‘‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven’ — Matthew 6:10
The King and the Kingdom Are Coming
We recite this line every time we say the Lord’s Prayer. Do we understand what it means? We are asking … and declaring … that God’s kingdom is coming to earth, and that God’s will can override the will and ways of temporal earthly rulers. Just like it is in heaven.
Yet you can’t have a kingdom without a king. So in praying for the ‘kingdom to come,’ we implicitly ask for the Lord to come, too. Finally, you have to have a capital headquarters for the king and kingdom. Without question, it can be only one place: Jerusalem, the City of David, the City of God, and the City of the Great King (Psalm 48:2; Matthew 5:35).
Scripture is clear that God is coming to the earth. Psalm 96:13: 'Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.’ God is going to judge the earth but not from His heavenly throne. He is coming down and judging Earth from Earth.
Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity — Psalm 98:8-9.
While God is a master delegator, using angels and anointed people to carry out His will, there are some things in life that wisdom decrees cannot be delegated at all. Scripture teaches that God is personally coming to earth to fight, win, judge, and reign. In these roles, He cannot and will not delegate to another.
His coming is more than a courtesy call; He is coming to stay.
God’s Coming Equals Jesus’ Coming.
One potent passage of Scripture about the personal return of the Lord to earth is found in Zechariah 14. A parallel passage is Revelation 19, where the ‘coming of the Lord’ equates to ‘the coming of Christ.’
If you recall, in Zechariah 12, God would make Jerusalem a ‘cup of trembling’ to the surrounding nations and a ‘burdensome stone’ for all people. A humble city of stone at the fringe of the Persian empire during Zechariah’s day, the prophet foresaw 2,500 years ago that the holy city would become an international obsession. Modern history has borne this out. Indeed, the nations will turn against ‘Judah and Jerusalem’ and attack them militarily.
Yet the prophecy has a sober warning: all who burden themselves with Jerusalem will be cut into pieces (Zechariah 12:3) and the invaders will be struck with astonishment, madness, and blindness (12:4). The message: don’t mess with the burdensome stone, you will greatly injure yourself.
Zechariah 14 starts with the phrase: ‘Behold, the day of the LORD cometh’ (14:1). This special day represents the transition from the rule of man to the reign of God, culminating in the Lord’s coming to earth. Jerusalem will be the centrepiece.
‘For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle’ (14:2). Just as God put a hook in the jaw of Gog and brought him forth to his swift demise (Ezekiel 38:4), so the Lord will gather the nations to battle against Jerusalem, and it will be their undoing. The continuous and growing global antagonism - and anti-Semitism - against modern Israel will turn into military action. While the notion of international political and military action against Israel would have seemed unrealistic in the past. Now, it is becoming more and more plausible.
For example, a September 2024 Palestinian-sponsored United Nations General Assembly resolution was passed, saying all territories Israel captured in the Six-Day War of 1967 are ‘illegally occupied.’ This includes the West Bank, Golan, and East Jerusalem, including the Old City, the Jewish Quarter, and the Western Wall. The resolution commands Israel to evacuate these territories within twelve months and threatens boycotts. Though military action is not implied here, things could change. When they do, according to Zechariah it will be a bloodbath.
Anti-Semitism is the oldest and most irrational hatred known to man. It exists even where there are no Jews. In tandem with this is anti-Christian persecution. Both are on the rise in our day. One wonders why. In many ways, it is no mystery at all. We can call it the ‘clash of kingdoms. There are the earthly (and often) ungodly kingdoms of this world. Then there is the kingdom of God. Read Psalm 2 and see this clash for yourself.
Satan and demon powers are stirring up the unredeemed to resist the coming of the King. Since they cannot attack God directly, they channel their rage against those who represent the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the People of the Book. That’s why we must pray and advocate for persecuted Jews and Christians wherever we can.
The Battle To End All Battles
‘Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations,
as when he fought in the day of battle’ (14:3). This is a remarkable scenario: first, the Lord will gather the nations to attack Jerusalem, which they do; then, He personally comes down and fights against those same nations. The Lord knows how to fight and win.
During the Israelite conquests of Canaan under Joshua, the Lord promised to be with them, go before them, and fight on their behalf. On the day that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still at Gibeon and the moon over the valley of Ajalon, it says in Joshua 10:14: ‘And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.’ In like manner, God promises to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (12:9).
- Could it be that preceding the divine intervention in the battle for Jerusalem, the people of the city will receive the spirit of grace and supplications, look upon Him whom they pierced, and mourn for Him as their only son (12:10)?
- Could this be the time Jesus foretold that Jerusalem would not see Him again until it said, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord’ (Matthew 23:39)? Is this the time that the City of the Great King meets the Great King … for the second time?
- Is this the time that ‘And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob’ (Romans 11:26; Isaiah 59:20)? As Joseph made himself known unto his brothers, Jesus and Israel as a nation will reconcile.
How will the King Return?
We must be clear about this answer. Christ will not quietly return to earth. He doesn’t sneak in through a rear door and silently sits in the back row. Matthew 24:30 speaks about Christ coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The Greek word parousia (Greek παρουσια) means ‘coming’ and then subsequent ‘presence’ after coming. Just as Jesus Christ bodily, visibly, and personally ascended to heaven, so He will return in the same manner (Acts 1:11). He will not be a ghost, wind, or breathe, but a literal person clothed in a human body. Yes, it is a glorified body that will never die again, but it is still a human body.
Preceding His coming, the voices of many people were heard singing the Alleluia song. Part of their gratitude was based on the defeat of the horrible ‘harlot of Babylon.’ It was also in thanksgiving for the upcoming ‘marriage of the Lamb.’
Revelation 19:11-21 speaks of heaven opening up and revealing the Man on a white horse, whose name is called ‘Word of God,’ ‘Faithful and True, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. He will be accompanied by the armies of heaven clothed in clean, fine linen, representing the righteousness of the saints.
In contrast, the armies of the Antichrist are destroyed by the sword of His mouth. History’s last great battle that starts and Armageddon will be completed at the Valley of Jehoshaphat near Jerusalem. Antichrist’s armies will be routed and destroyed. The bloodletting will be so great that it equals 1,600 furlongs or 320 kilometres by 1 metre high. Birds of the air will have a great feast from the armies of the Antichrist that are slain. When it’s all over, Messiah makes his victory ascent on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:3-4a).
Both the beast - Antichrist - and the false prophet will be cast alive in the lake of fire and burning brimstone. Satan will be bound and sent to the bottomless pit, sealed for a thousand years. Christ the King will take His place from His throne in Zion and will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9 and Revelation 19:15).
Then the most amazing things happen. After the Lord stands on the Mount of Olives:
- Great topographical changes occur: the mountain splits in two (14:4)
- From the Mount, living water flows westward to the Mediterranean and eastward to the Dead Sea (14:8).
- People will flee like in the aftermath of the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, ’and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee’ (14:5).
- It shall be a unique day, not the normal day and night cycle, for light will shine in the evening (14:6-7).
Then, the most important event happens. It is the answer to all our prayers, hopes, longing, and desires. ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever’ —Revelation 11:15. No more crime, corruption, royal commissions, heavy tax burden, abuse of power, unrighteous rule. The Lord’s prayer has been answered, because:
And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one (14:9)
God the King and His kingdom have come … to stay.
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