In Daniel 2:44, when he says “setup a kingdom” does it mean the one in
heaven or the church? to me it seems heavenly. Also can you let me know
some scriptures where it says “kingdom…” which refer to the heavenly
kingdom and some which refer to the church (OT & NT).
If you cant answer these questions can you recommend me a book that might
help me understand this. And if not maybe you can ask someone you know to
write about the kingdom, I’m assuming you have good connections since you
wrote a couple of books

I believe in Daniel 2:44 he is referring principally to the
establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth and its manifestation in the
church, during the time of Rome. I would not rule out a broader
interpretation on top of that as well, but see this is the principle thing
God had in mind in this prophecy. Below, I am including a short section
in my upcoming book “From Shadow to Reality” on the different aspects of
the Kingdom of God, which has several references as you request. In
addition, I heartily suggest Jim McGuiggan’s book on the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God and the Planet Earth, available at
http://www.extensionschool.cc/itmidx4.htm

A BIBLICAL VIEW OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Before examining some of the prophetic descriptions of the Kingdom of God
in the Old Testament, it will be helpful to establish a biblical
definition of this kingdom. [JO1] It is difficult to give a concise but
accurate definition of the Kingdom of God, as described in the Bible.
Some would say that the Kingdom of God is the church of Jesus Christ on
the earth. Others would say that the kingdom of God is heaven. In truth,
God?s kingdom expresses itself in different ways at different times. In
broadest terms, the Kingdom of God is anyone or anywhere over which God
rules.

Certainly the Jews under the Mosaic covenant saw themselves as the Kingdom
of God. One of the reasons God did not want Israel to have a human king is
that He wanted to be king over his people?one without rival. When invited
to be king over tribes of Israel, Gideon replied; “I will not rule over
you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you” (Judges
8:23). Samuel admonished Israel, “But when you saw that Nahash king of the
Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ?No, we want a king to
rule over us??even though the LORDyour God was your king” (1 Samuel
12:12). The greatest king of Israel, David, acknowledged that God was the
real king of Israel. “Yours, O LORDis the kingdom; you are exalted as head
over all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). So Israel, and later Judah, were[JO3] a
manifestation of the kingdom of God on the[JO4] earth at that time.

However God?s people were not faithful, and God intended all along to set
up a spiritual kingdom to replace the physical kingdom of Israel. That is
the point of this chapter. We will see many prophecies of this kingdom.
The spiritual kingdom on earth which replaced[JO6] the kingdom of Israel
was the church. Indeed, the physical kingdom of Israel was a foreshadow of
the spiritual Kingdom of God?the church of Jesus Christ. A number of New
Testament passages seem to equate the Kingdom of God with the church?the
body of Christ (Matthew 16:18,19, Ephesians 1:20-23, Colossians 4:11). But
we should be aware that while the church which Jesus died for may be the
kingdom of God, the kingdom is something greater than that, for while
Jesus reigns over his church, he also reigns in Heaven. To use a crude
description, the church is “part” of the kingdom of God.

So the church is the Kingdom of God, but surely the greatest expression of
the kingdom is heaven itself. In heaven, God reigns, with Jesus at his
right hand. As Jesus said, “Then the King will say to those on his right,
?Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
The book of Revelation is replete with royal scenes in heaven, such as
Revelation chapter four; “At once I was in the spirit, and there before me
was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it?. Surrounding the
throne were twenty-four other thrones… In the center, around the throne
were four living creatures? the twenty-four elders fall down before him
who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever?” (Revelation
4:2,4,6,10). To summarize, in ascending order, physical Israel as a
kingdom is a foreshadow of spiritual Israel?the church, while the church
as a kingdom is a foreshadow of the Kingdom of God in heaven.

More evidence of the parallel and complimentary nature of the different
aspects of the Kingdom of God is found in the use of the number twelve in
the Bible. The physical kingdom of Israel was divided into twelve tribes.
Jesus chose twelve apostles who had special spiritual authority in the
spiritual kingdom of God on the earth. The parallel is carried into the
future kingdom of God in Revelation 21:12,13;

It (the New Jerusalem) had a great, high wall

with twelve gates and with twelve angels at the gates.

On the gates were written the names of thetwelve tribes of
Israel. There were three gates on the

east, three on the north, three on the south and three

on the west. The wall of the city had twelve

foundations, and on them were the names of the

twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Twelve is the number associated with God?s kingdom in its three most
obvious manifestations. The throne scene in heaven in Revelation chapter
four has twenty-four elders laying down their crowns before the throne of
God, declaring him to be worthy to receive glory and honor and power. The
twenty-four elders in this scene represent the twelve tribes and the
twelve apostles. James was not making a mistake when he wrote his letter
to the church as a whole, describing them as “the twelve tribes scattered
among the nations” (James 1:1).

Much more could be said about the Kingdom of God. The earth itself, with
all its flora and fauna are part of God?s kingdom. The kingdom is God?s
rule over anyone who takes him as King. With this broad understanding we
will narrow our focus to Old Testament prophecies which refer to the
kingdom as it is manifested in the church. That the passages we examine
refer to the church may not always be completely clear cut. Some
prophecies of the kingdom may refer principally to the church, but also
have some reference to physical Israel. Others will be predictions of the
church, but have prophetic overtones referring to heaven.

We have already seen this phenomenon, where prophecy has a dual reference.
One example we have seen is 2 Samuel 7:11,12, in which one finds a dual
prophecy of the kingship of Solomon over physical Israel and of the
kingship of the Messiah over spiritual Israel. An example of a prophetic
passage which seems to slip back and forth between reference to the church
as a kingdom and to heaven is the extensive prophecy given by Jesus in
Matthew 24:1-25:13, in which Jesus moves from predicting the destruction
of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 to describing his return at the trumpet call of
God at the end of days without providing a clear transition, to the point
that it is sometimes difficult to know to which he is referring.

John Oakes