KINGDOM - OLOGY 27

The Mysteries Developing from Contingency in Relation to the Mediatorial Kingdom

            The Mediatorial Kingdom in its final and complete form has been postponed, delayed, suspended, placed in abeyance. For the King from heaven arrived on the scene and the citizens were determined that this man should not reign over them. They confirmed the validity of their decision by delivering the King into the hands of the Romans for crucifixion. But God is not surprised by this turn of events. For known unto God are His works from eternity (Acts 15:18). In the eternal counsels this event was necessary in order to the realization of the Kingdom. Now that it has taken place, Peter could inform the Jews on the day of Pentecost that "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23). This means that the program of God was running according to plan, and the performance of men was voluntary and worthy of blame (Acts 3:13-18).

            No kingdom originating from heaven is worthy of the name that is not established on a righteous foundation. And where sinful men are involved, a program of redemption is absolutely essential to provide this. This necessitated the cross, an event integrated with the eternal plan of God. That is a matter of history. But it is also a matter of history that the elect nation has rejected its King. This raises the very serious question concerning the future establishment of the Kingdom. And it also raises the question concerning the movements of God to bridge the gap between the present state of affairs and the future establishment of the Kingdom.

            Inasmuch as the elect nation has failed for the present, God turns in another direction and this time to an elect people out of every nation. This people were elected from all eternity (Eph. 1:4), but not made known until after the elect nation had been temporarily set aside. When it became clear that the nation of Israel would not receive their king, and that the people in general were not persuaded of His essential deity and divine origin (Matt. 16:13-14), then He unveiled the eternal plan for the Church. Based on the clear confession of identity by Peter (Matt. 16:15-16).

            “Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:17-19). The mystery of the Church now becomes the provisional arrangement for the immediate future, now a period lasting over two thousand years. This is a mystery not in the sense that it is something that cannot be understood by mortal mind, but a mystery in the sense that it has been hidden in ages past and is just now being made known to men (Eph. 3:1-6, 10-11; Col. 1:25-27; Rom. 16:25-26). It is a mystery which is integrated with the Mediatorial Kingdom. For those who respond to the gospel message preached by the apostles become a select group of people constituting the body of Christ, of which He is the Head, and by virtue of this become His bride and the queen who will rule and reign with Him in His throne (Rev. 1:6; 3:26-27; 3:21; 5:9-10; 20:6). They are thus translated into the kingdom of His dear

Son, and will provide the spiritual nobility of this kingdom (Col 1:13). The Church of today is not the kingdom as to time, or function, or sphere of operation. It is one essential part of the kingdom in preparation, but most certainly not the kingdom in its totality.

            But it is not to be concluded that the mystery of the Church comprises the entire area of mystery for the present age. As soon as it was clear that the nation of Israel had rejected the King and His Kingdom, then Christ launched into a new method of teaching. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was the straw that broke the camel's back (Matt. 12:31-35). It was the evidence of irrevocable unbelief and therefore could not be forgiven. It was the evidence of confirmation in wickedness. And it cancelled out any opportunity for the Spirit of truth to reach them with the message of truth concerning Christ. Only one sign will be given to this people and that is the sign of Jonah as the seal of judgment upon their sin. (Matt. 12:38-42). Delivered of one evil spirit and left empty, they will not be invaded by a sevenfold plenitude of evil so that the last state is worse than the first (Matt. 12:43-45).

            Nothing is left to our blessed Lord but to impose a method of teaching that will serve as a judgment upon their confirmed unbelief. That method is parable. The subject of that method was the mysteries of the kingdom (Matt. 13:3, 10-11). The newness of the method causes the disciples to ask for an explanation. And the answer He gives is twofold and concerns two different groups as comprehended in the phrases "to you" and "to them" (Matt. 13:11). To the disciples it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to the unbelieving multitude it is not given. The principle involved is clear (Matt. 13:12-13). Those who possess a little truth, and cherish it, are open to further truth. But those who seem to have the truth and refuse to recognize their limitations, it is useless to spend any further time on them. For scriptural support Christ cites a passage from Isaiah 6 (Matt. 13:14-17). In Isaiah's day it was given as a judgment upon unbelief. As John puts it in his gospel they not only did not believe, but they could not believe. Their hearts were hardened; their eyes were blinded. They were in a state of incorrigible unbelief. For people in such a state, there is no other alternative except judgment. In every use of this Isaiah passage it is clearly a declaration of the judgment of God on irreparable unbelief (Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:23-28; Rom. 11:8).

            The mysteries of the kingdom make it clear that God has not abandoned His original purpose to establish a Mediatorial Kingdom in the earth. In addition to providing for a spiritual aristocracy during the period between the two advents, other developments are taking place with a view to fruition in the Mediatorial Kingdom. There is a sowing of seed which takes root in the hearts of men and which will provide for a spiritual citizenry (Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23. There is a secret or enigmatic growth of the seed during this period like that of agricultural development and at last it comes to full harvest (Mark 4:26-29). There is also a mixed growth of seed during the age. Not only good seed, but also tares planted by the devil develop during this period and cannot be satisfactorily identified until the end of the age (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43). There will be one outstanding feature that is quite deceptive, that is an unusual and abnormal growth in the outward aspects of the kingdom (Matt. 13:31-33). False doctrine, like leaven, will permeate the entire external system of the kingdom from within (Matt. 13:33). The nation Israel, like treasure in a field, is hidden among the nations of the world (Exod. 19:5). The man Christ Jesus and the coming Mediatorial King places high value on that treasure and with His own blood buys that field (Matt. 13:44), intending later to seek out the treasure He knows is there. A merchant man in search of goodly pearls finds one of inestimable value, and gathering together all his wealth, he purchases it with his life (Acts 20:28). This pearl is the Church that Christ will eventually make His bride and queen to share His throne and His palace (Rev. 3:21; 21:9). He goes back to prepare the New Jerusalem (John 14:2) for His bride, a city full of mansions and bring it back to earth for her to live in and reign out of at the time of His return. The developments through the interregnum will at last draw to a close at the end of the age, and like a net full of fish, there will be a separation of the good from the bad (Matt. 13:47-50).