I have been dramatically impacted by learning about what the Kingdom of Heaven actually means, and our ultimate hope of what heaven is according to Scripture. So without further adieu, let us dive in to unpacking four questions: 1. What does the "Kingdom of Heaven," mean, (a frequently used term by Jesus and his followers)? 2. What was the first century Jewish expectation for the anticipated Messiah, and what did they think His Kingdom coming to earth would look like? 3. What really happened to Jesus and why did Christianity start? 4. What is our hope and mission as Christians right now? (Now there are volumes and volumes of books written on each of these questions, so I am merely trying to touch the surface of these questions).
I. What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
The Kingdom of Heaven is the real place where God is King, where He reigns, and where His will is always done--his people, in his place, under his benevolent rule. The Kingdom of Heaven is the place where God's subjects obey the laws, statutes, and principles of the government established by Him. It is a real place right alongside the physical reality, but is hidden by a veil from our sight at the present time. Even though we cannot presently see this dimension of reality, it is the more real reality of the two, for it is the dimension where God and all that is eternal dwells. As CS Lewis says, "we are not physical bodies with a soul, we are souls with a physical body." The intangible essence of our personality and personhood that fills our body is the more real and primary part of us than our bodies, just as the heavenly reality is more real than the physical reality, even now. The heavenly dimension precedes and will outlast the physical.
I like to think of the Kingdom of God / Kingdom of Heaven as an actual city, as I believe it will one day be. This city is filled with the light and physical presence of God the King. The people who live in the city are people who first and foremost love the person and presence of God, and who secondly love everything about the way this city is run--the government if you will. What characterizes this government? To begin, the people are happy that everything revolves around the King and that He gets all of the glory, not them. They are happy that the old stuff of their "flesh" (ie the sinful nature) cannot dwell in this city: the selfishness, pride, lust, greed, love of money, anger, jealousy, fear of man, etc that caused so much strife, pain, and brokenness is no longer even present or alive. The new stuff of the Spirit of God is all that is left of them: selflessness, humility, divine kind of love, kindness, gentleness, self control, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, compassion, mercy, fear of and respect for God, etc. All of the people who live in this city, from every tongue, tribe, and nation, possess this quality of character. Now think of going to a city where every single person who lived there possessed this kind of character. What a joyous, loving, peace filled, delightful place it would be!! Then add in the fact that the Creator of the Universe is also there, and you see why the writers of Scripture have a hard time describing what this city of God will be like!
II. What was the first century Jewish expectation of what it would look like for the Kingdom of God and heaven to come to earth?
The first century Jews expected a Messiah who would come to set up his kingdom (as described above) on earth. This Messiah would become the earthly King, and there would be a complete physical and spiritual renewal of all of creation. There would be no more death, pain or suffering, sin, injustice, or evil. The "curse" from the fall (Genesis 3) would be reversed. Israel would be restored as a nation from her oppressors, and all of Israel's physical enemies (namely Rome) and spiritual enemies (Satan and his demons) would be defeated. God would also bring judgment on all. Messiah would usher in a "new age." Scripture distinguishes between only two "ages", or time periods, that mark history, and they are called, or translated, as: "this present age" and "the age to come." The present age is marked by sin, suffering, death, evil, and injustice-- all of the consequences of the fall-- while the age to come is the triumph over, renewal, redemption, and reversal of all of those things. As a sidenote, the word reversal is so key, because in a very tangible way, every evil, injustice, and pain will be revisited and redeemed. Justice will prevail. I don't know exactly what this will look like, but it is one of the only real hopes I have in the face of suffering, and it is one of the only motivations to "leave vengeance in the hands of God," as Paul calls us to do in Romans 12. So the Israelites expected the Messiah to bring the "age to come", while leaving the "present age" completely behind in one fell swoop.
There were several people in the first century, along with Jesus, who claimed to be the Messiah. They were all crucified, which marked the end of their movement because a crucified Messiah was no Messiah at all. Death at the hands of the Romans was proof that they were not the hoped for Messiah after all. So when Jesus was crucified because of his claims to be God, because of the ways he challenged the "powers that be", and because of the religious leaders jealousy and hatred of Him, the disciples were astonished and dismayed. Their hopes were dashed. They were depressed and afraid. They had been so sure that He was the One, and they had staked their lives and livelihood on that belief. Their life as they knew it was over. Much to their surprise, they saw Jesus a few days later in a physical body. It appeared that he had been raised from the dead, but they had no paradigm or categories for how to interpret this fact. What did this mean? Did this mean that he was indeed the Messiah after all? the One whom they had believed in? God incarnate? But what about the Kingdom they had expected?
In Luke 24, it tells of Jesus' appearance to his disciples. It says of Him: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself...While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."
So it seemed that the "present age" and the "age to come" were now existing together. It seemed that Jesus had a two tiered redemption plan which they had expected to be one. He came to bring the first fruits of His Kingdom, marked by spiritual renewal first, which would gradually grow and be consummated finally with his return at a future date (like when Jesus likened the Kingdom to yeast working through dough and a mustard seed growing into the biggest tree). This spiritual renewal would include grace, forgiveness, reconciliation with God, the establishment of his body, the church, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1), etc. but would not completely abolish death, injustice, suffering, or evil...at least not at the moment. But not to lose hope! These would still be triumphed over at the consummation of the Kingdom.
So now read an excerpt from 1 Peter 1:3-12 in the light of this two tiered redemption plan:
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
It is also interesting that when Jesus stood up in the synogogue in his hometown of Nazareth, he read from Isaiah 61:1-2:
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor...
But when you look at Isaiah 61, you realize that Jesus stopped reading mid sentence. The very next phrase in Isaiah 61 says, "and the day of vengeance of our God"...followed by,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
So it seems like Jesus had in mind this two tiered redemption plan when he read from Isaiah 61 in Nazareth, evidenced by the fact that he stopped reading mid sentence right before the part about God's judgment and vengeance. But how were the Israelites to know about this two tiered redemption plan? Lack of this knowledge is why John the Baptist, who knew better than anyone that Jesus was the Messiah, doubted this fact when he was thrown into prison. While in prison, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah. Why was he doubting? Because if Jesus was the Messiah, why was he in prison? Wasn't Messiah supposed to bring judgment and justice?
Even today, we sit with this tension and question: if Jesus is really Lord of all, powerful and mighty, with all authority on heaven and earth, why is there still suffering and pain?
III. So what happened to Jesus and why did Christianity start?
Because a resurrected Messiah bringing only the first fruits of the Kingdom was not at all what the Jews were expecting of the One to come, it is important to realize that there was zero incentive for the disciples to make up the story of Jesus' resurrection, start Christianity, and give their very lives for the sake of this "good news" that they were traveling around sharing. If the disciples had made up Jesus' resurrection, they would not have died for the sake of this gospel, for no one dies for a lie knowing it is a lie. They were persecuted everywhere they went, they were poor, beaten, imprisoned, the object of riots, hungry, tired, etc. Paul says it plainly in 1 Corinthians 4:12-14, "When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment." It is virtually impossible to disagree with the fact that the disciples thoroughly believed that Jesus had raised bodily from the dead and appeared to them. Now ask yourself, is there any way in the world that they would thoroughly believe this, and give their lives for it, unless Jesus had in fact raised and appeared to them? I would argue that a non-Christian is faced with the burden of arguing/proving why the disciples would have lied about this or made this up. Christians are often put on trial for believing in the resurrection, but what about the burden of disproving the resurrection? I think it takes quite a lot of faith, perhaps way more faith than one realizes, to believe that the disciples just made it all up, and then gave their lives for it. The movement is still going strong today.
There is a fabulous passage in Acts 5:34-39 that addresses this notion that the birth of Christianity is one of the strongest apologetics in and of itself because there is no reason why it would have started unless Jesus actually rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples:
"But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
The truth is, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also..."
Paul goes on to say, "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
Jesus rose, and that is why Christianity started!
IV. What is our hope and mission in the meantime?
Our hope in the meantime is that Jesus truly is Lord and King of all Creation, and He is redeeming all of Creation. He will be victorious, and His Kingdom will be consummated one day. He will overcome all suffering, sin, injustice, evil, Satan, and death. We will all be resurrected and given new bodies (1 Corinthians 15 is one among many passages that talks about this): those in Christ to dwell and reign with Christ in the Kingdom of God where there is a complete renewal of and marriage of the heavens and the earth (Revelation 21), and those not in Christ to eternal judgment and separation from God. Our hope is that "our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us," (Romans 8:18). This passage goes on to say,
"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
Most of all, our hope is that we will get to be with our bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we will be set free once and for all from our sinful nature, as 1 John 3:2 says, "we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." What is your greatest hope as a follower of Jesus? Is it in line with the same hopes that the New Testament writers had?
Our mission in the meantime is to co-labor with Christ in his mission/purposes to this earth, serving as ushers and conduits to let His Kingdom come and His will be done on this earth, (and in our hearts, lives, and relationships) as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). This includes building his body (ie. the Church), making disciples, purifying ourselves (as 1 John 3:2-3 says, "we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure"), loving and serving others, obeying all of Jesus' commands and living like Him in this world, studying, teaching, and obeying the Word of God, and more, ALL BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, for apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15).
Let us live with this Great and Glorious Story stamped on our eyes, so that we do not lose sight of the exciting purpose for our lives.
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