KINGDOM - OLOGY 19

The Mediatorial Kingdom will constitute the golden age of all civilization

From the point of its inauguration, and through a thousand years, as the Messianic King brings every enemy into subjection to His rule, the divine program for the earth will be progressively realized.

1. His ministry will be immediate, irresistible, and invincible (Isa. 11:3-5). His program will be marked by expanding dimensions in an atmosphere of peace. Where men have had to use war as an artificial stimulus for the economy, this King will accomplish this feat in an atmosphere of peace.

2. The Mediatorial Kingdom will be spiritual in operation. This does not mean that this kingdom will be immaterial. It does mean that it will be under the control and direction of the Spirit. The apostle Paul did not mean by his statement in Romans that there is nothing material about the Kingdom. He did mean that those who center their attention on the material to the exclusion of the control of the Spirit have missed the central idea of the Kingdom (Rom. 14:17). It is impossible to describe all that is involved. So I call just four things to your attention. 1) The great promoter of evil will be incarcerated in the bottomless pit for the entire length of this kingdom (Rev. 20:1-3). 2). The knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth like the waters cover the sea. Every nook, and cranny, and crevice, of the human heart and mind will be filled with this truth (Isa. 11:9). 3). There will be just one supreme object of worship, the Lord Jesus Christ. Religious freedom will be done away. All nations will be compelled to come to Jerusalem to worship (Zech. 14:16). 4). And holiness will be the atmosphere permeating every facet of the operation of this kingdom (Zech. 14:20-21).

3. The Mediatorial Kingdom will have a perfect political structure. There will be four levels of authority. At the apex is the Lord Jesus Christ. All other areas of political power flow into and derive their authority from Him (Isa. 2:2). Immediately under the Lord there is the spiritual nobility made up of three companies of perfected people, glorified and transformed. At the highest point is the Church, the bride of Christ, and the Queen (1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 5:10; 20:6). There is next the Old Testament saints (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27; Rev. 20:6). Then comes the tribulation martyrs (Rev, 20:4, 6). From this we can be certain that there will be no inefficiency or corruption in government. But there is also a third level. The saved nation of Israel living in the earth will at last be subject to its King and perform that function for which it was called into existence (Isa. 60:1-3, 12; 61:6). Last of all are the saved Gentile nations, organized and functioning in submission to the great King (Isa.19:23-25).

4. The Mediatorial Kingdom will possess an ideal citizenry. The solid foundation of this kingdom is made up of saved people, both Jews and Gentiles. They were saved during the tribulation period and protected from physical harm. Then they went living into the kingdom (Matt. 13:41-43; 25:34). Strict control will be exercised over those who are born physically into the Kingdom. The population explosion will result in millions who are unregenerate. Thus it is said that Christ will rule with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5; 19:15; 2:26-27). In this respect, He will have the able assistance of the spiritual nobility. To provide for spiritual renewal of the population, a prolonged evangelistic campaign will be carried on, spearheaded by the Jews (Isa. 52:7-10). To promote agreement and common consent, a pure language will be restored to the people. The effects of Babel will be reversed now that the Kingdom is under reliable control (Zeph. 3:9). All of these things will bring about a warless world, the international differences being arbitrated and enforced by divine power (Mic. 4:2-4).

5. The Mediatorial Kingdom will experience material prosperity within a transformed physical environment. Every aspect of the physical environment will experience such sweeping and radical changes that Isaiah refers to the change as "a new earth" (Isa. 65:17). There will be climatic changes of amazing character. The moon will give light like the sun, and the light of the sun will be amplified sevenfold (Isa. 30:26). The fertility of the soil increases to the point that the desert becomes a fertile field and the ordinary field produces crops that look like a forest (Isa, 32:15). The harvest will be so abundant that the reapers cannot get the abundance out of the field in time for the planters to start the next cycle of farming (Amos 9:13). Changes will take place in the nature of wild animals so that at last they will contribute to the welfare of mankind as was originally intended (Isa. 11:6-8). Disease and deformity will disappear from the physical experience of mankind. No one will again say I am sick (Isa. 35:3-6; Isa. 33:24). Poverty and destitution will disappear from society. Every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree (Mic. 4:4). The distribution of the benefits of labor will finally be effected. What a man produces he can enjoy, and inflation will not eat away at his savings until they are gone before old age (Isa. 65:21-24). All these things will provide the most favorable environment the world has ever known, and this will result in a population explosion. Today we make reference to such, but the increase is something less than two per cent a year. But during the kingdom, it will reach a thousand per cent (Isa. 60:22).

            As you contemplate the breadth and beneficence of this kingdom, can anyone doubt the wisdom of Christ's instruction in the Sermon on the Mount: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). The writer of Hebrews made practical application of this truth to the saints: "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Heb. 12:28). The Lord Jesus made application of this great truth to the sinner: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).