I lifted the expression from "Israel, My Glory" Website. They contend the "kingdom age" is not been established yet, in spite of the fact the early believers were in that kingdom [Col. 1:13].
It was a rhetorical question. I am aware some believe in such an "age." My point is they do so extra-biblically, not based on actual scripture stating such a thing exists. They do so despite the fact God is omni-attributed and, therefore, always and everywhere King and never without His kingdom, all of creation.
They contend the "kingdom age" is not been established yet...
They are wrong.
...in spite of the fact the early believers were in that kingdom [Col. 1:13].
Whether they believed or not is irrelevant because Jesus and the prophets cried out for the people to repent because the kingdom of God was (then) at hand, and Jesus made it clear the kingdom
had come.
Mark 1:14-15
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Matthew 12:28
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The kingdom has come.
Jesus explicitly stated some in his audience(s) would still be alive when it came.
Mark 9:1
And Jesus was saying to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."
They say, "
Jesus is king, but he is not king on earth," even though Jesus made it very clear the KoG is not about geography, and it is not of this world. It should be clear to anyone with a brain that
if Jesus is God, then he is, by definition, always and everywhere King of everything.
Mark 12:32-34
And the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
John 18:36
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm."
Logic tells us people could not be kept from the kingdom if the kingdom hadn't already come.
Matthew 23:13 ESV
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Modern futurists screw up verses like,
Matthew 16:28
Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
...by mistakenly putting an "
of" in place of the "
in".
As to the matter of a kingdom
age, the ends of the ages came upon the New Testament era Christians. There are no more ages. Their ends have come.
1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Although scripture is silent about the nature of its end, I will suggest it lies in Acts 2:30's statement death has been defeated, and the endless reign has been accomplished with the resurrection of Jesus.
Acts 2:29-31 ESV
Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
"
Ages" are normally measured by the passage of time and the passage of generations, cohorts of human life. The use of the concept of an "
age" in the New Testament is curious because nowhere does scripture ever label any passage of time as an age (like the "
age" of the wandering Jews, or the "
age" of the Law, or the "
age" of the prophets). That term is a New Testament phenomenon.
How, exactly, would an age be measured in eternity? How would immortal people living in an endless kingdom mark an age?
It's critically important this matter be correctly understood because...
Matthew 13:18-19
Hear then the parable of the sower. "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road."
Those who do not understand the word of the kingdom (which is what Jesus and the apostle taught) have what was swoon removed from them. Which is why we've had a bunch of Christians unsuccessfully telling everyone, "
Look! Look! It's coming! It's coming! It's coming any day now!" and never once being correct.
Luke 17:20-23
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." And he said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. "They will say to you, 'Look there! Look here!' Do not go away, and do not run after them.
Although I will concede the term does have some usefulness when it comes to explaining certain aspects of scripture, like the progress of history. Any literal reading of scripture, however, shows there is no such thing as a "
kingdom age," a "
Church age" or any other age.
.
