Most of the time I like the truth. I always love it, but sometimes I don’t like it. But a good deal of the time the truth is more fascinating than the fictions that contradict or obscure its identity.

So, I am pleased to announce, as many of you already know, that the real change in the millenium occurs tonight at midnight, the explanation being that counting the years from Christ did not begin with the number "0." We were in the year "1," supposedly, the moment of the birth of Christ, so the year "2,000" really is the last year of the previous millenium. I am sure that you have heard that explained a thousand times.

Though this is the last day of the millenium, it is not the last day of useless speculation. Since it was promised, the coming of the kingdom of the messiah has been eagerly awaited. The time of that coming has been the subject of speculation since the promise was given to David by Nathaniel. "When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever" (2 Sam. 7:12-13).

Daniel added fuel to the fire when he interpreted the dream of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. His dream involved four great empires, and counting down from his, the fourth would be the Roman Empire. The message of the dream of Daniel 2 is found in this verse: "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2:44). When these prophecies were made, their meaning was largely lost on those who made them. All of the prophets who told of the coming of the Christ and his kingdom prophesied bits and pieces of shadows of the things to come. Peter says of them, "Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Not having the answers revealed to them about the coming of the kingdom, they were given to speculation. But according to verse 12 of our passage, those revelations of the kingdom were made to us by those who preached by inspiration – the apostles and prophets who wrote the New Testament.

Now it is one thing to not have information from God, and quite another to reject the information that has been given. It was this very rejection of the truth of God’s word that moved the Jews to crucify Jesus. Those who speculate about the coming of the kingdom do so because they do not believe God. Is the kingdom about to be established? Is it off in the future somewhere? Most of the religious world that claims to be "Christian" believes that is the case. But God’s revelation tells us they are wrong.

Remember the coming of the unshakable kingdom was supposed to come in the days of the fourth world empire, that is the Roman Empire. During the Roman occupation of Israel, John the Baptist appeared on the scene. "And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:1-2). This was the kingdom the Jews were promised in the time frame that God promised it. Then Jesus came: "Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). The announcement of Jesus and John, and therefore the correct estimation of the Jews, was that the kingdom was about to be established – right then.

Then in Mark we have this about Jesus, "And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There are some here of them that stand by, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 9:1). There are two notable things found in this passage. First, the kingdom would come during their lifetime. Second, it would come with power. The excitement among the disciples waxed high, anticipating their greatest hopes – the presence of the messiah in his kingdom.

Many things occur, Jesus is crucified, raised, and appears to the awe-struck apostles. Just before he ascends, their curiosity about the coming of the kingdom gets the better of them, so they ask, "Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). His answer was right on target: "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (vs. 7-8).

First, the kingdom was to come with power. They would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. What power? The power associated with the coming of the kingdom. That is what they were talking about, the coming of the kingdom, and Jesus said they would see it come with power.

Second, when they understood that the kingdom had come they were to be his witnesses all over the world, beginning from Jerusalem.

Both of these things that signal the beginning of the kingdom occur in Acts 2. In the first 4 verses, the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they receive power to speak in tongues. As they are instructed, they begin in their efforts to bear witness for Jesus. "This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses" (Acts 2:32). After this, the kingdom is spoken of as something that presently exists (Col. 1:13; Heb. 12:28).

There are many who look for the kingdom to be established at the resurrection. But what did Paul say? "Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power" (1 Cor. 15:24). At the resurrection, Jesus returns the kingdom to his father.

The Bible clearly gives the beginning of the kingdom as the Day of Pentecost in 33 AD and the end of the kingdom as the resurrection day. So far, that has been a period of nearly 1970 years. The millenium of Christ’s reign apparently is a figurative millenium. Revelation 20, where it is mentioned that Jesus would reign a thousand years is a difficult passage couched in language that would have us believe that the last battle would be fought with swords and spear from the backs of horses (Rev. 19-20). How ever we understand this great passage, we must not accept any explanation that would contradict the plain teaching that the church is the kingdom of prophecy, and that it is already here. That fact is established in the easier non-prophetic passages, and God is not going to contradict himself.

We need to accept God’s revelations, whether it has to do with the kingdom, his Son’s sacrifice, or what we must do to be saved. There will always be some who delight in that which is not true.