Luke 1:26-33 (ESV)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. [28] And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
“And of his kingdom there will be no end.” Time to hammer on the millenialist crowd again. What does a pre-millenialist do with this verse? I figure if I ask questions maybe I will get comments….
Either Christ’s kingdom lasts for a Millennium, or it has no end. I’ll go with the angel here. Christ has a kingdom that is not of this world, and it has no end, just as the gates of hell will not prevail over it. His kingdom is the church. This too is not an earthly organization, though it is represented by earthly organizations. The church transcends all of that. Christ’s kingdom transcends all of that. It transcends all of that because his kingdom is ruled by the word of God and forgiveness. It is a kingdom that rules over hearts as only the forgiveness of sins can do. It is the kingdom that he teaches us to pray for in the Lord’s prayer. It is a great kingdom that is always at peace even in the midst of war, because it has final victory in the death and resurrection of Christ that has vanquished all the foes of life, sin, death and the devil. It has no end, because it’s citizens live forever in the newness of life they are given in baptism. Yes, it truly is a glorious kingdom, and when all other kingdoms are put to an end, and every knee bows, and ever tongue confesses, well then we will all know the true glory and the fullness there of, that is the kingdom of God.
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