The Nature Of The Kingdom Of God

The Nature of The Kingdom If one searches for the word “kingdom” from Acts–Revelation, it seems that there is only one passage that is definitely speaking of a physical kingdom–Acts 1:6. After Pentecost we do not see the kingdom in a physical context. Admittedly, not all usages are definitely spiritual either, but most seem to be—for example: • • • • •

The kingdom is not eating and drinking. (Rom 14:17 ) Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. (1Cor 15:50 ) Delivered from the power of darkness into the kingdom of His Son. ( Col 1:13) Paul is preserved for His Heavenly Kingdom. (2 Tim 4:18) The unshakable kingdom, not made [in the physical realm]. (Heb 12:27-28)

The bulk of the remaining “kingdom” passages refer to walking worthy of the kingdom, and those deeds of the flesh that will prevent access to the kingdom. These passages speak more to the spiritual walk of Christians on this earth, as opposed to a future existence. One is hard pressed to find a single passage that speaks of a physical kingdom after Pentecost. On the other hand, there are several that indicate a spiritual nature, several that link it with the preaching of the gospel, and several that show that the Jews did not receive Paul’s teaching about the kingdom with all joy (thus putting that teaching at odds with their current interpretation). The remainder, as we have noted, seem to lean towards our walk in the Spirit. When added together, we think that the scales tip heavily in favor of a spiritual kingdom. Is it too far-fetched to believe that, after Pentecost, just as the Spirit directed the ministries of the disciples and there was no more need for casting lots, so the Spirit had corrected the erroneous teaching of the Jewish leaders of the day regarding a physical kingdom? The Spirit had led them into all truth, and taught them of the things to come. Why would Jesus, Paul and others even need to teach about the kingdom, unless the current teaching of the Jewish leaders was either inadequate or inaccurate? Do we not see, subsequent to Pentecost, the Spirit pulling back the veil, and, through the apostles, revealing the substance of the Kingdom of the New Covenant? In light of the many passages that indicate a nonphysical nature for the Kingdom of God, how do we resolve those passages that seemingly speak of physical things—sitting on thrones, ruling and reigning, receiving authority over cities, etc? One has to wonder, how does anyone describe a realm, a dimension, which exists outside of our known physical universe? How can nonphysical things be described to beings that only know and understand physical things? Look at the problem Nicodemus had understanding the spiritual concept of salvation, of being “born again.” He was a teacher of Israel, but he did not understand things of heaven (John 3:10 -12). To him those mysteries had not been given. He was still thinking of the literal, physical realm. Is it possible that we are doing the same with Old Testament prophecies? Consider this passage from Daniel: “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch

as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Dan 2:31-45 Most commentators recognize these successive kingdoms as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. The final kingdom, which is set up by God, is often assumed to be yet future by many of these same commentators. But if this is the case, why does the vision only acknowledge four empires, and then remain silent about all succeeding empires for the next 2,000 (and who knows how many more) years? What about the British empire, and now the United States? Why such a gap? On the other hand, if the stone represents the Church as a spiritual Kingdom (cut without hands, corresponding to Mt. Zion of Hebrews 12:18ff), then it was established in the days of those kings of the Roman empire , and there are no gaps. Thus the image represents earthly history from Daniel’s day until the establishment of the Church. The fact that the final kingdom is made of stone, whereas the previous ones were made of various metals, also indicates a different nature for this kingdom. The New Testament authors pick up the theme of the Church being built of stone: . . . you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 2:5 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone . . . .Eph 2:19-20 After giving the parable of the wicked vinedressers, Christ alludes to Himself as being the chief cornerstone: Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Matt 21:42-44 Those who fall upon Christ in repentance are broken by the conviction of their sinful natures. Those who refuse to acknowledge their need of Christ are crushed by the judgment of God—He becomes a rock of offense to them: He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel , As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem . Isa 8:14

Both the nations of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the unrepentant individuals of Christ’s parable of the wicked vinedressers were crushed into fine particles: Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. Dan 2:35 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Matt 21:44 In both instances, the wicked are turned to dust that can be blown away, while the righteous have a firm foundation: When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation. Prov 10:25 The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth. Prov 10:30 One of the reasons that Christ was a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense was because He was proclaiming a spiritual Kingdom. Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” John 18:36 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21 Clearly, the Jews missed their Messiah because they were looking for a physical kingdom. The disciples were also looking for a physical kingdom prior to Pentecost. After Pentecost, when they received the Holy Spirit, Who led them into all truth and taught them of the things to come, their understanding of the nature of the kingdom was enlightened, and they no longer taught of a physical kingdom. Rather, they applied spiritual interpretations to Old Testament prophecies, and used them to describe the Church and associated the kingdom with the gospel. The veil had been removed. In ca. AD 30 Jesus told the disciples “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:7). But after approximately 20 years of instruction by the Holy Spirit Paul said, “concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” 1 Thess 5:1-2 (Emphases added—these words [times and seasons] are the same in the Greek in both passages.) Of these two verses, Max R. King comments: “The times and the seasons” is equated with the “restorations of the kingdom,” and this time and season was withheld from the apostles. They were not permitted to know the day or hour. Later, Paul wrote the Thessalonians and reminded them that no man could know the “times and the season,” . . . The apostles didn’t know the “times and seasons” before Pentecost (Acts 1:7), nor did they know them after Pentecost (1 Thess 5:1) (p. 138, The Spirit of Prophecy) But does Paul actually say that no man could know the times and the seasons? No, what he says is, “concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.” Is he then contradicting Jesus’ statement in Acts that the disciples were not permitted to know the times and seasons, as King sees it? Again, no—what he says is that the Thessalonians did not need to be instructed about the times and the seasons. Why? “For you yourselves know perfectly . . .” Paul states. The intimation is not

that, because no man could know about the times and seasons, there was no point in Paul writing about them. Rather, the implication is that they already knew, and knew perfectly! Furthermore, Paul’s statement implies that had there been a need for instruction, he could have supplied it. We feel that the implication is that Paul knew about the times and the seasons. If one man could know about them, then certainly others could as well. Some may argue that what the disciples “knew perfectly” was that the day of the Lord would come “as a thief in the night;” that is, that it would be unannounced and secretive. Therefore, the day of the Lord could not be known and there was no reason for Paul to waste his time on the subject. However, we must be careful to not equate “times and seasons” with “day of the Lord.” Regarding timing, one is general in nature, the other specific. That no one knows the specific timing of the day of the Lord we agree, as Jesus Himself taught—“but of that day and hour no one knows” (Matt 24:36). However, Jesus also taught His disciples regarding events that would indicate the general timing of His return—“when these things begin to happen, look up . . . because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28)—thus indicating that the general timing could, and should, be known. When we recall that one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit was to teach the disciples of the things to come (John 16:13), we feel that it is safe to assume that after some twenty years of that very teaching, the disciples would know perfectly that which could be known—the general timing, or “times and seasons” of God’s redemptive plan. The scenario that better fits the two passages of Acts 1:7 and 1 Thessalonians 5, in our opinion, is that the Spirit had been removing the veil. They now understood the times and the seasons—that the Kingdom of God was spiritual in nature, that it was wrapped up in the day of the Lord, and that it was coming in their lifetimes. We believe that one of the mysteries of the Kingdom/Church was not that the Church Age was parenthetical, but that the Church Age is the Age to come, and the Gospel is the New Covenant. That the Kingdom of God was transferred from the physical realm of the Old Covenant, to the spiritual realm of the New Covenant, is attested to by the “veiled” typology of Saul and David. In these two kings of Israel , we see a parallel to the allegory of Ishmael and Isaac. Where Ishmael and Isaac typified the two covenants, Saul and David typify the two kingdoms. In 1 Samuel 15, Saul was commanded to utterly destroy the Amalekites (v. 3). But Saul and the people spared King Agag and the best of the livestock (v. 9). Because of Saul’s disobedience, the Kingdom of Israel was taken from him: Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king. 1 Sam 15:23 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel .” As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 1Sam 15: 26 -29 NASU This foreshadows the fact that the Kingdom of God , which had been entrusted to national Israel , was also taken from them and given to someone “better”: “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He

will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. Matt 21:33-46 The religious leaders of the Jews realized that Christ had spoken this parable against them. The Kingdom was to be taken from them. But to whom was it to be given? The Church—those children of Abraham represented by Isaac, the son of the promise: Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Matt 7:21NASU He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” Matt 13:11 The Kingdom is not made up of any nationality, but of believers of all nations: . . . and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Matt 3:9 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel ; Rom 9:6 NASU There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28 That the Kingdom was taken from national Israel and given to the church, never to return, is borne out by the typology of Saul. The Kingdom of Israel was taken from Saul, and it never returned to his lineage. This also speaks against the Church being a parenthetical gap in the administration of the Kingdom of God, with an eventual return to a physical kingdom in Israel: “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 1 Sam 15:29 NASU (emphasis added) David, the newly anointed king, became the type of Christ, the man after God’s own heart. The Messiah is called the “Son of David,” not the “Son of Saul.” After Saul disobeyed God, Samuel anointed David as king of Israel. Yet David did not ascend to the throne until after the death of Saul. In the interim, David respected Saul as God’s anointed, even though he persecuted David. Here again we see a picture of the New Covenant of the gospel coexisting with the Old Covenant of the Law (Gal 4). The Jewish believers continued in their respect and observance of the Law, even though the Jews persecuted them. Just as David waited on God to remove Saul from the throne, so the New Covenant waited for God to officially end the Old Covenant that the New might succeed it: When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Heb 8:13 NASU

Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Heb 9:6-9 NASU (emphases added) The first covenant was obsolete, but had not disappeared yet. While the Tabernacle (Temple), which signified the Old Covenant, was still standing, the fullness of the New Covenant had not yet been disclosed. The Temple was destroyed in AD 70, ending the Old Covenant forever, and finalizing the establishment of the New Covenant. When Israel asked for a king, God said that they had rejected Him from being King over them: The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” 1 Sam 8:7 NASU From the time that Israel rejected God as their King, until the time that David ascended to the throne (even though he had been anointed much earlier), about 40 years elapsed: “And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish , a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.” Acts 13:21 From the time that Israel rejected their Messiah (ca. AD 30), until the time that the Old Covenant was eradicated (AD 70), about 40 years elapsed. David, who is a type of Christ in the New Covenant, ascended the throne of the physical kingdom at 30 years of age. Christ, the fulfillment of that type, began preaching that the spiritual Kingdom of God was at hand at 30 years of age. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 2 Sam 5:4 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age . . . .Luke 3:23 NASU Thus, in the transference of the physical Kingdom from Saul to David, we see a foreshadow of the spiritual Kingdom transferred from national Israel to the Church. And just as we never see the physical kingdom returned to the lineage of Saul, so we should not expect the spiritual Kingdom to return to national Israel. The kingdom of God is not physical, as Jesus Himself said: Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” John 18:36 NASU Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed . . . .” Luke 17:20 NASU The kingdom was torn from the physical realm and delivered into the spiritual realm, never to return, as typified by the kingdom being torn from Saul: “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 1 Sam 15:29 NASU Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it . . . . “Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.” Matt 21:43 , 45

The previous is an excerpt from the chapter The Two Covenants and The Two Sons of Abraham, in the book Behind the Veil of Moses, by Brian L. Martin.