Our topic is the kingdom of God and the two aspects or forms of it. We looked at the kingdom of God in the present time where the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that dwells within us as the Holy Ghost. Last time we introduced the future form of the kingdom with Jesus ruling in a physical form on the earth.
Concerning the future kingdom of Jesus on earth, Jesus revealed an aspect of that kingdom just before He ascended into heaven. His disciples were still hoping that Jesus would fulfill the prophecies of the kingdom that mention a king ruling over Israel from Jerusalem. After all, Jesus had just conquered death—something no one else had ever done—and now He and His disciples were standing on Mt. Olivet which had prophetic significance for that stage of the kingdom. Zechariah said this about the very spot where they were standing:
Zechariah 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
At one prophetic moment, the Messiah would step on that very spot the mount would split in half and the Lord God would come and His saints with Him.
That is probably why they asked Jesus:
Acts 1:6-8
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
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.
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.
At that time, Jesus told them to not be concerned about the timing of that element of the kingdom but to turn their attention to the immediate fulfillment of the Holy Ghost outpouring of the spiritual kingdom. The fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy was for another time but now was the time of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
Joel 2:28-29
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
In just a few days, Peter would have that picture figured out and would use the prophecy of Joel to explain the Holy Ghost outpouring they experienced.
The kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven (two phrases used interchangeably) have two elements or phases: the spiritual kingdom ruling within the heart and the physical kingdom ruling the world from Jerusalem.