I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13,14).
Thy Kingdom Come
The Bible speaks of a number of kingdoms. Notable among these is the first world empire, the Chaldean Empire, discussed in the previous chapter. Inspired by God, Daniel spoke to Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Chaldean empire often called Babylon saying—“the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,…” (Dan 2:37-39).
“The God of heaven has given thee a kingdom and power….” this is the word God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel. It is God that gives power to those that are appointed as kings or rulers. No one can ascend to a throne or become the President of any nation without God’s consent. It may not be His perfect will, but in the meantime, it must go through Him for it to happen. He allowed Saul, the man of the flesh, to reign over His people even though it wasn’t His choice for them. Saul was the people’s choice. He was man’s choice. Saul’s rule represented the government of man by man for man, chosen by the fleshly nature for the desire of carnal man. God allowed it for the season, until His man, the man after His own heart, came and reigned over Israel. His will was eventually done. The same is happening in our lives today. We still do choose Saul to reign over us in our daily lives and God does not destroy us because of it. He only keeps warning us of the outcome of following carnal desires. He keeps telling us to submit to His kingdom, to the man after His own heart, and to let this man, “David, reign over us”.
The kingdom of God is made up of two principal components: the Government or the Kingdom and the Family. Most of the time, when you hear preachers talk about the kingdom of God, they are often referring to one of the two components. Let’s consider the family first.
The KING and the Royal Family
Every kingdom has a royal family. The royal family is part of the kingdom in a way; but different from the commoners because they are part of the ruling monarchy. When God called Israel out of Egypt, He said to them:“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation”(Ex 19:5-6).
He called them out of the world to become a priestly nation, and also to be a ruling nation over the whole world. This means that God has chosen the Body of Christ, which is the true “Royal Priesthood” to become kings and priests of God in His kingdom. The Body of Christ, that is the Church of the Living God, is only a part of the Kingdom of God and not the whole of it; just like the royal family of any kingdom is only a very small part of that kingdom.
“for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev 9b,10).
God has called us, both Jews and Gentiles, out of every nation, kindred, and tongue, and has made us kings and priests unto God our Father and we shall reign with Him. If the Body of Christ will reign in the Kingdom of God, then the kingdom must be tremendously larger than the royal family.
The Kingdom of God therefore starts with the royal family, the family of God—a family which any man may be born into by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the ruling class of the Kingdom and these shall have jurisdiction over the whole earth, and eventually over the whole universe.
The Royal Priesthood therefore is made up of priests, headed by the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck, of kings headed by the King of kings, and made up of lords headed by the Lord of lords.
There are at least four principal components of a kingdom. The first of course, is the king; second would the people—the citizens, or subjects over whom the king rules; third is the territory or land over which the king has jurisdiction; and the fourth would be the constitution or the Law of the land. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is the domain over which God exercises rule as King. God’s purpose up to the present hour is that His people, His holy nation, His peculiar treasure, should be the domain over which He would rule as King, and then His rule will extend to the whole world, and ultimately over every creature and over all things both visible and invisible.
The Lord’s dominion today is in the lives of His elect who have submitted their lives to Him and accepted Him as their savior, lord, and king. His kingdom has been established in their hearts.
“Thy Kingdom come.” Three simple English words which open up a realm too vast and too glorious for any human mind to comprehend. It’s so vast that when we attempt to consider its dimensions, we are like a little boy standing with a bucket before the Pacific Ocean, wondering how to fit all its waters inside. It’s unfathomable. There is no way we can contain it. No way, we can comprehend or articulate all that’s therein. This prayer is often misinterpreted. We have prayed as if God’s Kingdom refers exclusively to the end of the world.
But when Jesus taught us this prayer, He said: “Thy Kingdom come.” He was not speaking of the end of the world; He was praying for the desire of His heart and the mind of God to come to pass. He was teaching us to pray that God may reign upon the earth, here and now. He was teaching us to pray that men and women here on earth now may acknowledge God as King, and that His will may be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
His Kingdom Ruleth Over All
However, someone might say: “But God is the Almighty, He is omnipotent and ruleth over all”; Why do we need to pray for His will to be done; Why doesn’t He just make it happen by His omnipotence. After all, the whole earth is His and the fullness thereof ”. Yes, that is true indeed. What we need to consider in addition to these facts is the difference between God’s sovereignty and the Kingdom of God. These are two different things.
Sovereignty is God over-ruling and enforcing His will over activities of men when they are aware or un-aware of it. The Kingdom of God operates on willingness of the citizens. Lets look at the sovereignty of God a little closely.
The Almighty is always and everywhere the sovereign God. He is the creator and owner of all things. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”(Col 1:16-17).If you and I will thoroughly meditate on the meaning of this verse, it will change our outlook on life totally. This verse says all things—which includes everything; including all principalities, all ruling powers, and governments and dominions in heaven above and on earth below. They are all His subjects. They were created by Him, and for Him. They are under His control.
So, no principality can make a decree over the earth without His consent. God possesses absolute sovereignty over all creation. He is ruler over heaven and earth. He is the Creator, Owner, and Possessor of all things in heaven, on earth, underneath the earth, including the reaches of space from one end of eternity to the other. He is the supreme Governor of the universe and is King over all principalities and powers.
“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Ps. 95:3). “The Lord sitteth King for ever” (Ps. 29:10).
“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all” (I Chron. 29:11-12).
4
Thy Kingdom Come
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13,14).
The Bible speaks of a number of kingdoms. Notable among these is the first world empire, the Chaldean Empire, discussed in the previous chapter. Inspired by God, Daniel spoke to Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Chaldean empire often called Babylon saying—“the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,…” (Dan 2:37-39).
“The God of heaven has given thee a kingdom and power….” this is the word God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel. It is God that gives power to those that are appointed as kings or rulers. No one can ascend to a throne or become the President of any nation without God’s consent. It may not be His perfect will, but in the meantime, it must go through Him for it to happen. He allowed Saul, the man of the flesh, to reign over His people even though it wasn’t His choice for them. Saul was the people’s choice. He was man’s choice. Saul’s rule represented the government of man by man for man, chosen by the fleshly nature for the desire of carnal man. God allowed it for the season, until His man, the man after His own heart, came and reigned over Israel. His will was eventually done. The same is happening in our lives today. We still do choose Saul to reign over us in our daily lives and God does not destroy us because of it. He only keeps warning us of the outcome of following carnal desires. He keeps telling us to submit to His kingdom, to the man after His own heart, and to let this man, “David, reign over us”.
The kingdom of God is made up of two principal components: the Government or the Kingdom and the Family. Most of the time, when you hear preachers talk about the kingdom of God, they are often referring to one of the two components. Let’s consider the family first.
The KING and the Royal Family
Every kingdom has a royal family. The royal family is part of the kingdom in a way; but different from the commoners because they are part of the ruling monarchy. When God called Israel out of Egypt, He said to them:“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation”(Ex 19:5-6).
He called them out of the world to become a priestly nation, and also to be a ruling nation over the whole world. This means that God has chosen the Body of Christ, which is the true “Royal Priesthood” to become kings and priests of God in His kingdom. The Body of Christ, that is the Church of the Living God, is only a part of the Kingdom of God and not the whole of it; just like the royal family of any kingdom is only a very small part of that kingdom.
“for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev 9b,10).
God has called us, both Jews and Gentiles, out of every nation, kindred, and tongue, and has made us kings and priests unto God our Father and we shall reign with Him. If the Body of Christ will reign in the Kingdom of God, then the kingdom must be tremendously larger than the royal family.
The Kingdom of God therefore starts with the royal family, the family of God—a family which any man may be born into by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the ruling class of the Kingdom and these shall have jurisdiction over the whole earth, and eventually over the whole universe.
The Royal Priesthood therefore is made up of priests, headed by the High Priest after the order of Melchisedeck, of kings headed by the King of kings, and made up of lords headed by the Lord of lords.
There are at least four principal components of a kingdom. The first of course, is the king; second would the people—the citizens, or subjects over whom the king rules; third is the territory or land over which the king has jurisdiction; and the fourth would be the constitution or the Law of the land. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is the domain over which God exercises rule as King. God’s purpose up to the present hour is that His people, His holy nation, His peculiar treasure, should be the domain over which He would rule as King, and then His rule will extend to the whole world, and ultimately over every creature and over all things both visible and invisible.
The Lord’s dominion today is in the lives of His elect who have submitted their lives to Him and accepted Him as their savior, lord, and king. His kingdom has been established in their hearts.
“Thy Kingdom come.” Three simple English words which open up a realm too vast and too glorious for any human mind to comprehend. It’s so vast that when we attempt to consider its dimensions, we are like a little boy standing with a bucket before the Pacific Ocean, wondering how to fit all its waters inside. It’s unfathomable. There is no way we can contain it. No way, we can comprehend or articulate all that’s therein. This prayer is often misinterpreted. We have prayed as if God’s Kingdom refers exclusively to the end of the world.
But when Jesus taught us this prayer, He said: “Thy Kingdom come.” He was not speaking of the end of the world; He was praying for the desire of His heart and the mind of God to come to pass. He was teaching us to pray that God may reign upon the earth, here and now. He was teaching us to pray that men and women here on earth now may acknowledge God as King, and that His will may be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
His Kingdom Ruleth Over All
However, someone might say: “But God is the Almighty, He is omnipotent and ruleth over all”; Why do we need to pray for His will to be done; Why doesn’t He just make it happen by His omnipotence. After all, the whole earth is His and the fullness thereof ”. Yes, that is true indeed. What we need to consider in addition to these facts is the difference between God’s sovereignty and the Kingdom of God. These are two different things.
Sovereignty is God over-ruling and enforcing His will over activities of men when they are aware or un-aware of it. The Kingdom of God operates on willingness of the citizens. Lets look at the sovereignty of God a little closely.
The Almighty is always and everywhere the sovereign God. He is the creator and owner of all things. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”(Col 1:16-17).If you and I will thoroughly meditate on the meaning of this verse, it will change our outlook on life totally. This verse says all things—which includes everything; including all principalities, all ruling powers, and governments and dominions in heaven above and on earth below. They are all His subjects. They were created by Him, and for Him. They are under His control.
So, no principality can make a decree over the earth without His consent. God possesses absolute sovereignty over all creation. He is ruler over heaven and earth. He is the Creator, Owner, and Possessor of all things in heaven, on earth, underneath the earth, including the reaches of space from one end of eternity to the other. He is the supreme Governor of the universe and is King over all principalities and powers.
“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Ps. 95:3). “The Lord sitteth King for ever” (Ps. 29:10).
“Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all” (I Chron. 29:11-12).
4