Living in the Kingdom's Reality
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The Myth of the Kingdom of God
The Myth of the Kingdom of God
For some time, I have wanted to teach on the kingdom of God and its reality here on earth. There are several passages that demonstrate the presence of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. However, there are very few instances that give a meaningful explanation of how the kingdom is being played out. In fact, one is forced to sort of imagine how such things found in the New Testament, notably that which is found in Acts, corresponds to the kingdom theme that is found in the gospels. For, the word kingdom does not appear as often in the Book of Acts.
Therefore, many people feel that the gospel introduced the coming of a kingdom and that anticipation stands throughout the rest of the New Testament since the writers of the epistles seem to never reference or speak of the kingdom nearly as much as the historians of the gospel. Even scholars have followed this theme, which implies the far distant future of the kingdom’s arrival; though John the Baptist and Jesus both proclaimed the kingdom was in arm’s reach.
The Lexham Survey of Theology see the the kingdom of God as a doctrine of eschatology. Rightfully so. However, it arranges it arranges the doctrine of the kingdom as to be coupled with topics such as: life after death, the final judgment, and the second coming of Jesus. All of this is relevant. However, it is not the main focus of the kingdom of God theme that is found throughout Scripture.