A Real, Literal Kingdom

“The New Testament begins the announcement of the Kingdom in terms expressive of its being previously well-known…The preaching of the Kingdom, its simple announcement, without the least attempt to explain its meaning and nature, the very language in which it was conveyed to the Jews — all presupposed that it was a subject familiar to all. John the Baptist, Jesus and the Seventy all proclaimed the Kingdom in a way without definition or explanation that indicated that their hearers were acquainted with its meaning”
G.N. Peters, The Coming Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, (Vol 1:181).

What a simple but yet instructive observation. Have you every wandered why there is no explanatory definition of the meaning of the phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ in the New Testament? The answer is because it ought to be obvious to a reader of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) what ‘the Kingdom of God’  is, especially in light of books such as 1st and 2nd Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.

The Children of Israel asked for a ‘king’ (1 Samuel Chapter 8) and God gave them, Saul (Chapter 9). However, because of disobedience, God sought for another, and found David, a man after God’s own heart who will do all ‘My will’ (1 Samuel 13:13-14, 15:22-29, Acts 13:22).

When David wanted to build a house for Yahweh his God, God proclaimed through the prophet Nathan, that God will instead build David, ‘a house, an everlasting dynasty’ starting with his son, Solomon (2 Samuel Chapter 7 especially verses 11-17, 1 Chronicles Chapter 17, especially verses 10-15).

God stated the following regarding Solomon, “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son” (2 Samuel 7:14, 1 Chronicles 17:13, 28:6).
Hence, the royal implications of the title ‘son of God’ (compare  John 1:49).

King David addressed an assemblage of officials declaring that God had chosen him to be king over Israel forever (1 Chronicles 28:4). In other words, it would be through David’s progeny that kings of Israel/Judah would arise. David continued to explain how God had selected Solomon to sit on the throne of the Kingdom of the LORD, that is, the Kingdom of Yahweh, over Israel (28:5). Solomon was duly crowned king of the united kingdom of Israel. They “anointed him as ruler for the LORD (i.e. ruler for Yahweh)” (29:22), whereupon “Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD (the throne of Yahweh) as king in the place of David his father; and he prospered and all Israel obeyed him” (29:23).

Subsequently Abijah succeeded to the throne of Judah and when confronted with the opposing armies of Israel under Jeroboam, he reminded the latter that “Yahweh, God of Israel gave the rule over Israel to David forever and his sons by a  covenant of salt” (2 Chronicles 13:5). It would therefore be unwise for Jeroboam to “resist the Kingdom of the LORD (the Kingdom of Yahweh) in the hands of the sons of David” (13:8).

There can be no doubt
that the Kingdom of the LORD

(that is, the Kingdom of Yahweh,

the Kingdom of God)

means the Kingdom administered

by the royal house of David,

as covenanted to him by God.

It still means that! The Davidic covenant had named the Davidic throne as the Kingdom of God when Nathan had said to David, “I will settle him [David’s descendant] in My house and in My Kingdom forever and his throne shall be established forever”
(1 Chronicles 17:14).

The Kingdom of God therefore
meant the empire
ruled by the dynasty of
David over Israel

in the promised land.
Its capital was Jerusalem,
and it functioned on
behalf of God Himself and could therefore
be called both
God’s Kingdom and David’s Kingdom.

Sadly, because of the disobedience of the nation of Israel, the nation was conquered and captured by Babylon, resulting in seventy years of captivity. Yet this enormous setback does not hinder the promises that God made to David. The prophets spoke clearly that God will indeed restore the dynasty of David with a King who will rule over Israel forever.

For example:

“Behold, the days are coming”, says Yahweh, “that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; he shall execute judgement and righteousness in the earth”

(Jeremiah 33:14,15,17. See also Isaiah 9:7, Jeremiah 23:5, Ezekiel 21:26-27. Then compare how these promises of restoration are spoken of  in the NT regarding Jesus, e.g. Luke 1:32-33, Acts 1:6, 2:30-36, 3:19-21).

The political and territorial character of the Kingdom of God is made clear through the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Note, the Coming Kingdom, is not only going to rule over Israel, it is going to rule over the whole world. Let us look  at Daniel 2:44 where “the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these other [preceding] kingdoms and it will itself endure forever.”
This empire is further described as a time when “the saints will possess the kingdom and all kingdoms and dominions will serve them” (Daniel 7:22, 27). It is located “under the whole heaven” (Daniel 9:27). Of a truth, Abraham (as well as his co-heirs, the saints) will be heir of the world (Romans 4:13).

The Parable of the Departing and Returning Nobleman

There is a mass of New Testament evidence to corroborate the local, geographical and political nature of the Kingdom of God.  One of the clearest evidence is the parable that Jesus gave about a departing and returning nobleman (Luke 19:11-27). The very reason that Jesus gave this parable was because he and a group of people were near Jerusalem and his audience thought that the Kingdom would appear immediately!
Jesus did not correct this expectation of the Kingdom. The parable he gave was to clarify the fact that the Kingdom would not appear  immediately (Luke 19:11). According to Jesus, there is no question that the Kingdom will appear, but not in the immediate future (compare Acts 1:6-7; 3:20-21).

Jesus taught using this parable that there was to be an interval during which he as Messiah would be absent. During that time he would acquire his right to rule in the Kingdom. He would then return to rule in the Kingdom, dealing at that time with opponents who resisted his royal authority.

Luke’s account leaves us in no doubt that the Kingdom of God under discussion was a kingdom based in Jerusalem, and the geographical proximity of the king to the capital prompted the excitement that the hopes of the prophets and the nation were now finally to be realised. This parable was to teach the lesson that the Kingdom was not to appear immediately. That it would appear eventually was not in question.

Not for one moment did Jesus suggest that the people had misunderstood the nature of the Kingdom, or that they should look only for a kingdom “in the heart.” The Kingdom thus described is certainly not confined to a reign of Jesus “in the hearts of people.” By means of a simple story about the nobleman, Jesus made it clear that the Kingdom of God would not be publicly inaugurated until he returned from heaven after having received from the Father his royal authority.

It is instructive to note that it was Jesus’ proximity to Jerusalem at the time which prompted the excitement that the Kingdom would come into power then. In its historical setting, this is exactly the kind of Kingdom we should expect. Its capital would be Jerusalem, the seat of Messianic government (“the city of the great king,” Matthew 5:35), just as all the prophets had envisaged it.

The Kingdom will have Jerusalem as its capital, as foreseen by all the prophets, and it will be established by a spectacular divine intervention (Psalm Chapter 2), when the process of universal disarmament (Isaiah Chapter 2) leading to total world peace will begin.

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Open a Bible and begin to read the accounts of Jesus’ preaching of the Gospel. Remember that Jesus was commissioned by God to give us the Gospel of salvation (Hebrews 2:3). What facts did Jesus present to the public as the Gospel? Did he urge people just to believe in his death and resurrection? He did not! Not according to Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus began in Galilee with an announcement of the Gospel. He called it the Gospel about the Kingdom of God:

“Jesus came into Galilee and said, ‘The time is fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is approaching. Repent and believe in the Gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15).

Note carefully that he did not yet say a word about his death and resurrection. He commanded repentance (a complete reorientation of thinking and conduct) and belief in the Gospel about the Kingdom of God.

In Luke 4:43 Jesus told us the reason for his whole ministry. He stated that he must “proclaim the Gospel about the Kingdom of God to other cities also; that is the reason why God commissioned me.”

Later Jesus dispatched the disciples to announce the same Gospel Message: “He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God…They departed and began going everywhere among the villages preaching the Gospel” (Luke 9:2, 6).

Now what was the Gospel Message about? Was it about the death and resurrection of Jesus? Emphatically not. The disciples did not at this stage even believe that Jesus was going to die and be raised! It was not until Matthew 16, Mark 10, and Luke 18, when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time, that he began to talk to his disciples about the fact that he would suffer and die. This dialogue was  long after the disciples had been preaching the Gospel (Luke 9:6), moreover, they still did not accept the idea of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Luke 18:31-34 tells us that when Jesus described his coming death and resurrection, “They understood none of these things” (Luke 18:34; compare Mark 9:9-10, 31-32, Matthew 16:21-22). Yet they had been “preaching the Gospel” (Luke 9:6; 10:9). What
Gospel had Jesus and his disciples, therefore, been preaching?

Answer: The Gospel of the Kingdom of God!

Now, after the death and resurrection of Jesus those facts were added to the Gospel Message. The Gospel of the Kingdom was still the name for the Gospel, but the new facts about Jesus’ death and resurrection were incorporated into that Kingdom Message.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are a vital part of the Gospel, but not the whole Gospel. The basis of the biblical Gospel is the coming Kingdom of God (“Thy Kingdom come”), a political monarchy to be set up here on Earth, with Jerusalem as its capital and its authority extending to the whole world. This is the only hope for the world.

The Gospel invites you to rule with Christ in that coming Kingdom (see Isaiah 32:1; Daniel 7:18, 22, 27; Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5; Luke 19:11-17; Revelation 2:26-27; 5:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:2; 2 Timothy 2:12; Luke 12:32; Luke 22:28-30).

In order to gain immortality and a place in the coming Kingdom we must repent, be baptised and prepare for the coming of Jesus to establish his Kingdom. Such is the Gospel Message proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles (Mark 1:14-15; Acts 8:12; 2:38; 10:47-48; 19:5, 8; 20:25; 28:23, 30-31).

The Kingdom of Heaven

To begin with, “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Kingdom of God” are synonymous! They are one and the very same Kingdom! The issue is that out of the four Gospel writers, Matthew alone uses the phrase, “Kingdom of Heaven” whilst the other Gospel writers use “Kingdom of God.”

Having said that, Matthew does use the phrase  “kingdom of God” four times, Matthew 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43; moreover, in 19:23-24 Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God” within two consecutive verses. So Matthew has no issues using the phrase “Kingdom of God.”

Again, “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Kingdom of God” are synonymous. To prove this fact, please look over these ten instances where Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven”
whilst Mark and/or Luke has “kingdom of God.” Shown as follows: