The Kingdom of God

To the faithful in Christ Jesus, heirs of the promises of God and partakers in the eternal Kingdom, grace and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Promise of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is the eternal purpose of the Almighty, established before the foundation of the world and proclaimed through the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. From the call of Abraham, the promise of the Kingdom was set in motion. To him, God declared, “In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). This seed was ultimately revealed to be Christ, through whom the eternal covenant was ratified and made sure.

God’s promise to Abraham included a land, a people, and a purpose: that Israel would be a nation of priests, a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). Through Israel, the world would know the one true God, and righteousness would be established on the earth. Yet, as Moses warned in Deuteronomy, the blessings and curses of the covenant revealed Israel’s inability to fulfill its divine mandate due to the universal reality of sin. As it is written, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3; Romans 3:10). Therefore, the cross became not only the universal solution for humanity’s redemption but also the means by which Israel’s priesthood mandate could be realized.

The Prophetic Vision of the Kingdom

In the vision given to Daniel, the Kingdom of God is described as a rock cut without hands, striking and destroying the great statue of Gentile empires and growing into a mountain that fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-35): “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” This rock represents the eternal Kingdom of the Son of Man, to whom was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him (Daniel 7:13-14): “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” This kingdom is not temporary; its dominion is everlasting, and it will not pass away.

Daniel further reveals the resurrection of the righteous in the last days: “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). This resurrection inaugurates the eternal reign of God’s Kingdom, where the righteous will shine like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3): “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”

The Restoration of Israel

Ezekiel’s prophecy speaks of a reformed Israel, a nation cleansed and renewed by the Spirit of God. The Lord declares, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). The vision of the valley of dry bones rising to life (Ezekiel 37:1-14) signifies the national and spiritual restoration of Israel, culminating in the new temple where the glory of God dwells (Ezekiel 43:4-7): “And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” This temple signifies God’s abiding presence among His people, as foretold by Isaiah: “The Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion... a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night” (Isaiah 4:5).

Joel prophesies the outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh in the last days, a sign of the Kingdom’s arrival (Joel 2:28-32): “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” Zephaniah speaks of the purification of the nations, that they may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him with one accord (Zephaniah 3:9): “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.” Zephaniah’s promise of restoration aligns with Isaiah’s vision of the nations streaming to Zion to learn God’s ways (Isaiah 2:2-4): “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.”

The Triumph of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God will bring an end to the global system of empire and unrighteousness. The fourth beast of Daniel’s vision, representing the Gentile power system, will be destroyed when the Son of Man comes in glory (Daniel 7:26-27): “But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” Zechariah describes the Lord’s return to fight against the nations gathered against Jerusalem, culminating in His reign as King over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9): “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be — “The Lord is one, and His name one.”

The war against Gog and Magog in Ezekiel signifies the final rebellion against God, which is decisively crushed. Revelation confirms this, as fire from heaven consumes the armies of Satan, and the devil is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10): “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations... Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.” The global rebellion will end, and the Kingdom of God will reign supreme.

The Purpose and Glory of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is about the direct rule of God over all the earth, the universal acknowledgment of His sovereignty, and the worship of YHWH alone. The psalms proclaim, “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). Isaiah declares that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

The Kingdom will restore creation itself, as Paul writes: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed... in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:19-21). Isaiah’s vision of the wolf dwelling with the lamb and the cessation of war reflects the peace and righteousness of the millennial reign of Christ (Isaiah 11:6-9): “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain.”

The Eternal Reign of Christ

Christ’s rule will have no end. After the millennial reign, He will judge the world at the Great White Throne, where death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15): “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.” The new Jerusalem will descend from heaven, and God will dwell with His people forever (Revelation 21:1-3): “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them.” This fulfils the prophecy of the Ark of the Covenant, a shadow of God’s throne, now realized in Christ’s eternal reign from His temple (Ezekiel 43; Isaiah 6:1; Revelation 22:3).

The Consummation of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God consolidates Israel’s priestly and royal functions. The nations will be given to Israel as a possession, fulfilling the promise to Abraham and David (Psalm 2:8; 2 Samuel 7:16): “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” The faithful will reign with Christ, as promised: “They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

Even now, the breaking of the seals has set in motion the coming of the Kingdom, as the judgments prepare the earth for Christ’s return. The Lamb who was slain is worthy to open the seals and to bring about the fulfillment of all things (Revelation 5:9-10): “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

The Message of the Names

Even the genealogy from Adam to Noah whispers the promise of the Kingdom of God. Each name holds a prophetic meaning, forming a message that encapsulates God’s redemptive plan:

Adam (אֲדָם) — "Man" Seth (שְׁת) — "Appointed" Enosh (אֶנוֹשׁ) — "Mortal" Kenan (קִינָן) — "Sorrow" Mahalalel (מַהֲלַלֵאל) — "The Blessed God" Jared (יִרֵד) — "Shall come down" Enoch (חֲנוּךְ) — "Teaching" Methuselah (מְתוּשְלָחַ) — "His death shall bring" Lamech (לַמֶךְ) — "The despairing" Noah (נֹח) — "Rest/Comfort"

When these names are read as a continuous message, they proclaim: "Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest." This message foreshadows the work of Christ, the Blessed God, who came down to earth to teach and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). His death brought an end to sin’s reign and the beginning of eternal rest for the despairing.

This prophetic genealogy connects directly to the Kingdom of God, as it reveals the foundation of God's redemptive plan and the ultimate victory of His reign. In Christ, the despairing find rest, the sorrowful are comforted, and the mortal are promised eternal life. The Kingdom is the fulfilment of this ancient promise, bringing the reality of God's rule and peace to a broken world.

Beloved, let us remain steadfast, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Lord Jesus will come in glory, and His reward is with Him. Let us live as citizens of His Kingdom, awaiting the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

An oracle of YHWH:

I am the First and the Last, I am the beginning and the end; there is none before me. I am the one who was, is and is coming. Behold--I am your God.

I have set my Son on my holy hill, he is beside me--your God who is one with me; from everlasting to everlasting. Behold, I told Moses who I sent--YHWH your God is one.

The birth of my Kingdom is at hand, the seals are breaking--Heavenly Jerusalem is in her birth pangs; the revealing of the Sons of God is at hand. At my Kingdom's birth the day of my vengeance shall be quick to follow. I will bring low every nation, indeed all the powers and principalities in the heavenlies shall be cast down.

I will send forth my Son, he shall avenge the blood of the prophets, the blood of the martyrs and all my saints. He shall deliver Jerusalem.

Behold I am the Son--I come quickly like a thief in the night. I come with my reward; judgement for the wicked and everlasting life for my holy ones. YHWH speaks; trust not in your ways--come, eat and drink; commune with me and you will know life. I am the Judge, I am the King. I will reign on my Father's throne with the authority he has given me. Those who are with me shall reign with me. Come quickly--for the time of my rule is at hand.