The Prophesied Kingdom of the OT

Transcript

GRM 516
Selected Verses
The Prophesied Kingdom of the Old Testament
3/2/1997
Gil Rugh

As I mentioned this morning, I want to direct our attention to the subject of the kingdom in scripture. We are studying the book of Colossians in scripture and we looked into chapter 1 and verse 13 where Paul says we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son. And there is much discussion of the subject of the kingdom. And even among believers I believe there is more confusion than there should be on this subject. We need to be clear that we follow our hermeneutic as we deal with a matter like this. Our hermeneutic is basically our principles of interpreting the scripture. And we follow a literal interpretation of scripture, a historical, grammatical method of interpreting scripture which basically is we interpret our scripture in its historical context and according to the rules of grammar. Sometimes we call it a normal rule of interpretation.

We are going to do an overview of several passages. We want to at least lay the background for what we are talking a out when we talk about the kingdom. This is part of the confusion. God has always ruled over the realm of mankind. Turn to the book of Daniel. We recently completed a study of the book of Daniel in our adult school of the Bible. Daniel chapter 4. I had to select this out. There are other passages we could have looked at in Daniel but this is the vision Nebuchadnezzar had, the dream he had. And what it really reveals is Nebuchadnezzar is going to be cut down to size. And he will be dethroned by God, lives and a mad man until he comes to recognize who is sovereign. So verse 25 of Daniel 4, Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, “You will be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. And seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize” [now note this] “that the most high is ruler over the realm of mankind and He bestows it upon whomever He wishes.” Verse 26, “In that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is heaven that rules.” So there is the kingdom of God that has always existed. God rules in the realm of mankind. And that kingdom has been true from the beginning of the history of man and is true right down until today. God is sovereign. He is God. He rules overall.


But within that the scripture clearly presents the fact that there is going to come a kingdom on this earth over which the Messiah of Israel will reign. The whole character of life on earth will be transformed by His rule. Now that is the kingdom we are going to be focusing on when we talk about the kingdom this evening, the prophesied kingdom of the Old Testament. Go to II Samuel chapter 7, II Samuel chapter 7, a covenant that God establishes with David and his descendants. David desired to build a house for God, a temple. God sends Nathan the prophet to tell David you will not build this house for Me, but your son will. And within that framework he promises David certain things. Verse 12 of II Samuel 7, “when your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for My name. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

So here you see that the line of David is established to rule over Israel forever. And even if he is unfaithful, God promises He will not remove this covenant from him as he did with Saul. He will correct him in verse 14 as a Father corrects a son but verse 15, “My lovingkindness shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul who I removed before you.” The line of Saul did not continue of the throne. God promises to David and his son, Solomon, that will not happen to them. But they will rule forever. Now this does not mean there will never be a break in the line of kings. But it does mean that God’s intention is that they will reign over the house of Israel forever. And so there is elements of this obviously to be fulfilled. Verse 16, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever. Your throne shall be established forever.”

Now, we are going to come back to the Old Testament but jump to the New Testament. Luke chapter 1. Gabriel is sent to Mary with the announcement of the fact that she will give birth to the Messiah. Verse 31, “And behold you will conceive in your womb and you shall bear a son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And His kingdom will have no end.” So you see here is where the fulfillment of that promise to David will be realized, in the person of Jesus the Messiah of Israel. He will reign permanently over the house of David.

Now we have to go back to the Old Testament. And we will go to the book of Isaiah, beginning with chapter 2. And we will just look at some of the verses in Isaiah although there is much about the kingdom in the Old Testament. But see something of the character of the kingdom we are talking about. Because for some reason we have this promise given to David and his son, Solomon. We have this kingdom described numerous times in the New Testament. We come into the New Testament and this kingdom is talked about. But somewhere on along the line we hit the New Testament and people say well it is not related to the Old Testament anymore. The kingdom we are talking about is spiritual. It just exists in the hearts and minds of people, but not actually tangibly on this earth. We have to look and see what God says this kingdom will be like.


And we will begin in Isaiah chapter 2 verse 1. “The word which Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” So, they know who this concerns, Judah and Jerusalem. “Now it will come about that in the last days” [so we are carried to future days, future times] “the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains.” Be raised above the hills, the mountain referring to a king or a kingdom. The kingdom of the Lord will be established over all the kingdoms of the earth. “All the nations will steam to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob that He may teach us concerning His ways, that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth to Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” So you see Jerusalem will be the capitol of the kingdom that God will establish on the earth. “He will judge between the nations and render decisions for many peoples. They will hammer their swords into plow shares and their spears into pruning hooks.” They won’t need weapons of war anymore because “nation will not lift up sword against nation. Never again will they learn war.”

Now we don’t live in that period today. I mean that ought to be quite obvious. All you have to do is watch the news, open the newspaper. I mean we have a law in our own state, or a consideration of a law that will allow people to carry weapons. We are not beating our swords into plowshares at this point. The law is not going forth from Zion, from Jerusalem. Look over in Isaiah chapter 9. We saw in Luke, Gabriel says that the child that Mary will give birth to will sit on the throne of David forever. Here Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, a very familiar passage to us, “For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us and the government will rest on His shoulders. His name will be called wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it, to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forever more the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.” So again you have an eternal kingdom over which He is ruling.

Look over in Isaiah chapter 11. The opening verses tell you about the Messiah is coming and so on. We will jump down to verse 6 and see the description of this kingdom. “The wolf will lie with the lamb: the leopard will lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze. Their young will lie down together and the lion will eat straw with the ox.” That is not happening today. I turned on the television for a little bit this afternoon looking for the golf tour that was on and picked up an animal show on one of the channels. And there was a picture of a lion that had just killed a baby chetah. They were noting that lions are the greatest predator of the chetah. Well I thought Isaiah 11. Tell that to that young chetah that is just getting eaten. The lion will eat straw like the ox. That is not happening. I get disturbed and I just in a cavalier way just discard what God has said. Well, you know we will spiritualize this. That could have happened if Israel had been faithful you understand. Israel wasn’t faithful so the kingdom has been transferred to the hearts of people. Forget about the lion becoming a vegetarian. Forget about these other things. “The nursing child will play by the hope of the cobra. The weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” throughout his kingdom which will cover the earth. “For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” And it will come about in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse. And that started out in verse 1 chapter 11. So on we go.


This has not happened and Israel’s unfaithfulness cannot cancel it. Remember the promise to Dave. It will happen and if your descendants are disobedient I will discipline them severely but I will not cancel them out as I did Saul. We may be and are in a time when Israel is disciplined but that does not cancel out the faithfulness of God. So I would say we will know when we are in the kingdom. You will turn on the television and they will say look at this. The lions are eating straw. Now there will be other ways you will already know. But if you have any doubt check it out. If somebody tells you we are in the kingdom you say wait a minute I have to check out some things. Go to the zoo. Be careful. We are not in the millennium.

Okay, look at chapter 35. What’s going to go on in the millennium? And again I have been selective here. I have passages I have crossed off my list to limit our time because this is our background. This is our introduction. Isaiah 35 verse 1, “The wilderness and the desert will be glad and the Arabah will rejoice and blossom like the crocus.” King James I believe has it rose. It will blossom like the rose. That is the way we usually think of it. Point is the same beautiful flowering of the desert. “It will blossom profusely and rejoice with the and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.. They wills see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.” I mean that is just not taking place. So verse 5, “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah.” Verse 8, “A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it. Nor will any vicious beast be on it but the redeemed will walk there.” And you see the description of the beauty of the place, of the safety of the place. It is a glorious description. Again failure to appreciate the fact that we are not in the kingdom yet causes some who believe we are in the kingdom to say that is why we ought to have healings today. God doesn’t want you sick. He doesn’t want any physical afflictions. So if you are confused on this you open the door for all kinds of distorted theology.

One more passage in Isaiah and then we have to go to the New Testament. Chapter 65. In Isaiah 65 beginning with verse 17... In verse 17 God promises He will create a new heavens and a new earth. But before that happens there is going to be something that will take place on this heavens and earth and in the context of this heavens and this earth. Verse 18, “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create for behold I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people. There will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out her days. For the youth will die at the age of 100 and the one who does not reach the age of 100 will be thought to be accursed.” And they will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards, eat the fruit. So we are talking about something physical. And the Jews anticipated that.


So when we come into the gospels, we find John the Baptist preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah with a message that says what? Repent for the kingdom is at hand. What kingdom if he talking about as he declares this to the Jews? Well, the only one the Jews knew about, the one that the prophets prophesied. That is why Gabriel announces to Mary, you are going to give birth to the one who will rule over the kingdom that has been prophesied. And so through the gospel they talk about the kingdom. We are not going to work through the gospels but there is a repeated emphasis as you are aware on the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom. And the message is proclaimed about the kingdom. No question on what the kingdom is I take it in the gospels. Jesus is the Messiah. He comes and offers to the nation Israel the long-promised kingdom. But what must take place for that kingdom to be established and for Israel to enter into that kingdom? What did Jesus tell Nicodemus in John chapter 3? You must be born again or you will never see the kingdom. Nicodemus is the teacher of Israel. He should have understood what it meant to be born again. He should have understood what it meant to enter the kingdom. Salvation must take place. The Jews want the kingdom; they didn’t want any part of the salvation. And so the kingdom is not established.


So you come to Acts chapter 1. The crucifixion has occurred. The resurrection has occurred. Jesus has spent these weeks with His disciples instructing them, teaching them from time to time. Now he meets with them as he prepares for the ascension. And at this point he will depart into heaven and will not bodily be upon this earth again until He comes to establish His kingdom. So they ask the question in verse 6 of Acts 1, ?when they had come together they were asking Him saying Lord is it at this time they were restoring the kingdom to Israel?” You see what they were still looking for. They were still looking for the kingdom that the prophets prophesied. Still looking for the kingdom that they with Jesus during His three-year public ministry had declared to Israel and offered to the nation. Now Jesus doesn’t say men you don’t understand. That kingdom is done. No kingdom. We have changed the plan. All those passages you can cross off. It isn’t going to happen. No. He says it is not for you to know the times or epics the Father has fixed by His own authorities, you don’t need to know when the kingdom will be established for Israel, that is the answer. There’s going to be a delay, humanly speaking, I came, I offered it, I was rejected. With the rejection of the Messiah is the rejection of the kingdom. So we are going to have this period of time in which we are living now between the first and second coming of Christ. Old Testament didn’t see it, so now we have unfolding information that tells us about the period of time in which we live in our New Testament, particularly the Epistles. But that doesn’t cancel what we said in the Old Testament. We simply have revealed to us that there is a period of time between the first coming of Christ and there will be a second coming of Christ and so nothing has changed in that. He is coming again. Verse 11 the angels say after Christ ascends, what? “Men of Galilee why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you watched Him go into heaven, He is coming again.” When He comes again then it will be time to restore the kingdom to Israel. Doesn’t seem so complicated to me, I am dumbfounded and appalled that so many people just discard the idea of the kingdom. And we pick this up in the terminology as we hear and read people talking about, well, we’re working in the kingdom, and we’re bringing people into the kingdom. Meaning they think the kingdom exist today. We’re not doing that, we’re seeing people saved which is an anticipation of a coming kingdom, and helping them to become citizens of that kingdom which will be established. But if we just except what God has said about the kingdom that results, for the kingdom to take place, the Messiah must reign in glory from Jerusalem. The curse must be lifted from creation. Righteousness must cover the earth, the knowledge of the Lord must cover the earth. They will not hurt or destroy throughout the kingdom that He has established encompassing the earth. I mean there ought to be no debate, are we in the kingdom are aren’t we? Well read the crime statistics, we aren’t. Can you say that Christ is ruling from Jerusalem today, no. Can you say they don’t hurt or destroy throughout the whole world today, no you can’t. Now where do we get this foolish idea? Well, it is a kingdom that is in heart. No it is not, it is a kingdom that is yet to be established. And we try to break it off and say, well salvation is associated with that kingdom. That is true, and you must experience salvation to be part of that kingdom. But the fact that people experience salvation does not mean the kingdom is in existence today. I think people experienced salvation, well, all along. I mean the disciples were saved when they asked Christ, “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He didn’t say, foolish ones, you are already in the kingdom. Cause you don’t know when the kingdom will be established, but they were saved. We equate salvation with the kingdom. Salvation is not the kingdom, the kingdom is not heaven, the kingdom is what we saw described as what will take place on this earth. All right, I want to look at the use of the references to the kingdom through the epistles of the New Testament. The word “kingdom,” “basileia” is used 18 times in the epistles. So it is not a major subject in the Epistles, but it is referred to. And some of these passages clearly state that the kingdom is future. Look with me in II Timothy. As you turn to II Timothy chapter 4 this is where we get a distinction for example between premillennialism and amillennialism. Amillennialists believe there will be no millennium, no, millennium, thousand years. The thousand years, and we’ll look at that in a moment, should have looked at it, but we’ll look at it later, is the first phase in the eternal kingdom. Remember, the Messiah will rule on the throne of David forever. So, that’s the first phase of the eternal kingdom, the thousand-year period that will begin with the reign of Christ.

Look in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom.” It is the future. I am charging you in light of the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again and when He comes again He’ll judge the living and the dead. When He comes again it will be His appearing, and with His appearing will come His kingdom. Remember Acts chapter 1, “This Jesus will come again in the same way you’ve seen Him go,” His appear. And with His appearing, He’ll come back, what? It will be time to establish the kingdom. So I charge you in light of that. Future events. Look at verse 18 of chapter 4, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom.” See Paul is on the verge of martyrdom, he doesn’t think he’s in the kingdom yet, but he thinks someday he will be. “In His heavenly kingdom” is the kingdom will be established by heaven. That’s the point, and God will rule on earth. So I take it he’s talking about the kingdom. Paul was a Jew, Paul in Romans declared himself to be that faithful remnant within Israel. That showed that God was not done with the nation yet. He had not lost his hope for the kingdom, but he did not think he was in it. Now the kingdom was established with the first coming of Christ and the spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men, Paul didn’t know about it. Cause He was looking forward to the kingdom and here he is at the end of his life. Last chapter of his last letter and he is anticipating being brought to the kingdom at a future time.


Over in 2 Peter, 2 Peter. It wasn’t too long ago that we studied this passage. Verse 10 of 2 Peter 1 encourages us to be diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you, and as long as you practice these things you will never stumble. Note verse 11, “for in this way the entrance to the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior will be abundantly supplied to you.” It is a future thing, he writes to them as brethren, “conduct yourselves in this way, so that you can enter into the eternal kingdom.” If we like the kingdom we can go back all the way to 2 Samuel chapter 7, an eternal kingdom. And then the other passages we saw. Not in it yet, it is future. Oh, lets see, go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Numerous passages speak about believers inheriting the kingdom, and so you see it is a future thing. It is something that we will inherit, that is the idea of an inheritance. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” They will not inherit it. Then he lists some of the unrighteous things he is talking about. And then at the end of verse 10 he says, “these kinds of people will not inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you.” So we are talking about inheriting the kingdom. He does not say they are not part of the kingdom, because the kingdom is not in existence. But they will not inherit it, in other words it won’t belong to them, when it is established they’re not going to be part of it. And it is a future idea.

Over in I Corinthians 15, verse 50. “Now I say this brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” Fact is the church will not go into the kingdom in physical bodies. Because the church will be raptured and glorified before the kingdom is established. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. We can’t be in the kingdom, most of you are in flesh and blood. It means you are not in the kingdom because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. This is directed to the church. And he goes on to talk about then the glorification of the church. “I tell you a mystery [verse 51] will not all sleep.” We are not all going to die but we all will be changed. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” He is talking about the transformation of will take place in the church and the church cannot go into the kingdom in a physical body. We are not in the kingdom folks. We are not in the kingdom because we haven’t received our glorified bodies yet as the church. Galatians chapter 5 verse 21, Galatians 5:21, similar to what we have read in 1 Corinthians where it talks about the deeds of the flesh and the end of verse 21 he is going to talk about “those who practice those things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” You see again that is a future thing. They won’t inherit the kingdom. That’s what he is talking about here, inheriting the kingdom. This is future not past. Ephesians, just after Galatians, Ephesians 5:5, “You know this with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man or an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ.” I mean again he puts this constantly in the negative, those who won’t be part of the kingdom. They have no inheritance in it in contrast to those who do, believers. You can jot down James 2:5. We won’t turn over there. Same thing, inheriting the kingdom.


Back up to I Corinthians 4. Paul refutes the idea that the saints are not reigning in the kingdom. I Corinthians chapter 4 verse 8 in a passage of sarcasm in dealing with the Corinthians. Verse 8 of I Corinthians 4. “You are already filled; you have already become rich. You have become kings without us. And indeed I wish you had become kings so that we also might reign with you.” You Corinthians are acting like you are reigning. You are acting like you are in the kingdom. I wish it were true because if you were in the kingdom, we would be in the kingdom. We already saw at the end of Paul’s life in II Timothy 4, he was looking forward to his entrance at a future time to the kingdom. So the sarcasm here. But he does note, I with you had become kings so that we might reign with you. And when the kingdom is established, the church will rule and reign with Christ. You Corinthians are acting like you are in the kingdom but you are not. And if they were, we apostles would be reigning with you.

Look over in II Timothy chapter 2, II Timothy chapter 2. Part of what motivates me on this as well... I was listening to a tape by a person who had been a professor at one time down in Dallas Seminary and he had gone through a transformation that today he does not hold to the doctrine of the kingdom as we are sharing it tonight. I listened to a tape he did a number of years ago when he is in transformation in his thinking. And you know why do you move from a solid foundation on the simplicity of the truth. It baffles me to see that happen. Look in II Timothy chapter 2 verse 12. “If we endure” [if we endure] “we will also reign with Him.” We are not reigning yet. We will reign in the kingdom. So the present sufferings are part of God’s plan in preparing us for future reign. And we suffer now; we will reign then. So these passages, I don’t think there is any debate about. In fact, many of those who do not believe in a coming earthly kingdom even acknowledge these passages do talk about a future kingdom. And yet they think that there are still some passages that mean that the kingdom is not yet future. It is really spiritual.

Look over in Romans chapter 14, Romans chapter 14 verse 17. “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom of God. It does not consist of what you eat, what you drink. If this isn’t a physical kingdom, that’s going to be of no consequence. And particularly for us with glorified bodies, that is a non-issue. A glorified body won’t need food and drink to sustain it. If Jesus Christ is an example after His resurrection with His glorified body, He did eat food. But He did not need food to sustain the glorified body.

It is in this context that He talks about not judging your brother. Verse 10, “Why do you regard your brother with contempt? We will all stand before the judgement seat of God.” Verse 12, ?Each on of us will give an account to God.? All disputes are going to be resolved at a future time in the presence of Christ. This is an area where the scripture doesn’t speak he is talking about. What kind of food, what kind of drink, what kinds of days you observe and what kind you don’t. We don’t need to be concerned about becoming judges in these areas. There will come a time when we stand before God and He will judge the motives of our hearts. That will precede the earthly kingdom, the judgment seat that he talks about here. So we don’t need to be involved in judging now. The kingdom is not taken up with physical things. The kingdom will be spiritual in the sense that we will be in glorified bodies. We will have experienced the judgements of Christ and we will have the fullness of the work of the Holy Spirit experientially in our lives. So the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. That does not mean it is here now. Eating and drinking are a very major part of our lives. I imagine most of you did some of that today. But the kingdom of God for us as believers of the church, glorified bodies, that is not part of really our lives at that time.


Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Just after Romans, 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 20. “For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” And this is in the context He talked about people who are boastful in their words, who are arrogant and so on. But the kingdom that he will establish on earth will be in the context of power not just empty words. Now people get by with empty words. Those who are going to be part of that kingdom ought to be characterized by arrogant, empty words. So something of the character of the citizens of the kingdom ought to be manifest to be sure. But the picture he uses is that if your truly are a citizen of the kingdom then you ought to be conducting yourselves according, similar to what the sermon on the mount’s thrust was. Here is the description of the character and conduct of those who will be part of the kingdom. The kingdom is not here but those who are going to be part of it have experienced God’s salvation and that transformation of life so these are the characteristics that should be true of them as they move toward that kingdom. Being part of that kingdom is not a matter of being able to boast or brag or be arrogant. The Jews had lost sight of that. The Greeks had too.

You are in I Corinthians. Look at chapter 14. Some of these passages like we just looked at, if you read that and that’s all you had on the kingdom you might say well I guess he is talking about you know our behavior today and the kingdom that exists spiritually. Maybe you could say that if you just had that verse. But you know when he talks about the kingdom and he doesn’t elaborate on it, he doesn’t correct it, he makes a statement about the kingdom, I take it, it as to fit in the flow of what the Bible says about the kingdom. And it can’t fit that as it fits that as well as it can fit a different interpretation. And that’s the only interpretation that fits what the rest of scripture says about the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 15 verse 24. It talks about the resurrection in this chapter and in verse 23 he says, “Each in his own order” [It talks about resurrection in this context] “Christ the first-fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then the end when Christ hands over the kingdom to the God and Father who has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until He has put His enemies under His foot.” “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” So here you see it is in the context of resurrection. “Each in his own order,” [Christ’s resurrection,] “then those who are Christ’s at His coming.” And then the end when the kingdom will be turned over to the Father. But He will reign until all enemies are abolished. So you see here an order established that it is going to be the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of believers, the kingdom, the end of the kingdom when all rebellion will have finally been dealt with. It will be at the climax of the millennium. And we have final rebellion, final judgement at the great white throne and we move in then on into eternity in the kingdom. But all enemies have been dealt with. There will never again be any rebellion or disobedience anywhere.

And we are obviously talking about a future time. In the context of resurrection then a kingdom, then the end of the kingdom and the completion of the work that God intends.


Jump over to Revelation chapter 20 before we come back into the epistles. Revelation chapter 20 is the only place in scripture that the thousand years duration is mentioned. It is mentioned six times in the verses you will remember. And yet again reading some material recently and listening to tapes it is amazing how many people say you cannot just take a number like 1,000 years with simplistic literalism. Well, I don’t know if you want to call it simplistic literalism but why did God say 1,000 years. I mean Satan verse 2 is bound for 1,000 years. He could have said a long time. “He threw him into the abyss, shut it and sealed it so that he would not be able to deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed.” And then he will be released for a short time. I mean what are periods of time without numbers? He didn’t say he will be released for a day and a half, two days. He said a short time. And that is in the context of a thousand years. He will be released after a thousand years for a short time. So God could have said a long time if He didn’t mean a thousand years.

Then you have in the context here resurrection, those who have been resurrected with Him. “Then” [verse 4] “they ruled with Christ for a thousand years.” That is what Paul is talking about to the Corinthians, I wish you were kings. If you were kings, we would be reigning with you because we would have been resurrected and reigning as well. “The rest of the dead” [verse 5] “did not come alive until the thousand years were completed.” And here you have a split in the resurrection, a resurrection at the beginning of the thousand year period and a resurrection at the end of the thousand year period. By the beginning of the millennium you have the first resurrection completed which is a quality of resurrection. All believers will have been resurrected by that point. And the end of the thousand years you have unbelievers resurrected. “Blessed and holy is the one who has part of the first resurrection for these the second death has no power. They will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”

You know I scratch my head because you know I don’t want to miss anything in scripture and you know as I try to read some of the men who explain this who want to tell me you know it really doesn’t mean 1,000 years. You know if you tell your children, I want you home in one hour. Now let me tell you again, I want you home in one hour, 60 minutes. Now did you get me? Sixty minutes, one hour, you come home, six times you tell them. Seven hours later, I just thought you meant come home sometime. You say, how many times do I have to tell you? Didn’t I tell you six times? Would it have helped if I had told you 16 times? So here God said it six times. If He had said it once, people would say of it’s a gloss. Well you know you have to understand just one time. You are not going to build a whole doctrine on that are you? Well he says it six times. What do they say? Oh we don’t take these numbers literally do we? I do. I mean if you are not what are you going to do. Well this is apocalyptic literature. Oh, that sounds serious. What does that mean? That means I will have to tell you what it means because it doesn’t mean what it says it means. It means what I say it means. Foolishness.

So we know 1,000 years. But 1,000 years is not forever. So don’t get confused. A 1,000 years, the millennium is just the first phase of a kingdom which is eternal. It is broken off into this first phase because then what? Every enemy will be subdued. All rebellion will be finally squashed so when you come to the end then sin has been finally abolished from the kingdom and we move into eternity but still in the kingdom.


Alright, come back to Colossians 1:13 where we are in our study. And we already looked at this but I just want to mention it so you pick it up in the flow of what we are doing. Colossians 1:13, ?He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his Son.? I take it that is a settled fact, even though it is not yet realized. It is in the context of verse 12. He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in life, the inheritance of the saints in life. We have already seen other passages related to the kingdom. It doesn’t seem like we ought to run off on some rabbit trail because oh now we are in the kingdom because this is aorist tense. And we noted when we studied this that means this is something that is already done. And we noted when we studied this Romans 8:30 where we are told that “those who He justified, He also glorified,” aorist tense. So I have already been justified. I have been glorified in the plan of God. We might say positionally. But that hasn’t happened. I mean this is not a glorified body. I mean it is obvious by looking it. And if Christ doesn’t come it will get weak and die. But He says I have been glorified. In the plan of God it is a settled truth even though it is not yet realized. So here we have been transferred to the kingdom of His Son. That is the inheritance that we have. Not so difficult.

Colossians 4:11 while we are her let me just mention it. He mentions some fellow workers in verse 11. He includes Jesus who is also called Justice. “These are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision.” They are workers for the kingdom. That’s fine. I mean we are. We are calling people to salvation in Christ in light of the coming kingdom. And especially fitting that he mentioned the kingdom in the context of these are the only Jews who are working with me right now, those of the circumcision. That is in the context of them. They are working for the kingdom that is prophesied and promised in the Old Testament.

Look at I Thessalonians, right after Colossians chapter 2 verse 12. Paul said he exhorted them and encouraged them like a father would his own children. Verse 12, “So that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who called you into His own kingdom and glory.” That hasn’t happened yet. I mean I haven’t entered into His glory yet. I mean I read the description of the throne room in heaven in Revelation 4 and 5 and let me tell you I am not there yet. I mean He has called me to His kingdom and to His glory, but the reality is not there yet. So you know walk in a manner worthy of where you are going is what he is saying. It is just like living in light of the hope that you have, the return of Christ soon. We are going toward the kingdom. We are going to be part of that kingdom. The church is going to rule and reign with Him in that kingdom. We will share in His glory in that kingdom. But it is not yet here.

II Thessalonians chapter 1, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 5. “This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgement so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which indeed you are suffering.” Similar kind of idea in Luke chapter 20 verse 35, Some are considered worthy of the future resurrection of the dead not because of their own inerrant righteousness and worth but because of the salvation that God has accomplished in their lives that has resulted in a changed life so that we demonstrate that we are worthy of the kingdom. The transformed life is a reflection of the transformed character which is a reflection of the power of God in His salvation in a life. So, we have been considered worthy of the kingdom of God. We are not there yet any more than we are at the resurrection of the dead. Luke 20:35 says we are considered worthy of the resurrection of the dead because of God’s work in their lives and the manifestation of that work.


One other passage, Hebrews chapter 12 verse 28. I believe we will have covered all the passages in the epistles. We didn’t deal with the gospels and Acts and Revelation in the use of the kingdom. In our study of Revelation we studied it in detail a few years ago. I believe every reference in the book of Revelation without exception refers to the same kingdom we are talking about. The kingdom that is prophesied in the Old Testament that will come to fruition at that climactic time talked about in the book of Revelation. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 28 in this context talking about obedience in response to the message that has been preached. Verse 27, the end of verse 26 he quotes from Haggai. “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. Yet once more denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things and those things which remain there for since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we might offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and honor.” I mean that will be a kingdom in which the things which can be shaken will be removed. That will be a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We are not in that yet. But we are those who are going to receive that kingdom. It is ours. Even though I don’t have it yet. At the right time I will, and you know it is like if I have something I am promised as an inheritance. You know maybe, an old car, a Duesenberg, something nice, you know here it is all polished up, all being preserved and kept, that will be yours at this time. I have written it down as your inheritance. I take people, I point it out, I say, that is mine! Oh, lets go for a drive, oh I can’t yet. Why? Well, it is mine, but it is not mine. I can’t take possession yet, I can’t get in yet, it is not the right time. When I am 21 or whenever then it becomes mine. That is the way it is with the kingdom. It is mine, I belong to that kingdom. I am going to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It is not here yet, but it is mine. So the kingdom, I think we take the scripture at face value. Again I am concerned. Do you realize that the bulk of the church that professes faith in Christ does not believe in the coming kingdom we’ve been talking about. Somewhere along the line we’ve just jumped off into the air and decided that God doesn’t mean what He says. That we are no longer looking for the kingdom that the Old Testament so fully described. I mean, where does that leave you if God just changes His mind. Maybe He’ll change His mind about our heavenly inheritance. Oh, He can’t do that, He promised. Oh, what did He do with Israel? Well you know you can promise to the Jews and not keep it, but you can’t promise to me and not keep it. I mean you realize we would have a real problem. I am glad He is a God who keeps His word. I am glad we aren’t in the kingdom. I read the newspaper, I turn on the news, I am sure glad this isn’t the kingdom. If this is the kingdom, I am disappointed, this is really a letdown. If I am what it is going to be like in the kingdom, boy, I was looking for glory, this is not quite it. You know I thrill in those Old Testament passages we read where the description is fully given, and then we just have glimpses through the New Testament. For us as the church we will be part of that kingdom promised to Israel, we will rule and reign with Him in the glory of that time. God is a God who keeps His word. There are certain truths that are the same, you must be born again, or you’ll never see the kingdom. The kingdom will be for those who experience God’s salvation. That glorious destiny is part of the inheritance that heaven has prepared for us as a heavenly inheritance, who love Him. It will be splendor, and splendid beyond degree. I think the matter is simple. Take the scripture consistently, interpret the prophetic passages of the future in the same way you interpret the past prophetic scriptures. Now the words when Christ was going to be born at Bethlehem, He had to be born at Bethlehem. Bethlehem just didn’t stand for some small insignificant city someplace in the world. When Micah said Bethlehem, it meant Bethlehem. And so all the prophecies relating to the first coming of Christ, there is a pattern established. They were fulfilled literally. Just at face value. How is God going to fulfill the future ones, same way. He is the same God it is the same Word. We use the same principles of interpretation. I am belaboring this because I am always bothered. We continue to have people, even from Indian Hills from time to time who break off and drift off into teaching that does not follow this consistent line of interpretation. I say, how can they sit under the study of the Word week after week and then they read something and say, oh that seems to make sense. Look at that one passage here. You could take that to mean the kingdom exist today. Well you might be able to take it that way if it is the only passage. But it is not. Can it be interpreted literally, consistently with these other passages. Oh, yes, well then why would you want to run off and try to create a whole new doctrine. We have to be consistent in our handling of the word, not only in the area of the kingdom but in every area. And that holds us on track. We have a God who keeps His word, I am looking forward to future glory because God keeps His word. I am looking forward to Israel’s future glory because God keeps His word and the fact that He keeps His word with Israel is just an added assurance to me that He’ll keep His word. We can trust Him, we have a glorious future. We have a coming kingdom, we are not in the kingdom. This is not the kingdom today. I do not believe we have a mystery form of the kingdom today. Matthew 13 does not say these tell you about a mystery form of the kingdom. Matthew 13 says, “These are mysteries concerning the kingdom.” This is additional information about the kingdom that was not before revealed. A particular thing revealed in the parables of Matthew 13 is there will be a gap between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. But the establishing of the kingdom is in the context of the return of Christ. And the judgement that will be established is several of those parables made clear. So let’s keep the kingdom, the kingdom. And we are not in the kingdom. We are not in a form of that kingdom that has been prophesied. We are in the church. But the church is going toward the kingdom, and we will rule and reign in that kingdom.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for your grace and for your faithfulness. Thank you for the simplicity of your word. Lord, that we can read it. We can study it. We can understand it. You did not give it to trick us, to confuse us, but Lord, to make yourself known. To make your will and plans known. Lord, we would be a people who live consistently with the glory and kingdom that you have prepared for those who love you. We thank you for that hope in Christ’s name. Amen.


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