KINGDOM OVERVIEW 1 of 2

 

KINGDOM OF GOD OVERVIEW 1 of 2

I shall begin the discussion with a tentative definition. A kingdom involves three aspects: a king who rules, subjects who are ruled, and the actual exercise of ruler ship. On the basis of this definition, the Kingdom of God may be described tentatively as the rule of God over His creatures.

We should also notice briefly the Biblical usage of the term "Kingdom" as referring to the divine rule. The term occurs but seldom in the Old Testament, but the idea is often found in such passages as those which speak of God as, "King" and "Judge". In the three synoptic Gospels the term is very common, while in John it is found only four times. In the Acts it occurs eight times, in the Epistles very seldom, and in the Revelation six times. Most scholars have noticed the frequent use of the term by our Lord in contrast to the apparent silence of the Epistles, and some have sought to explain the latter by saying that the word was dropped on account of possible political offense to the Roman government. There is however, a better explanation which will appear in our study of the Biblical material.

Leaving the first century when theological ideas were under the immediate influence of the Apostles, the history of the term "Kingdom of God" appears as follows: In the early centuries it was used both of God's rule in heaven and His rule in that Kingdom which men believed would be established on earth at the Second Coming of Christ.. Gradually, however, the latter idea was lost as the Church grew in political and temporal power. The Alexandrian thinkers use the term in describing the rule of God in the consciences of men. Augustine in his massive work "De Civitate Dei" identified the "Kingdom of God" with the visible and organized Church, a view which prevailed during the middle Ages and is per­petuated today in the Roman Catholic Church. The leaders of the Reformation did not use the term very widely, but the Pietists of Germany revived its use. In more modern times we find Ritschl placing it at the very center of his very influential and philosophical system of theology. Today the term "Kingdom of God" is a favorite in most liberal circles, with various connotations depending upon the peculiar "type-phenomena" about which they build their systems.

Summarizing the present situation, we find about five rather distinct views held at present: First, the Kingdom of God is a matter of the next world, or heaven, into which men enter at death; an opinion held in popular theology. Second, the Kingdom of God is the visible and organized church; held by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. (The "Church" is of course the Roman Church.)

Third, the Kingdom of God is altogether a "spiritual" affair, the rule of God in the hearts of men; held by the older post-millennial conservatives (who are mostly dead) and very widely among the "Liberals". Fourth, the Kingdom is chiefly a political hegemony to be established at the coming of God's Messiah; held by many orthodox Jewish rabbis. Fifth, the Kingdom of God is mainly a social and economic set-up to be achieved by the efforts of men; very popular among professors who like to flavor their theories with the sanction of Christian terminology.

As I have already tried to point out, the phrase "Kingdom of God" has no authority apart from the content assigned to it in the Christian Scriptures. Therefore, abandoning for the moment the various theories, I shall attempt to establish its meaning on the basis of an inductive study of the Biblical material out of which the original idea arose. In examining the very extensive Old Testament material, we discover a series of differences which seem almost contra­dictory: first, that the Kingdom has always existed, yet it seems to have a definite historical beginning among men; second, that it is a universal Kingdom, and yet it also appears as a local affair which finally grows into a universal Kingdom; third, that the Kingdom is the rule of God directly, yet often it appears to be the rule of God through a mediator. On the basis of these distinctions, I have separated the study into two main divisions: first, the Universal Kingdom of God; and second, the Mediatorial Kingdom of God. However, I wish to caution you against the notion that these are two distinct things. As we shall discover, they are two aspects of the same thing, the latter being a phase of the former and having to do especially with the earth and the human race.

As the main portion of my study will concern the Mediatorial Kingdom, the broader phase of the Kingdom of God must be passed over very briefly. We find, first, that this Kingdom has always existed. Jehovah is "king forever and ever". He is, the Psalmist declares, "my King of old", and He "sitteth as King forever". Jeremiah calls Him an "everlasting King" whose "throne is from generation to generation".  Second, this Kingdom is a universal Kingdom. Jehovah is the "King of the nations", and the "God of all the kingdoms"; His Kingdom ruleth over all. Nebuchadnezzar, golden head of the powerful Babylonian empire, is cut down from his throne by divine judgment in order that "the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men". Third, with reference to the earth, the rule of the Kingdom of God is generally Providential, that is, control through second causes. The Assyrian monarch is a "rod" in the hands of Jehovah to accomplish His purposes, though he knows it not. The King of Babylon is "God's servant". The Medes are Jehovah's "battle-axe" for the destruction of Babylon. Many years before his birth, the great Cyrus is named and "girded" to accomplish the will of Jehovah in rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple. At exactly the crucial moment, a fit of insomnia disturbs the rest of the Persian Xerxes, causes him to call for the chronicles of his kingdom (something like our own Congression­al record), and the outcome is the rescue of Israel from national extermination.

Sometimes, as in some of the Egyptian plagues, the rule of God operates through the directly miraculous, but in general the method is providential: "Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind, fulfilling His Word". (Psa.148:8).

Thus the Kingdom of God in this universal sense exists regardless of the attitude of those who are under its rule. Some, the true children of God, have submitted. Others, as in the case of the Egyptian king, are actively opposed to His revealed will. Still others, as the Assyrian, know nothing at all about the rule of God. Nevertheless, we are told, Jehovah worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

Now we should carefully note here that this Kingdom could not have been precisely the Kingdom of God for which our Lord told us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done". For, in the providential sense, the Kingdom has come and the will of God is being done on earth. It has, in fact, always existed and has never been abrogated. The key to the real meaning of the so-called Lord's Prayer must be found in the clause, "as it is in heaven". They Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Although the Kingdom of God ruleth over all, yet there is a difference between the exercise of its rule "in heaven" and "in earth". This difference arises out of the fact that rebellion and sin exist upon earth. And just here the purpose of the Mediatorial phase of the Kingdom appears: it is intended to put down eventually all rebellion and all its evil results, bringing at last the Kingdom and will of God "in earth as it is in heaven". Thus the Mediatorial Kingdom will finally merge and disappear as a separate entity in the universal Kingdom of God.

With this brief survey of the Universal Kingdom, I shall turn now to a con­sideration of the Mediatorial phase to which the Biblical writings give the vast preponderance of attention. You will understand that, to save repetition, during the remainder of this study the term "Kingdom" will always refer to its Mediatorial phase unless otherwise stated.

The Mediatorial Kingdom may be defined tentatively as the rule of God through a divinely chosen representative who speaks and acts for  God; a rule which has  especial reference to the human race, although it finally embraces the universe; and its Mediatorial ruler is always a member of the human race.

I shall attempt to trace its development as it appears imperfectly realized in Old Testament History, as its future form is forecast in Old Testament prophecy, its character as announced by our Lord in the Period of the Gospels, its place in the teaching which characterized the Apostolic period covered by the Book of the Acts, the peculiar mystery-form in which it exists during the present Christian  era, its visible and established form in the "age to come", and finally its absorp­tion in and complete identification with the Eternal Kingdom of God.

I. THE MEDIATORIAL KINGDOM IN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY

Some scholars have attempted to make an absolute separation between the historical kingdom and the Mediatorial Kingdom, but that the two are continuous in a certain sense is clear from many passages: for one thing, the future Kingdom is to be a revival and continuation of the "Throne of David".

Where, historically, did this idea of Mediatorial rule take concrete form? The source, I find, is the call of Abraham, when the Divine Ruler turns away from "Man" collectively and selects one man through whom He will accomplish His will upon earth and ultimately bring blessing upon all men. But the Mediatorial idea is historically realized in Abraham and the other patriarchs who within the scope of their own households, which included servants and retainers in large numbers, were almost absolute monarchs through whom God ruled. To these men God spoke and they carried out His will, though often very imperfectly.

The development of the Mediatorial idea in its historical application is characterized by the rule of God through certain great leaders, such as Moses, Joshua, and Judges and Samuel. They were all chosen by divine appointment and invested with authority to speak and rule for God. Moses, prototype of the others was to be to Israel "as God".

The historical embodiment reaches its glory under the first three great kings: Saul, David and Solomon. There are certain passages which seem to sug­gest that the setting up of kings was a repudiation of the theocratic ideal, but a careful reading shows that the establishment of the monarchial form of mediation was foreseen and provided for. The thing objected to was the demand of the people for a king "like the nations". The establishment of a luxurious Oriental court  was not only unnecessary from the divine standpoint, since the theocratic kingdom rule could have been mediated through leaders and prophets as previously, but such a court could only add to the people's burdens, as Samuel pointed out. However, people never learn by experience, and so the monarchial form is established, God reserving to Himself the right to choose the kings.

After Solomon, the last of the directly chosen kings, there is a period of decline characterized by a more indirect mediation of God's rule. Prophets be­come more generally the immediate spokesmen of the divine Word, passing it on to the kings who sometimes obey. The kings take the throne either by inheritance or by force, and degenerate, with notable exceptions; while prophets predict disaster and a future kingdom in which God will rule through a righteous King.

The close of the Mediatorial rule in history is sharply recorded in the prophet Ezekiel. In the Old Testament the Shekinah Glory was a symbol of the immediate presence of God in the midst of Israel. Ezekiel describes the depar­ture of this Glory under the most dramatic of circumstances. Brought in his prophetic visions to the temple in Jerusalem, the prophet sees "The Glory of God. . . there" in its proper place. A little later the Glory is "gone up. . . to the threshold". Still later it stands "over the threshold". Then he sees it go "forth from over the threshold" and stand "at the door of the east gate". And finally the Glory of the God of Israel "went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city". This was the end. There were two later temples, but you will read of no Glory therein. The im­mediate presence of God is withdrawn.

But how striking are the circumstances of the withdrawal! Not suddenly, but slowly, gradually, as if God were yearning to remain. But there is no entreaty from the people as a nation. The elders go on bowing down before the idols, the women weep for Tammuz, and the priests stand with their backs to Jehovah's temple and worship the rising sun. God is forgotten. And when God is forgotten God goes. Yet even in the midst of this melancholy vision, God promises to be a sanctuary to individual souls while Israel is scattered, and He reveals prophet­ically to Ezekiel a vision of the final return of the Glory.

A question may well be raised here. Why did the historical kingdom break down and fail? The answer is twofold: First, there was a lack of spiritual preparation on the part of the people. No government can wholly succeed unless there is a large body of its citizens in inward harmony with its laws. We are finding this out slowly by passing such laws as the 18th Amendment. Second, the imperfection of those through whom the rule of God was mediated helped to bring failure. No government can be more perfect and wise and righteous than its rulers. It is interesting to note that in the midst of disaster the prophets look forward to a Kingdom in which these two defects are remedied: a Kingdom  ruled by a perfect Mediatorial King, and whose citizens have its laws written in their hearts..

II. THE MEDIATORIAL KINGDOM IN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY

Since this is in certain respects the most important aspect of our study, I wish to say something about the nature of kingdom prophecy. With probably no exceptions, such prophecy always arises out of a definite historical situation existing immediately before the prophet. Furthermore, its predictions often have what some have called a "double reference" but which might more accurately be called an epitelesmatic character; that is, somewhat as a picture lacks the dimension of depth, the predictions often lack the dimension of time; events appear on the screen which are widely separated in time as to their fulfillment. Thus the student finds kingdom prophecy often referring to some event or person in the near future connected with the historical phase of the kingdom, and also to some far-off event connected with the Messiah and His coming Kingdom. When the first event arrives it becomes the earnest and divine forecast of the more distant and final event.

A survey of the material shows that prophecy of the future Mediatorial King­dom begins with a few rather obscure references in the Pentateuch, opens up clearly with a single gleam during the glorious period of the historical kingdom, and then grows in volume and brilliance as the historical kingdom declines, and comes to an end with Malachi. Since the material is so voluminous, I shall make no attempt to deal with its ideas in historical order, but will try to sum them up in a series of generalizations.

First, as to its literality, the future Kingdom will not be merely an ideal kingdom toward which the world ever strives but never attains. It will be as literal as the historical kingdom of Israel or the kingdom of Great Britain. All prophecy from first to last asserts and implies such literality; in such details as location, nature, ruler, citizens and the nations involved; in the fact that it will destroy and supplant literal kingdoms; in its direct connection as a res­toration and continuation of the historical and Davidic kingdom.

Second, the time of its establishment often seems near at hand; it will come in "a little while". Yet other statements indicate that it is far in the future, after "many days" and in the "later days". (I am speaking, remember, from the time standpoint of the prophets, not our present day). The reconcilia­tion of these forecasts may be found in the Divine Mind to which our "many days" are only a "little while". The establishment of the Kingdom is always preceded by a series of world-wide catastrophes in the form of wars and cosmic disturb­ances. It will be ushered in by a special manifestation of God and His Glory; "all flesh shall see it together". Long delayed judgments will fall upon Israel and the Gentile nations. Its establishment will not be gradual and an impercept­ible process, but sudden, catastrophic, supernatural, and apparent to the entire world.

Third, the Ruler of this future kingdom will be both human and divine. He is called "a Man", "a Son of Man", the Son of God, a Shoot of the stock of Jesse, a Righteous Branch of David, God, the Lord Jehovah, Wonderful-Counselor, the Mighty God, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace. He is perfect in character and ability. He does not win His way to power by the ordinary politi­cal means of demagoguery and force; and He does not fail and become discouraged until He has set justice in the earth. As the Old Testament prophets see Him,

there is a deep note of mystery in His career. He is to be "cut off with nothing". He is a Man of sorrows, rejected, despised, smitten of God, wounded and dying for the transgressions of men. The devout pre-Christian Jewish schol­ars never solved this mystery. Some thought there might be two Messiahs, one would die, and the other would reign in Glory. Others applied the prophecies of the suffering to Israel personified. (The right solution, which we know now, is not two Messiahs, but one Messiah with two comings, first in humiliation and after­ward in glory. But this solution becomes clear only in the light of the teaching of Christ in the Gospels.)

Fourth, the Mediatorial Kingdom set forth in Old Testament prophecy is monarchial in form. The ruler sits upon a "throne" and the government is "upon His shoulder". He receives His authority and holds it by divine grant. All the functions of government are centered in His Person: Isaiah sees Him and names Him as "Judge", "Lawgiver", and "King"  a remarkable forecast of the conventional activities of government; legislative, judicial, and executive. His rule will be characterized by severity, but a severity based upon absolute justice and right­eousness. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron, and yet with infinite ten­derness He will deal with the poor and the needy, gathering the lambs in His arm and carrying them in His bosom.

Fifth, in its eternal organization, the prophets picture the Kingdom with the Mediator-King at its head; associated with Him are "princes"; the "saints" possess the Kingdom; the nation of Israel is given the place of priority; and the subjects include all tribes and nations. Certain passages suggest that some do not yield a willing obedience; a point which I shall discuss later.

            Sixth, as to the nature of this Kingdom and its effects in the world, the prophets all agree that its complete establishment will bring about such sweeping changes in every department of human life that the result is spoken of as "a new ,heaven and a new earth". We find that every need of human life is anticipated and provided for. (And just here I would like to say that most views of the Kingdom held today, when compared with the prophetic picture, are narrow and beggarly. They are inadequate, rather than wrong. This is the trouble with most of the modernistic opinions; they see but one aspect. It is the paradox of modern relig­ious thought that those who claim to be "broad" are often the narrowest; they are like the six blind men who were asked to describe the elephant; they fail to see the whole. The Kingdom is a many sided affair.

The Old Testament prophets describe the Mediatorial Kingdom as first of all a spiritual affair. It brings forgiveness of sin, spiritual cleansing, the pro­vision of divine righteousness, a new heart and a new spirit, a direct knowledge of God, inward harmony with the laws of God, the outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh, and the restoration of joy to human life.

The Kingdom will also be ethical in its effects. At last there will be a proper estimate of moral values; the fool will no longer be called noble, and darkness will not be put for light. An adjustment of moral inequalities will be­come at last an individual matter. Men shall say no more, "The fathers have eat­en sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge", but, everyone shall die for his own iniquity: thus removing one of the greatest present stumbling blocks to rational belief in a moral universe.

The establishment of this Kingdom will also introduce great social and economic changes. All war will be eliminated. Instead of abolishing the arts and sciences which are contributing now to the horrors and effectiveness of war, these arts and sciences will be turned to economic uses; the sword becomes a plowshare and the spear a pruning-hook. An era of world-wide peace is ushered in which will never end. Men at last shall actually possess and use what they produce; one shall not build a house and another live in it. No longer will the weak, the poor and ignorant be subject to economic exploitation. They shall be redeemed from "oppression and violence: and precious will their blood be in the King's sight". With complete social justice for all, everything worthwhile in human life will be fostered tenderly. The hopeless cripple will not be chloro­formed; neither will the backward child be finally and rigidly classified at a certain capacity-level: "A bruised reed will He not break, and a dimly burning wick will He not quench". Even that stubborn obstacle to human understanding and international accord, the barrier of language, will apparently be broken down. Religion, philosophy, and science shall dwell together in harmony, available to all.

The more completely physical aspects of life will also feel the effects of this Mediatorial Kingdom. Disease will be abolished. Long life will be restored; in fact, it is suggested that the crisis of death will be experienced only by those incorrigible and sturdy individualists who rebel against the laws of the Kingdom. The ordinary hazards of physical life will be under supernatural con­trol. Therefore, the dictum of Durant Drake will no longer hold: "If all men were perfectly virtuous, we would still be at the mercy of flood and lightening, poisonous snakes, icebergs and fog at sea, a thousand forms of accident. . . The millennium will not bring pure happiness to man; he is too feeble a creature in the presence of forces with which he cannot cope". The answer of Isaiah to this is that someday men "shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity". For the earth shall be under the direct control of One whose voice even the "winds and the waves obey". The inauguration of the Kingdom will, furthermore, be sig­nalized by tremendous geological changes; and these changes will very naturally bring about corresponding climatic changes, causing the waste places of the earth to become fruitful. There is also at the same time a great increase in the fertility and productivity of the soil, so that "the plowman overtakes the reaper". Even in the animal world remarkable changes take place; "they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain", saith Jehovah.

In what may be called the political sphere, the establishment of the King­dom affects some interesting results. A central authority is set up for the set­tlement of international disputes, an authority with not only the requisite wis­dom to make impartial decisions, but also with power to enforce them: "Out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. And He (the divine and human Mediatorial King) shall judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples". Thus war becomes both unnecessary and useless. The Zionistic program is realized with the nation of Israel in her own land; and the unification and re-establishment of the Jewish state brings about the covenanted position of priority among the nation.

The Mediatorial Kingdom will also have an ecclesiastical aspect. The supreme Ruler combines in His Person the offices of both King and Priest. Church and State become one in aim and action, which is certainly the ideal combination if there is such a thing as a true religion. The present American policy, which I fully approve under the circumstances, is not the ideal policy, but rather a policy of safety. A central sanctuary is re-established upon earth into which representatives of all nations come to worship the true God whose Glory is vis­ibly revealed in the Mediatorial King. With this revelation, what we call "re­ligious freedom" comes to an end, and unity of worship becomes a fact, secured by divine sanction wherever opposed.

            Such is the nature of the Mediatorial Kingdom as presented in Old Testament prophecy. And I would like to suggest just here that it satisfies and reconciles all legitimate viewpoints. The Kingdom is spiritual, ethical, social, economic, physical, political, and ecclesiastical. To single out any one of these aspects and deny the others is to narrow the breadth of the prophetic vision. Take for example the age-long conflict between classical idealism and materialism: Is sense experience worthwhile, or is mind the only reality worthwhile? The pro­phets will tell you that both are recognized in the Mediatorial Kingdom and given their proper place.

To some, brought up under a preaching and theology unduly influenced by Platonic philosophy, my presentation of the physical and political aspects of the Kingdom may seem to be sheer materialism. The kingdom is spiritual, they will cry, and only spiritual; it is not "eating and drinking", but "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". To this latter statement I agree, of course, but would remind the objector that a spiritual Kingdom may manifest itself and produce tangible effects in a physical world. If it cannot, I do not see any value in it even now. But if it can produce such effects in small measure now through the imperfect labor of men, why cannot the same thing be true more per­fectly and powerfully in the coming age when the Kingdom and rule of God is mediated through the eternal Son personally present among men? Any denial of this possibility will at last plunge us back philosophically into the hopeless dualism of Platonic theology, which is still the curse of much that is called Christian thinking in the field of eschatology.