Explaining Jesus to Muslims
Download PDF version

20. Jesus and the Kingdom of God

What is the Kingdom of God?
There are many kingdoms in the world, many governments ranging from local to national. All these governments have been established by man, but there is one government that has been established by God. In the Bible it is called the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. It is not God's own kingdom, which is universal, it is a kingdom from God, the kingdom that God has established here on earth. The king in this kingdom is Jesus, the Messiah whom God has chosen. People from every country on earth are now entering this kingdom, they are leaving Satan's kingdom of darkness and entering Jesus' kingdom of light. This kingdom is here now, but it is not recognized by the world. When Jesus comes again, he will come as king and sit on his throne. His kingdom will take over from all present governments. This kingdom from God was spoken about by the prophets thousands of years ago.

The prophet Nathan
When David, king of Israel, wanted to build a temple for the Lord at Jerusalem, the prophet Nathan spoke this promise from God to him:

"When your days are over and you go to be with your  fathers,  I will  raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons,  and I will  establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever." (1 Chronicles 17:11-14)

This promise was partly fulfilled when David's son Solomon became king, but the prophet Nathan saw further ahead than Solomon. His prophecy is only completely fulfilled in the Messiah. Only Jesus' throne will last forever. Only Jesus is the true Son of God.

The prophet David
King David made this prophecy about the Messiah, the king who will rule the world from Jerusalem. Although he was David's descendant, because of his greatness, David calls him 'my Lord.'

"The LORD says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion (Jerusalem); you will rule in the midst of your enemies." (Psalm 110:1-2)

The prophet Daniel
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about world kingdoms and a kingdom from God that would last forever. The prophet Daniel told him his dream:

"You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue - an enormous dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth." (Daniel 2:31-35)

And then the prophet Daniel interpreted the dream and told king Nebuchadnezzar that he was the head of gold and other world rulers would be the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron and the feet of iron and clay.

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands - a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the silver and the gold to pieces."  (Daniel 2:44-45)

The future king was revealed to Daniel in a vision.

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)

Who is this king, a human being who will be worshipped by all nations?

The prophet Yahaya
When the prophet Yahaya (John the Baptist) came to prepare the way for Jesus, he preached:
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  (Matthew 3:2)

When Jesus began preaching he also said:
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matthew 4:17)

The prophet Issa

The prophet Issa (Jesus) was thinking of Daniel's vision when he taught his disciples saying:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:31-34, 41)

After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he appeared to his disciples many times. During one appearance he said:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

The apostle Paul
Inspired by the Spirit of God the apostle Paul tells us what will happen at the end of this age.

"Then the end will come, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he 'has put everything under his feet.' Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all." (1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

God is calling people out of every nation to come and live with him throughout eternity. Jesus said:
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3)

"No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

If you want to belong to the kingdom that God has established on earth and enjoy God's presence throughout eternity, believe in Jesus today. He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords to whom every one will bow his knee.