Kingdom Come: How Belief in Jesus’ Earthly Reign Shapes Christian Power and Politics in America (Part III)
By Michael D. Peabody
In American religious life, few beliefs carry more explosive political potential than the idea that Jesus will one day return to rule on Earth. But what happens when that belief isn’t paired with a desire to dominate? In Parts I and II of this series, we explored how expectations of Christ’s return — especially among white evangelicals and charismatic movements — have shaped political urgency and emboldened Christian nationalism. Now, in Part III, we turn to a quieter, less visible world: those Christian traditions that believe Christ will return, but resist the impulse to build a throne for Him in Washington.
This final installment examines communities that reject dominionism while still anticipating the Second Coming, including historically Black churches, Orthodox Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists. These stories complicate the narrative of end-times belief as inherently politicized. For these groups, the hope of Jesus’ reign inspires ethics, vigilance, and humility — but not conquest. As Christian nationalism makes headlines, these dissenting voices offer a vital counterweight.
“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting… But my kingdom is not from the world.’”
— John 18:36 (ESV)
The Prophetic Protest of Black Churches
If Adventists offer prophetic distance, Black Protestant churches represent prophetic presence. Many historically Black denominations (e.g., AME, National Baptist Convention, Church of God in Christ) share with evangelicals a deep belief in Christ’s return and a familiarity with apocalyptic language. But their political engagement has taken a radically different shape.
For centuries, Black churches have read Revelation not as a blueprint for global conquest, but as a narrative of liberation. The imagery of God overthrowing oppressive empires has resonated with African Americans facing slavery, segregation, and systemic racism. The “New Jerusalem” is not Washington; it is the hope of divine justice for those whom earthly justice has failed.
During the civil rights era, pastors like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. harnessed biblical eschatology to inspire nonviolent resistance, quoting the prophets and Revelation to point toward a redemptive moral arc. Many in King’s circle believed in the Second Coming, but none sought to create a Christian government. Their model was prophetic critique of the nation, not identification with it.
Today, polling shows that Black Protestants are less likely than white evangelicals to support Christian nationalism, despite having similar levels of belief in Jesus’ return. In fact, 76% of Black Protestants say we are living in the end times, yet only 39% express support for Christian nationalist ideas[3]. For these churches, the end-times hope fuels activism for racial justice, not dominion. It cultivates a theology of protest, not political control.
Orthodoxy, Mysticism, and the Kingdom Not of This World
For Eastern Orthodox Christians, the idea of a literal earthly kingdom ruled by Jesus is alien to their eschatological tradition. Orthodoxy holds to an amillennial perspective, viewing Christ’s kingdom as already present in the Church and only fully consummated at the final resurrection.
Orthodox liturgy repeatedly affirms that God’s kingdom is “not of this world.” Its focus is mystical union with Christ, not social or political conquest. Historically, Orthodox theology has warned against identifying any nation with God’s rule, in part due to painful experiences with empire and persecution.
In the American context, Orthodox Christians are a small but growing community. While some ethnic Orthodox (particularly in Russian and Serbian traditions) may hold culturally conservative views, there is no theological mandate within Orthodoxy to build a Christian nation. Political engagement is viewed with caution, and many Orthodox leaders emphasize spiritual formation over civic activism.
This hesitance is reflected in national data: PRRI finds relatively low levels of Christian nationalism support among Orthodox-identifying respondents, who typically emphasize pluralism and religious freedom. The Orthodox eschatological vision does not demand political action to establish Christ’s kingdom — because it already exists in the Eucharistic life of the Church.
The Ultimate Separation: Jehovah’s Witnesses
Perhaps no group holds more tightly to belief in Christ’s literal reign — while more completely rejecting political participation — than Jehovah’s Witnesses. Witnesses believe that Jesus has already begun his rule invisibly from heaven, and that after the Battle of Armageddon, he will reign over a paradise Earth.
This belief leads them to absolute political neutrality. Witnesses do not vote, hold office, join parties, or serve in the military. They see all current governments as temporary and under Satan’s influence, soon to be replaced by God’s Kingdom.
Far from seeking to Christianize America, Witnesses refuse to pledge allegiance, salute the flag, or participate in national holidays. Their apocalyptic vision is total and exclusive: God’s rule cannot be shared with human systems. Their refusal to engage is rooted in a theological conviction that any participation in secular power compromises their loyalty to Jehovah.
This has made them targets of persecution historically — including Supreme Court battles over free speech and religious liberty. But their stance remains resolute. In an age when many believers equate Christian faith with national power, Jehovah’s Witnesses stand apart, insisting that God’s kingdom is not of this world, and therefore cannot be voted into office.
Prophetic Distance: Seventh-day Adventists and Political Caution
Among the most prophecy-focused Christian groups in America are Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs). Formed in the 19th century out of the Millerite movement, Adventists have long believed in the literal, imminent return of Jesus. But unlike many evangelical premillennialists, they have historically warned against seeking political power to prepare for that return.
At the heart of Adventist theology is a strong emphasis on religious liberty and the separation of church and state. This flows directly from their prophetic interpretation of Revelation, which teaches that end-time persecution will come through a union of religious and political authority. Adventists believe that government mandates enforcing worship on the first day of the week will be a key sign of the final crisis, with Saturday Sabbath-keepers facing global pressure and persecution.
The denomination\’s official teaching opposes the use of state power to enforce religious practices, even those Adventists affirm. As the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists wrote: “The union of the church with the state, be the degree ever so slight, while it may appear to bring the world nearer to the church, does in reality but bring the church nearer to the world”[1]. Because of this, Adventists have generally avoided entanglement in efforts to create a \”Christian America.\”
That doesn’t mean SDAs are politically disengaged. They advocate for social justice, health reform, education, and disaster relief. Adventist lawyers have defended religious minorities before the U.S. Supreme Court. But their eschatology leads them to be wary of any religious nationalism, even when it aligns with their moral views. To many Adventists, Christian nationalism resembles the very prophecy they’ve long warned about: a church-state merger that will marginalize dissenting faiths.
Polling data reflects this distance. While many Adventists are politically conservative, they are less likely to embrace Christian nationalist ideology than white evangelicals. In PRRI’s 2023 Christian nationalism survey, only about a third of Hispanic Protestants (a category that includes some Adventists) aligned with nationalist sentiments — and the figure was even lower for Black Protestants, among whom Adventists are also represented[2]. Adventist publications, including Liberty magazine and the Adventist Review, have explicitly critiqued Christian nationalism as theologically misguided and historically dangerous.
But more than just political caution, Adventist eschatology includes a detailed vision of how Christ’s reign will unfold — and crucially, it happens after His return and in heaven, not on Earth. According to Adventist doctrine, when Jesus returns, the righteous will be taken to heaven to reign with Him for a thousand years — the millennium — while the Earth remains desolate. This period, drawn from Revelation 20, is understood not as a reign on Earth, but a time of judgment and review in heaven. Only after this millennium, Adventists believe, will Christ return with His saints to cleanse and recreate the Earth as the final home of the redeemed.
This sequence reinforces Adventist wariness toward political efforts to establish God’s kingdom prematurely. In their view, the millennium is not a time for Christians to rule nations, but a solemn interlude in which God\’s justice is affirmed, apart from any human government. Any attempt to impose religious rule now is not only theologically mistaken — it risks fulfilling the very persecution that prophecy warns against.
In effect, Adventists believe Jesus will reign — but that human attempts to hasten or enforce that reign are not only futile, but blasphemous. Their model is not to take dominion, but to witness faithfully while waiting. They see political movements that seek to enshrine Christian rule as inadvertently replicating the coercive powers of prophecy’s Beast, not preparing the way for the Lamb.
In Conclusion
Across these three articles, we’ve seen how a single theological conviction—that Jesus will one day physically reign on Earth—can lead to radically different visions of what faith demands in public life. For millions of American evangelicals and Christian nationalists, the belief in a coming Kingdom fuels a sense of crisis and duty, a mandate to shape the nation’s laws and institutions before time runs out. For others—mainline Protestants, Catholics, Adventists, Orthodox Christians, and Black churches—that same hope leads to restraint, pluralism, or prophetic critique, rather than domination. Whether active or quietist, these responses are not incidental. They are the outgrowth of how each tradition interprets the timeline of God’s redemptive plan—and what they believe humans are called to do while waiting.
In an era where religion and politics often intersect in complex ways, understanding these theological frameworks is essential. The rise of Christian nationalism is not just a political phenomenon—it reflects deeply held beliefs about prophecy, authority, and national identity. But these beliefs are not uniform. While some Christians view political engagement as a means of preparing the world for Christ’s reign, others approach civic life with a focus on justice, humility, or pluralism, shaped by different interpretations of scripture and history. For many, Micah 6:8 offers a grounding principle: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Endnotes:
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Statement on Church-State Relations: https://www.adventist.org/statements/church-state-relations/
PRRI, \”A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture\”: https://www.prri.org/research/a-christian-nation-understanding-the-threat-of-christian-nationalism-to-american-democracy-and-culture/
Pew Research Center, “About Four-in-Ten U.S. Adults Believe Humanity Is ‘Living in the End Times’”: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/12/08/about-four-in-ten-u-s-adults-believe-humanity-is-living-in-the-end-times/