PMT 2016-060 by J. Vaden Cavett

Gentry note: This article was originally published in The Covenant Quarterly and is used by permission of the author. We are in a political season which requires that we bring our faith to bear upon this important topic. This is part 2 of a three part series.

Kingdom Progress in History

R. J. Rushdoony writes: “The heart of post-millennialism is the faith that Christ will through His people accomplish and put into force the glorious prophecies of Isaiah and all the Scriptures, that He shall overcome all His enemies through His covenant people, and that He shall exercise His power and Kingdom in all the world and over all men and nations, so that, whether in faith or in defeat, every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess God (Rom. 14: 11; Phil. 2: 11).” (God’s Plan for Victory)

To summarize my argument:

• God blesses nations in response to their obedience to His commands.
• The promise of the New Covenant is God’s promise to give His people new hearts and the gift of His Holy Spirit.
• New Hearts and the indwelling Holy Spirit always result in obedience.
• This obedience results in the national blessings enumerated in Deuteronomy 28 (teach all “nations” – the great commission focuses on nations, not just individuals).

When God promised the New Covenant, He was promising more than a free offer for all to go to heaven. He was promising a New Creation (Isaiah 65:17-25). But how do we get from prosperous Christian nations to an entirely New Creation?

The New Creation is inaugurated in Christ’s resurrection and consummated at His second coming, but in the intervening period, the Kingdom, Christ’s area of influence – his dominion – will spread throughout the whole earth: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:7)

Christ’s expanding dominion and the cultural advances it results in is nothing like humanism’s impersonal view of evolutionary progress. Christ’s reign is personal: “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26)

Saving Freedom
(by Sen. Jim DeMint)
(Former) Senator DeMint’s firsthand account of the unsettling socialist shift—behind-the-scenes actions in Congress that are changing the character of our nation.

See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

As Christ has dominion, He subdues the inheritance the Father has already given to Him: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Psalms 2:7-8) We know Christ did ask this of the Father, and we know the Father granted His request. How do we know this? Because, after the resurrection, just before He gives His apostles the Great Commission, Christ tells His disciples, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

The whole earth is Christ’s domain, so His domain does not expand its borders – it cannot: He owns everything. However, Christ still has work to do. From now until His second coming, Christ will exercise dominion on earth and expand His influence. That’s why we pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

In Daniel 2, the Kingdom of God is a stone, cut out of the mountain without hands (44, 45). This Kingdom will “never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44) We see this conquering Christ in Revelation 19, consuming nations with the Gospel: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war…. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
(by Rosaria Butterfield)
Remarkable testimony of a lesbian professor who was a leading spokesperson for
the feminist movement, but whom Christ saved.
See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

The influence of the Kingdom in history is pervasive. It was relatively minuscule when the King walked on Earth, but He promised it would grow: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” (Matthew 13:31-33) As surely as a mustard seed grows large or leaven leavens an entire lump, the Kingdom of God, the influence of King Jesus, will permeate history.

To be continued…

Jonathan Cavett is a writer and instructional designer at an alternative finance company. He is co-founder of TheCovenantHerald.com and their newsletter, The Covenant Quarterly.

Tagged: Daniel 2, Kingdom, kingdom progress, politics