THE UNIVERSAL KINGDOM OF GOD

Alva J. McClain
CHAPTER IV
From The Greatness of the Kingdom (1968)
There is therefore recognized in Scripture . . . a natural and
universal kingdom or dominion of God, embracing all objects,
persons, and events, all doings of individuals and nations, all
operations and changes of nature and history, absolutely
without exception . . . . ---James Orr1
Since this volume is devoted in large part to the Mediatorial phase of the
Kingdom, my treatment of the Universal Kingdom will be quite brief,
restricted to one chapter, including not much more than a summary of its
chief characteristics. In any conventional system of theology this universal
rule or control of God would be dealt with in part under the head of the
divine work in Providence. But the Kingdom of God in its universal sense is
not a synonym for providence. It is a vastly greater concept as set forth in
the Scriptures, especially the Old Testament.
In seeking to establish the existence of such a universal kingdom, as an
ever present reality in Biblical history, a problem of interpretation will need
to be faced. It will be necessary to distinguish clearly between history and
prediction. The Biblical passages selected, therefore, must contain
statements of historical fact, not of predictive prophecy. For example,
Psalms 97 and 99 open with the glad announcement, "The LORD reigneth."
But a study of the context shows clearly that both speak predictively of a
future kingdom. Other psalms, such as 93 and 103, are basically records of
historical fact, referring to a rule of God which was existing in the day when
these Scriptures were written. Therefore, keeping in mind this selective
principle in approaching the Biblical material, we note that the most
important characteristics of the Universal Kingdom of God appear as
follows.

"Kingdom of God," Dictionary of the Bible, ed. James Hastings (New York: Scribner's
Sons, 1901), Vol. II, p. 844.

1. This Universal Kingdom Exists Without Interruption Throughout All Time

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

--Ps. 145:13

The 29th Psalm has given to us a beautiful and inspired description of the
progress of a storm in the land of Israel. It begins with the rumbling of
thunder out over the sea, probably the Mediterranean. It sweeps in across
the land breaking the "cedars of Lebanon," making them "skip like a calf."
It shakes the wilderness, causing the frightened animals to bear their young
prematurely. Yet the psalmist wants us to understand that God is present in
this violence of nature and is in complete control. More than that--so
intimate and immediate is the relation of Jehovah to the storm that no less
than six times are we told that its manifestations are "The voice of the
LORD." But all this is not to be regarded as something new: looking
backward in human history the psalmist declares (vs. 10) that "Jehovah sat
at the Deluge."2 All that happened there was under the sovereign control of
Him who is both the God of nature and the Judge of men. And, as to the
present situation, the conclusion of the psalm is that "the Lord sitteth King
for ever" (vs. 10).
The prophet Jeremiah bears a similar testimony concerning the abiding
reality and character of the rule of God in his day. With fine irony he
sketches a picture of the vanity and impotence of the gods of the nations:
an object of worship is made of a tree cut from the forest by the hand of
man; it is fastened securely with nails; it is decorated with silver and gold; it
must be carried from place to place; it cannot move and it cannot speak; it
cannot do evil, neither can it do anything good. Such gods can be ignored.
It is otherwise with the true God who is the LORD of Israel, for He is "the
true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king" (Jer. 10:2-5, 10).
In the midst of his lamentations, because of the devastation of Jerusalem
and the ruin of the land of Israel by reason of the Babylonian invasion,
Jeremiah finds his comfort and hope in a present Kingdom of God which is
grounded in the eternal nature of God Himself. The historical situation was
dark and terrible (Lam. 4). The skin of the people was black by reason of
the famine; the women in Zion had been cruelly ravished; the princes were
hanged up by the hands; the crown had fallen from the head of the nation
of Israel; the hearts of the captives were faint and their eyes were dim.
Beyond the terror of darkness and gloom, the prophet has a glimpse of a
better day when the enemies of Israel will be punished and the nation will
no more be carried away captive (Lam. 4:22). But while they wait in hope
for that better day, there is a present consolation found in the eternal God
and His abiding Kingdom: "Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne
2

Hengstenberg's Translation.

from generation to generation" (Lam. 5:19). The historical Kingdom of God

in Israel may be interrupted; the nation may abide for many days without a
mediatorial king; but there is nevertheless a Kingdom of God which
continues without any hiatus or diminution.
2. The Universal Kingdom Includes All That Exists in Space and Time
Thou reignest over all.

--I Chron. 29:12

Nothing lies outside its vast reach and scope. It includes all things in space
and time; in earth, in heaven, and in hell. The nations of the earth may
rebel, follow other gods, even deny the existence of the true God; but all to
no avail; Jehovah is still the "King of nations" (Jer. 10:7). Nebuchadnezzar,
made the golden head of an ancient world empire by divine appointment,
forgets the heavenly source of his authority; and so he is cut down from his
throne by the judgment of God in order that "the living may know that the
most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he
will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." The importance of this
divinely given lesson appears in its threefold repetition in the inspired
record (Dan. 4:17, 25, 32). Men are not to forget that it is the "God of
heaven" who "removeth kings, and setteth up kings" (Dan. 2:19-21).
Witnessing to the present reality of God's universal kingdom in his own day,
the psalmist writes, "The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens;
and his kingdom ruleth over all" (103:19). In this psalm the scope of the
Kingdom reaches up into the heavens; the angels are within it and under its
rule; the hosts of God are here, and all His works in all places of His
dominion. To know this brings blessing and comfort to the souls of men in
every generation and in every age (103:19-22).
Neither the underworld of the dead, nor hell itself, lies outside the rule of
this Kingdom of God. Even though the enemies of God should "dig into
Sheol," He warns, "thence shall my hand take them" (Amos 9:2, ASV). The
scornful rulers in Jerusalem may suppose that they have made protective
terms "with death and with Sheol," but no such covenants and agreements
will be permitted to stand (Isa. 28:15-18, ASV). The fires of divine anger will
be found burning even in "lowest Sheol" (Deut. 32:22, ASV). The strange
notion that the devil is the king of hell has no basis in divine revelation.
God is the King of hell, just as He is the King of everything else in time and
space. And because this is so, that everlasting prison-house of the lost will
not be the noisy and disorderly place that is sometimes imagined by the
popular mind. There is no more orderly place than a well-disciplined prison,
even under imperfect human government. There will be no riots in hell.

For all those who reject the mercy of God in Christ and recognize no final
argument but force, there will be force without stint or limit, the force of a
divine government from which there can be no escape, either now or
hereafter.
As for the Lord's own people in ages past, Sheol could have no terrors for
them. With the psalmist they could say, "Whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in
Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell
in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and
thy right hand shall hold me" (Ps. 139:7-10, ASV).
Perhaps the finest and clearest testimony regarding the existence of the
Universal Kingdom of God in Old Testament times was uttered by David as
he gave his last instructions to his son Solomon and reviewed the goodness
of the Lord toward his house and the nation of Israel. No one understood
better than David the reality of that divine Kingdom in history of which he
had been anointed as the mediatorial king. But above and beyond the
limits of the land of Palestine and the city of Jerusalem, David saw another
and a greater Kingdom, describing it in these wonderful words: "Thine, O
LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and
the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is
the kingdom O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. . . . and thou
reignest over all" (I Chron. 29:11, 12).
3. The Divine Control in the Universal Kingdom Is Generally Providential
Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word.
--Ps. 148:8

By the term "providential" we mean control by means of second causes; for

example, the accomplishment of God's purpose at the Red Sea by using a
"strong east wind" to sweep aside the waters from the path of Israel (Exod.
14:21). Such a providential method of control applies especially to the
operation of the Universal Kingdom with reference to the earth. Because
God is in the operations of what men are pleased to call "natural law," He is
able to "tip the scales" of nature in ways indiscernible to the eyes of men.
For a long time scientists were greatly intrigued with what they called the
reign of law in a "closed system" of nature, excluding the possibility of any
"divine tinkering" with the system on the part of a sovereign God. Today
they are not so sure. To the Bible writers, of course, there is no problem.
Since God not only created the system of nature but also sustains the
operation of its so-called laws, there can be no question about His ability to

manipulate the system from within as well as from without. It is fairly well
recognized today by some reputable scientists that, in the system of
nature, there is room for "unlawful" events without interfering seriously with
the statistical averages which we call "laws." Some investigators, hoping to
keep as far as possible from the realm of theology, have named the
"outlaw" variant a "cheater"!3 Having no compunctions of this kind, the
Bible writers may at times attribute to God directly what happens in the
world of nature. Where men would normally say, "It thundered," the
psalmist does not hesitate to say, "The God of glory thundereth" (Ps. 29:3).
Because in His Universal Kingdom God controls the processes of material
nature, He is able by such means to control the circumstances of human
existence and thereby direct the stream of history. There are many
instances of such divine control. In some cases we are not told what the
circumstances were or just how they were divinely used, but are only
brought immediately into the presence of the accomplished fact. Thus the
Assyrian monarch is spoken of as a "rod" in the hand of Jehovah to be used
in the infliction of divine judgment upon Jerusalem, though the king knows
nothing about God's purpose and certainly has no intention of serving Him.
So complete is God's control in the situation that Isaiah multiplies terms of
divine irony to describe it: The Assyrian is not only a mere "rod"; he is also a
"staff," and "axe," and a "saw"; all wielded by the hand of a King who is
greater than he (10:5-15). Likewise, the king of Babylon is God's chosen
"servant" for the accomplishment of His will against the people of Jerusalem
(Jer. 25:9). Furthermore, in the long sequence of the rise and fall of world
empires, it is Jehovah who raises up and prepares the "kings of the Medes"
for the destruction of Babylon (Jer. 51:11, 28-37). And again, long before
his birth, the great Cyrus is named prophetically and "anointed" by Jehovah
to fulfil His purpose in rebuilding the temple (Isa. 44:28-45:4).
In other Biblical events the veil of providential control is drawn aside and
the determining circumstance is openly declared. The Book of Esther
dramatically records such an event in the days when the nation of Israel
stood in mortal danger of its very existence. Serving in the palace of
Ahasuerus, the Persian king, there was a Jew named Mordecai, through
whom two important happenings were brought to pass: first, he had
counseled his cousin Esther in her conduct leading to her selection by the
king as his queen; and second, he had saved the king's life by exposing a
plot to kill him (Esther 2:5-23). But there is a villain in the palace, Haman
by name, who hated Mordecai because of the latter's still-necked refusal to
bow before him. And so there was hatched a scheme to destroy not only
Mordecai but also the total nation of the Jews throughout the entire Persian
kingdom. The decree of destruction had been signed by Ahasuerus, the
3

Lecomte du Nouy, Human Destiny (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1947), p. 38.

date had been set, and copies had been sent to all parts of the empire, the
king not knowing that his queen was a member of the people thus callously
doomed to death. Haman, well satisfied that the thing was as good as
done, sat down with the king to "drink" to the success of his nefarious
purpose (ch. 3).
For those who have eyes to see, it was one of the most critical points in all
human history. At stake, in a very real sense, was the entire divine program
for the ages. If Israel perished, there would be no Messiah, no redemption,
no Church, no future Kingdom of God among men. With such issues in
jeopardy, we might not have been too much surprised to see the arm of
Deity breaking forth into the affairs of men with some great supernatural
intervention; perhaps something like the deliverance of Israel from the hand
of the Egyptian Pharaoh. But nothing of the kind happens. There is not
even any mention of God. The writer of the Book of Esther merely records
what might be regarded as the master understatement of all time: "On that
night could not the king sleep" (6:1). Why he could not sleep, we are not
told; but more likely from a troubled indigestion than a troubled conscience.
At any rate, turning to the ancient and well-known remedy, the king called
for something to read; in this case the "records of the chronicles" of his
kingdom; probably dry enough in spots (like our own Congressional Record)
to induce the sleep he could not imperiously command. And in the course
of the reading, the attendants came to the record of Mordecai's good deed
in uncovering the plot against the king's life. The remarkable sequel may
be read in the Book of Esther: as the outcome of this fit of regal insomnia,
and also the chance opening of the "chronicles" at exactly the right place,
the nation of Israel is rescued from extermination and the world was saved
from all the irreparable losses which such a disaster would have entailed
(ch. 8).
It may be true, as Cicero once observed, that "kings do not trouble
themselves with insignificant affairs"; which is one reason for the oft failure
of their purposes and plans. It is otherwise in the Universal Kingdom of
God, where things too small to merit human attention may be used to
change the course of history. In fact, "God must care for the least, or He
cannot care for the greatest." Thus He does concern Himself with small
affairs, because the fall of a raindrop or the sleeplessness of a king may,
under God, have momentous consequences. As the Book of Proverbs
reminds us, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is
of the LORD" (16:33).
It would be hard to think of a simpler event than the fall of a coin which has
been carelessly tossed in the air. The outcome can be only one of two
clean-cut possibilities. Yet the material factors which contribute to the end-

result of such an event are complicated beyond the understanding of the

wisest men. And in this complex of causation we as Christians must never
forget the unseen "finger of God" whose touch always brings the final
decision in the affairs of the universe. This is the providential factor, for the
most part overlooked or ignored by men, which confounds at last all the
Hamans and the Hitlers and wrecks their well-laid schemes. As the prophet
Isaiah put the matter, it is the LORD who "frustrateth the tokens of the liars,
and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh
their knowledge foolish; that confirmeth the word of his servant, and
performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou
shat be inhabited" (44:25-26).
4. The Divine Control in the Universal Kingdom May Be Exercised at Times
by Supernatural Means
He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth.

--Dan. 6:27

While it may not be easy to draw a precise line of demarcation between

what is called the natural and the supernatural, nevertheless the general
difference is clear and absolute. The God of the Bible is said to be both in
the universe and also above it. Therefore at any time He may break into
the so-called "closed system" of nature (which He upholds and controls)
with great exhibitions of His unveiled power. The writers of Scripture are
never conscious of any necessary conflict between the idea of God's rule
through the system of nature and that of His rule through the miraculous.
In both they recognize the hand of the same sovereign King who is
transcendent as well as immanent in His creation. As we have seen above,
the method of His divine control in the Universal Kingdom, especially with
reference to the earth, is quite generally providential, that is, through
second causes: "Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his
word" (Ps. 148:8). Yet at certain times and under special circumstances the
divine rule may be openly supernatural. Both methods of control are
brought together in the 135th Psalm: "Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that
did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. He causeth
the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for
the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. Who smote the
firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. Who sent tokens and wonders
into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants"
(vss. 6-9). Here we have clearly both nature and miracle. God rules
through the phenomena of nature and also through supernatural "tokens
and wonders," such as the terrible plagues which fell upon Egypt and her
arrogant king.

The resort to miracles in the rule of the Universal Kingdom does not mean
necessarily that God might not be able to accomplish His purposes by other
and less spectacular means. The supernatural method is rather for the
purpose of demonstrating publicly that there is a true God in heaven who
always will have the last word in human affairs. On the one hand, such a
miraculous demonstration was needed to answer the insolent challenge of
the Egyptian Pharaoh: "Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice to let
Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go" (Exod. 5:2). But
on the other hand, the same supernatural demonstration served to confirm
the faith of God's own people in the reality of His Universal Kingdom, as
Moses reminded them, "Hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from
the midst of another nation, by temptations [trials], by signs, and by
wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm,
and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in
Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know
that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him" (Deut. 4:34-35).
Furthermore, the inspired record of the historical event stands as a
documentary witness to all succeeding generations, that men may have no
excuse for any failure to recognize the reality of God's Universal Kingdom,
even though His mighty hand may temporarily be hidden beneath the veil
of providential control.
5. The Universal Kingdom Always Exists Efficaciously Regardless of the
Attitude of Its Subjects
None can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
--Dan. 4:35

Some personal beings have submitted to the rule of this Kingdom. As we

might expect, there is no problem in heaven. The King's angels there, we
are told, "do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word"
(Ps. 103:20). In the same submissive attitude we find the true people of
God in all ages. During the period of the theocratic kingdom in the Old
Testament, God was indeed the King of the nation of Israel in a special
sense; but even after the close of the historical kingdom, when God had
withdrawn His immediate presence from the nation, when they had been
scattered and a "byword among the heathen" with no longer any prophet
among them (Ps. 44:14; 74:9), still the remnant of godly individuals
acknowledged and claimed a personal relationship to God as King. Several
times in the Book of Psalms we read the glad cry in the midst of
desolations: "Thou art my King, O God" (44:4). And again, "For God is my
King of old" (74:12). Whatever of truth there may be in the asserted "reign
of God in the hearts of men," it was something already known and

experienced by the saints of the Old Testament. Could anything be any

clearer or finer, on this point, than the testimony of the 84th Psalm? "My
heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. . . . O LORD of hosts, my
King, and my God" (vss. 2-3). When we come to the New Testament,
although our Lord is never called the King of the Church, nevertheless there
is no abrogation of the Universal Kingdom of God, and the Church cannot be
set outside of it. Nor can there be any dispute about the Church's glad
submission to the will of her only Head, who today shares the Father's
throne in the Universal Kingdom of God--"He that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever" (I John 2:17).
On the other hand, there are many in rebellion against the rule of this
Kingdom. The very essence of sin, the Apostle John tells us, is
"lawlessness," and "the devil sinneth from the beginning" (I John 3:4, 8,
ASV). Thus Satan is described as the primal and original rebel against the
control of God's Universal Kingdom; and with him are the "angels that
sinned" (II Pet. 2:4). On earth among men there are unnumbered
multitudes who, deceived by Satan, are actively opposed to the revealed
will of God. Still others, like the Assyrian in the prophecy of Isaiah, may
know little or nothing about a sovereign God ruling over the universe. But
regardless of the attitudes of men, whether it be indifference or rebellion or
submission, the Scriptures declare that the Lord "worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will" (Eph. 1:11). Even if in all the universe there
were not one solitary personal being not in rebellion against God, whether
angel or demon or man; even if there were no heaven of the redeemed but
only a hell of the lost--it would still be true of this Universal Kingdom that
"The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth
over all" (Ps. 103:19). For this Kingdom is an ever present reality from
which there can be no escape. We can be grateful that God has left a place
for personal choice and freedom in His dealings with men, but we must
understand that there is no room for any freedom with respect to this divine
rule. It is not for men to choose whether or not they will be under the rule
of the Universal Kingdom. Whether they like it or not, they are already
under it (Ps. 75:4-7).
6. The Rule of the Universal Kingdom Is Administered Through the Eternal
Son
He is before all things, and by him all things consist. --Col. 1:17

The complete Biblical evidence for the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
also for the doctrine of the Trinity, must be reserved for another volume in
this series. However, any adequate discussion of the Universal Kingdom of

God must give some recognition to the high place occupied by the Son of
God in relation to that Kingdom. Sometimes men have thought too
narrowly of His regal activity, restricting it almost exclusively to His office as
the incarnate Ruler of a purely Messianic Kingdom. This is an important
idea, of course, as we shall see later in dealing with what I have called the
Mediatorial Kingdom. But the kingly function of our Lord appears first in the
dateless past, beginning with creation itself.
In this connection several things should be noted. First, the creation of the
universe and the establishment of the Universal Kingdom must be regarded
as contemporaneous events. Second, the creation with its divine control
was and continues to be a standing revelation of the invisible God. As the
Apostle Paul argues, "The invisible things of him from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. 1:20). Third, the Son of God is
spoken of in the Gospel of John as the eternal "Word" (Grk. logos), who is
from the beginning both the "life" and the "light" (1:1-5). Now since it is the
nature of light to shine and overcome the darkness, we must conclude that
the creative and sovereign power of Deity has always been revealed in and
through the activity of the eternal Son who in the fulness of time became
our incarnate Saviour.
This sovereign activity of our Lord seems to be indicated in the book of
Isaiah where the prophet names him the "Everlasting Father" (9:6). At first
glance, this statement seems to confuse the Persons of the Godhead,
calling the Son the Father; but a more literal translation shows that such is
not the case. The name may be read as the "Father of the Everlasting" or
the "Father of Eternity" (ASV, margin). But we must be careful here not to
read into the passage any dialectical notions of time and eternity. In the
Bible eternity is not absolutely opposed to time, but is simply (at least in its
forward aspect) an unending duration or succession of ages. And the Son
of God is the "Father" of this succession of ages. This means not only
origination but also Fatherly guidance.4
The same idea is found in the first chapter of Hebrews where we are told
that through His Son, God "made the worlds" (1:2). Now it has often been
pointed out that the Greek term here should be rendered "ages." However,
it seems clear from the passage in 11:3, where the same word occurs, that
the writer is not thinking merely of the flight of time when he declares that
God made the "ages" through Christ. As a matter of fact, the writers of the
Bible never attempt to deal abstractly with the ideas of time and space in
relation to the universe. This world, to them, is a moving world, not a static
4

Keil and Delitzsch, Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., reprint,
1949), in loc.

affair. Thus the writer of Hebrews, in a single term (aionas), unites the idea
of the world existing in space with the idea of the world moving through
time--no mean accomplishment. And the Son of God, we are told, is the
Maker of this world, not only viewed from the standpoint of its vast
extension in space, but also from the standpoint of the ages through which
the world has passed and is yet to pass.5
For a long time men have regarded with deep interest the complex
movements of world history, asking the question, What is the meaning of it
all? To this some have answered, There is no meaning; lo, we have
searched and have found nothing but vanity and a striving after wind. But
other men, more thoughtful, have felt deeply that there must be some final
significance above and beyond the contradictions of human existence. As
the result we have the so-called "Philosophies of History," often the work of
earnest and brilliant minds, yet always inadequate and missing the mark.
But the philosophers have been right in one respect; that is, in believing
that there is a philosophy of history. Age does not follow age by a kind of
"fortuitous concourse." There is an orderly arrangement, a plan, in the
midst of seeming chaos and confusion. The great periods of history were
not ushered in by chance, nor are they wound up by the will of men. The
Son of God is the Maker of the ages, the Father of the everlasting, the God
of history. Because this is so, the man who has found God in Christ has laid
his hand upon the key which explains the riddle of cosmic history. And the
more we know of Him, the closer we come to the heart of the mystery; for
He is indeed the Light of the world, intellectually as well as spiritually and
morally. Here is the trouble: men are trying to understand history apart
from Christ in whom we have found the God who is described as the "King
eternal" (I Tim. 1:17); or better, King of the Ages.6
It is in this glorious capacity that our Lord Jesus Christ sits today upon the
throne of the universe. Not that He ever abdicated for a moment His
rightful place there; even during the time of His deepest humiliation and
suffering, He was "upholding all things by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3).
Commenting on this remarkable statement, Marcus Dods has rightly said,
"The present [tense], pheron, seems necessarily to involve that during the
5

On the clause, "By whom also he made the worlds" (Heb. 1:2), Marcus Dods has said,
"The writer perhaps has it in his mind that the significant element in creation is not
the mass or magnificence of the material spheres but the evolution of God's purposes
through the ages. The mind staggers in endeavouring to grasp the vastness of the
physical universe, but much more overwhelming is the thought of those times and
ages and eons through which the purpose of God is gradually unfolding, unhasting
and unresting, in the boundless life He has called into being. He Who is the end and
aim, the Heir, of all things is also their creator . . . He only can guide the universe to
its fit end . . . ." --Expositor's Greek Testament (London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1917), Vol. IV, p. 250.
So Robertson, Olshausen, Meyer, et al.

whole of his earthly career, this function of upholding nature was being
discharged. Probably the clause is inserted not merely to illustrate the
dignity of the Son, but to suggest that the whole course of nature and
history, when rightly interpreted, reveals the Son and therefore the Father." 7
But following His incarnation and death and resurrection, He was exalted as
Man to sit down "on the right hand of the Majesty on high." This was not
the throne of David transferred somehow from earth to heaven, as some
have mistakenly supposed, but God the Father's own throne in the
Universal Kingdom. The distinction is made very clear by our Lord Himself
when, speaking to the Church on earth from His throne in the heavens, He
promises, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"
(Rev. 3:21). These are two thrones, not one. The former is distinctly
Messianic; the latter is the throne of God alone upon which "none may sit
but God, and the God-Man Jesus Christ." 8
7. This Universal Kingdom Is Not Exactly Identical with That Kingdom for
Which Our Lord Taught His Disciples to Pray
His kingdom ruleth over all.
Thy kingdom come.

--Ps. 103:19
--Matt. 6:10

In its universal and providential sense, the Kingdom of God had already
come, and the will of God was being done, in every place including even the
earth. For, as we have seen above, this Kingdom "ruleth over all" (Ps.
103:19), and its sovereign God "worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will" (Eph. 1:11). This rule of God, in fact, had always existed and
never had been abrogated or interrupted. The duty of man, in relation to
such a Kingdom, was to acknowledge its reality and bow to its sovereignty;
not to pray for its coming in any objective sense. There should be no
confusion as to this distinction.
What then was the Kingdom for which Christ bade His disciples to pray?
The infallible key to the meaning of the petition, "Thy kingdom come," must
be found in the clause which follows: "As in heaven, so on earth" (Matt.
6:10, ASV). Although this clause is immediately connected with the
petition, "Thy will be done," it no doubt qualifies all three of the petitions
which precede it.9 The disciples are to pray for the hallowing of God's
name, for the coming of God's Kingdom, and for the doing of God's will--all
this to be done "on earth" as it is being done "in heaven." Although the
7
8
9

Op. cit., p. 252.

R. C. Trench, Epistles to the Seven Churches in Asia (London: Kegan Paul, Trench,
Trubner and Co., 1897), p. 230.
So Alford.

Kingdom of God was already ruing over all, there was nevertheless a
profound difference between the exercise of its rule "in heaven" and "on
earth." This difference arises out of the fact that rebellion and sin exist
upon the earth, sin which is to be dealt with in a way not known in any
other place in the universe, not even among the angels which sinned. It is
here that the great purpose of what I have named the Mediatorial Kingdom
appears: On the basis of mediatorial redemption it must "come" to put
down at last all rebellion with its train of evil results, thus finally bringing
the Kingdom and will of God on earth as it is in heaven. When this purpose
has been fully accomplished, the mediatorial phase of the Kingdom will
disappear as a separate entity, being merged with the Universal Kingdom of
God.
This is substantially the view taken by the discerning Adolph Saphir in his
very able and spiritually helpful treatment of The Lord's Prayer.
Commenting on the clause "Thy kingdom come," he says, "The petition
refers primarily and directly to the Messianic kingdom on earth, of which all
Scripture testifies. The King of this kingdom is the Lord Jesus, the Son of
David; the subjects of it are Israel and the nations,--the chosen people
fulfilling the mission which, according to the election of God, is assigned
unto them, of being the medium of blessing unto all the nations of the
earth; the center of the kingdom is Jerusalem, and the means of its
establishment is the coming and visible appearing of our Saviour Jesus
Christ. When we pray 'Thy kingdom come,' our true meaning is, 'Come,
Lord Jesus, come quickly!' "10
Referring to the same petition in the Prayer, Ellicott finds that "Historically,
the prayer had its origin in the Messianic expectations embodied in the
picture of the ideal king in Isaiah 11:1-6; 42:1-7; Daniel 7:14. It had long
been familiar to all who looked for the consolation of Israel. Now the
kingdom of God, that in which He manifests His sovereignty more than in
the material world or in the common course of history, had been proclaimed
as nigh at hand. The Teacher of the prayer knew Himself to be the Head of
that kingdom."11 Here Ellicott seems to distinguish between the already
existing divine kingdom in nature and history and that kingdom for which
men are taught to pray.
This distinction is also supported by the Greek text of the Prayer. In each of
the petitions concerning God's name, kingdom, and will, the Greek verb is
not only in the emphatic position but also aorist imperative in form, thus
10 The Lord's Prayer (Harrisburg, Pa.: Christian Alliance Publishing Co., no date given), p.
173.
11 Charles J. Ellicott, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, reprint, 1954), in loc.

indicating "single or instantaneous" action.12 Thus, in harmony with all Old

Testament prophecy, the prayer taught by our Lord suggests not only that
His kingdom is to be prayed for, but also that its coming to the "earth" will
be a definite crisis in history, not a long and gradual process of evolution.
This is in sharp contrast with the Universal Kingdom which has always been
present in the world, on earth as well as in heaven.

12 S. G. Green, Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament (New York: Fleming H.
Revell, 1912), p. 309-310.