Timing
Understanding when the Kingdom came and its ongoing growth
How to Use This Page
Below you'll find key insights about Timing in God's Kingdom. Each insight includes scripture references. Click "Show Scripture" to expand and read the full text from the English Standard Version.
Key Insights
These are biblical insights about timing in the Kingdom of God, drawn from careful study of Scripture.
It starts small and grows to be large, compared to a plant or tree. Trees only get larger; they do not grow bigger, then get smaller. They steadily get bigger.
Luke 19:18-19 (ESV)
18 And the second came, saying, Lord, your mina has made five minas. 19 And he said to him, And you are to be over five cities.
It is mixed into something, and it affects every part of the thing it is mixed into. Compared to leaven.
Luke 19:20-21 (ESV)
20 Then another came, saying, Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.
The kingdom is like a seed that grows and yields a crop without its own effort.
Mark 4:26-28 (ESV)
26 And he said, The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
The kingdom is like a seed that starts out small and grows larger and becomes greater than the other plants in the garden. It doesn't get bigger than smaller - it keeps growing bigger.
Mark 4:31-32 (ESV)
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.
The kingdom would come with power during the lifetime of those hearing Jesus' talk about it.
Mark 9:1 (ESV)
1 And he said to them, Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.
Luke 9:27-28 (ESV)
27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. 28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
It is an age or a time. The Law and Prophets were until it started (John the Baptizer); since that time, it has been preached. The Kingdom being preached seems to be the overwhelming way people find it.
Luke 16:15-16 (ESV)
15 And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.
You cannot see it or observe its coming. So it is not Jesus' second coming. It will not appear, and it is not a place. It is within or among people. It was there then and is still here now.
Luke 17:20-21 (ESV)
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
The kingdom started with John the Baptist, and it suffered violent attack, and those who showed great zeal and commitment took the kingdom by force.
Matthew 11:13 (ESV)
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
God establishes his kingdom, and it starts small, crushing the other kingdoms, and grows to consume them all. This kingdom will never end. (stone BECOMES a mountain)
Daniel 2:34-35 (ESV)
34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel 2:44 (ESV)
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
There were those alive during the time of Jesus who would see Jesus come into his kingdom before they died.
Matthew 16:28 (ESV)
28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Summary
You've explored 10 key insights about Timing in God's Kingdom. These truths are foundational to understanding how believers live and operate in the Kingdom today.