God's people are longing for an eternal kingdom with a righteous ruler.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven's Armies will make this happen!
God with us should be a glorious thought that is too wonderful to
describe, in the past couple of post we saw The Hope of God With Us and The Peace of God With Us, It is amazing that God would come to be with us and give us hope and peace. But God's story doesn't end there, he is going to bless his people even more when he returns to reign on earth.
We all long for a better country that is ruled by a better king, but for most of us that is just a crazy dream, it may be crazy for the rest of the world but it is reality for God's people. The day is coming when God will setup his kingdom and
tear down the kingdoms of this world that stand in opposition to him.
God's people are always waiting for God's timing.
God's people have a long history of waiting, a lot of God's promises seem like they will
never happen, don't forget that there are more prophecies of Jesus
second coming than there were of the first so we can be sure that The King Is Coming (music video).
When Jesus finally arrived to be God with us the first time, there was nothing to fear,
as a baby he was defenseless, as an adult he was gentle and kind. Jesus
had power over everyone he met but he only used his power to reveal his
deity in a gracious and merciful way for our benefit so that we would believe. (Philippians
2:5-9)
Jesus second advent will not be the same, anyone that wasn't prepared for the first advent could either carry on business as usual or they could have their life radically changed, either way there wasn't any devastating consequences. When he comes again it will be totally different.
The Eternal King And His Kingdom:
The characteristics of the king:
- Wonderful Counselor - Every other counselor will be gone as the supernatural wisdom of this counselor will be far superior. We exaggerate and overuse "wonderful" so we need to pause and consider it's true meaning. Jesus is wonderful in a way that is truly boggling to the mind. (Jeremiah 23:5, Romans 11:33, Colossians 2:3)
- Mighty God - Powerful enough to return after 3 days in the grave and powerful enough to defeat every evil and restore his kingdom to the state it was in before it became marred by sin. (Deuteronomy 10:17, Nehemiah 9:32, Psalm 50:1-6)
- Everlasting Father - The only source of compassion and care that God's people will ever need. They have a peace treaty with the mighty God so they can enjoy being in his presence for eternity without fear. (Isaiah 63:16, John 10:28-30)
- Prince of Peace - God's people should strive to live at peace with each other but as Jesus told his disciples his first advent wasn't about bringing peace. The conflict that we see in the New Testament continues, Jesus is a polarizing figure, the spiritual battle is not over yet. (Matthew 10:24 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-16) Some day the peace that God's people have with him will finally be enjoyed with each other and with all of God's creation. (Romans 12:18, Ephesians 4:1-3, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 12:14)
The characteristics of the kingdom:
Isaiah 11:3-5 He will delight in obeying the LORD. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. 4 He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. 5 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.Isaiah 11:10 In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.
The kingdom of God will be the true creation of the "holy land" where love,
justice, peace and joy are the norm. The prayer of Jesus for "thy kingdom
come, thy will be done" is a summary of God's kingdom. When the kingdom comes
it will be God's will done on Earth as perfectly as it is in Heaven.
The new Heaven and new Earth will not have the destructive influence of sin,
man's rebellion will be overthrown and Satan will be bound. The whole story of
the Bible is about our rebellion against the king and his work to bring us
back under his reign.
When Jesus returns as king:
- The new kingdom will be known for God, his presence will be all that we will ever need for eternity.
- The new king will obviously be the promised heir of King David's throne. Nobody will question who he is or why he is reigning.
- The old king of this world will be dethroned and the devastating consequences of his evil empire will be reversed and the earth will be restored.
- The promises made to Israel and all of God's people through the prophets will finally be realized and the people of every nation will be blessed. Every covenant God has made with man will be 100% fulfilled.
- The Promised Land will finally belong to Israel, all of it, the boundaries of the nation in Bible times and today do not include all of the land God promised.
- The scattered people will return to Jerusalem to live completely submitted to the rule of their amazing king.
- The world peace that everyone says they long for, but does little to achieve, will finally be real and eternal. More than peace it will be shalom, Greater than just the absence of conflict, everything will work together in perfect harmony as creation is made whole.
God has made it clear that we must submit to his son, we must see our need
for Jesus before we die or before his return, don't discount the opportunity to transfer
your citizenship to the kingdom of God.
Will you remain in the kingdom of darkness that leads to destruction or will you renounce your
citizenship there and move to the kingdom of God that will last for eternity? (Luke 13:22-30,
Colossians 1:13-14)
RELATED ARTICLES
What Is the Kingdom of God?
(desiringgod.org)
What Is The Millennial Kingdom?
(gotquestions.org)
The Millennial Reign of Christ
(ligonier.org)
The Kingdom Of God
(thegospelcoalition.org)
