The Plan of God in Brief

Study 11 - The Kingdom of God

Any who have not carefully examined this subject, with concordance and Bible in hand, will be surprised, on doing so, to find its prominence in the Scriptures.

Our Lord Jesus in His talks with His followers strengthened and encouraged their expectations of a coming kingdom, saying to them, "I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging [ruling] the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:29,30). And, again, "Fear not, little flock; it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32) And when, instead of being crowned and enthroned, their recognized king was crucified, His disciples were sorely disappointed. As two of them expressed it to the supposed stranger on their way to Emmaus after His resurrection, they had "trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel"—delivering them from the Roman yoke, and making of Israel the Kingdom of God in power and glory. But they were sadly disappointed by the changes of the few days previous. Then Jesus opened their understanding by showing them from the Scriptures that His sacrifice was needful first of all before the kingdom could be established.—Luke 24:21,25‑27.

God could have given to Jesus the dominion of earth without redeeming man; for "The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will (pleases)." (Dan.4:32 RSV). But God had a grander design than could have been accomplished by such a plan. Such a kingdom could have brought blessings which, however good, could have been of only a temporary character, since all of mankind were under condemnation to death. To make the blessings of His kingdom everlasting and complete, the race had first to be ransomed from death and thus legally released from the condemnation which passed upon all in Adam.

That in explaining the prophecies Jesus revived the disciples’ hope of a coming kingdom is evident from the fact that afterward, as He was leaving them, they inquired, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (NKJV) His answer, though not explicit, did not contradict their hopes. He said, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own power."—Acts 1:6,7.

True, the disciples at first, in common with the entire Jewish nation, had an imperfect conception of the Kingdom of God in supposing it to be exclusively an earthly kingdom, even as many today err in an opposite direction in supposing it to be exclusively a heavenly kingdom. And many of the parables and dark sayings of our Lord Jesus were intended in due time to correct these misconceptions. But He always held forth the idea of a kingdom, a government, to be established in the earth and to rule among men. And He not only inspired in them a hope for a share in the kingdom, but He also taught them to pray for its establishment—"Your kingdom come; Your will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven."

To the worldly‑wise among the Jews, our Lord seemed an impostor and fanatic; and they considered His disciples mere dupes. His wisdom and tact, and His miracles, they could not well gainsay, nor reasonably account for; yet, from their standpoint of unbelief, His claim that He was the heir of the world, and would establish the promised kingdom which should rule the world, and that His followers, nearly all of them from the humbler walks of life, would be joint‑rulers with Him in that kingdom, seemed too absurd for consideration. Rome, with its disciplined warriors, its able generals and immense wealth, was the master of the world, and was daily growing more powerful. Who, then, was this Nazarene? and who were these fishermen, without money or influence, and with but a meagre following among the common people? Who were these that they should talk about establishing the kingdom long promised to be the grandest and mightiest earth had ever known?

The Pharisees, hoping to expose the supposed weakness of our Lord’s claims, and thereby to undeceive His followers, demanded of Him—When will this kingdom which you preach begin to make its appearance? When will your soldiers arrive? When will this Kingdom of God appear? (Luke 17:20‑30) Our Lord’s answer would have given them a new thought had they not been prejudiced against Him and blinded by their own supposed wisdom. He answered that His kingdom would never appear in the manner in which they expected it. The kingdom, which He preached, and in which He invited His followers to joint‑heirship, was an invisible kingdom, and they must not expect to see it. "He answered them, The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed [outward manifestation]; nor shall they say, Lo, here it is! or There! For…the Kingdom of God is [to be] in the midst of you." (RSV) In a word, He showed that when His kingdom should come, it would be everywhere present and everywhere powerful, yet nowhere visible. So He gave them an idea of the spiritual kingdom which He preached; but they were unprepared and received it not. There was a measure of truth in the Jewish expectation concerning the promised kingdom, which will in due time be realized, as will be shown; but our Lord’s reference here is to that spiritual phase of the kingdom, which will be invisible. And as this phase of the kingdom will be first set up, its presence will be unseen, and for a time unrecognized. The privilege of heirship in this spiritual phase of the Kingdom of God was the only offer then being made, and has been the one hope of our high calling during the entire Gospel age, which then began. Hence Jesus referred to it exclusively. (Luke 16:16) This will be more clearly seen as we proceed.

When the parables of our Lord are carefully examined, it will be found that they clearly teach that the coming or setting up of the Kingdom of God in power is future; and, as a matter of course, not until the King comes. So the parable of the young nobleman going into a far country to receive a kingdom and to return, etc. (Luke 19:11‑15), clearly locates the establishment of the Kingdom at the return of Christ. And the message sent by the Lord to the Church long years afterward was, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev.2:10 RSV). From this it is evident that the kings who will reign with Him will not be crowned nor reign as kings in this life.

The Church at present, therefore, is not the Kingdom of God set up in power and glory, but in its incipient, embryo condition. And so, indeed all the expressions of the New Testament with reference to it teach. The kingdom of heaven now suffers violence at the hands of the world; the King was maltreated and crucified; and whosoever will follow in His footsteps shall suffer persecution and violence in some form. This, it will be observed, is true only of the real Church, and not of the nominal one. But the promise is held out that if now we (the Church, the embryo kingdom) suffer with Christ, we also, in due time, when He takes to Himself His great power and reigns, shall be glorified and shall reign with Him.

With the early Church, the promises of kingdom honour and joint‑heirship with the Master were strong incentives to faithfulness under present trials and persecutions, which they had been forewarned to expect; and in all the words of comfort and encouragement in the Apocalypse, given to the seven churches, none shine out more clearly and forcibly than those which declare, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father in His throne;" and, "To he who overcomes I will give power over the nations." (Rev.3:21; Rev.2:26 NKJV)

These are promises which could not reasonably be misconstrued to apply to a present work of grace in the heart, nor yet to a reign over the nations in the present life; since they who would overcome must do so by death in the service, and gain the kingdom honours.—Rev.20:6.

Two Phases of the Kingdom of God

While it is true, as stated by our Lord, that the Kingdom of God comes not—does not make its first appearance—with outward show, in due time it is to be made manifest to all by outward, visible and unmistakable signs. When fully set up, the Kingdom of God will be of two parts, a spiritual or heavenly phase and an earthly or human phase. The spiritual will always be invisible to men, as those composing it will be of the divine, spiritual nature, which no man hath seen nor can see (1 Tim 6:16; John 1:18); yet its presence and power will be mightily manifested, chiefly through its human representatives, who will constitute the earthly phase of the Kingdom of God.

Those who will constitute the spiritual phase of the kingdom are the overcoming saints of the Gospel age—the Christ, head and body—glorified. Their resurrection and exaltation to power precedes that of all others, because through this class all others are to be blessed. (Heb.11:39,40) Theirs is the first resurrection. (Rev.20:5) The great work before this glorious anointed company—the Christ—necessitates their exaltation to the divine nature: no other than divine power could accomplish it. Theirs is a work pertaining not only to this world, but to all things in heaven and in earth—among spiritual as well as among human beings.—Matt.28:18; Col.1:20; Eph.1:10; Phil.2:10; 1 Cor.6:3.

The work of the earthly phase of the Kingdom of God will be confined to this world and to humanity. And those (the Ancient Worthies) so highly honoured as to have a share in it will be the most exalted and honoured of God among men. As the spiritual nature is necessary to the accomplishment of the work of Christ, so perfect human nature is appropriate for the future accomplishment of the work to be done among men. These will minister among and be seen of men, while the glory of their perfection will be a constant example and an incentive to other men to strive to attain the same perfection. And that these Ancient Worthies will be in the human phase of the kingdom and seen of mankind is fully attested by Jesus’ words to the unbelieving Jews who were rejecting Him. He said, you shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God. (Luke 13:28) It should be noticed also, that the Master does not mention that He or the apostles will be visible with Abraham. As a matter of fact, men will see and mingle with the earthly phase of the kingdom, but not with the spiritual; and some will, no doubt, be sorely vexed to find that they rejected so great an honour.

As Jerusalem was the seat of empire under the typical Kingdom of God, it will again occupy the same position, and be "the city of the Great King." (Psa.48:2; Matt.5:35) A city is a symbol of a kingdom or dominion, and so God’s Kingdom is symbolized by the New Jerusalem, the new dominion coming from heaven to earth. At first it will consist of only the spiritual class, the Bride of Christ, which, as seen by John, will gradually come down to earth; that is, it will gradually come into power as the present empires break in pieces, during the Day of the Lord. In due time, however, the earthly phase of this city or government will be established, parts or members of which will be the Ancient Worthies. There will not be two cities (governments), but one city, one heavenly government, the one for which Abraham looked, "a city which hath foundations"—a government established in righteousness, being founded upon the sure rock foundation of the righteousness of Christ the Redeemer, the value of man’s ransom which He gave, and the firmness of divine justice, which can no more condemn the redeemed than it could previously excuse the guilty.—Heb.11:10; Rom 8:31‑34; 1 Cor.3:11.

Glorious City of Peace! City whose walls signify salvation, protection and blessing to all who enter it, whose foundations laid in justice can never be moved, and whose builder and designer is God! It is in the light which will shine from this glorious city (kingdom) of God that the nations (people) will walk on the highway of holiness, up to perfection and to full harmony with God.—Rev.21:24.

The Iron Rule

Many erroneously suppose that when Christ’s Millennial Kingdom is inaugurated every one will be pleased with its ruling. But not so. Its regulations will be far more exacting than those of any previous government, and the liberties of the people will be restricted to a degree that will be galling indeed to many now clamouring for an increase of liberty. Liberty to deceive, to misrepresent, to overreach and to defraud others, will be entirely cut off. Liberty to abuse themselves or others in food or in drink, or in any way to corrupt good manners, will be totally denied to all. Liberty or license to do wrong of any sort will not be granted to any. The only liberty that will be granted to any will be the true and glorious liberty of the sons of God—liberty to do good to themselves and others in any and in every way; but nothing will be allowed to injure or destroy in all that Holy Kingdom. (Isa.11:9; Rom.8:21) That rule will consequently be felt by many to be a severe one, breaking up all their former habits and customs, as well as breaking up present institutions founded upon these false habits and false ideas of liberty. Because of its firmness and vigour, it is symbolically called an iron rule—"He shall rule them with a rod of iron." (Compare Rev.2:26,27; Psa.2:8‑12 and 49:14). So will be fulfilled the statement, "Judgment will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail [righteous judgment] shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters [truth] shall overflow the hiding place," and every hidden thing shall be revealed.—Isa.28:17; Matt.10:26.

Many will feel rebellious against that perfect and equitable rule because accustomed in the past, under the rule of the present prince, to lord it over their fellow mortals, and to live wholly at the expense of others without rendering compensating service. And many and severe will be the stripes which a present life of self‑indulgence and gratification will naturally demand and receive under that reign, before such will learn the lessons of that kingdom—equity, justice, righteousness. (Psa.89:32; Luke 12:47,48) The lesson on this subject comes first to the living generation, and is near at hand.—James 5.

But, blessed thought! When the Prince of Life has put in force the laws of righteousness and equity with an iron rule, the masses of mankind will learn that "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." (Prov.14:34 NKJV) They will learn that God’s plan and laws are best in the end for all concerned, and ultimately they will learn to love righteousness and hate iniquity. (Psa.45:7; Heb.1:9) All who under that reign have not learned to love the right will be counted unworthy of lasting life and will be cut off from among the people.—Acts 3:23; Rev.20:9; Psa.11:5‑7.