The Bible and the Kingdom of God


Week 6: The Final Act-- the Kingdom and the Second Coming


Last week we saw how God judged sin on the cross, making forgiveness available to all who believe and thus taking away Satan’s greatest weapon (disarming the strongman), and through the resurrection of Christ by the Holy Spirit, he conquered the power of death (the result of sin), making new life and relationship with God available to the believer through the same Spirit. We also saw how Jesus entrusted his Church to carry out his ministry of proclaiming the good news accompanied with good deeds and acts of the Spirit’s power, thus bringing more and more of humanity into relationship with God through Christ and so under his kingdom rule. The kingdom of God is here, yet not in the exclusive sense, since wherever people are under the influence of sin, Satan’s power still lingers. So there remains a final mopping up campaign, as we shall see….


The Second Coming of Christ:

In his first coming the Son of Man (Messiah) came “disguised” (so to speak) as a humble servant (“A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…” --Isaiah 42. Remember?) There is a saying that the month of “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.” With Jesus it’s the opposite: he came first as a lamb (the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world) and will return as a lion (the Lion of the tribe of Judah). He came to defeat Satan and break the powers of sin, sickness and death. Having accomplished this, he will indeed come again—this time as Judge and King! There will be a final great rebellion by the enemies of God (so desperate and deluded, they actually think they will defeat him). Christ will destroy Satan and all his works, and after having crushed all rebellion and judged mankind, separating the righteous from the wicked, he will at last turn the kingdom over to his Father.


I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the brids gorged themselves on their flesh.
(Revelation 19:11-21)


Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:11-15)



But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
(1Corinthians 15:20-28)


New Heavens, New Earth

Having thus cleared the stage of all opposition, God will fulfill his promise of renewing creation—a heavenly city where his people will dwell in safety, joy and peace, and where he will be worshiped eternally.



Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
(Revelation 21:1-22:5)


And they all lived happily every after!


Questions to Consider:

1. Why do you think Jesus has to come a second time? Why didn't he just take care of everything the first time? (Consider: what would have become of us and the rest of humankind if he had come to judge the world the first time?)

2. Why do you think it is so important for God to give us new bodies at the Final Resurrection? Why couldn't we just be disembodied spirits floating around with wings?

3. How have you seen the clash between the two kingdoms in your life this past week? How has it manifested itself? What will be different when Jesus returns?

The Bible and the Kingdom of God


Week 5: The Kingdom Already & Not Yet


Last week we began to see how in Jesus’ first coming all signs of God’s promised rule were present: forgiveness, healings, people delivered from demons or raised from the dead. All these testified that Satan’s kingdom was crumbling. God’s Kingdom had landed, and in power, bringing victory over sin, sickness and death. Yet we also saw that, though doomed to ultimate annihilation, the enemy’s power is still active, so that there are now in fact two kingdoms in conflict: one growing in strength, one struggling desperately to hang on.


The Cross: Sin Is Judged

On the Cross God poured out his wrath on a sinful mankind. The darkness and earthquake that accompanied Jesus’ death were signs of God’s wrath—remember the Day of the Lord? Yet the Son experienced it in our place. Does this mean that we will not be judged?


From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
(Matthew 27:45-53)


Jesus’ receiving our punishment means that our sin has been judged-- tried, convicted and sentenced carried out. The sin barrier between God and humanity has been torn down, allowing free access to relationship with God through Jesus. There will indeed be a final Judgment of God. If we are in Christ, however, our old sinful nature has died with him, so that this day will be for us one of glorious deliverance and vindication and not one of fear and woe. Our eternal destiny has been decided.


The Resurrection: New Life

Jesus’ rising again from the dead was the first of many (i.e., a forerunner to our own bodily resurrection at the last day). When he rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, it was with the same kind of spiritual body that we will have one day—just as he took on our mortal flesh when he became a man. In rising, because death could not hold him, he gained victory for humanity over death. This new life by the Spirit has been imparted to us, who were once spiritually dead. We are new creatures! Yet we still await the final resurrection (i.e., of our bodies). As the apostle Paul puts it, the Holy Spirit that we receive now as believers is a down payment on this ultimate, glorious promise, with the balance to follow.


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
(2Cor 5:17)

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
(2Cor 5:5)


I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
(Romans 8:18-25)


"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
(John 5:24-27)


The Growth of the Kingdom:

In his parables Jesus demonstrates that while the Kingdom of God is indeed here in power, it has come in seed form. Though unnoticeably small and hidden, a seed is a living thing with great potential—think how many enormous things grow from tiny seedlings! God’s seed is his Word, the good news of Jesus Christ, which he plants in the soil of the human heart.


Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
(Matthew 13:24-33)


It’s All in Jesus:

God’s kingdom and its benefits in our lives do not come to us in a separate package. It’s all available to us in and through a person: Jesus! He is our pipeline to God’s kingdom—through relationship with him. The kingdom of God came through his presence. It is because of his presence that the Not Yet has also become the Already. And so his presence within believers (his church) makes the kingdom a present reality today.


And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
(1John 5:11-12)


Our task as his church is to continue his work—to bring all men, women and children into relationship with the Son of Man.


In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
(Acts 1:1-11)


The signs of the kingdom (healings, deliverance from demons, miracles, etc.) are to accompany our ministry, just as they accompanied Jesus'. They testify that God's kingdom has indeed come in power and in and through the person of Jesus Christ.

Because God's and Satan's kingdoms are in conflict, we do not always see people healed. We must await the final consumation, when Satan is destroyed and God's kingdom alone fills the earth.


Questions to Consider:

1. What role did Jesus' crucifixion play in the reassertion of God's Kingdom? What did it accomplish?

2. Jesus' resurrection is called the "firstfruits." What does this mean and why is it significant for faith?

3. What is our task as Christians as we await his return?

4. Why do we not always see people get healed when we pray?

The Bible and the Kingdom of God


Week 4: Jesus and the In-breaking of the Kingdom


Last week we highlighted what the Old Testament prophets said about the Kingdom of God: that when God came to rule, he would bring…

1. A new covenant—written not on stone tablets but on the hearts of God’s people; sins would be forgiven, thus reopening unhindered relationship with the Lord.

2. Judgment both on his people and his enemies (the nations)—at the Last Judgment the dead would be raised, the righteous vindicated and the wicked condemned.

3. A new creation and harmony in nature

4. The absence of sadness and suffering

5. The direct rule of God

6. And all this would be ushered in by the Lord’s Anointed, the One who is both the Son of God and Son of Man, the divine end-time figure who would be given authority over all creation.


The Kingdom Comes in Power:

God created us to be healthy and whole and in right relationship with himself and one another. Since this is his will, his kingdom rule naturally reflects this. Jesus went about announcing the kingdom's arrival and urging people to repent and believe. Repentance (turning away from sin and back to God) and faith (putting our trust in Christ) are the doorway into God's kingdom.

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
The Calling of the First Disciples
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
(Mark 1:9-15)

John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' "
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
(Luke 7:18-23)


Healing, Satan & Sin:

Over the past three weeks we’ve see how, because of humanity’s sin, Satan had taken the world captive into his own kingdom of depravity, sickness and death, until someone could pay the ransom, bind the strongman Satan and open the doors to let the captives go free. Before this deliverance could happen, however, the sin question had to be settled.


A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
(Mark 2:1-12)


They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee
(Mark 1:21-28)


Jesus & the Resurrection:

In the prophecy of Daniel, at the Last Judgment the dead would be raised, the righteous rewarded with eternal life and the wicked damned to eternal torment. This would be the climax of the coming of God’s rule—before the creation could be recreated, he has to square accounts with humankind.


“…For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
(Acts 17:31)


On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
(John 11:17-27)


“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
(John 6:37-40)


But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all…. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
(1Cor 15:20-28; 51-52)


God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
(2Thess 1:6-10)


Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
(1Thess 4:13-5:3)

Questions to Consider:

1. In what ways did the Kingdom of God manifest itself in the the ministry of Jesus?

2. What role does the forgiveness of sin play in the reassertion of God's Kingdom?

3. What is the Resurrection from the dead? What role will Jesus have in that end-time event? Why is that significant for faith?

The Bible and the Kingdom of God

Week 3: The Prophetic Announcement of the Kingdom


Last week we ended with the golden age of the Israelite monarchy under David and his son Solomon (c. 1000-900 BC). These kings were wholly devoted to the Lord (for the most part), and in response God blessed them materially and militarily. Under Solomon the first temple was built (it was magnificent), and the physical limits of the Israelite kingdom reached their greatest extent. This golden age was short lived, however, for immediately upon Solomon’s death Israel split into two nations: Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom). The division was a judgment upon the house of David for its increasing tolerance of idolatry. Israel chose its own kings and created its own form of worship (blended with paganism), while Judah continued with the Davidic dynasty and temple worship for the next 500 years.

Firmly entrenched idolatry insured that the kings of Israel were mostly wicked, and the nation grew quickly to resemble the pagan peoples around them. God sent them prophets to warn and chastise them (e.g., Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Amos), but they would not listen. He finally pulled the plug on them in 722 BC, using the Assyrian empire as his instrument of judgment. Thereafter, Israel ceased to exist as a nation. In the south, morally and religiously, Judah was frequently little better than her northern cousin, but the presence of the temple in Jerusalem, the occasional good king, and God’s promise to David of an everlasting dynasty, saved her from Israel’s fate, until 586 BC, when the Lord could stand it no more. The Babylonians attacked, completely destroyed the temple and deported Judah’s king and people. This exile (which lasted 70 years) was a devastating reminder that the enjoyment of God’s blessing was not guaranteed but depended upon obedience to his laws (remember the fine print of the contract?).

The Lord allowed a remnant of his people to return, but a broken Judah never regained its independence as a nation (except for a hundred year period in the 2nd-1st centuries BC under the Maccabean dynasty). So what became of the Lord’s promise to David? His promise to make the Jews a light to the nations? As the centuries progressed and Judah experienced one moral and political failure after another, the prophets made it clearer that the full blessings of the kingdom would come about not under a mere mortal king, but supernaturally through the direct intervention of God, as at the time of the exodus from Egypt. There would have to be a radical break with the corrupting influences of this world ruled by sin, sickness and Satan. What was this new kingdom to be like? It would be characterized by…


1. A new covenant with God

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
(Jeremiah 31:33-34)



2. The judgment of God, deliverance for his people and a day of wrath upon his enemies


"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.
(Malachi 3:1-5)


"A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.”
(Zechariah 14:1-9)



3. A new creation, a renewed peace and harmony in nature and between man and nature


"The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come, he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution, he will come to save you."
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
(Isaiah 35:1-10)


"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.
"Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain," says the LORD.
(Isaiah 65:17-25)


4. Sadness, sickness and suffering would be gone for God’s people


"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
(Isaiah 61:1-9)


5. The Lord again would rule his people, but even more directly than before; he would be their light and sun


"Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.
You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."
(Isaiah 60:15-22)


6. This kingdom would be ushered in by the Anointed One of God, a King descended from David, but perfect in righteousness, wisdom, devotion to the Lord, power, humility and judgment—in short, the very offspring of God himself!


"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."
This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
(Isaiah 42:1-7)


"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
(Daniel 7:13-14)


Questions to Consider:

1. What was the source of Israel's continued moral failures? Why did their persistent sin result in such stern judgment?

2. In the midst of this judgment, how did the Lord's mercy manifest itself? Why do you think the Lord saved a remnant of his people to return from exile?

3. Why is the renewal of nature a central theme in the prophetic announcement of the Kingdom? What about sickness and suffering?

4. Why do you think the later prophecies about the kingdom put more and more emphasis on God's decisive intervention and the divine Son of Man as his agent?

The Bible and the Kingdom of God


Week 2: The Kingdom in Israelite History


The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
--Isaiah 59:15-17


Last week we ended with a passage from Isaiah 59, a dismal description of man’s total depravity and inability to break free from sin. Yet this passage ends with a note of hope: that God, seeing no one to intervene, decides to take the initiative himself. The story of God’s dealings with the nation of Israel is the story of God’s initiative in world history—sovereignly choosing an obscure people to rule as his own, through whom he would manifest his power and character, with the ultimate goal of bringing his rule to all nations.


The Covenant with Abraham & the Patriarchs:

Sometime around 1800 BC God appeared to a childless man named Abraham and freely promised him great things: 1) that his descendants would become a great nation; b) that they would inherit the whole land of Canaan (Palestine); c) that the Lord would be his God and that of his descendants; d) that all nations would be blessed through him; and e) that this covenant would last forever. Not a bad deal!

On several occasions during Abraham’s life, and those of Isaac & Jacob, his son and grandson, the Lord reaffirmed his promise in the form of a covenant, a contractual agreement common in Ancient Near Eastern culture. The term “make a covenant” literally means, “to cut an agreement,” referring to the accompanying sacrifice (or “cutting up”) of animals which sealed the deal. This was a sign that the eternal, all-powerful Lord of the universe was stooping to bind himself to a human-type of contract.


After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
--Genesis 15


When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"
Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
--Genesis 17


The Exodus & The Covenant at Sinai:

Abraham and the other Patriarchs (Isaac, Jacob and his 12 sons) did not live to see the ultimate fulfillment of what God had promised them. In fact, God allowed their descendants to fall from favor in Egypt and become cruelly enslaved for 400 years. Just when things looked absolutely hopeless, he sent Moses to announce the time of deliverance. The powerful plagues inflicted on Egypt were God’s judgment on the oppressive arrogance and idolatry of the Egyptians. These as well as the climactic miracle at the Reed Sea demonstrated that he alone rules—over kings, armies, nations, nature, and every so-called “god,” and his will cannot be thwarted. God’s kingdom was on the move!

The Lord began leading his people toward the long-awaited promised land of Canaan, but before they entered, he made another covenant or contract with the whole nation at Mt. Sinai. This agreement resembles the “suzerainty treaties” common at the time. Such a treaty was an agreement made between a greater, more powerful nation and a smaller conquered nation, in which the smaller agreed to serve and cooperate with the greater in exchange for its protection and provision. Within this agreement there would be various curses and blessings (or fine print): if you obey, you’ll get X; if not, you’ll get Y.


" 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.
" 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
" 'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.
" 'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
" 'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
" 'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. '"
--Leviticus 26


It was within the context of the treaty (the Old Testament Law found in Exodus through Deuteronomy) that God freely bound himself to be Israel’s God and King (their Commander in Chief, Provider and Protector) in exchange for their exclusive worship and obedient service. God would rule his people directly, using prophets like Moses as his mouthpiece. This covenant was unique in human history. So God’s rule was established over an entire nation—at least legally, but the human heart is another matter, and so Israel’s obedience or disobedience would be the major theme in God-Israel relations for the next 1500 years.


Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
--Deuteronomy 4:32-40


The Conquest of Canaan & Period of the Judges:

Upon entering the land the Israelites were to begin driving out the pagan inhabitants. As God’s holy people they were not to intermarry with these other nations or to tolerate and adopt their idolatrous practices (which religious practices included worship of numerous idols, ritual prostitution, rape and sodomy, and even human sacrifice). Israel was to be God’s instrument of judgment, to cleanse the land of these things. This was no “ethnic cleansing.” Israel was not ‘superior” by race. God was using them to assert his rule over the land—and this case, his rule meant judgment on sin. The bloodshed further served as a sobering reminder to God’s chosen people that idolatry brings death: the same fate would await them if they stubbornly persisted in worshiping idols.


Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: "Who can stand up against the Anakites?" But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you.
After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
--Deuteronomy 9:1-6


Throughout this military process, the Lord, as King and Commander in Chief, promised to go before them and defeat their enemies. But Israel did not fully obey, allowing some of these peoples to remain, their practices in turn becoming stumbling blocks to God’s people. But the Lord did not give up easily. With his people now infected with pagan idolatry, he allowed surrounding nations to attack and oppress them in order that they might turn back to him. When they cried out to the Lord, he raised up strong military leaders and prophets to deliver them (called “judges”). This was the pattern for the few centuries before the time of David (c. 1300-1000 BC).


The Israelite Monarchy:

Eventually, however, Israel grew tired of trusting the Lord and his prophets and asked for a hereditary monarchy. The Lord gave them what they craved. Yet as we shall see, this change was not outside God’s will—in fact, Israel played right into his hands.


When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."
--1Samuel 8


This new kingship was a break from the past: instead of ruling through his servants the prophets and the occasional military hero, the Lord would rule from heaven through an earthly representative, his “anointed one.”


Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together
against the LORD and against his Anointed One.
"Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
"I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD :
He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
--Psalm 2



The bright side is that a good king who feared and followed the Lord and reigned justly would bring blessing on his people. The dark side: an evil king would lead them into idolatry and destruction. David and his son Solomon were examples of the former. In Solomon’s reign, especially, we see the Israelite kingship at its zenith.



Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.
He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.
The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.
He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy;
he will crush the oppressor.
He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.
He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.
In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.
He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.
All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.
For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long.
Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway.
Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field.
May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun.
All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
--Psalm 72


Questions to Consider:

1. Why do you suppose God chose an unknown and old man like Abraham and an obscure nation like Israel through which to manifest his kingdom?

2. What is a "covenant" and why do you think God used them to make promises to Israel? What did God promise to Israel on Mt. Sinai? What did he expect in return for these blessings?

3. How did God use the Old Testament law to bring his Kingdom? What did the Israelites fail to do that caused them centuries of trouble and temptation? How did God woo his people back?

4. Why did Israel ask God for a king? How was this a manifestation of their rejection of God's rule? How did God use the new monarchy to bring his kingdom anyway?

The Bible and the Kingdom of God

In this 6-week overview of key passages of Scripture, we will trace the revelation of God’s Kingdom plan from the creation, through the history of Israel, and ultimately in the coming of his Son Jesus Christ. Understanding the nature of the Kingdom is an essential key that unlocks much of Scripture, and a necessary tool for the church as we approach ministering to others. In writing this, I gratefully acknowledge the influence of Derek Morphew.


Lesson 1: The Kingdom: Definitions & the Creation


“God’s rule is eternal and universal in the sense that he is, he was and he always will be the supreme ruler of all things. He rules the heavens, the angels, the planets, nature, history and all reality, yet we do not necessarily experience his rule in our lives. The coming of the kingdom involves God’s intervention in the course of human history. His power breaks into the affairs of men, confronting the forces that withstand him and imprison people, and interrupting the normal course of society.” —Derek Morphew, Breakthrough

"All our problems result from the fact that we've rejected the government of God." --Robert Mearns


Definitions:

When I was growing up in the church, the phrase Kingdom of God conjured images of medieval castles in the air. Although I don’t recall ever hearing any particular teaching on the subject, the assumption was that God’s Kingdom was in heaven, not on earth, so we would not experience it until we died.

The biblical reality is quite different, however-- even radical! The words for kingdom used in the Old and New Testaments—Hebrew malkut (mall-KUTH) and Greek basileia (bah-sil-LAY-yah)—indicate that the biblical idea of God’s kingdom is something more active and dynamic than static. In other words, his kingdom has more to do with the act of ruling than with a particular place in time or space. God’s kingdom is his right to rule, reign and have dominion over all creation, including nature and the lives and hearts of human beings.


The Creation:

As Creator of all things, God has the right to rule and receive honor as King.


The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
--Psalm 103:19-22

For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
--Psalm 47:7-9

All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made
--Psalm 145:10-13


God created human beings and set them up as his “vice-regents” or governors over what he created. We were created in his "image" to reflect his nature and character on earth (his goodness, wisdom, mercy, love, etc.) and we were given freedom to govern. Yet, we were to remain ultimately under his governmental authority (that is, we were to rule in the context of obedient relationship to him-- just as a U.S. ambassador to a foreign country is given authority to represent the President and needs to stay in touch with him so as to carry out his will).


O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
All flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
--Psalm 8

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." hen God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
--Genesis 1:26-31

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
--Genesis 2:15-17


Although we were created to have relationship with God and to glorify him by ruling the earth justly and wisely, human beings were also given free will. (After all, love is not love, nor is obedience obedience if one is not free to choose the alternative.) We fell from our position and became corrupt when, after being tempted by Satan, we rejected dependence on God’s rule and wisdom and tried to do things our own way (sin). Sin is disobedience to God’s will and failure to live up to his standards. Because God is not only loving and merciful, but also just and holy, sin brought judgment and death into the world and a disharmony in the created order.


Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
--Genesis 3


The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
--Romans 1:18-32


For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . --Romans 3:23

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. --Isaiah 53:6


Sin brought human beings under bondage to Satan (God’s prosecuting attorney. The names Satan in Hebrew and diabolos in Greek both mean “adversary” or “accuser,” “one who opposes or accuses in a court of law”). Satan also became our jailer, taking us captive and setting up a rival kingdom of sin, corruption, lies, strife, disease, destruction and death. He became, in effect, the “prince” or overlord of this world—like a dictator who takes over a country and begins to oppress and terrorize its citizens, holding them captive to obey his will. In Mark 3:27 Jesus likens Satan to a strong man, a powerful and greedy tyrant with many possessions, whom no one can steal from unless they are strong enough to tie him up.


The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
--Revelation 12:9

For he [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
--Colossians 1:13-14

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."
So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.
--Mark 3:22-27

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
--Ephesians 2:1-2


We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
--1John 5:19


Even in the presence of sin and rebellion, however, God remains our rightful King. He did not utterly abandon his sovereign rule. He remains faithful and compassionate toward all he has made. Although, because of our free choice not to be ruled by God, human sin and the devil have been given room to wreak havoc on earth, God still rules in heaven unopposed. Yet because of the judgment brought about by sin, humankind cannot experience the fullness of God’s rule on earth and in our lives until the debt incurred by sin is paid.

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
--Psalm 24:1

The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
--Psalm 145:14-18


Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
--Isaiah 59:1-4


Questions to Consider:

1. Prior to this lesson, what images did the phrase "Kingdom of God" conjure in your mind? Has your understanding of this concept changed as a result of this lesson? How would you explain the idea of God's Kingdom to a friend, using just a few words?

2. Why do you think God gave human beings free will to choose to love and obey him or not?
What happened as a result of Adam's and Eve's disobedience?

3. Who is Satan and how did he gain so much power? What is the only way he can be defeated?

For further reading about the Kingdom of God, try the following books available through amazon.com:

Morphew, Derek. Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom. Struik, 1991
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1868230392/qid=1144261765/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-3509480-2203023?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Eerdmans, 1959.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802812805/qid=1144261875/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-3509480-2203023?s=books&v=glance&n=283155