Kingdom, king refers to ruler of a nation or territory, especially one who inherits his position and rules for life; a state or nation with a form of government in which a king or queen serves as supreme ruler.

In the ancient world a king was generally the ruler over a specific region or city. His office was usually hereditary and his authority derived from it. For instance, in Egypt the king, or Pharaoh, was regarded as a god; in Assyria the king represented a god. Both the Canaanites and the Philistines had kings as early as the time of Abraham. - Gen. 14:1-2, 20:2 - Many of the other nations related to Israel - Edom, Moab, Midian, and Ammon - adopted the kingship form a government earlier than Israel. - Gen. 36:31; Judg. 11:13 -

Long before the Israelites chose Saul as their first king, Israel has been a religious community with God Himself as the ruler. God had promised Abraham that kings would come from him. The same promise was given to Jacob.

You shall no longer be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I make you father of a multitude of nations. I will make you most fruitful. I will make you into nations, and your issue shall be kings. - Gen. 17:5-6 -

Once more God appeared to Jacob on his return from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob, but from now on you shall be named not Jacob but Israel.' Accordingly, they named him Israel. God said to him, 'I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed a group of nations shall descend from you. Even kings shall be numbered among your descendants. I give you this land, the land I gave to Abraham and to Issac; and I will give this land to your descendants after you.' Then God went up from him. - Gen. 35:9-13 -

During the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan several years later, Moses and Joshua exercised "royal" authority, but only as representatives of God. Following Joshua's death, various cities and villages had "Elders" - Josh. 24:13; Judg. 11:5 - to whom the people looked for leadership. Occasionally, God appointed certain leaders called "Judges" who would lead an army against foreign oppression. - Judg. 2:16-19 - These leaders, however, were not strong religious personalities. They had no official authority, and their rule was local and temporary.

At the insistence of the people of Israel, prophet Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of the Hebrew nation. - 1 Sam. 10:1 - Samuel, the prophet, regarded the demand for a king as an act of rebellion - 1 Sam. 8 - because the moral decline of the nation had created a desire for a monarchy that would be similar to the form of government of all the surrounding nations. It is a believed that the introduction of kingship in Israel was a historical necessity, brought about by a desperate political situation, that is, oppression by the Philistines.

After establishment of the kingship under Saul and David, Solomon became king of the United Kingdom. Under his administration, the Hebrew people reached new levels of prestige and power. Solomon entered trade agreements with other nations and completed many impressive building projects. But to pay for all these great accomplishments, Solomon placed burdensome taxes upon the people and even forced them to work as laborers on this building projects. At Solomon's death, the United Kingdom split into two separate nations, that is, Judah in the south and Israel in the north. During the rest of their history, these two nations were ruled by their own individual kings. Accounts of the reigns of many of these kings are found in the books of 1 and 2 Kings in the Old Testament.

David was clearly God's choice to be king. - 1 Sam. 16:17, 12-13 - The hereditary kingship, therefore, began with him; from him would descend Jesus Christ, 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David' - Rev. 5:5 - In the light of the Messiah's descent from David, the meaning of God's Covenant with David becomes clear and fulfilled: "I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever." - 2 Sam. 7:13; Ps. 2; 110; Is. 11:1-4 -

A kingdom that would typify Christ Jesus coming kingdom was in God's plan. - Deut. 17:15 - Israel's king was supposed to be responsible to God alone. This king was God's servant and only the earthly representative of the Lord, who was Israel's true king. In that office he was expected to know and do the law of God. - Deut. 17:18-20 - Jesus was to be a preacher, teacher, and proclaiming the kingdom of God, and one who judged wisely and righteously. - 1 Kin. 3:28; 2 Chr. 17:7 -

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible used the title king not only of human rulers, but God as the Supreme Ruler of the world. As the Creator of the world, it is His right to rule the universe. That is, only by His authority do earthly kings reign. - Ps. 47:2, 7; Matt. 5:35; Deut. 10:17; Dan. 4:17 -

The New Testament speaks of several specific kings, including Herod the king and king Agrippa. - Matt. 2:1; Acts 25:24 - they were actually governors or rulers over political provinces or territories of the Roman Empire, serving under appointment by the Roman Emperor.

Christ Jesus the Messiah was born a king - Matt.2:2 - came preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God - Mark 1:15 - died as a king - Mark 15:32 - and will yet be seen as King of kings and Lord of lords. - 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16 - Jesus functions as a Priest-Prophet-King - Heb. 5:6; 7:1; Rev. 11:15 - enabling us to become heirs of the kingdom which He has established through His sacrificial death on the cross.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices could be heard shouting in heaven, calling, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.' - Rev. 11:15 -

On his cloak and on his thigh there was a name written: The King of kings and the Lord of lords. - Rev. 19:16 -

Christ Jesus was the full embodiment of the kingdom of God. The entire ministry of Jesus is understood in relation to this important declaration of the presence of the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Christ ethical doctrines, for example, cannot be understood apart from the announcement of the kingdom of God. They are ethics of the kingdom of God; the perfection to which they point makes no sense apart from the present experience of the kingdom. Participation in the new reality of the kingdom of God involves a faithful, believers, and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in a call to the highest virtue and good deeds; love, joy, peace, mercy, compassion, kindness, patience, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control are some of the examples.

For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. - Matt. 5:20 -

All that Jesus did is related to this claim that the kingdom of God has dawned through His ministry. The Lord Jesus Christ righteousness, healing, miracle, love, forgiveness, compassion, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control were manifestations of the presence of the kingdom of God. In these virtue and deeds there was a direct confrontation between God and Satan and his demons, and the forces of evil. Summarizing His ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ declared:

'I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven.' - Luke 10:18 -

Satan and evil are retreat now that the kingdom of God has made its entrance into human history. This is an anticipation of the final age of perfection that will be realized at the Lord Jesus Christ return; Second Coming, or Parousia.

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible have described the phrase kingdom of God as a more comprehensive term referring to both heaven and earth. It is believed that the kingdom of God is a more restricted term referring to God's rule on earth, especially in relation to the nation of Israel. In this believed, Christ Jesus offered the literal kingdom of heaven to Israel, but particularly, the Jews, refused to accept it. Thus, it has been postponed until the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A careful study of the gospels, however, shows that the two phrases [kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven] are used interchangeably. In parallel passages, Saint Matthew uses "kingdom of heaven" while Saint Mark and Saint Luke has "kingdom of God." Even in Saint Matthew the two phases are sometimes used interchangeably, where they are used one after the other in the same connection.

And if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges, then. But if it is through the Spirit of God that I cast devils out, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. - Matt. 12:26-28 -

In the New Testament, the Book of The Acts Of The Apostles, and all of Saint Paul epistles and all the other books, the kingdom of God was a central doctrine in the preaching and proclaiming of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the early Christians. The kingdom of God generally point out that the Christians looked for its coming and entering it, now and the future.

The Lord Jesus Christ had shown himself to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. - Acts 1:3 -

Paul spent the whole of the two years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone. - Acts 28:30-31 -

For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. - Phil. 3:20-21 -

We want to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, and that will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord's own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to be rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another. - 1 Thes. 4:13-18 -

In short, you must not compromise your privilege, because the kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. - Rom. 14:16-17 -

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -