GOD’S TWO KINGDOMS

Part Three

God’s Heavenly Kingdom

A Study By

Gary Ray Branscome

At the time of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. // The kingdom of God does not come in a way that is seen: Nor will people say, look here! or look there! for the kingdom of God is within you. (Daniel 2:44, Luke 17:20-21)

Israel was to be one nation under God, a nation in which the Word of God was the highest authority. However, time after time that nation turned away from God. And, at the time of Samuel they clamored for a king “like all the other nations” had. Under those kings things went from bad to worse until the nation was carried into captivity. After seventy years of captivity many returned to Israel, and by the time of Christ the people were expecting the Messiah, foretold by the prophet Daniel, to set up a kingdom that would “never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44 and 9:24-27). Now, that is exactly what happened. However, the kingdom that Christ set up was not an earthly kingdom that conquers by weapons and armies, but a kingdom that cannot be seen (Luke 17:20-21, 2Corinthians 10:4); a kingdom that is referred to over sixty times in the New Testament. [If you have Bible software, search for the phrase “kingdom of God”.]

Even though there were many believers in Israel before Christ began His ministry, because the religious leaders were teaching false doctrine God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus by calling the people to repentance and faith in the coming Messiah (John 1:27, 29, Mark 1:3-4). We become citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom through repentance and faith (John 3:3-5). That is what Jesus was talking about when He told Nicodemus that he needed to be born of water and the Spirit. The word “water” was a reference to the baptism of repentance, the emphasis being on repentance (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, Acts 2:38). The word “Spirit” alluded to the fact that it is the Spirit alone who brings us to faith in Christ (1Corinthians 12:3, Romans 10:17). So I repeat, we are born again into God’s heavenly kingdom through repentance and faith in Christ.

“Now after John had been put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). Notice that Jesus did not say that His kingdom would be established at a future time, but that, “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand”. All believers, all of us, are citizens of that kingdom through faith in Christ. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are his ambassadors (2Corinthians 5:20). And, as His representatives, all that we do should be done to His glory (1Corinthians 10:31). However, working for His glory does not just mean doing church work. On the contrary, we should work for God’s glory wherever God has placed us. If you are a laborer, do an honest job, one that makes your employer glad that you are a Christian. If you are a businessman, conduct your business in a way that honors Christ. And, if God has placed you in government, use your position to honor Him, in the same way Joseph, Daniel and Esther did.

Before going further, I want to make it clear that the kingdom of God is not the same thing as the visible church. Visible church organizations and congregations are a part of God’s earthly kingdom. While only believers are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom, earthly churches can and often do include some who have never really placed their faith in Christ. Since we cannot look into anyone’s heart in order to see if they really have faith, we cannot see who is actually a citizen of God’s heavenly kingdom and who is not. For that reason, God’s heavenly kingdom is sometimes called the invisible church (Luke 17:20). However, even though a person can become a citizen of God’s heavenly kingdom through faith in Christ without being the member of any church organization, God does not want it to stay that way. For that reason, God instituted baptism as a way of joining every new believer to His earthly kingdom. No one can baptize himself (at least it would not be valid if he did). So we must all be baptized by someone who is already the member of a visible Christian church, and baptism joins us to that church.

God’s heavenly kingdom did not first come into existence on the day of Pentecost, but on that day power from God was poured out for the purpose of world evangelism (Luke 16:16, Mark 9:1). That power is the power by which people are brought to faith in Christ, and on that day “about three thousand souls” who believed were added to the congregation through baptism (Acts 2:41). These first believers were almost exclusively Jews. Following the Babylonian captivity Jews had moved into countries all around the Mediterranean. They had established synagogues in those countries, and many Jews who had grown up in those countries wanted to return to Israel before their death so they could be buried in the land of their ancestors. The Book of Acts tells us that on the day of Pentecost, “there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven, living in Jerusalem,” (Acts 2:5). And, when the Spirit began to speak through the Apostles, those devout Jews each heard what was being said in the language of the country in which they had been born and raised (Acts 2:8). Many of those Jewish believers may have taken the good news of forgiveness in Christ back to the communities in which they had been raised. As the Apostle Paul traveled from country to country he preached in synagogues that were already established in those countries (Acts 17:1-2 and 10-11). The Epistle of James was addressed “to the twelve tribes that are scattered among the nations,” (James 1:1). And, we know from the introduction to the Epistle of James, and a reference to Christ in that Epistle, that he was writing to Jews who believed that Christ was the Messiah (James 1:1 and 2:1). According to some estimates, as many as one third of the residents of Jerusalem may have been Christian by the time the Romans destroyed the city. And, we know that those Christians escaped the horrors of that destruction by fleeing the city, as Christ had warned them to do (Luke 21:20-21).

While those Jewish believers no longer had any need to offer animal sacrifices – since those sacrifices were only intended to point forward to Christ – they continued to worship in the temple and follow laws of diet and cleanliness that gentile believers were not required to follow (Acts 2:46 Acts 3:1, Acts 15:1-20, Acts 22:17, Acts 21:24-27, Galatians 2:1-14). And, when they formed congregations of their own (the first Christian congregations) those congregations were patterned after the synagogues they had grown up in. In each congregation (as in the synagogue) some of the older men (elders) were chosen to oversee the affairs of the congregation. Those elders were answerable to the men of the congregation, and if the elders hired a paid teacher (Rabbi) he was answerable to those elders, and to the men of the congregation (Ephesians 4:11). Nevertheless, by the end of the first century subtle changes were morphing this congregational system of church government into an episcopal system. I believe the change took place like this. Originally all of the elders of a congregation were referred to as overseers (bishops), and each year those elders would choose one of their number to preside at their meetings. The first change resulted in the elder chosen to preside being chosen to that office for life, instead of just for one year. Then the title of bishop (overseer) came to be reserved for the presiding elder alone. Then, as congregations grew, because the people needed a place of worship that was in walking distance of their homes, alternative meeting places (satellite congregations) were set up. And, the elder (priest) who led worship in each of those satellite congregations was answerable to the bishop of the home congregation. [The word “priest” was derived from the Greek word for elder, which is “presbuteros”. If you pronounce that word with a long “e”, you will see the relationship of the two words.]

Just as the first Christian congregations were organized like the synagogues of the time, their worship services followed a formal liturgy similar to what was followed in the synagogue. Prayers would be read or recited by the congregation; psalms would be sung or chanted, portions of Scripture would be read or recited with explanations, and the people would be instructed in God’s Word (Luke 4:15-20). Changes were made, but those changes consisted of what prayers would be prayed, what psalms would be sung, and so forth not in the basic format. And, one of the first changes was the use of the Lord’s Prayer. Some people make a big deal of the fact that Christ gave that prayer as a lesson on how to pray. However, they fail to see that the way that lesson was taught to the people was by having them use it in worship. In fact, the use of plural words in that prayer, “Our Father,” “forgive us,” “trespass against us,” “lead us,” “deliver us” all tell us that prayer was intended to be recited by a group. That is also supported by Jesus’ words, “When you pray, say,” (Luke 11:1-4).

Another change that took place, at least by the end of the first century, was the replacement of the Shema with the Apostle’s Creed. The Shema (which is central to Jewish worship, and has been called the Jewish creed) consists of that portion of Scripture that begins with the words, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Apostle’s Creed was adopted because of a heresy that denied that Christ had a physical body — that heresy portrayed Christ as a phantom person who only appeared to suffer and only appeared to die, and it is denounced in 1John 4:2-3 and 2John seven. In affirming Christ’s humanity that Creed summarizes six of the seven historical events relating to our salvation. Creation, Christ’s virgin birth, His suffering and death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His future return. Only the fall of Adam is omitted. And the historical events relating to Christ are the ones that need to be known in order to find Christ in the Old Testament.

God’s Plan for World Conquest

The Prophet Daniel not only prophesied that God would “set up” a kingdom that would “never be destroyed,” he also said that kingdom would, “break in pieces and consume all” the other kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:44). And, that prophesy was fulfilled when those countries became Christian. God conquered those countries, but not by the weapons of this world. They were conquered by the power of God; as it is written, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

While God’s people should never want war, delight in war, or try to use war to spread the Christian faith the Bible plainly tells us that we are involved in a war. Not a war “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). And, the weapons of that warfare are not the bloody weapons of this world, but the weapons of the Spirit. The helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; the shield of faith and the breastplate of righteousness; all bound around by truth and rooted in the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14-17, 2Corinthians 10:4).

When God was ready to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt, He did not tell them to take up arms, rebel or place their faith in their own efforts. On the contrary, He wanted the world to know that they were not delivered from bondage by earthly power and might, but by His Spirit. And the same was true when He was ready to conquer Greece and Rome. Yes, His people did suffer casualties. They were wounded, killed, taken captive, and tortured just like they would have been if they were involved in an earthly war. The only difference is that they did not fight back. And, because they did not fight back God gave them the victory.

There are people who brag that they are willing to suffer hardship and even death for their country. Well God has asked some of His people to suffer and die to further His kingdom. But, He expects them to do it without fighting back. And, when He gives His people the victory, the entire country becomes Christian, just as the entire Roman Empire became Christian.

When a government makes Christianity the official religion, God’s people have a situation very similar to that which existed in ancient Israel under the kings. If that government uses its power to protect Christians, that is the will of God (1Peter 2:13-15). However, in that situation remember that the visible church is part of God’s earthly kingdom, not His heavenly kingdom. His heavenly kingdom is present, just as it was present in the seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal, at the time of Elijah (1Kings 19:18). And, God wants those who trust in Him (His heavenly kingdom) to work inside both church and state, like a hand in a glove, to see that His will is done. Just like the “sons of the prophets” led by Samuel, believers need to reach out to those who have never understood the Gospel or placed their faith in Christ. And where that situation exists, if earthly rulers promote idolatry, then in the eyes of God it is no different than when the kings in ancient Israel promoted idolatry. If earthly rulers suppress idolatry, then it is no different in the eyes of God than when kings in ancient Israel suppressed idolatry. If earthly rulers do evil or promote evil, believers should condemn that evil. And, if church leaders are corrupt, or pawns of the state, believers should condemn that corruption like the prophets of old. Nevertheless, in all things they should act with prayer and wisdom.

Conclusion

In the past, whenever a nation made Christianity its official religion, either the state sought to create a tax-supported establishment of religion that it could control, or religious leaders sought to wield political power and use it against any who would question their authority. Neither situation is what God wants. God intended for governments to be an instrument of His wrath; in the sense that He works through the justice system to condemn and punish criminal behavior (1Peter 2:14). In contrast, the visible church is an instrument of God’s mercy, in that God uses it to call the nation to repentance while giving them His promise of forgiveness in Christ (Luke 24:45-47).

Before the Reformation, the situation had gotten so bad in England that God’s Word was kept from the people, and men were burned at the stake for merely possessing an English translation of the Bible. By fifteen nineteen it was so bad that men were being burned at the stake for no other reason than that their children could recite the Lord’s Prayer in English. Moreover, antichristian clergymen were at the forefront of that persecution. However, after the Reformation, millions of people who had grown up in the Church of England or the state churches of other European countries immigrated to America where they established thousands of congregations that preached God’s Word. So there is no simple one-size-fits-all rule that can be given regarding church and state. God wants them separate in the sense that one does not control the other. However, He does not want the state to be secular, and He certainly does not want it to deny believers the free exercise of their religion in the name of keeping church and state separate. Instead, those who are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom through faith in Christ need to be at work both inside and outside of the system as a salt or leavening agent, not only to spread the good news of forgiveness in Christ, but also to condemn the “spiritual wickedness in high places” that wars against God (Ephesians 6:12)