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Christ's constitutional monarchy

We know from Isaiah 45:1 that the Persian King Cyrus was a type of Christ, as he is called a messiah. Cyrus overthrew Babylon, and so also Jesus Christ is overthrowing Mystery Babylon in our own time. Babylon fell intact physically, and Mystery Babylon too is falling intact, with a change of management and a new set of policies and laws.

Whereas Babylon’s form of government was an absolute monarchy, Persia’s government was a constitutional monarchy. In other words, the Persian king himself was subject to his own laws, as shown in the story of Daniel in the lions’ den (Daniel 5). The question arises, then: What form of government will the Kingdom of God take when Christ, like Cyrus, takes over the government of the world? Will He have an absolute monarchy or a constitutional monarchy?

The answer, I believe, is BOTH.

His Majesty King Jesus has a constitution. It is known as the Bible. It is more than just a broad outline of government; it includes the judicial system and subsequent precedents and Supreme Court rulings set forth by the prophets. It also includes the changes of law that occurred in the New Testament (Hebrews 7:12) and commentaries on the law in the epistles. All of these are included in the constitution itself.

In an imperfect world, constitutions are necessary in order to limit the power of rulers in case they misuse their power. The divine purpose of power is to establish liberty, not to promote slavery. So James 2:12 speaks of “the perfect law of liberty.” Although the Old Covenant was a system of bondage, the New Covenant is a system of freedom (Galatians 4:25, 26). It depends on how one uses the law.

The law itself is a revelation of the nature of God and the mind of Christ. Hence the constitution of the Kingdom does not limit the power of King Jesus but establishes His will and His mind. For this reason, His government is a constitutional monarchy, but in practical terms it is an absolute monarchy.

As for individual citizens in the Kingdom, the Bible should be viewed as the constitution and judicial system that governs their personal lives as they grow spiritually to attain the mind of Christ and to be conformed to His image. As long as they are yet imperfect, the constitution limits their actions by establishing the rights of others. Thus, no one has the right to steal, murder, worship false gods, bear false witness, or covet other men’s property.

When the law is fully written on their hearts, as promised by the New Covenant, men will no longer desire to sin (commit crime), and at that point they will no longer have to be taught the law, for “all will know Me from the least to the greatest of them” (Hebrews 8:11).

When Christ comes and the overcomers are perfected through the feast of Tabernacles, the Kingdom will be administered by perfect people. However, the citizens of the Kingdom, as a whole, will not yet be perfected, for their reward of immortality and incorruption will be given to them at the general resurrection a thousand years later (John 5:28, 29). The constitution (Bible) must therefore remain to teach them the paths of righteousness and to defend against any violation of their rights.

A third form of government, established by the third beast empire (Grecian), is democracy. There has never been a long-term successful democracy, not even in ancient Greece, because rich oligarchs have always had the power to impose their will upon the people. The only way to have what may be called a successful democracy is for the people as a whole to be perfected. When they are perfected, having the mind of Christ and being in the image of Christ, they would be in full agreement with the constitution. Hence, theoretically, if they were to set up a democracy, the constitution would not serve to limit their behavior but would simply be the normal standard that all of them would be following anyway.

Our constitution, then, will be in force until the Creation Jubilee, at which point all mankind will be conformed to the image of Christ. The laws of the Kingdom, being written in every heart, will no longer have to be enforced by judges, police, or military power. The law itself will always exist, because it is the nature of our unchanging God, but where there is no sin, there is also no longer a need for law enforcement.

The end of history is still thousands of years in the future. It will take a long time to perfect all men. I believe there are three major points in history that will each bring a group of people into this state of perfection. The first group are the overcomers, who will be perfected at the time of the first resurrection—or “change” (if living in that day). The second group will be the non-overcoming believers (John 5:28 29) a thousand years later. The final group will be the rest of humanity when all creation is set free into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:19-21).

When that final Jubilee sets creation free of the bondage of sin and corruption, then Christ will present to the Father a perfected creation, so that God may be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). He will not present all in some, nor some in all, but “all in all.” Then and only then will present history come to an end, and something entirely new will emerge. Scripture does not reveal much about that time, but we can be sure of one thing: the purpose for which God created all things will be fulfilled, and we can then move on to the next project that is yet hidden in God’s mind.