Part 1: https://universalistheretic.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-kingdom-of-god.html
“The Kingdom of God is Near”
In my most recent post, we saw that the “kingdom of God” refers to the Davidic kingdom (1 Chron. 17:14; 28:5; 29:23; 2 Chron. 13:8), which was promised to be returned to Israel by the prophets of the Old Testament, centered in literal Jerusalem on Mount Zion - for example, see Isa. 2:2-4; 24:23; 27:12-13; 66:18-20; Jer. 23:5-6; 31:23-25; 33:14-16; Ezek. 40-48; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Obad. 21; Mic. 4:1-8; Hab. 2:14; and Zech. 14:8-9.
This view of the kingdom is confirmed in the New Testament, where Jesus is said to be the promised descendant of David who would bring about this restoration (Lk. 1:32-33; 1:65-70; 2:34, 38; 24:21). It is said that the kingdom of God will one day be returned to Israel (Matt. 19:28; Acts 1:6-7; 3:21), an event which will be associated with the return of Jesus, resurrection, and judgment (Matt. 7:21-23; 8:11-12; 13:39-42; 25:31-34; Lk. 13:24-28). This kingdom has not yet come (Acts 14:22; 26:6-7), but will become our inheritance in the future at the second coming of Christ (Lk. 21:27-31; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 15:50-54; 2 Thess. 1:5-10; Heb. 12:28; 2 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 11:15-18).
However, there are several passages in the New Testament which are thought to demonstrate either that (1) the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality no longer associated with the Davidic kingdom over Israel, or that (2) the kingdom of God has already come in some form. The conflict between these passages and the ones cited above has caused some theologians to adopt a compromise view, called the “already/not yet” view of the kingdom (developed in the twentieth century), which argues that the spiritual kingdom began at Pentecost whereas the physical kingdom will start at the second coming of Jesus.
However, this view seems to contradict passages like Acts 14:22, which show that even after Pentecost the apostles had not yet entered the kingdom in any way. So then, is this an irreconcilable contradiction? Or is there some other way to interpret the passages that seem to show that the kingdom of God already came in some form? Let’s take a look at some of the most important passages thought to teach this:
Now in those days, John the Baptist is coming, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has been coming near.” (Matt. 3:1-2)
From then Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has been coming near.” (Matt. 4:17 cf. 10:7; Lk. 10:9-11)
And after John was handed over, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of God and saying, “The season has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has been coming near; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk. 1:14-15)
Because these passages state that the kingdom of God “has been coming near”, many theologians argue that this means that the kingdom must have come soon after that time. This interpretation must be wrong, for the simple fact that the kingdom has not come two thousand years later. Israel is not ruled by a descendant of David, and will not be until Jesus returns to sit on David’s throne and rule the house of Israel for the ages (Lk. 1:32-33).
But if this is the case, how could Jesus have said that “the kingdom of God has been coming near”? Is this a failed prophecy? No, it is not, and the answer to why the kingdom of God did not come at that time may be found in Matt. 23:37-39:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the [one] killing the prophets and stoning the [ones] having been sent to her! How often I willed to gather your children, [in] the way a hen is gathering her chicks under the wings, and you did not will [to]! Lo, your house is left to you desolate. For I am saying to you, you may in no way see me until you may say, ‘Praised has been the [one who] is coming in the name of the Lord’!”
Because the Israelite leaders rejected Jesus, He could not take His rightful place as king of Israel at that time [1]. Therefore, their “house” (the house of David) remained desolate until the time at which they would say, “Praised has been the one who is coming in the name of the Lord”. This interpretation is confirmed by one of Jesus’ parables in the gospel of Luke:
Now [at] their hearing these things, he said a parable, because of his being near Jerusalem and their thinking that the kingdom of God is about to appear instantly. He said, “A certain man of nobility went to a far country, to take for himself a kingdom and to return. Now having called ten of his servants, he gave ten minas to them and said to them, ‘Do business until when I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, ‘We are not willing this [one] to reign over us...’”
And as he came near, having seen the city, he wept over her, saying, “If you, even you, knew the things for peace! Yet now it is hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you and your enemies will cast a rampart around you, and they will encircle you and press you on all sides, and will raze you and your children in you, and will not leave stone upon stone in you, because you did not know the season of your visitation.” (Lk. 19:11-14, 41-44)
The Jews who had been following Jesus were wrong to think that the kingdom of God would come immediately upon His entry to Jerusalem, not because the kingdom would be a ‘spiritual reality’ in the ‘Church’, but because the leaders of Israel did not, at that time, accept Him as their king. If they had known “the things for peace” and “the season of their visitation”, then the kingdom would have come, but because they did not, the kingdom was “hidden from their eyes”. See also Matt. 21:33-43 for another parable which links the rejection of Jesus to the delay of the kingdom’s coming.
Therefore, when John the Baptist and Jesus said that “the kingdom of God has been coming near”, what they meant was that from a prophetic standpoint, comparatively little needed to occur before the Davidic kingdom would be restored to Israel. All that needed to happen was for the leaders of Israel to accept Jesus, the son of David, as their king, the anointed one of God. However, because the leaders did not accept Him, the kingdom was delayed and replaced for a time with the “mystery” or “secret” of the body of Christ which had not been revealed to the prophets (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:1-3; Col. 1:25-26).
This is not to say that the body of Christ was a ‘stopgap’ measure that God thought of once Israel had rejected Christ, as premillennialists are sometimes accused of believing. The members of the body of Christ were chosen even before creation (Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9), and it was prophesied long before Jesus’ first coming that the Messiah would be rejected and killed by Israel (Ps. 22:6-8; 118:22; Isa. 53; Dan. 9:26-27; Zech. 12:10). Even Jesus taught His disciples that He would be rejected by the Jews of that generation (Mk. 8:31; 9:12; Lk. 17:25; 20:17-18). But what amillennialists miss about this is that the offer to Israel had to be legitimately made before it could be rejected; the kingdom of God needed to “draw near” before it could be postponed.
“The Kingdom of God is Within You”
Another common objection often leveled against the premillennialist view of the kingdom of God is that Jesus taught that “the kingdom of God is within you”. Because of this, many believe that the kingdom of God is a ‘spiritual reality’ which exists inside of individuals, the members of the ‘Church’. However, this quote is very out-of-context, and we need to look at the full passage to understand what Jesus meant:
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God is coming, he answered and said to them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with scrutiny, nor will they say, ‘Lo, here!’ or ‘There!’ For lo, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Now he said to the disciples, “Days will come when you will covet to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see [it]. And they will say to you, ‘Lo, here!’ or ‘There!’ Do not go after nor pursue [them]. For just as the lightning lightening out of the [one end] of the heaven to the [other end] of the sky is shining, so also will be the Son of Man in his day. Yet first it is necessary [for] him to suffer much, and to be rejected from this generation.” (Lk. 17:20-25)
First, we have to recognize that Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees at this point. This shows that Jesus cannot be saying that the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality within individuals, because the kingdom of God certainly was not “within” the Pharisees; in fact, Jesus specifically excluded them from the kingdom of God elsewhere (Matt. 21:31-32).
Furthermore, many people interpret the fact that “the kingdom of God is not coming with scrutiny” as meaning that the kingdom is not visible, and that there are no visible signs that precede its coming. However, if we take this as Jesus’ meaning here, this would produce a contradiction with His words elsewhere, as He goes on to tell them of visible signs which will precede the coming of the kingdom of God (Lk. 21:25-31)! Rather, as Jesus goes on to say, the reason why no one will be able to say “Lo, here” or “there” about the kingdom is because its coming will be as visible as the lightning shining across the heavens - there will be no question about its coming once it occurs. This is actually evidence that the kingdom will be physical and visible, not the other way around.
But then, what did Jesus mean when He said that “the kingdom of God is within you”? As noted already, it can’t be that He was saying that “the kingdom is inside of you [believers]”, because He was not speaking to believers. Instead, it is likely that Jesus was saying, “the kingdom of God is within you [Israel]”. That is, because the kingdom of God would be coming from within Israel itself, no one would be able to say “Lo, here” or “there” about the coming of the kingdom.
Another statement of Jesus which is often construed as saying that the kingdom is ‘spiritual’ and not literal or physical is John 18:36:
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not out of this world. If my kingdom were out of this world, my attendants would struggle so that I may not be handed over to the Jews. Yet now my kingdom is not from here.”
Because Jesus said that His kingdom was not “out of this world”, some interpreters have believed that Jesus’ kingdom will not be a literal, physical kingdom on the earth (contrary to many of His other statements regarding the kingdom). However, Jesus was not saying that His kingdom would not be in the world, meaning that it would not be part of the created order; rather, He was saying that His kingdom would not be “out of” or “from” (εκ) the world.
Just a few chapters earlier, He said the exact same thing about His disciples (Jn. 15:19; 17:14), but this obviously did not mean that they were not part of the created order. Rather, to not be “out of” (εκ) the world simply means that one’s authority and/or disposition comes from God instead of the world. Thus, Jesus was not saying that His kingdom would not be a physical kingdom on the earth, but that its authority would come from God, and so there was no reason for His disciples to fight for it, because God would cause it to come about at the proper time.
Various other “kingdom now” passages
Yet from the days of John until now, the kingdom of God has suffered violence, and violent [ones] are seizing it. (Matt. 11:12)
Because some Bible versions translate this verse as saying that “the kingdom of God has violently approached”, this is thought by some to demonstrate that the kingdom of God came at that time. Technically, both translations are possible, depending on whether the verb βιαζομαι is translated in the middle or passive voice. Furthermore, the passive translation (“suffered violence”) is far more likely from the context, as Jesus immediately goes on to state, “violent ones are seizing it”. This supports the ‘kingdom postponement’ view set out above, as the Pharisees and Jewish leaders were violently preventing the kingdom from being established in those days.
Yet if I am casting out the demons by [the] spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matt. 12:28)
Yet if I am casting out the demons by [the] finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Lk. 11:20)
Because this passage states that “the kingdom of God has come upon you” when Jesus casts out demons, amillennialists (and some premillennialists) believe that it shows that the kingdom of God has already arrived. However, this would go directly against what Jesus says elsewhere which seems to indicate that the kingdom had not yet come at that time (e.g., Matt. 6:10; 8:11-12; 13:40-42; 19:23-30; 25:34). So how are we to interpret this passage?
As it turns out, the expression “has come upon you” is used elsewhere to describe things which had not yet come at that time, but were certain to come at some future time. For example, in Dan. 4:24, Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that the decree of God “has come upon my lord the king”, and yet the decree did not come to pass until twelve months later (vv. 29-33). Likewise, Paul states of the Jews who killed Jesus that “wrath has come upon them to the end” (1 Thess. 2:16), even though they were at that time still living comfortably in Judea. Thus, we can conclude that Jesus was saying that His casting out demons by the spirit of God was certain proof that He was the promised Messiah and son of David, and in that sense the kingdom had come upon them.
“Now I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and [the] gates of the Unseen will not overpower it. I will give the keys of the kingdom of the heavens to you, and whatever you may bind upon the earth will have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you may loose upon the earth will have been loosed in the heavens.” (Matt. 16:18-19)
Some believe that this passage demonstrates the kingdom of the heavens to be one and the same as the “assembly” or “church” (εκκλησια), thus showing that the kingdom is a spiritual reality. However, that’s not at all what Jesus said here; instead, what He said is that Peter (who may or may not be the “rock” on which the assembly was built) will be given the keys of the kingdom. This is likely referring to the same future event following Christ’s second coming in which the twelve disciples, including Peter, will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom (Matt. 19:28; Lk. 22:29-30).
“Verily I say to you that there are some of the [ones] standing here who may in no way taste of death until they may see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28 cf. Mk. 9:1; Lk. 9:27)
See my forthcoming article on preterism for my interpretation of this verse.
Now this I declare, brothers, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit [the] kingdom of God, nor is the corruption inheriting the incorruption. (1 Cor. 15:50)
This verse states that mortal human beings (“flesh and blood”) cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and so amillennialists argue that this demonstrates that the kingdom cannot be on earth. The problem with this interpretation is that we know from elsewhere in scripture that there will be mortal and corruptible human beings in the kingdom, and even on the New Earth (Isa. 65:17-20; Rev. 22:2, 15). However, whereas Israel will be on the earth in the oncoming ages, the body of Christ will be living and reigning in the heavenly or celestial aspect of the kingdom of God (2 Tim. 4:18 cf. Eph. 2:6-7; Php. 3:19-20).
Since it is a simple fact that mortal humans cannot live in the heavens (without some sort of space suit), we can conclude that Paul was only referring to the heavenly or celestial aspect of the kingdom in which the body of Christ will be reigning, and not to the earthly aspect of the kingdom which will be inhabited by mortal humans. Therefore, this verse does not prove that the kingdom of God will not exist on the earth; all that it shows is that the kingdom will also exist in the heavens.
...thanking the Father, the [One] having qualified you to [your] part of the inheritance of the saints in the light, who rescued us out of the authority of the darkness and removed [us] to the kingdom of the Son of His love. (Col. 1:12-13)
Because Paul writes that the Father has “removed us to the kingdom of the Son”, some amillennialists have argued that this means that we are already in the kingdom. However, the verb μεθιστημι is in the aorist tense, which can describe either a past event or (proleptically) a future event. Since Paul described this as a future “inheritance” just in the previous verse, we can conclude that this verb should be understood proleptically; we will be removed to the kingdom of the Son at the same time we are rescued out of the darkness, in the day of the Lord (1 Thess. 5:4-5).
...walk worthily of God, the [One] calling you to His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thess. 2:12)
Some argue that this verse demonstrates that we are already in the kingdom of God. However, though God is calling us into His kingdom and glory, we will not receive the glory until Christ is manifested from the heaven (Rom. 8:18-25; Col. 1:27; 3:4), so it is likely that we will neither receive the kingdom until that time. Thus, this is actually evidence for the view that the kingdom of God is entirely future.
Yet now He has promised, saying, “Still once [more] I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” Now this, “yet once [more],” shows the removal of the [things which] are shaken - as created [things] - so that the [things which] are not shaken may remain. Consequently, receiving an unshaken kingdom, we may have grace, through which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and fear. (Heb. 12:26-28)
Amillennialists often selectively quote verse 28 as saying that “we are receiving an unshaken kingdom”, supposedly demonstrating that the kingdom is something which we currently have. However, the context clearly establishes the time frame as the period when the heavens and earth will be removed, namely, the day of the Lord and subsequent establishment of the New Heaven and Earth (2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 20:11; 21:1). The present participle, “receiving”, should be understood proleptically as referring to this future time [2].
Conclusion
The kingdom of God has been greatly misinterpreted and misunderstood over the history of Christianity. Although the earliest Christian communities understood this expression to refer to the future Davidic kingdom centered in Jerusalem and ruled by Jesus [3], since then many new and odd interpretations have arisen, including the commonly held belief that the kingdom of God is the ‘Church’. This led to the adoption of amillennialism, the eschatological belief that Jesus’ second coming will not be followed by an earthly kingdom and will instead mark the end of history, which is now the official doctrine of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches (along with several Protestant denominations).
However, if we allow the Bible to speak for itself on this issue, it can be clearly seen that the kingdom of God is, in fact, the Davidic kingdom over Israel which was established under David and Solomon and removed at the Babylonian captivity of Judah. When Jesus spoke of the “kingdom of God”, this is how His Jewish listeners would have understood Him, and His own words reinforce this belief. According to both the Old and New Testaments, this kingdom will be restored to Israel at the second coming of Jesus, the Messiah and son of David, and will rule over the entire earth for one thousand years.
______________________________
[1] See 1 Sam. 11:12-15; 2 Sam. 5:1-3; and 1 Chron. 29:22-24, which show that a potential monarch (even one previously anointed by God) needed to be recognized by the “elders of Israel” before becoming king of Israel.
[2] The present participle is often used in the same way in modern English, to proleptically describe future events. For example, one might say, “we are going on vacation”, or “I am going to the store”, even before those events take place.
[3] See this article by T.D. Ice for a brief history of premillennialism in the early church, and this article discussing the reasons why this interpretation was ultimately abandoned until relatively recent times.
No comments:
Post a Comment