Christ's Kingdom

Peace, Prosperity, and So Much More

Christ's Kingdom
Audio MP3

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.—Matthew 6:10

Ernie Kuenzli

One of the features of God’s plan of salvation, which is a mystery to most people, is Christ’s thousand-year earthly kingdom. Jesus referred to this kingdom in his model prayer as quoted above. This kingdom will fulfill the earthly portion of the Abrahamic promise by blessing all the families of the earth and bringing forth an earthly seed or offspring as numerous “as the sand which is upon the seashore” (Genesis 22:17). This kingdom will be the new heavens and the new earth which Isaiah, Peter, and John wrote about (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).

Christ’s kingdom involves both a spiritual phase and an earthly phase. The spiritual phase was described in the Abrahamic promise as “the stars of the heaven” (Genesis 22:17), Christ and his followers, the church (Galatians 3:16,29). The role of Christ and the church in this kingdom will be to develop and bless the earthly seed.

The earthly portion of the Abrahamic promise was repeated to Jacob in Genesis 28:13,14. His seed or offspring were described in verse 14: “And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Christ’s kingdom based on the New Covenant will develop Jacob’s seed to include all mankind and expand to fill the earth.

The purpose of this kingdom is the restoration to mankind of all that was lost in Eden due to Adam’s sin. Restitution will bring man everlasting life, perfect health, dominion over the earth, and sonship with God. Restitution will also mean removal of the curse upon the earth. The kingdom will bring an end to rebellion against God on both the spiritual and earthly planes of existence. All the enemies of God including Adamic death shall be destroyed so God “may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

The scope of Christ’s kingdom will be world-wide. It will liberate all mankind from the prison house of Adamic death (Isaiah 42:7; 49:9; 61:1). It will dissolve all of the present earthly kingdoms and transform mankind into a single holy nation (Psalm 2:9; Daniel 2:44; Revelation 2:27). It will educate everyone about God (Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14). It will replace today’s environment of sin and selfishness with the paradise that all have been waiting for (Romans 8:19).

The Parts of the Kingdom

This new government is spiritually-based and pictured in “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven” (Revelation 21:2). This government is centered in Christ and his church as that great priesthood after the order of Melchisedec (Hebrews 5:6, 8-10). That priesthood, like Melchisedec, will rule as a theocracy, serving as both priests and kings, being responsible for man’s religious and civil affairs (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). At the beginning of the kingdom, the blood of Christ, representing the merit of his ransom sacrifice, will be applied to release the entire human family from Adamic condemnation and seal the new covenant (Matthew 26:28; Romans 5:18,19). This will transfer mankind to The Christ, which will then serve as man’s mediator (Hebrews 12:24). The Christ will use the thousand-year kingdom to lead everyone up a way of holiness to perfection, and back into harmony with God (Isaiah 35:8).

During the kingdom, Christ and the church will rule over earth’s affairs, subduing all human governments and transforming all the religious, financial, social, and political institutions (Nahum 1:5; Revelation 19:15). This rule has been characterized as a “rod of iron”; nothing will be able to stand or prosper in opposition to it (Psalm 2:1-9; Revelation 2:27).

The spiritual government of Christ’s kingdom will have earthly representatives. These are often referred to as ancient worthies, Old Testament individuals whose faith and obedience to God had been proven prior to the death of Christ (see Hebrews 11:4-38). They will be “princes in all the earth” and will be utilized by Christ and the church to communicate “the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Psalm 45:16; Isaiah 2:3). These individuals, such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and others mentioned by the apostle in Hebrews 11, will use the instructions from the members of The Christ and their personal experience to teach the character of God and the principles of truth and righteousness to all mankind.

The earthly phase of the kingdom will be centered in the nation of Israel. The foundation of Christ’s kingdom will be the new covenant which will be made with the house of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:8-10). The gathering of the Israelites back to their own land and God’s deliverance of them from destruction during Jacob’s trouble will prepare them to come into the bond of the new covenant (Ezekiel 20:37). Under that covenant, God will cleanse the Israelites from their impurities, give them a heart of flesh, and write his laws in their heart. He will give them his spirit and cause them to walk in his statutes. They will become his people and he will become their God (Ezekiel 36:24-28).

The rest of mankind will observe this process and desire to share in the blessings of that covenant (Ezekiel 36:36). They will go to Jerusalem “to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty.” All mankind “will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:21-23, NIV). Israel will be an example of a blessing and the rest of mankind will desire to become Israelites and share in this blessing (Zechariah 8:13). In this way, Jacob’s seed “shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south” (Genesis 28:14).

Differences from Today

The difference between Christ’s kingdom and the kingdoms of this present evil world will be enormous. Christ’s kingdom will be based on justice (Isaiah 11:4). Its leadership, Christ and the church, will be the nucleus of this “holy nation” or kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). The purpose of this kingdom will be to teach man righteousness and bring him to holiness. When the Lord’s judgments are in the earth during the functioning of this kingdom, the inhabitants will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).

In this kingdom, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). “They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:34). Through the kingdom God will “turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent” (Zephaniah 3:9). The word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem and the knowledge of the LORD will be world-wide (Isaiah 2:3; 11:9; Jeremiah 31:34). From these texts we can conclude that the knowledge of God will come through the earthly representatives of Christ’s kingdom, the ancient worthies. We would expect them to utilize the printed and electronic communications methods available today, plus methods not yet invented to communicate the knowledge of the heavenly Father throughout the earth.

God’s word and law will be communicated in a clear and unambiguous fashion. There will be no confusion or doubt about what his will is or what each person’s responsibility is to God and to his neighbor. Isaiah wrote that the people will have a great willingness to learn of God to receive the associated blessings: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:3).

The prophet Isaiah wrote that the stones will be removed in this kingdom, the rough places made plain, the crooked ways straightened, the hills and mountains brought low and valleys exalted (Isaiah 40:4; 42:16; 62:10). In symbolic language, the prophet tells us that the obstacles to righteousness and the influences of evil will be eliminated in the kingdom. The largest stone to be removed will be the Adversary himself. He will be bound so that he can deceive the nations no longer (Revelation 20:2,3). Satan will be as though shut-up in a bottomless pit until mankind has been educated in righteousness and it is time for mankind’s final test (Revelation 20:7,8).

All the other stones and enemies of man will also be removed (Isaiah 35:9). The stones of selfish and fallen political, religious, social and financial institutions and organizations will all be removed. The present order of things in the earth and all its works will be figuratively “burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). The crime syndicates and gangs of today which prey upon human weaknesses will be eliminated. Today’s economy based on selfishness will come to an end. In the kingdom the blessings and the water of life will be free to all (Isaiah 55:1; Revelation 22:17). The chasm between rich and poor will be closed, and no one will lord it over another. Each one will long enjoy the work of his hands. They will not toil in vain nor will their children be doomed to misfortune (Isaiah 65:21-23).

Violence and hostility between nations, peoples, races, and ethnic groups will come to an end: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” because of the civil power of the kingdom (Isaiah 11:9). Under the direction of Christ’s kingdom, mankind “will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4, NIV). The people will turn their implements of war and destruction into implements of peace and production bringing blessings to themselves and others. All will learn peace based on love for God and the entire human race.

Even the violence with and within the animal world will come to an end: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6,7, NIV).

The curse upon the earth will be removed. The forces of nature will be controlled and no longer bring so much suffering to mankind. Droughts that plague so much of the earth today will be eliminated: “The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water” (Isaiah 35:7). The pests and diseases that hamper the growing of food will be no more. All of this will allow the earth to yield her increase and support the billions returning from the grave (Psalm 67:6; Ezekiel 34:25-27).

Fixing What Is Broken

The power of God operating through Christ and the church will fix all that is broken. First, the merit of Christ’s sacrifice as a ransom for Adam will be applied to release all mankind from the Adamic curse. That will bring Adamic death and the dying process to an end. It will enable Christ and the church to bring back to life all in the tomb so they might hear the word of the Lord and learn righteousness (John 5:28,29).

The application of Christ’s merit will also result in the healing of all disease. No one will say he is sick, for his iniquity will be healed (Isaiah 33:24). The physical ailments that plague mankind, whether they be cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, old age, chemical-imbalances in the brain or mental illness, will be cured, for these are part of the Adamic curse. Mankind will come forth from the grave with a body that the Lord will provide, a physically perfect body not affected by the disease and physical effects of the Adamic curse (1 Corinthians 15:38-40). With the curse lifted, each one will be able to clearly understand and reason upon the kingdom’s message of truth and righteousness and, if willing in heart, be able to apply that message and progress up the way of holiness (Isaiah 35:8).

However, each one will come forth from the grave with the same fallen character developed during this life. One’s attitude, values, behavior, and reasoning will be imperfect and selfish, just as it was when death occurred. It will be the work of the kingdom to change everyone’s character and heart into that of perfect human beings, but only if they are willing to learn and obey. The Scriptures describe this process as taking out a stony heart and replacing it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19,20). How can the kingdom do this and not violate man’s free moral agency?

The blessings of the kingdom, representing the immensity of God’s great love for his human family, when poured upon mankind, will melt the stony heart in most individuals. These blessings are described by Isaiah as a great feast, the like of which the human race has never seen (Isaiah 25:6-8). The overwhelming response to these blessings, which will solve all problems, will be: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).

With the hardness of man’s heart broken, the kingdom will put God’s laws in the mind and write it in the heart (Jeremiah 31:33). Christ and the church will do this writing through education and the experiences of the kingdom. With supplications they will lead everyone. They will cause all to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, and none shall stumble (Jeremiah 31:9).

During this process, God will pour his holy spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28). Like the church in the Gospel age, mankind in the kingdom will have their minds enlightened to understand and appreciate the spiritual truths of God’s character, principles, and laws, and then encouraged and supported to assimilate those principles into their hearts and minds. The hearts and characters of mankind will be transformed into the character-likeness of God and Christ, so all can once again become sons of God. The fruit of the spirit culminating in divine or agape love will be the result of this transformation. This is illustrated in the parable of the sheep and goats where the “sheep” are commended for the help, and hence love, they have shown to their neighbors (Matthew 25:34-40). It will take this type of character to pass the final test successfully and thereby inherit everlasting life and dominion of the earth that God has promised his earthly creation. It will take the mighty power of God operating through Christ and the church to accomplish this amazing transformation.

The kingdom ends with a final test described as the “little season” (Revelation 20:2, 3,7-10). During this test, the Adversary will be released from his imprisonment and given one last opportunity to deceive mankind. This test will expose those whose heart condition is not perfect, not thoroughly in harmony with God and obedient to his will. Those with imperfect hearts will rebel and as a result, go into the second death, oblivion (Revelation 21:8). There will be no sacrifice or forgiveness for this sin; those who die this death will pass out of existence for all eternity (Hebrews 10:26).

At the conclusion of this test, the Adversary will also be destroyed (Romans 16:20). Thus, all rebellion to God’s principles and rule of righteousness will be brought to an end. All enemies will have been destroyed and the kingdom will be turned back to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). The work of the mediator will be finished and mankind will be able to come safely back into a direct relationship with their creator. They will once again be sons of God, having God’s name written in their foreheads (Revelation 22:4). In this way, God will reconcile all things unto himself (Colossians 1:20).

The kingdom will restore mankind to the character-likeness of God, with a heart that is perfect, filled with the fruit of the spirit including divine love. The experience with sin will have taught each person the consequences of disobedience. Death will be no more because the desire to disobey will have been thoroughly purged from each heart. Mankind will once more have dominion over the earth, the realm God always meant humanity to have (Psalm 8:5-8). Surely all will praise God from whom all blessings flow (Psalm 67:3-7).