: Matt. 13:31 while the other gospel writers use “Kingdom of God” Cf: Mark 4:30-31 in parallel accounts of the same passage.  Therefore these Terms are used interchangeably.

Denominational teachers teach the Church was established in the days of the Apostles while the Kingdom will not be established until Jesus comes again to sit upon David’s throne in Jerusalem.  Today we will show these doctrines and traditions of men are wrong.

Mark 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Let us notice other teaching about the Kingdom:  The first comment that Matthew has about Jesus’ ministry is:

Matthew 3:1-2  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

Matthew 4:17  Beginning Jesus’ ministry From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Something at hand is close.

Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Where did this idea of a Kingdom of God come from?  King David wanted to build a house for God but God told him, No, you’re a man of blood but cf:

II Samuel 7:12-16  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.  7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.  7:14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:  7:15  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.  7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

Isaiah continues to develop the idea and says it will begin in Jerusalem and will be peaceful in its nature.

Isaiah 2:1-4  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days,

          The “last days” is a technical term that means the last days of the Jewish dispensation from the time of the Fore runner John the Baptist until the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and it also means the whole Christian Age cf:

     Hebrews 1:1-2   God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

that the mountain of the LORD'S house

Remember, David wanted to build a house cf: I Timothy 3:15  But if I tarry long, thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God which is the Church of the living God. 

So the Lord’s House is The Church or the Church of the Living God which is the Church of Christ.

shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

     After Jesus resurrection He commanded cf:

Mark 16:15-16  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Isaiah 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,

Divine Teacher John 6:45 And it is written in the prophets And they shall all be taught of God.

and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law,

James 1:25 Who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty.

James 2:8 if ye fulfill the Royal Law according to the scripture thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Isaiah 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

Isaiah continues to develop the idea of a coming peaceful kingdom.  It will be spiritual in its nature. 

Isaiah 11:1-10  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 11:3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:  11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 11:6  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 11:7  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 11:8  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:

What mountain?  The mountain of the Lord’s House that we studied about in, Isaiah 2:2

 for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 11:10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

How do you know preacher you are tracking these prophecies right?  The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 11:1 & 10 showing these verses are for the Christian age, not some future millennial reign.

Romans 15:12  And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust

The Prophet Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and says that Babylon is the head of gold, that the media Persian empire is the empire represented by silver, and the Greek empire under Alexander The Great, 333 thru 330BC is the empire of brass.  Daniel says that these three great empires would be followed by a final empire which was the Roman Empire.  Daniel says about that final empire:

Daniel 2:44    And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Rome was the 4^th World Empire.  Therefore, during the days of the Roman Empire, God will set up the Kingdom of God which will last forever. Therefore if you are worshiping at a church that can not trace it’s roots back to the days of the Roman Empire in Bible times you’re at the wrong place cf:

Romans 16:16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

Mark 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

The Kingdom is to come with POWER, after the Death, Burial and Resurrection.

 Luke 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Notice the POWER is from on High and will be in Jerusalem.

Acts 1:3-7  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:  1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

When was Christ made King?  The prophet Daniel sees a vision of it!

Daniel 7:13-14  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 7:14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Every denominational preacher teaches this is a prophecy of Jesus coming back to the earth to set upon David’s throne and to set up His kingdom and thousand year reign.  While it is actually a prophecy of Christ’s ascension from earth before the apostles to God in Heaven to sit at God’s own right hand cf: Psalm 110:1ff.   Read the verses in Daniel again, it’s as plain as day, you have to go to College and be taught to miss-understand this verse it’s so simple.   Notice the verse does not say everybody will serve Him it says they “should serve Him” and I’m telling you: You should serve Him, for there is no other upon Whom your soul can depend for your resurrection and eternal life.

Mark 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

The Kingdom is to come with POWER.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The Apostles are to receive POWER when the Holy Ghost comes upon them.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance..

Acts 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

When did Jesus become a King?

Acts 2:29-30  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day  2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

Christ is not coming back to earth to sit upon David’s throne, Christ has been seated upon David’s throne for the past two thousand years since His ascension to Heaven in 30AD.  

Psalm 132:11  The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne

Notice the emphatic “I” who was Christ? He was God.

Acts 2:37-38  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Verse 38 has two imperatives: repent and be baptized and it has two promises: remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  A drowning man does not care how he is saved, he just wants to be saved.  Anybody who debates how he is to be saved is not ready to be saved in the first place.

Nicodemus came to Jesus and Jesus said:

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?  3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The person must be born of Water and Spirit.

Acts 2:38-42  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  2:39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  2:40  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save verb passive, yourselves from this untoward generation.  2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 2:47  Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Before Pentecost Christ died and of the twelve disciples, Judas died before Pentecost.  After Pentecost the Kingdom is spoken of as being on going and in existence now.

Colossians 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

Hath is a past tense verb that’s already happened.  Furthermore, John said that he was in the kingdom cf:

Revelation 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  Zechariah 12:10, 13:1ff cf: fulfilled John 4:10 & 7:38.

Also, Jesus uses Kingdom and Church interchangeably in Matthew 16:13-19.

The Bible also uses the word Kingdom in a future sense that is not limited to the Church on the Earth but the church or people of God in Heaven.  At the end of time, Christ will deliver up, the kingdom or the church, to God. cf:

I Corinthians 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

So Christ will deliver up the Church (people) to God.  When Christ delivers up the kingdom, we will inherit the kingdom cf:

I Corinthians 15:50-52  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Paul could say about the future heavenly Kingdom cf:

II Timothy 4:18  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

Jesus will one day say to the blessed:

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Who will He say that to?  The Church which is His body of believers.