An Everlasting Kingdom (9/16)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Daniel 7-9.

When we think of prophecies in the book of Daniel regarding the Lord’s kingdom, we typically think of the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:44-45). But the following passage also speaks of the coming kingdom:

“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

There are a few points to notice from this text about the kingdom:

The Son of Man would be given dominion – This means that He would have authority, which is the right to rule. Jesus (the Son of Man – John 8:28) would be given this authority by the Father (Matthew 28:18).
The Son of Man would be glorified – Referring to His death, Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). God “raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory” (1 Peter 1:21), proving to all men that He was the Christ (Acts 17:31).
The Son of Man would be given a kingdom – Receiving the kingdom was part of the mission for Christ when He came to earth (John 18:36-37). Many deny that this has happened, believing that it will happen in the future. But the Scriptures are clear that this kingdom is now here (Mark 9:1; Colossians 1:13).
The kingdom would be open to all – Jesus told His apostles, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved…” (Mark 16:15-16). They were to be His witnesses “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8; cf. Acts 10:34-35).
Those who would be part of the kingdom must serve Him – This point should be obvious. If Jesus would be given authority over a kingdom, then those who would be part of the kingdom must serve Him (Hebrews 12:28). Yet many today believe they can please Him based upon faith alone, even though the Scriptures are plain that they cannot (James 2:24).
The kingdom would be everlasting – Unlike the kingdoms of men, the kingdom of God will stand as long as this world stands. The end of the world will be when Christ “hands over the kingdom to the God and Father” (1 Corinthians 15:24).
The kingdom would not be destroyed – This is slightly different that the previous point. The fact that the kingdom is everlasting implies that it has no flaw in it that would cause it to fall. The fact that the kingdom will not be destroyed implies that it is strong enough to face attack. This implies that the kingdom will be under attack (2 Timothy 3:12). But no matter what may come, the Lord’s kingdom will not be destroyed.