God’s Kingdom and the Nations
by Doy Moyer
The United States, for all the good (and bad) that is found therein, is not the Kingdom of God. When we act like it is, we will almost surely misuse Scripture. I saw a post trying to parallel Israel’s covenant law against a foreigner ruling over them with leaders in the US (e.g., Deuteronomy 17:15; 28:43-44). I know there are important principles to consider, but equating America with ancient Israel is a mistake. The USA is not God’s chosen nation on par with what He did with Israel. Not even close.
God raised up Israel to be a special, holy nation for His purposes in bringing about the Messiah (i.e., the seed promise). The land and nation promises were important to fulfilling the seed promise (Genesis 12:1-7), but were not an end in themselves. His prohibitions about foreigners had to do with their taking the people away from His covenant. America is not in a similar covenant relationship with God, however, and does not operate with this covenant as its Constitution. Indeed, this would not be possible today. It’s not even possible for modern Israel to operate that way. After all, if they want to keep the Law of Moses, they will not be at liberty to pick and choose which laws to keep and which to ignore. However, God brought about the end (completion, fulfillment) of the Law through Jesus Christ (Romans 10:4), who could only be our great High Priest because there was a change in the Law (Hebrews 7:11-14). The shadows have given way to the substance.
Do we want good people governing in the USA? Of course we do. We want moral, principled people who ideally recognize God in their service. What we do not want, and what is unbiblical, is the equating of America with God’s kingdom. Nor should we act as though we have some special pact with God as an earthly nation not available to any other nation in the world. At the end of the day, the USA is another nation that will go the way of all earthly nations, outlasted by the eternal kingdom of heaven (see Daniel 2:44-45). “The kingdoms of earth pass away one by one, but the kingdom of heaven remains.” We want to exert godly influence in any way we can. We want lights shining whenever and wherever possible (Matthew 5:14-16; Philippians 2:14-26). But this is true no matter where we are, regardless of the physical boundaries we happen to reside in. We pray that God bless America, but I also hope we pray God bless other nations, for residing within each physical nation are individuals who belong to Him and whose names are written in the Book of Life. The kingdom of God is spread throughout the earth.
Concerning God’s kingdom, we remember the words of Jesus: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). God’s kingdom transcends all earthly kingdoms. It knows no physical boundaries, has no earthly government controlling others, and is characterized not by physical warfare and violence, but by beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks so that nations do not lift up sword against another nor learn war (Isaiah 2:2-4).
God does have a special, holy nation today, but it is not one known by its material boundaries or physical characteristics. This nation is Christ’s body, a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” proclaiming His excellencies (I Peter 2:9). The people of God are comprised of those “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9; cf. Acts 10:34-35). These have not been coerced into His kingdom, but have willingly been delivered from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13-14), and are soldiers of Christ fighting a battle, not against flesh and blood, but “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Just as the people of God are found within all nations, so are the enemies of God. It’s not that one particular nation is God’s enemy, but rather anyone within any nation who opposes Him fits that bill. Any nation can be Babylon, of course, but we also recognize that the prowling lion has its claws in people everywhere (cf. I Peter 5:8).
Scripture warns against trusting in earthly princes (Psalms 146:3). While God oversees the rise and fall of nations and leaders (Daniel 4:34-35), worldly leaders will generally exhibit worldly attitudes. No matter who governs the kingdoms of this world, however, Christians gladly work under the reign of the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose name is the Word of God, and from whose mouth comes a sharp sword by which to strike down the nations (Revelation 19:11-16). He is the One in whom we put our trust.
