The Kingdom of God
(Dan 2:44)
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Introduction:
1. The Meaning of the Kingdom
a. Our Lord, according to Acts 1:1-5, spent forty days revealing the pattern of the kingdom to the apostles between His resurrection and ascension.
b. The kingdom was organized by Christ, and was set up by the Spirit-filled apostles after he returned to the Father.
c. The kingdom was organized without human creeds or practices.
d. According to Eph. 4:4-6 this kingdom was united as “one body,” vitalized by the one Spirit, animated by the one hope, acknowledging the one Lord, professing one faith, submissive to one baptism, and dependent upon the one God and Father of all.
Chart by Donnie Barnes
2. The Kingdom or the Church?
a. Christ said “My kingdom is not to this world” (John 18:36), thus illustrating that His Kingdom was spiritual as opposed to physical.
b. Christ Kingdom is the Church of Christ.
i. In Matthew 16:18 Christ said: “I will build my church”, and in the next verse he speaks of the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19).
ii. Christ said that his disciples would “eat and drink at my table in my kingdom” (Luke 22:30), and the “church of God at Corinth” (I Cor. 1:2) was instructed about how to eat and drink at the Lord’s Table.
iii. Hebrews 12:23 talks about the “church” and in verse 28 say: “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved”.
3. The Origin of the Kingdom
a. Isa. 2:2-4 The gospel would go out from Jerusalem.
b. Matt. 3:2 The message of John the Baptist is “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
c. Matt. 8:5-13 The Gentiles will share the blessings of the Kingdom.
d. Matt 10:5-7 The twelve go out to preach “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
e. Luke 10:8-9 The seventy preach its nearness.
f. Matt. 18:15-17 Ways of settling disputes in the kingdom.
g. Matt 16:13-19 Jesus says he “will build” His church.
h. Luke 24:46-49 The promise would be fulfilled in Jerusalem after the Spirit filled the apostles.
i. Acts 1:1-5 They would wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
4. The Admission of the Kingdom
a. Faith in Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 16:31, Rom 10:9-10)
b. Repentance toward Christ (Acts 2:38, Luke 13:13, Acts 17:30, 2 Cor. 7:10)
c. Confession of Christ (Matt. 10:32-33, Rom 10:9-10, I Tim 6:12)
d. Baptism into Christ (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16, Act 2:38)
5. Examination of Daniel Two
a. Nebuchadnezzar challenges his magicians, sorcerers, and seers to tell him both the dream and the interpretation of it (Dan 2:1-13).
b. God reveals the answer of the dream to Daniel in a night vision (Dan 2:14-23).
c. Daniel tells the dream and the interpretation of it (Dan 2:24-49).
I. It is Indestructible (“shall never be destroyed”)
a. The Kingdoms of the World
i. Babylon was the head of gold.
ii. Medo-Persia was the breast and arms of silver.
iii. The Greek Empire, led by Alexander the Great was the belly and thighs of brass.
iv. The Roman Empire was the legs of iron and feet of iron mingled with miry clay.
b. The Kingdom of God
i. The little stone cut out of the mountain.
1. It is the Kingdom of God.
2. It is established in the days of the fourth kingdom
ii. This kingdom is made without hands.
1. It is not a physical kingdom.
Joh 18:36
(36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
c. The Kingdoms Compared
Kingdom of God Kingdoms of Men
It is made without hands
Made by the hands of men
Its king is Christ Many different kings
Its law is eternal under Christ Laws are ever changing
Its Constitution is the word of Christ Constitutions are continually drafted
Its authority is Christ Authority changes with each new king
It is exalted above all other kingdoms With each kingdom destroyed, another is installed
Its ideals are mimicked by other kingdoms Pagan ideals have faded into history
It is unified eternally Divided with each new conqueror
II. It is Final (“shall not be left to other people”)
a. “In the days of these kings”
i. Kingdom of Rome
1. These were Roman kings alive when during Jesus’ first advent.
2. The kingdom of Rome was as strong as iron.
3. This kingdom breaks and crushes all who oppose her.
ii. Fullness of time
1. God sent his Son in the “Fullness of …time” (Gal. 4:4)
2. The world had waited for this kingdom.
a. Peter was given the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19).
b. John the Baptist, Jesus, the Apostles, and the Seventy preached that it was at hand (Matt 3:1-2, Mk. 1:14-15, Matt 10, Luke 10).
c. Jesus said this kingdom would be established in the lifetime of some of those who witnessed him as he walked on this earth (Mk 9:1)
Mar 9:1
(1) And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
iii. Last days
1. The Apostles waited in Jerusalem (Lk 24:49).
a. They were to receive power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:6-8).
b. The kingdom came when the power came (Acts 2:1-21)
2. The kingdom was established on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1:47).
a. An atmosphere of expectancy (Acts 1:12-26, Acts 2).
i. The apostles, and other disciples are waiting in Jerusalem.
ii. They cast lots and it fell on Matthias to fill the vacancy left by Judas.
iii. No preacher is yet authorized to preach.
b. Succession of events.
i. The Holy Spirit descends and possesses the apostles.
ii. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit they begin to preach.
iii. Three thousand hear and are convicted causing them to inquire as how to be saved.
iv. Peter then opens the doors of the church and gives the terms of pardon.
v. They obey and the Lord adds them to the church.
c. In Jerusalem the church begins.
i. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 2:3).
Isa 2:3
(3) 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: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
ii. This corresponds with the promise of Jesus (Lk 24:47, Acts 1:4).
Luk 24:47
(47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Act 1:4
(4) And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
b. It would not be “left to other people”
i. All of the kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream were consumed by other people.
1. Babylon was taken when the Medes and Persians in about 540 B.C. diverted the Euphrates River and marched into the city under the walls
2. The Persian Empire was ended during the Wars of Alexander the Great
3. The battle of Corinth was a battle fought between Rome and Greece in 146 BC which resulted in the toltal destruction of Corinth which was famous for its wealth, ultimately causing the fall of Greece.
4. Rome would be crushed by the kingdom of God.
ii. In the kingdom of Christ no one is trapped in worldly kingdoms.
1. God promises to be a father to those who come out of the world (2 Cor. 6:17-18).
2. We find joy when we come out of the world (John 17:13-14).
iii. All nations make up the kingdom of God.
1. All nations shall flow unto the Mountain of God (Is. 2:3)
(Isa 2:3) 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: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
2. All Christians have come to Mt. Zion (Heb. 12:22-25).
Heb 12:22-25
(22) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
(23) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
(24) And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
(25) See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
III. It is Universal (“consume all these kingdoms”)
a. The nation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream would consumed by the kingdom of God.
i. Christianity Destroyed the Roman Empire.
1. “Christianity was in a sense God’s judgment upon sinful Rome.” Leupold.
2. Rome tried to destroy early Christianity, in the court, and the arenas
3. Christ won over the arena as well as the hearts of this pagan kingdom.
ii. The Roman Empire was full of paganism
1. “The Roman Empire was the climax of paganism; and even in the days of Theodosius there yet remained four hundred twenty four pagan temples, each of them manned by a tremendous staff of pagan priests. Every emperor was a self-styled god; and well into the second century Christians were being burned alive for refusing to burn incense to the emperor, as proved by the martyrdom of Polycarp at Smyrna (155 A.D.). Did Christianity win over that? Yes. In the year 389 A.D., the Emperor Theodosius closed down all the pagan temples, proscribed and outlawed the pagan priesthood, and initiated many other changes that emphasized the totality of the Christian Victory.” Coffman. Book of Daniel. P. 43
iii. Christianity flourished
b. The Universal Church
i. Composed of all Christians (Heb. 12:22-23).
ii. There is only one church (Eph. 4:4).
iii. Enter only by being added by the Lord (Acts. 2:41,47).
iv. Consist of all the saved (Eph. 5:25-27).
v. Has no earthly organization (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pe 2:5).
vi. Cannot be divided (Eph. 4:4).
IV. It is Eternal (“shall stand for ever”)
a. The church of Christ is eternal in its nature
i. The everlastingness of God is realized in the church (Eph 3:20-21, Heb.12:22-28).
ii. Jesus will deliver his kingdom to the father to dwell with them forever (1 Cor. 15:24-28)
b. It is that “kingdom that will never be destroyed nor left to others”.
i. Jesus said “the gates of hell” would not prevail against it.
ii. He did not fail (Isa. 66:7-9).
Conclusion:
1. Paul Cantrell sums up the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
a. To make known to the king what shall be hear after
b. To show that kingdoms come and go, but God’s kingdom remains.
c. That man would never again rule the whole world. He hasn’t yet! (E.D.Daugherty, A Commentary on the Book of Daniel. P.71-72)
2. The Kingdom of Christ
a. It is Indestructible
b. It is Final
c. It is Universal
d. It is Eternal
3. How to be added to the kingdom
a. Faith in Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 16:31, Rom 10:9-10)
b. Repentance toward Christ (Acts 2:38, Luke 13:13, Acts 17:30, 2 Cor. 7:10)
c. Confession of Christ (Matt. 10:32-33, Rom 10:9-10, I Tim 6:12)
d. Baptism into Christ (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16, Act 2:38)
