Thus far in these messages on the conclusion of the New Testament we have covered five persons: God, Christ, the Spirit, the believers, and the church. Now we come to the kingdom. Like the church and the New Jerusalem, the kingdom is a corporate person. According to chapter two of Daniel, Christ, the heavenly stone, will eventually become a great mountain filling the entire earth (vv. 34-35, 44-45). This is the kingdom as the increase of Christ. In this message we shall begin to consider the aspects of the kingdom.
The first aspect of the kingdom is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is God’s reign in a general way over the entire universe. This general way of God’s reign is the way of authority and power. God rules the heavens, the earth, all created things, and man in a general and objective way.
The kingdom of God as God’s reign in a general way is from eternity past to eternity future (Heb. 1:8; Psa. 145:13; Dan. 4:3b). Because the kingdom of God is the reigning of God, it follows God’s existence. God’s existence is from eternity to eternity, without beginning or ending. Therefore,
The Bible reveals that the kingdom of God embraces a wide scope. It embraces eternity without beginning before the foundation of the world, the paradise of Adam, the chosen patriarchs, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament (Matt. 21:43), the church in the New Testament (Rom. 14:17), the coming millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6), and the new heaven and new earth without end for eternity.
At this point I would refer you to the chart printed with this message. The seven items included in the kingdom of God can be found in the six circles on the chart. The first circle corresponds to the first item—eternity without beginning before the foundation of the world. The second circle, signifying the dispensation before law, includes two items— the paradise of Adam and the chosen patriarchs. The third circle, signifying the dispensation of law, corresponds to the fourth item, that is, to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. The next circle, signifying the dispensation of grace, corresponds to the church in the New Testament, and the fifth circle, signifying the dispensation of the kingdom, corresponds to the sixth item, which is the coming millennium. Finally, the last circle corresponds to the seventh item, the new heaven and new earth without end for eternity.
Let us consider the fourth and fifth circles in more detail. The column underneath the fourth circle indicates that five matters are included here: the kingdom of the heavens being near (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7), the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 16:18-19; 13:24; 22:2), the church (1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 1:22b-23), the reality of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5—7), and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 13:24-42). The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is in the church, and outside the church and close to it is the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. Within the church circle there is a smaller, dotted circle signifying the reality of the kingdom of the heavens as the reality of the church life. This dotted circle includes only the overcoming believers. Among the believers there are many defeated ones. Although they are defeated, they, as genuine believers, are members of the church. For this reason, the circle of the church is bigger than the dotted circle of the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. Furthermore, the two other dotted circles indicate that outside the church there are the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens—Christendom—and the world, the nations.
After the dispensation of grace, there will be the dispensation of the kingdom, the millennium, as represented by the fifth circle. The dotted line through this circle indicates that in the millennium there will be two sections or two parts: the heavenly part and the earthly part. The heavenly part will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, which will include Christ and the overcoming saints. Whoever is in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today will be in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium. However, according to Matthew 13, that which constitutes the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens will be thrown into the lake of fire and burned. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, composed of the overcoming saints, will actually be the New Jerusalem during the millennium. The second part of the millennium is the earthly part. In the center of this part we have the saved Israelites as the priests teaching the restored nations to serve God. These restored nations will be the peoples around Israel. In the millennium the overcoming saints will be the kings, the saved Israelites will be the priests, and the people will be the restored nations.
After the millennium will come the fullness of the ages, that is, eternity without ending. In eternity future there will be the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem as the center. In this center there will be all God’s chosen, called, redeemed, sanctified, transformed, conformed, perfected, and glorified saints. These saints will include those of the Old Testament and of the New Testament. On the one hand, these saints will be kings ruling over the purified nations; on the other hand, they will be priests serving God and Christ. Hence, the kings and priests will be in the New Jerusalem, and the people purified at the end of the millennium to be the people in eternity will be the nations sustained and maintained for eternity by the leaves of the tree of life (Rev. 22:2).
If we study the chart carefully, we shall see the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the heavens, which is actually a part of the kingdom of God, God’s reign in a general way by authority and power.