I started to see it about 4ish years ago as I was looking at how Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

Matt 6:9

“In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”

All of a sudden I started to see a bigger picture. Jesus didn’t come to merely start a religion or a church, He came to establish His kingdom. The Kingdom that exists in Heaven. He came to bring it to the Earth, to restore the plan he began when he created mankind.

The first things God began to tell Adam after creating him, was that he should take dominion of the Earth and rule over it. Dominion is a kingdom word.

Adam was made in God’s image. He was meant to represent God’s rulership on the Earth.

That plan never changed. Even when man sinned and lost some of his privileges as a ruler.

God begins to redeem his original plan, by developing a nation of people whom He would be the ruler of. They wouldn’t need a king, God would be their king.

And He would rule them so well and fight all their battles and give them everything they need, land, food, everything, so that the whole world would see what God is like, and how His kingdom is meant to function.

But, this nation, whom God named Israel, kept leaving God behind and just doing whatever they wanted. So God gave them a law so they would know how to live and thrive inside His kingdom.

But they kept doing life their own way, and lived like the world, acting like everyone else and wanting what all the other kingdoms had.

They began to ask for a king instead of just following God. They wanted a king to lead them in battle and rule over them. This request angered God because HE ALONE wanted to rule them as their king so he could protect and provide for them far above any earthly person could!

But He will not force Himself on anyone and so He gives them a King. Saul.

Saul was too stuck on himself and wouldn’t allow God to guide him. He thought he knew best.

So God replaced Saul with a different kind of king. A humble king. David.

God promised to establish David’s kingdom forever, through a king to be born in David’s lineage. A king who will reign for eternity. Who will bring order to the chaos caused by sin. Who will redeem God’s plan to have a family that would take dominion of the Earth and establish God’s Kingdom on it.

Recorded in the Bible are songs written by the king David, about another King. One who already existed, but who was yet to come.

Then we have the history of the kings who followed David, their successes and failures.

And God sends prophets to Israel, to give the people hope, that although the kings of Israel are corrupt, there is a better King coming!

The Old Testament ends, and the New begins. First listing the lineage of one born in Davids line. Jesus.

Jesus grows. And off in the desert, a strange man starts preaching. Jesus cousin John….

He begins talking about a king that will save people from their sins. This king would be the one who was promised long ago. The one who would reign on David’s throne and show the world what God’s kingdom is like.

And Jesus’ reign begins…

He went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.  Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

The first thing He is recorded teaching is an outline of what the culture of His Kingdom is like.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. (People who are not impressed with their own spirituality).
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the Meek. (People who are not self-reliant and puffed up with pride)
For they shall inherit the Earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

He goes on to teach and to heal every sick person brought to him and to remove every demonic spirit presented to him. All the while demonstrating to his disciples and other followers what the culture of His Kingdom is like.

It is like the culture of Heaven. There is no sickness present. There is no darkness or evil. There is freedom from the restrictions of the law given by Moses.

Every message Jesus taught was on the same topic. His kingdom and the culture of it. He repeatedly uses the phrase: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” and then gives a visual example to reveal his kingdom culture.

When he sends his disciples out to the surrounding town and villages, he says to them, “As you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

This is a big deal! They had one message to give, and then they were charged to bring the culture of heaven to the towns they go, by driving out every thing which isn’t a part of heaven’s culture. All sickness, all darkness. This is a picture of what establishing a Kingdom is like! You take the culture of one place, and you transplant it in another place.

Its called colonization.

That is why when the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray, he taught them,

““In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus mission was not to merely start a nice religion or plant a church, he came to bring heaven to the Earth and instill the culture of heaven in the hearts of mankind so that His kingdom culture might spread to all the inhabitants of the Earth! This was the charge given to Adam, but fulfilled through Jesus! That is why scripture calls Jesus the second Adam.

Jesus came to bring a new kingdom order to the Earth. He didn’t come to destroy the laws of Moses or the prophesies given, he came to fulfill them.

That’s why he had a meeting with Moses and Elijah on the mountain. To present to Moses the fulfillment of the law, and to present to Elijah the fulfillment of the Prophesies; Himself!

That’s why when Jesus hung on the cross and breathed his last he declared:

“It is finished.”

The law was cancelled because He fulfilled it by redeeming mankind from sin.

The prophesies were fulfilled because he accomplished every work spoken of him.

And he didn’t leave behind a church. He left behind people. With the culture of heaven in their hearts. With the authority of the king to establish the work of the King on the Earth. And that is why scripture calls us ambassadors. In order to be an ambassador, one must have a kingdom to represent.

And that is the mission of the church. To bring the culture of Heaven to the Earth.