"Let Your Kingdom Come" - When Would God's Kingdom Be Established?

Jesus indicated that the Kingdom would not be established in the first century C.E., despite the expectations of some of his disciples.  (Acts 1:6) Consider what he said in two different parables given less than two years apart.

The parable of the wheat and the weeds.   (Read Matthew 13:24-30.)   After relating this parable perhaps in the spring of 31 C.E. Jesus explained it to his disciples. (Matthew 13:36-43) Here is the gist of the parable and its meaning:  Following the death of the apostles, the Devil would sow seeds  (imitation Christians) in among wheat( "sons of the Kingdom," or anointed Christians.) Both the wheat and the weeds would be allowed to grow together during a growing season that could continue  until the harvest, which is "a conclusion of a system of things."  After the beginning of the harvest season, the weeds would be collected.  Then, the wheat would be gathered.  The parable thus indicates that the Kingdom would established, not in the first century C.E., but only after the growing season ended.  As matters worked out, the growing season ended and the harvest season began in 1914.  

Next time:  "Let Your Kingdom Come" -The Wheat and the Weeds

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