While foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus said: “So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (Luke 21:31). Some conclude from this passage that the kingdom did not exist until the destruction of Jerusalem. However, the New Testament repeatedly speaks of the kingdom as already existing before that event (Col. 1:13; Heb. 12:22-28; Rev. 1:9). How, then, should Luke 21:31 be understood?
By applying Psalm 2:7 to Christ’s resurrection, Acts 13 illustrates an important interpretive principle. Paul said, “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts 13:33). Yet Jesus was clearly identified as the Son of God long before His resurrection. John 3:16 identifies Him as God’s only begotten Son: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” At Jesus’ baptism, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17). Peter confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16; Jn. 6:69).
Since Jesus was already the Son before His resurrection, Acts 13 cannot be describing the beginning of His Sonship at the resurrection. Instead, the resurrection publicly vindicated and powerfully demonstrated the Sonship Jesus already possessed. As Paul wrote elsewhere, Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power… by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). The resurrection was the powerful declaration and vindication of His Sonship, not its inception.
The same principle helps explain Luke 21:31. The destruction of Jerusalem did not bring Christ’s kingdom into existence. Rather, it powerfully declared that Christ was reigning, vindicated His prophecy, and confirmed the reality of His kingdom, which had already begun on Pentecost (Mark 9:1; Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8; Acts 2).
Acts 13 illustrates an important principle of Bible interpretation: a prophetic fulfillment does not always mark the beginning of the reality being discussed. Sometimes it marks its public vindication and powerful confirmation rather than its beginning. That principle helps harmonize Luke 21:31 with the many passages showing that Christ’s kingdom already existed before Jerusalem fell.