5. The Kingdom of God

     Although one of the most frequently mentioned items in the New Testament, the "Kingdom of God" is another topic that figures prominently in questions about the end-times.  My introduction to the theme, as with all "end times" related matters, came through Hal Lindsey and the Dispensational Premillennial viewpoint.  Their position involves several key assertions: {1} God promised Israel a glorious earthly monarchy, {2} this Jewish monarchy is to be ruled over by the Messiah sitting upon an earthly “throne of David” in earthly Jerusalem, {3} since Jesus was rejected by Israel in His first coming and was not able to establish an earthly Jewish kingdom, the kingdom must have been “postponed” until the 2nd coming, and {4} when Jesus returns (Revelation 19), He will bind Satan and rule this earth for 1,000 years from Jerusalem (Revelation 20:1-6).  These notions were repeatedly drummed into my mind as I read Lindsey's books and Scofield Reference Bible margin notes.[1]  A few examples of Hal Lindsey’s view,

But the bible teaches that lasting peace will come to the world only after Christ returns and sits upon the throne of David in Jerusalem and establishes His historic kingdom on earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4‑6).[2]

Had the people received Him, He would have fulfilled the kingly prophecies in their day in addition to the ones regarding the suffering Messiah.  But when the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Christ, the fulfillment of His kingship was postponed until the final culmination of world history.[3]

This longing for a kingdom of peace and prosperity on earth had been the dearest desire of all the Old Testament believers.  It was the primary hope of Judaism, promised in hundreds of passages through their prophets...The apostles didn't realize {Acts 1:6} that the Kingdom promised to Israel had been temporarily postponed until God could call out from among the Gentiles a people who would accept His Messiah and then be eligible to partake of the blessings promised to Israel.[4]

As you read their books and visit their websites, Dispensationalists cite numerous passages as evidence that God promised (and still owes) national Israel an earthly kingdom.[5]

Why I Believe this entire Scenario is Erroneous

     On Biblical grounds, I reject every point of this scenario.  I am going to put this whole discussion in terms of Jesus’ differences with Peter over why He had come the first time - “God’s Interests” versus “Man’s interests” (Matthew 16:21-23).  I believe the same problem exists today, because dispensationalism continues the same erroneous expectations that led Judaism to miss “the time of their visitation” (Luke 19:41-44).  My assertions follow,

     While popular in ancient Judaism and modern Dispensationalism, the idea of an earthly Israelite monarchy did not originate with God, but worldly-minded men.  God’s “kingdom intentions” for Israel were expressed at Mt. Sinai " a holy nation & priestly kingdom (Exodus 19:5-6), but the Israelites were not interested - they built a golden calf idol and wanted to return to Egypt.  The priesthood was then given to Aaron’s family and all above the age of 20 (except for Joshua and Caleb) died outside the Promised Land (Exodus 32 & Numbers 13-14).

       To the second generation of Israelites, Moses gave a farewell “repeat/summary” of the covenant in Deuteronomy.  In 17:14, Moses noted that after they were settled in the land of Canaan, Israel (“and you say”) would desire an earthly monarchy, imitating their worldly neighbors, so limitations on this monarchy were spelled out clearly (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).

     After being in the land for some time and “forgetting God” (Judges 2:10) in favor of following their own whims (Judges 21:25), Israel sinned and God gave them into the hands of conquerors.  After crying out, God would rescue them through a Judge and one of these was Gideon, who delivered them from the Midianites.  Afterwards, Israel’s leaders approached Gideon with the request that he establish a dynastic monarchy, which he refused because he remembered that God was Israel’s king (Judges 8:22-23).

     Some time later, the Israelites approached Samuel with the same request (1Samuel 8:1-5).  Because his own sons were not following in his spiritual footsteps, Samuel took this personally, but God identified this request as something far more sinister - a rejection of His rulership (1Samuel 8:6-8).  God had Samuel warn them of what such a monarchy system would cost them, but they were convinced this was what they needed (1Samuel 8:9-22).  Twice more, Samuel emphasized what an evil and rebellious thing this desire for an earthly monarchy was and they finally got the message (1Samuel 10:17-19; 12:1-25).

     Earthly Kingdom Review - {1} the first Israelite king, Saul, lost his humility and throne for disobedience (1Samuel 13 & 15). {2} David conquered surrounding enemies and was a spiritual man, but also let his fleshly lust ruin his family and damage the kingdom to the point of revolt and civil war (1Samuel 16 - 2Samuel 24).  {3} Solomon began with wisdom and built a Temple, but his many wives opened the way for establishing idolatrous religions around Jerusalem (1Kings 1-11).  {4} the kingdom divided into two and Jeroboam immediately led the northern 10-tribe kingdom into idolatry (1Kings 12) that continued until God used Assyria to destroy that kingdom in 722 B.C.  {5} The southern 2-tribe kingdom, ruled by David’s descendants, continued until God sent Babylon against it to destroy Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple in 586 B.C.  {6} Then God gave “kingdom authority” to Nebuchadnezzar to rule over God’s covenant people, noting that three more worldly empires would rule over Israel until God would reassert His direct rule over His “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) people through a foundation stone of Divine origin during the time of the 4^th empire (Daniel 2:31-45).

       Gideon and Samuel had it right - the earthly Israelite monarchy was a bad thing of human initiation.  However, nostalgia later kicked in and the “Throne of David” came to represent the notion of earthly monarchy more than David’s messianic lineage, so that after being under the domination of foreign nations for 500+ years, most Israelites of Jesus’ time expected and desired an earthly Messianic king who would restore a glorified, earthly Israelite monarchy.

     Jesus was/is the promised Messiah of David’s lineage, however God did NOT send Him into the world to rule over an earthly monarchy.  The spiritual need from Eden was ignored in favor of the political hopes of worldly people.  The angel’s message to Joseph identified the reason for the coming of Mary’s child (Matthew 1:20-21).  When Jesus first began to explain what would happen, Peter responded with the Satanically-inspired “desires of men” in opposition to God’s interests (Matthew 16:21-23).  Later on, while the Apostles were imagining future political rank in an earthly monarchy, Jesus reminded them again that this should not be their expectation, for He had NOT come to be served by others (as an earthly monarch?) but to serve humanity by dying as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:20-28).  Where in the Gospels can you find any evidence that Jesus expected, intended, or desired to rule from an earthly throne?  Where in the New Testament is there any clear evidence that this is what the Apostles taught to the churches later on?

     The Throne of David - Prophecy does indicate that the “throne of David” would belong to the Messiah and represented Messiah’s rule over God’s people.[6]  However, there are two problems with the expectation that Jesus must sit on an earthly throne to satisfy these prophecies.  The first of these is that the “throne of David” is not a reference to an exclusively “earthly” throne.  The throne over Israel belonged to God until He was rejected (1Samuel 8) and granted that a human king would rule (under His authority) as Israelites had requested.  God’s promise to David was that his family would continue to be the only human family with a right to rule over God’s people, ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah coming from David's lineage.  The “throne” David sat on was a “proxy” throne, this is why the “Throne of David” was also known as the “Throne of the Lord” (1Chronicles 29:23).  Since Jesus, of David's lineage, has taken His seat on the true Throne of the Lord in heaven (Revelation 3:21), it would seem that He is already on the “throne of David.”  On Pentecost, Peter cited David's expectation that the Messiah would sit on his throne as looking ahead to the resurrection and exaltation of the Messiah to the highest position of authority, which Peter declared to be a reality on Pentecost (Acts 2:29-36). 

     A second problem with Jesus ruling from an earthly throne in Jerusalem, is that, as far as Jews were concerned, Jesus is a legal royal heir of David through Jeconiah’s lineage, because Matthew wrote his Gospel for a Jewish audience and gave Joseph’s legal royal lineage back to David through Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11-12).  Well, since (for Jewish purposes) Jesus’ royal lineage is traced through the earthly father and Jeconiah is in this line, Jesus can never rule from a throne of David in Judah because Jeremiah 22:30 specified that no descendant of Jeconiah would ever rule again from a throne of David in Judah.

     I find several things wrong with the “Jesus failed/postponed” kingdom viewpoint.  First, dispensationalism and first century Judaism expected an earthly Messianic monarchy, but where did Jesus ever show even the slightest interest in this program?  How did Jesus portray the nature of the Kingdom in His parables (Matthew 13)?

     Second, Jesus was very popular and an earthly Messianic monarchy is exactly what first century Jewish people wanted and expected from Him!  After feeding the 5,000 men, the crowds held Him to be “the Prophet” (like Moses?) and were ready to take Him to Jerusalem and forcefully install Him as king - Jesus walked away from that (John 6:14-15).  In the triumphal entry, Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem and called “king of Israel” by the crowds, to the degree that the Pharisees saw little point in opposing Him (John 12:12-19).  Why did Jesus repeatedly walk away from popular Jewish support for Him establishing an earthly kingdom?  The assertion that Jesus couldn’t establish an intended earthly kingdom because He was rejected is ridiculous - it would be more accurate to say that Jesus was rejected when it became obvious that He had no intention of changing the outward political order!  Pilate understood that immediately (John 18:33-38).

     Third, I have already noted that Jesus DID have popular Jewish support for an earthly monarchy, but for argument’s sake, let’s assume that God’s plans were foiled by Jewish rejection of Jesus as their Messianic king.  Jesus spoke of the kingdom in such a way that rejecting Him would not “postpone” the kingdom but would cause it to be taken away from the Jews and given to other people (Matthew 21:43).  The notion that Jewish rejection forced God to “postpone” His kingdom plans makes us wonder about the many passages asserting that God does what He pleases and humans cannot thwart His plans.[7]  Can Judaism “trump” God’s hand?

       Fourth, there can be no question that, along with popular support, Jesus had sufficient power to establish Himself upon an earthly throne if such was His intention (Matthew 26:52-54).  The crucifixion of Jesus was not “plan B” (if the Jews rejected Him as king), but it was what was prophesied (Matthew 26:54), the “predetermined plan” of God (Acts 2:23), and the Jewish-Gentile “Church” that resulted is exactly what God eternally intended (Ephesians 2:11 - 3:11)!

       On the basis of these facts and logical arguments, I can reach only one conclusion - Jesus did NOT come the first time to establish and rule over an earthly monarchy!

       Because Dispensationalism is focused on the 2^nd coming, it views Revelation 20 as beginning with the return of Christ.  Their thinking on this is that Satan still appears to be very active during this age and they are correct.  However, Revelation 20:3 does NOT say that Satan is bound so that he "cannot" deceive, but that Satan is bound so that he “should not deceive.”  The NAS correctly portrays this as a subjunctive rather than an indicative statement (Indicatives portray 100% reality to the stated action, subjunctives portray 50/50 conditional reality - conditions are right for something, but some other variable affects the reality).  The same word for “bind” appears in Matthew 12:29, where Jesus was claiming that His casting out of demons by God’s power demonstrated two things: the kingdom of God had come (12:28) and the strong man’s (demonic) house was being plundered because he had already bound the strong man.  Satan was “bound” in connection with Jesus’ first coming (see: Hebrews 2:14-15 and 1John 3:8).  What is the "variable" affecting the reality of Satan's binding and ability to deceive?  Hearing and obediently believing the Gospel message frees us from Satan’s domination and transfers us into Christ’s kingdom (Acts 26:16-18; Colossians 1:13-14).  Christian evangelism and teaching is intended to help Satan’s captives break free of his control (2Timothy 2:24-26).  What Jesus did is capable of breaking the power of Satan in a person’s life, but the variable is that the Gospel message must be heard/known and believed for it to do it's work.

     Along with the Jeremiah 22:30 problem, I find it highly unlikely that it is God’s will for Jesus to leave heaven’s throne again for the “footstool” (Isaiah 66:1-2), return to a semi-mortal state, and impose earthly government upon people unwilling to bow to Him in His absence (Luke 19:11-27).  Instead, the NT pictures Jesus' returning to separate all to eternal fates (Matthew 25:31-46), gather and change His people for immortality (1Corinthians 15:50-54; Philippians 3:20-21; Hebrews 9:28), and destroy rebels (2Thessalonians 1:7-8).

     Jesus rules “in the midst of His enemies” (Psalm 110:2; Luke 17:20-21), which Paul described to the Corinthians as “until the last enemy death is defeated.”  Christians will be raised when Jesus returns and then He will deliver the Kingdom back to God the Father, thus Jesus’ return will mark the end of His reign, not the beginning! (1Corinthians 15:20-26).  Jesus’ period of “authority/rulership” over the kingdom is NOW (Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36; Ephesians 1:18-23; Philippians 2:5-11; Revelation 1:5-6,9; 3:21).  The Kingdom Jesus proclaimed is spiritual rather than earthly/material, thus a spiritual birth is required to see/enter it (John 3:3,5) and flesh and blood cannot inherit it (1Corinthians 15:50).

        Psalm 2 foretold a conspiracy (see Acts 4:21-28), but God would install His king anyway and then the nations would be warned to honor the Son before He returns in judgment.  The nobleman left instructions with His servants and then went to a far country to receive his kingdom, when he returns he rewards servants and destroys enemies - he does not enforce a system of government on those who reject him (Luke 19:11-27).

       Isaiah 2:1-4 said that “last days” Jerusalem would be exalted above earthly hills and mountains and Gentiles would gather to Israel's God.  Daniel’s prophecy (9:24-27) noted a set period time in which God would finish His dealings with the Jews and earthly Jerusalem - pointing to the first coming of Jesus.  Jesus told a Samaritan woman that earthly Jerusalem-centered Temple worship was ending (John 4:20-24) and foretold the destruction of Herod’s Temple (Matthew 23:32 - 24:2).  The Apostles picked up this shift in focus from earthly to heavenly Jerusalem and emphasized it (Galatians 4:21-31; Hebrews 11:10,13-16; 12:18-24; 13:12-14.  The end of the Mosaic covenant era is why things like the food laws, Aaronic priesthood; all men gather in Jerusalem 3 times a year for feasts, etc. came to an end.

       Jesus’ sacrificial first coming marked the beginning of the final age for this earth (1Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26).  If the current age is the last one for this planet, then the next era will be eternity and that leaves no room for another earthly “kingdom” age between the current Church Age and the New Heaven and Earth.  Messiah's kingdom is NOW!

       So, what about all of those passages cited as proof that God promised and owes national Israel a future, earthly kingdom age?  I have several thoughts on that.

       First, remember that the earthly monarchy and the fixed stone Temple building were both ideas that originated with men, not God (Deuteronomy 17:14 & 1Samuel 8; 2Samuel 7:1-7).

       Second, if I were to deal with each of the suggested passages (endnote #5), I can see a number of things that the New Testament writers saw fulfilled in the first coming of Christ and the Church Age - dispensationalists tend to put more of a materialistic and earthly-minded spin on prophecy than is often needed (Philippians 3:18-19) and, like their Jewish counterparts, fail to see prophecy fulfilled in ways other than they imagine (Acts 13:27).  The only kind of “kingdom” they can really conceive of is an earthly, geo-political entity - man's interest.

       Third, there are a few prophecies that do suggest a glorified, earthly kingdom for Israel.  Could these be describing the glorified state of things in the New Heaven and earth to come?  I think some of them do.  Could these have been “conditional promises” - something that national Israel could have had if they had been faithful to the covenant?  Possibly, for Jeremiah revealed something of how God works with earthly nations (including and primarily Israel) - God can change His mind about the good or evil He plans to do to “national pottery” based on how they respond to Him (Jeremiah 18:1-11).  Israel could have left Mt. Sinai and gone right up into Canaan and began the conquest, but they rebelled and were consigned to 40-years wandering until a whole generation died in the wilderness (Numbers 13-14).  God sent Jonah to prophecy destruction to Nineveh, they repented, and destruction did not fall within 40 days as predicted (Jonah 2-4).  Israel could have been obedient to God and blessed in such a way that the rest of the world was impressed and envious, but they chose to imitate the world (1Samuel 8:5) and both suffered for it and gave God a bad reputation (Romans 2:23-24).  Perhaps some of those prophecies are “what could have been” and will never be fulfilled because Israel was “unwilling” (Matthew 23:37) and their kingdom hope was given to the church.^[8]  I suggest we learn the lesson of the Transfiguration - now it is time to listen to Jesus and let Moses and the Prophets fade into the background (Matthew 17:1-9)!

Other Matters

     The Temple - As for the earthly Temple building in God’s program, remember that God instructed Israel to build a portable Tent, the Tabernacle (Exodus 25) and demonstrated His acceptance of it when first set up (Exodus 40:34-35).  Later, feeling guilty that his own palace was nicer than the tent he had placed the Ark of the Covenant in, David decided to build a permanent stone Temple building - but God declared that He had never asked for such a building to be built (2Samuel 7:1-7).  However, God did allow David’s son, Solomon, to build it and showed His acceptance of it when it was dedicated (1Kings 8:10-11).  However, immediately after Solomon dedicated it, God appeared to him and warned him that covenant unfaithfulness would eventually lead to its destruction (1Kings 9:1-9).  After 300 years of general unfaithfulness to the covenant, God brought the Babylonians in to destroy Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple, but before that happened, Ezekiel saw a vision of God’s Spirit departing from the Temple and Jerusalem (Ezekiel 9-10).  When the Jews returned from Babylon and built a second Temple, God’s Spiritual presence never visibly returned and the Ark of the Covenant was gone (Jeremiah 3:16).  The next visit of God’s Spiritual Presence in a “tabernacle” came with the Incarnation, in which God’s Presence was in a “tabernacle” of human flesh (John 1:1,14; 2:18-23).

     Zechariah 6:11-15 predicted that the coming Messianic “Branch” would combine the priestly and royal functions and would build a Temple using those far off (Gentiles).  Jesus was of David’s royal line, became a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and for those with ears to hear, temple construction is under way during this age (Ephesians 2:11-22; 1Peter 2:4-5).

Final Teasers

     There is much more that could be said, but here are some teasers to stimulate more study.

     (1) “When” did Jesus say the kingdom was coming (Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Matthew 12:28)?

     (2) What is the kingdom like, what could you compare it to (Matthew 13)?

     (3) What is the nature of the kingdom and how do you enter it (John 3:3,5; 18:36-37; Romans 14:17; 1Corinthians 15:50; Hebrews 12:28)?

     (4) What are kingdom citizens like? (Matthew 18:1-4; 19:13-15)

Charles E. McCoy  11/8/2006