The Kingdom Gospel Story

Scene 1: The Peaceful Kingdom

Once upon a time, there was a good King with an expansive kingdom. Because the King was a good ruler, everything functioned well in his kingdom. There was no sickness, no death, no injustice, no dishonesty.

The King planted a beautiful garden in his kingdom to celebrate his might and power. The citizens loved the garden. It was a place where they could find peace and rest and nourishment. The King enlisted a married couple to work the garden and to help him make the whole kingdom look as beautiful as this special garden was. He was kind to this couple and even gave them his prerogative to rule over the kingdom on his behalf.In the beginning, everything was good.

Scene 2: Rebellion in the Kingdom

One day, as this couple was tilling the garden, a mysterious visitor from a foreign land came into the garden and began talking to the gardeners. He convinced them that their King was actually a bad king who didn’t care about them. He convinced them that they would be better off if they were their own kings. He convinced them to join his rival kingdom and promised that if they did they would truly be happy.

They were seduced by this stranger’s flattering speech and decided to rebel against the good King. The gardening couple committed treason and gave their allegiance to this mysterious deceiver.

When the good King heard about the treason he exiled the couple and pronounced a curse over everything that had previously been good. Now the perfect and peaceful kingdom was broken. Now there was sickness, death, and disease. The couple began fighting with each other, and their kids fought with each other, and everything was sad, broken, and dirty.

Scene 3: The King Makes Treaties

However, this was no ordinary King. This was a King who so loved his kingdom and so loved his garden and so loved his glory and so loved this couple that he began a rescue plan to reestablish his once-peaceful kingdom.

The King made treaties (i.e. covenants) with his traitors to put his kingdom back to rights. Since the gardeners had broken his first covenant, he enlisted others, who were also broken, and made promises to them. One guy owned a big boat, another guy killed someone with his bare hands, another guy was a harp-playing shepherd.

But there was one guy in particular, an older man, to whom the King made a unique promise. The King promised that this man’s great, great, great, great, great grandchild would be one who would rule on the King’s behalf. This child would defeat the mysterious deceiver from the rival kingdom and help bring order back to the King’s kingdom.

But, despite his kindness, every time the King made a treaty, the other party betrayed it. The man who owned the boat failed to be faithful. The man who killed a guy with his bare hands failed to be faithful. The harp-playing shepherd failed to be faithful. Even the old man who will have a famous grandson failed to be faithful.

Yet, the King never betrayed them; he was always faithful to his promises. The King continued working to re-establish his kingdom. And someday, the great, great, great, great, great grandchild of the old man would also be the good King’s Son…

Scene 4: Reestablishing the Kingdom

By this time, the rival kingdom of the mysterious deceiver had taken over the earth. The rival kingdom’s power was everywhere. People were sick, demons oppressed people, evil rulers governed poorly, the rich took advantage of the poor, men and women endured perpetual conflict, and there was violence in every sphere of humanity.

But all of the sudden a young King, claiming to be the Son of the good King who planted the original garden, arrives onto the scene. This King has come to make war on the mysterious deceiver. In what looks like guerrilla warfare, this King pushes back the rival kingdom’s reign. He heals the sick, casts out demons, preaches good news to the poor, and preaches righteousness. This man dispenses so much peace, those under the oppression of the rival kingdom start calling him the “Prince of Peace.”

But if this King wants to re-establish his reign, then he will need to undo the treason of the rebellious gardeners who originally rebelled. If this King wants to re-establish his reign, he will need to keep the King’s treaties in place of those who have broken them. If this King wants to make the world like the garden of paradise again, he must take the wrath of his Father by receiving the curse himself.

So that’s what he does. This King fights the deceiver, becomes accursed, dies to pay the penalty of rebellion, and comes back to life victorious over the evil kingdom’s power.

This King begins making the world look like the garden again—re-establishing his reign.

Scene 5: Kingdom People

Now that the Son of the King has defeated the mysterious deceiver, the power of the rival kingdom begins to fade. Flowers grow up from fire-scorched earth. Light pierces through the darkness. Goodness begins to cover the land. This Son offers a free pardon to any of the citizens laboring under the yoke of the deceiver and his evil kingdom. “What must we do to become a part of your kingdom and rid ourselves of this evil kingdom we are in?”  the people ask. “What must we do so that you will have mercy on us?”

“Nothing,” the King replies. “I’ve done it all for you.” “Just accept my pardon, turn from your rebellion, and follow me.”

Scene 6: The Return of the King

Though the original kingdom is beginning to spread, there are still remnants of the rival kingdom. The darkness is fading away, but there are still areas where darkness reigns. One day the Son of the King has promised to return and to complete the healing that he began. In the meantime, his citizens are to keep pushing back what is dark. To keep spreading the healing good kingdom. To keep teaching people how they can be pardoned from their treason by trusting in him.

One day the King is returning and he will turn the original garden into something better—a city where righteousness dwells.