When someone says "I am helping establish the kingdom of God here on earth" or "I am preparing the way for Christ's return" or "We are ruling over the kingdom of God here on earth", what do you hear? What do your ears and heart discern? What I hear, and I am not intending to offend any who may be reading this, but rather to make you think, is first and foremost, self-elevated pride. Secondly, I hear misguided or wrong minded doctrine. These phrases are an indicator of various forms of Dominion Theology. Dominion Theology is the belief that Christians are living in the established kingdom of God, must reclaim it for Christ, and rule over it spiritually, socially and economically.
This belief has spawned several movements in the Christian Church, both on the liberal side and amongst conservatives where many well-intended people who love the Lord are working tirelessly to establish this kingdom and claim rule over it. We have those who promote social justice, those who promote Chrislam, those who call themselves the "Emergent" church, those who are part of the Apostolic Reformation movement, those who claim to be prophetic and those who claim to be charismatic. There are many varying degrees of leaven in this theological concept in contemporary Christianity, but they all are taking it upon themselves to claim, reclaim, establish, rule over the kingdom of God here on earth.
Jesus specifically discussed the kingdom and his return. There are several examples in the Bible. One that very clearly stands out is Acts 1:6-9: "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
Jesus Christ's last instructions told us that he would return to establish the kingdom of God and until then we were to be witnesses unto the uttermost part of the earth. As I see it in the scriptures, the kingdom is yet to come; Jesus will establish it; and we are to be witnesses, make disciples, preach the gospel, and occupy until He returns. There is only one other that will try under his own power to establish a kingdom here on earth, and that is the antichrist. If we as Christians were doing what Christ told us the world would certainly be a far greater place with fewer problems. The scriptures are clear, however, about the coming kingdom, who will establish it, and our job in relationship to it.
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