The title of this article are the words of our Lord while
he was here on earth teaching men the way of
righteousness. In the 6th chapter of Matthew he taught
that it is impossible to serve two masters. We will either
hate the one and love the other; or else we will hold to
the one, and despise the other. He also taught the
importance of spiritual things above that of the material
and uttered the words of our subject, "But seek ye
first the kingdom of God....Ó It is absurd to think Jesus
taught the folk in that day and also today to seek
something that did not exist. The fact that he taught us
to seek the kingdom God above or before material things is
concrete proof that it exists, even though religious
teachers tell us it hasn't been set up yet. If the kingdom
of God hasn't been set up, then God offers us nothing
better than ancient Israel experienced, which was only the
shadow of good things to come. They looked forward with
great anticipation to the day when the kingdom would be
set up and they would enjoy its realities. Of course, they
were expecting a literal kingdom; and when Jesus came and
set, up a spiritual one, they failed to see it and enter
into it just as many religiously minded people are doing
today. The majority of religious movements are looking
forward to a day which they call the millennium, when the
kingdom of God will be established, but to their sad
disappointment it will be delivered up to the Father
instead of being set up (I Cor. 15:24). Jesus was not an
impostor. He did not teach us to seek something that didnÕt,
exist. "The law and the prophets were until John:
since, that time the kingdom of God is preached, and ever
man presseth into it" (Luke 16:16).
We go back to Daniel, chapter 2,
and read of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
had one night. All the magicians, astrologers and
sorcerers were called in before the king to interpret the
dream. When ask to tell the dream, the king declared it
had gone from him and demanded the astrologers to tell it
and also interpret it. Their failure to do so caused the
king to send out decree to kill all the wise men of
Babylon. This decree included Daniel and his fellows, but
Daniel pleaded for a little time. It was granted. He went
to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azaariah, his companions. They had a prayer meeting
and asked God to reveal the dream and the interpretation
which thing he did. Then Daniel appeared before the king
with the dream and the interpretation. This is it.
"Thou sawest a great image, whose brightness was
excellent, that stood before thee; and the form thereof
was terrible. The image's head was of fine gold, his
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of
brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of
clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut without hands,
which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and
clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the
clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to
pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no
place was found for them; and the stone that smote the
image became a great mountain and filled the whole
earth" (Daniel 2:31-35). In Daniel's interpretation
of the dream he declared that Nebuchadnezzar, or the
Babylonian kingdom, was the head of gold. ÒAfter thee
shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee," and
another third king and still another fourth kingdom.
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed...Ó
(Verse 44). So this dream of the Babylonian king was a
vision of things that would come to pass in later days.
This head of gold represents the
Babylonian kingdom, as Daniel said, that was begun in B.
C. 2233, and ended in the death of Belshazzar in B. C.
538. The breast and arms were of silver, representing the
Medo-Persian empire that came to power by the termination
of the Babylonian in B. C. 538. The belly and thighs were
of the brass, representing Grecian empire as founded by
Alexander the Great. He subdued Darius Codomanus in B. C.
331 and thus terminated the Persian monarchy. His legs of
iron and his feet part of iron and part of clay represent
the Roman empire which followed the Grecian in point of
time. According to the dream, it was while these four
kings or kingdoms were in existence that the God of heaven
was to set up a kingdom which would never be destroyed,
but would break in pieces these kingdoms. Rome, the fourth
kingdom, represented by the legs of iron, and feet part of
iron, and part of clay, was at the summit of her power
when Jesus appeared on the stage of time. He was born in
Bethlehem during the reign of the Caesars.
In the dream Òthe king sawest till
that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the
image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break
them to piecesÓ. This stone that was cut out of the
mountain without hands represents the kingdom of God, a
universal kingdom, It was in the days of these kingdoms
mentioned in the dream that Jesus of Nazareth came
preaching the gospel o the kingdom of God, and saying,
" The time is fulfilled; and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:
14-15) - Jesus preached "the time is fulfilled"
and according to the vision of Nebuchadnezzar as
interpreted by Daniel, it also was fulfilled. How then can
Bible expositors be so blind as to teach the kingdom of
God a future reality? Thank God, it was established by
Jesus during his earthly ministry and is a present
reality.
While ancient Rome was at the peak of her
power, reveling in her riches and splendor, Jesus of
Nazareth gathered a few fishermen from the ways of sin and
wen 'out to preach the gospel of salvation from sin. He
plane planted the seed of righteousness in the hearts of
those who, followed him during his earthly ministry and
before he went to the cross, Rome felt the first blow of
the hammer of the gospel. After his crucifixion and
ascension he sent the Holy Spirit to his followers on the
day of Pentecost that only gave more power and accuracy to
the preaching of the gospel, which in its very nature was
directed at the foundation of these earthly kingdoms, or
at the feet of the image. As the early church went out
preaching, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand," multitudes turned from sin and accepted
Jesus into their hearts, thus becoming members of the
kingdom of God. Under the incessant blows of the gospel
hammer Pagan Rome soon crumbled and went to pieces about
the year A. D. 476. Thus the image was broken to pieces by
the stone cut out of the mountain without hands and became
as chaff of the summer threshing floor which is scattered
by the wind. Christianity became a universal kingdom and
ever shall be. The gospel of Jesus is a universal one and
beckon men of every race, color, and clime.
The preaching of Jesus was centered around
this theme, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand. As men turned from sin and repented before God, they
were delivered from condemnation and its power, and were
translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the,
kingdom of light. The kingdom of God cometh not b@
observation (Luke 17:20), neither is it meat and drink,
but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost
(Rom. 14:17). When a soul forsakes sin and repents before
God, he is born of the Spirit and becomes a member of the
kingdom of God. Jesus is then his king, an lie is reigning
with him in this life, reigning above sin, and the power
of Satan.
"For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of
grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life
by one, Jesus Christ" (Rom- 5:17). The kingdom, of
God is a spiritual kingdom wherein Jesus reigns (governs
as king) in the heart and life of those who are truly born
of God. It is the government of heaven ruling lives, Jesus
as king, and we the subjects of his kingdom. Praise God!
I'm so glad it is a present reality and we can be the
subjects of that kingdom and have the king of glory
reigning in our hearts in this life. With Jesus in our
hearts we go out to walk the pathway of life, trampling
sin under our feet by the grace of God given us from
above. Jesus said: "I'll give you power over all the
power of the enemy." 'This is the power we need to
conquer sin and live godly in Christ Jesus.
