Last week we began investigating the concept of Christian nationalism. We’ve looked at two pertinent passages in the book of Daniel which help us understand the Jewish expectation for the coming of God’s kingdom.
The first passage from Daniel 2 described the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. In his dream, the king saw a dazzling statue made out of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay. Suddenly, a rock struck the statue and shattered it into countless pieces which were scattered to the wind. Meanwhile, the rock became a huge mountain which filled the whole earth. The statue symbolizes the wicked and unjust human kingdoms which have usurped power over God’s world. The rock represents God’s kingdom which will sweep away the kingdoms of men but will itself endure forever.
This same vital theme is re-visited in chapter 7, where Daniel himself experiences a vision whereby the kingdoms of men are portrayed as a series of terrifying beasts which rise out of the sea. But the one true God – “the Ancient of Days” – pronounces judgment upon the beasts and destroys their power. In their place, God transfers authority over his world to a human figure referred to as “the son of man.” Daniel explicitly interprets the son of man as a symbol for “the saints of the Most High” who will “receive the kingdom and will possess it forever.”
We can be certain that the ancient Jews understood the son of man as a symbol for faithful Israel, the people of the creator God. But we also learned that the son of man came to be seen as the Messiah, the king of the Jews and the one who represents God’s people. He would be God’s agent in establishing his kingdom over all the earth. Thus, when Jesus refers to himself as the son of man, he is above all else making a claim to be the Messiah.
Today, I’d like to engage another vital passage: Psalm 2. When the first Christians were trying to make sense of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, they very often used the second Psalm; it is one of the most frequently quoted OT passages in the New Testament. Here it is in full:
Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his anointed one. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 2 begins with conflict: the idolatrous and immoral human kingdoms have gathered together in rebellion against God and His anointed king, the Messiah. Please note that this is the very same world of thought world we glimpsed in the book of Daniel. There the human kingdoms were portrayed either as a mighty statue or as the beasts which arose out of the sea.
But God is not to be trifled with; although the kings and rulers of the earth have joined together against Him, the Lord’s purposes will prevail. God is utterly determined to establish his own chosen king on Zion. (Zion is another name for Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.)
Importantly, God grants his chosen king an exalted title – “the Son of God.” Most Christians today who hear this title immediately think of this designation as a reference to Jesus’ divine nature. But we must not forget that the “Son of God” was originally a purely Messianic title – a reference to the King of Israel. It was only after the resurrection that Christians begin using the phrase “the Son of God” to denote Jesus’ divinity. Yet even then, it never lost its original meaning as “the king of the Jews.”
Thus, the Psalm claims that God shall one day place his Son upon the throne of the world. All the nations will become his inheritance and the whole earth his possession. In other words, the Messiah shall assume sovereignty over all the nations of the world. He will govern with unrivaled power (“You will rule them with an iron scepter”), and he will sweep away all the dark and destructive forces which oppose his reign. (“You will dash them to pieces like pottery”)
We must again emphasize that the second Psalm uses the exact same frame of thought found in Daniel. It’s all about the transfer of power. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, God’s kingdom is portrayed as the rock which shatters the statue. In Daniel’s vision, the beasts are slain and their authority transferred to the son of man. Daniel’s vision ends with “the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven…handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.”
What conclusions can we now draw from our study of these scriptures?
(1) The kingdom of God is all about this world. The Bible tells us that when God first created the universe, he pronounced it good. Yet far too many churchgoers conceive of the Christian hope as an evacuation from a world that has been irremediably infected by evil and suffering. According to this thinking, when we die, God shall rescue us by transporting us to some otherworldly realm called heaven where we will spend eternity with Him.
Yet this narrative is quite simply not the story of the Bible. The coming of God’s kingdom is all about the redemption of the world, rather than its abandonment. Remember, the rock of Daniel becomes a huge mountain and fills the whole earth. Sovereignty is given over to the son of man, who receives the worship and obedience of all kings and rulers. And in Psalm 2, God establishes his anointed king over all the nations; the ends of the earth become the possession of the Messiah.
(2) The scriptures therefore offer us a very clear vision of genuine Christian nationalism. The future of God’s world involves people of every nation – including every king and ruler – giving their full allegiance to Jesus the Messiah. This is precisely what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Philippian church: “every knee shall bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We might also recall the glorious announcement found in the book of Revelation: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” One day every nation, every governing authority will be perfectly conformed to the wisdom and will of God. Cleansed from evil and rebellion, creation will then at last be able to flourish in the way that God always intended.
(3) Contemporary discussions often center on false versions of Christian nationalism. Last week I referred to an article written by Russell Moore, entitled “Christian nationalism cannot save the world.” Moore offered the following definition for Christian nationalism: “the use of Christian words, symbols or rituals as a means to shore up an ethnic or national identity.”
But Moore’s definition is deeply mistaken. He assumes that any vision promulgated by “Christian nationalists” is not in fact authentic Christian devotion, but only a false version of Christianity which co-opts Christian “words, symbols and rituals” for some other end. Apparently, it never occurs to Moore that there might be a genuine form of Christian engagement with the governing structures of our nation.
I would offer the following definition: “Christian nationalism is a movement which seeks to bring the people and institutions of every nation into submission to the authority of Jesus the Christ.”
According to Moore, Christian nationalism cannot possibly save the world. Yet according to the scriptures, the salvation of the world through genuine Christian nationalism is not just possible, but inevitable. The rock will become a mountain and fill the whole earth. The son of man will be granted all sovereignty; all rulers will worship and serve him. Indeed, the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Messiah, and he shall reign forever and ever.
