Sunday, June 1

MORE ABOUT GOD'S KINGDOM



My emphasis in these articles is on the fact that God purposed for man to be king and rule the earth.   In the very beginning God commanded man to have dominion or rule over the earth and everything that lived here.  That was His purpose.  Many years later when Israel had been constituted a kingdom, God made a covenant with David and promised him an everlasting dynasty, kingdom, and throne.  That's not just for a long time; it is forever.  Of course David did not live forever.  Is God defeated in His plan?  Not at all.  David's dynasty reigned until the last of Judah's kings was taken captive by the Babylonians.  In Daniel 2:44 he prophesied that in the days of these kingdoms
  1. the God of Heaven would set up a kingdom. 
  2. He said this kingdom would never be destroyed;
  3. neither would it be left to other people,  That is it could never be defeated and ruled over by a vanquishing enemy. 
  4. Rather that kingdom is promised victory breaking in pieces and consuming the prevailing empires. 
  5. He also promised it would last forever.
So Who is this king and when has he ruled?  When has or will the God of Heaven set up a kingdom?  This has to be a kingdom set up by God.  Jesus did that.  It also has to be a kingdom that will never be destroyed.  This kingdom will never be defeated by another It is a victorious kingdom, and it is an everlasting kingdom.  Can it be any other that the kingdom of our Lord?  We need not wait for His second coming.  When John the Baptist came preparing the way for Jesus, he came preaching Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  When Jesus came He preached the same message.  Some will answer, but the only crown Jesus ever wore was a crown of thorns.  That is true, but he answered to Pilate that He was a king.  He even said that was why He came.  It has been over 2000 years that Israel has been without a literal king.  Jesus was called the King of Israel.
Jesus fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy when He came the first time and He, the God of Heaven, did set up a kingdom with His disciples.  Does that mean then that God is defeated and He must settle for a spiritual kingdom?  No, Not at all.  It is spiritual in nature for the time being until the times of the Gentiles be come in.  Yet here is a man the God-Man claiming on earth to be king.  This remember is what God intended from the beginning.  This God-Man will return and manifest his kingdom in a literal sense, but for now He reigns in a spiritual sense in the hearts of His disciples.
Tell me what you think of this.  Is this according to your interpretation of Scripture?  Leave me a comment.


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