“The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalms 103:19 (ESV)
Every kingdom has a realm. The realm of the kingdom is the territory over which a king exercises authority. The scriptures clearly tell us that God has complete rule in the universe. David wrote, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11 ESV) “For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.” (Psalms 22:28 ESV)
Some have preached that God gave Adam authority over the earth and that when Adam sinned he relinquished that authority to Satan and now Satan has authority over the earth. It is true the scriptures label Satan as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that he does have power (Luke 10:19). However, that in no way implies that neither God nor Adam gave kingship of earth to Satan. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. . . . (Psalms 24:1-2 ESV) The only authority Satan has to accomplish anything on earth is given to him by God (Job 1:6-12). God has allowed Satan to establish kingdoms in this world (Revelation 11:15), but they exist only to serve the purposes of God (Revelation 4:11).
When Jesus came proclaiming that the kingdom of God had come to earth (Mark 1:14-15), he was serving notice to Satan and all those who heard him that God is in total control and he has authority over the works of Satan. Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8) and Satan and his demons knew it (Luke 4:34). Jesus gave a detailed description of his mission one Sabbath day in Nazareth in the synagogue. He read from the book of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19 ESV)
The Pharisees, who were looking for a Messiah to set up a political kingdom, asked Jesus when the kingdom would come. Jesus responded, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21 ESV) In other words the kingdom was not going to be in a certain physical location such as Jerusalem, but that the kingdom was within them or within their grasp. The kingdom of God was within them so far as Jesus, the king, was ruling in their lives.
Though it is true that Jesus brought with him the manifestation of the kingdom of God, it is also true that the fullness of the kingdom of God has yet to be realized. When Jesus gave the signs of his return to earth he said, “So also, when you see these things taking place, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:31 ESV) At the last Passover Jesus ate with his disciples as he passed the cup he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:17-18) Both of these statements indicate that there is a kingdom yet to come. Jesus made these statements after spending years of proclaiming that the kingdom was already here.
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom. . . .” (2 Timothy 4:1 ESV) Peter wrote “. . . for in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:11 ESV) So, the kingdom of God is now and not yet. George Ladd puts it this way, “We are living in the presence of the future.”
Jesus said that one day we would inherit the kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34).
That’s why we praise him!