“the kingdom of Christ”
(Eph. 5:5, NKJV)
We concluded the previous teaching with the following summary of what we can expect of the sixth kingdom that is currently taking shape, namely the kingdom of Christ. Jesus explained that the revelation of the reign of God in the hearts and lives of believers will begin to manifest, and will spread through people across the entire earth and into the universe. He must however first reign over our lives. The kingdom of God is God in Christ who reigns over the complete creation of God, it is “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pet. 3:13), or: a new spiritual order and a new human species on earth, filled with glory, in which the fullness of God lives.
The following two verses of Daniel 2 sketches the sixth kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (verses 34-35).
In verses 44 and 45 Daniel’s interpretation of this sixth kingdom is offered: “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
Perhaps it is fitting to make a few comments about some of the phrases used in the four verses above:
- “cut out without human hands” – This was clearly a purely Godly action. Some translations, like the CEV, add: “a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands,” but this addition is not in the original text. The Aramaic word that is used here can also be presented as “decree (by) set apart ones” (Perry Stone: Opening the Gates of Heaven: Walk in the Favor of Answered Prayer, p. 175). This supernatural occurrence is undoubtedly a kingdom that comes about through God’s covenant with the remnant.
- “a stone” – the word used for stone here is ‘eben, which can also be translated as rock, as we for instance find in the NIV, NLT and NLV. Strong notes that the Greek equivalent, lithos (=stone, not rock), is translated as “metaphorically of Christ”. Symbolically and typologically this Rock points to Christ (Matt. 16:16 & 18; Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4). Interestingly enough Samuel refers to the Lord as “my rock and my fortress and my deliverer …” in 2 Sam. 22:2). An opening in a rock that is cut/formed from a larger rock has very special symbolism in the Old Testament (Ex. 33:22; Song of Songs 2:14; Isa. 2:10 & 21), and it fits in well with the New Testament’s image of the Christ who is formed from Jesus’s being, and which descends from on high (the spiritual realm) to the earth. This is exactly what the new Jerusalem, or the Bride, does, according to Rev. 21:2: “Then I … saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The Rock that descends to earth is the Christ, and it is thus “the kingdom of Christ” (Eph. 5:5) that will bring down all other kingdoms.
- “which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces” – It is important to notice that the sixth kingdom strikes the fifth kingdom, our current epoch. In a sense, this fifth kingdom is a culmination of all the previous kingdoms that have developed from the beginning of time, and it is currently the ruling kingdom on earth. It is this kingdom of Christ that violently takes possession of the current kingdom (Matt. 11:12). Clearly this does not occur through a cataclysmic clash – like all other transitions between kingdoms it is a gradual process in which one’s reign increases while the other decreases (Isa. 9:7).
- “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together” –The Complete WordStudy Dictionary rightly notes that this crushing is not a one-time affair, but occurs repeatedly. Note that the remnant of all these earlier kingdoms are reduced to nothing by the kingdom of Christ.
- “so that no trace of them was found” – Unlike the fifth kingdom, where there was clearly a mixing of Christian principles, traditions and orders with pagan world systems, Scripture makes it clear that nothing will remain of these earlier kingdoms within the kingdom of Christ. We will thus see very little of what we know today in this Theocratic (Theos = God) kingdom. Many of the laws and principles that we have come to know in the kingdom of God will still be in operation, but without the syncretism with which our current life world contaminates it. It will be a powerful life force that will flood over the earth in a tsunami of glory, full of grace and truth. A beautiful image to compare it to is found in Prov. 30:19, where Solomon notes the things that are too wondrous for him to ponder, including, “the way of a serpent on a rock”. Just as there is no trace left when a snake slithers over a rock, the kingdom of the Rock will no longer show any trace of “that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9)! The reason for this is that He is called “Wonderful” (Isa. 9:6; Judg. 13:18).
- “And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth”- the original stone (Jesus) becomes a Rock (the Christ), and the knowledge of this gospel of glory/Christ will eventually fill the entire earth (Hab. 2:14).
- “in the days of these kings” – It is important to note the use of “these” in this sentence, as it refers to the kings of the fifth kingdom. In our wider understanding of “kings” it is for instance not only monarchs, royal houses, heads of state, etc. that are considered under this heading, but also the proverbial kings of the market, the political leaders, the magnets and social opinion makers, and all those who have influence and power over others. Since this fifth kingdom also consists of Christian leaders, and since they have an enormous influence over decisions that are made worldwide, they are also marked as kings in this dispensation. It is then also important to know that all these kings, WITHOUT THEM BEING AWARE OF THIS, AND WITHOUT IT BEING THEIR INTENT, are setting themselves up against the Christ: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed.” (Ps. 2:2).
- “the God of heaven” – This phrase occurs in 22 instances in the Old and the New Testament. We must remember that the word heaven is never used in a singular manner in the entire Scripture, but always in plural: the heavens – this largely ensures that we do not consider heaven as a place above us. In a Scripture like Gen. 24:3 the “God of the heavens” is for instance used along with the phrase “the God of the earth,” and this points out both a sense of similarity, but also distinguishes between the two. We could also call it: The God of the physical reality and the God of the spiritual reality. The fact that “the God of the heavens” is specifically foregrounded here, makes it clear that the action of establishing the kingdom of Christ occurs from the spiritual realm (= the heavens), and not from earthly initiatives. On the earth, an eternal kingdom is eventually established. Dan. 7:27 beautifully notes: “Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” Note: the kingdom of God or the kingdom of the heavens now becomes their kingdom, or then – the kingdom of Christ (Eph. 5:5)!
- “the kingdom [of Christ] shall not be left to other people” – This sixth, and final, eternal kingdom is ruled by “the saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:27). In 1 Pet. 2:9-10 we are offered an exact explanation of who this is: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” To them who will eventually overcome, Rev. 2:26-27 promises: “to him I will give power over the nations— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron’ …”. God gives to His Son, but especially also to his Anointed, thus to the anointed Head and the anointed Body, the Christ, nations as an inheritance, and the ends of the earth as possession (Ps. 2:8). It is as Isa. 60:3 prophesies: “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Ps. 72:11 encapsulates it perfectly: “Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.”
- “[the kingdom of Christ] shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms – It is almost impossible to imagine a new world order that is set apart from the traditions and ways of all the kingdoms and specific rules that have preceded it. Everything we know in our current society emerges in some shape or form from its sedimented history in earlier kingdoms. This Scripture makes it clear that everything that came into being in and through these kingdoms and that form the foundation of our thought and life world, will be broken into pieces, and consumed.
From this exegesis it becomes clearer how exactly the knowledge of the gospel of Christ will increase and spread over the earth. To come to an even better understanding of it, we’ll take a closer look at the very exciting preview that Rev. 14:6 offers us: “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people …”
- Selah: Do you have a precise understanding of what this eternal gospel entails?
- Read: John 16-21; Acts. 1-3
- Memorise: John 17:10 (look at the immense implications of this verse!)
