The Kingdom of God

    There have been numerous attempts to find the key concept which unifies the whole of the scriptures. In conservative Christian circles most scholars opt for either the covenant or the Kingdom of God as that unifying theme.

    The covenant is the term used to describe the individual legal agreements which God has made with mankind from the time of Adam up till the present gospel era. God has entered into a number of agreements with humankind, the most detailed being the covenant made with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai.

    The form of the Sinai agreement followed the typical legal arrangement made between a king and his vassal state. Two copies of the agreement would be made, one held by the king and the other kept by the vassal power. They would usually keep the document at their religious shrine. In the case of Israel, Moses had two copies of the Ten Commandments, one for Jehovah, and the other for Israel. Both copies were kept safe in the Ark, the wooden box or throne upon which the Lord sat when his shekinah glory entered the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The content of the Sinai covenant was simple enough, although its details were quite extensive. The books of Numbers, Deuteronomy and Leviticus set out the covenant in detail. In it the Lord notes that he is their God and they are his people. He details all that he has done for them - brought them out of Egypt with a mighty and powerful arm (saved them). He sets out what he intends to do for his people (the blessings) and details obligations and the consequences of rebellion (cursing). The actual Ten Commandments is a short-hand version of the covenant details, and of course, the New Testament, or New Covenant of the gospel era, follows much the same form.

    The Sinai covenant is far more detailed than the other covenant agreements, such as those with Noah and Abraham. Yet it is less detailed than the New Covenant given by Jesus, as recorded in the gospels and interpreted and expounded in the epistles, mainly by the apostle Paul. The New Covenant or New Testament, is God's final agreement with mankind.

    A kingdom, as we all know, is a defined area containing a subject people, ruled by a lord or king, who defines the laws of the land and blesses all who faithfully serve him.

    The Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven as Matthew likes to call it) is similar to an earthly kingdom. God as a king and lord rules over his people, subject to his commands, and blesses them out of his gracious mercy. As we experience the Kingdom today, and as we will experience it in the age to come, we are actually entering into a promise made long ago - "I will be your God and you will be my people", Lev.26:3-13. In fact, it is the promised experience of the garden of Eden, yet even now, and certainly in the age to come, it will be a far grander reality. The Kingdom is the assembling together of all God's people under his rule and care, experiencing complete unity and oneness with each other and the Lord God. God being present, the people seeing him face to face, knowing him intimately as well as knowing each other in the same way. The Kingdom is the dimension in which we find God, ourselves and each other. It is the ultimate community of fellowship and love.

    Throughout history it has been possible for mankind to enter into the Kingdom of God - into the community of God's children. Those who have entered have (partly) experienced the blessings of membership, for God keeps his covenant, his agreement, his word. They have come to know God, they have found peace, IJn.1:3, Eph.2, Heb.12. Yet the ultimate reality of the Kingdom has always awaited a future consummation. So today, as with the saints of old, we await the dawning of heaven, of the picture of Revelation 21-22. Of most importance, we rely on the promise of scripture that those who experience the Kingdom in the present will be full members in the age to come. They will participate fully in the blessings of heaven, Jn.5:24.

    What will the Heavenly Kingdom be like? Attempting to visualize such a dimension is quite beyond us. It is more than we could ever imagine. The Bible gives us a few hints, but that's about all. It seems that the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be a new community, a community or society which, when established, will hail the glory of God. It won't just exist for resurrected humans, but it will exist as a united whole of the created order - Angles, Powers and Authorities. The Kingdom of God will infuse the whole cosmos and into the eons of all ages peace shall reign. The most marvelous truth is this, we mere humans, under Jesus, will rule over it all, Matt.19:30, 1Cor.6:2-3.

    It would be nice to know why God is creating this glorious Kingdom - this new community of love. Yet the scriptures say little on the matter and so we are left with conjecture. A similar question concerns his reasons for creating the earth, especially given his foreknowledge of our rebellion and the subsequent need for Jesus to die. Again, this question leads to our place and purpose in the grand scheme of it all. What indeed is the purpose of our life? Life's purpose is usually put in the terms - "To tell others about Jesus and so gather a people unto the Lord". There is little doubt that we should make the good news of the gospel known in our world, but is that the purpose of our life? Why does God need to use such a rebellious group of servants for a task he could well do himself? Why bother creating us in the first place, given the inevitable outcome?

    No, life has more to do with preparing us for our place in the Kingdom - preparing us to rule with Christ. The center of it has to do with God's determined will to gather a people to himself, a new creation, a Kingdom of priests. Why he determines to do that we really don't know. Is it just his character of love? What does matter, is that he is shaping an eternal Kingdom, and we can be part of it.

    As for the nature of the Kingdom of God at the present moment, it is primarily that of a community of believers bound under the rule of Christ and blessed through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom has existed in the past in different modes, although it's nature has remained the same - a people gathered with God, ruled by him, blessed by him. Today we await the coming of the Kingdom in its final glorious manifestation at the return of Christ. We await the dawning of the eternal heavenly society.

Modes of the Kingdom

    The whole movement of the Bible is the record of God setting up a simple expression of his Kingdom in the garden of Eden, of the destruction of that Kingdom and of his step by step re-establishment of the Kingdom in a far greater form, which in its fullness is still future.

    There have been numerous manifestations of the Kingdom of God throughout human history. In fact, every time God's rule is established in the life of any group of people, any family, or indeed in the life of an individual person, there and then a manifestation of the Kingdom of God becomes a reality. That manifestation, that realization of the Kingdom, is fully and completely the Kingdom of God on earth. Not only does it image the heavenly reality of the Kingdom for which we await, it is for that moment the Kingdom. Being members of that Kingdom guarantees membership of the Kingdom in the age to come.

    The scriptures record the establishment of a number of manifestations of the Kingdom. Each Kingdom which God has established within human history has, with ever increasing clarity, imaged the Heavenly Kingdom of God. In that sense, each has served to reveal to mankind, through an unfolding revelation, God's plan to establish a Kingdom through which he unites all things to himself.

    This does not mean that these Kingdoms are merely bare representations to show us what is to come. For that moment in time for which they exist, they are the real thing. What happens is that the future reality of the Heavenly Kingdom bursts into our earthly dimension in a way we can perceive and understand, and yet in a way that points beyond itself to something greater. So therefore, those who are in it, are in the Kingdom. They are in it for that moment and for the infinite future.

    We need now to examine the different modes of the Kingdom of God - the different ways in which the fellowship, the community, the society of God's children, has emerged within human history.

The Creation Kingdom
      At the beginning God formed a simple expression of his Kingdom. He made a people in his image where relationships were possible. He ruled those subject to him and he blessed them - especially with the blessing of his friendship. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden of Eden, Gen.3:8. Yet what they had was lost through their rebellion. In the human family their were many "great ones", but finally judgement came in the flood.

The Post-Flood Kingdom.
      The Lord God saved a people to himself through the surging waters of the flood. Noah and his family shared in the Post-Flood Kingdom of God. Under the promised blessing of the rainbow they lived as a people bound under the rule of God. Yet sin continued to affect the Kingdom and finally at Babel the people rose up against God's rule and so were scattered.

The Abrahamic Kingdom.
      Abram, along with his family, left Ur for the promised land. He was called by the living God and promised a Kingdom. Following a harsh journey and a time of struggle in Canaan, his family, under the living God, began to possess the promised Kingdom. Yet it was a minute realization of the promise, which in the end found his family as slaves in Egypt.

The Historic Kingdom.
      With a mighty and an outstretched arm the Lord led his people out of slavery. Following their struggle to possess the land of Canaan, the Kingdom came to fruition in the nation of Israel. In its institutions the coming Kingdom was prefigured in a tangible way, 1Kings 10. So the people lived in their city of God where he was pleased to dwell, 1Chron.23:25, ruled by their king who represented the rule of God, Deut.17:14-20, and through the priestly office came close to him. Yet failure again beset the Kingdom ending in the destruction of the nation by the Babylonians.

The Prophetic Kingdom.
      During the time of the Historic Kingdom, while it was beset with failure, prophets were raised up by the living God to comment on what was happening. On the surface they spoke to the people of their day and encouraged them to turn from their rebellion and to live again for the Lord. They warned them that continued rebellion would result in the destruction of the nation of Israel. The people, following the lead of the popular prophets, saw the Kingdom of Israel as eternal and safe in the hands of the Lord. Few therefore, responded to the bleak words of the prophets of the Lord. Slowly the prophets revealed that the Kingdom of Israel was but an image of a coming Kingdom whose glory would outshine all the institutions of the nation - even the glory of Solomon's reign. What they pictured was something quite beyond the earthly reality they had already experienced, and yet following the same form, eg. Ezekiel's New Temple.

The Restored Kingdom.
      When the Jews returned from exile in Babylon they certainly expected that the Kingdom they were about to set up would be the real thing. The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah rightly convinced them to establish a representative expression of the Kingdom for that moment in history. Yet very soon the people saw that the Kingdom which was unfolding before them was not even as glorious as the Historic Kingdom of their forefathers. At the completion of the Temple, some of those who had known the glory of Solomon's temple actually cried at the sight of their own meager efforts. In the end, what eventuated was a poor imitation of the Historic Kingdom. The people soon began to realize that the words of Haggai and Zechariah had more to say about a coming Kingdom than the limited attempts at Jewish nationalism which was to come to an end in 70AD. None-the-less, there was set in motion a driving expectation in the Jewish people for a Davidic Messiah who would establish a Kingdom in power.

The Present Kingdom.
      When Jesus appeared in Palestine he announced, "The Kingdom is at hand", Mk.1:15. ie. it is about to burst into history. Although the Jews were waiting for the coming Kingdom, they were unable to align Jesus with the expected mighty Davidic Messiah. Even John the Baptist was confused, Lk.7:18-23. Jesus pinpointed the problem when he said, "My Kingdom is not of this world", Jn.18:36. Only those who have their eyes opened can see Jesus' messianic role and the Kingdom at hand.

    It was after Jesus' had fulfilled his messianic role, particularly his crucifixion, that the Kingdom came in its present spiritual dimension. The actual moment in time was at Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples gathered together in the upper room at Jerusalem. This was the point of Peter's sermon to the crowd which had gathered to watch the strange behaviour of the disciples. What Joel had prophesied concerning the outpouring of God's Spirit as the heralding sign of the coming of the new age, was now being fulfilled in the sight of all. The Kingdom has come, Acts 2:14-42.

    For us then, as members of the Present Kingdom, Christ is at this moment ruling a people gathered about him, Acts 2:36. He is protecting us like a city wall, Heb.13:6. He is mediating between us and the Father as our great high priest, Heb.9:24, and we as a temple are indwelt by his Spirit, Eph.2:21-22.

    Although the Present Kingdom is in a sense spiritual rather than physical or tangible, it does become localized and visible in the church. For it is here, where two or three gather together in the name of Christ, centered on his presence, Matt.18:20, that the reality of the Kingdom becomes visible. Here, at a localized point in time and space, a people gather as they will gather in the last day. In fact there is a sense where the gathering is actually the gathering in that last day. It is as if we are actualizing the reality of our place before the thrown of the living God. It is as if we are there now. As the children of God confront their living God, they worship him, they bow before him and adore him. Then, from that confrontation, they experience friendship with God and with each other - they commune. They become the body of Christ, one with him, bound in love, Eph.2:16, 19, 3:6, 4:3-4, 25, 5:21-33.

    There is much debate as to whether the church is the Kingdom. Certainly the building, the organization or the institution is not the Kingdom. Yet the gathering of God's people is certainly a visible manifestation of the Kingdom in the here and now. The root meaning of "church" in the Greek is of "assembly" or "gathering". There are many assemblies other then a Christian one, Acts 19:32. The church we are concerned with is the assembly around God, and it is this for which we await. Yet in a sense we are even now gathered with Christ in the heavenlies, Eph.2:6, for where he is, there will his servants be also, Jn.12:26. The reality of this gathering is made real to us through the Spirit, for where two or three are gathered together, there is Christ in the midst, Matt.18:20, and so we are to exhort each other not to forsake the gathering together of the brotherhood, Heb.10:24-25. So the primary substance of the Kingdom is the gathering of a people unto the Lord - a community, a new society, a fellowship of love and unity. This people gathers subject to God's word, blessed by his presence. Such is the nature of the church.

The Heavenly Kingdom.
      The Present Kingdom, and its visible expression in the church, is in itself a foretaste of the Kingdom to come, Eph.1:10. We, as God's children, await the return of Christ to bring in that Kingdom in all its fullness. We wait for all things to be made subject to Christ so that in that coming day we may gather in the heavenlies before our father God, Rev.21:3, 22:3-5. It is then, with Christ, we will begin our task as a new creation, to rule the cosmos, to bring light to darkness, that all may be united under the one head, even Christ.

    From all this it can be seen that the central unifying concept of the scriptures is the Kingdom of God. It holds together what may seem to be a loose collection of books of various literary types. From this central truth, as it has been revealed to mankind through the apostles and prophets, the whole of the scriptures take shape, directed toward the Kingdom's final manifestation.

Structural development of the Kingdom

    The scriptures reveal a common sequence of events leading up to the establishment of the Kingdom of God. When we look at the Kingdom itself, its nature, we can sum up its being with the word, the word "love". The Kingdom exists as a community, a brotherhood, bound to God and one another in unity, bound in brotherly love. There is eternal significance in the word love, as if it is substantial in itself. As Paul says, it is the great and eternal quality, ICor.13, and when the scriptures define God, again it is with the word "love".

1. A repeated pattern

    When we examine the historical process involved in the establishment of the various modes of the Kingdom, we can't help but note a repeated pattern. If we were to sum it up we would have to use the word suffering. The Kingdom comes through pain and struggle. It is as if we have another truth of eternal significance. It is as though God's love will only ever shine through suffering. I suppose this means that our rule with Christ in eternity may be a little more strenuous than we imagine. We would then have to argue that heaven is dynamic rather than static. At any rate, the scriptures have little to say on the matter, so we will leave conjecture aside. What we can observe is that there is a pattern to the way the Kingdom of God is realized, a pattern always repeated, one which we experience in our own lives.

    What we need to do is carefully note this repeated pattern. The illustration below serves as a diagrammatic representation. The diagrams seek to illustrate this pattern.

• On a base time-line there is illustrated the events leading up to the establishment of the Kingdom, followed by the Kingdom itself.
  
• The Kingdom is represented by the large rectangle which begins and ends on the time-line. The shading in the Kingdom rectangle represents the slow disintegration that takes place within the Kingdom from the time of its establishment up till the time of its ultimate demise. That is, the Kingdom, as it exists within the imperfection of the present moment, begins in blessing, but ends in cursing (The disciplining or chastisement of the children of God). Each mode of the Kingdom of God, within human history, has always been temporary, always represented something beyond.
  
• The first part of the time-line illustrates the events leading up to the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The small rectangle represents a single event, a salvation event, a release from bondage. The first step in the journey toward the establishment of the Kingdom of God begins with a mighty act of God whereby he intervenes to save a people for himself.
  
• The second part of the time-line, illustrated simply by the time-line itself, represents a period of testing, of trial. In the events leading up to the establishment of the Kingdom, the saved people always face a time of testing. Their claim to be the children of God and therefore as inheritors of the Kingdom they are tested.
  
• The third part of the time-line, illustrated by gradually increasing vertical lines, represents a period of struggle. The called-out, saved children of God, find that they must wrestle against great odds to realize the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is only established through great suffering.
  
• The final part of the time-line, illustrated by the last few sharply increasing vertical lines, represents a short period of intensive struggle and suffering leading to a mighty victory over the powers opposed to the coming Kingdom and thus making way for the establishment of that Kingdom.

2. The pattern in the Old Testament

    We need to now examine this repeated pattern in the different modes of the Kingdom as they unfold in the Old Testament scriptures. What we begin to see is that the scriptures are held together by a constant unfolding of ever increasing manifestations of the future Kingdom of God and by a constantly repeated pattern of necessary events that lead to the establishment of that Kingdom. Once the different modes of the Kingdom are identified and the pattern understood, it is very easy to understand and interpret any Bible story and then to see the relevance of that story to our own place within the Kingdom of God.

The Creation Kingdom.
      The preliminary events are caught up in the creation itself and do not form any observable pattern. The Kingdom is inaugurated when Adam and Eve are placed within the perfect environment of Eden. The blessing of the Kingdom is perfect harmony - God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. The rot sets in with the first sin and slowly the Kingdom degenerates and is finally judged in the flood.

The Post-flood Kingdom.
      God's warning to Noah and the provision of the Ark (which Noah had to build) serves as the salvation event. Forty days and forty nights through the surging sea, a time of testing and trial. Then there is patient struggle, awaiting the water to subside. Finally the Ark rests on firm ground, the rainbow declares its blessing and the Kingdom is established. Of course the rot set in again and the Kingdom ends in judgement at Babel.

The Abrahamic Kingdom.
      Salvation from Ur, the test and trials of the journey to the promised land, and the struggle of Abraham's family to establish itself in the land, serves to inaugurate the Kingdom in the covenant family of Abraham. The family tastes God's blessings, but end up as slaves in Egypt.

The Historic Kingdom.
      The events that lead to the establishment of the nation of Israel, particularly imaged in the glory of Solomon's rule, serves as the the fundamental type for the New Testament writers. The life of Jesus and the life of the church is seen in terms of the life of Israel.

    The pattern of events leading up to the Kingdom's establishment begins with God's people as slaves in Egypt around about 1500BC.

 
• Release. The Exodus. God with a mighty and outstretched arm sets the captives free.
   
• Test. The test of the wilderness and the peoples failure to go up and take the land. The security of Egypt seemed a better choice. The forty years wanderings serves as chastisement for their little faith.
   
• Struggle. The entry into the promised land under Joshua, and the ongoing struggle to secure the land during the period of the Judges, Samuel, Saul and finally David.
   
• Victory. The overcoming of the powers opposed to the establishment of the Kingdom. David destroys the Philistines.
   
• The Kingdom established. Under the rule of David the Kingdom is established around 1000BC, although it is with Solomon that it is realized in glory. The capturing of Jerusalem and the bringing of the Ark to the city, heralds the Kingdom's coming. The building of the temple by Solomon heralds the Kingdom's realization. The blessings of the Kingdom shine out in the glory of the temple and of Solomon's rule. The Bible describes the nation of Israel at this time as the richest and the greatest of all nations. This, of course, is a theological perspective. Israel radiated the glory of the Heavenly Kingdom. As far as its place in the political world, at its height it was a very small but successful city state. The Bible notes that even during the reign of Solomon sin began to take hold - "Solomon had many wives". Political marriages between foreign powers brought the inevitable intrusion of pagan gods. So sin beset the nation and finally led to its cursing in the Babylonian invasion and the destruction of Jerusalem in 590BC.

The Prophetic Picture.
      With the obvious failure of the Historic Kingdom, the prophets began to bring a word of God to its members. First, that they should turn from their sin to serve the living God and so make real the Kingdom in their midst. If they turn in repentance they will live, if not, they will face judgement. Second, that the true reality of the Kingdom is something beyond their present experience. It will be bigger and better. God's people will again find themselves in bondage, but they will experience a new exodus and wilderness wanderings. The scattered children of Abraham will return to establish a new glorious Jerusalem. They will engage in a new battle against the enemy, and under a Davidic Messiah they will secure a new victory and enter into a new and eternally glorious Kingdom. God will be present with his people and will never leave them again. From all the nations gentiles will seek to join with the people of Israel to share in God's new community.

The Restored Kingdom.
      With the destruction of Jerusalem, most of the inhabitants of the city are taken as slaves to Babylon. With the defeat of the Babylonians by the Persians, the people of Israel are offered their freedom. Following the prompting of the prophets Ezekiel and Second Isaiah, a large number of the Jewish people head back to the destroyed city of Jerusalem, 536BC. They undertake a new exodus, a new journey. After a period of struggle, Nehemiah is victorious over Sanballat and the Restored Kingdom is established. It is obvious to all that this is but a shadow of the former glory, only an image of what is to come, Ezra.3:12. This Kingdom is finally destroyed by the Romans, as prophesied by Jesus, in 70AD.

3. The pattern in the New Testament

    We now examine the different modes of the Kingdom in the New Testament. Note the following diagrammatic representation.

The Present Kingdom.
      John the Baptist bursts into Palestine with the message that God is about to act to release his people, to secure the victory, and set up the Kingdom through the work of the long expected Messiah. A great expectancy develops, but the people look toward the political sphere instead of the spiritual. The Kingdom established by Jesus is not of this order of things, and therefore is not easily seen.

    In a quite unexpected way, the preliminary events that lead up to the establishment of the Kingdom are fleshed out in the life of Jesus himself. He, representing the new Israel, enters the sea at his baptism. He stands the test in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. He struggles against the enemy, bringing ruin to his cities, Matt.12:25-29. Finally he is victorious over the enemy on the cross, 1Cor.15:55-57. It turns out that the Messiah, the Suffering Servant, is a corporate identity. He represents the people of Israel, the children of God. Unlike faithless Israel, always rebellious, Jesus is the faithful servant of God. He does not fail the test. The glorious truth is, that we, in all our frailty, can identify with the Messiah. We can stand in his shadow, join in his journey and share in his victory, Phil.3:10.

    At Pentecost the Spirit is poured out and God's people share in the blessing of knowing him as Father, Rom.8:15, Gal.4:6. The Kingdom, in which Jesus is prophet, priest and king, has finally come for us to dwell in. Yet even the Kingdom's coming in this spiritual mode is not the final reality. This Kingdom too will fade. Trouble will beset the church and finally all will be shattered in the great and terrible tribulation. Yet in that day, when all melts away at the return of Christ, a new Kingdom will dawn - eternity will be ours, Matt.24:9-14.

The Heavenly Kingdom.
      Although we are at this moment members of the Present Kingdom, we are also part of the preliminary events which are even now moving inexorably toward the establishment of the future Heavenly Kingdom. In Christ, the initial events have already been fulfilled, and we only await the great and final battle heralding Christ's return and the establishment of the Kingdom in glory

    The sequence of events began with Jesus' death on the cross. Here the captives were released from their bondage to sin and death. Jesus achieved on the cross an "Exodus" for his brothers, Lk.9:31. Then in the wilderness of Galilee he meets with his disciples and teaches them, and on the mountain, in glory, he leaves them. Following Pentecost, like Joshua of old, the Spirit of Jesus leads his people into battle against the powers of darkness. So at this present moment we struggle, "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms". Soon Jesus will return to work the final victory over Satan. The dead in Christ will rise, a legion to stand with Christ in the heavenlies. Then shall the new heavens and a new earth unfold and all principalities and powers in the cosmos will kneel before Christ the king, and he will he hand over the Kingdom to the Father, perfected, 1Cor.15:28.

Now and not yet

    To round up our understanding of the Kingdom of God we need to grasp our place in the Kingdom's scheme.

    The Kingdom of God is "now", that is, it is a present reality which we may enter and participate in. It is also "not yet", that is, it is a future reality which we look forward to. So our present experience is as members of the Kingdom, yet at the same time we are caught up in the preceding events which lead up to the establishment of the Kingdom. Our experience of the Kingdom is a "now" and "not yet" experience.

    In the illustration below we can see that the Present Kingdom and the Heavenly Kingdom overlap. Of course, this is nothing new. The Present Kingdom was set up at Pentecost in 30AD, while the Restored Kingdom was still in existence. The Restored Kingdom did not come to an end until 70AD. Its last years were, of course, spent under the hand of divine judgement. None-the-less, Jesus and the disciples were members of two Kingdoms, both imaging a heavenly reality. One was a poor fading image, the other a glorious image. Mind you, Jesus finds himself in an even more complex relationship. Not only is he a member of the Restored Kingdom, he inaugurates both the Present and Heavenly Kingdoms. In particular, his death, serves to fulfill two crucial events toward the realization of both these Kingdoms. For the Present Kingdom, his sacrificial death achieves the great victory over the powers of darkness - Satan is bound. For the Heavenly Kingdom, his sacrificial death achieves the great release for the people of God, a salvation from the bondage of sin and death.

    We too find ourselves in two places:
        As members of the Present Kingdom, we experience the blessings of Christ's indwelling, particularly when two or three gather together. We experience faith, hope and love, we experience peace and joy. Yet we also experience the limitations of the present moment - of compromise, failure. We experience chastisement and the disciplining of the Lord. All about us fades and so our eyes look upward to the coming age of glory.
        As members of an army striving to bring in the Heavenly Kingdom, we experience the the times of testing and trial, of pain and suffering of struggle. We do know pain. We do experience trouble, but also taste victory.

    So, at the moment we are in the Kingdom and at the same time awaiting its final manifestation.

    Generally speaking, within the preliminary events of the Heavenly Kingdom, we find ourselves in the struggle period. As such we can identify very easily with the books of Genesis, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and Ezra and Nehemiah. Yet it is also true that we are, as a group or as individuals, able at times to identify very readily with the period of test and trial. In our personal lives, or in the life of our church, we can find ourselves at different points in the journey toward the promised land. Thus books such as Exodus, Numbers.... are also very relevant for the disciple today.

    So then, this scheme of Biblical theology places us within the Kingdom, experiencing the blessings, but also the disciplining of the Lord. It also places us in the lead-up to the Kingdom's establishment, experiencing salvation, test and trial, struggle and victory. We straddle life, members of the Kingdom while struggling to bring it in.

Conclusion

    The shape of the Kingdom of God is of a community of love. That community is being forged through the imperfection of our present moment. The day will come when it will be revealed in all its glory. For the present, we who are members of this new society, share in part its future wonders, and also struggle to hasten its coming. At different times in human history, the Kingdom, this heavenly society, has manifested itself in different modes which increasingly radiate its heavenly reality. At each time its dawning has followed a pattern which has revealed to us that the Kingdom comes only through pain and struggle. The Bible records God's design-plan for the creation of his Kingdom. It reveals the pattern of its formation and its shape. It directs the whole of history toward the dawning of a new age when the Kingdom comes in glory. For the scriptures, and thus for Christian theology, the Kingdom of God is the fundamental unifying theme and is therefore the key to Biblical interpretation.