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. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet... Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:24-25, 28).

Commentary and explanation. The expression kingdom of God, in the Scripture, has a wide meaning. The kingdom of God covers, on one side, the whole period and scope of the saving action of God for mankind during time, on earth; and, in the other hand, it extends and comprehends also that "moment," in eternity, of the glory and of the sovereign domain of God over the whole creation.

1. The Kingdom of God during time. Jesus introduces His evangelizing mission, saying: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached (Luke 16:16).

The kingdom of God is, first of all, the saving presence of God in Jesus Christ. Wherever the power of God saving man is present, there the kingdom of God is: The kingdom of God is not in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). The kingdom of God is God approaching man.

The entrance door to the kingdom of God is 'the born again' by water and the Holy Spirit: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). As the birth of the Spirit is attained only through faith in Jesus Christ, then it can be said that the entrance to the kingdom of God is by faith in Jesus Christ.

The practice and testimony of this faith in Jesus Christ, is also the passport to enter into the definitive kingdom of heaven. Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in (Matthew 25:34-35). Good works are the visible testimony of a true faith, without which faith is dead; this faith with works are the entrance passport into the eternal kingdom, in heaven.

The temporal aspect of the kingdom of God identifies itself, to some extent, with the church, because through the church God saves mankind; but, as a matter of fact, the kingdom of God goes farther than the church, because the kingdom of God includes also the angels and all those intelligent and blessed creatures before the throne of God. (These are human words to express non-material facts and entities.)

2. The kingdom of God in eternity. The Glory of God. The full and perfect realization of the kingdom of God will be at the end of time, when the salvation of man will come to its term. The kingdom of God will then include the church, and all intelligent creatures: angels, archangels, cherubins, seraphins, and any other spirit that serve before the throne of God.

What will happen then? Paul says in his first Corinthians, in the quotation for this Step, that He (Christ) will reign, and He'll put all His enemies under His feet (v 25). Death will be destroyed (v 26). And when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him (v 28). How? Why?

The Son, as Son, is equal to God, and He does not have to submit Himself to the Father. Father and Son are two persons, equal in power and glory. But, as the Son united Himself inseparably with the created nature of a man, then the Christ-Man will be subjected to the Father, and He will declare accomplished His mission as Redeemer and Mediator of all mankind.

And now, when all things are made subject to Him... then God will be all in all (v 28). This submission of everything to God is the Glory and Lordship of God. Glory of God is a synonym for a complete obedience to His will. God is glorified when creatures are subject to His will; creatures do not have any other means to do homage to God than to subject themselves entirely to His will. God is Lord, and His will be done forever and ever.

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and power for ever and ever (Revelation 5:13).

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For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Commentary and explanation. The three main events that will happen when the second coming of the Lord approaches, will be: the rapture, which is known also as the rapture of the Church; the great tribulation; and the millennium, that is, the one thousand years that Jesus Christ will reign over the earth at the end of time.

1. The Rapture. In the verse 14 that precedes the quotation for this Step, Paul says that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. The resurrection of Christ is the cause of the resurrection of all the members of His body, the Church. Those who are still living will join those who have already died, and then we shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (v 17).

2. The Great Tribulation. This was announced by Daniel, who said: There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation (Daniel 12:1); and it was confirmed by Jesus when He said: For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21; see also v 15).

John spoke also about the great tribulation when he said about the believers who died in Christ: These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14).

The exact time of the great tribulation is unknown, but it could precede the one thousand years of the reign of Christ on earth.

3. The battle at Armageddon and the Millennium. That the Lord Jesus will come again for a second time is certain, and then His coming will be in glory. Jesus said: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven (this is the cross), and then all will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30).

The glorious coming of the Lord will be preceded by a period of one thousand years, during which Satan will be bound in chains and thrown to the abyss. John says: I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-2)

The angel and the dragon will engage in battle, called Armageddon from the name of the place where it will take place (Revelation 16:16). This will be the battle of that great day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14).

This battle of Armageddon will be, perhaps, the beginning of the millennium, that is, the one thousand years during which Satan will be bound; the power of any evil will be destroyed, and the kingdom of Christ will be established on earth through the Church.

Then comes the end, when He (Christ) delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He put an end to all rule and all authority and power... And then, God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28)

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