King Jesus & His Coming Kingdom

All four Gospel accounts take great pains to identify Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He is identified in the Gospels by five different prophetic titles: “the Son of David,”¹ “the Christ,”² “the Son of God,”³ “the Son of Man,”⁴ and “the King of the Jews.” John’s Gospel goes further in clarifying the “Son of God” title by adding, “only-begotten”⁵ and “only-begotten from the Father.”⁶ All of these titles come directly from Old Testament prophecy about Jesus.

While virtually all Christians give lip-service to these titles, few understand their meaning, and most actually deny their true significance. This is a serious problem because John’s Gospel plainly attaches eternal life to believing Jesus’ identity regarding these titles as revealed in the Gospels; “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”⁷

Every one of these titles point to Jesus’ future role as God’s appointed King upon Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, literally heading up God’s Kingdom on earth in person. The biblical “HOPE” of Christianity is Christ’s return to reign upon the earth and the resurrection of the just to reign with Him over all nations and peoples. This has been replaced with the pagan Greek philosophical concept of ascending into the heavens. The Kingdom is redefined as a “spiritual kingdom” now with our future reward in heaven itself, inherited either upon death or at the second coming. Redefining of the “Kingdom” and Christ’s role as King necessarily means that all of the titles with which He is identified in the Gospels are ripped from their prophetic contexts and given meanings that are totally foreign to what the prophets wrote and how they were understood by both Jews and Christians in the Gospels.

Understanding who Jesus is, making the “Good Confession” that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” is not an exercise in parroting phonetic sounds. It implies having an understanding of what these titles actually meant in Scripture, in the contexts of the prophets where they originated and the expectations concerning their application to Jesus in the Gospels. The critical fact that is missed by most of Christianity is that each of these titles point to Jesus literally being King over a literal civil government, reigning over Israel and all the nations of earth from Jerusalem with the “rod of iron” as both Psalm 2 and Revelation 19 require. When Christ’s “Kingdom” is redefined as exclusively some kind of cosmic, spiritual governance during this age, then Jesus Christ Himself is redefined as something other than what is revealed in Scripture. So, let’s take a closer look at these titles and what the contexts where they originated say about Him.

Jesus, the Son of David

There are many places in the Gospels where Jesus is identified as the “Son of David.” The most important of these is from Palm Sunday as Jesus rode the donkey from the Mt. Of Olives to Jerusalem in fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”⁸ As Jesus rode the donkey, the crowds laid palm branches in his path, calling out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”⁹ This was the acknowledgment by the crowd that Jesus was the promised King of Jerusalem, “the Son of David.” This title refers to the Covenant God made with David, that one of his sons would build God’s Temple and sit upon David’s throne ruling over David’s Kingdom forever.¹⁰ Isaiah also prophesied of this: “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”¹¹ Perhaps some might suppose that the Jewish crowds had a faulty expectation when waving palm branches and crying out “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Yet, according to Luke’s account (19:40), when some of the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke those making such claims, He replied: “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Thus Jesus affirmed their expectations concerning what His title, “Son of David,” implied. When the crowds cried “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were acknowledging Jesus as the promised seed of David who would become King, sit on David’s throne, and reign over Israel forever. David’s throne and Kingdom was not a “spiritual” throne or kingdom, but a civil government ruling on earth.

Even Gabriel applied this prophecy of the Davidic King reigning over David’s former kingdom to Jesus: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”¹²

Jesus, the Christ

The term “Christ” is the transliteration of the Greek word χριστός (Christos) from the Hebrew “Messiah,” lit. “Anointed One.” This was the title for the kings of Israel who were chosen and appointed by God Himself, being “anointed” by God’s prophet in a public ceremony. Saul,¹³ David,¹⁴ and Solomon¹⁵ were all referred to by this title in Scripture. Yet since Israel had no more kings after the Babylonian Exile, in Jesus’ day the title “the Christ” had very specific reference to the final coming “Son of David” who would reign on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom forever. “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David’.”¹⁶

Referring to Jesus as the Christ, Son of David, chosen by God to rule on the throne of David over David’s former kingdom, Peter said the following:

Acts 2:25-31 (NKJV) “For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’ Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”

Jesus was anointed to be King at His baptism through the agency of the prophet John the Baptist, with God Himself affirming His choice through both the visible decent of the Spirit (as a dove) and God’s own voice from heaven.

Acts 10:36-38 (NKJV) 36 “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ — He is Lord of all — 37 “that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

It is clear that both “Son of David” and “the Christ” in the Gospels are virtually synonyms titles, referring to Jesus as the future King, having a physical, civil government upon the earth centered in Jerusalem, reigning over David’s former kingdom. David’s kingdom and throne was not a “spiritual” kingdom, or in heaven, but was physical, literal dominion over territory on earth. Consequently, Jesus being identified by these titles requires a physical kingdom on earth over which He reigns as King of kings in person. (See also Psalm 45:6-7 & Heb. 1:8-9).

Jesus, the Son of God

The Gospels refer to Jesus as the Son of God many times. If any of Jesus’ titles might suggest to some a spiritual rule from heaven, it is this one. Yet, as with the other titles, this one also has exclusively a physical kingdom on earth in its prophetic contexts. In the Davidic Covenant, when God promised David a descendant who would sit upon David’s Throne and reign forever, He said the following: “And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.”¹⁷ The Jews did not take this idea of the Messiah being called “Son of God” literally simply because He is also called David’s Son in this very passage. They took this title “Son of God” in an adoptive sense (as do Unitarians today). However, Psalm 2 does not portray Jesus’ being God’s “Son” as the result of adoption but instead portrays God as literally fathering Him, God’s “begotten Son.” In emphasizing this concept, and to refute some Gnostic ideas about Jesus that were arising in John’s own day, John added critical terms to the “sonship” language — “only-begotten from the Father”¹⁸ and “only-begotten Son of God.”¹⁹ John’s language reinforced the statement in Psalm 2, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You,” which leaves absolutely no room for God merely adopting a human being. In stressing that Jesus was no mere human being John took pains to prove Jesus’ preexistence, his agency in creation, even placing Him before Abraham existed.

Psalm 2:1-12 (NKJV) Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed [Christ – cf. LXX & Acts 4:26], saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” 7 “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Note that Jesus is called God’s “Anointed” (Christ) in vs. 2, and that God “beget” Him on a particular day (v. 7). The Good Confession made by Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,”²⁰ and John’s statement that believing such brings eternal life,²¹ is to acknowledge the Man Jesus as the subject of Psalm 2. Yet, of this Christ, God’s “begotten” Son, David then quoted God’s prophecy about Him: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” Then God says to His Son, “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.” The “Son of God” title for Jesus says absolutely nothing about a “spiritual” kingdom or reigning from, or in, heaven. Rather it says exactly the same things indicated by the titles “Christ” and “Son of David.” They require Christ’s Kingdom to be a physical government on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, extending to “the ends of the earth,” to all “the nations.” This title, “Son of God,” encompasses a much broader scope for Christ’s Kingdom, far beyond David’s kingdom and throne (the house of Israel), extending it to all ethnic peoples and the ends of the earth.

Jesus, the Son of Man

This title for Jesus comes from Daniel’s vision which was intended to expand on the prophecy in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.²² In Daniel’s explanation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, ALL kingdoms of this world are destroyed and replaced with the Kingdom which God would set up upon the earth.

Daniel 2:34-35 (NKJV) 34 “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. … 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Note that the Stone which strikes the image in its feet destroys the earthly governments and then “filled the whole earth.” Like the “Son of God” title from Psalm 2, the “Son of Man” title has a universal scope regarding Christ’s Kingdom, not limited to the nation of Israel. This cannot be a “spiritual kingdom” with Christ reigning from heaven while the political earthly kingdoms remain intact and in rebellion against God. In chapter 7, Daniel was given a vision which expanded on this Kingdom of God theme:

Daniel 7:13-14 (NKJV) 13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.”

Again, the Kingdom is universal over all the earth and over all people (not just believers). This is where the title “Son of Man” was coined for this universal King. Jesus Himself made this connection in the following passage applying this very title, “Son of Man,” to Himself.

Matt. 24:29-31 (NKJV) 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Again, this Kingdom of God, delivered by God to the “Son of Man,” commences when that “Stone” crushes the kingdoms of this world and then covers “the whole earth” as “all peoples, nations, and languages” submit to Him. This is not “heaven,” nor is it an invisible “spiritual” kingdom, but the physical Kingdom of Christ on earth.

Jesus, the King of the Jews

All of the previous titles for Christ in their original prophetic contexts explicitly speak of Jesus being established by God as King in Jerusalem over His Kingdom, seated upon the Throne of David. The title “King of the Jews” is not a direct quote from prophecy like the others yet is a summary of all of them. After Jesus was born, the wise men came searching for Him, saying: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”²³ When Pilate was examining Jesus, he asked Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “It is as you say.”²⁴ The soldiers then mocked Him, saying: “Hail, King of the Jews!”²⁵ Pilate then put His charges over His head on the cross in three languages: “This is Jesus, King of the Jews.”²⁶ Since the Jews now reject Jesus as their king, His Kingdom cannot be now. This title especially refutes the “Kingdom now” eschatology of amillennialists.

Amillennialists wrongly claim that at His trial Jesus claimed His Kingdom was “spiritual,” not political or physical. As proof they reference John 18:36. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but NOW My kingdom is not FROM here.” The little word “now” shows that Jesus was only denying that His Kingdom was about to commence at His first coming. Also, Jesus said His Kingdom was not “of this world” (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, lit. “out from this world/order/arrangement/system”). Jesus clarified this in the next clause, “My Kingdom is not FROM here,” (pointing to earthly, human authority). This concept is illustrated in Revelation 11:15 where the commencement of Jesus’ Kingdom is defined as the political kingdoms of this world being transferred to Christ (just as in Psalm 2 and Daniel 2&7): “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever’!” Jesus was not telling Pilate that His Kingdom was merely a “spiritual” kingdom, that it was located in heaven, or that He would rule from heaven. Rather, He was claiming that His Kingdom was not yet and that His authority was not mere human authority, but that He would be installed as King by God Himself, that His authority was to be granted to Him by God who would deliver the earthly kingdoms to Him at the appointed time.

The Jews as well as the early Christians correctly understood these titles, that Jesus was claiming them all, and that all of them absolutely require the fulfillment of the prophecies from which they were taken. The difference between the Jewish leaders and the Christians was not a different understanding of these titles or of the Kingdom, but whether Jesus was the subject of the prophecies and these titles, or that He was an imposter.

In summary, the prophetic titles “the Christ,” “the Son of David,” and “King of the Jews” all refer to Jesus being the subject of the Davidic Covenant, reigning over David’s former kingdom and throne. The titles “Son of God” and “Son of Man” expand the scope of Jesus’ Kingdom to every nation and to the farthest reaches of the earth at the time that the earthly kingdoms are overthrown and crushed. This requires that all human dominion and government is taken away from the kingdoms of this world and delivered by God to His Son at the end of this age. Jesus’ Kingdom will be established literally, physically, and visibly in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion where Jesus will rule as King of kings and Lord of lords.²⁷ Jesus’ Kingdom is the inheritance of the saints²⁸ which we receive at the resurrection of the just.²⁹

Modern Christianity has largely neglected or abandoned Christ’s coming Kingdom on earth as the inheritance of faithful believers, which is a shame. In doing so, they have redefined all of these titles for Jesus in prophecy and the Gospels apart from their biblical meaning. When they make the Good Confession that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” they may say the right words, but many mean something entirely different. They have redefined “the Gospel of the Kingdom”³⁰ which must be preached in all the world and lost the true meaning of Jesus’ many parables about the Kingdom.

On the other hand, ‘Biblical’ Unitarians generally have the Kingdom right. They also have all of these titles for Jesus correct except the most important one, “The Son of God,” the “only-begotten of the Father.” Their denial of Jesus’ preexistence requires that they treat the “Son of God” title exactly as the unbelieving Jews did. So they view Jesus as God’s “adopted” Son not His “only-begotten Son.” In my opinion, this is much worse than the majority of Christianity because it denies the Son’s self-sacrifice described in Phil. 2:6-8, when He chose to “empty Himself,” “becoming in the likeness of men.” All of these errors diminish God’s Son and the Gospel of the Kingdom.

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1 Matt. 22:42

2 Matt. 16:16,20; Jn. 20:31

3 Matt. 27:40-43

4 Matt. 13:41; Matt. 24:27,30

5 Jn. 1:18; Jn. 3:16,18; 1 Jn. 4:9

6 Jn. 1:14

7 Jn. 20:31

8 Zech 9:9; Matt. 21:5

9 Matt. 21:9

10 1 Chron. 17:7-14

11 Isa. 9:7

12 Lk. 1:31-33

13 1 Sam. 12:3; 1 Sam. 24:5-7,11

14 2 Sam. 22:51; 2 Sam. 23:1; Ps. 17:51

15 2 Chron. 6:42

16 Matt. 22:41-42

17 1 Chron. 17:11-14

18 Jn. 1:14

19 Jn. 3:18

20 Matt. 16:16

21 Jn. 20:31

22 Dan. 2:34-35,44

23 Matt. 2:2

24 Mat. 27:11

25 Matt. 27:29

26 Matt. 27:37

27 Rev. 11:15; Rev.19:16

28 Dan. 7:18,22,27

29 1 Cor. 6:9-10 & 1 Cor. 15:50; 2 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 20:1-4

30 Matt. 24:14