Three Usages of "The Kingdom of Heaven"
in Scripture
by
The kingdom
is a major theme of scripture. It occupies a large place among
the Old Testament prophets, and the teaching of John the Baptist
and Christ. Not surprisingly, significant confusion about the
kingdom has always existed. Part of the reason for the confusion
is that the phrases “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God” are
used in several different ways. In this article, we want to
identify the different usages in scripture and provide
explanations and examples of each.
Scripture
uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” (or God) three different
ways: 1) the place of God’s habitation and the saints’ eternal
rest; 2) the church, or those who obtain citizenship and
inheritance in heaven; and 3) the dominion over all people,
nations, and tongues Christ received at his ascension and
coronation.
Let’s take a
look at these each in order.
The Kingdom as the Habitation of God and
the Saints
Apart from
metaphoric use to describe governments and rulers, there are
three usages of “heaven” in scripture; one refers to the kingdom
of heaven. The three usages of heaven in scripture are: the
firmament in which the birds fly; the firmament in which the
stars are fixed; and the realm of the spirit, including Hades
Paradise and Heaven, the dwelling place of God.
“In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth…And God said, Let there be a firmament in the
midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the
waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which
were under the firmament from the waters which were above the
firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven.
And the evening and the morning were the second day.” Gen. 1:1-8
The “heaven”
of Gen. 1:1, seems to embrace the whole expanse over earth. The
firmament that divides the waters above from those below refers
to earth’s atmosphere, which divides water that is condensed
into liquid and is heavy, from water that is vapor and is light.
It is in this firmament that the birds of the air fly:
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may
fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” Gen. 1:20
The
atmosphere in which the birds fly and the clouds are hung may be
styled the “first heaven.” The firmament of heaven also
describes the vast expanse of space, where the stars are set:
“And God said, Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and
let them be for signs, and for season, and for days, and years:
and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to
give light upon the earth: and it was so.” Gen. 1:14, 15
The outer space beyond earth’s atmosphere may be called the
“second heaven.” The “third heaven” is the place of God’s
habitation (Eccl. 5:2) and the place of his throne (Ps. 11:4;
Isa. 66:1). It is also called the “highest heaven” (Deut. 10:14)
and the “heaven of heavens” (II Chron. 6:18). Paul refers to the
third heaven by name in II Cor. 12:1-4, where he makes it
include Hades Paradise, the interim abode of the righteous dead,
and where Jesus went when he died (Lk. 23:43; Jn. 20:17; Acts
2:27).
Of these three usages of “heaven,” two embrace the natural
world, and one the supernatural. The firmament the birds and
clouds fly in and that in which the stars are set are natural;
they belong to the physical creation. The heaven which is the
habitation of God is super-mundane and spiritual, and, it alone
among the heavens is called the “kingdom of God.” It is to this
place that Jesus referred when he told Nicodemus
“Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God” (Jn. 3:5). Jesus referred to this place again when he
said “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). These
passages both speak to the fact that the natural man is carnally
minded and at enmity with God; he must undergo a fundamental
change of heart and mind; he must turn away from sin and receive
the gospel and things of the Spirit, before he can be saved and
made an heir of eternal life. Another passage that refers to the
kingdom of God as the place of the saint’s eternal inheritance
is in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians:
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but
ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the
Spirit of our God.” I Cor. 5:9-11
The washing
and justification in the name of the Lord Jesus mentioned by
Paul here doubtless is that first obtained by baptism in Jesus’
name (Acts 2:38; 8:12, 16; 19:5; 22:16), and corresponds to the
water of our rebirth Jesus mentioned to Nicodemus (Jn. 3:3-5).
Certainly, that is the way the earliest Christian writers
understood it. Tertullian wrote “We little fishes, after our
Fish, are born in the water (of baptism).”[1] There is a
play on words here. The word “fish” in Greek is
ixquj, the first letters
of which make up the phrase
Ihsouj Xristoj Qeou Uioj Swthr
(“Jesus Christ of God [the] Son [and] Savior”). Finally, it is
to heaven Paul refers when he writes:
“Now this I say brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption.” I Cor. 15:50
The lesson
of this verse is that which is gross and palpable cannot inherit
that which is ethereal, unless it first put off the physical and
be made spiritual.
Paul indicates that this occurs for each of us as we are called
out of this world one by one at the last trumpet marking our
physical death (I Cor. 15:51, 52; II Cor. 5:4-8).
The sum of
these passages shows that the “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom
of God” sometimes refer to the habitation of God and the place
of the saints’ eternal inheritance.
The Kingdom as the Church – The Vision of
Daniel Two
Jesus
received dominion over earth as absolute monarch at his
ascension, and now rules the nations with a rod of iron. He
guides all things for the advancement of the gospel and the
church. Christ’s dominion means that his church also has
dominion and is a type of kingdom on earth. This is clear from
the book of Daniel.
The book of
Daniel was written and complied while the Jewish nation was in
captivity in Babylon for its sin and rebellion. God had
delivered all nations of the civilized world into the power of
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. God showed Nebuchadnezzar in a
dream that his kingdom was to be the first of four successive
world empires until the coming of Christ and his kingdom.
Nebuchadnezzar saw a dream in which these four empires were
represented by an image of a man, divided into four parts, each
part consisting of a different metal. The head of was of gold;
the chest and arms of silver; the belly and thighs were bronze;
the legs were of iron and the feet were partly of iron and
partly clay. Nebuchadnezzar then saw a stone, cut out without
human hand, strike the image upon its feet, reducing it to
potsherds that were carried away by the wind; but the stone grew
into a mountain and filled the whole earth.
The dream
was interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar by the prophet Daniel, who
indicated that each of the three successive kingdoms following
Nebuchadnezzar’s would be inferior to those preceding it, as
reflected by the declining value of the metals and their
position in the body. This inferiority did not consist in the
size or power of the empire, for the empires that followed
Babylon were larger and more powerful. Rather, the inferiority
consisted in the
diminishing glory of the kingdoms as represented by the
increasing division of the
sovereign power and the government’s
policy and response to the people and worship of God. The metals
become less precious
as the sovereign power was divided and shared. They also become
increasingly debased
as the governments they represent were inimical to God and
persecuted his people.
Nebuchadnezzar was
absolute monarch over earth and became a worshipper of the
true and living God. He is therefore was portrayed as the
image’s head of gold (Dan. 2:37, 38).[2] However,
in the empires that followed, the glory of the sovereign power
was increasingly divided, and their governments opposed to the
people and worship of God. Cyrus the Great and several of his
successors were friendly to the faith, even helping rebuild
Jerusalem and the temple, and financing its construction and
sacrifices. However, the sovereign power was shared with the
country’s nobles, many of whom resisted the worship of God, even
causing rebuilding the temple to cease for a time (Ezra 4:5-24;
Zech. 3:1, 2). The Mede-Persian Empire was therefore represented
by the chest and arms of silver. The kingdom of the Greeks was
the third world empire. It was divided into four parts at
Alexander the Great’s death, and its monarchs were generally
hostile to God’s people and worship.
Ptolemy Philopater entered the
Jerusalem temple and attempted to compel the Jews in Alexandria
to abandon worship of God, and to annihilate the race from among
his people.[3] Antiochus
Epiphanes carried the outrage still further, erecting an idol in
the Jerusalem temple, defiling the altar and temple with swine’s
blood, and putting to death Jews who refused to abandon the
worship of God or circumcised their children.[4] The
kingdom of the Greeks was therefore represented by the belly and
thighs of bronze.
Rome was the fourth world empire.
Dan. 7:7 says that Rome would be “diverse” from the preceding kingdoms.
This almost certainly refers to Rome’s
republican form of
government, where the sovereign power was shared by the emperor,
people, and senate, compared to the other world empires, each of
which were monarchies. Rome is represented by legs of iron and
feet of iron mingled with clay; the iron represents Roman
government, the clay the subject peoples. Iron is the strongest,
but the most corruptible of the metals. The feet of iron mingled
with clay accords with the weakness and corruptibility of
popular governments, and seems to signify Rome’s policy of
direct rule of subject nations by presidents and procurators (“they
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men,” Dan. 2:40-43).
That is, where the other empires imposed tribute and allowed
subject peoples to govern themselves, the Romans mingled
themselves among the subject peoples by direct rule through
Roman governors. This had the effect of imparting some of the
iron strength of Roman rule, but it also contributed weakness,
for iron and clay do not adhere to one another, and the Roman
governors were greatly resented by the subject peoples (“they
shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with
clay” Dan. 2:43).
The ten toes
are best understood to represent the ten senatorial provinces
created by Augustus in 27 B.C., which thereafter became a
permanent feature and identifying mark of the empire. The Roman
republic ended with the civil wars (49 B.C.) that brought Julius
Caesar to power.
With the death of Caesar (44 B.C.), the empire underwent a
protracted period of war and unrest, as various factions all
strove for the mastery.
However, by 30 B.C., Augustus emerged as absolute ruler
of the Roman world.
In 27 B.C., Augustus set aside the provisional forms the
government had operated under since the death of Caesar and
settled the government upon a more permanent foundation.
Under pretense of restoring the republic and surrendering
the principate, Augustus returned the government of the empire
to the senate.
However, not all provinces were handed over.
The senate was given charge of the provinces that were in
a settled and peaceful condition, and required no legions, while
Augustus retained the government of those upon the empire’s
borders. Augustus
thus controlled the military power of the empire and preserved
himself as absolute monarch, while the senate was given the
outward show of sovereignty, but none of the substance.
Dio Cassius explains: “His professed motive in this was
that the senate might fearlessly enjoy the finest portion of the
empire, while he himself had the hardships and the dangers; but
his real purpose was that by this arrangement the senators will
be unarmed and unprepared for battle, while he alone had arms
and maintained soldiers.”
The division of the empire into imperial and senatorial
provinces became an identifying feature of imperial Rome from
and after Augustus. Dio Cassius explains Augustus’ motivation
thus:
“His professed motive in this was that
the senate might fearlessly enjoy the finest portion of the
empire, while he himself had the hardships and the dangers; but
his real purpose was that by this arrangement the senators will
be unarmed and unprepared for battle, while he alone had arms
and maintained soldiers.”[5]
The number
of provinces ceded to the senate was ten:
“In 27 B.C. the provinces had been
divided into two classes, Imperial and Senatorial, ‘provinciae
Caesaris,’ and ‘provinciae Senatus’ or ‘populi.”
The latter were ten in number, Africa, Asia, Bithynia,
Achaea, Illyricum, Macedonia, Crete and Cyrene, Sicily,
Sardinia, and Hispania Baetica...The Imperial provinces in 27
B.C. were Gaul, Syria, Cyprus and Cilicia, and Hispania
Citerior. The number was increased subsequently by the division
of single provinces into two or more, and by the inclusion of
all provinces constituted after 27 B.C., e.g. Moesia, Pannonia,
and Dalmatia.”
[6]
Thus, in
Rome we find that the sovereign power was most divided (“the
kingdom shall be divided” v. 41) and least glorious in terms of
decent from monarchy to aristocracy to democracy, and Rome’s
direct rule of subject peoples by presidents and procurators. In
terms of resistance to God’s people and worship, Rome ranked
first. Pilate was implicated in the
murder of Christ and persecution over Stephen (John 19:19; Acts
8, 9; Rev. 12), and Nero was the world-wide, eschatological
persecutor of God’s people whose name was synonymous with the
“beast” (Rev. 13:18; 17:10).
The stone
that smote the image is Christ; that it struck the feet and toes
signifies that the coming of Christ’s kingdom would occur in the
period following 27 B.C. and the division of the empire into
imperial and senatorial provinces. Jesus said his kingdom would
come in power during the disciples’ lives (Mark 9:1;
cf. Matt. 16:27, 28)
and tied it to the world events that witnessed the destruction
of Jerusalem (Lk. 21:31). In Daniel chapter seven, the kingdom
follows Christ’s coming against the “little horn” out of the
Roman Empire that persecuted the saints for three and a half
years. This little horn was Nero, who persecuted the church for
three and a half years from A.D. 64-68, but was destroyed by the
“brightness of Christ’s coming” and the “spirit of his mouth”
(II Thess. 2:8).
[7]
Thus, where Luke associates the kingdom’s coming with the
fall of Jerusalem, Daniel ties it to the destruction of Nero.
Both are correct; for this was Christ putting his enemies
beneath his feet, establishing his dominion in the earth. With
his enemies among the Jews and Romans subdued, Daniel says,
“And the same horn made war with the
saints and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days
came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and
the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Dan. 7:21,
22
Here we see
that by virtue of Christ’s dominion in the earth, the church
also obtained dominion; not by direct government of the nations
though the papacy or any such thing, but indirectly through the
providence of Christ, who guides history for the advancement and
advantage of his people and gospel. That the stone became a
great mountain that filled the earth, speaks to the spread of
Christianity to every part of the globe, becoming a spiritual
kingdom into which men of all nations flow:
“And it shall come to pass in the last
days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the
hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall
go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of
his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isa.
2:2-4
Paul says
that the church is the
house of God (I Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6). Hence, the nations
ascending to the house of the God of Jacob refers to the church
and gospel. The epistle to the Hebrews confirms this point,
where the writer says that in coming to the church we come to
Mount Zion:
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and
church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God
the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood
of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”
Heb. 12:22-24
Thus, the
kingdom of heaven sometimes refers to the church, the spiritual
kingdom of Christ.
The Kingdom as Christ’s Dominion over
Earth
We have seen
that the phrase “kingdom of heaven” sometimes has in view the
habitation of God and the place of the saint’s eternal
inheritance; we have also seen that the phrase is used to
describe the spiritual kingdom of the church. It remains only to
show that the kingdom of heaven also describes the kingdom of
Christ and that this entails 1) Christ’s government over earth’s
nations, including judgment of the living and the dead, 2) that
this reign is from the right hand of God in heaven, and 3)
Christ’s dominion began as a matter of law at his
ascension, but was not possessed as a
matter of fact until
Jesus put his enemies beneath his feet at his second coming in
A.D. 66-70.
1.
Christ’s Government over Earth’s Nations
It is
sometimes supposed that language saying “all peoples, nations,
and tongues” would serve Christ merely refers to the universal
call of the gospel, and that men of all nations would convert to
Christ. However, Christ’s kingdom can in no way be limited to
the church; all men are subject to his rule. That Christ is king
and governor over earth’s nations is attested by many passages
of scripture.
“Ask of me and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of
iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Ps. 2:8, 9
Here we see
that Christ rules the nations with a rod of iron, and dashes to
pieces the kingdoms of those that refuse and rebel (cf. Rev. 2:27; 12:5). This language tracks closely that of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the Stone smiting the image, breaking
it to pieces, showing that more than the spiritual kingdom of
the church is contemplated there. It was not the church that
broke in pieces the Roman power; Christ accomplished this in the
events of A.D. 66-70. It was Jesus putting his enemies (the Jews
and Romans) beneath his feet that opened the way for the church
to grow into “a great mountain filling the whole earth” (Dan.
2:35). Another passage showing Christ’s government over the
nations is Dan. 7:13, 14, where Christ received dominion over
earth at his ascension:
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold,
one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came
to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and
all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Dan. 7:13,
14
This is a
coronation passage, parallel to Psalm two, above. In case there
seems to be an ambiguity in the nature of the kingdom and
dominion given to Christ, it is shown in the verses following,
where Nero (the “little horn”) is destroyed and world dominion
becomes Christ’s and the saints:
“But the judgment shall sit, and they
shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto
the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of
the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:27
Here we see
that the dominion possessed by Rome was taken from the ”little
horn” (emperor Nero) and given to Christ, and that by virtue of
Christ possessing world dominion, the saints obtained dominion,
too. A final passage describing Christ’s rule over the world
before moving on is Psalm 72:8-11:
“He shall have dominion also from sea to
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that
dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies
shall lick the dust. The kings of the isles shall bring
presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea,
all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve
him.”
The dominion
described here includes his enemies; hence, more is involved
than the church. Christ’s kingdom is over earth and its nations.
When we consider passages like these from the perspective of
Jews living under Roman rule, it is not difficult to see why
they supposed that the Messiah would be a national liberator who
would vanquish Rome, and lead Israel to world power like the
glory days of Solomon. However, they greatly mistook the case.
Although Christ would save his people from the political
oppression of their enemies, sin and death were far greater
enemies, and it was these Jesus was principally concerned to
destroy. Moreover, the promised salvation of God’s people did
not belong to Israel alone, but was common to all men who come
to Christ in faith. Since the gospel was universal in nature,
the national institutions of the Old Testament would all be cast
aside as obsolete, allowing Christianity to overtake the world.
And since Christ was king over all men and nations under heaven,
it was imperative that he reign from heaven. This brings us to
the next section.
2.
Christ Reigns from Heaven
Jewish
belief that Messiah would be a national liberator was based in
part upon the assumption that Christ would reign from earthly
Jerusalem upon David’s throne. This stems from a misreading of
prophecies about Christ. For example, in a very famous passage,
the prophet Isaiah mentions Christ seated upon David’s throne:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of host will perform this.” Isa. 9:6, 7
Another
familiar passage, which we have looked at before, mentions Zion
as the place of Christ’s throne:
“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill
of Zion.” Ps. 2:6
It is not
difficult to see how Jews living before the Christian era would
have expected Christ to rule on David’s throne from earthly
Jerusalem (Zion). However, this mistakes the case. David’s
throne was, in reality, the Lord’s throne in heaven,
which temporarily had been given to men to reign over national
Israel upon earth. When the Israelites asked for a king to reign
over them, God told Samuel that the sons of Israel had, in fact,
rejected God as their king:
“And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken
unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I
should not reign over them.” I Sam. 8:8; cf. 12:12, 17
Thus, both
Saul and David, and all who followed them as kings in Israel
sitting upon David’s throne, in reality, sat upon the throne of
the Lord. Thus, when Solomon was anointed king, David rejoiced
to see Solomon it upon his throne (I Kings 1:27, 30, 35). Yet,
scripture specifically states that Solomon in fact actually sat
upon the Lord’s throne:
Removal of
the throne of the Lord to earth was provisional until Christ
came, when it would be returned to heaven. Thus, the place of
Christ’s throne in “Zion” actually refers to God’s habitation in
heaven. Psalm two says God set Christ upon his holy hill of Zion.
Yet, Paul cites Psalm two in reference to Christ’s
resurrection (Acts.
13:33). Thus, the holy hill of Zion in this prophecy refers to
heaven, not earth at all. In Psalm three, David says God heard
his prayer out of his holy
hill:
“I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and
he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.” Ps. 3:4
Did God hear
David from heaven, or from earthly Jerusalem? From heaven, of
course! Zion and the temple were patterns and copies of
God’s habitation in heaven, from which Moses was instructed to
make the tabernacle and temple on earth (Ex 25:40). Thus,
Habakkuk sets God’s temple in heaven over against the
inhabitants of earth: “But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence
before him” (Hab. 2:20). But David places God’s temple in
heaven: “The Lord is in
his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Ps. 11:4).
Thus, God’s temple, throne, and holy hill all have heaven in
view, and are specifically named as the place of Christ’s reign.
If there were any doubt, Psalm one hundred-ten settles the
issue:
“The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool.” Ps. 110:1
Here
scripture expressly states that Christ would rule from God’s
right hand in heaven.
Several New Testament passages describe this as being fulfilled
in Christ’s ascension to heaven (Acts 2:33; Heb. 10:12, 13).
When Jesus told his disciples shortly before his ascension “all
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18), he
alluded to his receipt of the kingdom and dominion. Peter said
Christ “is gone into
heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities
and powers being made subject unto him” (I Pet. 3:22). What
this means for us is, that even though we do not see Christ
seated upon David’s throne reigning from the heavenly Zion, we
are told that it is an accomplished fact and may trust it
implicitly.
3.
The Kingdom came in Power at Christ’s return in A.D. 66-70
We have seen
that Christ’s reign over earth’s nations is from heaven. Jesus
received this kingdom and dominion as a
matter of law at his
ascension and coronation. But it was not his as a
matter of fact until
he put his enemies beneath is feet in the events of A.D. 66-70.
The case is analogous to Herod the Great, who sailed to Rome
where he was made king by the Roman senate, but was three years
defeating his enemies and bringing his kingdom into subjection.
Herod received the kingdom as a
matter of law from the
Roman senate in the winter of 39 B.C., but it was not until the
summer/fall of 36 B.C. that he subdued his enemies and made the
kingdom his as a matter of
fact. We believe scripture shows a similar pattern was true
of Christ.
In the
gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the nobleman who went
into a far country to “receive a kingdom and to return.” But his
citizens sent a message after him, saying, “We will not have
this man reign over us.” When the nobleman returned having
received the kingdom, he had his enemies, who would not have him
reign over them, slain before him (Lk. 19:11-27). This parable
was told by Jesus at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, because
the people and disciples supposed that the kingdom of God would
immediately appear. The point of the parable was that the
kingdom would come only after Christ’s ascension to heaven and his return (second coming) to
put his enemies (the Jews and Romans) beneath his feet. Thus,
when instructing the disciples about the destruction of
Jerusalem, Jesus said
“So likewise ye, when ye see these things
come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass way, till
all be fulfilled.” Lk. 21:30, 31
Here the
coming of the kingdom is expressly tied to the fall of
Jerusalem, not Pentecost or any other event. In Dan. 7:24-27,
the coming of the kingdom is tied to defeat of Nero. This is
because the events of A.D. 66-70 were when Jesus put his enemies
beneath his feet: Nero perished; the Roman empire was thrown
into a series of civil wars knows as the “year of four
emperors,” and Jerusalem was destroyed. Other passages showing
that the kingdom came in these events include the epistle to the
Hebrews. Hebrews alludes to the nearness of Christ’s coming when
he stated that Jesus very
shortly would come in wrath upon his enemies and to save his
people from their persecutors:
“For yet it is a little while, and he
that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Heb. 10:37
And
“‘Yet once more I shake not the earth
only, but also heaven.’ And this word, Yet once more, signifieth
the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that
are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us
have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear.” Heb. 12:26-28
Here we see
the coming of the kingdom is associated with the eschatological
“shaking” of heaven and earth. “Shaking the heavens and earth”
refers to the over throw of nations and civil governments as
Christ took up his reign and put his enemies beneath his feet.
This may be seen by consulting Haggai, who the writer of Hebrews
quotes:
“For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet,
once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the
earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all
nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will
fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts…I will shake
the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of
kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the
heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride
in them; and the horse and their riders shall come down,
everyone by the sword of his brother.” Hagg. 2:6-7,21, 22
This
eschatological shaking is referred to in the gospel of Mark as
the kingdom coming in
power:
“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto
you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not
taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with
power.”
It was then that Christ sat upon the throne of his glory and judgment of the living and dead began, and has continued ever since (Matt. 25:31-46, II Tim. 4:1; cf. Matt. 16:27, 28). Christ therefore is Lord of the living and dead, and rules the nations with a rod of iron. This does not mean the nations do not rebel; the very scriptures that predict Christ’s rule state the nations will rebel. But Christ rules them with an iron rod and chastens those that resist by visiting them with wars, famines, and other calamities, always guiding history for the advancement of the church and gospel.
Conclusion
The kingdom
of heaven is used three different ways in scripture: 1) The
habitation of God and the place of the saints eternal rest; 2)
the spiritual kingdom of the church; and 3) the dominion Christ
received over earth’s nations and peoples at his ascension, but
which he put beneath his feet at his second coming in A.D.
66-70.
[1]
Tertullian, On Baptism 1
[2]
We believe Nebuchadnezzar was a type of Christ, similar
to Solomon, in his rule over all earth as absolute
monarch. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom thus served as a
foreshadow and adumbration of Christ’s kingdom.
[3]
[4]
I & II Macc.
[5]
Dio Cassius, LIII, ii-xii; Loeb ed.
[6]
Thomas Marris Taylor,
A Constitutional
and Political History of Rome (Metheun & Co.,
London, 1889), 464.
[7]
Among the events named by Daniel, in addition to his
three and a half year persecution of the saints, that
allow us to identify this as Nero is the three horns
(provinces/client kingdoms) that were “plucked up”
(rebelled or attempted to break from the empire) before
the little horn (Dan. 7:8), but were subsequently
subdued (Dan. 7:24). These three provinces or client
kingdoms were Britain, Armenia, and
Syria.
Suetonius
summarizes them, saying, Nero’s reign was marked by
“a disaster in
Britain, where two important towns were sacked and great
numbers of citizens and allies were butchered; a
shameful defeat in the Orient, in consequence of which
the legions in Armenia were sent under the yoke, and
Syria was all but lost.”(Suetonius, Nero,
XXXIX; Loeb ed.)
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