One of the keys to understanding Scripture and the role of the church today is to understand the Kingdom of Heaven.
However, far too many Christians think of the Kingdom of heaven as the equivalent of “heaven.” As a result, when they read in Scripture what Jesus has to say about the Kingdom, they completely misunderstand what He was teaching because they think He was only talking about something that will affect us after we die.
As Ed Stetzer points out in his new book, Subversive Kingdom
The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand
One of Jesus’ favorite saying was that “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” By this, Jesus meant it was as close to us as our hand. In other words, the kingdom is here. It is now. It is present. It has been inaugurated.
Yes, I know… You read about the peace and happiness that is supposed to characterize the Kingdom, and then you look around at the mess our world is in, and say to yourself, “If this is the Kingdom, then Scripture must be wrong. Since Scripture cannot be wrong, this cannot be the kingdom.”
But there is a big difference between inauguration and consummation.
It would not be too far off track to say that Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom so that the church could help spread and Kingdom until the day when Jesus returns for a second time to fully consummate the Kingdom.
When looked at this way, all the parables and teachings from Jesus about the Kingdom of God become much more clear, and we see that as followers of Jesus, we have a much larger role to play on this earth than just sitting around twiddling our thumbs while we wait for the rapture.
The Subversive Kingdom
In his book, Subversive Kingdom
While his book is not a deep discussion of this subject or a detailed analysis of the biblical texts which support this view, it is a good introduction to Kingdom living in this world here and now. The book addresses such questions as
- What is the Kingdom?
- How are we to live in the Kingdom?
- What are we to accomplish?
- How does the church fit in?
- How do I fit in?
If this concept of living in the Kingdom is new to you, this would be a good book which summarizes the basics. He deals with a few key texts, such as the kingdom parables in Matthew 13 and Matthew 24-25, and provides many practical examples of how Kingdom living looks in his own life and in the church life of various congregations around the world.
If you want to learn more about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, or get some suggestions on how you can live and work in the Kingdom, this would be a good introductory book on the subject.
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