The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

Matthew 10:5-15 (ESV)
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, [6] but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. [9] Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, [10] no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. [11] And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. [12] As you enter the house, greet it. [13] And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. [14] And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. [15] Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. What profound proclamation. It has arrived. This is what Jesus sends out the twelve to say. Undoubtedly the towns that rejected Christ did so, because they could not perceive the kingdom in the healing of the sick, the raising of the dead, the cleansing of the lepers and the casting out of demons, but had other ideas of what the kingdom of heaven would be like, ideas they would not give up, ideas that blinded them to the realities before them.
This is the problem with Pre-millenialism, and most millennialism, this is why now as then it is nothing more than an attack on the gospel of Jesus Christ. The disciples went and proclaimed the kingdom of God, of Heaven that exists even now on earth wherever the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus rules over a heart. But this was not what they were expecting. They wanted an earthly kingdom, one marked by earthly justice, earthly victory, earthly power and luxury for the saints who rule it.
But the kingdom of God was not marked by those things that make for an earthly kingdom. The Kigndom of god was marked by healing of body and soul in the forgiveness of sins. It was announced that is was at hand, it has not left. It is here even now. The kingdom of heaven rules where children are baptized, where believers partake of the Lord’s Supper according to Christ’s institution for the forgiveness of sins, it is marked wherever sinners young and old are told, “your sins are forgiven.” It is at hand.