Thousands repented as a result of his fiery sermons, turned from their old ways, and began to look forward to the redemption of Israel. Some thought he was the Messiah. His fame soon reached the headquarters and the priesthood in Jerusalem. So the Jewish authorities wanted to know if he was indeed the Messiah and therefore sent delegates to inquire who he was.
He told them that he was not the Christ, but was sent to introduce Him. He told the delegates that he was sent by God to prepare their hearts for the great visitation they were about to receive, and to change their thinking for the new day that was about to break upon the earth.
“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable” (Luk 3:15-17).
John was the announcer of the arrival of the Kingdom and the prophet ordained to introduce the King. Israel had been waiting for centuries for the fulfillment of the promised Messiah, the King of Israel, whom they believe would deliver them from the tyranny of Rome and set up His throne in Jerusalem to reign over the whole world.
Angel Gabriel had announced the arrival of the King, but this was to Mary alone. Zacharias speaking by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, also spoke of the visitation of the “Day Spring from on High” when Elisabeth his wife was pregnant with John. The first Chapter of Luke records the account of the announcement of Angel Gabriel:
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).
Angel Gabriel’s message is in line with the prophecy of Daniel that the stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, will crush the kingdoms of this world, become a kingdom that will grow and cover the whole earth. And that in the days of those kings shall the Lord of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.
The plan of God concerning the Kingdom existed before man was brought forth was first revealed to us in the words, “Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness and let them have dominion.” Man in God’s image as the under-ruler with dominion over the universe, is God’s design for the Kingdom. That was the magnificent purpose burning in the heart of the Most High when on the sixth day, He made the proclamation that brought man into being.
Then in symbolic picture He painted the picture of a universe ruled by man saying, “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”(Gen. 1:26).
In this statement we see a vivid portrait of the purpose of God for man; that when man comes fully into God’s image, he shall be, the ruler of things beneath; of the things upon the earth, and finally, the things of the heavens also.
One can not fully appreciate so great a truth compressed in such seemingly insignificant statement, unless by the revelation of the Holy Ghost. But it was upon solemn reflection on this blessed placement of man that the prophet David exclaimed, saying: “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! enlarged when by the Spirit he said, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth”(Psa. 8:1,3-9). In the words of this prophecy, God revealed His plan from long ago, concerning a kingdom in which the Son of man would reign over all creation.
The message of the Kingdom rang as a theme through the prophecies of the prophets. The Major Prophets spoke volumes about the Kingdom. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others, prophesied again and again about the King who will reign in righteousness, and whose universal kingdom of peace, prosperity, and glory will be everlasting.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness” (Jer 23:5-6).
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:”
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isa 32:1, 11:1-4, 9:6-7)
Isaiah, like Daniel, is without doubt a prophet of the kingdom. His prophetic ear was keenly tuned to the glory of the kingdom age. His prophetic eye overlooked the scenes of his day, scanning through centuries, he saw the Savior who was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and chastised for our peace. Then, leaping far beyond the cross, he saw the establishment of the Kingdom of God. In the forty-second Chapter of his Book, he saw a king who would not fail nor be discouraged till He had established righteousness in the earth (Isa. 42:4).
When the birth of Jesus was announced to Mary, as quoted above, God Almighty send the announcement that a King was arriving who would sit upon the throne of David and whose kingdom will be without end. This earth is yet to see the glorious reign of Christ that will cover the earth with God’s glory and righteousness, and an era of peace and prosperity. Yes, that kingdom is at hand.
What is a kingdom? The dictionary defines “kingdom” as “a government, country, state or territory ruled by a king or queen. The word “kingdom” is made up of the noun “king”, and the suffix “dom”. “Dom” is a noun-forming suffix denoting the condition or state of the suffixed word and also used to express rank, position, or state. Examples that come readily to mind include—freedom, martyrdom, Christendom, kingdom. A kingdom is the domain over which a king has authority.
The term, Kingdom of God, by fundamental definition would therefore mean the domain over which God exercises rule as King. However, the Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world. The Kingdom of God comes through His gracious action by which His reign is recognized and entered into by men and women who willingly submit themselves to His rule. The kingdoms of this world are enforced on men, while the kingdom of God is of Love.
The domain of the Kingdom of God at this time is limited to where God’s saving power has been willingly accepted. In these territories His love and power have broken down every wall, transformed all that is contrary to God’s nature, and brought men into willing submission to His authority. Where the nature of God and the mind of Christ have conquered the state of things, and gained ascendancy, is the domain of the Kingdom of God. The hearts of these precious ones have been changed, sin and darkness have been defeated, and righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost rule their lives. In these lives, the will of God is done, in the earth which they are, as it is done in the heaven of God. In these lives, the Kingdom of God has come.
In the Kingdom, God does not need to rule over man by law or by any exercise of sovereignty, but the nature and mind of God in man becomes a living reality, a guiding light. The love and nature of God becomes a constraining force. Man obeys the rule of God willingly from the heart and seeks to please Him in everything just like Jesus. Such would cause the Father to look down with satisfaction and says: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”. To hear the Father say this about us, my dear friend, should be our life’s goal. Our passion should be to please our King in all things and yield our members to the rule of His Kingdom in us.
The king determines the nature of the kingdom. If the king is righteous, so also is the kingdom. If the king is corrupt, the kingdom will be filled with evil. “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” The nations of the earth have been plagued for thousands of years by strife, inequity, and every imaginable evil because there has been an unceasing reign of the carnal mind in every kingdom from the beginning of time. Throughout all the history of Israel, the testimony has always been “like people, like priest.” So also, if the king of a nation was righteous, the people were righteous. If the king was evil, so also were the people. And history has testified to the fact that the kings and emperors that ruled over this world have all been ungodly and wicked. They have been influenced by and large by the god of this world whose dominion over this earth is about to end.
Man’s corrupt system of government is soon to pass away yet he’s never satisfied with God and His system. He is never satisfied with God’s governmental or worship system, therefore man is always building images—images of organization, governmental systems, ceremonies, rituals, and monuments as he did at the beginning in the plain of Shinar, and subsequently in the plain of Dura. It is ultimately for the glory of man. It is so he can erect a tower to reach heaven apart from the way God has mapped out. Man is not satisfied with the glory God has given him, but he secretly plans to steal heavenly glory for himself. Man, as in the plain of Shinar, wants to make a name for himself.
“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Dan 3:1,5-6).
The measurement of the golden image, sixty by six cubits, showed the impressive dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride, for he modeled the image after the one in his dream. He however, made the whole image of gold, thus attributing the power and glory of all kingdoms to himself. Such is the pride of life in man. The dimensions of the image, Sixty by six cubits, are multiples of six (number of a man) and ten which is the number for earthly perfection.
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13:18).
The number “ten”, signifies earthly completeness in the realm of carnal or earthly things. It’s an aggregate of the numbers“four” and “six”. On the “fourth” day, God completed the creation of the material universe; and on the sixth day, God made man. The number ten, signifies the law and commandment, responsibility, and completeness of order in the earthly things. Divine perfection and completeness are represented by the numbers, “three” and “seven”. The number “six” is the number of man, therefore the image that Nebuchadnezzar erected in the plains of Duma speaks of the carnal man in his absoluteness.
This image of Nebuchadnezzar is the representation of this world’s power and kingdoms. And the plan of God is to bring down these worldly kingdoms by the power of the Word of God. These were unfolded to Nebuchadnezzar in the prophetic interpretation of his dream, but he did not believe neither did he heed the warnings from the dream. Instead, he seemed to remember only that part of Daniel’s interpretation which had to do with his own glory: “You are this head of gold.” Deceived by the falseness of his own heart and pride of life, he sought to realize the fulfillment of his dream and to build a monument for himself. He built the immense image of gold and set it up in the plain of Dura and commanded everyone in Babylon to bow down and worship it.
He had forgotten the message behind the prophecy from Daniel while interpreting the dream: “the God of Heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory…”,and he did not fear God but usurped the glory of God, took that which was given him by God for the worship of himself.
He commanded everyone in his kingdom to worship the image. In essence he was commanding all to worship him for the worship of the image meant the worship of the one who designed and built it. This is the basis of the Babylonian kingdoms of this world. Its desire is to take the place of God. It’s a beast system that desires to take the place of God and His Christ in worship, in love, in submission. The government of man is contrary to that of God.
The Kingdom of God is the government of God. It is divine rule. It is not the rule of a political party. Those in the Kingdom of God are born of God, led by God, and controlled by God. In the Kingdom the natural man must not rule, or the Kingdom will go to the devil. The way of the Kingdom is not trying to get everyone to agree on a law that forbids unrighteousness and godlessness. Man can only deal with evil by restraint. But that is not the way in God’s Kingdom. To reign in the Kingdom, Christ must be raised up within us. It begins with man being born again. Once man puts on Christ within, the concept of sinning becomes foreign. The law of the Spirit of life within man becomes the force that drives him. Christ within becomes the power of his being unto righteousness. This, is the power of the Kingdom of God.
The laws of Moses are not the Laws of the Kingdom of God. Thus, those who would, in the name of Christ, legislate morality are taking the Church back to the Old Covenant, which couldn’t and can never bring righteousness to them that observe it. It only leads to condemnation. Advocates of morality under the Mosaic Law would therefore be ministers of condemnation and would never say with the merciful Lord Jesus, “neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”
“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (Jn. 3:17). The Holy Spirit on the pages of God’s Word proclaim this eternal truth that “The law and the prophets were until John, but since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it” (Lk. 16:16; Mat. 11:13).
Christians should be involved in the community and should exert their influence for righteousness in the society and in government. This is our civic responsibility. But that is not the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not good laws, morality, or religiously oriented politics. The Kingdom of God is “righteous-ness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”.
The message is abundantly clear. God’s purpose for us, His chosen ones, is to become a part of that “Stone” cut out of the mountain without hands. It is a Kingdom, not of this world, out of the heights of the heavens of God. God wants us to become what Christ is. In becoming what He is, we become a part of that mighty “Stone” which shall smite the kingdoms of man and become a great “Mountain” to fill the whole earth.
We all know what the natural man is, corrupt, power-hungry, and desperately wicked. It is for this reason that the government of man by man for man will surely perish from the earth. Man’s government, characterized by selfishness, is a part of the great image at Shinar. But the stone, that Stone cut out of the heavenly mountain without hands, has already smashed the image at its feet of iron and clay, and the whole super-structure is even now, crumbling down. And in the days of these kings shall the Lord of heaven establish a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Yes, the kingdom of man will be destroyed. But the government of the nations, by God, and for God and His Christ, shall never perish from the earth. This is certain and the interpretation of it, is sure.