The Kingdom

“His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” (Dan. 4:3)

There are often questions asked about the Kingdom of God here on Earth, simply because people are uncertain and confused about the conditions of God’s Earthly realm. The most often asked questions are “who will be in the Kingdom” and “what will be the condition of that Kingdom”. We know from Scripture that Christ will sit on the Throne of His Father David, and that His government and peace will increase without end (Isa. 9:7), and that we shall reign with Him in this Kingdom.

In 1Thes. 4:16 and 17 we read that the Lord shall descend from Heaven with the voice of the Archangel and the Trump of God and that the dead in Christ shall than be raised at that time, also we who are alive at that time will be reunited with our Redeemer and King, and be with Him forever. We also read in 1Cor. 15:52 that this will happen in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the dead will be raised with a incorruptible body, and we shall also be changed into an incorruptible, spiritual body. Now just because the translation of our bodies is instantaneous, we should not expect the Kingdom to be Paradise on Earth in one breathtaking moment. Just as God created the Earth and all that is in it in six days or ages in the beginning, so the Kingdom of God on Earth will also be a progressive happening.

In Rev. 19:11, we read about the returning Christ, “And I saw Heaven opened and, behold, a white horse: and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” So, from this verse alone we can surmise that the transition from World power to God’s Kingdom will take some or maybe a lot of persuasion by the sword of righteousness, for a sword it will be, for we read in 19:15, “And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations, and He shall them with a rod of iron, and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God”. Thus, we can readily see by these verses that there will be a time of conflict during the transition to the rule of Christ, until He will have subdued all things unto Himself (Philippians 3:21), and every knee shall bow to Him (Philippians 2:10).

We can compare this in some way to the conditions in David’s and Solomon’s realm after David had overcome all the nations and kingdoms round about Israel, and when Solomon became King we read in 1Kings 4:21&24, “And Solomon reigned over all the Kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt; they brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life….For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the river, and he had peace on all sides round about him.” The same scenario will play itself out when the Lord Jesus returns to claim and take up the Throne and Crown of His Father David. By the Word and the Sword, He will conquer all the nations of the World, those who are not of Israel. Some will submit willingly, others more reluctantly and yet others not at all. Those that refuse shall perish by the sword, but in the end every knee will bow to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then Christ shall be all in all and His work will have been completed.

Now, as to who will be in His Kingdom, let us look at some facts on which the Bible is clear. Christ is and was sent first and foremost to His own people, the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel. It is only those who came from the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that are His Elect. According to the Epistle of 1Peter 1:2 we are without a doubt, “elect according to the foreknowledge of God, through the sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Christ.” Peter also said that we are a “Royal priesthood and a Holy nation” (v9), this is also confirmed in Rev. 5:10, where it tells us, “And hast made us unto our God a Kingdom of priests and we shall reign on the Earth.” Since all these promises were made to Israel only, it stands to reason that only those of Israel’s stock will rule and reign with Christ. Some will be captains of thousands, some will be captains of hundreds and some will be captains of tens, all this at the discretion of the King. These will also be the ones that are partakers of the first Resurrection, those on whom death has no more claim. As for the rest of the peoples of this world, their lives will go on in the natural way, being born, living, and dying until they in the end have either submitted to the rule of Christ the King, or have been destroyed. At the end of the thousand-year reign of our Lord, Satan will be loosed from his bonds, and in a last ditch effort, will assemble his army and his minions, and attempt to destroy God’s Kingdom. He, Satan, will be utterly destroyed by God’s heavenly armies, and cast into the Lake of Fire, together with the Beast and the False Prophet, and all those who at the Last White Throne Judgment are not found in the Book of Life. Lastly, death will also be cast into the Lake of Fire. All those remaining on the Earth at that time will be in God’s Kingdom forever, for death is no more. The Earth and all that is in it will then be in perfect peace and harmony, just as it was at the time of Creation when God said that it was very good. What a time to look forward to, what an awesome future. Hallelujah! Praise be to God forever.