Last Updated on January 8, 2026 1:01 PM by herald
The Physical Kingdom
So, what about the physical kingdom and Jesus’ actual rule on earth from the throne of David? Good question!
That is yet to come. The Jews as a nation, could NOT accept Jesus when he came as a suffering Messiah, although their scripture, the Torah, foretold it. That is because they were looking for a visible or governing King who would defeat their rulers, the Romans – the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream – and restore the physical kingdom of Israel. In other words, for them the Kingdom of God was synonymous with the kingdom of Israel.
Of course, it is true that their Scripture (the Torah) also foretold the coming of Jesus as a political or governing ruler to sit on David’s throne as we read in Isaiah chapter 9. That is why Replacement Theology makes no sense.
However, the Jews did not understand God’s sequence of implementation of the Kingdom. The spiritual dimension of God’s kingdom was going to be set up first and that would eventually be followed by the physical kingdom.
In other words, God’s kingdom was going to rule from the inside out: from the hearts of men through to the systems of government of men. That is why they could not understand the parables of the kingdom that Jesus told them. Jesus made this crystal clear when answered a Pharisee who asked about the kingdom:
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17: 20-21 NKJ
Even those close to him – including the disciples- could not quite grasp the reality of the Kingdom of God. On one occasion, the mother of James and John, came to Jesus with a request for her two sons regarding the Kingdom of God. We pick up the story in Matthew chapter 20, reading from the New Living Translation:
Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons.
She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 21“What is your request?” he asked.
She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
22But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?”
“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
23Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”
Later Jesus called the disciples together and tried to help them understand the principles of the Kingdom of God and therefore, why he had answered James and John and their mother as he did. That explanation is so loaded that we need to dissect it separately; perhaps, God willing, in a separate series on the parables of the kingdom.
Even after Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples were still fixated on equating the Kingdom of Heaven with the current physical kingdom of Israel:
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with a water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1: 3-6 NIV
Jesus’ reply was very terse:
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
Clearly Jesus is affirming that a physical Kingdom of God is going to be set up in Israel. In other words, Jesus will reign on this earth on the throne of David as the scripture in Isaiah chapter 9 makes very clear. Eventually, all kingdoms and governments on earth will be subject to the rule of Christ as Daniel prophesied. But as Jesus indicated, that time is totally under the control of the Father.
God gave the earth to man and that plan has not changed. God will renew the earth – as the book of Revelation declares – and put it under the dominion or authority of Adam, the Last Adam, Jesus his son. That is a fait accompli.
Daniel 2:44 makes it clear that ‘the Kingdom of God will “crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end”. The book of Revelation confirms this by telling us of the ultimate takeover of the governments of world by the Kingdom of God:
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Rev 11:15 NKJ
The exciting thing is that many believers will rule and reign with Jesus:
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Rev 20:6
While this is very good news for every believer – for every citizen of the Kingdom of God- it is bad news for the globalists and proponents of the New World Order because God has promised to destroy those who destroy the earth. Here is what Scripture says:
The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” Rev 11:18 NIV
The implication of all that we have said so far, is that the church needs to upgrade its thinking and its language to kingdom thinking and kingdom language.
Christ’s Government Not Symbolic
Some will argue that Christ’s government is only spiritual; in other words, it cannot be that Jesus is going to literally reign on the earth from Jerusalem as Scripture states.
Others may want to take this prophecy about Christ’s rule as something symbolic especially because of the dark and dirty connotations we have of government.
The Scripture’s response to that idea is that God is the one who created government -or “dominion” if you will – to be exercised here on earth. And where is that in the scripture? Turn to Genesis 1:28
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen 1:28 NKJ
For some that might not be enough evidence. So here is another passage which confirms the idea that governmental authority is something designed by God:
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Romans 13:1 KJV
This passage is saying quite bluntly that the idea of governmental authority is God’s creation, not man’s idea. The Greek word used here for “powers” or “power” is “exousia”. It means “delegated authority or delegated influence”.
In management theory, authority or “exousia” is the right to make decisions and use resources to achieve objectives. In Scripture, exousia is often translated as “power” as it is here in the King James version. But power and authority are not the same technically.
“Power” means ability, energy etcetera. The Greek word for that is “dunamis” from which we get “dynamism” which means “energy”, “strength”, “vitality” (See 2 Timothy 1:7). It is different from “exousia” but in some ways connected.
In principle, you can have the right to do something – exousia- but not the ability – the dunamis. For example, you may have been given the authority or right to use the company car but if you cannot drive you don’t have the ability to do so; someone else will have to drive you.
Therefore, in recognizing this important difference, the New Living Translation – as does the New King James version – uses the term “authority” instead of “power” in the same verse, that is, Rom 13:1.
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. Rom 13:1 NLT
As you might have guessed, the word used here for authority is “exousia” and not “dunamis”. So what is the conclusion?
Authority, governmental authority- any authority cannot be evil by nature because God created it. That is something that the church now needs to understand and acknowledge.
Some sections of the church are being hypocritical because, on the one hand they talk about “church authority”, but yet regard authority in government as evil. Authority is authority; it cannot be evil or good. Whether or not it is used as God intended or corrupted is another issue.
Some branches of Christendom even forbid their members to participate in national elections yet see no problem in their holding jobs in the government or the civil service.
But this is not altogether surprising since it is the church, that at one time, promoted the idea that sex was dirty or evil ignoring the fact that sex was created by God himself. God has given us many beautiful things, but somehow we always manage to corrupt them!
As we close this section, let’s emphasize once more that the Kingdom of God has already come in the spiritual sense because it is already ruling in the hearts and minds of true believers. But, as we shall see next, there is an urgent priority for us to attend.
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