What the Bible teaches

about the Kingdom of God!

The

Everlasting

Kingdom

Pastor J.S. Brooks

            If one were to summarize the ministry of our Savior on earth, it would be difficult to dismiss the strong and repeated emphasis on the Kingdom of God. In fact, it was in the early part of His ministry that we are informed He began to proclaim but one central message:

            How ironic and sad it is, that most Christians seem neither to proclaim, nor understand what Christ meant by the synonymous terms, “Kingdom of God” and “Kingdom of Heaven.” Although seldom understood by the layman, there are three major contrasting views on the Divine Kingdom held within Christendom today:

CONTRADICTORY VIEWS

            Amillennialism teaches that the Kingdom spoken of is only a Spiritual reign of Christ in the present Christian Church; thus, the Kingdom is only in existence now in this age, not in any future age. Premillennialism, in contrast, teaches nearly the exact opposite: Neither the present Christian Church, nor the present age, constitutes the Kingdom of God; the Divine Kingdom awaits a coming age, which will see Christ’s physical return to rule on earth in person with His saints. It is obvious that both views cannot be entirely true, because of their contradictions. The question remains: Is the Kingdom of God a present reality, or a future hope?

            Interestingly enough, one Bible professor, Stanley J. Grenz, in his book, “The Millennial Maze,” has insightfully commented, “It is most probably not the case that one view is solely correct and biblical, whereas the others are totally false.” (pg. 24) He advises that we see the strengths and weaknesses of each system, and “move the entire question to a deeper level.” Grenz has a good point, for there are things we can agree with in each system.

A DEEPER LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING

            With Amillennialism, we agree that the Kingdom of God is not entirely absent from the earth during this present age of the church. The kingdom exists where Divinity dwells:

Other Scripture passages also assure us of the present reality of the Divine Kingdom: Matthew 16:28; Luke 17:21; Col. 1:13; Revelation 1:6. In addition, the Christian Church is already enjoying some of the Old Testament blessings predicted of the Kingdom of God: regeneration (Ezek. 36:24-38), forgiveness of sins (Isa. 55:4-7), justification by faith alone (Jer. 23:6), and the Holy Spirit coming upon men (Joel 2:27-28). In fact, some of these “Kingdom blessings” have been available at least since the time of Abel in the Garden of Eden (Heb. 11:4). Not only Christ before His Ascension, but Paul also was engaged in “preaching the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 28:30-31) If the Kingdom was postponed to a future age, neither Christ nor Paul would have been able to preach it as a present reality. Indeed, we must agree that the Kingdom of God is not entirely absent and future!

            With Postmillennialism, we agree that the Kingdom of God is growing in size in the earth, over a period of time, and from an almost imperceptible beginning.

In the next verse we are told that the Kingdom is like leaven. This is also particularly symbolic of growth, as leaven works particle by particle until it pervades the whole. Other Scripture passages also describe the sure and continuous growth of the Kingdom, until it fills the whole earth. (Matt. 25:6, 19; 28:19-20; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:29; 17:20; 21:24; Rom. 11:25-26)

            With Premillennialism, we agree that the Kingdom has a future literal, earthly phase, in which our Savior will be physically present:

            The obvious inference here is that this stage of the Kingdom was not a present reality, but awaited a future day when Christ would be physically present with them again. The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:50 places this event after the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” When the disciples “supposed that the Kingdom of God was immediately to appear” (Luke 19:11), Christ presented the parable of a nobleman who journeyed to “a far country” to receive a Kingdom, a time-consuming event. Similarly, in the parable of the ten virgins, the bridegroom came after a long delay (Matt. 25:6), and in the parable of the talents it was “after a long time” that the Lord of these servants returned. Other passages also clearly indicate that there is a literal, future aspect to Christ’s Kingdom: Matt. 13: 41-43, 49; Rom. 14:17; II Tim. 4:1; I Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Jas. 2:5

ETERNAL NATURE OF THE KINGDOM

            Therefore, all three of the competing interpretations of the kingdom of God have significant truth to them, and significant Scriptural support; yet all fall short of recognizing the truth in the others’ systems. Each of them limits the Kingdom of God to a short time-frame, either to this present church age, or bound entirely to a 1,000 year age to come. Instead, the Bible speaks of the Kingdom of God as eternal: unbound, unlimited, and everlasting!

            There is no hint here of God’s Kingdom being limited to either a short Church age now or to a thousand years later. When we limit God’s Dominion to only one age, we weaken His authority and deny His timeless sovereignty. Notice above that the words “dominion” and “kingdom” are used interchangeably. In the passage above, the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, recognized that God had the dominion even at that time in history. No other ruler, no matter his apparent power, has any real “dominion,” for Yahweh has dominion at all times over all nations. Because our God is sovereign, earthly kings rule at His Will. That may not always seem apparent, but it is true. It is a mustard seed nation, which at first is almost unnoticeable to humans, yet grows to become the greatest of kingdoms, until it rules the whole earth.

THE REVEALING OF THE KINGDOM

            Daniel was given a tremendous prophecy, which put the final earthly, perfected phase of God’s kingdom into an historical time-frame. In chapter two, four kingdoms are prophesied using the symbols of gold, silver, brass, and iron. (verses 32 and 33) Bible scholars agree that these symbolize the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. But following these earthly human kingdoms would be an earthly Divine Kingdom:

            Historians know that the fourth beast, Rome, continued on until the early 19th century in the Holy Roman Empire, and today is finally centered in the Papacy itself. When this remnant of the Romish kingdom falls, it will be succeeded by a different power, a Fifth Kingdom, the visible, earthly phase of the Kingdom of God, which shall stand for ever. The Kingdom of God remains a great secret to many; especially those who cannot fathom the Sovereignty of God and His Eternal Dominion. But that Dominion, on earth since Eden, will continue growing in visible might and power, until it cannot be ignored. Then will begin the visible, physical phase of Christ’s Kingdom.

            The same four human kingdoms of Daniel chapter two, appear again in chapter seven, this time symbolized as beasts. Here, we read:

            The fact that all nations will serve and obey Christ indicates that the Kingdom has not finished growing in visible power and might yet! Therefore, the present Christian Church may be considered the Spiritual phase of the Kingdom, but cannot by itself be all there is to that Kingdom. There is more to come! 

THE PHASES OF THE KINGDOM

            Few stop to consider that the Kingdom of God is to be found throughout the pages of Scripture. The Garden of Eden was God’s perfect domain, where he dwelled among our first ancestors. That Garden was not only a foretaste of the Kingdom spoken of in the Book of Revelation, it was actually an early phase of the Divine Kingdom itself, or God’s reign among mankind.

            Later, God dwelled among men in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. We are told that the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle was God’s specific dwelling place at that time. Following that period, God dwelled in the Temple at Jerusalem. Exodus 19:6 tells us that God designated Israel as the Kingdom People, “a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” It was a Theocracy, or rule by God. This might be referred to as, the Priestly or Passover Phase of the Kingdom of God. After the fall of Jerusalem, the royal line of Judah probably did not see its end, as the prophet Jeremiah took the daughters of the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, along with the Ark of the Covenant, and fled according to tradition to another part of the earth where their descendants dwell and reign to this day.
            In 2 B.C. came the birth of the promised Messiah. But being crowned King of an earthly Kingdom was not yet His Purpose at that time in history. As His Crucifixion drew near, He declared:

            The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, has a Spiritual reign in the lives of God’s people during this church age. Again, where God dwells is His Kingdom and Dominion. Some may deny the work of the Holy Spirit among us, but God did not leave us “comfortless,” even for an instant. This present reign of the Holy Spirit may be called the Spiritual phase of the Kingdom, and began with signs on the day of Pentecost.

            The Amillennialist tells us that the Kingdom ends as this age comes to a close and is succeeded by “the eternal state.” Yet Scripture indicates that there are actually not one, but two or more ages (plural) yet to come before any “eternal state.” (Ages ‘to come’ are not yet here.)

Mention of these ages appears in Revelation chapter 20 (the “Millennium”) and chapter 21 (the “New Heavens And Earth.”) It is therefore not correct (as the Amillennialists teach) that the Book of Revelation contains the only Scriptural references to future Kingdom ages. Luke also says,

Notice that it is a literal earthly throne from which Christ will reign; David was a literal person who reigned on literal earth, not in heaven. This fact is often dismissed as “British-Israelism.” That may be so, but it is also Scripture! Second, Christ’s Kingdom is again said to last “forever...of His Kingdom there shall be no end.” Where then do some get the idea that the Kingdom comes to an end with the Church age? The symbolism in the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles pointed to this time period, so these future ages of the Kingdom may be termed the Tabernacles phase.

            Thus we see the truth that at every time in history, the Kingdom of God was in existence in some form, at some place on the earth. Otherwise, the Old and New Testament writers could not have called it an Everlasting Kingdom!

ISRAEL: A SOURCE OF CONFUSION

            What is the reason for the immense confusion over the nature and timing of the Kingdom of God? The answer can be summed up in one word: ISRAEL. Whoever you conceive Israel to represent (whether spiritual or literal), will affect your view of the Kingdom, because the nucleus of the Kingdom is Bible Israel. In other words, your concept of the identity of the Kingdom People will reveal your view of the nature of the Kingdom itself. For example, many say that the modern Jewish people constitute God’s Israel. But since they have rejected the Savior, Jesus Christ, it would be a logical conclusion that God must not be working with them until some later time, evidently a later age, and therefore the Kingdom is postponed until that time. This is the view of Premillennialism.

            If instead you believe in a Spiritual-Israel found in the modern-day Christian Church, then logically you would be likely to embrace Amillennialism or Postmillennialism, which teach that the Kingdom is to be found in the Church. These views state that God divorced racial Israel for their unbelief, and has permanently replaced them with “Spiritual-Israel,” the Christian Church.

            Finally, if you believe that the Caucasian people of Christendom constitute the literal descendants of the lost House of Israel, and are therefore the nucleus of both physical and “Spiritual Israel,” then you would logically accept an Eternal Kingdom not limited to one age. For if Israel did accept Christ as their Savior, then God is continuing to work through them, both now and in future ages, without any interruption in the Divine Kingdom or Plan. We believe that this, in fact, is the teaching of the Scriptures. This interpretation we call the Kingdom-Covenant view.

            All other Millennial interpretations teach that the ancient Israel Kingdom theocracy (rule by God) ended by the close of the Old Testament, either temporarily (Premillennialism) or permanently (Amillennialism and Postmillennialism), to be substituted by the Church. In contrast, the Bible identifies the Church with Israel, for the Old Testament Kingdom is called, “the church in the wilderness.” (Acts 7:38) Dr. Charles Hodge remarked, “There is no authorized definition of the Church which does not include the people of God under the Mosaic Law.” National Israel is closely identified with the Church; for Israelites, God’s sheep, were the nucleus of the Church.

AN EVERLASTING KINGDOM THROUGHOUT HISTORY

            The late pastor, Claud Coffin, in his booklet, “God’s Emerging Kingdom” (Destiny Publishers) pointed out, “The Christian age began with the statement of John the Baptist, and that of our Lord Himself, that “the Kingdom of God is at hand”; that is, already present. (Mark 1:14-15). Our Lord’s whole teaching ministry was concerned with varying phases, or stages, of its development.” God’s Kingdom is everlasting, but it is manifest in a series of stages throughout history. The Old Testament Passover Phase found Israel a Kingdom of Priests. With the advent of the Holy Spirit came the Spiritual Phase. This will be followed by the Tabernacles Phase, with Christ tabernacling on earth with His Redeemed. These three phases of the Kingdom are also typified in the three ancient feasts of Israel: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. The question before us may therefore be reduced to its simplest form: Do we proclaim that the Kingdom of God is everlasting -yesterday, today, and tomorrow? Or do we deceive ourselves into limiting that everlasting Kingdom to a Church age now or a Jewish age later?