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The Kingdom of God - in the Future
Its future restoration worldwide
The previous section showed that the ancient kingdom of Israel was
the kingdom of God. But how is this connected to the kingdom of God preached by Jesus?
The answer is revealed by a question the apostles put to him just before he ascended
into heaven. They asked:
"Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Jesus' apostles evidently expected him to re-establish their ancient
kingdom. This was not merely the deluded hope of patriotic Jews,
longing to throw off the Roman yoke and set up an independent
state. After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus had:
"Opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures"
In the short time leading up to his ascension, he prepared them
to go out and preach the gospel of the kingdom of God by themselves:
"... being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
We can be sure that their question was well-informed, and in reply to it
Jesus simply answered:
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."
The throne of David
Jesus' mission to restore the kingdom to Israel was announced
before he was even conceived.
The angel Gabriel appeared to his mother Mary and said to her:
"... the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Here is confirmation of the link with the ancient kingdom of Israel.
Jesus is to inherit the throne of his ancestor David, the famous king of
Israel, who successfully led God's people not only in war and as ruler,
but also in worshipping the true God. In recognition of his faith,
God made a far-reaching promise to David about a unique descendant:
"He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be my son."
In repeating this promise, the angel Gabriel confirmed that Jesus' kingdom will be a restoration of
David's kingdom. Like his ancestor, he will reign over the house of Jacob (another name for the nation
of Israel). This is why the wise men from the East were searching for the one
"who has been born King of the Jews."
A literal kingdom
From these verses we can begin to build up a picture of the sort of kingdom Jesus is going to set up.
It will not be a kingdom in heaven, neither a kingdom of church hierarchy, nor an abstract reign of
grace in the hearts of believers. But it will be a literal kingdom on earth,
a restoration of the ancient kingdom of Israel. Jesus will reign over the nation of Israel just like his ancestor David.
This connection reminds us that to fully understand the kingdom of God that we read about in the New
Testament , we first need to appreciate the Old Testament background.
The audience who listened to Jesus' preaching was mainly Jewish; they were already
looking forward to God's kingdom, waiting for the coming of their
Messiah, to become king of Israel, because it had already been foretold by God.
The "Promised Land"
One of the earliest prophecies of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament was given to Abraham,
forefather of the Jewish people. It took the form of a series of promises God made to him,
recorded in the book of Genesis. Though they contain no mention of a king or a kingdom, the importance
of these promises for us is made clear by the Apostle Paul, who told the first century Christians
that God:
"preached the gospel to Abraham before-hand"
This gospel message that was reached to Abraham included the assurance that God would give him
a certain land, for example:
"Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants for ever ... Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."
The land God promised to Abraham was then called Canaan and is now known as Israel or Palestine. There
can be no question here of a figurative promised land in heaven, since the description is emphatically
physical, speaking of a land he could see and walk on.
- Looking down on the Jezreel valley in northern Israel
- Photograph by Vadil Dreamstime.com
We noted in the previous section that God later gave the land of Canaan to his descendants, the
nation of Israel, but Abraham himself never received any part of it, as Stephen pointed out:
"And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on."
So God's promise is yet to be fulfilled, and it is worth noting here that for
Abraham to possess the land for ever, he will have to be raised from the dead and be given eternal life.
However, it is not only Abraham who will benefit from God's promises.
After identifying these promises with the gospel, Paul went on to explain that when God spoke
of 'descendants' (literally 'seed' in the original text of Genesis), he was
referring to one key descendant, Jesus Christ. He also said that all who are baptised into Christ will
share in his inheritance:
"And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
We do not have to be natural descendants of Abraham to share with him that wonderful future, but those who
'are Christ's' must have Abraham's faith and obedience to God. David understood this perfectly when he wrote:
"The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it for ever."
A new world order
The Old Testament prophets of Israel provide us with many more
descriptions of God's kingdom, reinforcing and building upon what
was promised to Abraham. For example, the prophet Daniel revealed the meaning of a strange
dream seen by his master Nebuchadnezzar, the powerful king of Babylon. It was no ordinary
dream, but a vision from God that foretold the future for many centuries to come.
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about a great statue of a man made of different metals, from the head of
gold down to the legs of iron. As Daniel explained, these represented a succession of four great
empires, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar's own Babylonian kingdom and ending with the
Roman Empire. It was an amazingly accurate prophecy of world history.
The dream foretold that the Roman Empire would not be followed by another great power, but by a
mixture of strong and weak nations.
- Nebuchadnezzar Image from the dream
They were represented by the feet of the statue, a state of affairs that has endured to the present day.
In the dream a stone suddenly struck the feet, breaking them in pieces and causing the whole image to
come crashing down and be crushed to powder which was blown away leaving no trace.
The stone then became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Daniel revealed the meaning
of these dramatic symbols:
"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 for ever."
So God's kingdom will overthrow and replace all present human governments, filling the whole earth;
the world will rapidly be transformed.
This outcome is also foretold in the New Testament. The Apostle John saw a vision of the
great changes to take place and he heard these words that confirm the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar's dream:
"The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever!"
The holy city
Since Jesus will be given the throne of his father David, as foretold by the angel Gabriel, it comes as no
surprise to discover that the capital city of the kingdom of God will be Jerusalem, the city David captured
and made his own. It will become a capital not only for the nation of Israel, but for the whole world as
predicted by the prophet Isaiah:
"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it ... For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people."
Jerusalem will then be the religious and political centre of the world, and Jesus will rule all nations on the
basis of God's law. Even the peoples who were once enemies of Israel and hostile to God's Word,
will then under take great pilgrimages:
"And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles."
The gospel of the kingdom
Reading through the Gospels, we cannot miss the emphasis on the kingdom of God in Jesus' teaching,
so often is it mentioned. Mark tells us that Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and
saying,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
The teaching of Jesus on this subject is entirely consistent with the picture we have discovered so
far: a literal kingdom on earth, to be set up at some point in the future,
over which Jesus himself will be king for ever. We find examples of
this teaching among some of Jesus' most well-known words, such as the beatitudes:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ... Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"
These parallel expressions reveal that though the kingdom will be "the kingdom of heaven" (meaning from
God who dwells in heaven), it will be physically located on the earth.
This teaching is reinforced in the following chapter in the words of "The Lord's Prayer":
"Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
As we noted in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, when God's kingdom comes, human rule
over the earth will cease and will be replaced by the appointment of a divine ruler, so that God's will shall
then be done on earth.
Your kingdom come
Though the Jews already understood that the promised son of David would set up God's
kingdom, most did not appreciate that he had other work to do first.
Jesus' followers expected him to set up the kingdom straight away, and on one occasion:
"... were about to come and take him by force to make him king."
So Jesus warned them that it would not happen at his first coming:
"... he spoke another parable, because he was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately."
The parable he then told began:
"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return."
Knowing that Jesus will be king, we can identify the nobleman with Jesus himself. The message is clear
− before the kingdom of God was established, Jesus had to travel into "a far country" for a time and then return.
There is also no difficulty in identifying the "far country" of the parable, as we are reminded in the
book of Acts:
"... while they watched, he (Jesus) was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven."
The kingdom of God cannot be set up while its king is absent at God's right hand in heaven, but
he will return to the earth. Like the stone that struck the feet in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Jesus'
coming will have a dramatic effect.
The answer to the apostles' question about the exact time of Jesus' return has not been revealed.
But the day is set in the divine calendar, as the Apostle Paul explained when he visited the city
of Athens. He reminded the idol worshipping Athenians that there was only one true God and urged
them to repent – to turn from idols to worship Him.
Why? The answer is given in Paul's words:
"Because he (God) has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained (Jesus Christ). He has given assurance of this to all, by raising him from the dead."
Although we do not know the exact date when Jesus will return, in modern history and recent events
we can see the fulfilment of many Bible prophecies. These are signs or pointers that tell us to get ready for
that world-shaking event.
What changes will take place when God's kingdom is established? The next section takes us through a
number of Bible prophecies that contrast the world of today with the very different world of tomorrow.
- The Areopagus in Athens with the "Mars Hill" in the foreground on which Paul delivered his speech.
- Photograph by Milan Gonda/Dreamstime.com
Based on the "Light on The Kingdom of God" special issue in 4 parts:
- Introduction to the Kingdom of God series and the central theme
- The Kingdom of God in the Past
- The Kingdom of God in the Future
- The change to the Kingdom of God and YOU
Next article (part 4) is The change to the Kingdom of God and you
Author Many people were involved in writing and checking this article
Country UK
Source Light on a New World special edition: "Light on The Kingdom of God"
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