Kingdom Now Ministries - Norcross, GA

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WHAT IS NEO-KINGDOM NOW THEOLOGY

Kingdom theology is a system of Christian thought based on the various teachings on the Kingdom of God found throughout the New Testament, which speak of the coming of the Kingdom of God as a future event in some places, but in other places as an ongoing or even a completed event. Its emphasis is that the purpose of both individual Christians and the church as a whole is to manifest the Kingdom of God on the earth, incorporating personal evangelism, social action, and foreign missions.

Kingdom theology divides spiritual history into two great ages:

This present evil age, brought about by the fall of man and lasting until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This present evil age is governed by Satan's "kingdom of darkness", and through the influence of Satan and sin, has become characterized by death, disease, godlessness, war, poverty, and evil and suffering of all kinds.

The age to come, inaugurated in the ministry of Jesus Christ, and lasting into the eternal future. The age to come is governed by the Kingdom of God, and is characterized by eternal life, freedom from sickness and suffering, humanity's intimate knowledge of God, universal peace on earth, and God's absolute reign over all creation.

In the kingdom theology framework, the present day is caught between these two ages: Jesus Christ has established the Kingdom of God on earth, but will not abolish this present evil and age and its kingdom of darkness until he returns.

This present-day tension is often expressed in phrases such as the Kingdom of God is "already, but also not yet," or "here, but not yet fully here."

Because the Kingdom of God is already here, believers in the kingdom theology expect to see God actively working, sometimes even miraculously, in the present day. Most of them testify they have seen this expectance being fulfilled. In a kingdom theology framework, present-day manifestations of the Kingdom of God include the presence of the Holy Spirit within every Christian, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, successful evangelism and missionary activity, as well as divine healing and other miracles. Additionally, the role of individual Christians and of the Church as a whole is to represent the Kingdom of God to the world, through evangelism, missions, and social action.

Because the Kingdom of God is not yet here in its full expression, the works of this present evil age continue though not as unlimited as it would have without the presence of the Kingdom of God. Although Christians have eternal life, they still sicken and die. Although they have been freed from sin, temptation to sin, and sin itself, continue to plague their lives. Although God dwells within them, their knowledge of God at times seems quite limited. War, poverty, sickness, godlessness, and death continue, and kingdom theology teaches that they will continue until the end of the age.

Kingdom Now theology is a theological belief within the Charismatic movement of Protestant Christianity, mainly in the United States.

Traditional Kingdom Now proponents believe that God lost control over the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned. Since then, the theology goes, God has been trying to reestablish control over the world by seeking a special group of believers. Through these people — known as "covenant people," "overcomers" or "Joel's army," depending on the source — social institutions (including governments and laws) would be brought under God's authority. These "covenant people" or "overcomers" are "little gods" — God's "extension" in the world to regain authority from the devil. The church, under the leadership of "restored" apostles and prophets, therefore must take over the world and put down all opposition to it before Christ can return. Anyone who rebels against the church, along with other "evildoers," must convert or be punished.

Neo-Kingdom Now Theology agrees with the teachings of Kingdom Theology but interestingly enough it rejects many of the teachings of Kingdom Now Theology. Neo-Kingdom Now Theology, like Kingdom Theology, embraces the doctrine of premillennialism. Premillennialism in Christian eschatology is the belief that Christ will literally reign on the earth for 1,000 years at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it views the current age as prior to Christ’s kingdom. It is distinct from the other forms of Christian eschatology such as amillennialism or postmillennialism, which view the millennial rule as either figurative and non-temporal, or as occurring prior to the second coming. Premillennialism is largely based upon a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6 in the New Testament which describes Christ’s coming to the earth and subsequent reign at the end of an apocalyptic period of tribulation. It views this future age as a time of fulfillment for the prophetic hope of God’s people as given in the Old Testament.

Neo-Kingdom Now Theology agrees that the Kingdom of God is a literal Kingdom that will be manifested after the period of tribulation. But we also believe in the “already” aspect of the Kingdom in the spiritual. We reject the idea of Kingdom Now Theology which says that “that God lost control over the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned and since then, God has been trying to reestablish control over the world by seeking a special group of believers.” Neo-Kingdom Now Theology acknowledges the omni-nature of God. Since He is omni in every aspect, he cannot lose control of anything. He can choose to relinquish control, but He can never lose anything.

Neo-Kingdom Now Theology also rejects the Kingdom Now teaching which says “The church, under the leadership of ‘restored’ apostles and prophets, must take over the world and put down all opposition to it before Christ can return.” We do not believe that there is anything that man can do to hinder or speed up the time of the rapture of the Church and the Second-Advent of Christ. There is nothing else that has to take place prophetically before the rapture comes. After the rapture has come, seven years later, Jesus Christ shall come to earth in his second advent and establish His Kingdom in a literal manifestation.

In essence, the agreement with Kingdom Now Theology and Neo-Kingdom Now Theology is one word. NOW. Neo-Kingdom Now believers agree that the time for the Christian believer to function as the Kingdom of God is NOW in the spiritual sense pending the coming of His Kingdom literally.

SOURCES

Hisholychurch.net/ekklesia.htm

Mueller, Walt. Understanding Today’s Youth Culture. Tyndale House. Wheaton, Illinois. 1994.

Munroe, Myles. Rediscovering the Kingdom. Destiny Image. Shippensburg, PA. 2004.

Munroe, Myles. Understanding the Kingdom. Destiny Image. Shippensburg, PA. 2006.

Wikipedia.org

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