In our study this morning, we begin with a verse from the Old Testament from the book of First Samuel.
And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. [1 Samuel 8:7 ESV]
The context is that the nation of Israel are insisting on having a king to be like the other nations around them. The nation of Israel was a theocracy - they were ruled by God but they wanted to be a monarchy with an earthly king on the throne. Samuel did not present a very positive picture of the concept of monarchy as he listed the pitfalls associated with having a human king. He repeats a very negative phrase, "he will take," and then goes on to list the demands the king will make on his subjects including expecting military service, farm labour, manufacture of weapons, domestic service in the royal kitchen, extorting a tenth of crops and flocks etc.
But Israel chose to have a king instead of being ruled by God. The writers of the Psalms portray God as king over his creation and over the nations.
The LORD is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land. [Psalm 10:16 ESV]
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle! [Psalm 24:8 ESV]
In the book of Revelation we are presented with a very powerful image of 'the one sitting upon the throne' which is a circumlocution [or a long-winded expression] for God.
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. [Revelation 4:2-3 ESV]
It is wonderful to note that Jesus shares this throne. The book of Revelation gives equal honours to the Son. There is a key verse which I have already quoted in a previous Day Share blog:
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign. [Revelation 11:15-17 ESV]
It is God, the One seated on the throne, who is the architect of the New Creation.
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” [Revelation 21:5]
So the kings of Israel and all the other references to the Kingdom of God including the teaching of Jesus were pointing forward to the day when God would be acknowledged as king of the universe. This teaching is fully developed in a book which I would recommend to anyone wishing to pursue this line of study further - God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts. I close with a quotation from this book. He calls this chapter the 'Perfected Kingdom' which Jesus will introduce at His second coming.
This is a multi-national kingdom. It is represented in Revelation as the New Jerusalem, new temple etc. This will be the ultimate fulfilment of God's promises relating to the kingdom. God's people will consist of every believer from every nation and from every generation. They will be united together in God's place, the new creation and the new Jerusalem, which is the new temple. They will submit to God's rule and therefore they will know his perfect blessing. [Revelation 22:1-2]
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