by
Keith Hunt
January 1995
I can remember the day as if it was yesterday. I was 19 years
old, and it was the fall months of 1961. The mail man had just
delivered the very first Plain Truth magazines I had seen from
the then Radio Church of God(later to be called the Worldwide
Church of God). I had for a month or so been listening to the
World-Tomorrow radio broadcast and had sent in for the PT
magazine.
I had been raised in a Church of England school and a local
Congregationalist church. So I was steeped in the popular
teachings of the immortality of the soul, an ever burning hell,
and going to heaven at death if you were a "good" Christian.
One of the first PT magazines I opened had an article with a
heading that just blew me away. It said: WILL YOU GET TO
HEAVEN?
I thought what an outrage to even question such a belief. Why
everyone knows that good Christians go to heaven. I read the
article VERY superficially that morning, getting more disgusted
and emotionally upset as I went along in the reading.
At the end of finishing the article, I threw it down with anger
on my bed, thought what utter garbage it all was, put on my
cowboy boots, grabbed my Stetson hat and hit the trail to the
stables for some horse riding.
Was I some upset, oh, I sure was. If I was not wearing my ten
gallon hat I'm sure people would have seen the steam rising from
my head.
But I couldn't get the article out of my mind. I was a sincere
Christian with as much light as I had on God's word, AT THAT
TIME. I can remember my mind being told, "Keith, you have not
studied that article, you have not opened up the Bible to look up
all the scriptures quoted. What if you are missing a truth, what
if you are wrong in what you believe."
I could not get those words out of my mind all day. They just
kept haunting me and roping me up as a cowboy does a calf.
I determined that afternoon that I would get out my Bible that
evening and STUDY that article to PROVE it right or to prove it
wrong.
I am glad I did, for I found truths in the word of God I had
never seen before. I jumped for joy at the end of that study,
and my life was never the same again.
What is all this about? What am I leading up to?
Namely this:
Over the last number of years the Worldwide Church of God has
raised many eyebrows and caused lots of waves within the
membership of the Church of God at large and the Sabbath(7th day)
keeping Churches.
The WCG has put forth some pretty radical teachings recently that
are mainly very fundamentally Protestant, or from a certain
segment of evangelical churchianity.
In so doing I believe some in the Churches of God have reacted
not with scholastical rebuttal, but with emotional response, to
hold on to every last dot and comma of what was perceived as the
total truth of the past.
This kind of attitude clouds the mind from being objective, keeps
the mind from "growing in grace and knowledge" prevents the
seeing of new light or another side of a truth that was
previously hidden because the focus had always been in one
certain direction.
I have been privileged for many years to have sent to me (by a
friend) the Worldwide News (which only goes to members of
the WCG) and seen from the horses mouth exactly what has been
taught by the WCG.
Many of their new teachings have indeed been HERETICAL, and
Biblically incorrect. I have tried to answer their arguments
in a scholastic way.
But, I have never closed my mind to the fact that a group of men
in any organization CAN ALSO COME UP WITH TRUTHS!
Why even the Roman Catholic Church teaches some sound truths here
and there in their theology.
A few years back the WCG came out with "The Kingdom of God is
present Now in this age."
Many were quick to respond that the WCG had accepted a Protestant
doctrine of a "spiritual only in the hearts" of men Kingdom of
God teaching, and would, or already had, denied the literal
Kingdom of God yet to come at Christ's return.
A number of other Churches of God were fast on the draw to
produce articles and booklets that upheld the teaching of the
Bible that the Kingdom is yet future.
From what I could read in the Worldwide News the WCG had NOT
abandoned the teaching that Jesus would return to set up a
literal Kingdom of God on earth, as had been taught from the
beginning.
They were trying to point out that the New Testament shows a
present reality of the Kingdom within the lives of its subjects
TODAY!
They were I believe, trying to show that we had emphasized, and
emphasized, and emphasized in articles and booklets over the
years, the Kingdom that would be set up at the return of Christ,
to the EXPENSE of what the PRESENT reality of the Kingdom was all
about and how the NT did speak of the Kingdom in a present
spiritual way within believers via the Holy Spirit.
The one did not nullify the other. The one did not "do away" with
the other. Both were true. Both were absolutely needed in the
plan of God for mankind. Both were part of a magnificent WHOLE.
Both were part of the DUALITY of God that we had spoken about so
much over the years. The first Adam and the second Adam.
The first Old Covenant and the second New Covenant. The physical
Israelite and the spiritual Israelite. The law written on tablets
of stone and the law written in the heart. Circumcision of the
flesh and circumcision of the heart, and on and on unto the
present spiritual reality of the Kingdom of God that His children
are in NOW.....leading to the future literal Kingdom at the
return of Christ.
Please read and STUDY the following article by Michael Morrison
from the Worldwide News of July 6th, 1993.
QUOTE:
Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. John the Baptist and
Jesus proclaimed that God's kingdom was near (Matthew 3:2, 4:17;
Mark 1:15). The message had immediate relevance and urgency.
It was called the gospel, the good news. Many thousands were
eager to hear and respond to this message of John and Jesus. They
were eagerly awaiting a kingdom that would liberate the Jewish
nation from the Romans.
But consider for a moment what the response would have been like
if Jesus and John had preached, "The kingdom of God is 2,000
years away." Both the message and the response would have been
disappointing. "The kingdom of God is far away" would have been
considered neither news nor good.
John and Jesus preached a kingdom that in SOME WAY was near in
time to their audiences.
Jesus also indicated that the kingdom of God is something yet
future. The poor and the persecuted are blessed, for they have
the kingdom (Matthew 5:3, 10), but it is clear that the
blessedness of these suffering people is primarily future. A
parallel verse says, "you will be satisfied" (Luke 6:21).
The kingdom is connected with the judgment at the end of this age
(Matthew 25:1-10). At Jesus' Last Supper, the kingdom was yet
future (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18).
So is the kingdom of God present or future? To answer that, let's
look at some of the biblical occurrences of the word kingdom.
Some verses can be interpreted as either present or future, but
some are clearly present and others are clearly future. The
kingdom of God is both PRESENT and FUTURE.
The kingdom was present in the work of Jesus: "If I drive out
demons by the Spirit of, God, then the kingdom of God has come
upon you" (Matthew 12:28; Luke 11:20). The kingdom is here, Jesus
said, and the proof is in exorcisms. And the kingdom was not just
in Jesus - it was also near as his disciples cast out demons and
healed people (Matthew 10:7-8; Luke 10:9, 11).
Since exorcisms are evidence of the kingdom's presence, the
kingdom is present in the Church today, too, as Jesus empowers
His disciples. The kingdom of God is overpowering the kingdom of
Satan.
"The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and
forceful men" are laying hold of it, said Jesus (Matthew 11:12).
Luke 16:16 says, "Everyone is forcing his way into it." The
meaning of these sayings is disputed, but they clearly talk about
the kingdom as existing in this age.
Luke 16:16, instead of saying the kingdom is advancing, says,
"The good news of the kingdom of God is being preached."
This variation suggests that the kingdom's advance is roughly
equivalent to its proclamation. It is advanced by being preached.
Luke 9:60-62 is similar, since it parallels preaching the kingdom
with serving in [which applies being in] the kingdom.
THE KINGDOM IS AMONG US
Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom would come (Luke
17:20). You can't see it, said Jesus. And yet a few verses later
Jesus said that the Son of Man would come, presumably with the
kingdom, visibly, surprising people (verses 26-35). The present
kingdom is invisible; the future kingdom will come visibly.
Jesus also said, "The kingdom of God is within [NIV footnote:
among] you" (verse 21). The kingdom was among the Pharisees in
the person of Jesus. The kingdom of God is among us today, too,
because Jesus Christ is among us. The King is ruling us, and his
spiritual power is among us.
Matthew 23:13 indicates that the kingdom is present tense. "You
yourselves (the Pharisees] do not enter (the kingdom), nor will
you let those enter who are trying to."
Matthew 21:43 indicates both a present tense existence of the
kingdom and a future fulfillment. "The kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its
fruit." The first-century Jews possessed aspect of the kingdom
right then. A comparison of Matthew 8:11 and 13:28 shows that the
Pharisees were "subjects of the kingdom."
But the kingdom has been given (past tense) to the disciples
(Luke 12:32). " I confer on you a kingdom,"
Jesus told them (Luke 22:29). But this present sense is followed
by a future sense "that you may eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom and sit on thrones." The kingdom is both present and
future.
Paul preached the gospel of the kingdom, and the gospel of God's
grace, repentance and faith (Acts 20:21, 24-25,32). The kingdom
is closely connected with salvation - we can enter the kingdom
only through faith, repentance and grace, so those are an
important part of any message about God's kingdom.
Salvation is a present reality (Ephesians 2:8) as well as a
promise of future blessings (Romans 5:9). Paul preached about the
kingdom, Jesus, and salvation (Acts 28:23, 29, 31). These are
different aspects of the same Christian message.
We have already been brought into God's kingdom (Colossians
1:13). We are already receiving a kingdom, and our proper
response is reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). Christ "has made
(past tense) us to be a kingdom" (Revelation 1:6). We are a holy
nation (1 Peter 2:9) - already and currently a kingdom. In this
age, we share not only in the kingdom but also in its
persecutions (Revelation 1:9).
Just as the kingdom existed in the work of Jesus, it is present
in the work of the Church as we (1) cast out demons and perform
other miracles (2) preach the gospel. The kingdom's current power
is exercised in limited ways by a limited number of people, but
it nevertheless has current existence.
Another indicator is 3) the Holy Spirit. Not only does the Spirit
empower the preaching and the miracles, the Spirit also indicates
that the future age, predicted by Old Testament prophets, has
begun (Acts 2:1619), although not yet in fullness. Although we
eagerly await the glorious fulfillment of the kingdom, we do not
simply wait for the kingdom; there are things to be done right
now. God is already ruling, and we should be living His way now.
The kingdom has ethical and moral demands.
When Jesus talked about the kingdom, he didn't emphasize physical
blessings or chronology. He focused instead on what people should
do to be part of it.
Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering [present tense] the
kingdom of God, Jesus said (Matthew 21:31), and they do it by
believing a message about righteousness and repentance (verse 32)
and by doing what the Father wants (verses 28-31).
We enter the kingdom as we live God's way of life. We enter it by
means of a spiritual renewal (John 3:5-8). We are to seek God's
kingdom (Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:31) as something that can be found
in this age.
GLORIOUS FUTURE REALITY
Numerous verses tell us that the kingdom of God will be a
glorious future reality. We yearn for the day when Christ the
King will exercise His great power in a dramatic way to stop
human suffering. This is what most Jews wanted (Mark 11:10).
The kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). We pray for it to
come (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2). The poor in spirit and the
persecuted await their future "reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:3,
10, 12; Luke 6:20-21).
People "enter the kingdom" on a future day of judgment (Matthew
7:2123; Luke 13:22-30). Matthew 25:34 tells us that we will
inherit a future kingdom, but it also says the kingdom has been
in preparation all along.
Entering the kingdom is contrasted with going into gehenna, as if
entrance is future for both (Mark 9:4647). The tares will be
sorted out (Matthew 13:24-30); evil subjects of the kingdom will
be expelled in the future (Matthew 8:12; Luke 13:28).
Jesus gave a parable because some people thought the kingdom
would become powerful right away (Luke 19:11). Jesus said it
would come after dramatic signs. "When you see these things
happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near" (Luke
21:31).
The kingdom is associated with the end-time banquet (Matthew
8:11; Luke 13:28-29; 14:15; 22:30). In Luke 21:28 and 30, the
kingdom is parallel to redemption at the end of the age:
WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
Some kingdom verses are clearly PRESENT tense, and some are
clearly FUTURE. Rather than "explaining" away the verses we don't
like, we need to learn from BOTH aspects of the kingdom. The
kingdom is important not just because it is our future reward,
but also because it affects how we live and think in this age. We
prepare for the future kingdom by living in the kingdom now,
following our King's teachings and way of life.
We see the need to serve others around us, but we do not assume
that we can bring the kingdom with human efforts. If our only
hope is in this age, we don't have much hope (1 Corinthians
15:19).
We do not forget that our present existence is only a fraction of
blessings yet to come. The completion of the kingdom is still
future.
When we have trials, or see our brothers and sisters in the faith
having trials, we gain strength from knowing that much greater
blessings await us in a future age. We continue to pray for a
future time when the kingdom will be filled to the full, when the
earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.
END QUOTE
Through the years I have been called intellectual by some, and if
by that they mean I dig and search and hunt for the truth of the
matter regarding Bible doctrines, I guess they are correct. My
mind can work in a very technical way. I can and am not afraid to
stand up to those with Ph.D's in theology, for I know a secret
most of them do not want you to know.....the Ph.D's disagree with
each other,they scratch each others eyes out behind closed doors
and sometimes when the door is open.
Yet, I have also said time and again that you do not need a
degree in theology to understand the truths of the basic
doctrines of the Lord as found in His word, what you need is a
"child like" attitude of belief.
Just read the word for what it says, get all the verses on any
particular topic and simply believe.
Maybe this will shock some of you, but with a simple child like
reading of the four Gospels and the NT(New Testament) I HAVE NO
PROBLEM WITH THE ARTICLE BY MICHAEL MORRISON called "God's
kingdom is present and future."
I can fully understand and AGREE when he says:
"So is the kingdom of God present or future? To answer that,
let's look at some of the biblical occurrences of the word
kingdom. Some verses can be interpreted as either present or
future, but some are clearly present and others are clearly
future. The kingdom of God IS BOTH present and future"
(emphasis mine THROUGHOUT this study).
As I read the NT I can see with my child like mind that
God's Kingdom is NOW a present reality and will be a future
literal reality, simple as that. The one does not nullify the
other.
I can see with my child like mind that the Kingdom of God was NOT
IN JESUS ONLY as the future king of that Kingdom - He represented
it, but was also there as His disciples preached and healed -
Luke 10: 1-11.
I see where Jesus taught that from or up to, the time of John the
Baptist the law and the prophets were preached, but then it was
the Kingdom of God and men PRESSED their way into Luke 16:16.
The intellectual part of my mind looked up the word "pressed" or
"presseth"(KJV) and it is in the Greek, it is in the present ind.
tense. The NKJV says, "....is pressing into it." They were from
the start of the preaching of the Kingdom and are NOW, today,
present tense, pressing into it.
I that Jesus was talking IN THE PRESENT, during the then and
there, about the Pharisees not entering the Kingdom THEN, in the
present and hindering those who would enter the Kingdom in the
present of their lives.
My technical mind finds the Greek word for "neither go in"(KJV)
as in the PRESENT tense. And the Greek for "are entering" is also
present tense.
Continuing with my scholastic part of my mind, I discover
that in Luke 22:29 the Greek word for "appoint"(KJV) is in the
PRESENT tense. Jesus told His disciples He was then and there, in
the present, in the NOW, giving them a Kingdom, as the Father had
"appointed" (Greek Aorist 2 ind. tense) Him a Kingdom in the
past. And the rest can easily be understood as the future Kingdom
when the disciples will be resurrected to rule the tribes of
Israel.
Then there is Colossians 1:13 that is quite simple to the child
like mind, no fancy footwork needed here, or clever
interpretation like, "well God often speaks of things that will
be in the future as already done in the present."
Just believe what it says, most of the Bible is not in
symbolism, it means what it says and says what it means.
The Catholic and Protestants come up with a fancy interpretation
for Romans 6:23, to say death is the separation from God in
hell fire for the sinner. We in the Churches of God just believe
what it says, so WHY do some of us try to get around the plain
words of Col.1:13.
A child would understand Paul in Col.1:13 as teaching that
Christians HAVE NOW IN THE PRESENT already BEEN delivered
from the power of the darkness of Satan's kingdom(through
Christ's redeeming blood to cleanse us from our sins, verse 14)
and are NOW IN THE PRESENT ALREADY BROUGHT OVER (translated) INTO
the Kingdom of Christ.
Simple, you bet, if you do not have some AXE to keep pounding
away at.
The Kingdom of Christ is a PRESENT REALITY, not just something
for the future.
The future Kingdom will be literal and ruling all nations with a
rod of iron, but Jesus has a present Kingdom.
You say a Kingdom must have FOUR things 1) A king 2) subjects 3)
Laws 4) a Territory.
You are right! And Jesus does have all four in the present!
He is the King and Head of His Kingdom, the ONLY shepherd, the
ONLY door into the sheep fold, the ONLY name by which men can be
saved. The only one by which sins can be forgiven and people can
be rescued from the power, domain, and kingdom of Satan, and
brought over to the domain of Christ.
The subjects of Christ's Kingdom NOW are those who have subjected
themselves willfully to His rule and reign in their lives. His
brothers and sisters, they who will follow Him are His subjects.
The laws are the laws of the Father as given in the word of
truth. The overall law that was stated by Jesus Himself in
Mat.4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God."
The territory of that present Kingdom is every human that is a
subject in that Kingdom, which collectively make up a "holy
nation" as it is written.
Now switching to my technical mind let me quote these verses from
the Interlinear Greek/English NT by Berry, putting in the
pertinent tenses.
" 12. giving thanks to the Father who made competent us for the
share of the inheritance of the saints in the light, 13. who
DELIVERED(Aor.1 ind.tense - past action at some point of
time) us from the authority of darkness, and TRANSLATED(Aor.1
ind.tense - past action at some point in time) us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, 14. in whom WE HAVE(Pres.ind.
tense - presently and continuously) redemption through His blood,
the remission of sins."
The Greek for "made competent" in verse 12 is also in the
Aor.1 tense.
Christians of today, the ones Paul was writing to, he says were
in the past at some point made competent to share in the
inheritance of the saints who are now in light, because they had
at some point in the past been delivered from darkness(spiritual)
and had at some point in the past been brought over, carried
over, translated into the kingdom of the Son - Christ. And
through Him even in the present we have forgiveness of sins by
His blood.
As Michael Morrison said the "Tax collectors and prostitutes are
entering(present tense) the kingdom of God, Jesus said (Matthew
21:31), and they do it by believing a message about righteousness
and repentance (verse 32) and by doing what the Father wants
(verses 28-31). We enter the kingdom as we live God's way of
life....We are to seek God's kingdom (Mat. 6:33; Luke 12:31) as
SOMETHING THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THIS AGE."
Here is another simple verse that just needs to be read and
believed for what it plainly states.
Romans 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;
but righteousness,and peace,and joy in the HOLY SPIRIT" (emphasis
is mine - KJV).
Did Paul believe there was a PRESENT Kingdom of God, albeit in a
SPIRITUAL presence of the Holy Spirit at work in peoples lives?
Ah, you bet he did!
It is time to throw away our axes, to get rid of our prejudices,
our predispositions, fixed ideas and biases, and believe the word
of the Lord as a child would believe it.
GOD'S KINGDOM IS CLEARLY A PRESENT REALITY AS WELL AS A FUTURE
LITERAL KINGDOM THAT WILL COME TO THIS EARTH WITH JESUS CHRIST ON
HIS LITERAL RETURN!
When Jesus said to the Pharisees, "...the kingdom of God is
within you" the Greek word "within" means basically just that
"within" or "inside of."
Many do not understand that the Bible is full of "figures of
speech" (Dr. Bullinger thought is necessary to write a 1,000 page
book expounding figures of speech in the Bible).
If I was addressing a large crowd of people in an evangelistic
meeting, and there would be many unconverted people there, I
could say in some part of my preaching, "the Kingdom of God is
within you...." and in my context of speech and use of figures of
speech, I would NOT be meaning the Kingdom was within those
unconverted. I would be using a figure of speech that related to
them that the Kingdom of God was FIRST to be WITHIN you, then you
would be part of that Kingdom in the present, and later still
part of that Kingdom when it came to earth with Jesus' coming for
a 1,000 years.
The Pharisees could see what the OT taught...a literal Kingdom on
earth where the Israelites would be delivered and saved and the
Messiah would dwell among them at Jerusalem. The Pharisees were
ALL CONSUMED with this, their minds could think about nothing
else (except for ritual ceremonies which they were also consumed
with) but deliverance from the Roman yoke, and the Messiahs
Kingdom.
They had just asked Jesus when the Kingdom would come. Jesus did
not even answer their question, but DIRECTED them to the PRESENT
reality, that the Kingdom needed to be WITHIN them FIRST, it was
NOT, but with a figure of speech He told them what they needed to
focus THEIR minds on FIRST, the NOW and the PRESENT....the
Kingdom of God He said is WITHIN you, or should be within you.
Jesus was getting at a serious mistake the Pharisees had. To put
it in more modern words and expand what Jesus was doing I'll
relate it this way to you.
Jesus was saying, "Now look you Pharisees, you are all bent-over
backwards with a consumed mind about the glorious Kingdom of God
as it will be when it comes in power to rule the world, but you
have not a clue about how to be NOW in the present in that
Kingdom, for first of all the Kingdom is to be WITHIN you, in
your heart, mind, and life, as a true child of God. Now that is
what you should be consumed with, the other will take care of
itself in due time when the literal reality of the Kingdom coming
with power will be on the earth, but for now the most important
thing for you guys is to have, to know, and find, and pursue, how
to get the Kingdom WITHIN you NOW."
Jesus often did not answer the Pharisees direct questions but
answered the heart they had in asking the question in the first
place. This was one of those times. He was basically flapping His
hand, waving away their direct question, and getting at the core
of the more important issue....what their heart was like NOW in
the present and how the Kingdom of God was NOT in it, but it
should have been within them, for the Kingdom of God is WITHIN
people now, or they will never be a part of that Kingdom when it
comes with power and glory to rule on earth for a thousand years.
...................
TO BE CONTINUED
Written January 1995
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