Quoting from your earlier writing, “I don’t believe his kingdom will be fully come until the end of time, when his will is always done, everywhere.”

Is what you are saying that there cannot be a kingdom until all who will be born into that kingdom have been born into it?

When the Lord returns, He will hand the Kingdom back to God the Father. As such, it will no longer be His. Is this not correct? Do you accept that Jesus has authority over all mankind, whether they accept that authority or not?

Thanks for studying with me!

John

First, thanks very much for responding. You wrote,

“A kingdom is a place with an accepted ruler, so it is also right to say “His kingdom is in me.”, or “His kingdom is coming.” I don’t believe his kingdom will be fully come until the end of time, when his will is always done, everywhere.”

How do you come to this conclusion in light of 1 Cor. 15:20-26? In the end, that is when Christ returns, He will return the Kingdom to the Father. Christ’s reign is now, not in the future.

I appreciate your thoughts on this, and I would love to have Mike wade in. Are you home yet?

1 Cor. 15:20-26

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end , when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”

Thanks for your time!

John

I know you’re busy, but I want to remind you of my earlier entry and question:

Hello again Mike,

When you wrote, “The rule of God has, indeed, broken in — again and again, but especially through the ministry of Jesus. But it has not become fully realized on earth as it is in heaven,” what scripture were you thinking of to corroborate it?

Colossians 1:13 says, “For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.” TLB

Is Paul not saying the Kingdom was currently present? I cannot find any passages that talk about the Kingdom coming in gradually. I would appreciate very much you pointing them out to me.

Thanks for your help!

John

Thank you, Mike, for your thoughtful post this Memorial Day.

You are correct, IMO, when you observe that regardless of what a person thinks about war related issues that “we have all benefitted from the courage and sacrifice of those who have fought for freedom.”

I distinctly remember attending only a few funerals, as a young person. The most vivid memories are of attending the funeral service of my eighteen year old cousin, Gail Lynn Strickland, in Amarillo, Texas. He was killed on August 12, 1971. His helicopter was shot down in Vietnam.

Each year, when Memorial Day rolls around, I am transported back to the day of his memorial service. His immediate family members were so devastated. I was weeks away from turning thirteen and swimming in a sea of conflicting emotions. I remember sitting through the service with my cousin staring at me from the framed, glossy photograph, which was displayed on a table next to his flag-draped casket.

A few years ago, I found his name engraved in the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. I was not prepared for the emotional impact of this moment. Not just because I found his name, but because I found his name amidst so many others—more that 58,000 other names.

So, as we remember those who have given life and limb for our freedom, let us remember that each one was someone’s daughter, son, brother, sister, husband, wife, cousin or friend. Let us remember, also, there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

I honor those who have fallen. I was one who got to come home when it was over.

1. We should pray for our military. No matter what you think about the war, they deserve that. We should pray for their souls and their health and their families. That they come home safe and safely.

2. We should pray for our enemies. Not that they would have a nice day or have good aim or be successful in their missions, but that they would learn of Jesus and be saved by his grace. By some mysterious turn of that grace, I was born into a family which believed in Jesus and I learned about him there. For that I am eternally grateful and I thank the Lord for it. Others have not been so blessed. I am convinced that when our enemies are saved by Jesus, the war will be over. Is that worth praying for?

3. We should pray for our leaders and the leaders of all nations and even terrorist organizations, that they would be led by God’s will and become servants of Jesus. It is terrible and frightening that our soldiers and those of our enemies may be going to judgement without the grace of Jesus. As Christians, if either one of those events is OK, there is something really, really wrong. There is no place for hatred in Jesus.

4. We should pray for ourselves that we would learn to love all men, including our enemies, that we would be instruments for peace in God’s hands. We, who may not risk our lives in battle, should be sensitive to those who do. We should be careful that our words, regardless of the good or bad politics, will not wound those who are serving in our military, nor wound their families who miss them and love them and worry that they will never come back. What would Jesus do? He would love everyone, including our enemies, enough that he would want them in heaven with him. He would be sensitive to those who are hurting. He would care, really care, about the lost. What would the world of Islam think if we prayed for their souls in the same breath with prayers for our soldiers every day? What would the Lord God of the universe think about that, and what might he do with that?
I don’t mean to bring offense, but I really hope these are things upon which we can agree.

If one believes killing another human is immoral though, supporting those who do it would be like acting as an accomplice to an immoral act. Another example- I do physics research for NASA through Harding, developing spectrometers as sensors to make hybrid rocket motors more efficient. I’ve thought this through, and I don’t believe the technology I’m developing has a serious military use- like cruise missiles or ICBMs- so I don’t have moral qualms with it. I would however have a problem developing technology that would be used in a nuclear warhead or other weapons that necessitate civilians casualties in their usage. I have an engineer friend who just graduated, who is interested in working on aerospace technology, including nukes, based on the logic that “if our country does it, it must be necessary, and therefore moral.” I find that opinion naive and rather frightening…

Through that sort of logic, a lot of people who are conscientious objectors to bearing arms would likewise object to playing a support role to the military.

I also appreciate our discussion, and like you, I look forward to Mike’s comments on the subject.

I pray that your day will be blessed also!

John