Will you please turn to the book of Daniel, chapter 4?
Daniel, chapter 4. We read from verse 19 through verse 27.
Daniel 4:19:
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him.
The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, nor the interpretation thereof, trouble thee.
Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
whose leaves were fair, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation:
it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven; and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
And then, in the same chapter, verse 34:
And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom from generation to generation;
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we are in Thy presence, and we do ask Thee to speak to us through Thy Word, that we may hear Thy voice, that we may see Thy vision, that we may be led into Thy truth, that we may be able to stand with Thee for Thy purpose to be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. We commit this time into Thy hands, and we trust Thee in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
The burden that the Lord has put upon my heart is concerning the kingdom of God. We started out on the first evening, and for the sake of some who were not there that evening, probably we will just briefly review what we have covered in order to start with this evening.
We find that the kingdom of God is one of the greatest themes in the whole Bible. Especially when we come to the New Testament, we find that it is this subject that is being proclaimed.
John the Baptist proclaimed the kingdom of God. He said, “Repent; for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” And this was taken up by none other than our Lord Jesus. When He began to preach, He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel.”
Throughout His days on earth, He talked about the kingdom of God. He taught the disciples the principles of that kingdom, and He predicted that one day the kingdom will be publicly manifested upon this earth.
He told us that we shall seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us. He exhorted us that we should seize the kingdom by violence, and the violent shall seize upon it.
And by the word “violence,” it simply means that you have to seize the kingdom by force—not doing violence to other people, but we have to do violence to ourselves: deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him. And this is the only way to gain the kingdom.
Even as our Lord Jesus was risen from the dead, for forty days He appeared to His disciples, and all the time He was talking to them of nothing but one thing: the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The disciples took up that theme. From the day of Pentecost, they began to preach the kingdom of God and teach the things concerning the Lord Jesus. We find that the book of Acts begins with our Lord Jesus Himself, after His resurrection, teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God.
And at the end of the book of Acts, chapter 28, we find that Paul the apostle, there in Rome, received all who came to his rented apartment, and he preached to them the kingdom of God, and he taught them the things concerning our Lord Jesus.
Now, everybody knows that the book of Acts is a book that has no ending. Why? Because the book of Acts continues on even unto our day, and it will be continued on until the coming of our Lord Jesus.
So you find that throughout the church age, the message of the church is the kingdom of God. In all the writings of the apostles in the New Testament, you will find mention again and again about the kingdom of God.
Now, if the kingdom of God is so important, if the kingdom of God is that which occupies our Lord Jesus and occupies the apostles, and it is the very message that God has entrusted to the church, then we are, brothers and sisters, I believe, to understand it.
Not only understand it, but it is one thing that we really must seek after, that we may enter into the kingdom of God abundantly.
Now, what is the kingdom of God? We mentioned that night that the word kingdom is not a very good English translation. The word should be translated sovereign rule. The kingdom of God is the sovereign rule of God.
But unfortunately, when we think of the kingdom, usually we think of the kingdom as a domain, as a sphere, as a territory over which somebody rules. Now, that is true, because the kingdom is a domain over which somebody rules.
But when you come to the kingdom of God, especially with the understanding of the New Testament, then you find the kingdom of God is much more than just the concept of a domain. Rather, you find the kingdom of God is the personal rule of God.
In other words, the emphasis is on the Person; it is not on the place. It is that Person, that personality—it is God Himself—who expresses Himself over that domain which He rules.
Or, to put it another way, the kingdom of God is the corporate expression of God Himself. So the emphasis should be on God. The emphasis should be on the character of God.
There He, in a sense, imprints His own image, His own character, upon a domain, upon a people; and that domain is called the kingdom of God. That people are the people of the kingdom.
The kingdom of God is basically spiritual, because God is Spirit. Even though it does have a physical manifestation, basically it is spiritual in nature.
That is the reason why, unless we are born again—born from above, born of the Spirit—we do not even see the kingdom of God. It is after we are born by the Spirit that we enter into the kingdom of God.
So the very nature of the kingdom of God is spiritual. In other words, it has to begin in the spirit, and then it will be manifested, expressed, or overflow into the physical realm.
And then, of course, we know the kingdom is the kingdom of truth, because God is true—the only reality in the universe. Truth is not just a teaching or a doctrine. Truth is reality.
And because the kingdom is the kingdom of truth, unless there is revelation from above, we will not be able to enter into the truth—that is, into the reality. When the Holy Spirit shall come, He shall lead us into all truth.
In other words, truth is not just something to think about, something to understand. Truth is something to enter into. Truth is reality; it is life. It is living.
And only by the revelation of the Holy Spirit can we enter into the truth. Now, what is the truth? The Lord Jesus said, “I am the truth.” In other words, by the Holy Spirit, we are led into Christ.
We are led into an experience of Christ. We are led into the riches of Christ, not as a teaching, not as knowledge, but as experiential knowledge. It is something that we know by life. And that is basically what the kingdom of God is.
And then, of course, we know the kingdom of God is the kingdom of love, because God is love. Love is the rule of the kingdom.
The kingdom of God is the kingdom of light. The Bible says, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” If we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of His Son Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sins.
The kingdom of God is the kingdom of righteousness. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking; it is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. So these are the nature of the kingdom of God.
Now, that is what we covered the first evening. This evening, we would like to go a step further, and we would like to see how the heavens do rule.
Now, we find this phrase in the book of Daniel: “The heavens do rule.” In order to understand this, we need to go a little bit into the history of the kingdom of God.
We mentioned the first evening that the kingdom of God—the very concept of the kingdom of God—is in God Himself. When God began to create the universe, that is the beginning of the history of the kingdom of God.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Why did God create the heavens and the earth? What is the purpose behind it?
We know that God created the heavens and the earth with a view to the kingdom. God has a kingdom in His mind, if we may put it that way, or in His heart; and with that, He began to create the universe.
So that the universe might become His kingdom, might become an expression of Himself, and be under His rule.
Now, you remember Colossians 1:16. It is said that our Lord Jesus, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in Him all things were created.
Now, in the original, we know that the word by actually is not correct. In some translations, you do find the word by there: all things are created by Him, through Him, and unto Him. But the word there in Colossians 1:16, in the original, is that all things were created in Him.
Now, when translators translate the Bible, they cannot figure out how all things could be created in Him. So the only way they could put it into English is to put it, “by Him.”
Now, we can understand how things are created by Him. But to understand that all things are created in Him—now, what does that mean?
It simply means that when He created all these things, not only did these things come out of His mind—He designed them—but you find when He designed all things, He designed them according to what He is.
For instance, you will find an architect. An architect will design a building. The building was not in existence yet; it was not built yet. But that building was already in the architect’s mind. In his mind, he saw that building.
And if that architect is very artistic, then you will find the building he designs is very beautiful. Or if the architect is very practical, then you will find the building he designs will be an efficient building—very efficient.
You know, when you look at the building, really you can see the character of the architect. It is his expression. He puts his own character upon that which he designed. So we may say that a building is built in him.
And after it was built in him, after he designed it, then, of course, you can have the general contractor build it by him. And after it is finished, then it is given to the owner, and it is for him.
So, brothers and sisters, we find that when God created all things, He created all things in Christ, in His Son. His Son designed everything, and when He designed everything, He designed it according to what He is—His character, His nature.
He cannot design anything ugly. He cannot design anything impure. He just cannot design anything shameful, because He is holy, He is pure, He is beautiful.
So here you find that when God created all things, on all things you see the imprint of His hand, of His character. So the psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”
You know, when God created all things, He not only created them by His power. We see His power in creation, but more than just power, we also see His nature, His character, in all things.
Let us just imagine: when the universe came out of the mind and of the hands of God, the universe was the kingdom of God. Why? Because the whole universe was a corporate expression of who He is, what He is; and then He ruled over all.
He ruled over the universe according to His own character. The universe came out to express His character, and His rule over the universe was according to what He is—His character.
Now, if you just think of that, you will find how beautiful, how glorious, how blessed must be the first world. We just cannot imagine.
There you find God is on the throne. There you find His authority was unchallenged. His authority was accepted by all that He had created.
There you find the angelic beings worshipped God with their whole hearts, and they served God willingly. There you find all the created beings lived together in peace and harmony.
And there you find even inanimate things—the hills, the trees—all these things spoke of the glory of God. The whole universe was in great harmony, and God ruled over all. He ruled it according to His nature. What a blessed condition. What a blessed state it must be.
And in Hebrews 1, it is said that God has established His Son to be the heir of all things, through Whom the worlds were created.
Now, the word worlds actually is a Hebrew term. It means the universe. The universe was created by the Son of God, and God established Him as the heir of all things.
Or, to put it another way, before God created all things, God had a will. And that will was that He had made His Son to be the heir of all things. So after all things were created, God said, “It is all Yours. It is Yours.”
He inherited all things. Or, to put it another way, God appointed Him as the King over the universe.
And the Lord Jesus, the King, the Son of God, would rule over the whole universe. And how would He rule the universe? He would rule the universe with the very character of God. What a blessed state it must be.
You know, that is what the kingdom of God is. We know a little bit of the blessedness of it. Why? Because, as we mentioned the first evening, when you go to 1 Corinthians 15, there you find the end.
In 1 Corinthians 15:24, it says, “Then cometh the end.” Now, when the end should come, then the Son will subject all things to the Father, that God may be all and in all.
So you find that in the end, that blessed state will again appear. And by the end, we can understand the beginning. That is the beginning of the kingdom of God.
We do not know how long that blessed condition continued, but then at one point in time, something happened. At one point in time, we know that there was a rebellion.
From Isaiah 14, people believe that it refers to the rebellion that happened in the universe even before man was created.
You know, Isaiah was prophesying about Babylon. In Isaiah 13, you find the burden of Babylon. But then, as he was prophesying concerning Babylon, you find he began to prophesy something that you just could not apply to Babylon.
In other words, what you find in Isaiah 14:12-15, you just cannot apply these words to any human being. So people believe that here we have a hint of what happened in the universe when the harmony of the universe was broken.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer? Now, Lucifer means “brilliant star,” son of the morning.
The understanding is that when God first created the universe, the first beings that He created were the angels—angelic beings, spirits. And some people even think that probably Lucifer, being the son of the morning, was the first created being.
Lucifer was an archangel, and God created him with such beauty and endowed him with such power.
But somehow, you find this Lucifer, the son of the morning, in Isaiah 14:13, said in his heart:
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit also upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.
Now, brothers and sisters, we remember that in the kingdom of God, God is all and in all. To put it another way, nobody thought of himself. The attention was upon God. There was no self-consciousness.
It was God. God is all and in all. Everything is for God. Everything is for His glory. God is all and in all.
But somehow, you find this Lucifer, the son of the morning, began to think of himself. That is how it began. He began to be self-conscious. He began to be interested in himself. He began to be self-centered.
And there you find he said, “I, I, I. I will ascend into the heavens. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.”
Now, some people believe that this is where the throne of God is set. He wanted to be in the council of God. Speaking in a human way, in the government there is a council: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There is that council in the Godhead.
And here you find this created being wanted to be a part of that council in the Godhead. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.”
In other words, he was not contented with what he was as created by God. He was not satisfied with where God had put him. He wanted something more than God had ordained for him.
He was not willing to be under God. He wanted to be equal with God. And because of this, he was cast out of the heavens.
Now, if we want to know a little bit more about it, turn to Ezekiel 28. And there again, people believe that this applies to the archangel, because you cannot apply it to any human being.
Now, the prophet Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 28, was prophesying concerning the prince of Tyre in verse 2. And then, from the prince of Tyre, he began to prophesy about the king of Tyre.
Now, people believe that the prince of Tyre actually refers to the ruler of Tyre. But then, from that, he projected to the king of Tyre. And as you read these verses, you find they cannot be applied to any human being.
So the prophecy goes beyond Tyre on earth. It goes beyond that and reaches back to the beginning. And here you find, in verse 12:
Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God.
In other words, he was created as the measure of perfection, so far as a created being is concerned. He was the standard of perfection: full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. And he was in Eden, the garden of God—not Eden upon the earth, but the Eden, the garden of God.
Every precious stone was his covering: the sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the chrysolite, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, the emerald, and gold. The workmanship of his tabrets and of his pipes was in him.
In other words, he was gifted with music. And, of course, God gave him all the musical talent in order that he might praise God; he might lead the singing, worship, and praise.
Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth;
and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,
till unrighteousness was found in thee.
And if you know the tabernacle of Moses, you will find it was built according to the pattern God gave him on the mount. In that tabernacle, you find in the holiest of all there was the ark with the mercy seat, and the glory of God rested upon that mercy seat.
And upon the ark you find two cherubim. These cherubim were the covering. They were like the arms over the back of that throne. And here you find this Lucifer, this angel, this archangel—he was actually the anointed covering cherub. He was one of the anointed covering cherubim.
When God created that angel, he was perfect. We do not know how long he remained in that perfect way, until unrighteousness was found in him.
Now, we say, what is righteousness? Righteousness is giving God His right. And a created being, even though he was the first created being, even though he was the measure of perfection, was still created by God.
And as being created by God, he should give God His right. In other words, he should worship God, he should depend upon God, he should look up to God. That is giving God His right.
But here you find, until unrighteousness was found in him. What is unrighteousness? Unrighteousness simply means that you deprive God of His rights. You take His right away and try to apply it to yourself. And that is unrighteousness.
By the abundance of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned.
Because God had entrusted him with much. God had given him many talents, and God had entrusted him with much.
And he began to abuse the authority that God gave to him. He began to abuse the gifts that God had given to him. He tried to draw everything unto himself, and there was violence.
In other words, he tried to push his way upon other angels, perhaps, and upon those God had put under his rule. He did not rule according to God; he ruled according to himself—what he could get.
Therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God;
and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty;
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.
Pride came into his heart. He corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. He was so clever, and that corrupted him. And because of this, the Lord said, “I have cast thee to the ground.” God cast him out.
Now, brothers and sisters, you find the universe that God created in the beginning was perfect, harmonious, peaceful, and under the loving rule of Christ, God’s Son. So blessed.
But here you find the trouble again. That archangel, that angel, thought of himself and tried to grasp for himself. In other words, you find that he began to manifest a character that was contradictory to the character of God.
He began to exhibit a kind of character that was different from the character of the kingdom of God. Before he was cast out, he already manifested an opposite character that did not belong to the kingdom of God.
In the kingdom of God, God is all and in all. God’s authority is respected. But he began to exhibit a character totally different from God’s character.
God is selfless, but this character was full of self: “I, I, I”—everything just for himself. And you know, because of this, he could not remain in the kingdom of God.
And that is the reason why he was cast out, because those things did not belong there. Unfortunately, he had influenced a third of the angelic beings to follow him. In other words, there was a rebellion among the angelic beings.
And after he was cast out, there was the beginning of Satan. He made himself Satan, the adversary of God, and he tried to set up his own kingdom in opposition to the kingdom of God.
You know, the kingdom of God is characterized by love, but his kingdom—the kingdom of Satan—is characterized by hate. Everything was opposite to God, and he tried to set up his kingdom, especially upon the earth.
Because most likely our planet, in the beginning, was under the dominion of that archangel. So that is why, when he fell down, the whole planet entered into corruption and emptiness. But he tried to set up his own kingdom to oppose God.
Now, brothers and sisters, here we need to understand two things. One is that the kingdom of God has a broad sense, and it has a narrower sense.
In other words, when you think of the kingdom of God—the rule of God, the sovereign rule of God—of course He rules over all things that He has created. He created them, and He rules over all, whether they are obedient or rebellious.
In other words, not because there was rebellion, therefore those who rebelled were no longer under the authority of God. God’s authority is still over them. They just cannot escape the government of God.
Do not think that when there is rebellion, you get out of God’s government. You cannot. You may no longer be obedient to His authority, but you are still under His authority.
That is the kingdom of God in the broad sense. In that sense, He rules over all obedient ones and all rebels.
But in the strict sense, in the real sense, in the narrow sense—in the sense that God intends His kingdom to be—you find the kingdom of God is over those who obey Him, those who submit to His authority, those who allow Him to work out His own character in their lives.
Then over these people you see the real kingdom of God. So we have to understand that the kingdom of God has these two different senses.
Not because Lucifer rebelled against God did he escape God’s government. Actually, he was under God’s government. God cast him out. God’s government, God’s judgment, was upon him and has been upon him ever since.
God might use him, but one day God will finish him. So you find that he did not really escape the kingdom, the rule of God. He would say he was not in it because he exhibited a different character; but in another sense, you find that God’s kingdom is still over him.
But God did not give up His original purpose. He wanted a kingdom—His kingdom. He wanted creation to be His kingdom, to manifest His glory, to submit to His rule, and that would be blessing.
So we find that God did not give up this purpose. He began to work. And that is where man came into the picture.
You know, in Genesis 1, you find that God used six days to prepare the world, to make it habitable; and on the sixth day He created man.
Now, brothers and sisters, why did He create man? What is behind the creation of man? What does God want man for?
And again, you find it is with a kingdom in view. In other words, God created man according to His image, after His likeness. And after He created them, He gave them dominion.
Dominion over the fowls of the air, the creatures of the land, and even the fish of the sea. And God said, “Multiply, and subdue the earth.”
God created man in His image. God gave man dominion. God said, “Multiply and subdue.”
What does it mean? It means that He created man in His own image, giving him the potential, the possibility, the capacity to receive the very life of God into him.
And by that very life, he would be able to exercise dominion, to subdue all things, to bring everything that was in a state of rebellion, in a state of corruption, in a state of vanity, and bring all these things into subjection unto God.
That God may be all and in all, and His kingdom will be restored. So, brothers and sisters, that is why man was created.
Let us remember: man was created not for himself. We are not created for ourselves. We are not created merely to enjoy those created things. Of course, God does want us to enjoy them, but God created us with a purpose.
God said, “I am going to create man a little lower than the angels.” It is no glory for God simply to blow upon that rebellious angel and finish him.
But God is wisdom. He created man a little inferior to the angels. You know, so far as created order is concerned, you find that angelic beings are higher than men. Their intellect and everything is higher than man’s, and we are very inferior.
But if you read Psalm 8, you will find that even though all the created universe is so great and so glorious, yet:
What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?
For Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
Thou hast put all things under his feet.
Brothers and sisters, this is the reason why God created man. He created you and me.
Brother F. B. Meyer said, “Man is a custodian of the great purpose of God.” Think of it. Do not think too little of yourself.
So far as God’s creating you is concerned, God has entrusted, in a sense, the recovery of His kingdom into your hands. God says, “Now, even though you are a little lower than angels, I want you to take care of My kingdom.”
But again, you find that the kingdom of God is not just physical. The kingdom of God is not something that God can build by decree.
He cannot simply say, “I want a kingdom,” and that is it, whether you cooperate or not. Strictly speaking, that is not the kingdom God wants. God wants a kingdom that will be a reflection of Himself.
And that is the reason why, brothers and sisters, you find we have a moral responsibility. God created us with a free will.
God does not want to force us. As a matter of fact, God gave us a free will to choose. He says, “Now, I have created you. That is what I want you to be and what I want you to do. But I will not force you to do it. I will let you choose whether you will obey Me or whether you will disobey Me.”
So God put in the garden two trees. There is the tree of life. There is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God told man, “Now, all the trees in the garden you can freely eat, and that includes the tree of life.”
“But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die.”
Now, why does God do such a thing? Sometimes we think, if God did not put that tree in the garden, it would save lots of trouble—not only for us, but for God.
Or sometimes people think, “Well, it is just eating a fruit. Why punish man so severely? That does not seem to be consistent.”
But, brothers and sisters, what is the principle behind it? The principle behind it is that God created man according to His image. God gave him dominion over the birds, over the beasts, over the fishes; but God said, “You are above all the created things, but you are below Me.”
You have to learn to obey. And your blessing is in obeying Me. You are fulfilling your destiny as you obey Me.
It is a tremendous thing whether we will give God His right, or whether we begin to be selfish and think only of ourselves.
Whether pride will come into us, and we want to be like God.
God said, “You may choose it.” So He put man in the garden and said, “Now, this tree you shall not eat. It is not good for you, because you shall surely die.”
And we do not know how long man obeyed God, but unfortunately, you find man betrayed God’s trust. God put such trust upon man, and yet man betrayed Him.
Yes, man was tempted, but man made the choice.
And the same story: “It is good for me. I will be wise. I will be like God. I do not need God anymore. I am god myself.”
Brothers and sisters, this is the principle of sin. And again, you find man failed in his trust, and he handed over not only himself, but the dominion over the earth, to God’s enemy.
So Satan became the prince of this world, the ruler of this earth. What a tragedy.
But God did not give up. God continued to work. He began again with one man. He found Abel. He found Noah. He found Abraham.
And from one person, He continued on to a family; from one family to a tribe; from tribes to a nation. In other words, you find God began to work, and He began to choose a nation out of all nations to be a representation of what the kingdom of God is.
Even though it was temporary and partial, yet the nation of Israel was chosen by God out of all nations to be His kingdom upon the earth.
If you read the history of the nation of Israel from God’s standpoint, you find that God set them apart from all the nations. You remember when God delivered them out of Egypt, and when they passed through the Red Sea, they sang the song of victory.
And how did they end the song of victory? They ended the song of victory by saying, “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.”
And then in Exodus 19, God brought them to Mount Sinai, and God said, “Now I brought you to Myself. If you keep My commandments and My covenant, then I will make you a people of My own possession out of all the nations. You shall become a kingdom of priests.”
And here you find the nation of Israel as a theocracy. In other words, the nation of Israel was under the sovereign rule of God.
Here you find other nations all had their own kings, but the nation of Israel did not have a king. Why? Because God was their King. They were under the sovereign rule of God.
And when they were under the sovereign rule of God, you find what happened to them. They lived in a land flowing with milk and honey, with brooks and fountains, a land with wheat and barley, a land with iron and brass.
In other words, you find that because they were under the sovereign rule of God, the personal rule of God, God was looking after them. God was ruling over them according to what He is. They were blessed.
They became the first nation among all nations. The oracles of God were given to them. The covenant of God was with them. God was their King.
David and Solomon were representing God. God was their King. That was Israel, the nation of Israel.
And you know, it is not just a nation being chosen as the kingdom of God, that God may rule over them and God be all unto them; but through them, God demonstrated to the whole world what the kingdom of God is like.
And through the chosen nation of Israel, the word of God would go forth until the whole world would be brought into subjection unto God. Israel had a mission.
But unfortunately, again, Israel failed. You know, the controversy of God with Israel is over one matter: abomination—idol worship.
Instead of submitting to the rule of God, they began to worship idols. They began to put their loyalty to another rule.
And even though God sent prophets to warn them, to rebuke them, they would not listen. And finally, God said, “I have to temporarily set it aside.”
But thank God, here came the second Man, the last Adam. Two thousand years ago, God sent His beloved Son into the world to be a man—another Man.
In that Man is the kingdom of God. He not only preached the kingdom of God; He is the kingdom of God.
Because in that Man, you find God is all and in all. The authority of God is never challenged. His one concern is the Father’s will. If it is the Father’s will for Him to go to the cross, for the cross He went.
You find in the life of our Lord Jesus the kingdom of God is fully manifested—and not temporarily, nor partially.
But you find with Christ Jesus, the kingdom of God is manifested in its fullness: the spiritual, the truth, the love, the light, the righteousness. You find the very character of God is fully manifested in this Man. He is the kingdom.
He not only lived as the kingdom of God, but you find on the cross He defeated the enemy. He defeated that kingdom of darkness.
He spoiled principalities and authorities that were in rebellion against God, and He made a public show of them by the cross. In other words, you find not only personally He is the kingdom of God, but by living out the kingdom principle, He destroyed the kingdom of darkness.
And in His resurrection, He gave birth to a corporate body: the church.
What is the church? The church is the extension of Christ. He is the Head; the church is the Body. The church is here to express Himself corporately.
You find that He began to gather people unto Himself. He worked upon these people until they began to manifest the character of God, the character of Christ.
Until you find that these people submit themselves to the lordship of Christ completely—no questioning, no challenging.
The kingdom of God is now among a people. That is what the church is. And through the church, God is to bring His kingdom back to the universe in full manifestation.
We will talk about it later, but I have not touched upon Daniel yet. So let us go back to Daniel.
You see, Daniel—the very name Daniel means “God is Judge,” the government of God.
But here you find, in all outward appearance, Daniel, when he was a teenager, was taken into Babylonian captivity as a hostage.
Israel, the nation of Israel, was on the verge of destruction. It had already begun. The government of the world began to move away from the hand of the nation of Israel into the hand of the Gentiles.
God’s people were in captivity. Very soon Jerusalem would be destroyed. The temple would be destroyed.
And through the seventy years of captivity, God was never addressed as the God of the heavens and of the earth. God was addressed as the God of the heavens.
It was as if He had retreated into heaven. He had lost the earth. He had no testimony upon earth, because His people, the people of His testimony, were in captivity.
Jerusalem, the place where He had put His name, was destroyed. The temple, where He dwelt—of course, He left the temple before it was destroyed—was destroyed. There was no testimony of the kingdom of God upon the earth.
The Gentiles were in control, in government. Daniel was a captive. By all outward appearance, you did not see the kingdom ruling. Men ruled.
But there you find, in the very personal life of Daniel, you saw the kingdom of God.
He was not only a prophet of the kingdom, of the government of God, but you find that he himself, as a person, literally was under the sovereign rule of God—the personal rule of God.
After he was taken as a hostage, the king wanted to choose young men from all those different nations, the captives from different nations. He wanted to choose the most clever, the most handsome, the most promising. He wanted to choose the best out of all the young people and train them for three years.
In order that they might stand in his court and serve him. Now, here you find this young man. He was a hostage. He had no choice, and he was chosen to be one of these people.
Instead of serving God, he was trained to serve Nebuchadnezzar. And, of course, during those three years, he would be given royal food and royal wine in order to educate them, nourish them, and prepare them for standing before the emperor.
You know, the world knows how to choose the best, and they demanded the best. But here you find this young man—we do not know how old he was, maybe eighteen or around that—purposed in his heart not to defile himself.
Why? Because this royal food, we were told, was first offered to idols, and then it was given to these young people.
So here you find Daniel purposed in his heart to keep himself pure for God. He would not be defiled by idols, because God was the One he served.
You know, it was not very easy because he had no choice. But God gave him wisdom. He asked for permission to try out just water, just plain food. And God honored it.
And God gave him and his three companions great wisdom, especially in judicial things. And Daniel had dreams and visions and interpretation. God gave him all these gifts.
So here you find Daniel, how he kept himself pure for God, under the rule of heaven.
And even when he began to be manifested in the royal court, when Nebuchadnezzar said, “Now you can interpret,” Daniel said, “No, God reveals it to you.” It is God. Humility.
He believed God. He opened his window and prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day, even though the royal decree was that no one could ask anything from anyone or any god during a month.
And if you did, you would be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel prayed. He prayed.
Here was a man under the rule of heaven. And because he himself, in a sense, was the embodiment of what the kingdom of God really is, therefore you find he was able to point out to the Gentile king: the heavens do rule.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we want to tell the world that the heavens do rule, first of all we have to know that heaven rules over us.
If heaven does not rule over us, we have no right; and even if we try to proclaim it, there will be no power.
But Daniel lived under the rule of heaven. He lived under the most difficult situation, but he lived under the rule of heaven.
And then you find God used that vessel to tell the world. You know, so far as the world is concerned, God was dismissed to heaven; man was in control. But God, through Daniel, told the world, “It is not true. The heavens still rule.”
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream. He saw an immense image. You know the story. We do not have time to go into it, with the golden head and all these things.
And nobody knew the dream, and nobody could interpret it. Then Daniel and his friends prayed to God, and God gave him the interpretation.
And he told Nebuchadnezzar, “God reveals His thoughts concerning the future. The times of the Gentiles—the government—is now in the hand of the Gentiles. It began with Nebuchadnezzar. You are the golden head.”
And there would be silver and so forth. Finally, there would be a stone not cut out with hands. This stone would smash the whole image, and it would disappear; and that stone would grow and fill the universe. That is the kingdom of God.
But Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with the interpretation, but he did not learn the lesson. In other words, God was telling him, “Now, do not think that you rule. I give you a time to rule; that is true. But one day My kingdom shall be established.”
That should have humbled him. Now, instead of being humbled, he became proud. So he made a huge image. It was all of gold. He got rid of all the other kingdoms—not even the Medo-Persians, or Greece, or Rome. It was all him. He was everything.
And he asked everybody to bow down at the sound of the music.
And the result was that three friends of Daniel would not bow down. They were under the rule of heaven, not under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar.
They said, “We will not. This is something we do not need to talk about. We will not bow down. Even if God does not deliver us, we will not bow down.”
And God delivered them. And Nebuchadnezzar had to acknowledge that God overruled him. But he still did not understand.
So God gave him another vision, another dream. In Daniel 4 he saw that tree cut off by the decree of heaven. And Daniel explained to him what it meant and asked him to humble himself. But he would not.
Daniel told him, “The heavens do rule. Do not think that you rule; the heavens do.” But he refused to repent, and he became insane for seven years.
Then he woke up. He lifted up his eyes to heaven and acknowledged that the kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom. The heavens do rule.
Now, the whole book of Daniel is telling us that no matter what you see, God still rules.
Now, brothers and sisters, here we need to learn two things. One is that we need to be in the real kingdom of God. We need to be under the lordship of Christ, that God may manifest Himself through us.
And we may be able to fulfill the purpose that God has purposed for the church: to bring in His kingdom.
The other thing is that we should live in a hostile world. The ruler of this world is the enemy of God, and he tries every way to pressure us. He tries every way to deviate our course. He tries every way to destroy us.
He tries to get us out of God’s kingdom, because he knows that if the kingdom of God is fulfilled in us, then his kingdom is finished. So he tries to finish us off, to prolong these days.
And, brothers and sisters, oftentimes you feel the pressure of the world. Oftentimes you feel the oppression. Everything is pressing us so that we will compromise, so that we will give in. We say, “Well, look, it is no use. Who are we?”
Brothers and sisters, at this time let us remember one thing: the heavens do rule.
God is still on the throne. He is still ruling over the kingdom of men. And we need to stand with Him.
We will not accept the status quo. We will stand with Him and declare that the heavens do rule. And if we stand with Him, you will find that heaven will bear upon the earth and will bring in the purpose of God.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we worship Thee. Thou createdst us for that tremendous purpose of subduing all things to the Lord Jesus.
But, Lord, we have betrayed Thee. We thank Thee that Thou dost not give us up. Thou didst send Thy beloved Son into the world to deliver us out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of Thy love.
O Father, what can we do but to submit ourselves to the lordship of Christ?
Lord, we want Thy kingdom to come upon us and, through us, into this world. We pray, Lord, by Thy grace, that we may stand with Thee and declare, as Daniel did, “The heavens do rule.”
O, how we thank Thee, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.