This content is unique copyrighted material by Jamey Dye and is available in Kendal or paperback through Amazon using this link:
God’s REIGN: The Kingdom Among Us
I publish here to provide my readers with what I believe to be a powerful and useful way to engage God and the Bible. Please do not download and share. I pray you will be blessed and that in the blessing you will be inspired to advance God’s Kingdom through loving neighbor.
The Kingdom Vision
The following vision was given to King Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by Daniel about this Eternal Kingdom.
“You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued watching until a stone was broken off without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces all at the same time, and they were like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the entire earth.
This was the dream; and now we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the honor; and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with common clay. And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile. In that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.”
Daniel 2:28-44 NASB2020
The stone, broken off without hands, is Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus is:
“A stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This came about from the Lord;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalms 118:22-24 NASB2020
“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘Then what is this statement that has been written: A stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief cornerstone? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.’”
Luke 20:17-18 NASB2020
The stone is the corner stone of the Church. This corner stone is “The Divine Kingdom” that crushed the Roman Empire and continues to put an end to all earthly kingdoms. The Divine Kingdom continues to grow and will cover the whole earth. It grew inside Rome. Saint Thomas brought it to India, where it continues to grow today. It grew inside the kingdoms of Europe and became too powerful for them. It grew inside the United Kingdom and spread through the whole earth. It transplanted to the Americas, grew there, and has been spreading ever since. It even grows under oppression where there is a refining fire to purify it. The kingdom of Russia tried to destroy it, but it grew in spite of their attempts. It grew in China and is now 100 million strong and thriving. In each new place, the stone grows and multiplies, impacting the culture and the community, just like Jesus said would happen. He described his kingdom this way:
“’What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.’ And again He said, ‘To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leavened.’”
Luke 13:18-21 NASB2020
The book of Daniel tells some interesting things about this Kingdom. Daniel says of the Kingdom:
1. It will endure forever and never be destroyed.
2. It will destroy all other kingdoms.
3. It will cover the whole earth.
This Kingdom is not like earthly kingdoms; in fact, it seems to subvert them. It cannot thrive through power, only through humble submission. It infiltrated Rome through the servants, not the kings (See Philippians 1:13). Jesus taught that you cannot experience it unless you are humble like a child.
When Pilot asked Jesus if he was king, he answered this way:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, 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.”
John 18:36 NASB2020
Jesus instructed us to pray this prayer:
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 NASB2020
Then on the last night of his life as fully human, he gave these instructions:
A. “And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called Benefactors. But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.’” Luke 22:25-26 NASB2020
B. “Then, when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are correct, for so I am. So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you.” John 13:12-15 NASB2020
C. “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 NASB2020
D. “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words.” John 14:23-24 NASB2020
Then He spoke about a helper that would come to make all this happen. He said of this helper:
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16-17 NASB2020
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.”
John 14:26-27 NASB2020
And finally, as he was being taken up into the clouds, he gave us this commandment:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NASB2020
King Jesus lives!
King Jesus is Lord!
His Kingdom is growing and advancing to the ends of the earth.
His Kingdom is reaching every tongue, tribe, and nation.
On the Day of Pentecost, a new and different reality came into existence (See Acts 2). On that day The Holy Spirit became available to us to accomplish His Kingdom purposes in our lives. If you are a Christian, you have that Holy Spirit already within you. Becoming Christlike is all about learning to allow God’s Kingdom to manifest itself in us. As we become Christlike, we begin acting as agents of that Kingdom in our communities. But God’s plan for his Kingdom goes way beyond our communities. His instructions were to go into all the world and make disciples and teach them to obey his commands.
We call this The Great Commission. I like to call it the Great Co-Mission. Co-Mission reminds me that it is not something I am doing for God, but something God is doing through me. That means I need to let him direct every one of my steps. God’s return seems to be somehow influenced by the church’s ability to finish that mission.
George Eldon Ladd wrote a book on the meaning of the Kingdom of God. He concludes that book with these words:
“When the Church has finished evangelizing the world, Christ will come again. The word of God says it. Why did He not come in A.D. 500? Because the Church had not evangelized the world. Why did he not return in A.D. 1000? Because the Church had not finished its task of worldwide evangelization. Is he coming soon? He is-if we, God’s people, are obedient to the command of the Lord to take the Gospel into all the world!”
– The Gospel of the Kingdom by George Ladd.
An exact answer to how close we are to reaching every tribe and tongue and nation depends on how we define language groups and which organization is producing the data. Based on 2023 data from Wycliffe Bible Translators there are 1,255 remaining languages that need Bible Translation. The organization and its partners are striving to have every language in the world started by 2025. With the advent of AI, they are now able to finish a language in five years. We are getting close to evangelizing the world.
Unfortunately, many modern Western Churches have not only lost the vision of advancing God’s Kingdom to the ends of the earth, they have also stopped teaching how to live our lives in alignment with His Kingdom principles. As a result, many people are leaving modern Western Churches.
I pray we heed Jesus’s words to the Church in Laodicea:
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:15-22 NASB2020.
Life On the Rock 