We’ve considered Isaiah from several perspectives. We need to add one more — the Kingdom.
The Gospels record John the Baptist and Jesus preaching the coming of the Kingdom without bothering to define it. For example, we read early in Matthew —
(Mat 3:1-2 ESV) In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Mat 4:17 ESV) 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Mat 4:23 ESV) 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
— but we find no definition of “kingdom.” The preachers tell us Kingdom = church, but how on earth could the disciples of John the Baptist know that? Where does either Jesus or John explain that “kingdom” = church? “Church” doesn’t even appear in Mark, Luke, or John! It doesn’t show up in Matthew until chapter 18 — well into the book.
The fact is that the First Century Jews had been praying for the coming of the Kingdom for centuries before Jesus. One reason is that Isaiah says so much about it. Therefore, when Jesus and John preached the coming of the Kingdom, the Jews heard that the promises made long ago by the prophets were about to be fulfilled. What are those promises?
(Isa 9:6-7 ESV) 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
The king of the Kingdom will sit on the throne of David, meaning he will be a physical descendant of David. And unlike Judah of old, this monarchy will never end. And it will be a reign of justice and righteousness…
(Isa 32:1-20 ESV) Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. 2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
The king of this Kingdom will bring righteousness and justice. A desert people will receive “shelter from the storm,” “streams of water in a dry place,” and “shade of a great rock in weary land.” The king will comfort, protect, and save.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. 4 The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.
The king will bring a new understanding to his people.
14 For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; 15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
The land will be desolate until God pours out his Spirit, and then the Kingdom will be a place of prosperity.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. 17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. 18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
The result will be shalom, safety, and rest.
(Isa 33:15-17 ESV) 15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, 16 he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. 17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.
People of righteousness will “behold the king in his beauty” and “see a land that stretches afar.” They’ll be kept safe and well fed.
(Isa 33:24 ESV) 24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
The Kingdom has a King and has citizens — and the citizens will be forgiven and never be sick.
There are many, many more descriptions of the Kingdom, the King, and the citizens throughout Isaiah that we’ve already covered. Notice these elements of the Kingdom —
* A King
* Citizens
* Land (or “inheritance,” as land is what people inherited)
What else would an ancient reader consider “kingdom” to mean?
Many of the Kingdom passages speak about the restoration of God’s people to Jerusalem or the land or their inheritance.
(Isa 57:12-13 ESV) 12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, but they will not profit you. 13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain.
Therefore, Jesus’ listeners expected the Messiah (that is, the King or Anointed One) to sit on the throne of David, to rule in righteousness over the land God promised to Abraham’s descendants, to be king over the children of Israel, and to bring great peace and prosperity to the people and the land.
When Jesus announced that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” the term needed no definition. (It helps to know that “heaven” was a euphemism for YHWH. The Jews were reluctant to pronounce the name of God or even to refer to “God” by that term, to avoid any risk of taking his name in vain. Therefore, “kingdom of heaven” is really “kingdom of God” — as is the usual expression in Mark and Luke.)
Now, obviously enough, the Kingdom did not come in quite the way that was expected. The Jews did not expect the Messiah to be killed — much less crucified, which is a curse under the Law. And the Jews expected an earthly kingdom and therefore, obviously, the overthrow of Rome. After all, how could God bring peace and prosperity while Rome ruled over God’s people?
There are a number of conclusions we should draw from this, and we’ll cover more as we go.
First, the Kingdom is not fully realized in the church. Indeed, some scriptures even speak in terms of the Kingdom having not yet come!
(Gal 5:19-21 ESV) 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(Jam 2:5 ESV) 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
(2Pe 1:11 ESV) 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Others speak of the Kingdom as in the process of coming —
(Heb 12:28-29 ESV) 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
And yet others speak of the Kingdom as having already come —
(Luk 22:18 ESV) 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
(Col 1:13-14 ESV) 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
There is no contradiction. Rather, we live in in-between times. The Kingdom hasn’t come in the fullness of its glory. Many of the promises made by prophets will not be fully realized until Jesus returns.
On the other hand, we’re in the Kingdom now — just as the Israelites were in the Promised Land when they crossed the Jordan under Joshua. They were there. God had given it to them. But they didn’t fully possess it. In fact, they had to fight many battles before the Kingdom would be completely theirs. But God had promised them to the victory, and so it was already theirs — and not yet theirs — and becoming theirs.
Now, this tells us many things about the church, and part of that is what the church is supposed to be like. The church is the beachhead of the Kingdom. It’s where God’s reign prevails and where he rules with justice and righteousness already. It’s where people are already being transformed by the Spirit back into the image of God. It’s where Eden is being rebuilt. It’s where justice, righteousness, and peace prevail.
The church is intended to be a preview of life with God in the new heavens and new earth. He is, of course, already here — but not in his fullness. But through the church, God brings heaven and earth a little closer together.
In fact, the Kingdom is where all the things that were broken in the early chapters of Genesis get fixed. God’s peace, his shalom, is the restoration of right relations among people, nations, spouses, and man and God, and man and the Creation.
Sadly, we routinely bring the world into the church. We trample mud on the holy land of God. We foul the air of God’s kingdom with our words. We destroy God’s shalom with our selfishness. But that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Rather, the church is supposed to be so much like the Kingdom that the world lines up to beg to enter. That’s the plan, anyway.
