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What is God's Kingdom

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THE MASTER’S SEMINARY

WHAT IS GOD’S KINGDOM?

BY
ROMANS SENDRIKS

SUN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

NOVEMBER 2017
Table of Content

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

God’s Secret Rule in the Hearts of Individuals .............................................................................. 2

God’s Kingdom as the Solution to the Social problems ................................................................. 4

The Church as the Kingdom of God ............................................................................................... 6

Israel and the Kingdom of God ..................................................................................................... 11

Literal Versus Allegorical Meaning of the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ ................................ 14

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 15

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 17

i
 1

Introduction

Many evangelical scholars are in agreement that the kingdom of God is not only one of

the central themes of the entire Bible, but it was the prominent and explicit teaching of Jesus

Christ, the Son of God. Jonathan T. Pennington asserts, rightly so in this student’s opinion, that

the theme of God’s kingdom is the central message of Jesus Christ’s teaching and ministry, as

well as being the grand theme throughout all of Scripture.1 For the sake of clarity, it is worth

noting that the phrase “the kingdom of God” does not occur in the Old Testament writings. It is

frequently mentioned in the New Testament, particularly in the synoptic gospels, where it is the

central theme in the proclamation of Christ.2 However, various Old Testament writers have

indirectly pointed to God as the King who sovereignly rules over all things, and the rule of His

kingdom has been expressed through the nation Israel.

Despite its prominent status in biblical theology, or perhaps because of it, the theme “the

kingdom of God” has always been subject to cultural influences that have resulted in changing

viewpoints during various periods of time and in different trends of theological thought. 3 The

kingdom of God has been interpreted as the hidden rule of God in man’s heart, as the solution to

the ethical problems of social life, as the liberation of poverty and the establishment of justice. 4

1
Jonathan T. Pennington, “The Kingdom of Heaven in the Gospel of Matthew,” The Southern Baptist
Journal of Theology 12 no 1 (Spring 2008), 44-51.

2
Richard B. Gaffin, “Kingdom of God” in New Dictionary of Theology, The Master Reference Collection,
ed. Sinclair B. Ferguson and David F. Wright (Downer Groves, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1988), 367-69.

3
Herman Nicolaas Ridderbos, “Kingdom of God/ Kingdom of Heaven” in New Bible Dictionary, Third
Edition, ed. J. I Packer and Donald J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1994), 647-650.

4
Stephen J. Nichols, “Introduction” in The Kingdom of God, Theology of Community, ed. Christopher W.
Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Wheaton IL: Crossway, 2012), 21.
 2

In addition, it has been identified with the church as the very present kingdom of God, and in this

vein of thought, God has replaced Israel with the church.5 In the futuristic sense, the kingdom of

God has caused much debate among scholars as to whether the thousand-year reign of Jesus

Christ should be understood literally or allegorically.6

Since this is true, that from centuries past to the present day, the theme of God’s kingdom

has been understood in different ways by various scholars, then the question is, what is God’s

kingdom and how should the theme of God’s kingdom be understood in the light of Scripture?

To address this question, the student of this research paper will discuss various interpretations of

God’s kingdom, then, based on exegetical analysis and the student’s best understanding of

currently accepted hermeneutical principles, will attempt to show the weaknesses of those

interpretations and to offer a more adequate view of the kingdom of God in light of Scripture.

God’s Secret Rule in the Hearts of Individuals

Adolf von Harnack, the liberal 19th century scholar, defined God’s kingdom as the secret

rule of God in man’s heart, based on Jesus’ parables in the synoptic gospels that teach that God’s

kingdom is hidden treasure, He states:

The kingdom of God comes by coming to the individual, by entering into his soul
and laying hold of it. True, the kingdom of God is the rule of God; but it is the rule of the
holy God in the hearts of individuals; it is God Himself in His power. From this point of
view, everything that is dramatic in the external and historical sense has vanished; and
gone, too, are all the external hopes for the future. Take whatever parable you will, the
parable of the sower, of the pearl of great price, of the treasure buried in the field – the

5
William D. Barrick, “The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament,” The Master’s Seminary Journal 23,
no. 2 (Fall 2012): 173-192.

6
Paige Peterson, Revelation, NAC, vol. 39 (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Company, 2012). 351.
 3

word of God, God Himself, is the kingdom. It is not a question of angels and devils,
thrones and principalities, but of God and the soul, the soul and its God.7

There is little doubt that God’s kingdom is about God’s sovereign rule, as both the Old

and New Testaments point out. As Harnack points out, God’s rule in His kingdom is not hidden

in man’s heart, as if God must timidly go into man’s heart in order to exercise His divine rule.

Rather, His rule is vividly displayed through all He has created. The author of Psalm 93 clearly

describes how God majestically rules over all creation, and how the harmony and beauty of

creation reflect His kingship. This kingship of the invisible God was ultimately made visible to

mankind through His Son Jesus Christ (Col 1:15-17), who exercised His divine power in one

instance to silence the wind and calm the sea. This divine action, reported by the authors of the

synoptic gospels, indeed pointed out that Christ is the King not only of the human heart, but of

the entire creation.

If the rule of God in His kingdom is not hidden in man’s heart, as Harnack points out

based on those parables that illustrate God’s kingdom using hidden treasure and a pearl of great

price, how then should one studying the word of God understand these parables in Matthew

13:44-46? This student suggests that these two passages from the gospel of Matthew do not

indicate that the kingdom of God is the secret rule in man’s heart, but instead point out the value

of God’s kingdom once it is discovered by His sovereign grace. Michael Green supports this

perspective, that these passages indicate the preciousness of the kingdom of God:

These two little gems of parables go together. Both stress the incalculable value of
the kingdom: it is worth any sacrifice. Both stress the cost of gaining it: it will cost all we
have… So, the message of these twin parables is clear. People find the kingdom in many
ways. Some come upon it by accident, some after a long and patient search. But it is

7
Adolf von Harnack, What is Christianity? (New York, NY: Harper, 1956), 56.
 4

immensely worthwhile, however we come on it. It is treasure. It is a beautiful pearl. It is

worth any sacrifice. Do the disciples of Matthew’s day realize this? Do they teach it?8

God graciously allows sinners to find His kingdom and be part of it, where there is peace,

joy, and hope for the future messianic kingdom. Once a saved sinner is part of this precious

kingdom, he or her is no longer under God’s terrifying judgment.

God’s Kingdom as the Solution to the Social problems

Gustavo Gutierrez, the Catholic theologian from Peru who is generally considered the

founder of liberation theology, is convinced that the kingdom of God is the exercise of social

justice here on earth:

If we believe that the Kingdom of God is a gift which is received in history, and
if we believe, as the eschatological promise – so charged with human and historical
content – indicates to us, that the kingdom of God necessarily implies the reestablishment
of justice in this world, then we must believe that Christ says the poor are blessed
because the kingdom of God has begun: “The time has come; the Kingdom of God is
upon you.” (Mark 1:15). In other words, the elimination of exploitation and poverty that
prevents the poor from being fully human has begun. They are blessed because the
coming of the kingdom will put an end to their poverty by creating a world of
fellowship.9
A weakness of this position, that exercising the kingdom principles here on earth by

establishing social justice through which one attempts to end exploitation and poverty and help

poor people become human, is that it does not always guarantee a sincere life change. Basic

physical needs such as food, clothing, shelter, education and so on, can be met nowadays through

the various social activities that non-profit organizations provide, but they will never guarantee

internal changes in the recipients. Temporary solutions for fixing the contemporary issues of

8
Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven (Downers Grove, IL: 1988), 160.

9
Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1986), 33, 72, 74.
 5

society, do not fix sinful man’s broken relationship with God, and do not establish God’s

kingdom here on earth. These social activities are noteworthy and very much needed, but if the

heart of man is not transformed by the power of God, the person will remain guilty before God

for breaking His law.

From the synoptic gospels, we learn that Jesus Christ, the very Epicenter of God’s

kingdom, did not ignore man’s physical needs. Christ Himself, exercising kingdom power,

provided bread and fish for five thousand people. At that time, those were the basic elements

necessary for man’s physical existence. Christ even cast out demons and healed the sick with His

divine kingdom power, but he never left out the most crucial element of God’s kingdom – the

verbal proclamation of it. Christ’s verbal proclamation of the kingdom of God carried a

mysterious power that left no man ignorant as to his personal relationship with God.

Whenever Christ taught on the kingdom of God, His teaching always left his audience

marveling. They either asked how to inherit this kingdom, or they became angry. None of His

audience was left neutral. There was either a positive or a negative response to the proclamation

of God’s kingdom. In Romans 1:16, Paul claimed that the gospel is the power of God for

salvation both for Jews and Gentiles, and that it leaves remarkable and irreversible changes in

man’s heart. F. F. Bruce points out:

God is himself righteous, and those men and women are righteous who are ‘in the
right’ in relation to God and his law. When, therefore, the righteousness of God is
revealed in the gospel, it is revealed in a twofold manner. The gospel tells us first how
men and women, sinners as they are, can come to be ‘in the right’ with God and second
how God’s personal righteousness is vindicated in the very act of declaring sinful men
and women ‘righteous’. This second aspect of the matter is not dealt with immediately,
but the former is expanded sufficiently to show that the principle on which God brings
people into the right with himself is the principle of faith, and for this statement Old
Testament authority is adduced in the words of Habakkuk 2:4b, ‘the righteous shall live
 6

by his faith’. Habakkuk 2:4b may be called the ‘text’ of this Epistle; what follows is in
large measure an exposition of the prophet’s words.10

Every sinner’s heart desperately and miserably cries out for being guilty of offending the

holy God by sinning against Him alone. Deep inside, from birth, every person carries the sense

of being completely condemned by God. Everyone seeks for the unshakeable hope that is found

only in Jesus Christ, the Savior of His people. It seems difficult to establish that man’s heart can

be changed just by exercising social justice under the title of God’s kingdom, without also

proclaiming the glorious gospel of the kingdom of God that brings the sinner to an awareness of

his sins, that leads him to repentance and, through faith, to placing his trust in Jesus Christ as his

personal Savior and Lord. Social justice alone is not what is needed for the poor – they also

desperately need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit through the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

From this comparison, it appears that the kingdom of God is not exercising social justice,

the kingdom of God is Christ Himself who changes sinners’ hearts and places them in His

kingdom as the gospel of the kingdom is preached, and one day when saved sinners are

resurrected, they will reign with Him in the age of the Millennium.

The Church as the Kingdom of God

When one considers the debate of the theme of God’s kingdom in the context of the

church, many evangelical scholars who understand the twofold concept of God’s kingdom, are

aware that there are a variety of inadequate views on God’s kingdom in relation to the church as

the body of Christ. For example, Michael F. Bird, analyzing Howard A. Snyder’s book, Models

10
Frederick Fyvie Bruce, Romans: Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries, vol. 6 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 84.
 7

of the Kingdom, has observed what he considers a misconception on God’s kingdom in relation

to the church:

One strand of Christian tradition has identified the kingdom of God with the
visible institution of the church on the earth. The institution, hierarchy, property of the
church is the very embodiment of God’s reign. One can detect biblical materials to
support this. The words of Jesus to Peter at Caesarea Philippi were: “And tell you that
you are Peter and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not
overcome” (Matt 16:18). In this controversial text, Peter, the rock for the new
community, is given a great authority from which is to exercise his ministry. In Hebrew,
entering the “church” is described as coming “to Mount Zion, to the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22). Again, one can see the potential links
between God’s reign and church structure.11

Bird continues that this view is closely connected with the Roman Catholic church, and is

often held in conservative evangelical circles as well:

This has been a popular image of the church wherever Christianity has had
political influence and power. It has been the official Roman Catholic position since the
Council of Trent. You could say that this model is also prevalent in conservative circles
in the United States, where preachers aspire, as I heard one chap say, to get every soul
“converted, baptized, and enrolled to vote.”12

For example, Michael A. Fahey in the Roman Catholic Systematic Theology argues:

The community that emerged from Jesus’ preaching, life, death resurrection – namely the
church – cannot be identified purely and simply with God’s reign, the basilica. The
church is, rather, a privileged locus for the advancement of the rule of God still be to be
realized. Some modern Catholic writers describe the church as an instrument of God’s
reign. This formulation is potentially misleading if it suggests that God’s reign comes
through our [the church] efforts, when clearly it occurs by God’s gracious and free
intervention.13

11
Michael F. Bird, Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2013), 708.

12
Ibid., 708.

13
Michael A. Fahey, “Church,” in Systematic Theology Roman Catholic Perspective, second edition, ed.
Francis Schussler Fiorenza and John P. Calvin (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2011), 328.
 8

Here Fahey suggests that believing that the church could be the instrument in God’s

hands to advance His kingdom is a misleading concept and possibly not true unless one views

the church as God’s kingdom. Furthermore, based on the early Catholic church fathers’ use of

parables from the synoptic gospels to equate the Catholic church with the kingdom of God,

Fahey, also, apparently believes that the Catholic church is God’s kingdom.14

As for the Protestants, Stephen J. Wellum has noticed that some who believe that the

church is the kingdom of God, support their view with the passage from Matthew 3:24-30.15 One

recent Protestant scholar who believes that the church is the kingdom of God is Martin H.

Scharlemann. He offers this explanation:

How, then, do Kingdom and Church relate to each other? We might answer this question
in the light of Biblical materials by saying that the Church is that community where the
powers of God's Kingdom are at work in a hidden way as they were in the life and words
of Jesus. The Spirit's power is made available through Word and sacrament, which are
the only sure signs we have of the ultimate triumph of God's Kingdom. In a derivative
sense, therefore, the assembly of believers, gathered around Word and sacrament,
comprise the Kingdom. That is why occasionally the parables speak of entering the
Kingdom. They mean thereby that a person becomes a member of that community which
has an eternal destiny, and which may be called the new Israel. The grace of God rules
there, in, over, and among men, because forgiveness, life and salvation are offered there
through the means of grace.16

In considering the argument that the church is the kingdom of God, one should be wary

of equating the church to the kingdom itself. George Eldon Ladd has pointed out five aspects of

the kingdom of God in relation to the church. First, the church is not the kingdom of God, for

Jesus and His followers preached that the kingdom of God was near, but not the church. They

14
Ibid., 328.

15
Stephen J. Wellum, “Editorial: Reflecting on the Kingdom of God,” Southern Baptist Theological
Journal 12 no 1 (Spring 2008): 2-3.

16
Martin H. Scharlemann, “Kingdom and the Church,” Concordia Journal, 2 no 1(March, 1978), 48-52.
 9

preached the good news of the kingdom, but not the good news of the church (Acts 8:12; 19:8;

20:25; 28:23, 31). Second, the kingdom creates the church, for people enter into the kingdom of

God. As people believe, they become joined together in the human fellowship of the church.

Third, the church witnesses to the kingdom (Matt 24:14). Fourth, the church is the instrument of

the kingdom because the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested through disciples to heal the sick

and cast out demons, as it was in the ministry of Jesus (Matt 10:8; Luke 10:17). Finally, the

church is the custodian of the kingdom of God, for the church has been given the keys to the

kingdom (Matt 16:19).17

Based on these five aspects of God’s kingdom, the church, meaning God’s people here on

this earth, is just the assembly of ambassadors who advance God’s coming kingdom in the

future. The ambassadors represent God’s kingdom as it is described in the word of God. If the

church were identical to the kingdom of God, then there would be no prophecies in the book of

Revelation concerning the coming kingdom, particularly the reference in chapter 20.

If the church were identical to the kingdom of God, then God’s kingdom would not have

a futuristic aspect in the context of the messianic rule on the throne of David. For example,

Revelation 20 indicates that the kingdom of God will be established on earth by Jesus Christ

after His second coming, in the future. This millennial messianic kingdom of Christ will follow a

unique period of tribulation and distress for Israel, cosmic signs, the rescue of God’s people, and

the judgment of the nations.18 Second, Jesus Christ, who is the epicenter of God’s kingdom,

would not ask in the Disciple’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come and your will [in this kingdom] be

17
George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: WB Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1993), 111-119.

18
Michael J. Vlach, “The Kingdom of God and the Millennium,” in The Master’s Seminary Journal 23 no.
2 (Spring 2012): 225-254.
 10

done on the earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). Many scholars consider this petition to be

concerning the future coming of God’s kingdom. Leon Morris explains this concept:

The kingdom of God is a most important concept in this Gospel (see on 3:2).
There is a sense in which the kingdom is a present reality, but here it is the future
kingdom that is in mind [of Christ]. The petition looks to the coming of the time when all
evil will be done away and people will gladly submit to the divine Sovereign… The
prayer looks for God to take action, not for worshipers to bring the kingdom into being.
The prayer looks for the full realization of all that the kingdom means and for the will of
God to be perfectly done (the words your will be done are absent from the Lukan
version).19

Third, if the church were the kingdom of God, then to disagree with the church would be

to disagree with God.20 How can someone disagree with God, who is perfect and holy? Since the

church is full of imperfect believers who are just growing in completeness, then how could the

church be the kingdom of God? Finally, if the church were the kingdom of God, then Christ

would not have to foretell of His second coming to the disciples (Matthew 24-25; Mark 13 and

Luke 21).

Therefore, based on the word of God, one can affirm that the kingdom exceeds the

church; and the church, the messianic community, has been created from the inside out by the

King for His pleasure, and for His coming kingdom. The church, according to the word of God,

does everything in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, for the glory of God, to

advance this glorious kingdom to shine in the dark places of this world. This kingdom that has

19
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, WB Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1992), 145.

20
Michael F. Bird, Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, 709.
 11

often been confused with the church, is an eschatological kingdom that brings to completion all

God’s plans for His glory.

Israel and the Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God has not only been wrongly identified with the church as if it were

the very kingdom of God established on earth, but it has also been confused with the nation of

Israel. Some theologians hold the view that God has replaced the nation of Israel with the church,

as His kingdom. This view is based on several passages from both the Old and New Testaments

which show Israel’s unfaithfulness to God and their rejection of Jesus of Nazareth as the

Messiah. For example, the same Martin H. Scharlemann who was quoted above equating the

church with the very kingdom of God, also believes that Israel has nothing to do with God’s

kingdom. He is in good company from the past – Justin Martyr, Martin Luther, and Karl Barth

would have agreed with him. Scharlemann argues that as a result of Israel’s failure to glorify

God and to make His name known among the pagan nations, the church is now the New Israel.

He states that in the age of the New Testament, God’s rule is no longer associated with Israel as

His nation as it was until the days of Solomon, whose idolatry made it abundantly clear that the

reign of God and the kingdom of Solomon were no longer the same thing.21

This replacement theology can be found not only among some evangelical scholars, but

among liberal scholars as well, particularly among those who have written extensive

commentaries on the Pauline Letters. For example, John Gager, examining liberal theologians’

arguments on the church as the replacement of Israel, has the following observation regarding

their opinions:

21
Scharlemann, “Kingdom and the Church,” 48-52.
 12

“Paul regards Jesus as Savior only for Gentiles, and not for Jews. The Jews are
saved in their own special way under the terms of the Mosaic covenants. As such, Paul
envisaged Israel as a continuing entity with her own set of privileges and blessings that
was still available to them. Jesus was to bring Gentiles into the heritage of Israel, and
Israel’s only problem was those who denied that Jesus was the instrument to redeem the
Gentiles.”22

As can be easily verified, nowhere in Paul’s letters does he ever point to the church as

being Israel, nor does he transfer to the church those roles that have historically been exclusive to

Israel. On one hand Israel is God’s chosen nation in the context of redemptive history. On the

other hand, the church is the body of Christ. Those two roles are neither parallel, nor is one a

replacement for the other. Rather, they are different redemptive dimensions of the same

humanity.23 In Romans 1:16, Paul clearly states that he is not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the

power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, both Jews and Gentiles. Despite

Israel’s prominent status in redemptive history, the Jews are no more than equal with Gentiles in

terms of salvation, since it proceeds from the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. If

the view that the church has replaced Israel in God’s future coming kingdom is favored by some

evangelical scholars, then they must disregard God’s faithful promise of restoring Israel as the

nation under the reign of Messiah in the millennial age (Ezekiel. 37:21-28; Isaiah 11:1-16).

Furthermore, if it were true that God has replaced Israel with the church, then multiple

passages would not exist in the word of God which indicate that God has not rejected Israel as

His own special nation. Examples include Romans 11:1-5, 25-27, Isaiah 59:20-21, Jeremiah

31:33-34, and Acts 1:6-7. Regarding God’s faithful promise to the nation of Israel as His people,

22
John Gager, Reinventing Paul (Louisville: Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2000), 238.

23
Craig A. Blaising and Darrell L. Bock, “Conclusion,” in Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 383- 84.
 13

Colin G. Kruse points out that Romans 11 specifically talks about Israel as a nation not being

rejected by God:

In these verses Paul reinforces the assertion made in 11:1 by adding: God did not
reject his people, whom he foreknew. The reference to God’s not rejecting his people
appears to be a quotation from 1 Samuel 12:22 (‘For the sake of his great name the Lord
will not reject his people’; cf. Ps 94:14, LXX 93:14). The reference to ‘his people, whom
he foreknew’ in this context refers to the nation Israel. Contrary to what the present
situation in which the majority in Israel had rejected the gospel might indicate, God has
not rejected his people. In this context God’s foreknowledge relates to the nation, not to
individuals.24

Indeed, God has not rejected Israel and in their place accepted the church as the new

Israel. Israel will still have a distinctive role in God’s coming kingdom. This concept of Israel as

a nation having its own role in the coming kingdom, is seen in several passages of the New

Testament. One example that possibly points out the significance of Israel’s role as a nation in

God’s kingdom is where Jesus Christ selected his twelve disciples not from the Gentiles, but

from his own nation (Luke 6:12-16; Matt. 10:1-4).

Parallels could be drawn between the twelve disciples in the New Testament and the

twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, which somehow seems to indicate that God has in

mind the restoration of Israel as a nation. In the Old Testament, the twelve tribes of Israel were in

a privileged position, chosen by the holy God to be His representatives on earth. Their main task

was to make God’s name known among the pagans. In the same way, in the New Testament,

Christ selected twelve disciples who were the very eyewitnesses of His divine ministry here on

earth, of His death and resurrection. He authorized these twelve disciples to build the church that

24
Colin G. Kruse, Paul’s Letter to the Romans, PNTC, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: WB Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2012), 423.
 14

will advance the kingdom of God in both the near and distant future. How? By making God’s

name known among the pagans.

Another promise of Christ’s that makes Israel’s role in His coming kingdom appear

prominent is that these twelve disciples who sacrificially followed Christ will one day sit on

twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes in those days when Christ will sit on His glorious

throne (Matthew 19:28; Lk. 22:28-30). R. T. France suggests that these twelve disciples who will

rule over the twelve tribes in His kingdom, will be the leading representatives of the community

to which they themselves belong.25

Israel cannot be ignored as the nation that is special to God, the one which God chose

from among all those in the history of the world to bring forth the messianic seed, which seed

would leave remarkable changes not only for the world in general, but for each person

individually. As a nation, Israel will remain in that special position.

Literal Versus Allegorical Meaning of the Thousand-Year Reign of Christ

The millennial age, the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the great

eternal, unconditional covenants of the Old Testament, particularly the Davidic covenant (2

Samuel 7)26 has always been subjected to various interpretations throughout the centuries, from

the past to the present. For example, futurists or premillennialists are convinced that the return of

Jesus Christ precedes and inaugurates a thousand-year reign of peace. Postmillennialists believe

that the reign of Christ is through His church and that Christ returns at the close of a victorious

25
Richard Thomas France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT (WB Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand
Rapids, 2007), 760.

26
Paul N. Benware, Understanding End Times Prophecies: A Compressive Approach (Chicago, MI:
Moody Publishers, 2006), 192.
 15

age. Amillennialists sincerely and seriously believe in Jesus Christ’s reign, but treat the thousand

years as allegorical or spiritual.27 Since the book of Revelation is full of allegorical and

metaphorical images, one must carefully examine the term “thousand-year reign” very closely

within the context of the book itself. Robert H. Mounce is helpful regarding the nature of the

book of Revelation and this millennial passage:

Judging from the amount of attention given by many writers to the first ten verses
of chapter 20, one would think they were the single most important segment of the book
of Revelation. The tendency of many interpreters at this point is to become apologists for
a particular view of the millennium. Without denying the significance of this important
passage, it should not be elevated above such basic themes as the return of Christ, the
final judgment and removal of all wickedness, and the splendor of the eternal state. A
careful reading of the millennial passage (vv. 1–10) will show that it is probably limited
to the resurrected martyrs alone, and that it contains no specific indication that their reign
with Christ takes place on earth or that it necessarily follows the second advent. This
commentary understands the millennium portrayed as an earthly reign that follows the
second coming of Christ, although the text itself does not rule out alternate
explanations.28

The student of this research paper believes that the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ

will take place literally. Christ will reign with His people for these thousand years.

Conclusion

If the kingdom of God is not the church, if Israel as a nation has not been replaced with

the church, if the kingdom is not a social gospel or the hidden rule of God in the heart of man,

then what is the kingdom of God? The logical conclusion is that it is about the character and

nature of the sovereign rule of God manifested in a visible way through Jesus Christ’s sinless

27
Peterson, 351.

28
Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, NICNT (Grand Rapids: WB Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1997361.
 16

earthly life, selfless ministry, death, and resurrection. The kingdom of God is about repentance

and the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of one’s broken spiritual and physical life, humility,

suffering, selfless service, self-denial, and eternal life, all of which one can only obtain through

faith in Christ alone. The kingdom of God is something that actively happens right now rather

than something that passively exists only in the far distant future. God’s kingdom is both present

in the lives of believers on earth today, and at the same time future in the manifestation of the

full reign of Christ with His saints in the new earth and heavens.29

29
Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 53.
 17

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