Coming: Top kingdom of all the world

In revealing God’s future intentions for the wicked through Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel writes about the stone “cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold.”

What the mountain represents is God destroying the Gentile nations and setting up His kingdom to run the earth. In the Scripture, a mountain often is a metaphor for a kingdom and it’s that way in Micah, explains Richard Jordan.

In Zechariah, you see it again and it’s one of those symbols used to try to tie things together throughout Scripture.

So when Micah writes, "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it," he’s talking about how God’s going to establish a kingdom that’s going to be the top kingdom of all the world.

That’s why God promises in Micah 4: [7] And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
[8] And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

The last thing God says, in verse 13: [13] Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

Messiah is going to be the king of kings and His kingdom is going to be exalted above all the other kingdoms, and all the earth is going to flow, come to Him for blessings.

Verse 2 describes what the kingdom is going to be like; the extent of it. [2] And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

You have a political kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem where the Word of God comes out because the Messiah is not simply a king; He’s a priest sitting on the throne. He’s the Savior, He’s the Redeemer and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths for the law shall go forth out of Zion.

Imagine somebody saying that passage is about the gospel going around the world! That’s the way you hear that verse taught all the time!

Is the gospel of grace the law? No. Again, that’s how you get the Galatianism; that mixing of law and grace everywhere you go. It comes from trying to take a verse like this and make it into something it’s not!

But it’s going to be a universal kingdom. Isaiah 11 says the knowledge of God will cover the earth as the water covers the sea. It’s going to be a day when the Word of God is taken to the nations and the nations are open to it.

When you read about the Messiah judging, He doesn’t judge with His eye. As He sits on that throne, He judges impartially, and it’s going to be a kingdom of righteous judgment. We live in world today where that doesn’t exist much.

Think of that kid the alligator took off with from the Disney property. The salvation for that is not getting a gun or running somebody out of town.

There’s a billboard, "Cain killed Abel with a rock." The problem is not guns; it’s a heart problem.

The characteristic of Christ’s kingdom is one that gets rid of all the turmoil. It’s going to bring peace. The first thing going to be done is eliminating all the violence, including the cultural violence.

As Isaiah 2:4 says, [4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Think again about the kid snatched by the alligator. Isaiah 11:6 says that in that day, [6] The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

I saw a thing on the news this week about how in India they arrested eight lions and were charging them with endangering human life, and they were going to have a trial and see if they should execute them. What?!

I mean, that’s an instinctive thing. An alligator sees a little dog on the side of the water, or a child-- they don’t know what it is. They’re doing what they do naturally.

People talk about how wonderful nature is. You know where Darwin got his idea of the survival of the fittest? Watching nature.

You know how nature operates? It’s the survival of the fittest. It’s when you get among humans that that rule goes out.

In all of creation, all of nature . . . you start with the ants, a little bug down on the ground, up to the biggest mammal, it’s the survival of the fittest, and when you’re weak, they take advantage of you. All that will go away. There will be peace even in the creation.

Isaiah 11: [7] And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
[8] And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
[9] They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

In Acts 3, Peter talks about "the time of restitution of all things"—that’s what we’re talking about! When the Bible talks about the kingdom Jesus Christ is going to set up, it’s not talking about some ethereal, mystical, Utopian idea that we seek for, hope for, want to have happen but don’t really have much prospect of it happening.

The Bible’s talking about a real, literal, physical, visible, transformation on this planet where the curse of sin is removed and all nations are united together under one head in peace and harmony. It’s going to be a time of great prosperity.