The Kingdom Of God

The Kingdom of God What we anticipate is God’s enactment of God’s gracious rule over all of creation. The meaning and the timing of this Kingdom has been an issue of questioning: e.g. Acts 1:6-8. The biblical texts possess a determinative eschatological valence. How to connect the Kingdom of God with the eschatological position?

The Kingdom of God How you approach this relationship between this age and the next influences your biblical interpretation. How does the next age relate to the ministry of Jesus? Does this question arise from the Scriptural witness to Jesus, or has the church imposed this upon Jesus’ teaching?

The Kingdom of God A. Jesus: eschatological bearer of God’s Kingdom Johannes Weiss: Jesus’ preaching was of the expectation of a coming universal destruction of the present world, with judgment or eternal bliss for humanity. Responding to Liberal theology’s description of the Kingdom as primarily an experience by asserting that it is supra-temporal reality.

The Kingdom of God A. Jesus: eschatological bearer of God’s Kingdom Johannes Weiss: Jesus’ preaching was of the expectation of a coming universal destruction of the present world, with judgment or eternal bliss for humanity, but these were not the subjective, inward experiences Liberalism proposed. 1) Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom is near;

The Kingdom of God A. Jesus: eschatological bearer of God’s Kingdom Johannes Weiss: 2) only God can bring the Kingdom; 3) Kingdom’s coming means the destruction of the world. End did not come, so he was in reality a failed prophet. Bultmann: demythologize Jesus’ message

The Kingdom of God B. Jesus’ Ministry as Realized Eschatology C. H. Dodd: Jesus conceived of the Kingdom as an already active power in history, so the Kingdom is present and not futural in orientation. The early church brought into Christianity the notion of cataclysmic events after the delay of the parousia.

The Kingdom of God C. The Kingdom Inbreaks in Jesus’ Ministry Jeremias, Cullmann, et. al.: Jesus held a dialectical relationship with the Kingdom. God’s Kingdom was both a present reality in Jesus’ ministry but also contained a future expectation.

The Kingdom of God D. A Non-eschatological Jesus? Some have rejected outright that Jesus thought of himself as a particular bearer of God’s Kingdom. Harnack: what made Jesus unique is that he taught that the Kingdom of God is internal. God’s rule is in human hearts, not in supratemporal categories.

The Kingdom of God E. NT Portrayals of the Kingdom of God 1. KG is the establishment or in-breaking of God’s rule in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus never succinctly explains the meaning of the KG, but does indicate its meaning (especially in parables). KG implicitly seen in Jesus’ acts of teaching and healing.

The Kingdom of God E. NT Portrayals of the Kingdom of God 2. KG indicates a present reality in the world. Mark 1:14-15 indicates difference between Jesus’ and John’s preaching; the time is fulfilled! Christian hope in the Kingdom is rooted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God E. NT Portrayals of the Kingdom of God 2. KG indicates a present reality in the world. This hope does not issue in complacency, but Christians “begin to suffer under it, to contradict it.” Because of God’s presence, we are not abandoned to the world’s evil.

The Kingdom of God E. NT Portrayals of the Kingdom of God 3. KG indicates a future reality whose full consummation we await. E.g., Matthew 5:3 ff are in the future tense. The newness of life now experienced is tied to the Kingdom that will come in the future. The future gives us hope for action now.

The Kingdom of God E. NT Portrayals of the Kingdom of God 4. KG is both present and future. It is a coming reality that is already irrupting in the present in anticipation of its full consummation in Christ’s return. 2nd Timothy 2: 8-13, 18

Approaches to Eschatology II. Interpretations of Eschatology Most interpretations fall into 1 of 4 streams. A. Futuristic: Revelation must be understood literally, so all events described after chapter 3 will occur in the future. B. Preterist: Revelation recounts in symbolic language events that were occurring at the time the book was written (AD 95-96).

Approaches to Eschatology II. Interpretations of Eschatology C. Historical View: the events in Revelation refer to matters that take place throughout the history of the church. D. Symbolic View: Revelation presents timeless or atemporal truths in symbolic language rather than singular, historical events (e.g., God’s sovereignty, the triumph of good over evil).

Kingdom of God & Millennium Views The Kingdom of God and Millennial Views These concern the chronological relationship between Christ’s second-coming and other events in this present age. Often this involves two questions: will there be a millennial reign? Will there be a tribulation? Chiliasm: belief in a literal 1000-year earthly reign of Christ.

Kingdom of God & Millennium Views The Kingdom of God and Millennial Views I. Four Millennial Views A. Postmillenialism Preaching of the Gospel will convert the whole world. Predominate in the Medieval Church. The Millennium is a present reality. Matthew 13:33; Isaiah 45:22-25;Hosea 2:23

Kingdom of God & Millennium Views The Kingdom of God and Millennial Views A. Postmillennialism Millennium may not be a literal 1000 years. Expects the world to become progressively better prior to Christ’s return. Popular at the beginning of the 20th century but events of last century made it seem highly untenable.

Kingdom of God & Millennium Views The Kingdom of God and Millennial Views B. Dispensationalism J. W. Darby: 19th-century minister associated with the Brethren. Christ’s 2nd-coming will take place in 2 stages: (1) a rapture of the saints to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thess. 4:14-15) and earthly disasters culminating in the battle of Armageddon; (2) Christ returns, defeats Satan, and sets up earthly kingdom of Israel.

Kingdom of God & Millennium Views The Kingdom of God and Millennial Views B. Dispensationalism History is governed by divinely preordained dispensations or how God manages creation God has 2 distinct people,1 for Israel and one for the church. Israel as a nation is to remain, and God will fulfill literally the OT promises to David’s descendants.

Kingdom of God & Millennium Views The Kingdom of God and Millennial Views B. Dispensationalism Problems: (1) in the NT, God has only 1 people, and this includes Israel and the church together. E.g., Ephesians 2:11-20 (2) in the NT, the resurrection appears as one event, not several. E.g, John 5:25-29 (3) Kingdom is in Christ (Col. 1:16-20) and his people (Luke 17:20-21)