The Kingdom Of Heaven

Introduction

I once heard a preacher speaking of the Kingdom of Heaven: he said, “It is in you.” After the service he approached to shake my hand so I ask for the meaning of “in you” and he replied that if Jesus is “in you” so is His Kingdom. I asked what he meant by this and he replied, “you got to have faith,” then he rushed off to shake a few other hands. I was not satisfied with this answer; I had no idea what was meant in the first place and the final reply left me more confused. Curiously, many professed preachers/teachers of the Gospel of whom I have asked this same question have answered in like manner. So I have concluded the Kingdom either: cannot be explain, because it is unexplainable; or it can be explained, but I lack the “faith” necessary to understand it so its meaning was withheld from me; or it can be explained in simple terms, but some of those that I asked for explanation are as ignorant of its meaning as I was when I first asked the question. I believe the last proposition to be true.

The purpose of this blog and subsequent blogs will be to explain the Kingdom as prophesied in Scripture and how it applies to the Church. This is a critical issue, because the Kingdom is the promise and hope of every child of God as He fulfills His work in creation. Therefore, you too should be extremely desirous of know what it is. My explanation of the Kingdom—and the answers I seek concerning it—is found in the Bible. I am never ashamed or too timid to question any so-called Bible teacher and neither should you be nor should you take no action to dispel your own ignorance. If you are a believer in the risen Savior and you are not getting the answers you seek, confess your sins to God, humbly and expectantly study the Bible and pray always that the Spirit will reveal to you truth. Finally, take no man’s (or woman’s) teaching for granted, but instead, hold their “feet to the fire” and either confirm them right or prove them wrong by the Word of God.

Assumptions Concerning the Kingdom

The Kingdom of Heaven is a great theme of Scripture. The New Testament announcement of the nearness of the Kingdom is the predominate teaching of John the Baptist (Mat. 3:2), of the Lord (Matt. 4:17) and His Disciples (Matt. 10:7). This is the Good News that they proclaimed to Israel: The Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near. This Gospel that John, Lord Jesus and the Disciples brought to the children of Israel matched that of their long anticipated headship over all nations (Deut. 28:13). Note that it was never said the Kingdom was here, rather, it was said to be in a state of nearness; but the Kingdom had not yet and has not since come. This is very important, because any honest theologian would agree the Jews were anticipating the coming of the golden age—the Kingdom Age—as predicted in the Old Testament and had that Kingdom actually arrived it would still be with us. You don't need to be a theologian to know that if this is the Kingdom that we are now living in then something is seriously wrong with God's plan, because this world we are living in really sucks!

How important was the coming Kingdom to the Jew of Jesus’ days? If one were able to ask them the question, “What is the major theme or purpose that encompasses God’s overall master plan?” Their answer would be that the drama of history revolves around the Kingdom of Heaven. “The concept of God as King is found exclusively in Scripture…Most explicitly, however, are references to the rule of God in terms of a kingdom” (Roy Beacham, “Dictionary of Premillennial Theology,” M. Couch, gen. ed., Kregal, 1996). Also, because of the substantial importance placed upon the Kingdom in Scripture and its implication for the Jewish nation, it is a hotly debated topic in Christian theology. Adding fuel to the debate is the fact that those who first preached the Kingdom (i.e., the Baptist, Christ Jesus and the Disciples) never explained or clarified the meaning of the term. This lead us to assume that the meaning of the term was quite clear to those to whom it was first preached. Had its New Testament preachers a different interpretation of the term “Kingdom,” different from that of the average 1st century Jew, they certainly would have explained it. No such clarification is found anywhere in the four Gospels or Acts.

For the sake of clarity, let us make a few more assumptions. First, the verbal, plenary inspiration of the original manuscripts of the Bible is taken for granted. Second, the terms Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God are synonymous. Also, it must be understood that Jesus offered a real kingdom to the Jews of His day: a kingdom that had long been prophesied and its fulfillment yearned for. The biblical concept of “kingdom,” includes several ideas: a ruler, the right to rule, a realm in which ruling authority is exercised and the reality of that authority being experienced by the kingdom’s subjects and not merely a spiritual state or sense of being. Finally, if God is sovereign then He already rules eternally in a Kingdom in which He is the absolute authority.

The Eternal or Universal Kingdom

The Bible presents two aspects of God’s Kingdom: the eternal aspect and an earthly aspect. The eternal Kingdom is characterized by four essential truths: It is timeless; it is universal; it is providential; and it is miraculous. To say that His Kingdom is “timeless” is to say that it had no beginning. Therefore, from eternity past, before the creation of the angels, the earth and man the Kingdom actually existed, because of the relationship among the members of the Trinity: God the Father was Sovereign; God the Son, although equal in person, was subordinate to the Father; and God the Holy Spirit, though also equal to both the Father and Son, was the active executor of the will of the Father (Gen. 1:2, 3). Furthermore, the eternal Kingdom is providential in that while it exists at God’s behest He will employ secondary causes and persons in bringing about His will. And it is miraculous, because, indeed, it arises from the character of God.

From eternity to eternity we find the Kingdom, involving the unquestionable authority of God to rule in a universal sphere. The eternal Kingdom was displayed in the angelic realm before it was developed on the Earth. The created angelic hosts in that kingdom were subject to the Sovereign and they worshiped Him and obeyed Him. This continued until the fall of Lucifer and the angels who followed him in rebellion, but this in no way upset or stifled either God’s right to rule or the fact that He still continues to rule.

The Kingdom on Earth

As another demonstration of His right to rule, God decreed Earth as the place where He would rule. He populated this planet with sentient creatures (i.e., the human race) that were both able and responsible to recognize God’s right, submit to it and give to the Ruler the praise and worship that is due Him. God chose mankind as His representatives (a secondary cause) on Earth to carry out the desired demonstration of His rule—He established the theocratic or mediatorial Kingdom.

God as the Sovereign One has in every period of the theocratic/mediatorial administration, ruled through those to whom He assigned His administrative authority. It was the responsibility of the administrators to subjugate all to God’s authority, to reward those who do good, to punish evildoers and to provide an atmosphere in which the subjects of the King might live in peace. “The universal and mediatorial kingdoms were indistinguishable when God brought the universe into existence…before the fall…God’s universal rule was unopposed…when Adam sinned…humans exerted an apparent autonomy from God…sin had veiled God’s kingship” (ibid).

In Eden, Adam was the first of God’s administrators. His responsibility was to subject all creation to himself, so that through him creation might be subject to the authority of God. When Adam failed to uphold his theocratic/mediatorial position, this form of administration failed too and so God brought judgment and expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden; cursing mankind and the very realm that they were meant to subdue.

God instituted a new form of administration in which He wrote His law in the hearts of men and subjected man to His law. That law was man’s conscience (Rom. 2:15), and as men subjected themselves to the rule of conscience, they were in subjection to the authority of God. But that also failed. And when men rebelled against that form of administration, God wiped the human race off the face of the earth by a flood, but he spared “Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives” (Gen. 7:7), to repopulate Earth.

God then instituted a new form of administration, through Noah, in which authority was given to human government (Gen. 9:6). It was the responsibility of human government to curb lawlessness and to bring man in subjection to the authority of God. Again man failed miserably. And when men organized in open rebellion against God, “the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:8).

Then God called a man named Abram (whose name He later changed to Abraham) to do His will in accord with His ultimate Kingdom program on Earth. With the call of Abraham, God introduced a new form of administration. He instituted the Abrahamic Covenant that promised Abraham a land, an eternal posterity and blessings. Throughout the Old Testament—through this covenant program—God administered His theocracy on Earth. The Kingdom was then developed with the nation Israel through the covenants God made with them: the Abrahamic (Gen. 15:18), the Palestinian (Deut. 28-30), the Davidic (2 Sam. 7:14), and the New (Jer. 31:31-34). These eternal, unconditional, irrevocable covenants determined the ultimate form of the Kingdom of God on Earth.

While the covenants promised a kingdom here on earth, it was the prophets of Israel who described the glories of that kingdom. The prophets of the Old Testament had proclaimed a message of hope that caused Israel to eagerly anticipate the fulfillment of God's covenants and promises to them, namely: David’s son the Messiah would come to bring peace, righteousness and prosperity to the nation; He would come as a Savior to redeem and as a Sovereign to reign. With regard to this, the nations that had persecuted Israel throughout its long history would be subjugated to Messiah and Israel would know the promised peace that the Prince of Peace alone can bring. And most of all, Israel’s accumulated sins would be put away and she would experience forgiveness and life in righteousness. Such was the hope of Israel.

But many hundred years passed before an official proclamation was made by John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). Then Jesus began His ministry and He made the same proclamation: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). The call to” repent” shows that this was a contingent offer and that the blessings of the Kingdom depended on the nation’s response. This does not mean, however, it was not a genuine offer. What was offered was the covenanted Kingdom under David’s son the Messiah, of which the prophets had so clearly spoken and for whom the nation was waiting.

The nation was plunged into a great debate concerning His person. Who is this Jesus of Nazareth who claims to be the son of David and the Son of God? Is He what He claims to be? If so, He truly is the promised and covenanted Messiah. If not, He is a blasphemous impostor who is worthy of death. In way of response, Jesus made His claims concerning His person very clear. Also, He validated those claims convincingly by His miracles and He challenged people to accept His claims and to put faith in Him, so as to receive a righteousness from Him that would enable them to enter His forthcoming kingdom.

From the inception of His ministry two responses to His presentation were evident: accept it or reject it. John says: "He came to His own [people, the Jews], and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:11-12). His rejection by Israel is clearly seen in the response of those in Nazareth, who heard Him claim to be the One who would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2. This response climaxed in the incident recorded in Matthew 12:22-24. There were those who, on the basis of the evidence He had presented about Himself as the son of David and Messiah, expressed their willingness to accept Him. But there were also those who rejected the evidence and sought to explain it away. According to their understanding, there are two supernatural powers who could perform miracles: Satan and God (in this they were correct). If the leaders acknowledged that Jesus performed miracles by God's power, they would be without excuse for their unbelief; but if He performed miracles by Satan's power, they could justify their rejection. Thus they sought to dissuade those who believed by saying: "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons" (Matt. 12:24).

Jesus viewed the explanation by the leaders as indicative of the course which that generation would follow. He viewed His rejection as if it were final, although it would not be finalized until His trial and crucifixion. The message that He began to proclaim to Israel was no longer "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28), but rather it became a message of judgment (Matt. 21:33-44; 22:1-7; 23:37-24:2; 24:38; Luke 19:11-27; 21:20-24).

Conclusion

While the message of Jesus to Israel was initially a message of hope, of blessing and of salvation, by her leaders’ accusation that Jesus received His power from Satan, His message turned to one of judgment on that specific generation of Jews. But the change in message did not cancel the covenants and promises given to Israel concerning the earthly kingdom of David's greater Son, but only postponed the realization of those hopes, yet it did consign that generation to a physical and temporal judgment which was inescapable (Luke 19:27). The kingdom program for Israel, which began with such high hopes at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, ends with the somber note of judgment and postponement. This postponed program awaits future fulfillment in the future earthly Millennial Kingdom, which involves a special role for national Israel and a place for all gentile nations.

In light of all this, the following questions arise: “What happens to God's kingdom program in this present age if the Kingdom has been postponed? What form does the Kingdom take in this present age? What are the essential characteristics or features of God's kingdom in this present age? Finally, is the Gospel of the Kingdom the same as the Gospel of grace, which is proclaimed by the Church? In answer, Jesus referred to "the secrets of the kingdom" (Matt. 13:11). This will be the subject of my next blog.