The Two Kingdoms by T. H. Starbuck

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 2, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 34.

The Two Kingdoms

By T. H. Starbuck

By T. H. Starbuck

Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” When He stood before Pilate to be judged, He said: “My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence.” In reference to these earthy powers, His word teaches that they are ordained of God. By a comparison of these scriptures, we conclude that there must be a sense in which God’s will is being done in earth among men; but it is far from being that higher sense in which His will is now being done in heaven, and will be done in earth when this era of sin is past.

When God created the world, and gave the dominion into the hand of man, it was His will that the principles of the heavenly kingdom should be regnant here; but the introduction of sin overthrew that perfect form of government, and it became necessary to institute a form of government of a far different nature. When we consider these two forms of government, it becomes evident that humanity in this state of sin can not be governed by those higher principles which prevail among sinless beings; and it is just as evident that the principles of earthly government are entirely unfitted to prevail in sinless realms where Christ is king. Neither can the two forms coalesce; for each is adapted to a special environment, and the two environments are antagonistic. They differ constitutionally, as sin and righteousness differ.

It is very essential that the laws of a realm be suited to the moral condition of the subjects to be governed; otherwise a state of anarchy, or of tyranny, will be induced. The ruler and his subjects must be possessed of the same moral nature, and be living under the same environment, in order to attain to any degree of perfection in the administration of government. The divine nature of Christ unfits Him to occupy the throne of a temporal kingdom here upon earth; for the antagonism between sin and righteousness would make void such an effort. The idea of making Christ king of this world through “the gateway of politics” is a libel upon His divine nature; yet there are well-meaning people who strenuously advocate such an impossible scheme.

God’s ultimate purpose is that the principles of the heavenly kingdom shall some day prevail over the world under the righteous sway of King Immanuel. Many scriptures, as well as the Lord’s Prayer, make this very evident; for He would not teach men to pray for that which is not embraced in His ultimate plan. In this state of sin where men “see through a glass, darkly,” even good men may differ in opinion as to the way in which the “kingdom of heaven” is to be ushered in; yet the Scriptures are very explicit in their testimony that the zeal of the Lord is working to that end. (See Isa. 9:6, 7.) They also testify just as clearly that God is advancing to that end by means of the proclamation of the gospel to the nations of the earth; for it is declared to be His instrumentality for gathering out a people who shall finally possess the whole earth under the reign of Jesus Christ, in a sinless, glorious state of immortality, which is to be ushered in by the proclamation of the gospel rather than through the gateway of politics.

Essential Differences

But the true nature of the two forms of government should be carefully studied by all Christians. The essential principles of the two forms differ radically in many ways, especially in morals, in the exercise of authority, and in their duration. The moral principles of the kingdom of heaven are founded upon the attributes of the divine nature, and are morally right and perfect in all respects; while those of earthly governments are based upon human attributes in this state of sin, and can not be wholly in harmony with the divine will, because of their inherent imperfection, for sin is antagonistic to the attributes of God.

In the kingdom of heaven, the authority of the divine will springs spontaneously into action in each individual subject, or God works to will and to do His good pleasure in each subject of the kingdom; while in the governments of earth, authority is exercised by one individual over many others. The divine government is kingly, and yet democratic; the earthly form, being exercised over the many from without, is liable to be arbitrary, and can never give perfect satisfaction, because of the moral imperfections of both the ruler and his subjects.

The divine form of government is unlimited by time. It is in the way of righteousness, and in the pathway thereof there is no death nor uncertainty. It is perpetual and eternal. Earthly governments are temporal. The wages of sin is death; and death will place a limit to all things that partake of the nature of sin. A condition antagonistic to the divine plan can not endure beyond a certain limit.

Conclusion

The prayer which our Saviour taught His followers, embraces the consummation of the gospel plan, and is prophetic of the perfect condition which God will establish in the earth; and Christians are to pray for the consummation of that plan. That prayer is being answered in two instalments, first as a kingdom of grace, and second as the kingdom of glory. Here in this earthly state Christ becomes enthroned in the hearts of His followers; and under His spiritual dominion and direction they are being trained for subjects of a coming kingdom of exceeding glory. The prayer is thus being answered in them now in a moral sense; but when He comes the second time, those who have learned the lesson of obedience in this earthly sphere will be made immortal, and will live and reign with Him eternally in possession of all the earth, under the benign principles of the kingdom of heaven, both morally and physically.

Each subject of His kingdom will be a part of the divine government—not because of having somebody to reign over, as some assert, but because of having obtained the power of self-control through the grace of God; for when sin entered the world, man lost that power of control over self, and it can return in no other way but by learning obedience to God’s commandments by responding to the gospel plan. This is all made plain in the final invitation of the Great Shepherd when He says, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

A temporal kingdom of Christ in this world is but a dream of a misled mind. Immortalized saints can never live and reign with Christ over mortal nations of the earth. That is an impossible condition; for it would be a mingling of the two forms of government, and a defilement of the principles of heaven. When Jesus was here in the flesh, He declined all offers of the kingdom, and refused to act as judge even in a civil case when invited to do so. His kingdom “is not of this world.”