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The easiest way to discover what the Theocratic Kingdom is we need to look at how it was defined and believed by the men and women
recorded in God's Word.
In the book of Acts, the first chapter; Christ had suffered on the cross, died, and rose again, and showed Himself to His apostles for forty days
and spoke to them "of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). Jesus was then assembled with His disciples in
Jerusalem. He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Holy Ghost, when His followers came to Him and
asked, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6)
What they were asking is "when will the Davidic Kingdom be re-established to Israel?"
This is the same thought they had when Christ Himself was about to enter Jerusalem as recorded in Luke. As Christ was speaking to Zaccheus
on His way into Jerusalem we see the thoughts of His followers: "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable,
because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." (Luke 19:11)
So why should they think the Kingdom should appear? Old Testament prophecies.
Let's start at the beginning:
"The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." (Psalm 103:19)
There are some essential elements that define what a Theocracy is. First is a Theocracy is a form of government under the sole authority
of God.
"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other
gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name
of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to
sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee." (Deut. 5:6-12)
Here in these verses when Moses was restating the commands God had given the nation of Israel when He gave them the law that should
govern them, and would judge them in their obedience or disobedience, in what we call the 10 Commandments, God established His supreme
authority.
In verse 27 of that same chapter Moses gives witness to the response of the Israelites; "Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our
God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it." Just think,
the Jews stated to Moses that he should go to God, hear His words, and then come and tell them all that the Lord had said and they would
listen and do it. Of course we know they failed. But God commands man to worship and obey nothing but God. To make no images, to bow
to nothing but God or else He will visit this iniquity upon the guilty even to four generations. Six times before the Israelites were freed Moses
commanded Pharaoh "Let my people go, that they may serve me." And don't forget Eccl. 12:13,14; "Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." This is our supreme duty to Him who should be our
Supreme Authority.
Next, God is the Supreme Lawgiver both in our civil and religious affairs.
"And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard
a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them
upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them
in the land whither ye go over to possess it." (Deut. 4:12-14)
"What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." (Deut. 12:32)
Throughout the first five books of the Bible God laid out specific laws and guidelines for how the Israelites should live, work, and worship their
God. There are laws for business. Laws for murder and thievery. Laws on how to serve and worship their Creator through their entire lives as
they were to be a living witness to the greatness and goodness of their God. In fact, ALL their laws are completely and unalterably fastened to
and hinged upon their service and obedience to their Lord.
Lastly, the legislative, executive and judicial power was placed completely in God, and partially delegated to men to be enforced by
them in a restricted fashion.
"Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they
shall judge the people with just judgment." (Deut. 16:18)
God would be the Supreme Head with judges and officers selected out of the Jews to govern the people, teach God's laws, and to dispense His
judgment if necessary. The Israelites themselves, in obediently following all of God's commands, would grow to be a race of priests and
witnesses over all the earth spreading the knowledge of God to all races and all peoples. In the book of Exodus, right before God gives the Ten
commandments, He states His desire and ultimate goal for the Jewish race:
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all
people: for all the earth is mine:" (Ex. 19:5)
If Israel obeyed God they would become His greatest treasure on this earth above all other nations. And to God, He says, they would be His
priests to the world. His witnesses to all the world.
"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." (Ex. 19:6a)
Through the nation of Israel the knowledge and worship of God would have gone to all people living on this planet. Salvation would have
reached unto the ends of the earth.
"And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected
thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." (I Samuel 8:7)
The Israelites rejected God as their King, but God still led them by choosing the king (first Saul and then David), and the king was still
subordinate to God (Deut. 7:14-20, II Chronicles 9:8).
Through sin and disobedience Israel's kings fell away from God and led the nation into worshiping idols, false gods, and anything except the
Lord who ruled the earth. So God, angry over the Jew's wilfully worshiping anything but God, sent them into captivity
Before and after their captivity God gave them prophecies and promises through His prophets that the Kingdom would be re-established.
"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins,
and I will build it as in the days of old:" (Amos 9:11)
"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:32,33)
"And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be
gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the
mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things,
nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse
them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have
one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I
have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children,
and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever."
(Ezekiel 37:21-25)
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to
the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall
execute judgment and righteousness in the land." (Jeremiah 33:14)
God has had a Kingdom here on the earth, He was the Ruler of the earthly nation of Israel. He has promised to again one day rule this earth
through the Jews. This is what His apostles looked and hoped for. After Jesus' disciples asked if He was now going to restore the Kingdom to
israel He just told them it is not for them to know the times or the seasons (Acts 1:7). He had other plans that included bringing Gentiles (non-
Jews) into the fold, Christian believers worshipping and loving God for all eternity in His everlasting Kingdom (John 10:16; Acts 10,11; Isaiah
11:10-16; Isaiah 60, 55, 62).
recorded in God's Word.
In the book of Acts, the first chapter; Christ had suffered on the cross, died, and rose again, and showed Himself to His apostles for forty days
and spoke to them "of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). Jesus was then assembled with His disciples in
Jerusalem. He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Holy Ghost, when His followers came to Him and
asked, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6)
What they were asking is "when will the Davidic Kingdom be re-established to Israel?"
This is the same thought they had when Christ Himself was about to enter Jerusalem as recorded in Luke. As Christ was speaking to Zaccheus
on His way into Jerusalem we see the thoughts of His followers: "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable,
because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." (Luke 19:11)
So why should they think the Kingdom should appear? Old Testament prophecies.
Let's start at the beginning:
"The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." (Psalm 103:19)
There are some essential elements that define what a Theocracy is. First is a Theocracy is a form of government under the sole authority
of God.
"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other
gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name
of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to
sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee." (Deut. 5:6-12)
Here in these verses when Moses was restating the commands God had given the nation of Israel when He gave them the law that should
govern them, and would judge them in their obedience or disobedience, in what we call the 10 Commandments, God established His supreme
authority.
In verse 27 of that same chapter Moses gives witness to the response of the Israelites; "Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our
God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it." Just think,
the Jews stated to Moses that he should go to God, hear His words, and then come and tell them all that the Lord had said and they would
listen and do it. Of course we know they failed. But God commands man to worship and obey nothing but God. To make no images, to bow
to nothing but God or else He will visit this iniquity upon the guilty even to four generations. Six times before the Israelites were freed Moses
commanded Pharaoh "Let my people go, that they may serve me." And don't forget Eccl. 12:13,14; "Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." This is our supreme duty to Him who should be our
Supreme Authority.
Next, God is the Supreme Lawgiver both in our civil and religious affairs.
"And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard
a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them
upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them
in the land whither ye go over to possess it." (Deut. 4:12-14)
"What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." (Deut. 12:32)
Throughout the first five books of the Bible God laid out specific laws and guidelines for how the Israelites should live, work, and worship their
God. There are laws for business. Laws for murder and thievery. Laws on how to serve and worship their Creator through their entire lives as
they were to be a living witness to the greatness and goodness of their God. In fact, ALL their laws are completely and unalterably fastened to
and hinged upon their service and obedience to their Lord.
Lastly, the legislative, executive and judicial power was placed completely in God, and partially delegated to men to be enforced by
them in a restricted fashion.
"Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they
shall judge the people with just judgment." (Deut. 16:18)
God would be the Supreme Head with judges and officers selected out of the Jews to govern the people, teach God's laws, and to dispense His
judgment if necessary. The Israelites themselves, in obediently following all of God's commands, would grow to be a race of priests and
witnesses over all the earth spreading the knowledge of God to all races and all peoples. In the book of Exodus, right before God gives the Ten
commandments, He states His desire and ultimate goal for the Jewish race:
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all
people: for all the earth is mine:" (Ex. 19:5)
If Israel obeyed God they would become His greatest treasure on this earth above all other nations. And to God, He says, they would be His
priests to the world. His witnesses to all the world.
"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." (Ex. 19:6a)
Through the nation of Israel the knowledge and worship of God would have gone to all people living on this planet. Salvation would have
reached unto the ends of the earth.
"And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected
thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." (I Samuel 8:7)
The Israelites rejected God as their King, but God still led them by choosing the king (first Saul and then David), and the king was still
subordinate to God (Deut. 7:14-20, II Chronicles 9:8).
Through sin and disobedience Israel's kings fell away from God and led the nation into worshiping idols, false gods, and anything except the
Lord who ruled the earth. So God, angry over the Jew's wilfully worshiping anything but God, sent them into captivity
Before and after their captivity God gave them prophecies and promises through His prophets that the Kingdom would be re-established.
"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins,
and I will build it as in the days of old:" (Amos 9:11)
"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:32,33)
"And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be
gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the
mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things,
nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse
them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have
one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I
have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children,
and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever."
(Ezekiel 37:21-25)
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to
the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall
execute judgment and righteousness in the land." (Jeremiah 33:14)
God has had a Kingdom here on the earth, He was the Ruler of the earthly nation of Israel. He has promised to again one day rule this earth
through the Jews. This is what His apostles looked and hoped for. After Jesus' disciples asked if He was now going to restore the Kingdom to
israel He just told them it is not for them to know the times or the seasons (Acts 1:7). He had other plans that included bringing Gentiles (non-
Jews) into the fold, Christian believers worshipping and loving God for all eternity in His everlasting Kingdom (John 10:16; Acts 10,11; Isaiah
11:10-16; Isaiah 60, 55, 62).
What is the Kingdom?