"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44 NRSV).
It amazes me how Christianity in the West has become a matter of private spirituality rather than a public faith. The roots of Christianity, found in the Hebrew Scriptures, anchor the faith firmly in the present world. What God promised was not a revolutionary new way to know God or a better for of personal religiosity, but the invasion of this present world by His reign. The passage from Daniel above is just one example of how the prophets spoke of the then-yet-to-come reign of God. Into the midst of the many nations of the world, and not out of them, would come a kingdom that would endure forever, one that would overcome all others.
This image of a coming kingdom that would "crush" all others in the world was near and dear to the Jews in the first century. Oppressed by the Romans and betrayed by the collaboration of many of their own leaders with the Gentile rulers, Palestinian Jews in particular feared mingling with the Gentiles. Hellenized Jews there and in other parts of the world rejected to varying degrees the customs and laws of Israel, and this was seen as infidelity to the true faith of the one God. The hope of many was that the Messiah, the true and promised King of Israel, would come and vanquish the Gentiles. Israel, according to this vision, would become the supreme nation and free forever from invasion and outside control. Temple, law and sacrifices and priesthood had all already been restored. All that was needed was the Messiah.
Many came, before and after Jesus of Nazareth, promising military victory but dying in the process of trying to bring it about. The message of Jesus, though, was wholly different. He promised not a triumph brought about by force, but the defeat of evil and liberation of Israel through his own death and resurrection. In all this, he in no way denied that his kingdom was real. Further, he never taught that his kingdom was a disembodied heaven "somewhere over the rainbow."
"Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here'" (John 18:36 NRSV).
A lot of translations get this wrong, but the New Revised Standard Version gets it right. Jesus' kingdom is not "from this world." It is from somewhere else, from the very presence of God, and it is breaking into our reality. The reign of Jesus arose not from natural causes or conquest, but through the act of God in becoming man and fulfilling Israel's vocation to be the light of the nations.
"Pilate therefore said to him, 'Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?' Jesus answered him, 'You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin'" (John 19:10-11 NRSV).
It is the false belief of every governing authority that they are not subject to any higher authority. Even those who have believed in the poorly conceived "divine right of kings" doctrine have fallen prey to their own arrogance. For a time God has ordained that worldly powers with reign on the earth, but as we are told in Daniel, their time is limited and the reign of God will overpower them. The earthly powers and authorities exist by force, but the kingdom of God is founded on love and justice that has origins in the very nature and character of the Creator.
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing" (Romans 13:1-6 NRSV).
The apostle Paul has long been misunderstood by establishment types to be affirming the status quo. This is always the position of those in the dominant culture, those with everything to lose should their "power" be shaken. Reading carefully the 13th chapter of Romans, though,we find not a carte blanche for government, but a mandate and basis for judgment. Authority exists in order to approve of what is good and punish evil. Who would want to live in a society in this present age without any police force at all? Even anarcho-capitalists can't imagine life without privatized security.
The task God has given to worldly rulers and authorities is to uphold truth and justice. When they fail to fulfill this duty, they are subject to judgment. Every human attempt to resolve the world's problems without addressing the reality of sin and submitting to the Lordship of Christ is bound to failure. Such is demonstrated time and again, so that when the present Lordship of Jesus is revealed and all enemies are defeated (including death) God will reign fully and manifestly and all will know that only He is capable of restoring us and setting our world right.
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself" (Philippians 3:20-21 NRSV).
We who are Christians recognize Jesus as our Lord, above all other so-called "lords." We may have citizenship in one or more nations of this world, but they will fade. We now hold the greatest citizenship as children of God. Notice the word "from" in the text from Philippians. We saw this word as it came from the lips of Jesus in speaking to Pilate. Our citizenship is "in heaven" and it is "from there that we are expecting a Savior." This in no way means that we are awaiting our chance to sit on a cloud and strum a harp in some distant place, but that we are expecting our citizenship, secure in the throne room of God, to come to us in the person of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.
Putting this all together, Daniel spoke of a kingdom from God crushing all others. Jesus affirmed that his kingdom was not from this world and wouldn't be established by sword and strife as earthly kingdoms are. The apostle Paul set the boundaries and conditions for human government and reminded us that our citizenship is in heaven, and from there our Savior will come. So, what does this say about God and politics in the here and now?
First, the church must recognize and proclaim the Good News that Jesus in Lord now. He is Lord not only over the church, but is the one true Lord of the universe. If this message is true, then we must be living in accordance with this fact.
Second, the kingdom of God does not leave the powers and authorities alone. It keeps their feet to the fire and demands that justice be done on earth. We cannot have a private spirituality that involves only accepting Jesus as a personal Lord without insisting that he is also the one to whom all nations and their rulers will have to give account. If children somewhere in the world are starving, women are being exploited and dehumanizing corruption is rampant in societies, it is our job to peaceably and prayerfully intervene.
Our mission of calling the world into fellowship with God involves both personal invitations to walk with Jesus as disciples, and also to actively be disciples by living out this discipleship publicly, laboring for peace and justice in the present time. This is our prayer, taken from the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, that His "will be done, on earth as in heaven." Not someday... now. However you vote or whatever political party you may claim, the radical discipleship to which we are summoned is far deeper and more significant than anything most of us have yet tried.
"Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:9-13 NRSV).
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This post is part of the July Synchroblog on "The Politics of God." Check out what everyone has to say:
Phil Wyman rants about The Talking Points of Presumption
Lainie Petersen considers Questioning the Citizen Diety
Jonathan Brink enters The Political Fray
Adam Gonnerman explains The Living Christ's Present Reign
Sonja Andrews Won't Get Fooled Again
Mike Bursell at Mike's Musings
Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes
Steve Hayes on God's Politics
Matthew Stone at Matt Stone Journeys in Between
Steve Hollinghurst at On Earth as in Heaven
KW Leslie tells us about God's Politics
Julie Clawson at One Hand Clapping
Dan Stone at The Tense Before
Alan Knox asks Is God Red, Blue, or Purple?
Beth Patterson writes about Learners inheriting the earth: the politics of God
Erin Word discusses Hanging Chad Theology
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