The Kingdom of God
1 & 2 Samuel
Message #8
In our last message, we looked at “God’s Presence On Earth.” We started by focusing on God’s presence at Mt. Sinai and the Tabernacle and the Temple, and we connected that to God’s presence in the New Testament Church and you and I today. I loved that message, and if you didn’t hear it, please do.
Today, we pick up from Israel, leaving Mt. Sinai with the presence of God on their way to the Promised Land, and we’re going to review all the way to when the Kingdom of Israel was established in the Promised Land. And then, as we’ve done in every message, we’ll connect that to the New Testament to Jesus Christ and to the eternal Kingdom of God.
Our review of God’s plan today covers a five-hundred-year period and five books of the Bible from Mt. Sinai to King David ruling in Jerusalem. That’s a lot of years and a lot of books to see how the Kingdom of God “was displayed” in the Nation of Israel. So, hold on, and get your Bibles out and make notes as we see the plan for God’s Kingdom From Genesis to Revelation.
After the Exodus and all the miracles and the Law and God’s presence on Mt. Sinai and in the Tabernacle, you’d think Israel would’ve been more than ready to march straight into the Promised Land with God. And they did march straight to the edge of the Promised Land. And in Numbers Chapter 13, God had Moses send twelve spies into the Land, not to see IF they could conquer the Land, but to see how they were going to conquer the Land. And at Numbers 13, verse 25, the spies brought back their report.
Ten of the twelve spies refused to trust God and instead were afraid of the “giants” in the Land. And those ten faithless spies turned the entire Nation of Israel away from trusting God. Only two spies trusted what God had promised, and only those two faith-full spies would get to see the Promised Land. Because in Numbers 14, God said that generation of Israel would wander in the Wilderness for forty years until they all died. Because of their refusal to believe God and trust God, and the rest of the Book of Numbers records Israel’s wandering in the Wilderness for forty years until the faith-less died.
And so, Deuteronomy (the next book) opens with a new generation on the edge of the Promised Land – it’s a take two. And the word Deuteronomy means “second Law,” and in Deuteronomy, God prepares a new generation of Israel to enter and conquer the Promised Land, led by Joshua. And Joshua, in the Book of Joshua, did just that. He led the people of God into the Promised Land, and by God’s hand, Israel conquered the Promised Land.
The Book of Joshua is a great study we did eleven years ago. It’s on wordbymail.com. It’s incredible to see how God delivered the Promised Land into Israel’s hands and to see how often he did it. And again, you’d think after seeing the miracles and the power of God consistently giving victory to Israel in the Promised Land, you’d think Israel would just walk in awe and reverence and great thankfulness to God all their days.
But remember, Israel is just like us! And as soon as Joshua died, Israel began turning from God, worshipping idols and doing things their own way. And in the very next book, Judges, we see an incredible and shocking decline of Israel’s relationship with God. It was not straight downhill – it was a roller-coaster downhill. Just like falling away from the Lord in our own lives is usually a roller-coaster downhill.
Here’s the downhill pattern all through Judges.
1). The people turn from the Lord and embrace the world
2). The people suffer the consequences of turning from the Lord
3). The people recognize their sin and cry out to God
4). God sends a deliverer to save them
God’s deliverers during this time were called Judges. There were thirteen Judges God used to deliver Israel (over and over). There were famous ones, Gideon and Samson, and the famous female Judge Deborah. At any time during this roller-coaster rejection of God, Israel could have chosen to wholly follow the Lord. But… they did not, and they continued their downhill slide.
The Book of Ruth is set in the period of the Judges. We also have a study on Ruth, and it is all about God’s willingness and his desire to redeem Israel (and us) from their (and our) sin. And sown into Ruth (occurred during this time) is the incredible picture of the ultimate redeemer Jesus Christ. But the people refused to be redeemed to God. Instead, they constantly rejected God and chose sin and self-will instead. Judges is a very, very sad book. The verse repeated over and over again in Judges is:
Judges 17:6 (ESV) (great verses to mark)
6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Doesn’t that sound like our country today? Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This was a terrible period of decline for the Nation of Israel. God was their King in Heaven, but Israel refused to acknowledge him, and they did whatever they wanted, and they were sliding further and further into self-destruction.
And so, God brought Samuel onto the scene. Samuel was the last of the Judges, and he was the first of the Prophets. The Prophets were established to faithfully deliver God’s Word to God’s People in hopes they may begin listening to God again. And Samuel brought Israel out of the time of the Judges into the time of the Prophets and ultimately into the time of the Kings.
Now, the people of God were already the people of a King. God was their King, and they were his Kingdom. A people ruled by God is called a theocracy, and that’s what God set up with the Law and the Prophets. The covenant with Moses and the Law at Mt. Sinai was an expression of God’s Kingship over his people. We see that clearly in Exodus 19, verses 5-6.
Exodus 19:5–6 (ESV)
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. . .
The Tabernacle (and later the Temple) were dwelling places for the true King of Israel. Twice, the Bible calls the Ark the footstool of God’s throne. But after God delivered the Promised Land to Israel, they repeatedly turned their back on God as their King. And finally, the people came to Samuel and said, Give us a King like the other nations around us. This happens in 1 Samuel Chapter 8. Even though God was the true King of Israel, he knew Israel was going to ask for an earthly King. In the margin at 1 Samuel 8, write Deuteronomy 17:14, that is where God tells Israel they’re going to do this.
1 Samuel 8:4–9 (NLT)
4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.
5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”
6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance.
7 “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.
8 Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.
9 Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”
God had always been Israel’s true King. And even now, in the people’s rejection of God’s Kingship, God is still bringing his perfect plan to pass. The people wanted an earthly King, and God told Samuel to warn them about how an earthly King would treat them. But they demanded an earthly King, and God gave them one, and they got just what Samuel warned they would get. They got Saul, who was man’s best choice, and who quickly became a terrible King. Saul blew it in every way, and the people quickly learned what a bad King was like.
Israel’s second King was God’s choice, a man after God’s own heart – King David. After God rejected Saul, he had Samuel find the son of Jesse, a young shepherd boy named David, and anoint him.
The concept of anointing the King of Israel was very important. The King would always be called “The Lord’s Anointed,” That’s important, because God was preparing his people for the true King – the King of kings. The word Messiah in Hebrew is translated in Greek Christ, and it means most literally “Anointed One,” referring back to the anointing of the King of God’s people.
Turn to 1 Samuel Chapter 16, where we meet King David. This is a great chapter, and you should read the whole thing. But for today, look down and the second half of verse 12 and verse 13.
1 Samuel 16:12B–13 (ESV)
12 (half way down) . . . And the Lord said (to Samuel), “Arise, anoint him (David), for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward . . .
Here David becomes “The Lord’s Anointed.” King David was “a man after God’s own heart,” and he became the standard by which all other earthly Kings were measured. And God made a covenant with David, a covenant that built upon God’s covenants with Abraham and with Moses. It’s in 2 Samuel 7. Look at God’s consistent plan here.
God told Abraham he would make his name great. And in 2 Samuel 7, God tells David,
2 Samuel 7:9B (ESV)
9… And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
God gave the Promised Land to Abraham’s descendants
2 Samuel 7:10 (ESV)
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place…
God promised Abraham from his descendants would come Nations and Kings
2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV)
12… I will raise up your offspring after you…
13… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
And finally,
2 Samuel 7:16 (NLT)
16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.”
God established the “Kingly Reign” of David to continue forever. Now, David’s reign as God’s earthly King ended in radical failure, adultery and murder. And even though David did receive God’s forgiveness, it was clear God’s people were still looking for their true King.
In fact, God made sure his people would continue looking for a true King in the line of David – a perfect King. Write these verses down in the margin of 2 Samuel 7. Isaiah 11 says this true King would come from the line of David. That the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him and that he would rule the nations with perfect justice.
Jeremiah 23:5–6 (NLT)
5 “For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ . . .
Yahweh Tsidkenu THAT is a Name for God!
Ezekiel 37:24–28 (NLT)
24 “My servant David (metaphorically) will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd . . .
25 They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They . . . will live there forever . . . And my servant David (metaphorically) will be their prince forever.
26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant . . . and I will put my Temple among them forever.
27 I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
The reign of King David was a type – a looking forward – to the reign of God’s ultimate true King. One who would come in the line David and reign over God’s people forever. Israel’s hope for this King, their “longing for” their true King in the line of David is where Israel’s concept of “The Messiah” comes from. Again, Messiah means “The Lord’s Anointed.” The Messiah would be Israel’s true King at last! And again, the Hebrew word “Messiah” is translated in Greek as “Christ.” It means The Anointed One. It is God’s title for Jesus to proclaim that HE IS the true King over God’s people.
And when Jesus began his ministry – he often said what is recorded in Mark 1, verse 15.
Mark 1:15 (ESV)
15 . . . “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Over and over, when Jesus began his ministry, he said the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus was proclaiming to Israel
The TRUE KINGDOM you’ve been waiting for IS HERE
The TRUE KING you’ve been waiting for IS HERE
And the way you become part of God’s true Kingdom is to repent and believe in the Gospel (the Good News).
So, let’s connect God’s covenant with King David (2 Samuel 7) to the birth of Jesus Christ, turn over to Luke Chapter 1. While you’re in Luke Chapter 1, let me re-read two verses from God’s covenant with King David in 2 Samuel 7 (write these verses in your margin there in Luke).
Speaking of David’s offspring…
2 Samuel 7:13 (ESV)
13 . . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
And then speaking TO King David…
2 Samuel 7:16 (ESV)
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
Now, when Gabriel was announcing the birth of Jesus to Mary, he said in Luke Chapter 1, verses 31-33,
Luke 1:31–33 (ESV)
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
In 2 Samuel 7, God told David he would establish the throne of his offspring forever. In Luke 1, verse 32, speaking of Jesus, Gabriel says, God will give to him the throne of his father David. NOT Father, as in God, but father as in heir to the line of the throne of God.
God has always been King of his people. When they rejected God’s heavenly reign over them and asked for an earthly King, God said, Ok. I will give you a picture (an illustration) of your true coming King. And God installed King David as a picture to his people of the ultimate, true, coming King – the Messiah! And from the birth of Jesus Christ, God made it clear… this IS your true King, the One who will justly rule over you – forever.
But you are not “physically born” into this Kingdom. To be part of this Kingdom you must be born again. That is the Gospel message, and that is the message Jesus continually proclaimed while he was on earth. God’s Kingdom is an eternal Kingdom with an eternal King, and one day this earth and all that is in it will be returned to its rightful King.
When Adam and Eve rejected God’s Kingship, they gave man’s “dominion” of this world over to Satan, which is why John 12:31 calls Satan the ruler of this world. God’s Plan: From Genesis to Revelation is to return creation and us to his rightful rule as the true King.
Turn to Revelation.
Revelation 11:15 (ESV)
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
In Revelation Chapter 12, Satan’s false rulership of this world finally comes to an end.
Revelation 12:10 (ESV)
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down . . .
We see a picture of the Kingdom of God at its high point with King David in Samuel and Chronicles. But it’s only a picture – an illustration. Today, you and I must choose to be in one of two Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of this World.
The Kingdom of this World will be thrown down
The Kingdom of God will reign forever
And we choose today which Kingdom we belong to.
Mark 1:15 (ESV)
15 . . . “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
To move from the Kingdom of the World to the Kingdom of God, you must repent and believe in the Gospel.
Today, we pick up from Israel, leaving Mt. Sinai with the presence of God on their way to the Promised Land, and we’re going to review all the way to when the Kingdom of Israel was established in the Promised Land. And then, as we’ve done in every message, we’ll connect that to the New Testament to Jesus Christ and to the eternal Kingdom of God.
Our review of God’s plan today covers a five-hundred-year period and five books of the Bible from Mt. Sinai to King David ruling in Jerusalem. That’s a lot of years and a lot of books to see how the Kingdom of God “was displayed” in the Nation of Israel. So, hold on, and get your Bibles out and make notes as we see the plan for God’s Kingdom From Genesis to Revelation.
After the Exodus and all the miracles and the Law and God’s presence on Mt. Sinai and in the Tabernacle, you’d think Israel would’ve been more than ready to march straight into the Promised Land with God. And they did march straight to the edge of the Promised Land. And in Numbers Chapter 13, God had Moses send twelve spies into the Land, not to see IF they could conquer the Land, but to see how they were going to conquer the Land. And at Numbers 13, verse 25, the spies brought back their report.
Ten of the twelve spies refused to trust God and instead were afraid of the “giants” in the Land. And those ten faithless spies turned the entire Nation of Israel away from trusting God. Only two spies trusted what God had promised, and only those two faith-full spies would get to see the Promised Land. Because in Numbers 14, God said that generation of Israel would wander in the Wilderness for forty years until they all died. Because of their refusal to believe God and trust God, and the rest of the Book of Numbers records Israel’s wandering in the Wilderness for forty years until the faith-less died.
And so, Deuteronomy (the next book) opens with a new generation on the edge of the Promised Land – it’s a take two. And the word Deuteronomy means “second Law,” and in Deuteronomy, God prepares a new generation of Israel to enter and conquer the Promised Land, led by Joshua. And Joshua, in the Book of Joshua, did just that. He led the people of God into the Promised Land, and by God’s hand, Israel conquered the Promised Land.
The Book of Joshua is a great study we did eleven years ago. It’s on wordbymail.com. It’s incredible to see how God delivered the Promised Land into Israel’s hands and to see how often he did it. And again, you’d think after seeing the miracles and the power of God consistently giving victory to Israel in the Promised Land, you’d think Israel would just walk in awe and reverence and great thankfulness to God all their days.
But remember, Israel is just like us! And as soon as Joshua died, Israel began turning from God, worshipping idols and doing things their own way. And in the very next book, Judges, we see an incredible and shocking decline of Israel’s relationship with God. It was not straight downhill – it was a roller-coaster downhill. Just like falling away from the Lord in our own lives is usually a roller-coaster downhill.
Here’s the downhill pattern all through Judges.
1). The people turn from the Lord and embrace the world
2). The people suffer the consequences of turning from the Lord
3). The people recognize their sin and cry out to God
4). God sends a deliverer to save them
God’s deliverers during this time were called Judges. There were thirteen Judges God used to deliver Israel (over and over). There were famous ones, Gideon and Samson, and the famous female Judge Deborah. At any time during this roller-coaster rejection of God, Israel could have chosen to wholly follow the Lord. But… they did not, and they continued their downhill slide.
The Book of Ruth is set in the period of the Judges. We also have a study on Ruth, and it is all about God’s willingness and his desire to redeem Israel (and us) from their (and our) sin. And sown into Ruth (occurred during this time) is the incredible picture of the ultimate redeemer Jesus Christ. But the people refused to be redeemed to God. Instead, they constantly rejected God and chose sin and self-will instead. Judges is a very, very sad book. The verse repeated over and over again in Judges is:
Judges 17:6 (ESV) (great verses to mark)
6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Doesn’t that sound like our country today? Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This was a terrible period of decline for the Nation of Israel. God was their King in Heaven, but Israel refused to acknowledge him, and they did whatever they wanted, and they were sliding further and further into self-destruction.
And so, God brought Samuel onto the scene. Samuel was the last of the Judges, and he was the first of the Prophets. The Prophets were established to faithfully deliver God’s Word to God’s People in hopes they may begin listening to God again. And Samuel brought Israel out of the time of the Judges into the time of the Prophets and ultimately into the time of the Kings.
Now, the people of God were already the people of a King. God was their King, and they were his Kingdom. A people ruled by God is called a theocracy, and that’s what God set up with the Law and the Prophets. The covenant with Moses and the Law at Mt. Sinai was an expression of God’s Kingship over his people. We see that clearly in Exodus 19, verses 5-6.
Exodus 19:5–6 (ESV)
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. . .
The Tabernacle (and later the Temple) were dwelling places for the true King of Israel. Twice, the Bible calls the Ark the footstool of God’s throne. But after God delivered the Promised Land to Israel, they repeatedly turned their back on God as their King. And finally, the people came to Samuel and said, Give us a King like the other nations around us. This happens in 1 Samuel Chapter 8. Even though God was the true King of Israel, he knew Israel was going to ask for an earthly King. In the margin at 1 Samuel 8, write Deuteronomy 17:14, that is where God tells Israel they’re going to do this.
1 Samuel 8:4–9 (NLT)
4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.
5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”
6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance.
7 “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.
8 Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.
9 Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”
God had always been Israel’s true King. And even now, in the people’s rejection of God’s Kingship, God is still bringing his perfect plan to pass. The people wanted an earthly King, and God told Samuel to warn them about how an earthly King would treat them. But they demanded an earthly King, and God gave them one, and they got just what Samuel warned they would get. They got Saul, who was man’s best choice, and who quickly became a terrible King. Saul blew it in every way, and the people quickly learned what a bad King was like.
Israel’s second King was God’s choice, a man after God’s own heart – King David. After God rejected Saul, he had Samuel find the son of Jesse, a young shepherd boy named David, and anoint him.
The concept of anointing the King of Israel was very important. The King would always be called “The Lord’s Anointed,” That’s important, because God was preparing his people for the true King – the King of kings. The word Messiah in Hebrew is translated in Greek Christ, and it means most literally “Anointed One,” referring back to the anointing of the King of God’s people.
Turn to 1 Samuel Chapter 16, where we meet King David. This is a great chapter, and you should read the whole thing. But for today, look down and the second half of verse 12 and verse 13.
1 Samuel 16:12B–13 (ESV)
12 (half way down) . . . And the Lord said (to Samuel), “Arise, anoint him (David), for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward . . .
Here David becomes “The Lord’s Anointed.” King David was “a man after God’s own heart,” and he became the standard by which all other earthly Kings were measured. And God made a covenant with David, a covenant that built upon God’s covenants with Abraham and with Moses. It’s in 2 Samuel 7. Look at God’s consistent plan here.
God told Abraham he would make his name great. And in 2 Samuel 7, God tells David,
2 Samuel 7:9B (ESV)
9… And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
God gave the Promised Land to Abraham’s descendants
2 Samuel 7:10 (ESV)
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place…
God promised Abraham from his descendants would come Nations and Kings
2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV)
12… I will raise up your offspring after you…
13… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
And finally,
2 Samuel 7:16 (NLT)
16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.”
God established the “Kingly Reign” of David to continue forever. Now, David’s reign as God’s earthly King ended in radical failure, adultery and murder. And even though David did receive God’s forgiveness, it was clear God’s people were still looking for their true King.
In fact, God made sure his people would continue looking for a true King in the line of David – a perfect King. Write these verses down in the margin of 2 Samuel 7. Isaiah 11 says this true King would come from the line of David. That the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him and that he would rule the nations with perfect justice.
Jeremiah 23:5–6 (NLT)
5 “For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ . . .
Yahweh Tsidkenu THAT is a Name for God!
Ezekiel 37:24–28 (NLT)
24 “My servant David (metaphorically) will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd . . .
25 They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They . . . will live there forever . . . And my servant David (metaphorically) will be their prince forever.
26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant . . . and I will put my Temple among them forever.
27 I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
The reign of King David was a type – a looking forward – to the reign of God’s ultimate true King. One who would come in the line David and reign over God’s people forever. Israel’s hope for this King, their “longing for” their true King in the line of David is where Israel’s concept of “The Messiah” comes from. Again, Messiah means “The Lord’s Anointed.” The Messiah would be Israel’s true King at last! And again, the Hebrew word “Messiah” is translated in Greek as “Christ.” It means The Anointed One. It is God’s title for Jesus to proclaim that HE IS the true King over God’s people.
And when Jesus began his ministry – he often said what is recorded in Mark 1, verse 15.
Mark 1:15 (ESV)
15 . . . “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Over and over, when Jesus began his ministry, he said the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus was proclaiming to Israel
The TRUE KINGDOM you’ve been waiting for IS HERE
The TRUE KING you’ve been waiting for IS HERE
And the way you become part of God’s true Kingdom is to repent and believe in the Gospel (the Good News).
So, let’s connect God’s covenant with King David (2 Samuel 7) to the birth of Jesus Christ, turn over to Luke Chapter 1. While you’re in Luke Chapter 1, let me re-read two verses from God’s covenant with King David in 2 Samuel 7 (write these verses in your margin there in Luke).
Speaking of David’s offspring…
2 Samuel 7:13 (ESV)
13 . . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
And then speaking TO King David…
2 Samuel 7:16 (ESV)
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
Now, when Gabriel was announcing the birth of Jesus to Mary, he said in Luke Chapter 1, verses 31-33,
Luke 1:31–33 (ESV)
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
In 2 Samuel 7, God told David he would establish the throne of his offspring forever. In Luke 1, verse 32, speaking of Jesus, Gabriel says, God will give to him the throne of his father David. NOT Father, as in God, but father as in heir to the line of the throne of God.
God has always been King of his people. When they rejected God’s heavenly reign over them and asked for an earthly King, God said, Ok. I will give you a picture (an illustration) of your true coming King. And God installed King David as a picture to his people of the ultimate, true, coming King – the Messiah! And from the birth of Jesus Christ, God made it clear… this IS your true King, the One who will justly rule over you – forever.
But you are not “physically born” into this Kingdom. To be part of this Kingdom you must be born again. That is the Gospel message, and that is the message Jesus continually proclaimed while he was on earth. God’s Kingdom is an eternal Kingdom with an eternal King, and one day this earth and all that is in it will be returned to its rightful King.
When Adam and Eve rejected God’s Kingship, they gave man’s “dominion” of this world over to Satan, which is why John 12:31 calls Satan the ruler of this world. God’s Plan: From Genesis to Revelation is to return creation and us to his rightful rule as the true King.
Turn to Revelation.
Revelation 11:15 (ESV)
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
In Revelation Chapter 12, Satan’s false rulership of this world finally comes to an end.
Revelation 12:10 (ESV)
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down . . .
We see a picture of the Kingdom of God at its high point with King David in Samuel and Chronicles. But it’s only a picture – an illustration. Today, you and I must choose to be in one of two Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of this World.
The Kingdom of this World will be thrown down
The Kingdom of God will reign forever
And we choose today which Kingdom we belong to.
Mark 1:15 (ESV)
15 . . . “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
To move from the Kingdom of the World to the Kingdom of God, you must repent and believe in the Gospel.