A real kingdom on this real earth
For the created universe waits with eager expectation
for God's
sons to be revealed. Rom. 8:19
For the created universe waits with eager expectation
for God's
sons to be revealed. Rom. 8:19
Back around 600 B.C., in the time of Jeremiah, there was a tribe living in the land of Canaan called the Rechabites. They were not actually Israelites by birth; they were Kenites of Hemath, of the family of Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. They came into Canaan with the Israelites, but, in order to stay independent, they chose a nomadic lifestyle.
They were known for two things:
1. They drank no wine.
2. They built no houses. Instead, they lived in tents.
Why?
They were commanded to keep these customs by their father Jonadab, son of Rechab. They were commanded not to drink wine in order to maintain sobriety, and avoid doing anything injurious to a neighbor, or dishonorable to God.
That's understandable enough. A lot of people don't drink.
But why the nomadic lifestyle? Why the tents?
The reason was that their father wanted them to emulate the lifestyle of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who, though quite wealthy, had their hearts set on the kingdom of heaven as their final and permanent home. And so as not to court earthly possessions, not to be caught up in materialism first, putting God and his great heavenly home second, they chose a lifestyle that would make materialistic distractions much less probable.
The kingdom was real to the Rechabites.
It was real, too, to James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
On one certain occasion, they came over and spoke to Jesus in a low voice.
"Master," they said, "we want you to do us a favor."
"What is it?" he asked.
"We want to sit on the thrones next to yours in your kingdom," they said, "one at your right and one at your left!"1
These thrones were real to James and John.
And the kingdom was real to the violent men who tried to seize it by force, some before Jesus, some after.2
God wants his long-planned-for kingdom to be just as real, even more so, to us.
We said in the preface to this book that we would have to wash away some false tradition to make the kingdom make sense, to make it real. That we would have to take a radical approach. To get down to the roots. Perhaps now is a good time to consolidate and reinforce what we've covered.
Briefly . . .
God has given us at least five major avenues with which to get a good handle on the real kingdom on this real earth. They are:
The stars. The stars tell us about a Mighty One who is to return to earth, put down his adversary once and for all, and rule in prosperity and righteousness. God named the stars himself, and put the meanings of his plan in those names.
The covenants. God promised the land from the Nile to the Euphrates to Abraham and his descendents forever. He promised David that his family would rule his kingdom forever. Later, in Luke, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus would receive the throne of his father David, and fulfill this promise. And the new covenant, the covenant in Jesus' own blood, will bind Israel and Judah in obedience to their God. All three still remain to be fulfilled.
The holy days. The feast of trumpets foreshadows the trumpet blast that will herald the return of Christ to the earth. The day of atonement depicts the binding of the scapegoat, Satan, during the reign of Christ. The feast of tabernacles and the last great day depict the prosperous reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. The meanings behind the passover, days of unleavened bread, firstfruits and pentecost have already been fulfilled, giving further credence to the soon-to-come fulfillment of the last four.
The Old Testament prophets. From Job through Malachi, verse upon verse, all the prophets have looked for the Messiah and his remarkable kingdom where men would be holy, rich and happy, and when even the wild animals would be at peace with one another. They saw that Messiah would return from heaven to establish this kingdom on the earth.
The New Testament prophets. Starting with Jesus, on down through John, they quoted the Old Testament Scriptures about the kingdom, and expected all of them to be fulfilled. Jesus himself was careful to fulfill all the Old Testament Scriptures pertaining to his first coming, and reaffirm all the other scriptures pertaining to his glorious second coming.
Each of these five witnesses are perfectly consistent with each of the others.
With all these witnesses, we can more deeply understand how it is that the whole creation groans and travails in pain for the coming of this kingdom, and how it is that the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God.3
Each of these witnesses testifies to the absolute authenticity of the other. Each testifies to the absolute reality of this kingdom. And so we ourselves may be absolutely sure that all the things that the stars, the contracts, the holy days, the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament prophets spoke about will come to pass on this earth.
Now . . .
Now when we read of temple service in the Old Testament it should mean a lot more to us since there will be temple service again in the kingdom.
Now we can know why it is that we are supposed to love the gates of Zion, like the Lord does.4 Because it means home.
Now when we read that those that wait upon the Lord will inherit the earth,5 or that the meek will inherit the earth,6 or that he that puts his trust in the Lord shall possess the land, and inherit the Lord's holy mountain (prophetic language for government),7 it should make a lot more sense because that's your inheritance it's talking about. Because now that we are Christ's we are the true descendants of Abraham, and all of God's promises to him belong to us.8
Now when we study the Bible, we can do it with a real purpose and plan: to find out more about the details of the kingdom.
Now when we plan for the future, we can truly begin to think in a long range fashion if we're thinking about the kingdom.
Now when we work or sacrifice for the Lord, we know why we're doing it, just as the Lord himself knew what he was suffering for on the cross. We can work for the Lord with a goal in mind, and hence, vigor and dispatch.
Now we can intelligently pray: 'may your kingdom come' . . . and know what it is we're asking for!
FOOTNOTES
Chapter 8
A REAL KINGDOM ON THE REAL EARTH
1. Mark 10:35-37 LB
2. Matt. 11:12
3. Rom. 8:19,22
4. Psalm 87
5. Psalm 37:9
6. Psalm 37:11
7. Is. 57:13
8. Gal. 3:29 LB