The Kingdom of God (part 1 of 2)

     In his epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul exhorts the members of the assembly there, “Do not reject prophecies, yet test all things; hold fast to the good, hold back from every appearance which is evil” (1 Thess. 5:20-22). Unfortunately, modern Christianity has adopted the exact opposite viewpoint, seeing prophecy and eschatology as something that is impossible to fully understand and to be avoided. Others simply idealize prophecy so that it has little to no literal application, something which is also condemned in scripture (1 Pet. 1:19-21).

    Instead of adopting these unbiblical and, frankly, detrimental attitudes toward prophecy, in this series of articles we will look at all of the biblical evidence so as to make a determination about the different eschatological viewpoints held today, using a grammatical-historical hermeneutic [1]. This post will begin by looking at the argument between amillennialists and premillennialists surrounding the nature and timing of the “kingdom of God”, an argument which has far-reaching implications throughout all of the Bible. Many see the kingdom of God as a current reality, a ‘spiritual’ kingdom, whereas others believe that it will find a physical existence on earth following the second coming of Christ, and still others see it as a mixture of the two. Which is correct?

    The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, there were two different meanings to the phrase “kingdom of God”. In the first case, it is though that because God created the universe, His kingdom encompasses the entire universe at all times as He sits enthroned and sovereign over it (e.g., Ps. 103:19; 145:11-13; Dan. 4:3, 34). However, in a more limited sense, Israel is the kingdom of God. Yahweh first promised to Moses that Israel would become a kingdom for God:

“All the earth is Mine, but you shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (Exod. 19:5-6)

In accordance with this promise, God told David that he and his descendants would rule over His kingdom:

“Your [David’s] house and your kingdom shall endure before Me for the age; your throne shall be established for the age.” (2 Sam. 7:16)

“But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom for the age, and his throne will be established for the age.” (1 Chron. 17:14)

Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His kingdom. (Ps. 114:2)

We see, then, that David’s descendants and the kingdom of Israel may also be considered the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God was a literal, physical polity which existed in the land of Israel. From this point forward, the kingdom of David and his descendants is frequently interchanged with the “kingdom of Yahweh”. See the following examples:

“Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel.” (1 Chron. 28:5)

“Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of his father David; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.” (1 Chron. 29:23 cf. 1 Kings 2:12; 8:20)

Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel: Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the sovereignty over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?... So now you intend to assert yourselves against the kingdom of Yahweh which is in the hand of the sons of David.” (2 Chron. 13:4-5, 8)

Unfortunately, because Israel and the descendants of David did not listen to God and follow His law (cf. 1 Kings 9:6-7), the kingdom was taken away from them and Babylon took over the land of Israel, followed by Persia, then Greece, then Rome, and even today Israel is still not ruled by a descendant of David. However, God promised that even if the descendants of David failed to listen to His commands, He would not forsake them forever, but would return the throne to a descendant of David - namely, the Messiah - because God cannot forsake His own promises (Ps. 89:30-37).

    The hope of this promise, that God would eventually place a descendant of David on the throne of Israel again, and that the physical kingdom of God would one day be restored, is found all throughout the prophetic books of the Old Testament. They believed that the kingdom of God would return to Israel and be a physical, visible polity which would fill the entire earth.

Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. (Isa. 2:2-4)

Then the moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame, for Yahweh of armies will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders. (Isa. 24:23)

On that day Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, you sons of Israel. It will come about also on that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship Yahweh on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. (Isa. 27:12-13)

“For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all the nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. And I will put a sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. Then they shall bring all your countrymen from all the nations as a grain offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh. (Isa. 66:18-20)

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and he will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is his name by which he will be called, ‘Yahweh is our righteousness.’” (Jer. 23:5-6)

This is what Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel says: “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes, ‘The Lord bless you, O place of righteousness, O holy hill!’ Judah and all its cities will live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks. For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and refresh everyone who languishes.” (Jer. 31:23-25)

“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch of David sprout; and he shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: ‘Yahweh is our righteousness.’” (Jer. 33:14-16)

“Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will serve and obey Him.” (Dan. 7:27)

“Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will pass through it no more. And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; and a spring will go out from the house of Yahweh to water the valley of Shittim. Egypt will become a waste, and Edom will become a desolate wilderness, because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited for the age and Jerusalem for all generations. And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, for Yahweh dwells in Zion.” (Joel 3:17-21)

“In that day I will raise up the fallen house of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name,” declares Yahweh who does this... “Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them,” says Yahweh your God. (Amos 9:11-12, 14-15)

The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom [of Israel!] will be Yahweh’s. (Obad. 21)

And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem... As for you, tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come — even the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. (Mic. 4:1-2, 8)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. (Hab. 2:14)

And on that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And Yahweh will be King over all the earth; on that day Yahweh will be one, and His name one. (Zech. 14:8-9)

Although there are far more passages than even these which show that the hope of the Israelites which was promised by God was a physical, earthly kingdom to be returned to Israel centered in Jerusalem, the glory and power of which would fill the entire earth, these should suffice to show that they believed it to be a literal kingdom that would exist on the earth. In fact, the prophet Ezekiel provides a detailed description of the boundaries of this kingdom and the temple that would exist in Jerusalem during the Messianic age (chaps. 40-48).

    But was this view, that the kingdom would be a physical polity led by a descendant of David (Jesus) which would be returned to Israel, the view of the kingdom of God in the New Testament as well? Let’s take a look at what Jesus and the writers of the New Testament had to say about the kingdom of God.

    The Kingdom of God in the New Testament

One of the very first things that the messenger Gabriel told Mary about her future son, Jesus, is that “the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and there will not be an end of his kingdom” (Lk. 1:32-33). This is entirely in line with the hope of Israel that we have seen so far: that a promised descendant of David would one day arise and would restore God’s kingdom to the house of Jacob (Israel).

    When the Jews of Jesus’ day heard that the “kingdom of God” (also, by metonymy, called “the kingdom of the heavens”) was coming, they would have understood this to mean that the promised restoration of the Davidic kingdom over Israel would soon come. This is supported by the reactions of certain Jews in the book of Luke - we are told that, when they saw Jesus, they were hoping that Israel and Jerusalem would soon be redeemed (Lk. 1:65-70; 2:34, 38; 24:21).

    Certainly, it is possible that they were wrong about this; after all, they thought that He would redeem Israel from the Romans at His first coming, even though this will only occur at His second coming. However, the prophecies above are absolutely clear that at some point Israel and Jerusalem will be saved from their enemies, and that the physical kingdom of David will be restored via his descendant, the Messiah. This is supported by the equation of the kingdom of God with Israel in several passages of the New Testament:

“Happy the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of the heavens is theirs... Happy the gentle, for they will inherit the land... Happy those having been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for the kingdom of the heavens is theirs.” (Matt. 5:3, 5, 10)

Through parallelism, this passage equates “the kingdom of the heavens” (= kingdom of God) with “the land [of Israel]”.

Now Jesus said to them, “Verily I say to you, that you who followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man may sit upon [the] throne of his glory, you also will sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for the sake of my name will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit age-during life.” (Matt. 19:28-29)

The context of this statement is about entering into the kingdom of God (v. 24). This passage, therefore, tells us two things: (1) that the disciples will judge the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom of God, and (2) that this will occur in the “regeneration” when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory. The disciples, knowing the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the restoration of the Davidic kingdom over Israel, would have understood this “regeneration” to be the promised restoration of the kingdom of God over Israel, in which they would be taking part. Since the “regeneration” or “restoration” will occur when Christ is bodily received from the heaven in the same way in which He went up (Acts 3:21 cf. 1:11), the kingdom of God (or at least this aspect of it) will not occur until that time.

“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and much glory. Now [when] these things begin to come about, raise up and lift your heads, because your redemption is coming near... when you see these things coming about, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Lk. 21:27-28, 31)

This confirms that the kingdom of God will come as a future reality at the second coming of Christ.

And to the [apostles] he presented himself alive in many proofs after his suffering, being seen by them for forty days and speaking the [things] about the kingdom of God... Indeed, then, having come together, the [ones] were asking him, saying, “Lord, at this time are you restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Yet he said to them, “It is not yours to know times or seasons which the Father established in His own authority.” (Acts 1:3, 6-7)

The most important thing to note about this passage is that the apostles believed that the “kingdom of God” was something that needed to be restored to Israel. If, as amillennialists believe, the kingdom of God refers solely to the spiritual realm of the ‘Church’, then it would be an entirely new development - not something to be restored, and certainly not to Israel. But if, as the overwhelming testimony of both the Old and New Testaments indicates, the kingdom of God is the Davidic kingdom which will be restored to Israel under Jesus, this statement makes much more sense.

    Although many amillennialists make the assertion that the apostles were still holding an incorrect ‘carnal’ or ‘worldly’ view of the kingdom of God, this is inconceivable. They had just been taught “the things about the kingdom of God” for forty days by Jesus Himself! And even if they had been wrong, why would Jesus not have corrected them? The very gospel which they were preaching depended on a correct understanding of the kingdom of God [2], so if the apostles’ understanding of it had been this blatantly misguided, He certainly would have corrected them before ascending to the heaven. Thus, we must conclude that the apostles’ understanding of the kingdom of God as a literal, physical polity to be restored to Israel was correct.

“Therefore repent and return toward the erasure of your sins, that seasons of refreshing may come from [the] face of the Lord, and that He may send to you the appointed one, Christ Jesus, whom it is indeed necessary for heaven to receive until [the] times of restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from an age.” (Acts 3:19-21)

According to this passage, Peter still understood the coming of God’s kingdom to be a restoration even after Pentecost, and to be a future event associated with the bodily return of Jesus from the heaven (cf. Acts 1:11). Furthermore, Peter states that this restoration was spoken of by God through the holy prophets; as shown above, the only restoration spoken of by the prophets was the restoration of the Davidic kingdom over (literal) Israel. Although some amillennialist interpreters have argued that the “times of restoration of all things” began at Pentecost (for example, see here), this is clearly false; Peter, speaking after Pentecost, indicates that this is a future time, and that Jesus will be received by heaven until that time (meaning that those times will only begin once Jesus is no longer in heaven).

    These are not the only passages that show that Jesus and His disciples believed the kingdom of God to be a future reality, in physical Israel. Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, He repeatedly presented the kingdom of God as something that had not yet come (e.g., Matt. 6:10; 16:28; 18:3; 20:20-23; 26:29; Lk. 22:30), and the coming of which would be associated with the future judgment (Matt. 7:21-23; 13:39-42; 25:31-34) and the resurrection of the patriarchs (Matt. 8:11-12; Lk. 13:24-28).

    And in stark contrast to amillennialism, which argues that the kingdom began at Pentecost, it is still presented as something that had not yet come even long after that day (Acts 14:22, 26:6-7). Paul and the other writers of the New Testament call the kingdom of God an “inheritance” which we will receive in the future, at the resurrection and second coming of Christ (1 Cor. 6:9-11; 15:50-54; 2 Thess. 1:5-10; Heb. 12:28; 2 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 11:15-18) [3].

    The Millennium of Revelation 20

And I saw a messenger coming down out of the heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain upon his hand. And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent who is the Adversary and the Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And he cast him to the abyss, and shut and sealed [it] above him, so that he may deceive the nations no longer, until the thousand years may be finished. After these [years], it is necessary [for] him to be loosed a little time.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. Also [I saw] the souls of the [ones] having been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and whoever did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not take the mark upon the forehead and upon their hand. And they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years may be finished. This is the first resurrection. Happy and holy [is] the [one] having part in the first resurrection! The second death does not have authority upon these, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will reign with him the thousand years.

And when the thousand years may be finished, the Satan will be loosed out of his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, the Gog and Magog, to gather them to the battle, of whom the number of them [is] as the sand of the sea. And they went up upon the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the Beloved City. But fire came down out of the heaven and ate them. And the Adversary, the [one] deceiving them, was cast to the Lake of the Fire and of sulfur, where also the beast and the false prophet [are], and they will be tormented day and night for the ages of the ages. (Rev. 20:1-10)

This is perhaps the most critical passage in the debate between amillennialists and premillennialists. This is because amillennialists believe that the “thousand years” repeatedly referred to in this passage is a figurative time period describing the ‘Church age’, which (supposedly) began at Pentecost - as we will see, this interpretation is riddled with eisegesis. In contrast, premillennialists believe that this thousand years is yet future, and refers to the coming Messianic age during which the Davidic kingdom will be restored to Israel and the promises of an earthly kingdom made to the prophets in the Old Testament will be fulfilled.

    The first thing which we are told in this passage is that the “thousand years” will be a period during which the Adversary is bound, unable to deceive the nations. This simply cannot be the ongoing state of affairs - elsewhere, Paul tells us that the Adversary is the “god of this age” (an age which will end at the second coming of Jesus), and that he has the authority to blind the minds of all unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4). The Adversary has been very active since Pentecost, certainly not prevented from deceiving anyone: for example, see Acts 5:3; 26:18; 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; Eph. 2:2; 6:11; 1 Thess. 2:18; and 2 Tim. 2:26. If the Adversary were currently bound, how could it be said that he is prowling about like a lion (1 Pet. 5:8), and that the whole world is under his control (1 Jn. 5:19)?

    Furthermore, we are told that at the beginning of this thousand years, “they” will sit on thrones and judgment will be given to “them”. Who are “they”? By interpreting scripture with scripture, we can see that at least some of “they” refers to the twelve apostles, who will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). However, as noted earlier, this is said to take place at or just after the bodily return of Christ from heaven (cf. Acts 3:21). Therefore, the thousand years of Revelation 20 must also take place after the bodily second coming of Jesus, something which (obviously) did not occur at Pentecost.

    We are then told that the resurrection of believers, including those who were executed for not taking the mark of the beast’s name, is called the “first resurrection” and will occur a thousand years prior to the resurrection of the rest of the dead. Amillennialists claim that this refers to the ‘spiritual resurrection’ of believers which occurs upon conversion. However, the noun αναστασις which is used here is only ever used of physical resurrection (see for example this concordance), and literally means “rising again”. Although the conversion of believers might perhaps be described as a ‘rising’ of some sort, it certainly would not be said to be a “rising again”. Thus, this must be a literal resurrection which will occur a thousand years before the Great White Throne judgment.

    Finally, the last section of this passage also refutes the amillennial interpretation. Amillennialists interpret Revelation through what they call ‘progressive recapitulation’, as they argue that the book of Revelation describes the course of history between Christ’s ascension and second coming at least seven times using different imagery. Because they see the Millennium as occurring before Christ’s second coming, they require one of these chronological breaks between chapters 19 and 20. However, according to Rev. 20:10, at the time that the Adversary is cast to the Lake of the Fire, the beast and false prophet are already there. Since the beast and false prophet were case to the Lake in the previous chapter (Rev. 19:20), there must be a chronological sequence between the two chapters, and the Millennium must occur after the second coming of Christ.

    In summary, the amillennial position is entirely untenable. In the Old Testament, the kingdom of God was considered to be the Davidic rule over Israel, which (although lost at the Babylonian captivity) would one day be restored to Israel, centered in Jerusalem, and the authority of which would extend over the entire earth. The writers of the New Testament confirm these prophecies, describing the kingdom of God as the physical kingdom over Israel which will be restored upon the second coming of Christ, and is as of yet entirely unfulfilled. This is confirmed by Revelation 20, which shows that this earthly kingdom will last for one thousand years after the second coming of Jesus. Some might say that this view of the kingdom is ‘carnal’ or ‘worldly’. This, however, is a gnostic view which sees the physical earth as evil; from a biblical perspective, the earth is “very good.” Even if it were 'carnal,' though, so what? If God has promised that this is what will happen in the future, then we can be sure that it will.

Part 2: https://universalistheretic.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-kingdom-of-god-part-2.html

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[1] For an explanation and defense of this hermeneutic, see this article by Abner Chou. Since all of the prophecies regarding the Messiah’s first coming were fulfilled in Jesus according to this hermeneutic, there is no reason to believe that the prophecies regarding His second coming will be fulfilled any differently.

[2] After all, the gospel which was preached to Israel was called “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; Lk. 16:16 cf. Acts 8:12).

[3] That is not to say that the body of Christ will reign on the earth along with Israel; Paul makes clear that our destiny during the oncoming ages is to rule with Jesus in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1-2; Eph. 1:3; 2:6-7; 3:8-11; 6:11-12; Php. 3:19-20; Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:18). However, our hope and expectation is the same as Israel in the sense that we, too, will be citizens of the Davidic “kingdom of God” (cf. Acts 26:6-7; 28:20). This is because the authority and rule of Jesus, the Messiah and Davidic king, will extend throughout the heavens as well as the earth (Rev. 12:10 cf. Col. 1:15-20).