The Fifth Universal Kingdom

Goal of this Study: WHAT is the fifth universal kingdom “that will endure forever”? WHEN will it come?
HOW is it established? WHAT and WHEN were the previous four universal kingdoms?

Additional references: Studies in the Scriptures Vol. 1 Chap. 13

Is the “Kingdom of God” the same as the “Kingdom of heaven”? If so, why?

The “Kingdom of God” and the “Kingdom of heaven” are used interchangeably and mean the same thing. The phrase is used interchangeably in the Matthew and Luke accounts of the parable of the mustard seed. Matthew 13:31; Luke 13:18–19

John the Baptist’s first words were about this Kingdom.
Matthew 3:1–2 “Now in those days John the Baptist came …saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus began his preaching with the message of the Kingdom.
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 9:35 “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.”
- Many of Jesus’ parables were about the Kingdom of God.
- Jesus encouraged us to pray for it. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth…” Matt. 6:10
The disciples also preached the Kingdom.
Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Why do so few Christians today talk about this Kingdom on earth and good tidings for all?

The general view of Christianity has been that this Kingdom of God is to be within the hearts of people and not a literal kingdom on earth. Therefore, missionaries have attempted to convert the world to Christianity now in order to establish God’s Kingdom on the earth “in men’s hearts.” Many misinterpreted scriptures and concepts were introduced within Christianity. Scriptures that are seemingly contradictory:

The kingdom is here. (Jesus “carried” the kingdom with him.) Matthew 4:17
The kingdom is in you. (Jesus’ true followers also “carry” the kingdom.) Luke 17:20–21
The kingdom is in the future. Matthew 6:10
The kingdom is a message to be spread. Matthew 4:23
The kingdom is difficult to enter. Matthew 18:3
The kingdom has to do with the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 24

Scripturally, “the Kingdom of God” can mean any one of many facets of the Kingdom—referring to people, events or an end result. It can refer to any of the below:

- Jesus himself, at his first advent
- The development of the Church class now
- The time of resurrection
- The final reign of God after all enemies—even death—are destroyed.
  In its full establishment, the “Kingdom of God” will be the literal
  government ruling over the whole earth and resurrected humanity.

What are some examples or previews of God’s Kingdom?

Garden of Eden

God made and appointed Adam to be “king” over the earth. That dominion and kingship is referred to in:

Genesis 1:26 “…and let them [man] rule over…the fish …the birds … livestock and over all the earth…”
Psalm 8:5 “…And You crown him with glory and majesty!”

Ever since he disobeyed God, Adam and his descendants have become slaves to sin, with Satan and his angels ruling this “present evil age.” Galatians 1:4 Satan usurped power and began to rule, establishing his own kingdom over men. The Apostle Paul called Satan the “god of this world.” 2 Corinthians 4:4

Typical Israel

God chose the nation of Israel to be his people and his typical (literal) Kingdom.

Amos 3:2 “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth.”

The Kings of Israel were said to have sat upon the “throne of the Lord.”

1 Chronicles 29:23 “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father.”

This continued for a time until the last wicked king, King Zedekiah of Judah, about whom the Lord said:

Ezekiel 21:25–27 (kjv) “Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: …I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he [Jesus] come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”

Thus, the typical Kingdom of God in Israel came to an end. God then permitted the Gentiles the power to rule.

Luke 21:24 “and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

But note again the words in Ezekiel 21:27(KJV) “until he come whose right it is; and I will give it to him.” This “he/him” refers to Jesus. He is the King in God’s Kingdom, not at his first advent, but at his second advent. The Jews could not understand this. They were waiting for a Messiah who would lead them out from under the yoke of Roman rule. They misunderstood the words in Isaiah 9:6 “…and the government will rest on his shoulders…” and thus they looked for that glory and earthly Kingdom, not knowing that it would be fulfilled only when Jesus returned.

Ever since, Christians also have lost sight of the understanding of that Kingdom. They look for a Kingdom located in heaven only. But the truth is, the Kingdom will be both on the physical, restored earth and in heaven.

The Four Universal Empires illustrated and prophesied in the Book of Daniel

In the book of Daniel, God revealed His plan through two prophetic dreams:

To King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in Daniel 2
To God’s prophet Daniel in Daniel 7

King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream—Daniel 2

Nebuchadnezzar demanded his wise men tell him both the dream and the interpretation, which they could not do. After praying to God, Daniel was able to tell the king the dream and the interpretation. Daniel is clear this information was from God, not from Daniel himself.

Daniel told the king his dream was of a huge metallic statue with a head of GOLD, the shoulders, arms and chest to the belly were SILVER, from the belly to the knees it was COPPER, and from the knees to the ankles it was IRON. The two feet and toes were a combination of IRON AND CLAY. Daniel said the king saw a STONE in the dream “cut out without hands” descend and strike the statue, and systematically crush the pieces to dust. A wind carried the dust away. The STONE meanwhile settled in one place and then began growing to become “a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Daniel told the king these four parts of the image represent four kingdoms. These would be successive, Gentile governments. Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon is represented as the “head of gold.” Daniel 2:38 The fourth IRON empire, Rome, was
by far the strongest and most enduring. This kingdom would divide into ten different powers (the ten IRON/CLAY toes) representing Pagan Rome mixed with Papal Rome (the “holy” Roman Empire). They will finally be broken and consumed, and the Kingdom of Christ will be set up in their place.

STONE is the symbol of the true Kingdom of God while CLAY is an “imitation” of stone. So, too, this “Christian” kingdom (Rome and its mixed system of church and state) is an imitation, counterfeit kingdom, not of God or of Christ and not according to God’s plan.

What happens to this image?

Daniel 2:44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.”

This is the real, long prayed for “Kingdom of God” of divine, heavenly origin which is established on earth during “the days of those kings.” The Kingdom of God does not originate from men. It will FIRST put an end to all the kingdoms of this “present evil age” and THEN establish God’s righteous Kingdom in all the earth.
Note: The kingdoms/governments of this world are not “renovated” or “fixed.” They will be completely destroyed to make way for God’s righteous Kingdom.

Daniel’s Dream—Daniel 7 and 8

Daniel himself, dreamt about four beasts that correspond to the same four Gentile kingdoms in the king’s dream. Daniel 2 looked at these kingdoms from man’s perspective (strong and shiny metals), while Daniel 7 and 8 show the kingdoms from God’s perspective (beastly and terrible).

Daniel 7:17 “These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.”

Lion Beast—BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

Daniel 7:4 “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it.”
“like a lion”– represents the great power and strength of the Babylonians.
“wings of an eagle”– represents the great heights of Babylon’s rise…
- Daniel 4:22 “You have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky.”
“its wings were plucked”– Nebuchadnezzar’s royal authority and glory was taken away.
- Daniel 4:31 “…sovereignty has been removed from you.”
“a human mind was also given to it” – represents Nebuchadnezzar’s experiences after “seven periods of time” of becoming like a beast and his becoming humbled and later praising the “King of heaven.” Daniel 4:34–37

Bear Beast—MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE

Daniel 7:5 “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, Arise, devour much meat!”
“resembling a bear”– the Medo-Persians specialized in the military tactical method of laying siege and surrounding their enemies, thus cutting off the food supplies and squeezing out the life. This is like a “bear’s hug,” which is so tight it stops the intake of breath, causing the life to be squeezed out of the victims.
“raised up on one side”– represents the imbalance of there being more Persians
than Medes amongst the kings of this empire.
“three ribs were in its mouth”– just as beasts swallow other beasts, the Medo-Persians conquered and consumed three main kingdoms before they received world dominion: the Egyptian, Lydian and Babylonian kingdoms.
“Arise, devour much meat”– refers to the divine authority for the Medo-Persian Empire to receive and consume the Babylonian Empire.
- Daniel 5:28, 30–31 “…your kingdom [Babylon] has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Leopard Beast—GREEK EMPIRE

Daniel 7:6 “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”
“like a leopard”– represents the speed at which Alexander the Great conquered the whole world and established the Greek Empire.
“four wings of a bird”– represents how Alexander was able to accomplish this conquest only by the help of and through his four principal generals.
“four heads, and dominion was given to it”– represents the fact that the empire had hardly been established when Alexander died at age 32, without an heir, and the empire was divided into four ruling parts (Syria, Egypt, Greece and Rome) under his four generals:
- General CASSANDER – Macedonia and Greece
- General LYSIMACHUS – Asia Minor and Thrace
- General SELEUCUS NICATOR– Mesopotamia and Syria
- General PTOLEMY – Egypt and Palestine

Dreadful and Terrible Beast—ROMAN EMPIRE (no beast on earth compared to it)

Daniel 7:7 “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”
“dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong”– represents the military might of Rome, which was greater than any empire before them.
“large iron teeth”– just as beasts use their teeth as weapons of attack, so too, this represents the attack or “war methods” of Rome and its extensive use of iron in battle and armory and weaponry unlike any other empire before, making them very strong in defense. (Corresponds to the two iron legs of the image in Daniel 2.)
“ten horns”– represents how the huge Roman empire was subdivided into 10 divisions, each under a king. (Example: Palestine [Israel] had the Herods.
Luke 23:7; Acts 25:13
Daniel 7:8 “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”
“three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots” The plucking up of the three horns (the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Western Exarchate) resulted in the Holy Roman Empire.
“another horn, a little one, which came up among them”– represents the rising up of a subdivision kingdom of the Roman Empire.
“eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts”– represents the subtle and clever methods used by the papacy to gain power in the Roman Empire by falsely claiming divine authority for its establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. It had eyes (intelligence) and a mouth speaking great things (blasphemies). This little horn was a Roman papal horn because the beast portrayed the Roman Empire and its horns were divisions of that empire.
Each Pope acted like a king, claiming kingship both in civil and religious matters, unlike the other kings/divisions (or “horns“)

Daniel 7:9 “I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days [God] took His seat…”
Daniel 7:12–14 “As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away…And to him [our Lord Jesus,
the King of the Fifth Universal Empire] was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:27 “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One…”
This is to be God’s Kingdom, the Fifth Universal Kingdom and is to be shared with the “saints,” the faithful followers of Jesus, his Church. This fulfills the promise in Luke 22:29 “and just as my Father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you.”

Where are we in the stream of time?

We see that monarchies or kingdoms are disappearing from the earth. This is in fulfilment of Bible prophecies that at the second advent of our Lord, he will “crush in pieces” all these kingdoms.

Psalm 110:5 “The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.”
Psalm 2:9 “You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.”
Revelation 11:15,18 (KJV) “…The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever…”

We have witnessed two World Wars, revolutions and anarchy around the globe. People are ultimately seeking for and desiring peace. The Kingdom of God will be the “desire of all nations.”

Haggai 2:7 (KJV) “…and the desire of all nations shall come”

Now let us catch a few glimpses of that glorious future Kingdom of God!

Satan and his influence will be BOUND and REMOVED.

Revelation 20:2, 3 “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer…”

The eyes and ears of people’s understanding WILL BE OPENED.

Isaiah 29:18 “On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”

The KNOWLEDGE OF GOD will be clear and fill the whole earth.

Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD will be king over all the earth.”
Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge… of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

ALL NATIONS WILL FLOCK TO THE LORD voluntarily to learn from Him and obey Him.

Psalms 22:27, 28 “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’s and He rules over the nations.”
Isaiah 2:2 “Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.”

WARS WILL CEASE and all defense forces will be disbanded.

Micah 4:3 “And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.”

People will begin to be RAISED FROM THEIR GRAVES.

Isaiah 35:10 “And the ransomed of the LORD will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

The process of AGING WILL BE REVERSED and will gradually lead to human perfection.

Job 33:25 “Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.”

There will be NO HOUSING PROBLEMS and all will own their own house.

Isaiah 65:21 “They will build houses and inhabit them; they will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”

People will NOT GET SICK.

Isaiah 33:24 “And no resident will say, I am sick; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.”

THE DESERTS WILL BLOOM and become gardens of fertile land (uninhabitable places made habitable).

Isaiah 35:7 “The scorched land will become a pool. And the thirsty ground springs of water…”

WILD ANIMALS WILL BECOME TAME and friendly.

Isaiah 11:6–8 “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.”

DEATH WILL BE REMOVED, along with all pain and suffering.

Revelation 21:4 “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

The world will be AT PEACE, and ALL WILL SING FOR JOY.