We will be dealing with the subject of eschatology for several months. The kingdom envisages a total situation containing three essential elements: (1) a Ruler with absolute authority and power, (2) a realm of subjects to be ruled, and (3) the actual exercise of rulership.

It has been said, “We cannot have a reign without a kingdom or a kingdom without one who reigns.” Furthermore, the dispensations of the past and the present age in which we now live are only preparatory stages for the future kingdom. There is no suitable key to unlock revelation if we ignore what has been provided for us in the revealed will of the sovereign God. He sees the ultimate end that He has in view in the plan of redemption and in the history of the world.

A way is never known unless the beginning and ending are considered. This comes through long and laborious study. Thus, the man of God is not like the spider that weaves his flimsy web out of his own bowels, but like the bee that passes over a great area gathering the sweets from many flowers to enrich his hive. The man who does not consider the thoughts of others has none of his own. The man of God, therefore, brings forth precious things. Jesus said to the scribes, “Therefore, every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matt. 13:52).

No person can rightly divide the word of truth apart from the Scriptural view of the kingdom. God’s most costly blessings are denied the wise and given to babies. “At that time Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matt. 11:25-27). Paul said, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God” (I Cor. 1:25-29).

The man of God must face the subject of the kingdom. A person should be like the painter who said, “When I view the works of painters who have been great, I say to myself, I must not lose sight of these men because I too am a painter.” We are students of the Scriptures. No man of God can claim freedom from error. We all commit errors and sins. At the same time, no man can claim perfection. Uprightness demands that the man of God should follow the truth regardless of where it may lead or the trouble it may cause one as he travels across this country. Paul was inspired to give us the only answer: “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged” (Rom. 3:3-4).

The subject of the kingdom clearly illuminates the past and the present and dispels the darkness for the child of God. There is no explanation for the either the past or the present unless we consider the ultimate result as displayed in the coming kingdom—not the assembly. What God says is true. What man says may be true or it may be false. The only way to ascertain if what man says is true is to compare it with what has been said. If there is contradiction, the believer must say, “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” David said, “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:7-9).

There is a clear warning given about oversimplification. We are talking about intellectualism, childishness, or immaturity. We should beware of a simple point of view. There is nothing simple about God’s gift of faith. People who talk about the simple things of Scripture are too lazy to study the word of God. No man of God can claim freedom from error. Even when he feels obligated to expose the error of another man’s work, his honesty is willing to expose the error in his own work. That is true of every Christian. Some talk of simple faith, a simple plan of salvation, simple prayer, and even a simple translation of the Bible. Any translation of the Bible that could be understood by everyone would cease to be the word of God. Paul said, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14).

A true concept of the kingdom involves the total message of God’s word. There is nothing simple in that. Consider the following things: 1. What about the King? He is promised in the Old Testament. The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles unveil His birth, rejection, and death. The Epistles view Him in hiding, but the Revelation unveils Him in power and glory. 2. What about the kingdom? The kingdom is the object of the covenants of time. Soteriologically the covenant with Abraham was not exclusively for the Jews. Proof of this is Romans 4:16-17 and Galatians 3:8 and 29. There is an eschatological aspect of the promises of God in Hebrews 9:8-9 and Hebrews 11:13-40. Is the city of Hebrews 11 the city of Revelation 21 and 22? 3. What about the Mosaic Covenant being the outgrowth of the Abrahamic Covenant? (See Exodus 19.) It intensified the awareness of sin by leaving the people to self-despair. This created a longing for the Deliverer. 4. What about the Davidic Covenant? It foretells who will sit on the throne. See II Samuel 7 and Luke 1:30-33. 5. What shall be the nature of the King’s rule? The kingdom of Christ will be different from His sovereign control of the assembly as her Head and His sovereign providential rule over the universe as a whole. If Christ were reigning in the kingdom now, all the people of the world would recognize His reign, but they don’t. So He is not reigning. His reign in the kingdom will be the visible reign of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Confusion on the three aspects of His rule leads to serious consequences: 1. It makes the present period the kingdom. 2. It has the imperfect assembly performing the function which only the perfected assembly can perform. 3. It dissolves the Divinely-covenanted purpose in the nation of Israel. 4. It makes the present age of the assembly the final period of historical redemption. 5. It seats mortal, sinful, and fallible men on the throne of the kingdom with the risen and glorified Lord.

Uprightness demands that the man of God should follow the truth wherever it may lead, regardless of the results. He must be willing to be esteemed a fool, to be despised, and to suffer martyrdom, if need be, for the cause of truth. Paul said, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work” (I Cor. 3:9-13). Truth has always met bitter opposition. You don’t know what is going to happen until you are put to the test.

Listen to Jeremiah. He had a complaint. “O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, because for me the word of the LORD has resulted in reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name, then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it. For I have heard the whispering of many, terror on every side! Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him! All my trusted friends, watching for my fall, say: Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him and take our revenge on him” (Jer. 20:7-10).

As stated previously, the King is promised in the Old Testament. The Gospels of Christ unveil the birth, rejection, and death of the Son of God. The Epistles view the Son of God in hiding, and the Revelation unveils the Son of God in all His power and glory. Tell it like it is to people as they are, and that will cost you something.

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.

Copyright ã   2006

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