The Revelation of The Kingdom

It is important for us to define terms and establish meanings so that we all have the same concepts for the purpose of clear communication. Since this book is about establishing the priority of the kingdom it is pertinent for us to understand what entails a Kingdom and why Jesus placed emphasis on it. The idea of the Kingdom originated from God and it suffices to claim that this concept is a divine idea. God established the Kingdom in order to reveal his intent, purpose and will for mankind in the earth.

Many people in the postmodern world have lost the true meaning of a kingdom because they are only familiar with contemporary governments such as democracy, socialism, republicanism and communism. [1] But the concept of the kingdom is over 5000 years old, it originally began in the Garden of Eden with the man Adam. The first government to be introduced in the earth by God was the kingdom.

When Jesus came, he did not come to establish a religion, on the contrary he came to establish the kingdom of heaven in the earth. Religion is also one of the major reasons why the concept of the kingdom is misunderstood today. Dr Myles Munroe argues,

“Added to this confusion, and even ignorance, concerning kingdom, religion has further diverted our understanding by converting the message of the Kingdom of God into a moral belief. The result is that religion has become an end in itself, distinguishing itself from the kingdom concept with pride. In fact, many religions take pride in the separation of religion and state and see the two as opposing entities with no common relationship. The dilemma is that the Kingdom is a state government with all the characteristics of a state.”[2]

Jesus was preceded by his cousin brother John the Baptist who came as His forerunner to prepare for His ministry. John the Baptist like Jesus came preaching the message of the kingdom. Matthew 3:1-2 says,

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

And as soon as Jesus completed his 40 days and 40 nights of fasting, he began his ministry and Matthew 4:17 states,

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As we have stated earlier Jesus is the last Adam who came to redeem that which the first Adam lost. Adam when he fell in the Garden of Eden he did not lose a religion, he lost a kingdom. Therefore Jesus the last Adam did not come back to restore a religion, he came to restore a kingdom. The message of Jesus was not a religious and moral doctrine, his message was a political one. He came to establish a heavenly government in the earth. Jesus came to extend the influence of heaven onto the earth colony through the establishment of a kingdom citizenry of kings and priests. This kingdom is not a mere religious order governed by rituals, ceremonies and feasts on the contrary it is a royal government built upon statutes and ordinances from the heavenly crown.

THE DISPENSATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

There are seven dispensations from Adam to our present time. Theologically a dispensation is defined as ages or periods of time in which God had administrative transactions with man. According to the Webster’s dictionary a dispensation is an administrative system or management. In theology it is “the ordering of events under divine authority; the dealing of God to His creatures or any religious system; a system of principles and rites enjoined.”[3] The scriptural basis of the word dispensation is traced to the Greek word oikonomia which means managing a household, economy or stewardship.[4]

Each dispensation has its corresponding covenantal arrangement:

                         The Dispensation of Innocence––––The Edenic Covenant (From Adam to the Fall)

                         The Dispensation of Conscience–––The Adamic Covenant (From the Fall to Noah’s flood)

                         The Dispensation of Human Government–––The Noahic Covenant (From Noah’s flood to the Tower of Babel)

                         The Dispensation of Promise–––The Abrahamic Covenant (From Abraham to Moses)

                         The Dispensation of Law_­­­­ ––––The Mosaic Covenant (From Moses to Jesus’ death)

                         The Dispensation of Grace–––The New Covenant (From the Cross to the rapture of the church)

                  The Dispensation of the Kingdom–––The Everlasting Covenant (From the birth of             John the Baptist to eternity)

When Jesus stepped on the scene he came at the right time when everything required to preach the kingdom was in place. No human kingdom best exemplified the kingdom of God like the Roman Empire. Every other kingdom within the previous six dispensations since the fall tried to implement the kingdom of God in the earth but the Romans perfected the idea of the kingdom. It was the closest that human beings had come to God’s original idea of the kingdom. Every other kingdom prior to the Roman Empire enslaved its subjects but the Romans were the first to implement the concept of colonization. They did not intend to bring subjects to Rome but rather they wanted to take Rome to the subjects.

There was no better time for Jesus to come than when the Romans were in control of Jerusalem because it would make the preaching of the message of the kingdom of heaven easier because everyone in those times was familiar with the concept of kingdom.

The Roman Empire dominated a vast territory ranging from Western Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia. The first emperor was Caesar Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) who took the reins of power from his uncle Julius Caesar. Caesar Augustus reign ended a century of civil wars and initiated an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity.[5] This period of peace, expansion and stability is known as Pax Romana (translated as Roman Peace) and it lasted for two centuries.[6] It is during this period of peace that the Roman Empire colonized more territories fueled by its unity, social stability and economic stability. Tiberius (AD 14–37 was the heir to Augustus throne and Jesus’s ministry coincides with Caesar.[7] Everything that Jesus needed to teach about the Kingdom was in place. It was a Kairos (an opportune time) moment, a perfect time to announce the advent of the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus’s ministry commenced the dispensation of the Kingdom. It is also important to note that the death of Jesus also initiated the dispensation of Grace.

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[1] Ibid,63

[2] Ibid, 64.

[3] K. J. Conner & Ken Malmin, (n.d.). Interpreting the Scriptures. (Portland, Or: City Bible Pub, 1983)

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2-8.

[6] The Editors of Encylopedia Britannica, “Pax Romana”, Encyclopedia Britannica, Accessed August 24, 2020 https://www.britannica.com/event/Pax-Romana

[7] Ibid.