The Kingdom: Future

Oh hey!

So I've been sadly, though probably not noticeably, absent from the blogging scene for some time. I feel that a lame attempt at an excuse is necessary. You see, I got really lazy for a while...and then that laziness resulted in me becoming really busy for a while. But now, the busyness is done, and the laziness is being overcome for the next half hour at least, so it may be time to write a new post.

Before my hiatus, I had said I was going to write a series of blog posts on the topic of the kingdom of God. A couple months ago I performed a simple inductive study on the uses of the phrase "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" in the New Testament, and I was impressed by some of the themes that weave their way through biblical discourse on this topic. In my first post, I pointed out that the kingdom of God is imminent. In Mark 1:15, Jesus begins his ministry by preaching, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel." In some way, the kingdom became present with the advent of Jesus, and it continues to be so today. This is different from the way many, including my younger self, think of the kingdom. The "kingdom of God," isn't just another name for heaven or eternal life. It's present now and has contemporary relevance on our lives.

Does this mean, however, that the kingdom as it exists today is the extent of its nature? Is this all there is? I don't think so. The New Testament is adamant that the kingdom is a present reality, but at the same time, it is also still to come. It exists now, but it will exist in a fuller sense later on. The kingdom will be consummated, brought to full realization.

In Matthew 24-25, Jesus speaks of "that day and hour" and "the coming of the Son of Man." In the midst of this discussion, he begins a parable by saying, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom" (Matt. 25:1). The kingdom of God, therefore, has something to do with the return of Christ. In another instance, when someone asks if only a few will be saved, Jesus replies that the time will come when the master will shut the door, and those outside will "see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the people of the kingdom of God" from the outside. There is a sense in which the kingdom is still to come.

When you look at the book of Revelation, you see this kingdom coming. Revelation shows that God is on the throne now (Rev. 4-5), so the kingdom is also now. But evil still infects the world. However, hope comes in the fact that the king will return (Rev. 19:11-16), and Satan, along with all of his minions, will be thrown into the lake of fire with death itself (Rev. 20:10, 14). Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and king will declare, "Behold, I am making all things new!" (Rev. 21:5).

I think we all need to be reminded of this scene somewhat regularly. While the kingdom is imminent, and while the Holy Spirit currently dwells within those who belong to Christ, we all know from experience that the world is not as it should be. Jesus is on his throne, but for now, he allows Satan to continue to do his thing. That's the issue with which the people of Revelation are struggling ("How long before you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"). Our hope rests in the fact that the kingdom will be brought to fulfillment--evil will be destroyed, death will be no more, and we will be with God. Otherwise, "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Cor. 15:19).

Last night I watched the movie Les Miserables. I thought the movie was very good and would recommend it, unless you really hate music or France. I think the most powerful scene in the film is the song "I Dreamed a Dream," sung by the character Fantine after she is forced by financial desperation into prostitution. She cries out, "I had a dream my life would be / So different from this hell I'm living / So different now from what it seemed / Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

As the final credits rolled across my TV screen, I was struck with the knowledge that Fantine's fictional story is so often experienced in reality. There are millions, maybe billions, of people around the world who are living hell. The dragon seeks to destroy God's creatures. Children are forced into prostitution, women are enslaved, babies go hungry, couples get divorced, teenagers suffer loneliness. The world is not as it should be.

But the king is coming. Wrongs will be righted, justice will be meted out, and the enemy will be vanquished.

I love being a citizen of this kingdom. And I look forward to the day when it comes in all its fullness.