When we come to the end of the Bible, we see that the kingdom will result in a very unpleasant situation—in a great rebellion. It is the same with the type in the book of Genesis. How good it was that Noah enjoyed peace in the kingdom and that mankind was recovered back to the beginning to fulfill God's purpose. However, the issue of it all was the rebellion at Babel. The rebellion of mankind at Babel was altogether due to the work of Satan.
Satan usurped man to misuse the God-given authority over others to form nations. God gave man authority to rule over others that there might be peace, but Satan usurped man and caused him to misuse this authority to form nations. Although God did have the intention that man rule over others, He did not intend for man to form nations. The forming of nations was the work of Satan. Satan caused man to misuse his authority, using it to form nations and to establish little empires for man himself.
Satan instigated man to rebel against God by building the city and tower of Babel. The building of the city and tower of Babel was a declaration of independence from God. Mankind was declaring that it had become independent of God.
That rebellion was judged directly by God Himself. When God judged the earth at the time of the flood, He did not do it directly. He sent a flood to judge that age. However, at Babel God came down personally and judged that rebellion directly. He did not send anyone else to deal with that rebellion; He dealt with it Himself.
Now we come to the New Testament where we see the real kingdom, the kingdom in reality. The New Testament is a book of the kingdom. The whole New Testament is on the kingdom. What is the first item of the preaching in the New Testament? It is the kingdom. The kingdom is preached in the opening chapters of the Gospels. The New Testament preaches the gospel in the way of the kingdom, not in the way of going to heaven. The New Testament does not say, "Repent, for heaven is ready for you." It says, "Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). Today people hear thousands of gospel messages. Have you ever heard a gospel message telling people to repent because the kingdom is coming? In my whole life I have not heard one such message. When Christians preach the gospel nowadays, most of them always talk about sin, heaven, and hell. Hardly anyone speaks about the gospel as related to the kingdom. But in its first preaching of the gospel, the New Testament tells us to repent for the kingdom.
The gospel is for the kingdom. The purpose of the preaching of the gospel is that men might enter into the kingdom. The gospel is proclaimed that people might be saved, qualified, and equipped to enter into the kingdom. Regeneration is for the kingdom (John 3:3, 5). If you have not been regenerated, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Have you been saved, washed in the blood, and regenerated? For what purpose? Before I came into the church life, I was told that we had to be saved, washed, and regenerated that we might go to heaven. In the church, we have seen something higher—that we have been saved, washed, and regenerated for the church (Eph. 5:25, 23; Acts 20:28). The gospel of the kingdom brings the rebellious sinners into the church. But now we need to see what is the reality of the church. The reality of the church is the kingdom. If you have been saved, washed, and regenerated for the church, it means that you have experienced these things for the reality of the kingdom.
My burden in this message is to share with you what is the real church life. The real church life is the kingdom. The gospel is for the kingdom. Being saved, washed, and regenerated is altogether a matter of the kingdom.
The church is the kingdom in reality. Some Christians insist that this age is the church age and that the kingdom has not yet come. According to their concept, after the church age is over, the kingdom age will begin. Although this understanding is in a sense correct, it is not correct in every sense. As we shall see, the church today is the kingdom. The proper, real, and living church is the kingdom, and the kingdom is the reality of the church. If there is no kingdom, then there is no church. Our salvation and regeneration are for the church, and the church is the kingdom.