JUST WHAT IS GOD’S KINGDOM?
By Jonathan Mitchell
The word “kingdom” usually brings to mind the idea of a
territory (a domain) that is under the rule of a “king.” We tend to call up images of royal courts
with some sort of hierarchy below the king, and of course an army that is
outfitted with some form of weaponry that will maintain the sovereignty of the
king and order within his realm.
The concept of a
kingdom was well known to Israel, and eventually Israel itself wanted to be a
kingdom and have a king like the nations that surrounded them. Up to that time they had been governed by
judges who would deliver them from the attacks from these other nations. The prophet Samuel was the last of those
judges, and we read an enlightening statement from Yahweh upon the occasion of
elders’ request for Samuel to make a king for them. In 1 Sam. 8:7 He tells Samuel,
“Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to
you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should
not reign over them.”
They already were a kingdom, but not one like the other
nations. Yahweh was their King, and His
rule was mediated to the people through the judges until the time of, and
through, the prophet Samuel. Their
desire for a human king and a physical kingdom was a rejection of God as being
their Sovereign.
So from the time of
their first king, Saul, we read in the books of Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1
& 2 Chronicles and the Prophets about Israel’s history as a kingdom. During and following the periods of their
exiles, they looked and hoped for God to raise up another king, like David, who
would throw off the yokes of their oppressors and set up a kingdom in the land
of Israel that would rule the world.
This hope was placed in their expectation that God would raise up a
Messiah (Anointed One) that would deliver them.
In Dan. 2, we read an apocalyptic dream that king Nebuchadnezzar had,
which was interpreted by Daniel, that prophetically described the coming
kingdom which had been seen as “a stone cut out without hands [which] struck
the statue” in the king’s dream (vs. 34).
In vs. 35 we see that “the stone… became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth.”
Then, in vs. 44, Daniel explains that “in the days of these
kings [represented by the multi-metal statue] shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom [pictured as the stone, in the dream] which shall not be destroyed… but
shall stand for the eons.” I suggest
that it was this kingdom which John the baptizer proclaimed as having
“approached [to be] now near at hand and is close enough to touch (= has
arrived and is now accessible)!” (Mat. 3:2).
Then, in Mat. 4:17, Jesus made a similar proclamation,
“You folks be progressively changing your thinking (change
your frame of mind, mode of thought, perceptions and understanding and turn
your focus to [Yahweh]), because the sovereign reign and activity of exercising
the sovereignty of the heavens (or: kingdom from the sky and the atmosphere)
has drawn near and now continues being at hand and is close enough to touch (=
has arrived and is now accessible).”
However, because
Jesus did not fit the popular, political or religious image of the expected Messiah,
the Judean leadership rejected Him as being the Messiah, and Jesus was
crucified. This seemed to confirm their
decision: how could the promised Messiah be crucified? Of course His resurrection showed that they
had been wrong, but then He went away and did not stay to set up a physical
kingdom in Jerusalem. So had He been
wrong to proclaim that the kingdom was at hand, close enough to touch, and
accessible to His people? Many
Christians, even today, make the same mistake made by the Jewish leadership in
the 1st century: they are expecting Jesus to come and set up a physical kingdom
in Jerusalem – sometime in the future.
But how are we instructed about God’s kingdom? What does it look like and what are its
characteristics? Is it a literal civil government? Does, or will, it take the form of physical
rule within human societies? Or is the
term “kingdom,” which is better rendered, “reign” or “sovereign influence and
activity,” better understood as a metaphor for the reality of God’s
relationship with people?
Paul gave an
astounding description of God’s kingdom, in Rom. 14:17,
“for you see, God's kingdom (or: the reign-and-dominion
which is God; the expression, influence and activity of God’s sovereignty) is
not (or: does not exist being) solid food and drink, but rather, eschatological
deliverance into fair and equitable dealing which brings justice and right
relationship in the Way pointed out (being turned in the right direction;
rightwisedness; also = covenant inclusion and participation), peace (and:
harmony; = shalom) and joy (or: happiness; rejoicing) within set-apart
Breath-effect (or: in union with and amidst a dedicated spirit and a sacred
attitude; or: in [the] Holy Spirit).”
Why did Paul use the
term "God's kingdom" in this context?
He had been talking about making a brother sad because of food (vs. 15),
and said if they were doing this,
“[they] are no longer continuing to walk about (= living
[their] life) in accord with (or: down from and on the level of) Love (or: you
are not yet habitually walking [their path] in participation with transcendent
unity of unambiguous, uniting acceptance toward others).”
Now vs. 16 speaks
about their "good thing (or: the excellence and virtue which pertain to
[them])" being slandered because of this behavior. Then we have vs. 17 which again speaks of
behavior, which Paul categorizes as "God's kingdom." Verse 18 continues the subject of behavior --
that which is both well-pleasing to God, and approved by men. And this is "righteous living," or,
“fair and equitable dealing in just relationships which accord with the Path”
that Christ “pointed out” to us (and this = "continuously slaving for and
in the Christ," vs. 18), which Paul gives in the above definition of
"God's kingdom."
Note also that a
characteristic of His kingdom is "peace," which the LXX used to
translate the Hebrew "shalom," which signifies also the prosperous
way of life, and wholeness. The kingdom
is involved with right relationships (primarily with other people). Finally, it is a life lived in the spirit,
which results in joy and rejoicing in Yahweh.
THIS is God's kingdom.
But there is more.
Paul gives another definition of God's kingdom in 1 Cor. 4:18-21ff. Once again, the context is the behavior of
some within the church at Corinth.
"Some are puffed up..." (vs. 18). This condition is also indicated in their
"speech" (vs. 19). But God's kingdom
is more than speech,
“For God's reign (or: the kingdom and sovereignty which is
God; the sovereign influence or activity from God) [is; lies] not within an
idea (a thought; a word; a message; a verbal expression), but rather within
ability, in union with capability, or in the midst of power” (vs. 20).
This would indicate action, or behavior. Paul refers to his own potential behavior
among them, in vs. 21,
“What do you folks want (presently desire; normally intend;
by habit purpose)? Should I come to you
people within [the realm of] a rod (staff; = with corrective measures), or
within love, and in a spirit of gentle friendliness and tender kindness (or:
meekness)?”
The next chapter of 1 Cor. continues on about the
"behavior" of some within the church.
But keep in mind that Paul has been speaking of the context of God’s
kingdom (vs. 17). So we can conclude
that God's kingdom can be the able use of correction (the power of the rod), or
love and a spirit of gentle friendliness and tender kindness.
So, thus far, have we
encountered anything about civil government or about a king sitting upon a
literal throne? No, we see in these passages
allusions to the reign of God as it is being experienced in the called-out,
covenant communities and in the life of Paul.
These quotes from Romans and 1 Corinthians color-in a picture of God’s
kingdom as being the Way that was pointed out by Jesus, in His teachings, and
then by the Holy Spirit, in the lives of the 1st century congregations as they
are being “led by the Spirit” (Rom. 8:14) – all of which continues turning them
in the right direction (toward Christ) and keeps them in right relationships
with everyone.
Paul refers to God's
kingdom again in 1 Cor. 15:50. He had
just been speaking there about the resurrection of dead ones (vs. 42) and
contrasting the spiritual to the natural, or soulish (vs. 46), and noting how
the first Adam is out of the earth and made of dust, while "the Second
Human (Person; Man; [other MSS add: {is} the Lord]) [is made] out of heaven
(or: [is] from [the] atmosphere and sky; [p46 reads: {is} spiritual])."
(vs. 47). Verse 49 speaks of how we bear
the image of the dusty one, and of how we can bear the image of the Heavenly
One. So this is the context: contrasts
of the natural and earthy to the spiritual and heavenly. Now verse 50 reads,
“Now I am saying this, brothers (= fellow members and
believers), that flesh and blood (= humans in their estranged condition; =
people of dust who have not been resurrected) have no power and continue unable
to inherit or receive and participate in an allotted portion of God's reign
(kingdom or sovereign action) – neither is corruption and decay (the
perishable) continuing on to inherit (participate in the allotment of) the
Incorruption (Imperishability).”
Note that last contrast: corruption (in the same category as
the natural, or earthy) and incorruption (another quality of the spiritual, the
heavenly, or, God's kingdom). So God's
kingdom does not appear to pertain to the earthy or to flesh and blood (natural
man). But this does not mean that His
reign is not here, on earth. It simply
pertains to the realm of spirit, the realm of the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
Again, we see no
reference to governmental organization or physical thrones here.
When Jesus was before
Pilate, He did not say, "My kingdom is not going to be established now,
but will be later, when I return."
No, He said,
“My kingdom (My sovereignty; the realm and activity of My
reign and activity; My reign as king) is NOT (does not exist being) from out of
this System (world of organized government, culture, economics or religion; or:
universe) as its source or origin. If My
kingdom (or: reign, realm and sovereignty) were from out of this System (or: world
of government, culture, religion and economy; secular society), as a source or
origin, My subordinates (deputies; officers; those under My orders) would have
been progressively contending, struggling and fighting, to the end that I could
(or: would) not be given over to the Jews (= religious authorities). But now (= as a matter of fact, or, as it is)
My kingdom and reign is NOT (does not exist being) from that source (from
within this place; thence or hence).” (John 18:36)
In John 3:3, Jesus
said that one must be born from above to even perceive God's kingdom. And then in vs. 5 He said,
“Certainly that is so.
I am now saying (laying it out; = pointing out) to you, unless anyone
(or: someone) may be born forth from out of water and spirit (or: – as well as
Breath-effect and attitude –) he continues being unable (he remains having no
power) to enter into God’s realm (or: reign; kingdom; sovereign activity and
influence).”
It would seem from this that God's kingdom is made up of
only those who have had such a birth.
Then, in Mat. 19:14, we find Jesus using children as an
example for the qualities (e.g., simple trust, as my friend John Gavazzoni has
pointed out) of those who make up the kingdom, and of those to whom it belongs:
“Stop preventing them and allow the young children to come
toward Me, for you see, the reign and kingdom of the heavens (or: = the
sovereignty of this atmosphere) belongs to and is comprised of such folks as
these.”
What a startling revelation to His listeners this must have
been!
But we find Paul and
Barnabas giving further insights into this “birth” in Acts 14:22b,
“It continues binding and necessary for us to enter into the
reign of God (or: God's kingdom; the sovereign activities which are God)
through the midst of many pressures, squeezings, tribulations, afflictions and
oppressions.”
And then, in 1 Thes. 2:12, Paul admonishes his listeners,
“to be continuously walking about worthily of the God (=
living your lives in a manner equal in value with regard to the God) [Who is]
continuously calling (or: repeatedly inviting) you people into (or: unto) His
own royal activity (or: reign; kingdom; sovereign influence) and glory (or:
manifestation which calls forth praise; or: reputation; or: opinion and
imagination; or: = manifest presence).”
We saw above that
God's kingdom is something that is inherited (I Cor. 15:50). In 1 Cor. 6:9-10 we note that unjust ones,
idolaters, thieves, etc. will not inherit the kingdom.
In Matt. 25:34 we see that the
"sheep" – those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, were
hospitable to strangers, clothed the naked, took care of the sick, visited the
prisoners – inherit the kingdom. Once
again we find the theme of behavior related to the kingdom.
Paul gives further
light on just what this inheritance is, in Eph. 1:13b-14, “… within and in union with Whom also, upon trusting and
believing, you people are stamped (or: were sealed; marked for acceptance, or
with a signet ring; = personally authorized) by the set-apart Breath-effect of
The PROMISE (or: with the holy attitude of assurance; in the sacred essence
from the promise; or: for the Holy Spirit which is the Promise) Which is
continuously a pledge and guarantee of our INHERITANCE (or: Who remains being
an earnest deposit, a security and the first installment of our portion which
was acquired by lot) – [leading] unto a release into freedom (liberation from
slavery or imprisonment) from that which was made to surround [us/you] (or: of
the encircling acquisition; or: which is that which has been constructed as a
perimeter around [us]), [being immersed] into the praise and approval from (or:
which is) His glory (or: from His manifestation which calls forth admiration
and which yields a good opinion; which pertains to His imagination; of a
reputation which is Him)!”
Gal. 3:14 also speaks of the Promise, “to the end that the Good Word (the Blessing; the Word of
wellness and goodness) pertaining to Abraham (belonging to and possessed by
Abraham; whose intermediary source is Abraham) could within Jesus Christ
suddenly birth Itself (or: may from Itself, within Christ Jesus, at once come
into being [and be dispersed]) into the multitudes (the nations; the ethnic
groups; the Gentiles), so that we [note: "we" = the new
"one" mankind?] could receive the Spirit's PROMISE through the
Faithfulness [of Christ].”
Verses 17-18, in Gal. 3, relate "the inheritance"
to the Promise in which, “God has Himself graced [it] (has for Himself, in
favor, freely granted [it]), so that it now stands as a favor of grace, to (or:
for; in) Abraham through a Promise (or: because of a promise)," and thus,
by extension, is also given to Abraham’s seed.
So we are finding the metaphor of “inheritance,” which, as noted above,
is related to “the kingdom,” now connected to “The Promise,” which comes to us
as a “gift.” When in Gal. 4:30 Paul
instructs us to, “Cast out (or: At once expel) the servant girl (the
slave-girl; the maid) and her son,” he is referring to the Sinai covenant (Gal.
4:24-25) and the literal expectations from that covenant, including what it
produces.
In contrast to the old covenant and the Law from Sinai, Paul
informs us, in Gal. 4:28, that, “we, brothers (= fellow believers; = my
family), corresponding to (in the sphere of) Isaac, are (continuously exist
being) children of Promise (or: ones-born of [the] Promise).” From the association of the words,
“inheritance” and “promise” to “kingdom (reign, etc.),” we can deduct that the
“children of Promise” are also “children of the kingdom” (cf Mat. 13:38). Or, we can also conclude that His kingdom is
His people (as Israel was, until Israel wanted a flesh kingdom, in the days of
Samuel).
Now Eph. 5:5 speaks
of those who are "not now holding enjoyment of an inheritance (does not
currently continue having use of an allotted gift from someone who has died)
within the Christ's and God's reign or sphere of sovereign activity (or: in
union with the kingdom of the Anointed One [= the Messiah], as well as of God;
or: centered in the royal influence from the Christ, and from God; [p 46: within
the reign of God])" – once again associating the concept of
"inheritance" with that of "kingdom."
From observing how
the inheritance is connected to the Promise, we now turn to Acts 1:3-4 where
Jesus was, “continuously saying things concerning God's reign and sovereign
activities (or: and progressively laying out thoughts about the kingdom and
realm of God, as well as the ruling influence, which is God),” then proceeds to
tell them to, “not to be presently separated (or: caused to depart) from
Jerusalem, but rather, to continue remaining with regard to, and waiting around
for, the Father's promise (or: the Promise, the source of which is the Father;
or, as a genitive of apposition: the promise which is the Father)!” Is God our inheritance? It was for the tribe of Levi:
“For this cause hath Levi neither portion nor inheritance,
with his brethren – Yahweh is his inheritance, as Yahweh thy God spoke unto
him.” (Deut. 10:9, Rotherham; see also Deut. 18:1-2)
Now let's tie these thoughts together, since Levi was the
tribe from which came the priests.
John
instructs the called-out communities, in Rev. 1:6a, that God, “made (formed; created; produces) us [other MSS: in, for,
with us; of us] [to be] a kingdom (or: sovereign reign; [other MSS: constructed
of us a kingdom which brings sovereign influence]): priests in (or: by; for;
with) His God and Father...”
This is an echo of Ex. 19:6, speaking to Israel, “As for
you, you shall become Mine: a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Concordant Version)
In both of these last two verses it is A PEOPLE (God's
people) that is called "a kingdom."
And since they are "[His]," they are His kingdom. After proofreading this article, my son
Joshua commented, “All of the above evidence of God being our inheritance and
we being His reminds me of the family relationship dynamic (i.e. – The father
and mother belonging to the children and the children belonging to them and
each individual member belonging to one another; all enjoying the benefits [a
multi-directional “inheritance”] that comes from being actively in right wised
relations with each other [actions and activities with each other directly
related to the reality of being actions and activities of His “kingdom”…the
purest and most beautiful, observable form of the evidence of His active
sovereign influence])!”
Now let's consider
some of the things to which Jesus compared the kingdom:
Mat. 13:24, “The reign and sovereignty activities of the
heavens (or: kingdom of the atmospheres) is likened and compared to a person
(human) sowing (scattering) fine, ideal seed within his field.”
Notice that the previous parable spoke of sowing "the
word of the kingdom" (vs. 19) and that this is interpreted, in the good
soil, as "hearing” and “comprehending” the Word (the Logos)" (vs.
23).
Mat. 13:31, “The reign and sovereignty of the heavens (or:
kingdom of the sky and atmosphere) exists being (or: is) like seed of a mustard
plant – which, upon taking, a man (a person) sowed within his field.”
Now above, the field was compared to comprehending the Word
of the kingdom – the heart or mind (understanding) is that which receives the
seed of the Word, thus the man in vs. 31 would be planting the mustard seed
into himself, or into others like him. [please note: this same parable is given in Mark 4:30-32,
but here it is called "the kingdom of God." Some would try to differentiate between these
two synonymous phrases. Note also Mark
4:26 where "the kingdom of God" is compared to sowing seed and then
harvesting the crop (vs. 29).]
If we consider this
parable in Mat. 13:31 as speaking of growth from a small Seed to a large plant
that can house agents of the heavens (birds of the air – including doves), then
the parable speaks of life and growth: something organic. There is no thought of conquest or rule in
this picture of the kingdom.
Then in
Mat. 13:33, “The reign (kingdom; sovereignty) of the heavens and
atmospheres exists being (is) like leaven (or: yeast) which a woman, upon
getting (taking; receiving) [it], hides within (= mixes in) three large
measures (1.5 pecks, or 12 quarts, per measure) of wheat flour, or meal, until
[the] whole [batch] is leavened to thus be fermented, risen [and teeming with
life]!”
Again we see growth and expansion. Starting from something small (bread only
takes a little leaven) and putting it into something that would otherwise
remain flat, and not "rise," we see that the entire mass of dough
(could we say the whole world) expands into the finished product, ready to
serve as food or offering.
Mat. 13:44, “The reign (or: kingdom; sovereignty) of the
heavens and atmospheres exists being (or: is) like a treasure – having been
hidden (or: being concealed) within the midst of a field – which, upon finding,
a person hid (concealed) [again] and then, from the joy he has, he proceeds
leaving [it] and one after another sells as many things as he is then
possessing and is proceeding in purchasing that field” [note vs. 38: in that
parable the field is ‘the world; the aggregate of humanity; the universe’]
Here we have a figure of Christ purchasing the whole field
(a figure of the whole world) to get the treasure (humanity) that He found in
the field. If this interpretation be
true, then the kingdom is compared to the plan of redemption. God considers us His treasure.
In vs. 45 we have the
figure of a traveling merchant "selling as much as he had" to buy a
valued pearl. This is a parallel to vs.
44.
Next, let's consider
the parable of the dragnet and the catch of fish, in Mat. 13:47-50. The dragnet is a figure of God’s sovereign
action upon the “sea of mankind,” which brings into His control “every species
[of marine life]” (vs. 47) which included “ideal ones… [and] decayed and rotten
ones” (vs. 48). Once again, regardless
of how you interpret the figures in the metaphor, you see the kingdom compared
to a process – a sequence of events. As
my son, Joshua observed, the events are “actions that yield great worth,
substance, increase and value.” Yet, in
this case, Jesus used this parable to prophesy God’s sovereign actions upon
Jerusalem and the Jewish leadership in His day: the destruction of Jerusalem. It turned out to be an event that brought an
end to the Jewish temple cultus.
At the
same time, in this parable, there is no comparison to the “rule of a king, a
governor, or a magistrate,” or to “civil government,” but rather to the daily
life of fishermen.
Are the folks that are fishing a figure of God, or of His
servants (His disciples and followers, or, historically, the Romans)? The collecting of everyone into the net, and
then separating them, reminds us of how the sheep and the kids are separated
the Mat. 25:32-46 (where Jesus compares Christ’s separating the species of His
herd to that of a shepherd, i.e., an example of the way of an ordinary life and
periodic activities). In both cases the
"unacceptable" ones go into fire: decisions are made. In 13:49, Jesus told them the time frame to
which this parable spoke: “the destined conclusion of the (or: this) age,”
which happened in AD 70. In this
picture, the fire does not annihilate them, for vs. 50 says, “and then will continue casting them into the furnace (oven;
kiln) of The Fire [= God's dealings]: the weeping (crying and lamentation) and
the grinding of teeth' will continue being in that situation or place.”
Now I also suggest
that this means that the net "drags" everyone into the kingdom, where
this judgment takes place, i.e., for the appropriate dealing for each one, or,
for each group. This can involve weeping
(sorrow about losses, etc.; cf 1 Cor. 3:10-17) and grinding of teeth (regret,
or anger), but those experiencing His dealings are alive and are being
processed by them.
And again, remember
that Jesus said that He would make [us] “fishers of humans” (Mat. 4:19). So the kingdom, in this parable, is the work
of God, through His agents upon humans – whether in their hearts, their spirits,
their souls or their bodies – or, upon institutions (e.g., the temple
cultus). The specific, immediate focus
of this parable involved the Romans being His agents to bring the end of the
old covenant.
In these examples of God’s
kingdom, God constantly makes decisions about humanity, but His actions take
place in the realm of ordinary living, here on earth, and not necessarily at a
future or remote “judgment seat.”
Speaking of which, God’s seat of judgment during the times of the
Israel’s early history was within the heart of the tabernacle/temple. God spoke to Moses from out of the tabernacle
(Lev. 1:1; Nu. 1:1). We see Moses going
into the tabernacle, from time to time, to discuss with God various issues
concerning Israel (e.g., Nu. 7:89). In
that type, God’s throne was “the mercy seat” (Ex. 25:22).
Later, God’s home among Israel became a temple, and now we
have come to see that WE are God’s temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph.
2:21). The situation that exists now is,
“let the peace (or: joining; [= shalom]) of the Christ (belonging to and
originating in the [Messiah]; the harmony which is the Anointing [other MSS:
God]) continuously umpire (act as a judge in the games) within your hearts (=
in union with the core of your being)” (Col. 3:15a).
In Mat. 18:3 we see
that one must be "turned around," and become "like little
children" in order to enter into the kingdom. Then, in vs. 4 we read these are folks having
the characteristics of the kingdom:
“Therefore, whoever will be progressively bringing himself
low in attitude, situation and condition, so as to be humble, insignificant and
unimportant in his own eyes, like this young child – this person is the
greatest (= most important) with the heaven's reign (or: the kingdom emanating
from the atmospheres).”
This virtually turns the human concept of “kingdom” on its
head.
And in 18:23-35 the kingdom of the heavens becomes an issue
of mercy and forgiveness, in the parable of the "unmerciful
servant." This sounds like
"the Way pointed out" – i.e., like the Way of mercy, and
forgiveness. It is the “eschatological
deliverance into fair and equitable dealing which brings justice and right
relationship in the Way pointed out (being turned in the right direction;
rightwisedness; also = covenant inclusion and participation)” of Rom. 14:17,
above – which is the life of the kingdom, and this speaks to our behavior and
to our relationships with one another.
The kingdom can also mean correction or judgment, where it is needed, as
we see in this parable (Mat. 18:32-35).
But note vs. 21, where Peter asks Jesus a question that prompts this
parable. It is a question about how we
should live. Peter asks, "How often
shall I forgive my brother?" In the
kingdom life it is 70X7, or, it is a Way of Life that offers continual
forgiveness to others.
Now let us turn again to Paul, and see what he said in Col.
1:13-14, He who drags us
out of danger (or: rescued us) forth from out of the midst of the authority of
the Darkness (from Darkness's jurisdiction and right; from existing out of
gloomy shadows and obscure dimness; = the privilege of ignorance), and changes
[our] position (or: transported [us], thus, giving [us] a change of standing,
and transferred [us]) into the midst of the kingdom and reign of the Son of His
love (or: into the midst of the sovereign influence of the Son
Who has the characteristics and qualities of His accepting love; into union
with the sovereign activities of the Son Whose origin is His love; or: into the
sphere of the reign of the Son of the Love which is Him; into the center of the
kingdom of the Son, which is His love), 14 in Whom (or: in
union with [which Son]) we continuously have and hold the release into freedom
from slavery or imprisonment (the liberation from our predicament) [which
results in] the sending away of the failures (or: the dismissal of the errors
pertaining to falling short and straying to the side of the target; the flowing
away of the sins; the divorce from mistakes).
Some have suggested that “the kingdom and reign of the Son
of His love (etc.)” is speaking of a different kingdom than the one of which
Jesus spoke, and which the Jews had anticipated, but there is no evidence for
this conclusion. It is simply the
kingdom that belongs to the One to whom the Father said, "This is My
Beloved Son," (Mat. 17:5), which equals, here, “the Son of His love.” There is only one kingdom of God, and we now
exist in this kingdom.
In God’s economy
(which is another term for His kingdom/reign, or His household) there no longer
exists Jews and Gentiles, for, “You see, He Himself is our Peace (or: continuously exists
being our joining and harmony [= Shalom]) – the One making (forming;
constructing; creating; producing) The Both [to be] one, and within His flesh….
to the end that He may frame (create; found and settle from a state of wildness
and disorder) of The Two [i.e., Jew and Gentile] into One New [p 46 & others:
common] Humanity centered within the midst of, and in union with, Himself,
continuously making (progressively creating) Peace and Harmony (a joining; =
shalom)” (Eph. 2:14-15).
God will not now make a separation between the nations, so
as to set up a separate kingdom in Palestine that is different from the one of
which Paul speaks, here, in Col. 1:13.
Jesus set the scene
for a pivotal verse (Lu. 17:21b, below) when in Lu. 17:20b-21a, he informed the
Jews (in this case, the Pharisees) that, “The reign (or: kingdom; royal rule; sovereign activities
and influences) of God is not proceeding in coming with a careful keeping watch
from the side (or: by means of or accompanied by attentive or intensive
observing; [note: this word was used of watching the symptoms of an illness, as
well as about making observations of the sky]).
Neither will folks continue saying, 'Look here!' or,
'There!'”
In other words, it is not going to be a literal, physical
kingdom or reign!
So let us consider
this astounding (for the Jews, and us), pivotal declaration for this
discussion, Luke 17:21b, “You see – now consider this, and understand – God's reign
(kingdom; royal rule; sovereign influence and activity) continually exists
inside you folks (or: is on the inside of you people; or: = within your
community).”
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures
reads the pivotal word which I have rendered "inside/within" as
"inside" in the interlinear section (while the NWT of its side bar
reads "among"). The Friberg,
Friberg and Miller Analytical Lexicon of the Gr. NT gives the first meaning of
this word, entoV, (used in this verse) as "an adverb of place: within;
inside." Liddell and Scott give the
same as the root meaning, in their lexicon.
The objection to this concept, of the kingdom of God "existing
inside/within you," is that in Lu. 17:21 Jesus was answering the Pharisees,
so the question becomes, How could the “kingdom” be “inside” them? Now consider that those Pharisees were at
that time like worthless fish in the parable of the dragnet in Mat. 13:47ff,
above, where the “worthless fish” were “inside the net” – or “inside the
kingdom” in this picture.
Then remember, in Mat. 23:27, that the Pharisees were also
like whited tombs that were full of dead men’s bones – i.e., they made their
beds in hades, in the dark abode of the dead (which corresponds to these whited
tombs), yet God was with them there, as with the psalmist in Ps. 139:8.
There is nowhere where God and His kingdom
are not present, and thus God, in His kingdom, was still there within them,
judging them and would eventually bring correction to them (and this is the
purpose of judgment and correction: to transform them into “good fish” – as He
did with the Pharisee Saul, who was transformed by Jesus to become Paul).
And in this time of purification (cf Mal.
3:2-3) His fire would have to remove the dross within them; or switching
metaphors, it would burn off their interior land (as in Heb. 6:8) to remove all
the thorns and briers, to make their piece of ground good soil, ready to
receive His Word and bear the fruit of the Spirit. "The people that walked in darkness [the
Pharisees, in this case] have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land
of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.... they joy before
thee according to the joy in harvest..." (Isa. 9:2-3). That is a picture of their final end:
joy. The kingdom comes and invades the
darkness – every man in his own group, in his own time (1 Cor. 15:23). Or, as the psalmist proclaimed, "Yahweh
will enlighten my darkness" (Ps. 18:28).
Then we see that John recorded, “And the life was continuing being, and began progressively
existing as, the Light of mankind (or: Furthermore, the Light progressively
came to be the life known as "humanity," and was for human beings;
or: Then the life was existing being the light from the humans).
And the Light is constantly shining in the
dim and shadowed places, and keeps on progressively giving light within the
gloomy darkness where there is no light (or: within the midst of the obscurity
of The Darkness where there is no light of The Day; or: = in the ignorant
condition or system)…” (Jn. 1:4b-5a).
It may happen slowly, with some, and not even happen during
this life, but we are instructed that This Light was, and continues being, “the True and Genuine Light which (or: Who) is continuously
(repeatedly; progressively) enlightening (giving light to) every person (or:
human) continuously (repeatedly; progressively; constantly; one after another)
coming into the world (or: the ordered system of culture, religion, economics
and government; or: the universe) (or: It was the real Light, progressively coming into the
world {organized system}, which is progressively enlightening {or: shedding
light on} every human)” (Jn. 1:9).
There is no place where His light does not shine. So to conclude our consideration of Lu. 17:21,
we see that God’s kingdom continually exists inside of people, and as Paul
revealed in Acts 17:28, all people exist inside of God.
The message has
already gone forth (the agent has blown the trumpet – Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 8:2,
etc.), and,
"The reign of the ordered System (of the world of
religion, culture, government and economy; or: of the realm of the religious
and secular) suddenly came to belong to our Lord [= Yahweh or Christ] and to
the anointed of Him (or: The kingdom of the arranged system at once became our
Lord’s and His Christ’s; The rule as king which pertains to the world, was
birthed to be the possession of [Yahweh], as well as of His Anointed), and so He will continue reigning (ruling as King) on into
the ages (or: indefinite time periods) of the ages [other MSS add: So it is
(Amen)]." (Rev. 11:15).
Jesus said in Mat.
28:18, "All authority (or: Every right and privilege from out of Being) is
(or: was) given to Me within heaven and upon the earth (or: in sky and
atmosphere, as well as on land)!"
That's when the message went forth, of which John heard in the vision in
Rev. 12:10, “Then I heard a great (or: loud) voice within the atmosphere
(or: sky; or: heaven) repeatedly saying, ‘At the present moment (or: Just now)
the deliverance (the return to the original state and condition; the rescue;
the health and wholeness; salvation), and the authority, and the kingdom (or:
reign) of our God was (or: is) birthed (comes into existence; came to be), also
the authority of His Anointed (or: His Christ; His anointed one), because our
brothers' accuser (the accuser of our fellow believers) was cast down (and: is
hurled down) – the one that was or is by habit repeatedly accusing them before
(or: in the sight and presence of) our God, day and night.” THE LAW of SIN and DEATH-mdw
The last phrase logically indicates that the location is on
earth, where there is day and night.
In Lu. 10 Jesus sent
out seventy of his apprentices, and in vs. 9 instructed them to tell folks,
“God's reigning and activity of exercising sovereignty (or:
kingdom) has drawn near upon you people – close enough to touch (= has arrived
and is now accessible)!”
Jesus later, in vs. 17, heard their response about God’s
reign coming upon those folks,
“Now the seventy [other MSS: seventy-two] returned with joy,
one after another saying, "O Lord, even the demons (Hellenistic concept
and term: = animistic influences) are continually being subjected to us (or:
set under and arranged below for us) within and in union with Your Name!”
Then in vs. 19 He told them, “So look, and realize – I have given to you folks the
authority to habitually step on and trample snakes (serpents) and scorpions –
as well as upon all the power and ability of the enemy (or: the hostile or
adversarial person) – and nothing will proceed in any circumstance causing you
folks harm (or: wronging you or treating you unjustly).”
While I suggest that Jesus was speaking figuratively about
snakes and scorpions, He was telling them that they had been given an
experience of His reign, and that thus they had been able to deliver and heal
folks. These activities were the “stuff”
and “substance” of God’s reign, and were its central purpose that would come to
fruition with His death and resurrection.
In regard to this "kingdom" discussion, I would add
that it is a real kingdom and an active reign of God, and that it has real
effects upon "the kingdoms of this world." Christ raises up, or puts down, those in
governments, in accord with His plan of the ages. I have observed that His decisions and judgments
are on-going, as well as His shepherding and nurturing of His children. He directs His program of the ages through
His Spirit acting upon the hearts of humans, and through the love and mercy
being expressed through His body right now, just as He did through His
disciples when He sent out the 12 and the 70, as well as that which was
demonstrated through the apostles, in the book of Acts.
Do I expect this to become more evident? Yes.
The "increase" of His “chieftainship” (Concordant Version) or
“dominion” (Rotherham), which speaks of His reign and sovereign activities in
His kingdom, will continue indefinitely (Isa. 9:7), until the goal of the
subjection of all has been obtained (1 Cor. 15:25). Humanity’s imagined “free” will has nothing
to do with it. 1 Cor. 15:22-28 can have
both individual and corporate applications (the latter being on the scale of
involving all mankind).
I suggest that
the realization of Eph. 2:6, "He jointly roused and raised (or: suddenly awakens and
raises) [us] up, and caused [us] to sit (or: seats [us]; = enthroned [us])
together within the things situated upon [thus, above] the heavens," began with the resurrection of Jesus and was first
manifested at Pentecost; it has continued ever since. Observe, e.g., Christ’s authority for
bringing healing, deliverance and the shepherding of His flock, as displayed in
the lives of Peter, Paul and other NT personalities. We participate in this enthronement here and
now, but it is only displayed as cruciform lives (Embracing our Cross as Jesus Instructed us, Luke 9:23-mdw), dispensing His life to others
– not as organizational hierarchies. See Post Brothers we are not professionals: Click Here
What we observe in
our own lives may not live up to the ideas or expectations that we might have
built up or imagined through the influences upon our thinking from a variety of
Christian traditions. But if we believe
that God is continuously sitting upon His throne (e.g. Rev. 19:4), then we
should join the voice of the large crowd saying, "Praise Yahweh
(Hallelujah)! Because the LORD [=
Yahweh] our God, the Almighty, reigns!" (Rev. 19:6)
The prayer modeled by
Jesus for His disciples in Lu. 11:2 said, "Your kingdom come." And as we have seen, the word kingdom
(basileia) can also mean "reign," or "royal rule." Was Jesus here indicating that the kingdom
(or, reign, rule, sovereign influence and activities) of God was somewhere else
and needed to arrive? In one aspect, yes
– it was to be the disciples’ prayer for His rule to become actualized and
active within them and among the covenant communities. In another aspect, no – God's dominion has
always been here, and for Israel it was literally manifested in their
deliverance from Egypt, and until their rejection of Yahweh as their king (1
Sam. 8:7). I believe that God's judgment
of Jerusalem in AD 70 was a manifestation that the rule of "the King of
the Jews" was very much real. It is
my conclusion (along with scholarly studies by others) that it was at this time
that Mat. 26:64 was fulfilled, for Jesus was there speaking TO the high priest,
and TO those surrounding him, when He said, “You yourself are saying [it] (or: are [so] saying)! Moreover, I am now saying to YOU people, from
now (this present moment) on YOU folks will proceed to be seeing ‘the Son of
the Man (= Adam's son; the eschatological Messiah figure; the representative
human) continuously sitting at the right [hand]’ of the Power, and
‘progressively coming (or: repeatedly coming and going) upon the clouds of the
atmosphere (or: sky; heaven).’" [Dan. 7:13; Ps. 110:1]
They would have first seen this through the behavior of His
followers, as recorded in the book of Acts, but I suspect that they actually
saw this, in AD 70, and possibly had a vision of Christ during that time of His
judgment upon them, and on Jerusalem, through the Romans. He may have appeared to them as He did to
John in Rev. 1:13-16, or they may have, like Saul on the road to Damascus, seen
a bright Light, and may have asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The writings about that period of the Jewish
War, by the Jewish historian, Josephus, speak of folks having seen “signs” or
“portents” in the sky over Jerusalem.
Mat. 21:43 records Jesus telling the ranking priests and the
Pharisees, “Because of this, I am now saying to you men that God's
reign (or: the kingdom of God; the influence and activity of God's sovereignty)
will be progressively lifted up away from you folks, and it (or: she) will
proceed being given to an ethnic multitude (or: nation; people group; swarm of
people) consistently producing its (or: her) fruit.”
In vs. 45 we read that the priests and Pharisees knew that
the “you men” of Jesus’ pronouncement was referring to them. In Lu. 12:32, Jesus told His followers, “Stop fearing (or: Do not continue being wary), little
flock, because it delights the Father (or: because the Father thought it good,
and thus, approved) to give the reign (rule; kingship; kingdom; sovereign
influence and activities) to you folks.”
This corresponds to Jesus’ parable in Mat. 25, where in vs.
34b He says to the sheep, “'Come here, you folks having received words of ease and
wellness from (or: spoken well of by; or: having received the blessing of; or:
bearing thoughts, ideas, expressions and the Word of goodness) from My
Father! At once come into possession of
the inheritance of, and enjoy the allotment of, [the period of, place of, or
realm of] the reign (or: kingdom; influence and activity of sovereignty) having
been prepared and made ready from a founding (a casting down [as of a
foundation; or: of seed]) of a system (or: of [the] adorned arrangement; of an
arranged order; of [the] world).”
Upon reviewing this article, John Gavazzoni remarked that it
would be good to add, “Paul’s description of the nature of the true reign of
God,” as he stated it in Rom. 8:2,
“For the principle and law of, from and which is the spirit
and attitude of 'The Life within Christ Jesus' (or: For you see, the Law of Life’s spirit, joined with
[the] Anointing of Jesus; or: For the Spirit’s law of life within Christ Jesus;
or: the Law [= Torah] from the Breath-effect, which is Life in union with [the]
Anointed Jesus) frees you away from the Law of the Sin (or: the principle of
failure and the missing of the target; the code of behavior that produces
error; the principle of deviation from the goal; this law from the mistake) and
the Death (or: immediately set you [other MSS: me] at liberty from the law that
deals with and has the character of sin and which comes from death).”
This law from sin and from death refers both to the
principle of the old Adamic life and to Israel's Torah. In the new covenant, we live by the Spirit of
the Life which is within Christ Jesus, and this new existence constitutes God’s
kingdom. John Dominic Crossan made the
following insightful comments, “The Kingdom of God movement was Jesus’ program of
empowerment for a peasantry becoming steadily more hard-pressed, in that
first-century Jewish homeland, through insistent taxation, attendant indebtedness,
and eventual land expropriation, all within increasing commercialization in the
booming colonial economy of a Roman Empire…
Jesus lived, against the systemic injustice and structural evil of that
situation, an alternative open to all who would accept it: a life of open
healing and shared eating, of radical itinerancy (travel-mdw) and fundamental
egalitarianism (equality-mdw), of human contact without discrimination and divine contact
without hierarchy. That, he said, was
how God would run the world if God, not Caesar, sat on its imperial
throne. That was how God’s will was to
be done on earth – as in heaven.
But heaven was in very good shape. It was earth that was the problem. He died for that vision and that
program. I emphasize that, for Jesus,
the Kingdom of God meant just what it said, a religious vision and a religious
program but incarnated in rather than separated from the social, political and
economic realities of everyday life” (Who Killed Jesus? Exposing the Roots of
Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus, Harper San Francisco,
1996, pp 211-12; emphasis original).
Can we envision such a reality? The Seed of this is within us; we are called
to live it out by the power of the Holy Spirit incarnated within us, and
present among us.
In conclusion, we
have considered many examples of how God’s kingdom is His active interaction
with humanity and His influence upon people, both directly and through His
called-out communities. It is here now,
it is accessible to us, it is within us, and it is among us through the power
and ability of His Spirit. Furthermore,
we observe no human structure or hierarchy in His reign; it is organic, like a
Vine with Its branches. It is the eschatological
deliverance that produced righted living (in Christ) with the peace that came
through the joining of all races and cultures into one new humanity, and it
exists within the joy that is centered in, and in union with, the Holy Spirit.
All His goodness is with you,
Jonathan Mitchell
Please see this Article WHO OR WHAT IS ISRAEL?: Click Here
Also, you might want to study: YE ARE COME TO ZION: Click Here
