There is always a tension that arises when anyone attempts to understand the biblical teaching about the Kingdom of God.

On one hand, God’s kingdom is eternal and indomitable. These truths about our Lord’s Kingship put steel in our spines and a rock beneath our feet in turbulent times. On the other hand, though, opposition to God’s Kingdom is very real and significant. Although Christians should understand that God sits as King, we have all asked the question in the face of personal or national calamity, “How could God allow this tragedy if He is reigning as King?”

Thus arises the tension when we consider the truth from Scripture, which tells us that God’s Kingdom will triumph. How can we know for sure that the Lord’s Kingdom will be victorious on the long-awaited final day? How can we be certain that God wins in the end, when we are surrounded by so many earthly adversaries, with seemingly immense power and under the sway of the prince of darkness?

Because of these weighty questions that many Christians have wrestled with for centuries, I want to begin to show how the Kingdom of God has unfolded in history to help us see how believers can have assurance that, no matter what happens in the short term, God’s kingdom will be triumphant in the end.

As we noted previously in this series, the story of history is that of the Kingdom of God. Everything in history that has happened, is happening, and will happen is about the Lord establishing, expanding, extending, and encompassing all creation with His glorious kingdom.

To see this goal of history, we need to look at the conclusion of the story (Revelation 22:1-5). No one knows details of what will happen following this Revelation scene of the new creation, but what we do know is that it will be better than we could have ever dreamed. In this passage, God reigns eternally in a visible way that encompasses all creation in heaven and earth, and His people will reign with Him forever and ever. The goal of the Kingdom of our Lord, then, is that it would exist without tension in such a glorious and comprehensive way, so everything is subject to God as King, and His people reign with Him forever.

So, how will the Lord’s Kingdom reach the culmination of this goal? To answer this question, we must start in the Old Testament to see how the Kingdom is unfolding in God’s plan prior to the arrival of Christ. There are three phrases corresponding to major historical turning points that help strengthen our hope today that no matter what is happening in the temporal sphere, God will be faithful to His promises and accomplish His kingdom purposes.

First, we should look at the Kingdom at Creation.

Having seen a preview of the end in Revelation, we return to the very beginning so we can observe what God’s Kingdom purpose was at creation (Genesis 1). The opening chapters of Scripture are critical to understand who the Lord is, who we are, and what is happening in our world. These chapters are rejected, twisted, and misinterpreted perhaps more than any other sections in the Bible. However, we need to understand that Genesis 1-3 is literal history that must be taken as the authoritative historical record of how God created the world and everything in it. We cannot possibly understand the Kingdom program of God and how He will work out His plan if we miss the opening of the book.

The fundamental reality we see from Genesis is that the Lord reigns (Genesis 1:1). Because God is Creator, He is King. What God creates, He rules (Psalm 95:3-5). The great I AM is our Maker, and therefore all humanity should kneel before Him (Psalm 95:6-7). This truth is fundamental to understand, that God’s reign is an outflow and a consequence of the fact that He is the Creator of all. Nothing exists that God didn’t create. Whatever came into existence is under the Lord’s rule because He brought it all into existence; it is His by virtue of the fact that He created it. So, Genesis 1:1, then, is not merely a statement that God created the heavens and the earth, but an assertion that He rules over the heavens and the earth as their King.

That fact about the Lord’s rule and domain makes what happens on the sixth day all the more shocking and gracious, magnifying the love of God for the crown of His creation. On that day, the Lord created man in His own image to rule over the creation. All creation was designed to be the temple of God, beginning with the garden and then extended by Adam, the first high priest – out to all the earth. Adam was not only a priestly figure extending God’s temple but a royal figure ruling as king over creation – a priest-king.

God’s commission to Adam was to rule over the entire world that had been created. Adam was the first human king, made in God’s image, then given authority and privilege to reign over the world. Adam was created by God, not to take the Lord’s place as the King over all, but to serve as a human king over what the Creator had made. God ruled over Adam, and Adam in turn ruled over everything else, executing the will of the Lord in the world. It was thus incumbent upon this first king, King Adam, that he rule God’s world God’s way.

To ensure that Adam understood that he was not a king with absolute – but delegated – authority, God placed a tree in the middle of the garden; and the Lord commanded Adam and all of humanity not to eat from this tree (Genesis 2:16-17).

Some have wondered why God would put this tree in the garden. Here’s one reason: the tree was a constant reminder to Adam that he was under the Lord’s command and authority. Adam was not to rule the earth as he saw fit but in accordance with God’s will and in obedience to the Lord’s command. Adam had immense liberty and authority as the king of the earth, but he had one thing he could not do, which was to subvert the Lord’s authority, making himself out to be God.

The penalty for disobedience to the Lord’s command was death, which seems rather harsh for eating a piece of fruit. However, when we understand that the tree served as a reminder that God was the sovereign King over Adam, we see that eating from this tree was not a minor infraction but an act of treason. For Adam to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was for him to reject God’s authority and attempt to wrest that authority away for himself. The act was an assassination attempt against God, seeking to banish the Lord from His own creation. Death is the penalty that justly falls on traitors.

The opening chapters of Genesis show us God’s kingdom design in creation. The Lord creates everything and reigns over it as King. However, God delegates the rule to His image-bearer, Adam, who functions as a king over creation, carrying out the will of God. Adam’s responsibility is to extend this kingdom to the entire earth, so that God would not only reign over all as Creator, but He would functionally reign over all through His image-bearer and son, Adam.