Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Matthew 16:28)

Two-Thousand-Year-Old Disciples

According to the Guinness World Records, the greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years 164 days by Jeanne Louise Calment (France). Born on 21 February 1875 to Nicolas (1837 – 1931) and Marguerite (neé Gilles 1838 – 1924), Jeanne died at a nursing home in Arles, southern France on 4 August 1997. Many centenarians have lived upwards of 119 years of age. In 2012, it was estimated there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide. The lifespan of a person living 100 years is realized more fully, considering all the changes over a century witnessed by one life.

Methuselah is the oldest recorded person to live, reaching the age of 969 years. Adam lived to be 930 years which could be a few more years considering he was created as an adult (age unknown). Abraham had a son at the age of 100 and lived for seventy-five more years. His son would live to be 180 years. It was unusual for scripture to give the age of women, but Sarah is recorded to have lived 127 years. Moses was 120 years old when he died, and his eyes were not dim, nor his natural vigor diminished. These are impressive numbers to consider a human being living far beyond the one-hundred-year mark but none so remarkable as the age of those that many say is still living today – after two thousand years.

Jesus asked His disciples who men said that He was. There were many conflicting reports about Jesus, but Peter answered correctly when he recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus would show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the Jewish leaders, be killed, and rise from the dead on the third day. This was the message of the kingdom of Christ. The Lord preached the kingdom was at hand. Everything about the kingdom of God was based on Jesus being the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Chosen One, and the Anointed. Through the vision given to the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, God revealed through Daniel a kingdom would be established during the days of the Roman Empire that would destroy all kingdoms. The prophecy was a clear testimony to the coming of a kingdom in the fulness of times realized in the time of Christ.

When Peter heard Jesus talking about suffering and dying at the hands of the elders and chief priests, the impetuous apostle took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. Jesus, in turn, rebuked Peter for his unbelief and, turning to the disciples, declared that following Jesus would be cross bearing and suffering. Jesus would feel the pains of crucifixion in a literal sense, but those who were to be the disciples of Christ would bear a spiritual cross. The kingdom of Christ would be made up of those who denied themselves and followed Jesus carrying a cross. Jesus puts a time-marker on the coming of the kingdom when He tells the disciples that among them (the disciples), there would be those who would live to see the coming of the kingdom. In other words, the kingdom of God would come in the lifetime of some of those standing there with Jesus that day.

Throughout the religious world, the doctrine of the kingdom of Christ is taught of a future time. Many accept the idea that He could not set up His kingdom when He came the first time, and now humanity awaits the rapture, revelation, and recreation of the plan of God to establish a kingdom on earth. According to the words of Jesus, if the kingdom was not established in the first century, there must be people who are at least two thousand years old living today. Jesus said men were standing before Him on that day that would live to see the coming of the kingdom. If the kingdom did not come, then either Jesus is a liar, or some incredibly old men walk around Jerusalem today. Neither is acceptable. Jesus did not lie, the kingdom did come, and no one is two-thousand years old. The kingdom has existed for two millennia, and Christ has reigned at the right hand of God as King of King and Lord of Lords.