The Christadelphian Instructor/Concerning the Kingdom of God

73. What is the Kingdom of God? Answer: It is a kingdom that God will set up on earth which will overthrow and take possession of all others.

Proof:

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. (Dan. 2:44).

And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. (Hag. 2:22).

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13-14).

And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. (Zech. 14:9).

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15).

74. Who will be King in the Kingdom of God? Answer: Jesus Christ.

Proof:

Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. (Acts 17:7).

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31).

And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. (Micah 4:7).

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15).

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psa. 2:6).

75. Will Christ reign alone in the Kingdom of God, or will others reign with him? Answer: Others will reign with him.

Proof:

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Tim. 2:12).

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:10).

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isa. 32:1).

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matt. 25:34).

76. Who are they that will reign with Christ in the Kingdom of God? Answer: The saints.

Proof:

Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Dan. 7:22).

But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. (Dan. 7:18).

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Cor. 6:2).

To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD. (Psa. 149:7-9).

77. Who are the saints? Answer: Those who believe and obey the Gospel.

Proof:

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 1:7).

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (1 Cor.1:2).

Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess. 2:14).

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: (Eph. 1:1).

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Eph. 1:13).

78. Did God ever have a kingdom on earth before? Answer: Yes; the Kingdom of Israel was the Kingdom of God.

Proof:

For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. (Psa. 22:28).

When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. (Psa. 114:1-2).

And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. (2 Chron. 13:8).

Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. (1 Chron. 29:23).

79. Will the Kingdom of God, in which Christ and the Saints will reign, have any relation to the Divine Kingdom of Israel that existed in the past? Answer: The Kingdom of God, in which Christ and the Saints will reign, will be the Kingdom of Israel restored.

Proof:

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6).

And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. (Isa. 1:26).

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: (Amos 9:11).

And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matt. 19:28).

80. Will the restored Kingdom of Israel occupy the same land that it was established in before? Answer: Yes: it will be re-established in the very land where David reigned and where Christ was crucified.

Proof:

And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. (Ezek. 36:34).

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. (Isa. 62:4).

Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. (Isa. 60:15).

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. (Isa. 61:4).

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zech. 12:10).

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. (Micah 4:1).

81. Will the Kingdom be composed of the same nation that it formerly consisted of, namely, the Jews who are not scattered? Answer: Yes. The Jews, the descendants of Abraham now dispersed in all the countries of the world, will be gathered to their own land, and made there a great and righteous nation.

Proof:

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isa. 11:12).

Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. (Jer. 31:10).

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; (Zech 8:7).

And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: (Ezek. 37:21-22).