The Return of the King

Jesus is the King of Kings. But what’s his kingdom?

When Jesus was on trial before Pilate, the Roman governor, what did Pilate ask him?

Are you the king of the Jews?

Why? The Jewish leaders presented Jesus as a threat to Roman rule. They didn’t have the authority to execute Jesus, so they needed the Romans to do their dirty  work. Pilate needed to determine if Jesus really was a threat.

How did Jesus respond?

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” – John 18:36

We get a hint about this kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in the second chapter of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a statue with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet a mixture of iron and clay. A stone not cut with human hands hurtles toward the feet, crushing them and turning the statue to chaff which blows away in the wind.

Daniel’s interpretation of the dream explains what this stone is and what it’s doing.

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

Jesus’s kingdom will put an end to all others, and it will endure forever.

Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.- Revelation 19:6

What do you imagine Jesus’s kingdom is like?