My dear readers,

My Kingdom is Not of This Earth!

John 18:36: “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”

The Lord has laid upon the hearts of the Board of Elders that the church theme for Calvary Pandan BPC in 2025 is John 18:36a. Jesus answered Pilate and said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Is this your conviction as well? This theme reinforces the theme of 2024, which was “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled” taken from John 14:1a. We lived through 2024 in great turmoil and uncertainty because of the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The world watched with bated breath as events unfolded, almost everyone hoping and praying that the conflicts would not result in a Third World War that would be nuclear, and no one would survive! Thank God that from the Holy Scriptures, God encourages our hearts to look to Him and never to forget that no matter how the world events may turn out, even for the worst, God is always in total absolute control. All the events of today will culminate in the fulfilment of all the last-day prophecies.

To further reinforce God’s truth in our hearts, we must remember that this world is not our home. Christ’s kingdom and ours is not of this earth! Does this mean that Christ’s kingdom is not real? Christ’s kingdom is real and made of the dust of the earth, like today’s earth. What Christ meant was that His Kingdom is not based on:

• Carnal Philosophies – The wisdom of men is foolishness. It is based on godless ideas culminating in a man-centred governance where corruption thrives. There are no absolutes in man’s thinking and reasoning. They do whatever is right in their own eyes. For example, the sale of drugs carries the death penalty in some countries, but in others the government has legalised the sale and consumption of drugs. Man cannot help himself out of this anthropocentric carnality because man is born in depravity. He is in bondage to sin. Sin is his master until he dies.

Christ’s kingdom is based on truth, as the Holy Scriptures reveal. What is right and wrong is crystal clear to Him and ought to be to all His disciples. Christ’s kingdom is for the holy and righteous only;

• Wicked Desires – When kings or leaders rule, it is to quench their wicked desires. The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes dominate their thinking, which in turn control their desires. They take what they want at will. They do not care for right or wrong; to them, might is right! By force, they bully the orphans, widows and the disadvantaged.

Christ’s kingdom is pure, holy and always good to all. No evil or the slightest hint of wickedness exists in Christ’s kingdom. The purity and holiness that characterise His kingdom last forever. Only those who are holy and righteous like Him may enter and dwell in His kingdom;

• Sinful Arrogance – The pride of life governs every sinful man. His arrogance and self-aggrandisement have resulted in mass killings of millions of men, women and children in the name of conquest and prideful enslavement of humankind. Strong countries conquer weak countries, and empires are born. In the process of such conquests, they destroy at will. Every obstacle that stands in their despotic path is ground to dust. Nothing is allowed to stand in their way as they march headlong toward their goal of global conquest! The evidence of the destructive nature of the pride of man litters the pages of history. These despotic conquerors boast of their greatness as they write their highly exaggerated history, conveniently omitting their blunders and the millions of lives they slaughtered mercilessly to ingratiate their despicable ego. But their grandiose attempts to leave behind their contemptible names have always resulted in failures as their empires have been replaced repeatedly by others that were greater. Yet, foolish sinful man refuses to learn from the mistakes of other foolish despotic leaders of the past. Humanity keeps making the same prideful mistakes. It would have completely destroyed itself, if not for the merciful intervention of Jesus Christ, the God almighty.

Christ’s kingdom will be filled with the glory of God, who alone deserves man’s praise, adoration and worship as their Creator God, for the chief end of man is to worship Him and to enjoy Him forever;

• Discriminatory Justice – There is no justice in the courts of man or every judgment of man. It is laced with the poison of favouritism, where justice is based on the faces of men, women and children. Nepotistic justice is ubiquitous among all leaders throughout the ages. There is not one leadership (whether democratic or monarchic) where family members and friends are not given special treatment in the name of protection or expediency. Whatever the reasons are, the justice they practise is tainted.

Jesus Christ stood before Pilate to be judged and was finally condemned by such a corrupt system. Pilate admitted that he found no fault in Christ, yet for the sake of pleasing man, he condemned Christ to death by crucifixion. The evidence of the twisted justice of sinful man is exposed in John 19:1-6: “¹Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. ² And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, ³ And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. ⁴ Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. ⁵ Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! ⁶ When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.”

Christ’s kingdom will be based on truthful justice anchored eternally and solidly in God's immutable character of holiness, righteousness and godliness. His justice is perfect and will never be tainted or diminished, even in the slightest, for eternity.

Christ declared plainly that if His kingdom were of this earth, He would have taught and commanded His disciples to fight and protect Him from being unjustly taken and arrested by the Jews. Christ’s kingdom will never be the conquest of a Gentile nation, even a global one, and then to transform it into something of His own fancy, like what all Gentile kings did in the past. The Babylonians defeated the Assyrians and made the territories of Assyria its own for self-glory. The Persians did the same to the Babylonian empire, the Greeks did the same to the Persians, and the Romans did the same to the Greeks. What is man that he needs to glorify self?

Christ’s kingdom will have no link to any Gentile carnal devil-inspired kingdom. Christ’s kingdom begins in holiness and righteousness and will continue to do so without end, for His kingdom will never be replaced. The King of kings and the Lord of lords will live forever and rule His kingdom forever.

Will you be like your Saviour and say, “My kingdom is not of this earth”?