In The Reasoning Book p226 the Watch Tower defines 'Kingdom:
'The Kingdom of God is the expression of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty toward his creatures, or the means used by him to express that sovereignty. This term is used particularly to designate the manifestation of God’s sovereignty through the royal government headed by his Son, Jesus Christ. “Kingdom” may refer to the rulership of the one anointed as King or to the earthly realm ruled by that heavenly government.'
They justify their use of 'government' using Isaiah 9 - 'To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder...of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.' Isaiah 9:6,7
The Watch Tower say rulership was given to Jesus (Dan.7:13,14), that by his blood, 'You bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God...' (Rev.5:8,10) and that this cast of rulers are the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1-3.
Is God's kingdom a real government? Kingdom/government, does it matter? And who or what constitutes this kingdom of priests?
A Prophet, Priest, and King
Wayne Grudem points out in his systematic theology that Adam can be said to have filled the roles of prophet, priest, and king before the fall.
‘In the Garden of Eden, Adam was a ‘prophet’ in that he had true knowledge of God and always spoke truthfully about God and about his creation. He was a ‘priest’ in that he was able freely and openly to offer prayer and praise to God. There was no need of a sacrifice to pay for sins, but in another sense of sacrifice Adam and Eve’s work would have been offered to God in gratitude and thanksgiving, and so would have been a ‘sacrifice’ of another sort (cf. Heb.13:15). Adam and Eve were also ‘kings’ (or king and queen) in the sense of having been given dominion and rule over the creation (Gen 1:26-28).’ (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1994, p.629)
Remember those three unified roles as we move forward.
A Kingdom of Priests and a Priestly Caste
We don’t need to guess what is meant by ‘kingdom of priests’ since God makes it clear in the Bible:
‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be a treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation..’ Ex.19:5,6
Scripture is not referring here to Aaron and his sons, nor to the greater tribe of Levites, but to the whole nation of Israel. They, in keeping the covenant, were to mediate the presence and blessing of God among the nations in very much the same way Adam was meant to do (Gen.12:3; Deut.4:6)
The problem was they were no longer prophets except of false gods, they could not operate in a priestly fashion since sin had cut them off from God, and they were no longer kings, rather, fallen creation ruled over them. There were good and bad individual prophets, priests, and kings in Israel, godly and ungodly men, but the nobility of man in creation was lost in the fall.
Aaron and his sons were called to be priests, to mediate between God and his people, offering sacrifices in the tabernacle. Levites were called to guard over the whole business of the temple:
‘They shall keep guard over him [Aaron] and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.’ (Num.3:8,9)
The priests of the tabernacle mediated between God and Israel, but Israel were to be a kingdom of priests (Ex.19:5,6). Israel were to mediate God to the rest of the world. They spent almost a year at the foot of Mount Sinai being taught and trained in the holiness, the set-apartness God required of them. We don’t read much about this kingdom of priests in the rest of the Old Testament simply because Israel didn’t grasp and embrace this purpose of God for them.
Remember that as we move on.
In Christ Alone
For all the mediating work of the sons of Aaron we remember, ‘...it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.’ (Heb.10:4) Paul describes the old covenant observances as, ‘a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.’ (Col.2:17)
One has come whose once for all sacrifice makes redundant the daily service and repeated sacrifices of the temple, ‘For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified’ (Heb.1011-14) All who put their trust in him may claim:
‘I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.’ Gal.2:20
Last time I looked at what it means to be born again and asked if Jesus, as the Watch Tower claims, was born again. It is a theme that fits right in here as we consider the Father’s purposes in Christ. Paul writes:
‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’ (2 Cor.5:17)
To be born again is to be made new in Christ. Christ is not made new in Christ. Just as once we were ‘in Adam’ slaves to sin and subject to death, so those who put their trust ‘in Christ’ are made new, justified before God (Rom.5:15-17) It is these, born again into the kingdom (John 3:5), to whom Peter refers when writing:
‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into hs marvellous light.’ (1 Peter 2:9)
Remember what we said of Adam? He was a prophet with true knowledge of God, a priest whose work was an offering to God, and a king given dominion over Gods creation. Remember what Israel were called to be, but singularly failed at? A kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
All this is brought to fruition in Christ.
In Christ alone, all who trust in his finished work on the cross are purified, and sanctified so, like Adam, they can honestly speak God’s truth, freely and openly offer their lives as living sacrifices to God (Rom.12:1) mediate God to the world, and learn to take responsibility for that world.
A kingdom, a nation, a people, not a civil service of 144,000. Next time we will look at the definitions of kingdom and of government.
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