The coming of the kingdom of God

Ryan and Andrew,

Ryan, Andrew’s negative assessment of your article on Matt 11:12-13 not-with-standing, I find myself very much in agreement with your "new" understanding of this passage. I came across this idea several years ago and have since documented it from several different sources.

Andrew wrote: "It’s not clear that there are two figures in Micah 2:13. It looks to me rather as though the one who breaks out or breaks through is the same as the king who passes on before them,"

In the obverse, it is not clear that there are not two figures in Michah 2:13. It seems very strange to me that a "king" would do the laborious and dangerous task of a breaker. Thus the "breaker" certainly could be John the baptist and the King is most certainly Jesus Christ in His Parousia.

Andrew continued: “Nothing in Jesus’ words overtly suggests the sheep-shepherd metaphor.” Maybe not in this specific passage but Jesus own statement of His mission for the disciple is stated just a few verses earlier in Matthew 10:6 “"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:6 NKJV)” And Jesus stated His own mission in Matthew 15:24: “But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24 NKJV)”

Thus the statement in Matthew 11:12 is in fact bracketed by direct references to the sheep-flock-shepherd metaphor.

Lloyd

Peter and Ryan, (2-09-08)

Due to many similarities in the two responses, I will respond to both of you here.

It does not surprise me in the least that both of you would disagree with me.  I have grown a great deal in Biblical understanding because of just such disagreement.

Peter, I did not say that the kingdom had been “completed by Jesus in the first century.”  I said that the kingdom had been established in heaven in the first century.  In my opinion, it has not been “completed” but is in fact growing and growing at the present time.

It is very easy to assert that “the meaning of the term (kingdom of God) as it is used in the NT is to do with God’s activity on earth. In that sense, kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God are synonymous terms.”  However, it is quite another to provide proof of such an assertion (which you did not do). 

While I do agree with you that “the kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” are “synonymous terms” I must disagree with your unsubstantiated assertion that it is only used “in the NT is to do with God’s activity on earth.” (Another assertion for which you provided no evidence)

One of the primary focuses of Paul’s teaching was an imminent (in that first century generation) “resurrection” (Acts 4:2, 17:18, 32, 23:6, 24:15, 21, 28:20; Rom 6:5; 1Cor 15; 2Cor 4:14; Php 3:10-11; 2Tim 2:18ff, et al.) and it is also a focal point for Peter (1:3-7, 10-13, 21, et al. cf. 2Pt 3:12-13), James (5:3,7-8), John, and the author of Hebrews.

At this point, my question for both of you would be — where do you think that Paul, Peter, John and the other NT saints are located at the present time?  Do you agree with Wright that they are still in the grave?  If “His heavenly kingdom” was not established in the first century - then they and all other Christians that have died are still in the grave and not with Jesus in the heavenly realm.  As N.T. Wright said, “In the Bible we are told that you die… St. Paul is very clear that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead already, but that nobody else has yet.”[1]

In this statement, N.T. Wright, like so many others, completely misses the point that the NT also teaches that Paul and the other writers of the NT were expecting their resurrection to take place very soon, i.e. within that generation (Matt 16:27-28, et al.) “in the parousia of Jesus Christ” (1Cor 15:23c, cf. 1Thess 4:14-17).  To argue that Jesus was either mistaken about these things or that He deliberately lied to His apostles about the timing of the eschaton simply will not work.  It is time that Wright and others faced the music of the first century Christian’s imminent expectation of that generation’s resurrection!!

At every funeral service I go to — I hear the Officiant say something to the effect, “Jane Doe is no longer with us she is now in heaven with Jesus - which in our day, because of the events of AD 70, is an accurate, Biblical statement.  I think that it is about time that we bring our incorrect futurist “classroom/pulpit”  eschatology into line with our correct preterist funeral eschatology. 

It is more than laughably absurd to continue to think that Paul – who fully expected, possibly within his lifetime (1Thess 4:17), to be resurrected into the “heavenly kingdom” of Jesus Christ (2Tim 4), thus to be “face to face” with Jesus Christ, and then to “know as he is known” (1Cor 13:12) and that John who twice wrote that “it is the last hour” in which “the world passes away” (1John 2:17-18) and who fully expected to not be “ashamed before Jesus Christ…”at His appearing…in His Parousia” (1Jn 2:28) and who fully expected to be “like Him when He shall appear…in His Parousia” (1John 3:2, cf. 2:28) – have not been resurrected, but instead are still in the grave nearly two thousand years after they died!  That view turns their imminent expectations into a mockery and Jesus Christ, from whom they received those imminent expectations, into a colossal liar and failure.

In this interview Wright continued:

“The New Testament says that when Christ does return, the dead will experience a whole new life: not just our soul, but our bodies.”

In my opinion, Wright needs to re-read the NT.  The NT does not say a word about Jesus Christ “returning” to earth to set up a kingdom and it certainly does not say that the people then (some time in the future from 2008) living will get “a whole new life” here on earth.

Wright continues:

“And finally, the location.  At no point do the resurrection narratives in the four Gospels say, "Jesus has been raised, therefore we are all going to heaven." It says that Christ is coming here, to join together the heavens and the Earth in an act of new creation.”

I think that Wright has mis-apprehended the thought behind the "new heavens and the Earth" as expressed in the Bible and ostensibly Wright has missed Jesus’ comments in John 14.  Actually Jesus’ comments recorded in John 14 begin with this comment in John 13:1:

“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father… (John 13:1 NKJV)”

 

Jesus’ commentary, as recorded in John 14, picks up with the thought of Him going to the Father and states:

 “"In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go (to the Fathers’ house) to prepare a place for you.  "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am (in the Father’s house), there you may be also. (John 14:2-3 NKJV)” 

Here, it certainly seems to me, that Jesus is describing a "location" when he states "in my Father’s house are many dwelling places…I go to prepare a "place" for you.  Here "place" seems to refer to one of the "dwelling places” in the Father’s house.

 

In a Jewish marriage the bride and groom where first betrothed, as the groom prepared for the forth coming marriage he would build an addition to his father’s house, then when the appropriate time came, the groom would come and get the bride and take her to the "place" he had prepared in his father’s house.

 

This statement in John 14 seems to be formed on that model.

 

In 2Cor 11:2 Paul states to the Corinthians that he had "betrothed them to one husband, that (he) may present (them) as a chaste virgin to Christ.”  Here and many other place in the NT, Jesus is identified as a "groom" and the first century "ekklesia" as the betrothed virgin that becomes the "wife" in the Parousia of Jesus Christ.

 

The above is summed up in a parable as follows:

"Then (after the events of chapter 24) the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. "Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. "Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, "but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. "But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. "And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming (to get the bride and take her home to the "place" He has prepared); go out to meet him!’ "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. "And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ "But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready (the first century "ekklesia") went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut… "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming (to get His bride [the first century "ekklesia"] and take her home to the "place" he has prepared for her in the Father’s house). (Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV)In Acts 24:14 Luke records Paul’s statement to Felix that, "there is about to be a resurrection."  The resurrection to which Paul refers here is surely the three phase ("order") resurrection which he explains in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“…the resurrection of the dead.   …each one in his own order:

(First phase, past ca. 30AD) Christ the firstfruits…

(Second phase, past ca. AD 70)  Afterward they that are Christ’s in His Parousia. 

 

(Third phase, future ??)  Then the end, i.e. the resurrection of the rest of the dead” (Rev 20:5a, 11-15)

(1 Corinthians 15:21-24 NKJV)” The apostle John twice wrote, “It is the last hour” (1John 1:18) Which he surely acquired from Jesus own words, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, comes an hour, and now is when the dead will hear the voice (cf. 1Thess 4:16) of the Son of God and those hearing (cf. John 10:27) will live (in resurrection, 1Cor 15:23c, cf. Rev 20:4 “the first resurrection”) Marvel not at this, because there comes an hour in which all those in the tombs will hear the voice of Him and will come forth those having done the good things unto a resurrection of live, and those having done the evil things unto a resurrection of judgment (Cf. Rev 20:13, i.e. the resurrection of the rest of the dead, Rev 20:5a) Thus we see that, contrary to the unsubstantiated assertions of many, the Bible simply does not teach the erroneous notion of  just one “general resurrection” at the end of time (as if time can ever end?).

[1] Interview for Time Magazine by Time’s David Van Biema    

 

Lloyd

Peter,

 You wrote:

"The king of the kingdom was (and is) Jesus - enthroned at his ascension."

Jesus was enthoned at His ascension???

Not according to God, Jesus, and the authors of the NT!

SITTING IN THE THRONE OF HIS GLORYBy Lloyd Dale (01-20-08)  

Recently I came across a statement in an article which I was reading that really got my attention.  The author of the article wrote:

 

“When Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, he finally received the Kingdom promised to him (Heb. 1). Ever since that time, Jesus has been reigning over his Kingdom. First Corinthians 15:25 states, “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” Jesus, our victorious King, is in the process of conquering his enemies on the earth.”

 

As we can see the author used “Heb 1” as the bases for his conclusion.  Does Hebrews 1 really demonstrate that Jesus Christ received the promised Kingdom at the time He ascended to the right hand of the Father?  This student of Scripture does not think so.  Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that Hebrews does not teach that Jesus received the promised Kingdom at the time of His ascension and to demonstrate that Jesus actually received the promised Kingdom "in His Parousia" (1Cor 15:23c, 25, 51-54; 1Thess 4:14-17; et al.).

 

While we may not have the exact date, it appears that Jesus ascended to the Father in ca. 33 AD.  A careful reading of Luke 21:28-32, which most certainly speaks about the events leading up and about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, will shed a great deal of light on the timing of Jesus Christ’s reception of the promised Kingdom:

 

“"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."  Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  "When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  "So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. (Luke 21:28-32 NKJV)”

 

Historically, the events prophetically described by Jesus as recorded in Luke 21:8-27 occurred in the years of ca. 36-70 AD.  Jesus clearly instructed His listeners that “when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near!

 

"Near" does not mean "here". 

 

In the above passage, Jesus clearly instructs His listeners that the promised Kingdom had not yet arrived, but that it was very “near.”  Once again, “near” does not mean “here”! If the kingdom had not arrived yet then Jesus most certainly was not ruling.  If he was, He was ruling a non existent kingdom.  How can a non existent kingdom be “ruled”?

 Scot writes: Commentator Scott McKnight writes, "I cannot think the expression “kingdom of God” can ever mean anything other than a set of conditions in which God’s rule (or the rule of God’s Son) is carried out among his people. Kings need people ([to make up] kingdom) and that involves a society where God (or God’s Son) is king  and God’s people are God’s (or God’s Son’s) subjects.[1] 

 However, when we turn to Hebrews chapter one, we will find no mention that Jesus “finally received the Kingdom promised to Him.”  What we do find is a discussion about Jesus in which the author states that Jesus “purges our sins and sits down at the right hand in the Majesty in highplaces”[2] in accordance with His instructions from God the Father in Psalms 110:1:

 

“…sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool”

 

At this point we should note that the phrase “your footstool” is an idiom that should be understood to mean - “place under your authority.”  In other words, in this passage, repeated in Hebrews 1:13, God the Father instructs His Messiah/Christ to come and sit down at my right hand until God places all of Christ’s enemies under His authority, i.e. until God gives Jesus the throne of David – “the throne of His glory” – which occurred in 70 AD.

 

A careful examination of this passage – compared with the quote above - will demonstrate that the author of the above quoted statement overlooked a very important word in God’s instruction to His Messiah.  This word “until” is often overlooked by Bible students who read this passage and conclude, as the writer above did, that Jesus received His promised kingdom when He ascended to the “right hand of the Father.”  Simply put, that is not what the Bible teaches.

 

This confusion about this passage is removed by an additional comment on this subject by the author of the letter to the Hebrews:

 

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. (Hebrews 10:12-13)”

 

Here the author of Hebrews clearly instructs us that Jesus did not receive His kingdom when he sat down at the right hand of the father, rather He sat down to wait a specific period of time, then the Father would place all of His enemies under His authority and give Him the kingdom.  We now know that the specific time of the “wait” was ca. 37 years as the Bible does teach that God gave Jesus “the throne of His glory” in ca. 70AD.  This is the on and only “Parousia” of Jesus Christ and it has nothing to do with a “return to earth” then or in the future.

 

The passages from Hebrews referenced above are the NT commentary on Psalm 110, especially verses 1-2:

 

“<<A Psalm of David.>> YHVH said to my (David’s) Lord (the resurrected Christ), "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool."  The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!  Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. (Psalms 110:1-3 NKJV)”

 As pointed out in Hebrews10:13, a key word in this passage is “until.”  Keeping this word in mind while we re-read this passage we learn that the passage demonstrates a progression.  1)  At His resurrection the anointed Prince is invited to ascend to heaven and be seated on the right hand of the Father.  In Jesus’ own commentary on this verse, He states, I sat “down with my Father in His throne.”[3]   2)  Jesus is to remain seated with his Father, until His Father gives Him the kingdom by placing all of His enemies under His authority.  This event is the Parousia referenced repeatedly in the NT.  In the Parousia, Jesus leaves His father’s throne and ascends to the throne of His glory, i.e. the promised and long awaited throne of His father David.  Commenting on this passage, Jesus states that He invites His faithful “overcomers” to ascend to heaven (by resurrection) and “sit with Me in My throne even as I also overcame and sat with My Father in His throne.”[4]  3) Once He is sitting on the throne of His glory God “sends the rod of (Jesus’) strength out or Zion” and so Jesus reigns “in the midst of His enemies.  Paul, commenting on this passage, states that, “He must reign until…He has put down all rule and all authority and power…when all things shall be subdued unto Him…”[5] 

From the above, we learn that the "Parousia" of Jesus Christ has nothing what-so-ever to do with Jesus returning to earth.  His "Parousia" is His enthronement on the throne of David in fulfillment of the prophecies as summed up in Luke 1:32-33:

 ""He (Jesus) will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David (I.e., The Parousia of Jesus Christ). "And He will reign (what Jesus is doing during His "Parousia") over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33 NKJV)" 

According to Matt 19:28, 25:31, Rev 3:21 and literally dozens of other passages in the Bible — the "Parousia" of Jesus Christ, i.e., His being seated "in the throne of His Glory" occurred in ca. 70 AD.

 

There are some who teach that the destruction of Jerusalem was the Parousia of Jesus Christ.  This notion is pure fabrication and is no where taught in the Bible.  A passage, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, in Matthew 24:30 provides clear evidence that the destruction of Jerusalem is not the Parousia; but is, in fact, the sign that the Parousia is a reality:

 

“‘"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven…, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30 NKJV)”

 

Of this passage, James Jordan writes, “…the Greek is quite clear, what will appear will be a sign that shows that the Son of Man is in heaven” [6] ascending to the throne of David.  Jordan continues, “…the destruction of Jerusalem (was) a dramatic and visible manifestation (“sign”) of the heavenly rule (in the Parousia) of the Son of Man.”  Thus we should now understand that the destruction of Jerusalem was in fact the proof that He (Jesus) had indeed ascended to heaven and “in His Parousia”[7]  had become the King of kings and Lord of Lord” upon the throne of His glory, i.e. the throne of His father David.  Jordan continues, “As the passage reads, (the) son of man is already in heaven”[8] thus, the “sign” pertains to His accession to the throne of His glory, i.e. His enthronement in the ca. AD 70 Parousia.

 

Thus, we see that according to the Bible, Jesus was enthroned in His Parousia ca. AD 70 - not at His ascension in ca AD 30 as so many erroneously claim and vigorously assert.

    

[1] McKnight, Scot in “Keys of the Kingdom in Mark 9:47”, Planet Preterist, January 15, 2008.

[2] Hebrews 1:3c, See Rev 3:21 for the meaning of “sit in the right hand.”  There it is explained as Jesus sitting down in the throne of His Father (God) with His Father.  Jesus is not ruling here.  He is sitting with the ruler waiting the time when the Father will give Him His throne of Glory (Matt 19:28, 25:31, Rev 3:21) which occurred in ca. 70 AD.

[3] Revelation 3:21b

[4] Revelation 3:21

[5] 1Cor 15:25, 24, 28; collated

[6] James B. Jordan, The Handwriting on the Wall: a commentary on the book of Daniel, p 340-342

[7] Here note again the question which the disciples put to Jesus, “Tell us…what will be the sign of your Parousia?” (Matthew 24:3, cf. 1Cor 15:23c & 25a in which Paul declares that Jesus begins to reign “in His Parousia” and continues to “reign” in His Parousia, i.e. His accession to the throne of  His glory – the throne of David, Luke 1:32-33)

[8] While the quotes from Jordan’s book are direct quotes, the position I am presenting here is not the same as the position which Jordan is presenting.  Because Jordan holds the same misguided opinion as the author of the quote on page 1, “When Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, he finally received the Kingdom promised to him. Ever since that time, Jesus has been reigning over His Kingdom.”  Because this erroneous notion blocks his view Jordan has not yet come to the accurate understanding of the view presented in this paper, instead he improvises a rather fanciful, complex; but, nevertheless, erroneous interpretation.

Lloyd