Kingdom theology series

Kingdom Theology II

December 4, 2020 7 Minutes


INTRODUCTION

In Kingdom Theology I, there are 4 necessities that constitute a kingdom – the king, the law, the subjects and the land. GOD who created man and the universe, has always wanted to establish His kingly rule on earth. Yet this kingly rule has been usurped by Satan because of man’s disobedience to GOD. Since there are now 2 kingdoms at work – GOD’s kingdom and the kingdom of the air, can GOD reinstate His kingdom?


CAN GOD’S KINGDOM BE REINSTATED?

Christ inauguration

Since the problem is with the people, there must be a solution to resolve this. Imagine, in a kingdom, if the people cannot submit to the king’s law and go against the king, it is not a kingdom anymore. Unfortunately, it is a broken kingdom due to man’s deprave hearts for man fails to worship the GOD that created him. Thus man is laden with sins and is powerless to break free from sin for he is under the bondage of Satan.

Therefore something must be done to the people. The solution is Jesus. Jesus came when Israel was deep in sin and when Israel was helpless and crying out for a deliverer. Jesus is the bridge between GOD and man. Jesus was the one that usher the kingdom of GOD on earth again.

There are 3 things HE did. First, he taught people to repent of their sins, Second, He died so that GOD’s wrath on man is appeased. When GOD’s wrath is no more, HE then can forgive man of their disobedience and to restore man to his original relationship with GOD, no more eternal condemnation. This is salvation for man. Third, His Resurrection broke the power of Satan and help man to break away from the bondage of sin. This power enable us choose GOD and His kingly rule. This power enable us to say No to sin, to differentiate right from wrong.


IS IT NOW?

So if Jesus has come, has the kingdom of GOD here already?


3 Type of Beliefs

There are 3 types of beliefs concerning this kingdom of GOD.

  • Kingdom of GOD will only come during Jesus’ second coming. This means that people are still living in bondage and cannot break free from sin and man cannot choose to obey GOD and having poor decisions. Man cannot find hope and joy in the midst of suffering. And man cannot break free from sin despite Christ death and resurrection.

  • Kingdom of GOD is already here. This means that the fullness of the kingdom is already here. This also means that whatever we do or say, we have the power to make it happen. IF this is the case, then there is no value for the 2nd coming of Jesus. We can see such practices is praying for healing and things. It’s like the pray and claim it kind of stuff – you want it, you claim it and it will come. This is common for some churches where they believe if you are sick, you will be definitely be healed when you pray.

  • Kingdom is now and not yet. This means that we only experience a partial kingdom (fulfillment without consummation). There is hope but we also recognized the world is not under the reign of GOD yet, there is still imperfection.


KINGDOM OF NOW AND NOT YET

In the earlier text we read today that Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven has come near. Jesus is able to say that the kingdom has come near because He knows that when He dies on the cross, it is when the kingdom will be in operation. Jesus’ ministry is about 3 years and He knows it is coming very soon after His death.

Now that Jesus has died and the kingdom has started, why are we still seeing the troubles and suffering of the world? This led us to the 2 progressive periods of the kingdom of GOD.


Two Progressive Periods

Period 1 is from the time of 1st coming of Jesus to 2nd coming of Jesus. Under this period, the kingdom of GOD is not full yet or 100%. We experience partial goodness in the kingdom. Why do we experience partial? Reason is because Satan is still in operation in the world and man is not sanctified and needs to perfect his faith in GOD. GOD also allowed this period for more people to know Him and enter into the kingdom. Imagine if Period 2 of the kingdom has come, how many people will not be saved? GOD is always a merciful GOD.

In period 1, the kingdom has not come in fullness yet. This is why we sometimes see people go for healing service and get healed but relapse again. It is not the issue with GOD but that the kingdom is not in its full operation but yet we can experience some power in this kingdom.

Perhaps I can share a real case – A man was diagnosed with glaucoma when he was in his 20s. He was a non-Christian then. Then he decided to look for the most powerful GOD to heal him and he found Jesus through the Alpha course (The Alpha course is an evangelistic course which seeks to introduce the basics of the Christian faith through a series of talks and discussions. It is described by its organizers as “an opportunity to explore the meaning of life”.). However, even after his acceptance of Jesus, his eye condition deteriorated and his own doctor could not help him. But the miracle is that GOD led him to another doctor. The doctor is one of the best eye doctor in Singapore for glaucoma and the doctor managed to stabilize his eye condition and preserve his eyesight. Although his condition did not heal, neither did it become bad and blind. This is an example of what it means to live in the Period 1 of the kingdom of GOD.

Period 2 is from the 2nd coming of Jesus till eternity. Under this period, Satan is locked up and punished. Man’s faith is sanctified and perfected to receive GOD’s kingly rule. In this period, everything is perfect condition, back to what GOD has in mind – GOD be the king and people worship Him.


EXPERIENCING PERIOD 1 KINGDOM

Even though we are not experiencing the full operation of the kingdom, but we can already see the goodness of period 1 kingdom on earth.


  1. Kingdom of GOD brings Redemption

Instead of condemnation by Satan, the kingdom of GOD is a gospel of Good News and this good news is Salvation. Now man can be restored to GOD and need not be eternally condemned. This is the greatest effect on mankind. From unrighteousness, we are made righteous in the eyes of GOD. Now man can bring salvation to the lost.


  1. Kingdom of GOD gives Hope

The kingdom of GOD gives hope. Remember that the kingdom of GOD is always redemptive. It always gives hope to people. GOD is a GOD who loves to bless His people.

For example, He does not like poverty and poverty is a cycle. If the society is made up of many poor people, it is very difficult to break out from that poverty cycle. But GOD sends mission organizations to poor countries to help them. One of the organizations is IRIS global. It is a Christian organization which provides humanitarian aid in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. They set up schools, help the farmers to make a living, taught them irrigation and farming and etc. One of the important to break away from poverty is education. It is when there is education, people learn and be trained to work and to think to make good decision. GOD wants the people to have a better life. GOD wants them to have a hope to break out of poverty.


  1. Kingdom of GOD delivers from Sufferings

The kingdom of GOD delivers the people from suffering. In many of the poor countries, healthcare is an issue. Because of ignorance, young children died prematurely due to lack of medical care. But GOD sends medical team to go into these poor countries and gives vaccination to the children and give medical care. For example of a real case, there was a 5 years old girl, she was limping as she broke her leg. Her mother did not bring her to the hospital to get treated because of poverty and wrong belief system – she believed that was the girl’s fate in her life, to walk with a limp. In medical science, if she does not get treated, she will be walking with a limp permanently and be left out in the society. This is not what the kingdom of GOD is. GOD wants to deliver the people from suffering. So the pastor brought the girl to have the leg operated in the hospital. The LORD wants to deliver His people from suffering.


  1. Kingdom of GOD pushes back the forces of darkness

The kingdom of GOD pushes back the forces of darkness. In a real situation, there a missionary who is living in a certain country for 30 years. When she first went there, there were many brothels. Prostitution was very common then. She goes into the area, she prayed and she ministered. She rescued the girls from prostitution. With her intercessory prayers and reach out, the light of GOD was able to penetrate into the darkness. After years of ministry, the brothels started to close down. The spiritual atmosphere has been changed. The places where the brothels were, now became coffee place and restaurants. All glory to GOD, such is possible when GOD is introduced to the society.


CONCLUSION

In conclusion, GOD wants to rule His people because this is how his people can be protected and living in harmony with Him. However due to man’s sin, relationship with GOD is broken and the kingdom could not function as what GOD has intended. But thanks to Jesus, He brought the kingdom of GOD on earth again. Although the kingdom of GOD has not been in full operation, we can already experience restoration, hope, joy, delivery from suffering and pushing back the forces of darkness.

If we can experience the partial kingdom now and enjoy the blessing and gifts that God has bestowed, can we imagine what it means when we have the fullness of the kingdom? Is there anything we can do to bring His kingdom down on earth?