The two kingdoms

The teaching of the two kingdoms is, for many christians, an unknown and sometimes uncomfortable subject. It is hardly taught or spoken of, and yet it was Jesus himself who brought us the message, right from the beginning of His preaching: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God" Mark 1:14 .

Imagine: Jack is the ambassador to Japan. Jack makes sure that Dutch corporate interests are promoted; he makes sure to make us of economic, political and strategic opportunities between the two countries. So when Jack holds a party at the Dutch embassy in Tokio, Japan, he makes sure that the Netherlands is featured prominantly. The cake has little Dutch flags, Jack is wearing an orange tie, and he is proudly singing the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus. Most importantly, he does all of this with a happy face and conviction, because he really does believe in the Netherlands. He speaks to Japanese people, tells them about the Netherlands, and helps to connect them with the right people from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so that these Japanese people can be more connected with his home country.

But now, imagine Japan is holding an election. Japanese people can of course vote. But what should Jack do? Of course (you may say) he won’t vote, because he is not part of the kingdom of Japan.

Now what if Japan gets into a war, and Jack takes up arms to help the Japanese? Would the Japanese expect this from Jack? Even if the Japanese appreciate this, what would the Kingdom of the Netherlands say to Jack, upon hearing that he has taken up arms to defend some other country? They would of course not be very happy.

No, Jack belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and with that come commandments and statutes to be respected. So too with the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Note: the rest of this article is only available in Dutch. Sorry! Please get in touch if you can assist us in translating.