Claim. A nation requires sovereignty (parents), citizenry (children), and territory (the land); without all three, God’s Kingdom on earth cannot exist as a nation — the providence is not complete with a church alone.
Elaboration. “In order for a nation to be formed, there must be sovereignty, citizenry and territory; the same is true of God’s kingdom. In the place of its sovereignty are the parents, in the place of its citizenry the children, and in the place of the territory the nation. Of these, none can be left out. This is an iron rule” (5.2. Seeking God’s nation, 35-279, 1970.10.25). The sovereignty is concretely God-relational: “those who rule over the nation should, after the citizens have fallen fast asleep, form a connection with God and conduct the affairs of state” (30-88, 1970.3.17). The earth itself is the territory: “Who would be the citizens? Every person on earth would be a citizen of the kingdom. Then where would the territory be? It would be the Earth” (96-15, 1978.1.1). The implication: in SMM’s frame, “God’s Kingdom” is not a heavenly state of soul but a concrete trinitarian polity — sovereignty + citizenry + territory — and a religion that builds only churches has not finished the providence.