The Kingdom, right here, right now

I have to admit to one of my guilty pleasures. I love reading ultra-conservative Christian websites. One of the ones that I check regularly is called Rapture Ready. One this site some guy attempts to construct a "prophetic speedometer of end-time activity." (For the record, as of today we are officially in "fasten your seatbelt" mode, which is the highest we have been all year)

I think that sometimes we miss the point when we talk about salvation. Usually, when I hear salvation spoken of, it is spoken of in reference to salvation from damnation. While this is important, even critical, I think that there is still something more to salvation.

In the three synoptic gospels, Jesus speaks of his mission on earth, to declare the establishment of God's kingdom. This Kingdom is on this side of eternity. It is a part of human history. To talk about God's kingdom being established here on earth, is to make some pretty radical claims. Look at what scripture tells us of the Kingdom of God:

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. ¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. ¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. ²⁰ No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. ²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. ²³ They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their children with them. ²⁴ Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
Isaiah 65:17-24

Look at the kinds of things that are promised:

• an abolition of suffering
• an end to infant mortality
• the elderly will live in health
• everyone will have suitable housing
• workers will be paid a fair wage
• mothers will not have to be concerned with the welfare of their children

It sounds like a tall order doesn't it? In fact, the order is so tall that some people have gone so far as to say that it is unattainable. These people are known as dispensationalists. They believe that the conditions on earth will get worse and worse until some point at which they can deteriorate no further, and only then will Christ return. The problem I find with that is that it encourages Christians to delight in bad news. Every war should be a cause for celebration. Each report of moral decay should be met with a hearty, "praise Jesus."

Dispensationalism just will not do. Jesus said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17) Salvation means that we are set free to overcome the pestilence of this world. It sounds like youthful idealism, but I really believe that we, as believers, have a role in establishing God's Kingdom on earth. This is our call to social action in the world.