The Eternal Kingdom Of God

By Jason H. Lile

In this study we are going to examine some aspects of the kingdom of God.  The study of the kingdom is very broad indeed and we will not be able to cover it in it’s entirety in this lesson.  We will be looking at its various stages and natures with an emphasis on the fulfillment of the eternal kingdom of Christ.  We’ll be looking at the requirements and time frame of the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom.  As is the case with any biblical study dealing with understanding a spiritual reality, it’s best to start in the Old Testament with the types and shadows.  We’ve said before that a kingdom consists of four elements; a king, a people a land and a law.  “In the beginning”, we have our first example and starting point for the kingdom of God as it relates to man.  God reigned over Adam and Eve in the Garden.  Their law was a simple one; to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God further develops His kingdom through the nation of Israel.  The Jewish nation becomes His people.  He gives them the Law of Moses and they eventually come to dwell in the land of Canaan.  Then things get interesting and start to take on a new shape.  The Jews reject God as their king and call for a king of their own.

 

1 Samuel 8:7

 

7       The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

 

1 Samuel 8:19-22

 

19     Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us,

20     that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

21     Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the LORD'S hearing.

22     The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and appoint them a king." So Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

          God approves the wishes of the Jews by delivering the reign of His people down to a human king.  Remember that Christ is later said to sit on David’s throne which is God’s throne…

 

1 Chr 29:23

 

23     Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

Luke 1:32-33

32     "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33     and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

 

          The angel therefore prophesies to Mary that Christ will reign on the throne.  We’ll see more about the timing and nature of the fulfillment of this prophesy later in the lesson.

 

          The temple is another aspect of the kingdom that bears consideration.  Before Israel had a human king, the dwelling place of God was the tabernacle.  This was a non permanent structure that was moved as the Israelites moved in an out of bondage to various nations. 

 

1 Chr 22:5-10

 

5       David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. {Therefore} now I will make preparation for it." So David made ample preparations before his death.

6       Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel.

7       David said to Solomon, "My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the LORD my God.

8       "But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed {so} much blood on the earth before Me.

9       "Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

10     "He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

 

King David decided that God deserved a permanent dwelling place and his son, Solomon built a permanent temple to be the dwelling place of God among His people. 

 

          So, what do we see to this point about the status and nature of the kingdom of God?  It now has a physical king, a physical people, a law written on stone and a physical dwelling place for God.  Now that we understand the nature and status of the kingdom of God in its physical state with the nation of Israel, let’s begin to examine what the kingdom will ultimately be like under the reign of Christ.  In other words, what prophesies must come to pass in order for us to see that Christ is reigning in His eternal kingdom?  When we see the nature of Christ’s kingdom, the timing of its fulfillment will become more clear. 

 

          Christ is very clearly prophesied as the king of Israel.  

 

Daniel 7:13-14

 

13     "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.

14     "And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and {men of every} language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

          It is also clear from this passage that the kingdom of Christ is eternal.  So obviously, Christ will be the king of His kingdom.  What is the nature of this reign and kingdom then?

 

John 18:36

 

36     Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

 

          It should be clear from this scripture that Christ knew His kingdom was not to be physical on the earth.  He very plainly alludes to the spiritual nature of His reign and kingdom.  We should therefore be looking for the same in our study of the scriptures.  Jesus further illustrates this point in Luke.

 

Luke 17:20-21

 

20     Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;

21     nor will they say, "Look, here {it is!} 'or, "There {it is!} 'For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."

          Jesus’ language could not be more clear. 

Another very important prophesy about the kingdom of Christ alludes to the many roles He will serve in this kingdom.

Zech 6:12-13

12     "Then say to him, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD.

13     "Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices."'

 

          There are a couple of important things to note in this passage.  First, it is said that Christ will “build the temple of the Lord”.  Isn’t there already a temple?  We’ll consider the nature of this statement later.  More importantly for the purposes of this lesson, it is also said that he will be a priest on His throne. 

 

Hebrews 8:1-5

 

1       Now the main point in what has been said {is this:} we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

2       a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

3       For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this {high priest} also have something to offer.

4       Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law;

5       who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned {by God} when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."

 

          Again the Hebrew writer makes it very clear that the reign and priesthood of Christ is not a physical one.  He would not be a priest at all if He were on the earth!  Is this simply because the current priests are “in the way”?  Is something going to change so that Christ could in fact be priest on the earth?  No!  Verse 5 says that these things are a mere “copy and shadow” of the heavenly things and we’ve already seen that Christ’s kingdom is heavenly, not earthly.  Verse 6 also says that Christ’s ministry is better as it’s enacted on a better covenant.  Why would Christ return to the earth physically to serve an inferior covenantal system?  He would not and we’ve already seen that He’s said as much!      

  

          We now see that the nature of the fulfilled kingdom is a spiritual one.  We’ve also seen that Christ is the king of this kingdom while at the same time being priest.  So, when do the scriptures say that this eternal kingdom will be established?  The very thrust of Christ’s teaching is that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mark 1:14-15 et al.).  As we like to say, if something is “at hand”, it is not yet, but right around the corner. 

 

Matthew 16:27-28

 

27     "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.

28     "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

 

          The immanency of this passage cannot be overlooked.  Christ would return within the lifetime of His own peers to fully establish the kingdom.  Let’s compare a couple of prophesies that detail the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the kingdom.

 

Zech 2:1-13

 

1       Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, {there was} a man with a measuring line in his hand.

2       So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is."

3       And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him,

4       and said to him, "Run, speak to that young man, saying, " Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.

5       "For I,' declares the LORD, "will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst."'

6       "Ho there! Flee from the land of the north," declares the LORD, "for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens," declares the LORD.

7       "Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon."

8       For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.

9       "For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.

10     "Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the LORD.

11     "Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.

12     "The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

13     "Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation."

 

Luke 21:5-31

 

5       And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said,

6       "{As for} these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down."

7       They questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what {will be} the sign when these things are about to take place?"

8       And He said, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, "I am {He}  'and, "The time is near.' Do not go after them.

9       "When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end {does} not {follow} immediately."

10     Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,

11     and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

12     "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.

13     "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.

14     "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;

15     for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

16     "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put {some} of you to death,

17     and you will be hated by all because of My name.

18     "Yet not a hair of your head will perish.

19     "By your endurance you will gain your lives.

20     "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.

21     "Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city;

22     because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

23     "Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;

24     and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25     "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

26     men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

27     "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.

28     "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

29     Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;

30     as soon as they put forth {leaves}  you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.

31     "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

 

          There are many comparisons that can be made between these two passages.  There many other points that could be seen if we had the time to cover them all.  We’ll simply deal with some of the more obvious statements.  Verses 6-9 in Zechariah deal with the persecution of the saints (“the apple of His eye”) and the destruction of the city of Jerusalem or Babylon.  They also warn Zion, the holy nation of God, to flee.  The last few verses encourage God’s people however as He promises them that He will come to dwell among them and they will be His holy people.  Notice the similarity then in verses 12-24 of Luke 21.  The same prophesies are made more clear to the apostles by Jesus.  He warns them of the persecution to come upon them and also of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem.  He tells them of these things so they will know when the end is near.  Specifically, vs. 27 says that these things will immediately precede the “Son of Man coming in a cloud”.  Finally in vs. 31 He tells them that when they see all of these things happening, to recognize that the kingdom of God is near.  These things were written to Jesus’ peers… the first century saints.

 

          We’ll close by looking at Mathew 25 as it is the summary for the lesson in a nutshell. 

 

Matthew 25:31-34

 

31     "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.

32     "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

33     and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34     "Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 

          This is the fulfillment of Daniel 7.  When the Son of Man comes, THEN he will sit on His glorious throne!  Then the king says to His people, “inherit the kingdom”.  The kingdom is clearly completed in it’s eternal state when Christ returns to reign as the king and to present the kingdom to His people as an inheritance.  We’ve already proven these things to be spiritual in nature as Christ Himself said they would be!  We’ve shown that these things happened in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  Christ was in fact victorious in defeating death!  He does in fact reign as our king in power and glory.  He has delivered the kingdom and we are able to dwell there with Him!

  as of 6-2006