When the Lord Jesus comes back, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be realized. This is revealed in Matthew 24:44—25:30. Only the overcomers who are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today will have a share in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the future. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be a reward, a prize, given to the overcomers.
The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be the manifestation of the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. This means that in the next age the reality of the kingdom will become the manifestation of the kingdom.
During the present age, the reality of the kingdom and the appearance of the kingdom progress simultaneously. However, when the Lord Jesus comes back, the reality of the kingdom will be transferred into the manifestation of the kingdom, and the appearance of the kingdom will be burned away. The Lord’s angels will bind the tares into bundles and cast them into the fire (Matt. 13:40-42) because the tares have done much damage to the Lord’s kingdom. Therefore, at His coming back, the Lord will deal first with the appearance of the kingdom, and then He will transfer the reality of the kingdom into the next age to become the manifestation of the kingdom.
At this point I would ask you to refer to the chart in message two hundred forty, paying attention to the fourth and fifth circles. In the innermost section of the fourth circle is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. This circle is enclosed by another, larger circle, which represents the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. When the Lord Jesus comes back, He will bind the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens and cast it into the fire, thus terminating the appearance of the kingdom. Whereas the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens will be terminated, the reality of the kingdom of the heavens will be transferred into the next circle, the millennium. After being transferred there, the reality of the kingdom will become the manifestation of the kingdom.
The manifestation of the kingdom will be the kingdom of the Father, the heavenly part of the millennium. The millennium will have an earthly part and a heavenly part. The earthly part will be the kingdom of the Messiah (2 Sam. 7:13), the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), the kingdom of the Son of Man (Matt. 13:41; Rev. 11:15). The heavenly part of the millennium will be the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 13:43). This will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens as a reward to the overcomers. In the millennium the overcomers in the heavenly part of the kingdom will reign with Christ over the earthly part, which will be the restored kingdom of David, where Christ as the Son of Man, David’s royal descendant, will be the King over the children of Israel.
The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be a reward to the overcoming saints. Paul says, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). The heavenly kingdom is the kingdom of our Father (Matt. 13:43), the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 26:29), the kingdom of Christ and of God (Eph. 5:5), and the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:11), which will be a reward to the overcoming saints. The heavenly kingdom in 2 Timothy 4:18 equals the crown of righteousness in 4:8, and it is an incentive to the believers to run the heavenly course.
The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will exist in the millennium during the age of the millennium. Whereas the reality of the kingdom of the heavens is with the church in this age, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be in the coming age.