At the Christmas Eve service, I wasn’t surprised to hear the pastor read the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary. They’re the heart of the holiday.
As I listened, one statement grabbed me. “Wow!” I almost said out loud.
Reflecting on it took me back to the book of Daniel, which doesn’t get quoted a lot at Christmas. But I suspect two passages in it formed the basis for Gabriel’s declaration.
Let’s look at these two and then we’ll deal with the Christmas passage.
The Eternal Kingdom of God
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” – Daniel 2:44
Centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Daniel served as an official in the administration of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. One night, the king had an unsettling dream, but to make matters worse, he couldn’t remember what it was about.
The king insisted his wise men tell him the dream and its meaning, but they couldn’t. Outraged, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the execution of all the wise men of the land. This included Daniel and his friends.
The soothsayers and astrologers panicked, but Daniel and his fellow Jews prayed. And God came through! He gave Daniel the dream and its interpretation.
The prophet told the king the dream was about a large statue representing four kingdoms. The first one, symbolized by gold, represented Babylon. Another one (Persia) would succeed it, followed by a third (Greece), and a fourth (Rome).
The verse above occurs toward the end of Daniel’s explanation. There’s a fifth kingdom unlike the four. They come and go, but this one would be permanent. It will take over the others and never yield ground.
This is God’s kingdom.
His rule on earth will not be limited by human ingenuity or resources. It’s God’s kingdom; it’s as everlasting as He is.
So the main point of the dream is that God will set up an eternal kingdom to govern the whole world.
Another passage in Daniel adds some details to this theme.
The Eternal Kingdom of Christ
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was One like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. – Daniel 7:13-14
Quite a vision!
God pulled back the curtains and showed Daniel a picture of the future. The seventh chapter identifies the Lord as “the Ancient of Days.” It’s a beautiful way of expressing God’s unchanging, eternal nature. Nothing precedes Him. God is all-wise and in charge. Nothing escapes His attention.
In the presence of the Ancient of Days is a second figure, “One like a son of man.” He’s not God, but God gives him rulership. And what’s more, everyone worships this person. The Son of Man is human, but He’s also divine!
The kingdom God grants Him is eternal; no one can disrupt or replace it. This is the kingdom mentioned in chapter 2. Here in chapter 7, we learn that Jesus will govern the kingdom of God.
This kingdom will never end, but what of Christ’s reign? How long will it last?
The Eternal King
“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, 33and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.'” – Luke 1:30-33
Daniel saw Jesus as “One like a son of Man.” Gabriel announces Jesus as “the Son of the Most High.” This designation clarifies why God would grant Christ the kingdom. Jesus rules the kingdom of God because He’s the Son of God!
And this has a further implication.
It would have been great if Gabriel had promised Mary that God would install Jesus as the head of a restored Davidic kingdom. The Jewish people longed for such a day, and if Jesus was to be the Messiah, well, praise the Lord!
Earthly kingdoms die, but the kingdom of God endures. This is also something Jews loyal to God anticipated. To establish His kingdom on earth, the Lord must overthrow the Roman Empire. And while God’s kingdom would last forever, the Jews didn’t expect the ruler to govern without end. As David turned over his reign to Solomon, who in turn passed it on to his son, the people could expect the restored Davidic line to continue. The kingdom would be eternal, not individual sovereigns.
But that’s not what Gabriel tells Mary! He proclaims that Christ “will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever.” Not His heirs; Jesus Himself! The kingdom of God will last forever and so will Christ’s rule!
Could Mary have ever expected to hear news of this sort?
Could we?
As we transition from Christmas into a new year, let’s take this truth with us. The reign of Jesus will never end!
