THE KINGDOM PERSONAL
BY ROBERT GOVETT, M.A.
Because the kingdom in manifestation has been so long delayed,
Christians in general have come to regard the kingdom in mystery as the only
one. They rest their views upon the exceptional texts, and try to force
more than a hundred to mean this present scene. Hence false principles
of interpretation are adopted, and produce consequences full of mischief.
It
is strange to suppose that the
Take
an illustration from English history. In the sixteenth century Cromwell
sat on the throne of
So in the days of David. Saul was rejected by Jehovah, David was anointed king over
Now,
does scripture regard those eight or nine years of David’s trouble, as years of
his reign? No! His reign is not
reckoned as begun till Saul is slain, and he is anointed at
It
is even thus with our Lord. He was anointed king at His baptism. But, as yet, He is only king of right;
He is not hitherto king in fact. Satan is now ruler; and that rival must be put down and imprisoned
ere Jesus’ reign is come, John 12: 31; 14:
30; 16: 11; Rev. 20.
The
character of the kingdom depends on the presence of the king. Now it is the proclamation
of the kingdom, with a view to gather those who, believing and obeying 'the word
of the kingdom,' shall be rulers in it when the power of
the kingdom is come, Matt. 4: 23; 10: 35; 11: 12; 12:
19-52; 16: 19. Great is the difference between hearing the
word of the kingdom which comes in grace, and feeling the sceptre of the
kingdom when it breaks foes in the day of judgment.
The promises made to the lord Jesus about His kingdom are
not yet fulfilled.
Let
us look at the scripture descriptions of what a king should be. "We will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the
nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us, and fight
our battles." 1 Sam. 8: 19, 20.
This gives the main features of the kingly office; the internal administration
for his subjects, and his personal presence for war as well as in peace.
But exceptions may be taken to this passage, as only the word of
"Rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power?
Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same, for he is the
minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be
afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, a
revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil:"
Now
these words are not yet true of Christ. It is as yet the hour of the
kingdom of the wild beasts of Daniel; Dan. 7.
The last ruler of the fourth of these kingdoms slays 'the saints,'* unhindered, till the Son of Man comes in person,
and takes away his power. Then is the kingdom given
to the saints, and manifestly administered by the Son of
[* That
is, regenerate believers left behind after the first rapture, (Rev. 13: 10; Rev. 7: 14; Rev. 3: 10.)]
Daniel
does not regard the kingdom as come, while the wild beasts are reigning, and
the Son of Man is away. But after their power is taken away, after the
image is smashed in pieces by the stone descending from heaven, then
has the God of heaven set up his kingdom: Dan. 2: 44.
The
saints are not to reign till the day of trial and suffering is over, and they
are pronounced conquerors, receiving their rewards from Christ in person.
"He that overcometh and keepeth my words unto the end, to him
will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even
as I received of my Father:" Rev. 2:
26, 27.
This
conduct would be wholly unchristian now, for it is the day of grace. The
reign of the saints is to be with Christ. "They lived and reigned with the Christ a
thousand years. They shall be priests of
God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years:"
Rev. 20: 4-6.
Jesus
is as yet the priest in the sanctuary amid the lamps: Rev.
1-3. He has not the kingdom
actually conferred, till the throne of Rev. 4
is set: and that throne is not brought into the Holiest till the lamps are
removed, because the churches are no longer recognised before God. Jesus
Himself is waiting: "From henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool:" Heb.
10: 13. So then we too are to be "waiting
for the
Even
after the throne of judgment is set in the 4th
of Revelation, and after even the fifth seal
is broken, when the cry of vengeance against the man of earth goes up, it is
silenced with the word - ‘Wait awhile! Earth has still to become worse, and more
murderous, ere God’s vengeance is poured out:’ Rev.
6: 9-11.
But
when the king is come, the righteous are to flourish, and the oppressor to be
broken in pieces: enemies are to be destroyed, and all kings to obey the
Redeemer: Psalm 72: 3, 4, 11.
Righteousness is to be the girdle of the King’s loins.
Not
such is the principle of our day of grace; not of this character is Christ’s
agency now.
Let
me now state the proposition to be proved by evidence of scripture.
THE MANIFESTED KINGDOM REQUIRES THE PERSONAL PRESENCE OF
THE KING.
Take some testimonies from the Old Testament.
"He (Jesus) shall smite the earth with the rod (blast) of his mouth, and
with the breath of his lips shall he slay the Wicked"
(one.) Isa. 11: 4.
Paul,
expounding this says, "Then shall the Wicked One be
revealed, whom the Lord (Jesus) shall consume with the spirit (breath) of his mouth, and shall
strike powerless with the manifestation of his presence."
(Greek) 2 Thess. 2: 8.
At
present the Saviour is away; none but his friends behold Him; and they by faith
alone. But when this verse is fulfilled Jesus will be manifestly present
in person, and in judgment will destroy His great rival, the false Christ.
2. From Dan. 2: 34, 35, we learn that the kingdom is to be
set up not by agency of mercy upon earth, but by a stroke of justice from the
heaven. The kingdom’s acting is not internal, tranquil, gradual,
invisible; but the visible descent of Christ from on high, in an instant
breaking in pieces before him all previous kingdoms, after which the stone that
smote the image becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. The
kingdom of the God of heaven shall not be transmitted to any other, "but it shall break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand for ever" 44.
"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed against them, till the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given
to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the
saints possessed the kingdom:" 7:
21, 22.
As
truly as the Lawless One is a person who reigns personally on earth, so truly
is the Righteous One a person who shall also reign on earth. The
transference of the kingdom occurs "suddenly at an
instant." Up to that
hour the saints are oppressed. Then the Son of Man strikes
powerless, dethrones, and consumes His foe, and gives over his power to the
saints, up to that time oppressed and slain.
3. Zechariah describing the last siege of
"Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those
nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand
in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,
and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, toward the east and toward
the west:"4. "And the Lord
shall be king over all the earth:"9. "Every one that is left of all the nations which came against
Turn we now to evidence from the
New Testament.
It
is granted, that the Jews and the apostles of our Lord were expecting a
personal reign of Messiah on earth.
But then it may be replied, ‘Yes, but the Jews’
expectations are not to be depended upon.’ We answer, it is true,
that in some points Israelite anticipations about the kingdom were mistaken;
but it is also true, that the New Testament exhibits for us those points in
which they were mistaken, and appends the correction of them.
1. They
were wrong in regard of the time if its
coming; for they expected it as soon as Jesus had entered
2.
3. They
thought that entry was to be obtained on the ground of Moses’ law. Jesus
teaches, that the men of the law cannot enter: quite a different character is required, quite a different rule is given: Matt. Chapters 5-7. "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world was
not to Abraham or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith:" Rom. 4: 13.
4. They
were looking for a time of peace at once. Jesus dashes their expectation
to the ground. "Think not that I am come to
send peace on earth, I came not to send peace but a sword:" Matt. 10: 34.
5. They
probably expected, that it was to be by the swords of
6. They
expected Messiah to reign, simply as a man in a mortal body of flesh and
blood. Jesus teaches Peter, that He must first die before He show himself
the Rock of His church and the Son of Man in resurrection: Matt. 16: 16-23.
7. They
overlooked the testimonies of
8. They
beheld only the earthly department of the kingdom, and supposed that the risen
would marry and be given in marriage, as now. Jesus therefore corrects
their error, and sets the heavenly department of the kingdom on its everlasting
basis: Luke 20: 27-38.
But
while these errors about the kingdom are corrected by our Lord, I do not find
that their ideas as to the nature of the kingdom as a
visible and personal one, were rebuked. On several
occasions the expectations of the apostles, as to the kind of kingdom which is
to come, were strongly confirmed.
1. After
Jesus had been rejected by
2. But
there was another scene strongly confirmatory of their expectations.
Jesus, after many miracles, came up to the feast at
The
multitudes shout His titles of ‘King of Israel,’
and ‘Son of David.’ Their joy overflows; they strew His path with
garments and branches of trees. But
What
said Zechariah about the kingdom? He
foretold the entry into Jerusalem of Messiah, meek and lowly. But he
foretold too, - what was not then accomplished, - the cutting off of
instruments and weapons of war, and peace among the nations, Messiah’s dominion
being from sea to sea, and from
In
these two scenes we behold the two compartments of the kingdom; the heavenly
portion, a secret glory on the mountain top apart by night, light streaming
from the bodies and dress of the glorified; and they but few.
But
the earthly sphere of the kingdom is of quite another kind. It takes
place by day in the midst of joyous multitudes of
3. When
the rich man turned away sorrowfully from the Saviour’s call, Peter enquired,
"What should they the apostles enjoy, seeing they
had obeyed the Saviour’s demand, and had forsaken all?" And
Jesus said to them, "Verily I say unto you, that
ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall
sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones judging
the twelve tribes of
4. Two
of the apostles make use of their mother to bespeak for each of them an
especial throne - one at the right hand of Messiah, the other on His left: Matt. 20: 20. Jesus assures them that they
were not aware of what they were asking for. If they would have
especial glory in the future kingdom, they must endure especial suffering now.
If we would reign with Christ HEREAFTER, we must suffer with Him now: 2 Tim. 2: 12. That was a principle for which they were
quite unprepared. Jesus owns them the reality of the point petitioned for:
but the principles of its assignment were unlike their expectations. And when the indignation of the ten apostles
broke out against the two, Jesus does not say that their hopes were unreal, but
bids them if they wished glory in His future kingdom to seek it in service
and suffering.
5. Shall
we turn to the angel’s promise to Mary concerning Jesus? "He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give
unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end:" Luke 1: 32, 33. Where was David’s
throne? In heaven? DAVID HAS NEVER
ENTERED HEAVEN: HOW CAN HIS THRONE BE THERE? "For David is not
ascended into the heavens:" Acts
2: 34. Where did David reign? "And
the days that David reigned over
David reigned in person: so must Christ. While Jesus is away His
foes reign; they are not yet set as the footstool for His feet. And
Shall we appeal to some of our Lord’s prophecies?
6. Take
then Luke 13: 23-29.
One
enquired of our Lord, if the saved* would be few?
[* It
should be apparent from the context, that the word "saved" should be interpreted and understood as
referring to a future salvation when the Lord returns.]
Jesus
does not reply directly, but bids him strive
to enter into the kingdom. For many would be excluded, as soon as
the king had risen up, and closed the door. Those on the outside would
then appeal to the king to admit them; but he would refuse. They would
plead, that they had been personally acquainted with him, and had been actually
seated with him once at table. But he would reject them as workers of iniquity. There shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust
out. "And they shall come from the east, and
from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down
in the
7. Does
not the parable of the Pounds clearly prove the personality of the
kingdom? The men of
Here
is the King present, is there not?
8. What
shall we say to the parable of the Sheep and Goats?
It
opens with the testimony of the coming of the Son of Man in His
glory, together with His angels, and His session on the throne which streams
with splendour. Then He judges the nations living upon the earth, and
distinguishes them as blessed or cursed, according as they have acted towards
His "least brethren," the men of
9. The
same result appears from the consideration of the celebrated passage, Rev. 20: 4-6.
This
is closely connected with chapter 19, which
describes the Saviour’s advent in person from the sky, along with the armies of
the heaven. It is not the Gospel; for Jesus comes not in grace, but in
judgment. "He judges and makes war in
righteousness:" verse 11. His dress is dipped in blood; He smites the
nations with a sharp sword, and breaks them as potter’s vessels. Before
Him the hosts of His enemies are slain, and their leaders cast into eternal
punishment. Then Satan, as the chief
instigator of the plots against God and man, is seized and confined. This
cannot be done at present, or by men. As long as the church lasts ‘tis the evil day of battle, against
Satan and his forces at large. But in the opening of the
millennial day he is imprisoned.
The
apostle then describes the glory of the first resurrection. It is
assigned to persons of three classes.
1.
"And I saw thrones, and (men) sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them.
2.
"And (I saw) the souls of them that had been beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God.
3.
"And whoever worshipped not the Wild Beast, nor
his image, nor received his mark upon their forehead or on their hand; both
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
"But the rest of the dead lived not (again)* till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with
him a thousand years."
[* The
author has inserted the word 'again' inside brackets. This is misleading.
It implies that all regenerate believers would be resurrected at
the time of 'the first resurrection'
to be judged; and afterwards, those who were not 'accounted
worthy' to reign with Christ, would return to the
death state and into Hades: an impossibility according to Christ:
"neither can they
(i.e., those who have been previously resurrected) die any more," (Luke 20: 26). Hence, 'the dead lived not (again),'
inferrs that they would be resurrected, a second
time, at a later date, and at the end of the thousand year reign of
Christ.]
The
saints who come with Christ seem to be the first of these three
companies. And they come out of the heaven personally with Christ, and
reign in person with Him. As surely as many have suffered death in
persecution, so shall they be restored to life in their bodies, in requital of
their faith and courage. "He that lost his
life for my sake shall find it." It is a SELECT RESURRECTION - they came
forth from the tomb leaving most still incarcerated there.
10. Saints
may not reign as long as the church lasts. They are forbidden so to
do. It would be self-exaltation out of due time, to be visited with
abasement when the
It is in resurrection that Christ is to reign and we
with Him. It is after the Saviour’s
judgment has been passed upon us as faithful or otherwise; and not
before. There is no manifested kingdom till after the
saints are risen. There is no manifestation of resurrection, till after Christ in person
has descended from the heavens to call his people up to Himself, whether they be among the sleepers or the wakeful.
Thus
our state in the kingdom demands the Saviour in person. For none but He
will raise us from the dead. And His judgment of each preparatory to His
assigning the place of each during the kingdom, demands our Lord in person.
For
this wait, believer! ‘Tis as yet the day of
conflict, of clouds, night, wounds. But the day of victory is at
hand. Figure to yourself a corporal of the army of the
The
campaign in which he won the prize was long, and dreary. Weary night-watches, wintry
cold and snow, hunger, loss of friends, night-alarms in the trenches, sickness,
wounds. But all are forgot in the blaze of
that day of his reward.
What
then, shall be the glory of him who is "COUNTED
WORTHY" to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the
prophets in the
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