Re: Psalms 2 and 22 and the conversion of the whole world

Submitted by Andrew Perriman on 4 March, 2008 - 09:59.

Thanks for the input. I’m not sure about the relevance of Luther’s two kingdoms theology, I think principally because this has to do not so much with the action of God with respect to the nations or with respect to Israel but with the ambiguous situation of the believer who must live both in the (spiritual) kingdom of God and in one of the kingdoms of the world.

I can see that this must be part of the equation - how does Daniel deal with kingdom in Babylon? how does Israel under occupation deal with its obligations towards Caesar? But the question behind my post was whether ultimately the kingdoms of the world will be assimilated into the kingdom of God. I don’t think that’s the case. When the sovereignty of God is exercized vis-à-vis the nations, it is a dynamic act on behalf of (or against) his people, not an enduring condition.

Isaiah, however, is certainly relevant:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." The voice of your watchmen - they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

A ‘gospel’ is proclaimed (euangelizomenos in the LXX) to Israel that YHWH is about to intervene to deliver the people from captivity and restore Jerusalem. This historical act of salvation will be seen by all the nations. But the story is set against the backdrop of the Creator’s dispute with the idolatrous nations of the Ancient Near East. These nations will be judged (also in concrete historical terms) for defying the one true God, but survivors of the nations will find true righteousness in the Lord (45:14-25). All of these events are understood to be expressive of the justice and sovereignty of YHWH in the world.