What is Kingdom Now Teaching?

[Chad]

"What is kingdom now teaching?"

All throughout the Old Testament, God promised the nation of Israel a literal, earthly kingdom. It was a kingdom that was tangible, concrete, and visible. It was also a kingdom that was promised to the nation for the future. The Lord, in speaking with King David, told about a person that was to come and "He shall build a house for My name sake, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever" (2 Kings 7:13). The prophet Jeremiah spoke about a coming kingdom where God's law was written on the hearts of men and done so in a perfect way. A time where teaching men to know God will be no more (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

Obviously, this earthly kingdom as prophesized in the Old Testament never came to its fruition. The question posed by many Bible students today has to do with the kingdom and its actual realization. When is the earthly kingdom going to be established? There are basically three views espoused by Christians. First, there is the view that the kingdom is entirely future. Those who hold to this view see the kingdom becoming realized in its complete, earthly fullness in Revelation 20.

Second, there is the view that sees the kingdom as a present reality. While an earthly kingdom was promised to Israel in the Old Testament, this view believes that Israel's disobedience forfeited these promises found in the Old Testament. Third, there is the view that sees the kingdom as now and future.

It is these last two views that we have an interest in, for both views see some kind of present, abstract kingdom as opposed to an only future and concrete one. Both of these respected views believe that the New Testament reinterprets the Old Testament. So when Jesus says that the ("kingdom of heaven is at hand"Matthew 4:17), He is speaking about the future age that has invaded the present age. According to these views, Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God--in its abstract, invisible form, and it is the responsibility of the church to proclaim the kingdom message of Christ.

Ideas have consequences, and those that propagate a kingdom now theology do so with practical ramifications. Since the kingdom is now, some people use this theology to handle snakes. Others use this theology to see the miraculous of Jesus and the apostles as ministries the church should be duplicating today. Others go so far as to say that the present kingdom enables the church make disciples of all the nations, where the entire world will eventually become Christian. Some even defend Christian involvement in politics on the basis of a kingdom now theology and practice.

In summation, kingdom now theology is the belief that Jesus inaugurated the future kingdom (however you define the future kingdom--heaven, earthly kingdom, or both) into the present age. It is this present kingdom, according to its adherents, that gives the Christian power to defeat evil and conquer humanity with the gospel of Christ

Recommended Resource: Christianity in Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff.
Article By: Got Questions?

 

[Gihon]

Isn't this another name for "Dominionism"?
Is this another spinoff on the RCC "Holy Roman Empire", Constantine's blending of Church with State?

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Re: Kingdom Now teaching

I believe, as my pastor teaches, that Jesus established the Kingdom of God on earth, but as a seedling, not as a fully mature plant. it is in the process of being perfected.
As my pastor says, where the Kingdom of God on earth is concerned, "we are between the NOW and the NOT YET."
SLE

 

[SpiritLedEd]

As I recall, The Holy Roman Empire was all about forced conversion through military "persuasion".

As I see it, The real establishing of the Kingdom of God on Earth is purely spiritual; the work of Christ; not of men.


SLE

 

[Fellowservant]

I believe, as my pastor teaches, that Jesus established the Kingdom of God on earth, but as a seedling, not as a fully mature plant. it is in the process of being perfected.
As my pastor says, where the Kingdom of God on earth is concerned, "we are between the NOW and the NOT YET."
SLE

I agree with this: as prophecy says from Daniel to the book of revelation, that a visable kingdom will come, as of now it is being formed in the heart of the believer. Then when Christ comes again he will take the kingdom with the saints... and not only the kingdom that is in you, but all the kingdoms of the world will serve and obey him. And he will rule them with a rod of iron, for 1000 years with the saints.

God bless

 

[Gihon]

Yes, SpiritLedEd: Initially, after the merging of half-pagan Christianity with the State(AD 325 is the accepted date), forced conversion (which is not being born again) was common, whether by military means, commercial pressure, or laws. Whatever faith the king or prince was, the common man was also to be.
Christening of babies, labeled "baptism", was the standard method both of citzenship and church membership.
This conversion was to the State Church, and so as the Papacy gain political power in Europe, the practice of religious force became the norm throughout European history, until the 19th century.

Liberty of conscience was the reason the "heretics" (Pilrgims, Puritans, Quakers, Anabaptists, Moravians, etc) fled to the New World. The State Churches (Catholic and "Protestant") hated them.

And again "Yes": Politics and nationalism has nothing to do with Christ's Kingdom, which begins in a repentent heart, not something passed on by a priest or pastor. That "kingdom come" will be brought to Earth when Jesus returns....not some construction by men.