A Kingdom Divided

“Jesus will one day be the King of kings. That regime change will not happen at the ballot box. It will be a result of the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ.”

The book of 2 Kings traces the decline and fall of the divided kingdom of Judah and Israel. Most of the rulers described within its pages fell short of God’s ideal. But God had warned Israel from the very start that their demand that Samuel set a king over them would turn out to be a disappointment (1 Sam. 8:1–18).

Governing authorities are part of God’s plan. They are necessary if human society is to function in a fallen world (Rom. 13:1–7; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13–14). But these rulers are not the answer to all the world’s problems. As was true in Israel’s history, some govern better than others. Yet even the best are flawed and will eventually fall short. Many fall far short of God’s ideal by abusing their power or governing by values that do not reflect biblical standards.

When asked by Pontius Pilate whether He was a king, Jesus replied: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). The qualifying phrase “but now” in this statement indicates that this situation is only temporary. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught the disciples to pray: “[Y]our kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). This is not an empty wish. It is a legitimate petition and confession of faith. We are acknowledging: “The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it” (Ps. 24:1). We are also recognizing that Jesus will one day be the King of kings. That regime change will not happen at the ballot box. It will be a result of the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ.

The time will come when all the kingdoms of this world will become “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). Until then Christians live in a divided kingdom. Jesus warned that His followers would be persecuted by the governing authorities and brought before rulers for His name’s sake. But He also told them: “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).