Kingdoms in the Bible

Watercolor of a fantasy medieval crown

When the Bible talks about a kingdom, it can mean something different based upon the context of what that particular passage of Scripture is stating. There are at least 7 kingdoms either mentioned or implied in Scripture: (1) Animal Kingdom; (2) Man’s Kingdom; (3) Satan’s Kingdom; (4) Holy Spirit’s Kingdom; (5) God’s Kingdom; (6) Christ’s Kingdom; and (7) Eternal Kingdom. This is not to imply that these are always distinct and separate as there is much overlap and dependencies between them. It is not always immediately obvious to which kingdom is being discussed because there is no specific term that is used routinely to distinguish them. Only context seems to indicate which one is being implied. Context is also sometimes hard to decipher if one doesn’t realize the nuanced differences between them as we will discuss below. To be a kingdom, it requires at least these three things: a ruler, citizenry, and land.

Animal Kingdom: the ruler was to be Adam and Eve, its citizenry are the animals, and the land is the world. In Genesis, God told Adam and Eve to rule over the fish, birds, livestock, the wild animals, and all creatures that move along the ground (Gn 1:26).

Man’s Kingdom: the ruler would again be Adam and Eve, its citizenry are the people who would be born, and the land is the world. Again, in Genesis, God also instructed Adam and Eve to be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth, and subdue it (Gn 1:28).

Satan’s Kingdom: the ruler is Satan, its citizenry are the people of the earth, and the land is the world. Satan took over man’s kingdom due to the disobedience and rebellion of Adam and Eve which severed their intimate relationship with God. We see this was true for a couple of reasons: (1) Jesus referred to Satan several times as the “prince of this world” (Jn 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11), and (2) Satan offered the kingdoms of the world to Christ if Jesus would bow down and worship him, and Jesus did not rebuke such an offer from him (Mt 4:8-9). There are also spiritual rulers, authorities, powers, and forces under him as well (Ep 6:12). Yet, we see that Jesus Christ, by his death on the cross, restored the ability for God to have a relationship with us again by reconciling us to himself (2Co 5:18-19) and has regained from Satan the keys to death and Sheol (Rv 1:18).

Holy Spirit’s Kingdom: the ruler is God, the citizenry are those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for their atonement, and the land is the earth. This phrase is not really used in the Bible in this way, but by giving the Holy Spirit on Shavuot (Pentecost) after Christ’s ascension (Ac 2), it is he who indwells all believers now once they accept Christ as their Savior by faith (Ro 8:9) and dwells with them from that time forward never to be removed. The Holy Spirit is the Advocate who Jesus stated would come once he returned to heaven (Jn 14:26, 15:26, 16:7). John the Baptist referred to this as the kingdom of heaven (Mt 3:2) as well as did Jesus (Mt 4:17). Matthew sometimes also referenced this as the kingdom of God (e.g., Mt 12:28, 21:31) as did Mark (e.g., Mk 1:15). This is why Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36). Yet, it seems that these terms, kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God, can also refer to something different and future as well.

God’s Kingdom: the ruler is God, the citizenry are those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for their atonement, and the land is the earth. It seems the Bible refers to a future time when the Holy Spirit will become even more prominent in the earth than it is currently: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hk 2:14). This is likely the kingdom to which Christ was referring when he taught the disciples to pray: “your kingdom come” (Mt 6:10). While many believe that when Jewish leaders referenced a future kingdom it was referring to Christ’s millennial kingdom. To a large degree, this is true, but Old Testament prophets also referenced more than one kingdom. This is especially obvious in Daniel when he stated that at some future date, the righteous would be placed in charge of a kingdom: “Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High” (Da 7:27). Jesus also seems to refer to this same kingdom when he talked to his disciples on the Mount of Olives just prior to his crucifixion: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14). It can’t be the Millennial Kingdom because Jesus said, “then the end will come” and he goes on to say that after this, all the things prophesied by Daniel in the last days will then come to pass. When Christ talked about the kingdom of heaven in the beatitudes (Mt 5) and in various parables (e.g., Mt 13:24, 13:33, 13:44, 13:45, 13:47) it seems he was referring to this time as did Paul in several places in his writings (e.g., Ga 5:21; Ep 5:5, Cl 1:12).

Christ’s Kingdom: the ruler is Jesus Christ, the citizenry are those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for their atonement and those born to those who will live during this kingdom timeframe, and the land is the earth. This is when Christ himself returns to earth and will sit upon the throne of David and rule from Jerusalem (Is 9:6-7). This is likely what many expected Jesus to accomplish at his first coming. There was much fervor and fanfare when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt as prophesied by Zechariah (Zc 9:9) as the people shouted Hosanna. Yet, this seemed to die down once he reached the temple complex because the Jewish religious leaders did not participate in these activities of the people but resisted Jesus’ claims as being their Messiah. Yet, his first coming was about redemption so that he could return one day and rule as Scripture prophesies.

Eternal Kingdom: the ruler is God, the citizenry are those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for their atonement, and the land is the earth and the whole universe. After Christ’s kingdom, there will be one final battle with Satan and his army (Rv 20:710). Once they are defeated, then evil will forever be vanquished (Rv 20:11-15), and Christ will then rule forever, and we will have peace forever more (Rv 21:1-22:5).

Over the next seven posts, we will go into more detail about each of these kingdoms. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens