Whose kingdom shall have no end
Forever is a long time. Often children cannot grasp the concept of time, the age-old question, “are we there yet?” Which can be asked just as you exit your driveway. For us, everything is within time. Time is how we measure many things. We have birthdays, and ‘death-days’ time, like our physical bodies, has limitations. No one can squeeze an additional second out of a day. The difficult aspect that we cannot wrap our heads around is not time but eternity. One of the difficult things for us, as creatures, to understand is how Genesis 1:1 actually makes sense, “In the Beginning God…” before the beginning of time, God was. Even today, God is, and he is to come. He has no beginning and no end but is everlasting to everlasting. Christ second coming is the beginning of eternity for everyone. The finality of his coming is vital in how we live today and why people must turn and repent right now.
In 2 Samuel, God makes a covenant with King David. In this covenant, he promises that “[David’s Son’s] house and [his] kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. [His] throne shall be established forever.” Christ is the promised Messiah, the son of David. Empires rise and fall. Even the vastest empire, the Pandyan empire, only lasted 1850 years (500 BC- 1350BC). Time passes by, and rulers come and go. Forever is a long time. Children do not have a great concept of time, but even if we understand time, we rarely hold on to ‘old things.’ People rarely have cars older than ten years or phones older than three years. They quickly become worn or dated. However, Christ’s kingdom shall have no end. The promise of the eternal kingdom is difficult for us to wrap our finite brains around. It is not that Christ’s kingdom will last twice as long as any man’s kingdom, but that it will last infinitely longer than any kingdom. Longer than all the kingdoms of man added together. Forever is a long time.
The reality of this kingdom is that it began when Jesus walked the earth. The simple message of Jesus’ sermons was, “Repent the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17). The rich are unable to pay for it (Matt 19:23-24). The righteous are unable to earn it (Matt 5:19-20). The selfishness that seeks to make it exclusive (Matt 23:13). The Kingdom of Heaven is unlike and opposed to Satan’s kingdom (Matt 4:8, 8:12, 12:25-26, 13:19). However, Christ’s eternal kingdom is for the poor in spirit (Matt 5:3). The kingdom of heaven is for those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (Matt 5:10). The kingdom is open to all (Matt 7:21, 8:11, 21:31, 24:14). The Kingdom of God is for those who seek the will of God (Matt 7:21, 21:31). The kingdom of heaven is not structured how we structure things, but the weakest and humble will be the greatest (Matt 11:11-12, 18:1-4, 19:12-14). God gives the secrets of the kingdom of God, Jesus taught parables of the Kingdom (Matt 13:24ff, 18:23, 20:1, 22:2, 25:1). We try and teach our children that choices have consequences. What you do now affects your future. And as RC Sproul puts it, “Right now counts forever.”
