“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). Addressing the serpent, Yahweh Elohim said, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). In making such promises, God revealed His intention to intervene in the history of mankind. He fulfilled these promises with the birth of His Son, “when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Gal. 4:4).
A literal kingdom is coming
Scripture leaves no doubt that a literal kingdom — a political, social and economic order ruled by Jesus Christ -will yet be established on the earth. This kingdom will consist of six elements basic to any nation: 1. A ruler, Jesus Christ (Luke 1:32); 2. Co-rulers, the immortalized saints (Dan. 7:27); 3. Subjects, the mortals and their offspring left living after Christ’s conquest of the nations (Zech. 14:16-17); 4. Laws (Isa. 11:2-5); 5. Territory, the whole earth (Rev. 5:10) and 6. A capital city, Jerusalem (Isa. 2:1-4).
Many passages could be listed to substantiate each point. An interesting exercise is to note them while doing the daily readings and list the verses at some point in one’s Bible.
A former kingdom of God
From the beginning of Israel’s existence, God acted as her king. While not directly telling the people so, He fulfilled the role of king in all He did. He established them on the basis of His law, which was to be the focal point of their existence. They were to be His people, following His commands and accepting Him as their head. If they followed His laws correctly, they would be led to Christ –the promised seed– who would then become their king succeeding his Father in this role.
But Israel did not respond correctly. Their loyalty was erratic; they had some spiritual high points but rebelled for long periods of time. Eventually, they rejected God as their king, choosing rather to be led by someone who they could physically see (1 Sam. 12:12).
The heir is born
Over the course of several hundred years, Israel was taken captive by Gentile powers. Later, a remnant were permitted to return to the land. In time, they were conquered by the Romans and had no inspired prophet and no open vision from God. Then came the turning point for the world. Quiet, God-fearing Mary was told by the angel, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).
In these words, God unequivocally states the coming re-establishment of His kingdom over Israel. This hope dominated the minds of those who accepted Jesus as the promised seed. For example, preceding the ascension of Jesus, they asked, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6). Their hope was well founded, for in the angel’s words to Mary, God’s commitment had been renewed to fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15 and 13:15. Three times He had made specific reference to the point and had clearly transferred the right to David’s throne to His Son.
But when the kingdom?
As he began his public ministry, Jesus introduced what appears to be a confusing twist to the situation. He began to preach in Galilee saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). The Greek word rendered “at hand” is translated “nigh” in Luke 10:9,11. Note also Matthew 15:29 and 21:1, where the word must be taken as “near.” Adding to the point is his statement to the Pharisees when he said, “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” (Matt. 12:28).
How can this be? What truly constitutes the kingdom? Is it the rule of God in a person’s life? Is it a theocracy existing as a nation or group of nations? Is it a community under His influence?
There are examples where the kingdom is spoken of as existing now and of the possibility of people entering it now (Luke 17:20-21; Matt. 23:13). In other cases, it is spoken of in an apocalyptic sense as coming at a specific time and lasting for an extended period (Luke 2:18; Psalm 145:13).
On one occasion, Jesus said, “the meek shall inherit the earth.” In different circumstances, he said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Matt. 5:5; John 18:36).
What does Jesus have in mind with his diverse use of the “kingdom?” Some expositors suggest Jesus had an imperfect knowledge of the specifics of the “kingdom.” While on the earth, he may not have known the exact date for the establishment of a new political order, but to suggest he was confused in his usage of the word is absurd. Here was something basic to the promises of God and basic to his gospel. There is nothing accidental, mistaken or haphazard in any part of his message, let alone in something as basic as this.
The meaning of key words
Perhaps the problem comes from the translation of the original Greek word rendered “kingdom” — basileia. According to Strong’ s Concordance, basileia means, “royalty, i.e. (abstract) rule, or (concrete) a realm (lit, or fig.).” Kittel defines the word in his lexicon as, “the being or nature or state of a king, i.e., his dignity, and secondarily, the expression of this in the territory he governs.” Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon broadens this definition to include the “office” itself.
When this word occurs in the text, the context should determine which aspect of the definition should be applied. In looking at a “kingdom” in the concordance, we can tell that 70% of the New Testament occurrences apply to the future while the remaining 30% could apply at the time the term was used.
The Hebrew words rendered “kingdom” are not much more specific. The basic word is malkah. According to Strong’s, the word means, “to reign…to ascend the throne…to induct into royalty; hence…to take council.” Malkuwth simply means, “dominion.” Mamlakah also carries the broad meaning of, “dominion…the estate (rule) or…the country (realm).” There are several other related words. Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon adds, “mamlakah is used both of the royal dignity…and of the country subject to a king.” Gesenius also applies the words to the rulers or chief cities of an area. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament renders the words as “sovereign” or “sovereignty.”
Following are two examples of Old Testament usage of “kingdom.” “Therefore the LORD established the kingdom (position of rulership) in his hand” (2 Chr. 17:5). “To make known to the sons of men…the glorious majesty of his kingdom (i.e. laws, methods, judgments)” (Psa. 145:12). In both cases, the word applies to more than land area and cities.
A right to be king
There is another issue, as well, when considering the kingdom of God. A person’s conduct is critical in establishing his right to be king over God’s kingdom. Saul was not a godly man so God took the kingdom from him and gave it to David. All future kings would be judged by the standard of David because he exemplified a man after God’s own heart.
God will give a position of rulership in His kingdom to those He deems worthy of it. They have the opportunity to share rulership with the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:34; Rev. 3:21). When the good news of the gospel came to people, they were thus receiving the opportunity to share in the royal majesty of the kingdom of God.
Lord willing, next issue we will deal with the various statements of Jesus relative to the kingdom of God.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One