The Fifth Kingdom by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 4, 1915

The Fifth Kingdom

By C. M. S.

The Kingdom of God

IN the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar and in its interpretation by the mouth of Daniel, God gave to the inhabitants of this world a history in advance. Men write history after it has transpired. God writes it before it takes place—even before the men are born who are to shape the world events that constitute history.

When Daniel, under inspiration of God, had caused Nebuchadnezzar to see again the “great image” of his dream, he said, “Thou art this head of gold.” He told him of another kingdom inferior to his, a third kingdom represented by the brass of the image, and a fourth kingdom of iron and finally of “iron mixed with miry clay”—the divided state of the Roman Empire, as we see these divisions today. And then the divine record continues:—

“And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44.

That was God’s kingdom, to be set up after all earthly kingdoms had been broken in pieces and had been scattered to the four winds. That is the kingdom

and its ruler is the ruler referred to in this prophecy of the psalmist:—

“Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. . . . His wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him.” Ps. 2:7-12.

That is the kingdom to which Daniel refers again in this scripture:—

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a Son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Dan. 7:13, 14.

It was of that kingdom that Jesus himself was speaking to his disciples when he said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (Luke 19:12); and the interest and partnership of the saints of God in that fifth universal kingdom are set forth in these words of Scripture:—

“And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:27.

That glorious consummation is the climax of prophecy and the end of history. Toward that consummation every loyal intelligence in the universe of God has been laboring with intensity of purpose through the ages that have been made sorrowful by sin. What was lost in the satanic conspiracy in heaven will then have been made up through the labors, life, and sacrifice of Christ that fill with the earth-born children of the kingdom the places made vacant by the tragedy of sin.

This is the kingdom lost to man through his disobedience, and usurped by Satan when he brought man into subjection to himself through deception, false hopes, and falsehood. It was promised to man again through the Seed of Abraham:—

“Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. . . . God hath granted it to Abraham by promise. . . . And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:16-29.

Of what promise is the sacred writer speaking?—The promise that he should be the “heir of the world.” Rom. 4:13. Man had been the heir of the world, the

king of the earth; but when he disobeyed God and yielded to Satan, he lost his dominion, and became the subject of the “prince of the power of the air,” and of the “spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” The restoration of that dominion to the possession of man comes about through the life and sacrifice of the man Christ Jesus; and that restored dominion is the fifth kingdom. Concerning that restoration we read:—

“And thou, O Tower of the flock, the Stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8.

That “first dominion,” lost in Adam, is restored in the second Adam, who is the “Tower of the flock” and the “Stronghold” of those who put their trust in him. Of that kingdom there will be no end, and they who are its happy subjects will be the trophies of divine grace, whose sins have been forgiven, whose mortality has been swallowed up in immortality, upon whom death no more can lay its icy grasp. In all the history of the world no other such glorious prospect has ever been held before the human race. Life, eternal life, in a kingdom that shall never pass away, who would not strive for such an inheritance!

In this world, kingdoms have risen and fallen, and others have built upon their ruins; but that restored dominion is a kingdom whose continuance will measure with eternity. Here the greatest rulers perish after a few short years; but there neither Ruler nor subjects will feel the touch of death, and the bloom of eternal youth will be upon the faces of all God’s people. Here we have the cripples, the dumb, and the destitute; but there shall “the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing,” and the wealth of a limitless universe will be shared by all the subjects of the realm. Here death and decay, sorrow and crying, sickness and pain, smite the rich and the poor, the young and the old; but there the almighty Ruler, the Prince of Peace, the Reconciler of a rebel race, the loving Father of mankind, “shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” Rev. 21:4, 5. Then will this scripture also be fulfilled:—

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Rev. 21:3.

With this agrees the testimony of the Spirit through the prophet Isaiah:—

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. . . . And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isa. 65:17-24.

That is God’s renewed universe, when the fires of God’s judgment and his cleansing shall have burned and purified this breeding place of sin, and the New Jerusalem shall have come down “from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev. 21:1, 2. In that kingdom, with sin, sorrow, misery, and death wiped out, with even the desert places fruitful and blossoming as the rose, with beauty and joy on every hand, and every inhabitant sealed to everlasting life and privileged to enjoy the association of the Father who bore with us and the Christ who redeemed us, the highest hopes of the human heart will be realized, and love and peace and satisfaction will reign forever. What more could man ask? What more could God give? C. M. S.