Kingdom Glory

Paul had a perspective of the kingdom that differs from ours; in his day, God was calling the churches into the messianic-age kingdom. Now, the churches of Christ comprise that kingdom. 

The prophets had foretold both the coming of the kingdom and the saints taking possession of it (e.g., Dan 2:44; 7:18–28). Jesus declared that the fulfillment of their prophecies would occur in his generation (e.g., Matt 16:27–28). The temple’s fall would serve as the line of demarcation between the Mosaic age and the new messianic (kingdom) age (e.g., Matt 24:1–3 NKJV). 

Paul and all the New Testament writers assumed this position—the “great tribulation” was in their near future; its first rumblings had already begun (e.g., 1 Thess 1:6, 10). Jesus would soon return—as he promised—to execute judgment against Jerusalem (e.g., Luke 21:23, 32). The kingdom he had established during his earthly ministry would continue.

In this post, I want to emphasize the glory of the kingdom. Paul told the Thessalonians that God was calling them “unto his kingdom and glory” (1 Thess 2:12; emphasis added). This kingdom is a present reality and so is its glory. I am not saying that the glory we now experience has reached its zenith. The inmillennial prophetic model says this glory will grow until God removes all remnants of sin from his creation. That will happen when Christ defeats physical death in the resurrection (1 Cor 15:25–26). Consummate glory is the goal of the glory we already enjoy.

I will not provide a technical definition of “glory”; I suspect the reader has an intuitive sense of what it means and will associate this concept with words like splendor, heavenly radiance, loftiness, majesty, etc.¹ A mental image may help; think of the Queen of Sheba’s description of Solomon’s glory.² After giving several detailed observations, she said:

Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. (1 Kgs 10:8–9)

Paul envisioned the Thessalonians entering a kingdom where the King’s servants (i.e., Christians) would enjoy a heavenly glory that far surpassed Solomon’s earthly servants.

I will make three simple observations about the glory that is now ours in the kingdom of heaven: (1) the prophets foretold it; (2) an exchange of glory was necessary for us to have it; and (3) that exchange was about to happen in Paul’s generation.

Prophecies of Kingdom Glory

The prophets had foretold the glory that would attend the coming of the kingdom.³ Notice this passage from the Psalms:

But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; to declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. (Psalm 102:12–22; emphasis added)

John Gill says: 

Since Zion was a type of the Gospel church, Ps 102 may be very well applied to Gospel times; and the rather, since some passages in it are cited by the apostle in Heb. 1:10, 11, 12 as to be understood of Christ; see Ps 102:25–27. The Syriac version calls it, “a prophecy concerning the new people, namely, the Gentiles in the faith.”⁴ 

God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, has now created a new people: “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Gal 6:15). This new creation comprises the true Jews that Paul describes in Rom 2:28–29. God has brought this newly created people to Zion, and he has given the kingdom to them (cp. Matt 21:43; Heb 12:22, 28); the glory of which Paul tells the Thessalonians “has its grand fulfilment in the Christian Church.”⁵

Isaiah also foretold this kingdom glory:

In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. (Isa 4:2–5; emphasis added)

The “Branch of the Lord” is the Lord Jesus (cp. Zech 3:8; 6:12; Jer 23:5; John 15:1). He has “washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion” (cp. Rev 1:5–6). He has established his church kingdom (e.g., Matt 16:18–19). And the kingdom glory of which Paul speaks now rests on the individual assemblies (i.e., churches) in that kingdom.

Daniel connects the ascension of Christ to this kingdom glory:

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:13–14; emphasis added)

He then says, “the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (Dan 7:18). 

Paul knew all this had happened: forty days after his resurrection, the Lord Jesus ascended in the clouds to the Father, received the kingdom, and sat down on his throne (cp. Acts 1:7; 2:30–31). The Apostle also knew Jesus would soon return as the Son of Man in that kingdom and glory (cp. Matt 16:27–28).

Paul told the Thessalonians that God was calling them into a glory-kingdom. We now live in that glory.

Exchange of Kingdom Glory

Jesus and his disciples had announced the kingdom of God (e.g., Matt 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; et al). This event would require an exchange of glory because the Mosaic-age kingdom and the messianic-age kingdom both possessed glory. If the kingdoms changed, the glories of those kingdoms must change, too.

Paul describes this exchange of glory in his second letter to the Corinthians. He argues that God meant for the Mosaic-age glory to fade away because the messianic-age “ministration of the spirit” was more glorious (2 Cor 3:6–8). Here is an amplified version of Paul’s spiritual logic:⁶

For if the [Mosaic-age] ministry of condemnation had glory, the [messianic-age] ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious [i.e., the Mosaic age] had no glory in this respect, because of the [messianic-age] glory that excels. For if what is passing away [i.e., the Mosaic age] was glorious, what remains [i.e., the messianic age] is much more glorious.… But we all [i.e., churches in Paul’s generation]… are being transformed into the same image from glory [in the Mosaic-age kingdom] to glory [in the messianic-age kingdom], just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor 3:9–18 NKJV)

Paul knew the Mosaic-age kingdom was passing away in his generation, and he knew that “what used to be glorious has come in this respect to have no glory at all, because of the new glory which goes so far beyond it.”⁷ 

Paul elsewhere describes the glory of the Mosaic-age kingdom. He says that to Israel after the flesh (1 Cor 10:18) “pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises” (Rom 9:4). 

But God had warned his Mosaic-age people about the danger of losing that glory. Here is one example: “As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame” (Hos 4:7). God had previously turned Israel’s glory to shame by allowing their enemies to rule over them, especially in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. But in Paul’s day, God was about to put Israel after the flesh to shame in a fundamentally different way—he was about to destroy them and replace their former glory with the far superior glory of the messianic age (cp. Heb 12:22–29). 

Nearness of Kingdom Glory

The New Testament writers speak of kingdom glory as something in their near future; this is a major theme of the New Testament. For example, Jesus said,

The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Matt 16:27–28)

Some people who heard Jesus say these words saw him come in the kingdom’s glory. Jesus also said that they would “see the Son of man coming in … great glory” in their generation (Matt 24:30, 34). This is the glory of which Paul told the Thessalonians. 

In Romans, Paul links the “beginning of birth pains” of which Jesus spoke (Matt 24:8) to the soon-coming glory of the messianic age. He says, “I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [i.e., both phases of tribulation described here] are not worthy to be compared with the glory about to be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18 YLT).

Peter has much to say about this glory. He tells the scattered elect Jews that God is keeping them “through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed” after a season of temptations (1 Pet 1:5–6). Soon they would have “glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:7). The prophets had foretold “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Pet 1:11). Peter reminded them of this glory-grace “that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:13 YLT). Henry Alford makes an important point about Peter’s language: the expression “is being brought” signifies “the near impending of the event spoken of: q.d. ‘Which is even now bearing down on you.’”⁸ This was not a glory relegated to the distant future!

Jesus and the apostles taught a soon-coming glory in the messianic (kingdom) age.

Conclusion

Jesus made an interesting observation while speaking to the multitudes about John the Baptist:

What went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matt 11:8–11)

I suspect this is difficult for some of us to imagine, but we should make the effort. We now live in a glorious kingdom that makes the least person in it greater than any of the Old Testament prophets. And that glory will increase until it shines unhindered in all parts of God’s creation. Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad! Let us say to our Lord, “Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.”

1. See Gerhard Kittel, “Δοκέω, Δόξα, Δοξάζω, Συνδοξάζω, Ἔνδοξος, Ἐνδοξάζω, Παράδοξος,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 237.
2. The image in this post is Solomon And The Queen Of Sheba by Giovanni Demin (1789-1859). This file (here) is in the public domain (PD-US).
3. Some material in this section comes from a previous post: Appearing with Christ in Glory (Col 3:4)
4. John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 9 vols. (1809–10; repr., Paris, AR: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1989), 4:126. References modernized.
5. James G. Murphy, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms (1876; repr., Minneapolis: James Family, 1977), 529.
6. My explanations are in brackets.
7. N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, vol. 4, Christian Origins and the Question of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 725.
8. Henry Alford, Alford’s Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary, 4 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 4:339 (commentary on 1 Pet 1:13).