Christ's Growing Kingdom, Part 2

I would like to follow up on some loose ends from previous entries. On Dec 18, I identified four stages in the growth of David’s kingdom.

1. Authority in his father’s house
2. Authority over Volunteers
3. Authority over his own people
4. Authority over foreigners

These stages are not specifically identified in Scripture, nor is there a statement in Scripture that says that the development of Christ’s kingdom will follow the same pattern as the development of David’s kingdom. So we need to be cautious about jumping to conclusions. However, history, nature, and Scripture demonstrate that God likes patterns and he likes to repeat patterns. There are many types of Christ in the Hebrew Scriptures that help us to understand Christ Jesus Himself. David is widely acknowledged to be a type of Christ. Because of this I would like to explore the pattern of growth of authority in David’s life and see if it fits what we know of Christ’s life.

1. Authority in His father’s house – When Jesus walked the earth, He exercised authority over demons, disease, and the wind. These were all considered by Jews to be outside the authority of man and under the authority of God, Christ’s father. Except for the times he drove sellers out of the temple (Mark 11.15-17; John 2.13-16), he did not exercise authority over people. When He was in the temple, He was in His father’s house, and exercised authority there.
2. Authority over volunteers – Over the past 2000 years Christ has been building a kingdom of volunteers, who voluntarily obey him. He has had no recognized civil authority over anyone.
3. Authority over His own people – This stage has not happened yet. It is still a future event. Before we can imagine what this would be like, we have to identify who Christ’s “own people” are. Let’s look to David for clues. There were three groups who were David’s own. One group was his own tribe, Judah, which crowned him king first. The second group was the rest of the nation of Israel, who crowned him second. The third group was made of a motley collection of people who followed him and acknowledged his kingship before he was crowned. These people included his immediate family, people from his own tribe, other Israelites, and even Gentiles such as Uriah the Hittite and Ittai the Gittite. So, if Christ follows the pattern of David, “His own” would include Jews (He was born king of the Jews) and the volunteers who have followed Him for the past two thousand years—both Jews and Gentiles who have been grafted in (Rom 11.17).
4. Authority over foreigners – The foreigners would be those of all the nations (Rev 12.5) who were not included in “His own.”

The Gradual and the Abrupt - Part 2

Jesus arrived abruptly as a baby (Luke 2.7), and was proclaimed Messiah upon arrival by an angel (Luke 2.10-11) and was accompanied by a heavenly army (Luke 2.13-14). Shortly thereafter gentiles from the east came to acknowledge Him as king of the Jews (Matt 2.1-2), and King Herod believed them (Matt 2.3ff).

There was a gradual period of thirty years where there is little noticeable activity by Jesus.

There was a gradual period of three years where Jesus preached about the coming Kingdom, made disciples, and cast out the enemies of disease and demons.

Within a period of a week a sequence of abrupt events took place. On Sunday, a crowd of people abruptly accompanied Jesus along the read to Jerusalem and declared Him to be king (John 12.12; Mark 11.8-10). Jesus was abruptly declared as king (though in jest) by Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea (John 19.19), and Roman soldiers (John 19.2). Then He abruptly died and was resurrected.

There has been a gradual period of about two thousand years where the kingdom of God has been expanding in the hearts of people, but not in civil authority.

The Son of man will return again abruptly—like lightning (Matt 24.27) and like a thief in the night (Matt 24.36-44).

After Jesus will return abruptly as king, he will give authority over cities to his servants who have been faithful to him in little things. (Luke 19.11-26)

There will be a period where the King of Kings and the armies of Heaven will make war against the nations culminating in the defeat of kings and generals and the capture of the beast and the false prophet. (Rev 19.11-21) Whether this period is abrupt or gradual is yet to be seen.

There will be a gradual period of a thousand years where Christ reigns along with resurrected saints.

The Gradual and the Abrupt - Part 1

When we look at King David's kingdom (1 & 2 Samuel), we see that it is characterized by gradual growth and abrupt growth. Initially David was nobody, and then Samuel came and anointed him as king, and abruptly God's intention for him was made public. Over the next several years his influence waxed and waned in the eyes of king Saul, his own family, the Israelites, the Philistines, and his followers. But in general his reputation and influence gradually increased. Then abruptly he became king of the tribe of Judah. Over the next seven years there was war between Judah and the rest of Israel, with David gradually increasing in power. Then abruptly the war ended and David became king over all of Israel. Then gradually David's kingdom grew to encompass the enemies and neighbors of Israel.

We can see the gradual and the abrupt in other places in Scripture. In the story of Joseph (Gen 37-50), Joseph gradually grew in favor, influence, and responsibility in the household of the captain of the guard. Then that was abruptly terminated. Then he gradually grew in favor, influence, and responsibility in the prison, and he gradually grew in influence among the servants of Pharaoh. Then abruptly he became governor of all of Egpyt.

In the book of Daniel, four young Israelite men are captured and taken to Babylon. In humility they submit, and are trained by the Babylonians, but they remain fiercely faithful to their God. Over time they gradually obtain positions of responsibility. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has a dream. When Daniel correctly interprets the dream, he abruptly becomes ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and his compatriots--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego become high officials. Apparently after Nebuchadnezzar's demise, Daniel loses his position. In Daniel 5, a later king, Belshazzar, abruptly gives Daniel the third highest position in his kingdom, but that only lasts a few hours, because the Persians capture the city. But then Daniel gains great influence under King Cyrus.

In the book of Esther we see that Mordecai, a Jew who is faithful to God and to the king of Persia, abruptly rises from obscurity to become the second in rank after the king of Persia (Esther 10:3).

Can we expect a pattern of gradual and abrupt growth in Christ's kingdom? Can we expect temporary setbacks but eventual supremacy?