Q:  Jesus said, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” How could all be saved if the kingdom is taken away from some? Who is it taken away from?  What does Jesus mean in verse 44 when He says that “whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken” and “it will grind him to powder”?

A: A (1):  Those who will not be a part of the kingdom will die. They will be raised to stand before Christ Jesus on His great white throne, as described in Revelation 20, to be judged for their deeds. In my opinion, they will suffer Christ’s indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish (see Romans 2:4-10) before Him until their judgment is complete. Since “the wages of sin is death,” they will probably die before the throne, and then be throne into the lake of fire, which is the second death, as will be all whose names are not written in the book of life. Is God’s wrath vindicated? Yes. If Christ Jesus says to Peter, He should forgive his brother who sinned against him seventy times seven times, not seven times, why can’t God? (Matthew 18:21).  And He will.

In I Corinthians 15:22-28, Paul tells us that all who are dying in Adam, will be vivified in Christ. But each in his own class: Christ, Firstfruit; thereupon those who are Christ’s in His presence; thereafter the consummation (end) whenever He should be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father. This will happen at the consummation of the ages (eons), when all enemies have been made subject to Christ, the last enemy to be done away with is death.  Then, all who are dead will be vivified, as are the rest of humanity that God may be All in all.

And Colossians 1:19 states it this way, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (NIV). The neuter “things” is used because, not only are all humans reconciled, but also, all spirit beings in the heavens and everywhere, who were at enmity against God.

A (2): In verse 42, Jesus quotes from Psalms 118:22-23, which was prophetic that Messiah, the Head Cornerstone, would first be rejected by the “builders.”  In my opinion, this is a metaphor illustrating that Israel, nationally, would reject Jesus, “the Stone,” stumbling or falling on Him, and would be “broken” or die and be judged later, and not be apart of the kingdom on earth. And when He is the Cornerstone, it will be as King Messiah during the millennium. Even then, figuratively, those who would reject Him would be crushed (See also Isaiah 8:14,15; Daniel 2:34,35; Romans 9:33; I Peter 2:6-8.