Tag: confusion

Mystery of the kingdom and eschatology

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 13 – Distinctives within the body of Christ

Mystery of the kingdom and eschatology

[Bible references: Isaiah 2; 60; Joel 2; Micah 4; Daniel 7; Matthew 24; Luke 17; Revelations 20]

What is the kingdom of God/Heaven?

The kingdom of Heaven refers to where Jesus reigns. Heaven has always been under his rule and when he returns and our current earth is transformed into the new earth, Jesus’ kingdom will include that as well. In the meanwhile, His kingdom includes all those who have accepted Jesus as their king. Some only apply the Kingdom of God to only the reign of God in heaven or the reign of God after earthly governments are done away with.

How and when will Jesus return?

Discussion about the end times[1] has always been problematic because of the nature of prophetic language. This has led to much contention in the church about how events will occur or have occurred. Even though Jesus has cautioned us that only the Father knows when that will happen, people have not stopped trying to “read the signs.”

The clues about the Messiah in the Old Testament were confusing to interpret. Even after the incarnation of Jesus, we know that the disciples were confused about how the events of the end times such that Jesus’ death was incomprehensible. Even after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension there was still confusion, and it took some time to sink in that Jesus’ return was not going to happen for a while.

There are a wide variety of thoughts about the Biblical prophecies concerning the end times. The questions deal with such things as: is the book of Revelation about events now past us (e.g., the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70) or about future events or both, does the 1000 years talked about in Revelation 20:1-15 occur now or in the future and is the 1000 years literal or metaphorical, will there be a “rapture” of believers before a coming time of great tribulation, since there was no nation of Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem do the promises that applied to Israel now apply to the church – and other questions.

There are various historical factors and hermeneutical questions that led to some of the variations in the way that these questions were answered: whether the prophecies should be interpreted literally or metaphorically, whether the Old Testament laws should be kept in effect by the church, the importance of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the consequent re-creation of the nation of Israel in AD 1948. Regardless of the way those questions are answered, the more important issue is our behavior in the present.

The role of the prophecies in the past had been to either warn people of behaviors they needed to change or to provide encouragement and hope in the times of difficulty. Wherever we stand on these prophecies, those intentions should be our focus; our behaviors in the present life and our hope to sustain us.

[1] Herrick, Greg. “9. Eschatology: End Times” Bible.org bible.org/seriespage/9-eschatology-end-times

Future of the faith

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 2 – The Kingdom Revealed – Chapter 12 – Launching the church

Future of the faith

[Bible references: Isaiah 65:17-25; 66:22-24; Luke 20:34-362 Corinthians 5:1-10; 2 Peter 3:10-15; Revelation 21:1-8]

As mentioned in the previous section, the war against evil has been won. Christ has won the battle over sin and death. We need to keep our minds fixed on that when the battles rage around us. We need to remember that we are the side of the victor and not get defensive – our God is not small! We need to remember that the forces of evil have reigned since the fall and so, when Jesus came in the flesh, it was the forces of good that have intruded on the forces of evil, not the other way around.

With the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Kingdom of God has entered onto the earth and Jesus continues to bring the Kingdom of God on earth through his church. Unfortunately, we need to wait until Jesus returns before he completely restores the Kingdom of God. But He will restore it!

One of the in-between time confusions centers around what happens in the day that Christ returns. In this time, when Christians die, we are not automatically resurrected, instead we leave earth to go to heaven to be with the Lord. But that is not our last destination! When Christ returns, He will unite heaven with earth, and it is then that we will then receive our resurrected bodies so that we can live on that new earth.

One of the other confusions around what happens what is the relation between the old earth and the new earth. The language in 2 Peter 3:10 can make it seem that the old earth will simply be annihilated and replaced with the new earth. However, that would seem to conflict with Acts 3:21 where God is said to “restore all things.”

“The times of the restitution of all things – The noun rendered restitution … does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. The verb from which it is derived occurs eight times. It means properly “to restore a thing to its former situation,” as restoring a “strained” or “dislocated” limb to its former soundness. Hence, it is used to restore, or to heal, in the New Testament …”[1]

It so happens that “all but one of the oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts do not have the final words “will be burned up” but instead have “will be found, …”[2] and that would be more in line with Acts 3:21.[3] What has been the more common rendering of “burning up the earth” has caused some to not care about our current earth, but if the earth is to be transformed rather than destroyed then we might, as the stewards of the earth, pay more attention to taking care of the earth.

[1] Biblehub “Acts 3:21” Biblehub biblehub.com/acts/3-21.htm

[2] Wolters, Albert M. “Creation Regained: Biblical Bases for a Reformational Worldview” William B. Eerdmans Publishing 1985, 2005. (Location 568 of 1582)

[3] Bible.org “A Brief Note on a Textual Problem in 2 Peter 3:10” the meaning of the term is virtually the equivalent of “will be disclosed,” “will be manifested.” Thus, the force of the clause would be that “the earth and the works [done by men] in it will be stripped bare [before God].” BAGD suggests a slight modification of this: be found as a “result of judicial investigation” (s.v. εὑρίσκω, p. 325. 2), citing Acts 13:28; 23:9; John 18:38; 19:4, 6; and Barnabas 21:6 as approximate parallels. Danker2 suggested a parallel between 2 Pet 3:10 and Ps Sol 17:10 (“Faithful is the Lord in all his judgments which he executes on the earth”; the link here is conceptual, though in v. 8 εὑρίσκω is used of the exposure of men’s sins before God). We might add that the unusualness of the expression is certainly in keeping with Peter’s style throughout this little book. Hence, what looks to be suspect because of its abnormalities, upon closer inspection is actually in keeping with the author’s stylistic idiosyncrasies. The meaning of the text then, is apparently that all but the earth and men’s works will be destroyed. Everything will be removed so that humanity will stand naked before God.

Observe

Read 1 Peter 3:10-15. What should our attitude be because we know that the new heavens and earth will be happening?

Tower of Babel

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 4– Retreating to chaos

Tower of Babel

[Bible references: Genesis 11:1-8; Genesis 12:1-3]

Despite the catastrophic destruction that destroyed all people except Noah and his family, the image-bearers’ defiance would emerge again. Instead of glorifying God, they attempted to “make a name” for themselves and not the God who provided their language and all the other skills with which they would try to build a tower, which would be a monument to their own God-given abilities.

God’s response was very measured. By causing them to speak different languages so that they could no longer communicate with each other, the image-bearers would no longer be able to come together to complete the tower, rather they were now forced to divide into seventy different groups and spread out across the earth, creating different nations.

From one of those nations, God would choose a man who was not out to make a name for himself, someone who did not put his faith in himself but would be willing to put his trust in God. It would be through this one man and his wife that God would form a nation for himself, a nation through which the whole world would be blessed, a nation through whom one called the Messiah would come, the anointed one through whom God would begin His work of restoration.

Reflect

Even within a family, different experiences cause people to think differently causing conflict. They all use the same words but have different thoughts about what is right. Larger problems occur when people grow up in entirely different environments. When people use different languages, those different languages amplify the differences in how people think. In your own situation, what different cultures do you interact with and how do you process conflicts with people in those cultures?

Observe

Read Genesis 11:1-8. What was the wrong motive for building the tower?