70 AD AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
The 70 AD Doctrine claims the kingdom of God did not come until A.D. 70. The way it is worded is somewhat confusing in that the claim is that while the kingdom of God came in a limited fashion on Pentecost, it was not fully established in its full glory until the Jewish form of worship was put down. Jewish worship revolved around the temple and when the temple was destroyed by the Roman armies under Titus, the Jewish form of worship was destroyed. Jewish worship was conducted by the Levitical priesthood. To serve as a Levitical priest in Old Testament worship, one had to be able to prove their lineage was of the tribe of Levi. The temple contained the ancestry records of the Priests. While the destruction of the temple in A.D.70 was not the first time the temple was destroyed, it was unique in that the ancestry records of the Priesthood was lost making it impossible to restore temple worship to what it had to be. The old testament form of worship was destroyed, never to be restored and the belief is, the kingdom of God could not be fully realized until the Jewish system was taken out of the way.
Advocates of the 70 AD doctrine see this event as the focal point in the conversion of old testament worship to Christianity. They teach that the period of time between the cross and the destruction of the temple was a transitional period between Judaism and Christianity.
To address this, first we must have a clear understanding of what the Kingdom of God is. It’s coming was prophesied in Dan 7:27 and fulfilled on Pentecost following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus foretold the coming of His Kingdom in Mark 9:1, “And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Jesus predicts that the kingdom will come with power. In Luke 24:49 He told them to stay in Jerusalem, for they would be clothed with power from on high. This promise is repeated in Acts 1:4, and then Jesus connects power with the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” The Holy Spirit did not come upon the apostles in A.D. 70, but rather in the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:1-4 details the power of the Holy Spirit connected with coming of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus provides a vital characteristic of the Kingdom which serves to better understand its nature in Luke 17:20-21, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (NKJV). The Kingdom of God is not some material thing one can point out, rather the children of God, Christians, are Christ’s kingdom. The kingdom of God is a spiritual entity populated by the people of God. The term “Kingdom” is an expression of the reign of Christ over His people. To make the claim that the kingdom was not fully present at the time of Pentecost is to say Christ was not fully reigning over His people.
When did Christ begin His reign over His Kingdom? One cannot have a kingdom without a king. Therefore, the Kingdom of God had to have come into existence when Christ began His reign.
Hebrews 10:12-14 reads, “But this Man [JESUS], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Jesus’ reign began upon His arrival in heaven after His ascension.
Another event that is associated with Christ assuming His reign is mentioned in 1 Peter 3:22, which reads, “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” In Ephesians 1:20-23 we read, “…which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
On Pentecost Peter concluded his address to the listeners with an account detailing where Jesus was, when it happened and who He is.
Acts 2:32-36“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”
When Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father and began His reign, God gave Him the rule over all earthly kingdoms, principalities and powers, which is inclusive of the Jews. Paul wrote by inspiration, “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body…”This happened upon His arrival in heaven from earth following His crucifixion.
If Jesus was placed “far above” all the earthly kingdoms and over the body of Christ, how did the Jews that were still practicing Judaism keep the kingdom of God from coming? They had no power or authority over the workings of God in any fashion. The only thing they were accomplishing by engaging in Judaism was false worship in a dead system.
Where was Jesus? At the right hand of God.
When was he there? At the time of writing.
Who is He? Lord / King.
Soon after Jesus accomplished the purging of sin by the one sacrifice for sin forever, He sat down beside God to reign as King over His Kingdom and over all the kingdoms of the earth.
To further reinforce the belief that the Kingdom of God was present before AD 70 we can turn to Col 1:13-14, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” The word “conveyed” is in the past tense, meaning it had already happened. Christians who entirely comprise the Kingdom of God were already in the Kingdom of God. The A.D. 70 advocates argue that this kingdom was a powerless and incomplete kingdom, yet Paul told the Colossians who were in this kingdom, “in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:10). The letter to the Colossians, having been written before AD 70 clearly demonstrates the presence and existence of the Kingdom of God prior to the destruction of the Judean temple.
There is also a notable issue with baptism. According to John 3:3-5, one cannot see the kingdom of God unless they are baptized; yet if the kingdom of God did not come until A.D. 70, then why did the apostles preach and practice baptism long before this? (Acts 2:38; 8:12).
Of significance to this study of the Kingdom is the fact that this body of Christians which comprise the Kingdom of God is designated in other terms within scripture. In Matthew16:18-19, we read, “And I [Jesus] also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My [Jesus’] church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” (NKJV). The spiritual Kingdom of God comprised of God’s followers is here designated as the “kingdom of heaven“. In addition to this, we see another term come into view. The word “church” is translated from the Greek word “Ekklesia” which in the context means a Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both. (New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary).
The Ekkesia is a group of people, which is the same thing as the Kingdom of God, also a group of people. Where the term Kingdom of God is an expression of Christ’s reign, the term ekklesia, or church, is an expression of an assembly or body of people called for a purpose, in this context, Christians. The word Ekklesia is used in Acts 19:32 to refer to a mob of angry people. it is used again in Acts 19:39 to refer to a lawful assembly. In any event, depending on context, this word refers to a group or assembly of people. Both the Kingdom of God and the Ekklesia are referring to Christians.
In Colossians 1:18-24, we learn yet another term which refers to the people of God which make up the kingdom and the Ekklesia. The Ekklesia / church is also referred to as the body of Christ. The term body is an expression of oneness or unity with Christ. Christians are a part of Christ’s body as further augmented in Eph 5:30-31, “for we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.” (NKJV).
Thus we conclude the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the ekklesia or church, and the body of Christ are all terms representing one thing; the people of God. Why is this significant? Because if the kingdom of God did not arrive on the scene until the destruction of the Judean system of worship, neither did the ekklesia / church, nor the body of Christ. Nobody in their right mind is going to make the claim that the church nor the body of Christ did not exist until 70 AD.
The Kingdom of God, the church and the body of Christ were all brought in to existence on the day of Pentecost, following Christ’s crucifixion upon the baptizing of about 3000 souls. Acts 2:41, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them...”, Acts 2:47, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (NKJV).
If the Kingdom of God did not come fully into existence in all its’ glory prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, then neither did the church or the body of Christ since all three are one and the same thing. The teachings by the A.D. 70 supporters cannot stand up to the facts.
I would further like to point out for the reader that none of the scripture used in forming this conclusion violated any of the simple rules of interpretation listed in the beginning of this work. It is all based on the New Testament. None of the scriptures were lifted out of context, it harmonizes perfectly with the corpus of new testament teaching, no commandments of God are circumvented, and each verse of scripture is understood as written and not in figurative terms.
CHRIST’S REIGN
Jesus reigns in Heaven over His kingdom. The scriptures are clear that Jesus ascended to be on the Father’s right side after His resurrection. Acts 1:9
Hebrews 10:12-14 reads “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” (NKJV)
Jesus’ position is that of a ruler over His kingdom, which is His body and the church.
Ephesians 1:20-23 establishes the scope of His reign as absolute: “which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (NKJV)
I would encourage the reader the take note of the fact that in verse 21, Paul mentions only two ages. The current one and the one yet to come. This harmonizes perfectly with the two ages we observed and discussed in Luke 20:34-35.
Now we turn to 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 which reads, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” (NKJV)
We have a description of Christ reigning with a list of events which are associated with the age yet to come. Let’s note verse 23 which states, “Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” It is clear from the text that there is a coming age. The end of the present age and the beginning of the next age is shown in verse 24 of 1 Corinthians 15, “Then comes the end”. The end spoken of here is the END OF CHRIST’S REIGN. The coming of Christ and the end of His reign are directly connected here. If Christ came in 70AD, then His reign has ended and everything mentioned in the above text in association with the end of His reign had to have occurred as well.
During Christ’s reign we see:
- He is superior to all powers in existence (Ephesians 1:21)
- He the head of everything pertaining to the church/body/kingdom, (Ephesians 1:22-23)
At the end of Christ’s reign we see:
- All shall be made alive in the resurrection, (1 Corinthians 15:22)
- Christ delivers the Kingdom over which He reigns to the Father, (1 Corinthians 15:24)
- Christ puts an end to earthly authority and power, (1 Corinthians 15:24)
- Christ’s reign over His kingdom ends when He has overcome all enemies, including death, (1 Corinthians 15:24)
- No more death after the end of Christ’s reign (1 Corinthians 15:24)
This is a huge problem for the 70 AD advocates because if Christ came in 70AD then that signifies the end of His reign over the church. The kingdom has been delivered to God the Father. All of the enemies of Christ have been subdued, and there is no more death. We don’t see that today. There are people that have not been resurrected. There are plenty of earthly powers that have not been subdued. Christ still has plenty of enemies. People still die so death has not been overcome. And the elephant in the room that has not been explained then is, since Christ’s reign has ended, who is reigning over the kingdom of God on earth? Can this be God the Father that is reigning over us now? Is Christ no longer our mediator? The problem here that cannot be explained is that Christ’s reign ends at His coming. And if He came in 70 AD then He has not ruled over the people of God for about 2 millennia. Are we to believe He reigned over His kingdom for 47 years, handed the kingdom of God over to God the Father and retired? The inescapable conclusion here is that if Jesus came in 70 AD then He is not reigning over us today. Any conclusion not backed up with any supporting scripture is nothing but a theory. And conclusion at variance with the word of God cannot be the truth. There is not a single verse of scripture in all the inspired text that alludes to any period of time where Christ is not the head over His body which is the church.
We can further reinforce this with the great judgment account found in Matthew 25:31-46. Here we see that all nations are to stand before Jesus, all graves are to be opened and the dead are raised and everyone judged goes to one of only two destinations, neither of which is on earth. This has to have happened in 70 AD if Jesus came at that time. And if that is true then there would have been no Christians left alive on earth to propagate the gospel of Christ.
The 70 AD advocates have got it wrong. Christ is indeed reigning over His kingdom. We know this because people are still dying and He has not yet brought an end to all powers that oppose Him, and His people.