The Bible has a lot to say about the kingdom of God.  It tells what the kingdom of God is, who its King is, who its citizens are, and what its future will be.  I hope that the answers to these questions will become clear as one reads the pages that follow.

I began compiling notes on the kingdom early in the 1980’s when my wife and I lived in Klamath Falls, Oregon.   Gary and Winnie Worley, our son-in-law and daughter, had encouraged me to write about the kingdom.

I thought, at first, to write only about the establishment of the kingdom, but afterwards I realized that the book would have to be about the reign of the King, too.  So the book falls into two sections: (1) The establishment of the kingdom, and (2) the reign of the King.  The subject of the kingdom is so large, however, that each chapter of the book is hardly more than an outline of what could be written.

The argument of this book is carried forward on the shoulders of the many passages of Scripture that are quoted for all to see.  I attempted to cite Scripture references for as many of my comments as possible.

The scripture references are taken from The New King James Version of the Bible, published by the Thomas Nelson Publishers of Nashville, Tennessee, and quotations are made from it with their permission.

I want to thank James Andrews of Publishing Designs, Inc. in Huntsville, Alabama, for his kind and expert help in getting these notes ready for printing and also for helping me sharpen the questions at the end of each chapter.  If any mistakes are left in the book, they are mine and not his.

I am thankful to God for His kingdom and am grateful to be in it.  I wish I were a better citizen of it.  I pray that this book will be an encouragement to those that read it.

Richard E. Walker
Lubbock, Texas
August 22, 1996
(Revised November 27, 2008)