In parable after parable Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God. God’s coming kingdom was the topic of much of His teaching during His ministry. Another way in which Jesus showed what the Kingdom of God on earth will be like was through the miracles which He did throughout His ministry.
Jesus Christ will be the king of that coming kingdom when it is brought to this earth and replaces the governments of mankind. In Revelation 11:15 we read: “And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever.”
Most human governments fail to meet the needs of their people and, more often than not, put their own interests instead of the good of the people that they rule. Our nations are being weakened due to the greed and selfishness of many who have great wealth and power. Even with the more decent human rulers who do try hard to rule in the right way they are often limited as to how much that they can do to fix the problems that they have to deal with.
God’s kingdom on the other hand will be ruled by a perfect king who will truly to do what is best for the people. And not only that He will also have all power and will not be limited as men are by how much that He can do to fix up this world’s problems.
The miracles which Jesus performed during His ministry were not performed to show off His power but were done out of love and concern for others. Let’s take a look at a foretaste of how Jesus will rule mankind in the future as seen through the miracles that He performed during His ministry.
1] Control over the forces of nature
In Matthew 8:24-27 we read: “And behold, a great tempest arose in the sea, so much so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him and awakened Him, saying, Lord, save us! We perish! And He said to them, Why are you afraid, you of little faith? Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
Jesus’ disciples were amazed that He had control over the forces of nature by being able to calm the storm. Imagine a world where the king has such control over the forces of nature! Imagine no hurricanes, floods, droughts and earthquakes! He will control the environment including being able to heal the earth of its environmental problems.
2] Control over the spirit world
In Matthew 8:16 we read: “And evening coming on, they brought to Him many who had been possessed with demons. And He cast out the spirits with a word”. Ephesians 2:2 tells us that Satan is the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience”.
Satan broadcasts His moods and impulses into the hearts and minds of men motivating them to disobey God. Just as Jesus was able to cast out demons, after He brings the Kingdom to this earth an angel shall “cast him [Satan] into the abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more” (Revelation 20:3). While humans will still have the choice to obey God or not they will no longer be stirred up by Satan to do so.
3] Feeding the multitudes
Another of the miracles of Jesus was where He fed the multitudes. There were two occasions where he fed multiple thousands of people. The first time was where He fed 5000 people starting with 5 loaves and 2 fishes in Matthew 14, verses 15-21. The second time is recorded at the end of the next chapter in Matthew 15 where He fed 4000 people.
By miraculously feeding thousands at a time Jesus showed His total power to provide for the physical needs of people including the most basic needs of food and water. While some miraculous feeding may be needed at the beginning following the devastation of the Great Tribulation, mankind will be taught how to properly build up the earth’s soil and farm in a natural, sustainable way as God intended.
A future world without hunger is described over in Amos 9:13 which says: “Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him that sows seed.” The Kingdom of God will eliminate world hunger.
4] Turning water into wine
The very first miracle of Jesus that He did during His ministry was during a wedding feast in Cana. They were running short of wine and at His mother’s urging He had six big pots filled up with water and He changed all that water into wine. We found the perfect weddings linens direct for the party at cvlinens.com website, their customer support was the best, I recommend it!
What true blue Aussie wouldn’t like that as a superpower, especially if you could make beer that way as well? You’d be everyone’s best friend if you could. And it wasn’t just cheap ordinary wine that Jesus made. Judging by the reaction of the host in John 2, verse 10 this was high quality wine. Jesus cared for people and that care also included helping them to enjoy life to the full and continue to celebrate a joyous occasion and keep the party going.
God’s kingdom itself is pictured as a great and joyous feast. Over in Isaiah 25:6 we read: “And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.”
Zechariah 14:16 speaks of the whole world celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles after Christ returns. Imagine entire nations keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. It will make the Olympics or the Year 2000 fireworks celebrations look like a picnic in comparison.
5] Healing the sick
In Matthew 15:30-31 we read: “And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.”
Millions of people suffer from all sorts of sicknesses and disease in this world. Those who are actively taking proven on a daily basis do much better however. The number of people in this world who are blind is double the entire population of Australia. Imagine being able to empty out hospitals of all those who are sick by healing them.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied the following about God’s Kingdom in Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man shall leap as a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”
6] Raising the dead
There is one last miracle of Jesus that goes way beyond healing a sickness and that is being able to raise the dead back to life.
Almost everyone remembers the story of Jesus raising Lazarus back from the dead told in John 11. In addition to Lazarus, we read in the Gospels that Jesus also raised two other people back to life making a grand total of 3 people that Jesus rose from the dead that are recorded for us. In Matthew 9:18-26 Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. The other occasion was when Jesus raised the son of a grieving widow from Nain in Luke 7:11-16. Jesus Himself was raised back to life by His Father after 3 days and 3 nights.
By resurrecting people Jesus showed that He has the power to reverse death itself. Now Revelation 20 speaks of two resurrections – the first resurrection, being of saints and prophets who will rule with Him during the millennium, and the second resurrection, of everyone else up to Christ’s return who died without turning their lives to God, who will be given an opportunity for salvation after the millennium.
In conclusion, God’s kingdom will be wonderful and fantastic and the many miracles of Jesus give us a foretaste of what God’s kingdom will truly be like after the return of Jesus Christ. It will be a time when natural disasters will cease and God controls the natural forces. It will be a time when Satan and the demons will be cast out and no longer be able to stir people up to sin.
It will be a time when world hunger, disease and sickness will be eliminated. It will be a time when life will be meaningful and joyous like a feast. And ultimately it will be a time when death itself will be banished or as the apostle Paul puts it “death will be swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).