Be Assured, Christ’s Kingdom Is Coming

[Note: The following article is an excerpt from my newest book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom, published by Harvest House Publishers in June 2025.]

In Scripture, Jesus assures us of His inevitable rulership over a resurrected world in His coming Millennial Kingdom. We can know with surety that a primary characteristic of the Messiah’s reign is its inevitability.

Assured in the Psalms

To better understand this characteristic of inevitability, let’s look to the Psalms.

Charles Spurgeon noted that when one reads Psalm 2, the reader has at last come into the “clear light of prophecy” concerning the “kingdom of our blessed Master.”¹ We have the Father’s assurance that, as Spurgeon explained, “the kingdoms of the earth, and the earth itself, are Christ’s inheritance…and the utmost bounds of the world are to be His possession” (Psalm 2:7-9).²

Concerning Christ’s inheritance, we learn that the sacrificial death and resurrection of the Son of God earned Him the authority to rule the earth, though Jesus didn’t claim His inheritance during His first coming.³ In commenting on such a steep payment, theologian Mark Heinemann noted, “Instead of sparing Jesus’ single life, God purchased through Jesus’ death a glorious resurrection to new life for all who trust in Him.”⁴ When Christ returns in victory, He will at last claim His possession—both land and people.

Now let’s look at Psalm 22. The theme of this psalm is the self-sacrifice of the Intermediator who is assured a kingdom for both He and His faithful subjects. This psalm is a favorite among Jews everywhere due to the classical rabbinic commentary, the Midrash Tehillim, which is read as Esther’s Prayer during the Jewish rituals celebrating Purim.⁵ Christianity also highly regards Psalm 22 as the very prayer Jesus Christ recited as He suffered on the cross.

Psalm 22 is extraordinary in its revelation of the messianic character. God had inspired its author, David, to write in such a way that certain aspects of the crucifixion were clearly prefigured.⁶ David didn’t write only about his human sufferings; rather, he served as a vessel uttering the very words Jesus Christ would speak on the cross an incredible thousand years later.

Psalm 22 also recognizes that after suffering comes victory. As promised, the Father delivered the Afflicted One, and someday, the nations of the world will come to worship the Messiah because “the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:27- 28). In celebrating this trial swallowed up by triumph, we receive this emphatic declaration in verse 31: “He has done this.”⁷ Psalm 22 ends with a glorious crescendo, assuring that Christ’s great deliverance will be universal to all the generations yet to come who will hear of our Lord’s victory and rejoice in the inevitability of the Messiah’s kingship.⁸

Assured in the Major Prophets

The assurance of Christ physically ruling and reigning over this earth was reinforced not only by the psalmists, but also by the Old Testament major prophets.⁹ For example, Isaiah prophesied that the “house of the God of Jacob” would be established “on the top of the mountains,” and there the Messiah would sit “upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,” for “the Lord of hosts will reign” (Isaiah 2:1-4; 9:6-7; 24:21-23; see also 11:3-9).

Likewise, Jeremiah foretold of the day when “a King shall reign and prosper” (23:5). It is He who will serve in the trinity of divinely appointed offices.

Thus says the Lord: “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me” (Jeremiah 33:17-18; see also Jeremiah 33:6-16).

Ezekiel, too, foresaw the day when Yahweh would regather the Jewish remnant from the wilderness to refine and rule over them. In doing so, the Gentile nations would also learn that there is a God.

David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them (Ezekiel 37:24; see also Ezekiel 20:33-44; 37:25-28; 39:21-29; 43:7).

Daniel also foresaw the Son of Man, whom he equated with the Ancient of Days, being given dominion and glory and an everlasting kingdom. It’s a kingdom where, most assuredly, “all dominions shall obey and serve Him” (Daniel 7:27; see also verses 13-14, 18).

Assured in the Minor Prophets

The Old Testament minor prophets also assured us of the coming era when God’s faithful would “seek the Lord their God and David their king” (Hosea 3:4-5). Many of the minor prophets foresaw a reality where the Lord dwells personally from Zion after He has overthrown the Gentile kingdoms (Joel 3:14-17, 21; Micah 4:1-7; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Haggai 2:20-23). Zechariah wrote with great certainty that “the Lord shall be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9; see also Zechariah 2:10-13; 6:12-13; 8:2-3; 9:10; 14:1-8).

Assured in the Gospels

Not only was the assurance of a physical rule by the Davidic King over the entire earth made in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, Jesus Himself also proclaimed His inevitable earthly reign. Theologian K.R. Harriman identified this kingdom connection that bridges the Old and New Testaments: “As Jesus sits on the Mount of Olives to teach, He also sits before a great mountain range of prophetic tradition.”¹⁰

Jesus spoke quite often about His coming kingdom. From the beginning of Christ’s ministry to its end at the ascension, kingdom language was threaded throughout His teachings.¹¹ Jesus often promised, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21; see also Matthew 19:28; 25:31; Acts 1:3-6; and Revelation 2:26-27). Jesus also taught in many parables and by direct word that we are to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33; see also Matthew 5:3, 10), that the Father’s pleasure is “to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32), and that as His followers we are to expectantly pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus even gave to some of His apostles, such as John, a firsthand glimpse of that earthly kingdom (Revelation 21:1-3). Christ assured the apostles at His ascension that the season would come when the Father would put into place the Son’s authority over all the world (Acts 1:6-8). Jesus even proclaimed the coming kingdom before the local Roman authority who ruled at that time—Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3; John 18:37).

Assured by the Apostles

Kingdom teaching was not just an essential part of the preaching message of Jesus, but of His apostles as well.¹² In his sermon on the portico of Solomon, Peter revealed that Jesus would remain in heaven “until the times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:20-21). Likewise, Paul looked expectantly for “that Day” when the Lord would return to take up His throne and allow the faithful to reign with Him (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10: see also 2 Timothy 2:12). John added to the chorus of Christ’s disciples who foresaw a day when a “Child” on whose thigh was emblazoned “King of kings and Lord of lords” would return in great glory to “rule [all nations] with a rod of iron” (Revelation 12:5; 19:15-16; see also Revelation 20:4, 6).

Assured by the Angels

In the New Testament, we read how the assurance of the inevitability of the kingdom of Christ was also reinforced by the angels. For example, when the angel Gabriel delivered his message to the virgin Mary, he made eight promises concerning her son. So far, five have been fulfilled in history, while these three remain to be fulfilled:

1. Jesus will be given the throne of His father David
2. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever
3. His earthly kingdom will be made manifest (Luke 1:26-38).¹³

In heaven, the four living creatures and the 24 elders sing again and again about the day when the Worthy Lamb will take up His kingdom and allow His saints to rule and reign with Him (Revelation 5:9-10). The other angels chime in with, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15).

Assured by the Future Saints

Even the tribulation martyrs assured us of the inevitability of the kingdom. They are recorded as praising the worthy Son and proclaiming the day when “all nations shall come and worship before You” (Revelation 15:3-4).

The Bible is replete with the Davidic King’s assurances of His inevitable rulership. On this promise rests solidly all the other characteristics of the Millennial Kingdom.

Resource

To further learn about what life will be like living in the Millennial Kingdom, pre-order Dr. Nathan Jones’ newest book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom, published by Harvest House Publishers in June 2025!

References

1. Spurgeon, Christ in the Old Testament, 543-545.

2. Ibid., 543-545.

3. Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1986), 511.

4. Mark H. Heinemann, “An Exposition of Psalm 22,” Bibliotheca Sacra 147, no. 587 (July 1990): 308, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000827911&site=ehost-live.

5. Ellen Van Wolde, “A Network of Conventional and Deliberate Metaphors in Psalm 22,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 44, no. 4 (June 2020): 646, doi:10.1177/0309089219862816.

6. Heinemann, “An Exposition of Psalm 22,” 286.

7. Richard Duane Patterson, “Psalm 22: From Trial to Triumph,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47, no. 2 (June 2004): 226, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001457894&site=ehost-live.

8. Ibid., 226.

9. Other psalms that echo the assurance of Christ claiming His kingdom are Psalms 47; 67; 89:19-29; 110; 132:13-18.

10. K.R. Harriman, “The King Arrives, but for What Purpose?: The Christological Use of Zechariah 13–14 in Mark 13,” Journal of Theological Interpretation 10, no. 2 (Fall 2016): 283-285, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAiEYD170206001927&site=ehost-live.

11. Don Finto, God’s Promise and the Future of Israel (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 2006), 135.

12. Ibid., 138.

13. Tim Moore, Looking Forward to the Reign of Jesus Christ (McKinney, TX: Lamb & Lion Ministries, 2020), 25.