The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God
By Stanley D. Toussaint, Th.D.
Senior Professor Emeritus of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas

The Kingdom of God is a theme embracing the entire Bible. It includes the Lord’s eternal sovereign reign over all creation: Psalms 10.16, 29.10 and 103.19; Daniel 4.35; and the temporal and local reign of God known as His Theocratic Kingdom.

God’s earthly Theocratic Kingdom began with the creation of Adam and Eve and the authority God delegated to them: Genesis 1.26-28. They were to reign over the earth under the authority of God even after the Fall. However, because of Adam’s sin, God’s reign on earth over an earthly kingdom was brought to an abrupt halt.

From Adam to Moses, God reigned over the world through various agencies, but not through a Theocratic Kingdom on this earth. All of this changed at Mount Sinai, when God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel, formalized in Exodus 24.1-8, and that nation became God’s Kingdom on earth with the land of Canaan as its manifest destiny.

For the first time, the word kingdom is used of God’s Kingdom in Exodus 19.4-6. God mediated His rule over Israel first through Moses, then Joshua and then through the judges. Eventually, the people demanded a king, a request God granted in 1 Samuel 8.9-22. The first king, Saul, proved to be disobedient and God terminated that dynasty. God then chose David to be king and gave him promises and a covenant in which He committed to give David an eternal throne, kingdom and house: 2 Samuel 7.12-16; Psalm 89.3,4,28-37. The glory of the Davidic house reached its apex with David’s son and heir, Solomon.

After Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, inherited the throne, the northern tribes, under the leadership of Jeroboam, seceded from the kingdom of Rehoboam. Only Judah remained as the nation over which the line of David ruled. The Northern Kingdom failed spiritually and was deported to Assyria in 722 B.C. Tiny Judah continued to be God’s theocratic Kingdom in spite of the apostasy of so many of its kings and the increasingly rampant idolatry practiced there. Finally, the painful, tragic and deliberate departure of God’s glory from His chosen people took place: Ezekiel 10.4,18,19; 11.23; and Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 B.C., God’s theocracy on earth was terminated. The Times of the Gentiles had begun, Luke 21.24.

The New Testament opens with the messages of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles, which electrified Israel: “the Kingdom of God, Heaven, has drawn near!” Israel was called upon to respond in repentance in preparation for its arrival. Of course, the Kingdom was to come by way of Christ’s crucifixion. Because of Israel’s rejection, the Kingdom still has not come and is yet future. God is today ruling over His universe and He is calling out people for Himself, but the Kingdom is not present in any form.

But one day, there will be a massive turning to God by Israel: Zechariah 12.10-14; Matthew 23.39 and Romans 11.25-27. Then the Lord will restore Israel, Acts 1.6. The Kingdom will come first, in the form of the millennial reign of Christ and finally, in its eternal form. When the Lord returns to reign, there will come to pass the shout of the heavenly host: Revelation 11.15.

And so with John, we pray, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22.20.