The nation of Israel began with God’s promise to Abraham. “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1–3). God renewed this promise to Abraham several more times during his lifetime. Then, in Genesis 22:18, God made a more specific promise after the “sacrifice of Isaac” on Mount Moriah. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” This was a prophetic promise of the coming of Christ through the seed of Abraham.

The promise to Abraham was twofold. God promised Abraham some real estate in the land of Canaan, and He also promised that he would be a blessing to all families of the earth. Israel had both a national mission and a spiritual mission. Israel, however, was often much more focused on their national mission than their spiritual mission. Bright spots in their history were when they filled their spiritual mission, but those instances usually occurred on an individual basis, such as the account of Ruth the Moabitess.

The Mosaic Law provided for the stranger to become a part of Israel. “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you” (Exodus 12:49). The Law had numerous provisions and directions for Israel to fulfill their spiritual mission.

Israel became a nation in their own right while they sojourned in Egypt and became a nation within a nation. Consequently, they posed a threat to the Egyptians, by whom they were severely persecuted. God saw their affliction and brought them out with “an high hand.” They did not need to fight the Egyptians, for God destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea and delivered the Israelites. They had hardly escaped from the Egyptians when they were confronted with Amalek. Moses told Joshua to choose out men and go fight with Amalek. “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. . . . And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Exodus 17:11–13).

A survey of Israel’s history would reveal that sometimes they were commanded by God to fight their enemies, and at other times God fought their battles. A closer look would show us that often their spiritual condition as a nation determined how God chose to deal with them and their enemies.

Under the Old Testament Law, God ordained capital punishment for violations. This was necessary for Israel to survive as a nation under God’s blessing. The account of Achan, who took of the accursed thing from Jericho, is an example of capital punishment being carried out under the government of Israel. God worked with them both as a nation and as His “chosen people.” They were both a physical nation and a spiritual nation. In Exodus 21 and following, after giving the Ten Commandments, God outlined how justice was to be dealt with on a national level. Take time to read it. It was “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:24, 25).

In the fulness of time, God sent His Son to provide redemption for the human race. After John the Baptist was cast into prison, the Scriptures say, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the nature of the kingdom of heaven. Nationalism as it existed in Old Israel did not apply to the kingdom of heaven that Jesus taught.

Israel in Jesus’ day was occupied by the Romans. Jesus did not resist the Romans nor teach others to do so. In the kingdom of heaven, there is no earthly real estate to defend. Physical Israel has no counterpart in the kingdom of heaven.

All committed Christians do the will of the King because they have the divine nature within. God’s presence (the Holy Spirit) dwells in them (Luke 17:20, 21), and they are His envoy to the nations of the world. They do not become involved in the politics of the nations where they reside, even as Jesus did not become involved in His day.

Jesus introduced a spiritual kingdom with spiritual laws that replaced the Law of Moses. Jesus told His disciples, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7).

Jesus gave these teachings: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you: that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:38–48). The citizens of the kingdom of heaven are thus commanded even to suffer rather than injure others, to love rather than hate, to give rather than demand.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:17–20). Christians are of the kingdom of heaven and are therefore ambassadors to all nations of the world. Their ministry is to draw men of earthly nations to become citizens of the heavenly kingdom. They call men of all nations to be reconciled to God. That is our calling today.

As ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven we have no role in the national politics or war efforts of any nation on earth. While those of Christ’s Kingdom live within national boundaries and are considered citizens of particular nations, they cannot legitimately become involved in national affairs. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36).

God has ordained the rulers and the nations of this world. Romans 13:1–7 clarifies their purpose. When we read this passage, we should remember that the nation of Israel was occupied by the heathen Roman government: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

The governments of the world’s nearly two hundred different nations are ordained of God to restrain evil. Sometimes the rulers of these nations misuse their God-given powers and persecute Christians. Many Christians today are being persecuted and killed by the rulers in the nations where they live. This is the price of loyalty to Christ and faithful discipleship.

What are Christians to do when the laws of the kingdom of heaven conflict with the laws of the nations in which they reside? When the disciples of Jesus were called into question by the Jewish rulers of their day, they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). They later rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for His Name’s sake. It is proper to give thanks and to pray for the rulers of the country in which we live, and to appreciate the benefits from its privileges. Yet, we must always remember that our citizenship is in heaven. We must be willing to suffer in order to remain loyal to our heavenly citizenship.

So what do we do with the teachings of Jesus? Are they simply ideals to be talked about and then forgotten or rejected? Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. . . . He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. . . . Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24).

“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17–21).

Question: What about all the “What would you do if ...” questions?

Answer: Kingdom Christians must never doubt the wisdom or the purposes of their King. He has legions of angels and perfect knowledge of every situation. In order to have the protection of the King, we must believe and obey His instructions as given by His Son, Jesus Christ, about how we are to respond to those who would harm us. Sometimes He delivers His saints, and sometimes He receives them into His very presence if they are killed. We must always trust the King. We must be willing to die for our King just as others die for their rulers. It can also be noted that those who do not trust the King are often killed as well, but with no hope of eternal life. “For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Question: What about Jesus cleansing the temple?

Answer: The temple was His Father’s house. He, in obedience to the Father, performed His Father’s will. The Biblical account is brief and, depending on how we allow our imagination to run, we can arrive at various conclusions. Did Jesus actually harm anyone, even though He would have had a right to do so? Did he not use His whip on the animals? He did upset the tables of the moneychangers and chased them all out. It was His God-given authority to do so. We have not been given that type of authority.

Question: Are you and I willing to trust and follow the King?

Answer: This is a very heart-searching question. How we respond to this question will determine our eternal destiny. If all that I am and have belongs to Him, then I can answer this question in the positive. On the other hand, if I am set for self-preservation of my life and possessions, I must then answer in the negative. To follow the King, I must completely surrender everything to His wisdom and purposes for my life. “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Luke 16:13).

—Silas Martin

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Silas Martin

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Rod and Staff Publishers Inc.

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