Throughout Scripture, earthly kingdoms, such as Egypt, Canaan, Assyria, Babylon, and Rome, consistently oppose God’s kingdom. From Nimrod’s Babel to the “Babylon” in Revelation, this continual theme deserves consideration. What about today? How should Christians view and relate to the earthly nation in which they live?
What is an “Earthly Kingdom”?
The word “kingdom” is now seldom used to refer to modern political dominions, with terms such as “nations,” “countries,” or “states” being more common. Here, I use the phrase “earthly kingdom” to distinguish these political dominions from the heavenly kingdom over which Christ reigns as King.
Christians should take no issue with the idea of a “king,” or “kingdom” in general. Calling Jesus “Christ” means acknowledging Him as God’s anointed King, the world’s true Lord. Christians are not anarchist. In a sense, Christians are monarchist, submitting to Christ’s rightful reign and seeking first His kingdom.
While the preceding article “What Jesus Talked About the Most” focuses on Christ’s Kingdom, this article examines the other earthly dominions which are governed by earthly rulers. How should Christians, citizens of the heavenly Kingdom, think about and relate to earthly nations and their rulers?
Who Do Earthly Kingdoms Serve?
When Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, the devil tempted him:
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
Luke 4:5-7
The devil claimed that he had authority over all the kingdoms of the world, and the ability to give those them to whom he wanted. Interestingly, Jesus never disputed this claim. Notice Jesus’s response:
You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.
Luke 4:8
That’s it. Jesus did not dispute the devil’s ability to make good on his offer. If Jesus did not recognize Satan’s capacity to do so, the offer would not have been a genuine temptation as the text portrays it to be.
In fact, everything else the New Testament says about Satan’s authority over earthly kingdoms supports the Devil’s claim. Satan is elsewhere described as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), and the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). John states that “the whole world is under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:9).
In Revelation, the “beast” worships the Dragon, from which the beast had received it’s authority (Rev. 13:4). The Dragon is identified as the Devil and Satan (Rev. 12:9). This “beast” is an image of earthly kingdoms from the book of Daniel and is identified with “Babylon,” or more precisely, those who in John’s day were exercising Babylonian type authority (Rev. 17:1-9). This “Babylon” is described as a “dwelling place for demons” (18:2), and Christians are warned to “come out of her” (18:4). “Babylon” and the other earthly kings and nations under her deception are ultimately judged and destroyed (Rev. 18:9, 23).
One of the primary ways Satan influences the world is through giving authority to earthly kingdoms, which are described as worshiping him, and are under his dominion.
How Do Earthly Kingdoms Maintain Power?
Earthly governments maintain power through top-down authority, coercing behavior through the threat of violence. As Paul noted, they “do not bear the sword in vain,” ruling through violence or its threat to punish those who would oppose them. Civil laws carry weight because disobedience is punished with fines, imprisonment, pain, or death. Without the threat of punishment, civil laws are powerless.
Jesus frequently contrasted His kingdom with the ways of earthly ones. While earthly kingdoms are described as persecutors, Jesus’s kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit, meek, merciful, and peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10
While earthly rulers “lord it over” and “exercise authority” over others, the greatest in Jesus’s kingdom is a servant.
You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But is shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.
Mark 10:42-43a
While subjects of earthly kingdoms fight for the success of those kingdoms, Jesus’s Kingdom is seen as “not of this world” due to their refusal to fight.
If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world.
John 18:36
Earthly kingdoms are by their very nature violent, relying on the power of the sword to gain and maintain the power to lord over others. Without the power of death, earthly rulers would be unable to enforce even the most basic laws.
How Do Earthly Kingdoms Oppose God?
When people assert the right to rule over mankind, they claim authority which God has reserved for His Son. As Isaiah prophesied, the government rests on His shoulders, with an authority and dominion that is without end.
For to us a child is born,
Isaiah 9:6-7a
to us a son is given
and the government shall be upon his shoulder…
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end.
Jesus confirms this authority, stating, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt. 28:18). Earthly kingdoms exist because they do not recognize this authority. Instead of submitting to God’s rightful authority, they exalt themselves. Babylon’s attitude of self-exaltation is described by Isaiah as a rivalry the rightful authority of the Most High.
You said in your heart,
Isaiah 14:13-14
“I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the height of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.
When Israel asked for a king like the nations, this too was recognized as a rejection of God’s reign (1 Sam. 8:7). Jeremiah likewise warned them against learning the “ways of the nations” (Jer. 10:2) reminding them that there is no king like the LORD.
Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
Jeremiah 10:7
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
As plainly stated in Psalm 2, God recognizes earthly kings as standing against the LORD and against His anointed King.
Why do the nations rage
Psalm 2:1-3
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
Earthly kings who do not change their ways and submit to God’s Anointed will be destroyed (Ps. 2:10-12).
Why Are Earthly Kingdoms Important?
Although earthly kingdoms are described as serving Satan, ruling by the power of death, and standing in opposition to Christ, Christians must recognize that God still uses them to accomplish an important task.
While Christians are forbidden from avenging their enemies (Rom. 12:19-21), God does not permit evildoers to escape His vengeance, and He uses earthly authorities for this purpose, as ministers who execute His wrath on evildoers.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad… For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Romans 13:1-5
There are numerous examples in the Bible of God using earthly governments as his servants for this purpose. When Israel asked for a king like all the nations, God punished them by giving them what they asked for, a government like that of earthly nations (1 Sam. 8:22). God used the office of an earthly king to execute his wrath, just as he says in Hosea,
I gave you a king in my anger,
Hosea 13:11
and I took him away in my wrath.
Assyria is also described an instrument in God’s hands to execute His wrath. Interestingly, Isaiah makes it clear that God was able to use them as His ministera, even though they had no intention to serve God willingly.
Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger;
Isaiah 10:5-7
the staff in their hands is my fury!
Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
But he does not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few.
Likewise, Jeremiah 50-51 describes how God used Babylon to punish Israel for their wickedness. Even the pagan King Cyrus was called “My shepherd who shall perform all my pleasure” (Is. 44:28).
Despite the wickedness of earthly authorities, God still uses them to fulfill His will on the earth. As long as evildoers continue, earthly kingdoms will play an important role, and must be submitted to for this reason.
There Is Another Way
When Jesus established his Kingdom, He did not do so by the pursuit of earthly political authority, but by dying on a cross at the hands those authorities. His refusal to fight for power shows His kingdom was different in nature from the kingdoms of the world (John 18:36). Jesus is a real king (John 18:37), but His kingdom gains and maintains its power the same way Jesus did, through faithful obedience, love, service, and sacrifice, submitting even to rebellious earthly authorities.
Peter urged Christians to disciples submit to pagan Roman emperor, not because they agree with their claim of lordship, but “for the Lord’s sake.” (1 Pet. 2:13). They trust that God can use these authorities as His servants (1 Pet. 2:14). By following Christ’s example of submissive suffering (1 Pet. 3:13-17; 4:1), His disciples faithfully trust in God’s ability to restore, confirm, and strengthen them (1 Pet. 5:10).
We submit to them, because they we that to Christ belongs the true “dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Pet. 5:11). Christians are called to submit to earthly authorities and their kingdoms, all while living as strangers and exiles whose citizenship is in Christ’s kingdom.
The Christian Exile 