Two Kingdoms - A Scriptural Perspective

"My Kingdom is not of this world", Jesus said (John 18:36). If His kingdom were of this world, then He would have asked His disciples to fight to overthrow the Roman Empire. But He did no such thing.

Jesus was speaking to Pilate, the governor of Judea and the earthly ruler. And He repeated, once again, "my kingdom not from hence."

The Good News Bible puts it in very simple words

Jesus said, "My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!"

 Recently, I came across the two-kingdom principle in an Anabaptist context. It really made sense when compared to many sections in Scripture. For me, simply put, our faith is about expanding and bringing people into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is eternal, it is a Kingdom where Jesus Christ is our Lord.

When we are born again as believers, we are born into this kingdom. Then, we are no longer citizens merely of the earth but of a heavenly city. We are sojourners and pilgrims on the earth. One writer put it in this way - we are like ambassadors for the Kingdom of Heaven when we live on earth.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven  - Matthew 5:9

We are taught to have love for one another as brethren. Now, imagine if two nations have a dispute and it gets "ugly". If we start to hate our brethren from another nation, that would be totally against Christ's teachings. Our love for one another and our unity in the body of Christ should transcend borders.

Some forms of Christianity can often be very political, but I feel strongly that we should not mix the preaching of Scripture with politics of any kind. I don't believe that the church of our Lord Jesus Christ should be striving to gain political influence or to change the laws and practices of the world. Instead, we are to preach salvation, practice righteousness and be a light in the darkness. I don't believe that Jesus intended us to change the world through its earthly government (dominion theology). If so, plainly put, Jesus would have raised an army to overthrow the Romans and institute an earthly kingdom!

For Anabaptist believers, this means closely adhering to Scriptural teachings. We ought not to rebel against but to submit to governing authorities  as far as is righteous. But, we ought to obey God rather than men. That is the higher kingdom to which we are accountable.
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For example, Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies, to forgive, to lay down our rights, to be "non-resistant", as some would put it. Of course, we cannot expect earthly kingdoms to adhere to this rule. That is why, in Genesis, God told Noah that it is necessary to carry out the death penalty, blood for blood and life for life. The church should not directly carry out the death penalty - that has been absolutely devastating in the past, with "brethren" persecuting brethren, and contradicts with the fact that Christ died for our sins and bore all the penalty on the cross.

This has all been very interesting, and I hope to study more. Believers, in history, have been quiet, peaceful, dutiful and law-abiding. They suffered great persecution at times, yet bore it without complaint. This is a challenge to us - are we willing to suffer for Christ's name?

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

It doesn't say, "Fight back and defend yourself, for what they are doing is unrighteous." Instead, we are told to rejoice and look forward to the Kingdom of Heaven!