The Future Kingdom of God: A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope

By Fr. Steven Scherrer

The kingdom of God is not explained anywhere in the New Testament, yet it seems to be everywhere understood. No explanation was ever needed, and so none was given. In The Future Kingdom of God: A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope, author Father Steven Scherrer presents an in-depth study of the kingdom of God as it appears in the scriptures.

Based on an edited collection of original sermons and essays revolving around the New Testament doctrine of the kingdom of God, this thorough discussion provides a guide for those seeking insight into various aspects about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Some of the topics on which the essays reflect include

the splendor of the kingdom of God now present, as seen in the Churchs Advent and Christmas liturgies;
the millennial hope as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy;
the enchanted expectation of the Parousia, as seen in the Churchs autumn liturgies;
the longing to be found innocent in holiness at the coming of the Lord.

Using the scriptures and examples from the Bible, The Future Kingdom of God demonstrates how Christians can, by faith, now live in the splendor of Gods kingdom present in their midst.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450268394

Fr. Steven Scherrer

Fr. Steven Scherrer was ordained a Catholic priest in 1972 and earned a doctorate in New Testament from Harvard University in 1979. The author of Desert Living: Contemplative Living as the Context for Contemplative Praying, he lives a monastic life in Ossining, New York. Visit him online at www.DailyBiblicalSermons.com.

Book preview

The Future

Kingdom

of God

A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope

FR. STEVEN SCHERRER, ThD

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Bloomington

The Future Kingdom of God

A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope

Copyright © 2010 by Fr. Steven Scherrer, ThD

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV™ are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4502-6837-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-6839-4 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-6838-7 (hbk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010916425

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 11/22/10

Contents

Preface

Introduction

The Present and Future Kingdom of God

The Suffering and Glorious Messiah

Part 1: The Future Kingdom: A Present Reality

A. The Presence of the Kingdom Now in the Advent-Christmas Mystery

Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men

The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness, Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Thy Kingdom Come

Peace on Earth

A Kingdom of Splendor and Light

Days of Splendor Have Arrived

How Ought We to then Live?

Entering the Kingdom Violently

For Now He Shall Be Great unto the Ends of the Earth

Then Wine Shall Be as Abundant as Water

The Righteous Branch Brings Justice to the Earth

Basking in His Splendor along the Narrow Way

Today You Shall Know that the Lord Is Coming, and in the Morning You Shall See His Glory

The Peace of the Holy Family

Today a New Light Shines Upon Us

His Glory Will Be Seen upon You

Part 2: The Future Kingdom: Our Blessed Hope

B. The Coming Kingdom of Righteousness on Earth: Basic Principles

The Millennial Earth

Who Will Enter the Millennial Kingdom?

Where Will the Tribulation Martyrs Go?

What Will Happen during the Tribulation?

C. The Coming Kingdom of Righteousness on Earth:Further Reflections

The Millennium and the New Earth

The Millennial Temple

And David Shall Rule over Them as Their Prince

Christ’s Kingdom of Righteousness on Earth

The Powers of the Heavens Will Be Shaken

The Nearness of the Coming of the Lord

The Great Tribulation and the New Jerusalem

D. The Radiance of the Heavenly Jerusalem Shining through the Murk of This Present World in the Liturgies of Autumn

A Shining Light in the Murky Mist

Witnesses to the Light in the Murk of This World

Vigilant Living for the Lord’s Coming

Beacons Shining through the Murky Fog

The New Jerusalem, City of Gold and Light

The Heavenly Jerusalem, the City of Our Spirit

E. Longing for the Parousia in the Liturgies of Autumn and Advent

The Parousia, in the Church’s Harvest Season

Let Your Lamps Be Burning

Be Prepared for the Parousia of the Son of Man

Take Heed, Watch, and Pray

The Last Trumpet

Be Unstained and Free from Reproach

The Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine

Be Prepared for the Final Trumpet

The Hills Shall Flow with Milk

How to Await the Coming of the Lord

Awaiting the Coming of the Son of Man Transforms Our Life in the Present

Awaiting the Lord’s Coming in Quiet Moderation

Following John the Baptist in the Desert

Living in the Spell of Our Future Hope

Be Blameless in Holiness for the Day of the Lord

Aliens and Exiles on Earth

Bibliography

Preface

The Future Kingdom of God: A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope is a study of the kingdom of God as it appears in the scriptures. It is an edited collection of original sermons and essays on the New Testament doctrine of the kingdom of God.

The first part of this work deals with the fact that the future kingdom of God is now present among us. The second part deals with the kingdom’s glorious future consummation as our blessed hope. The books of George Eldon Ladd (see bibliography) were of the greatest help to me in realizing that the future kingdom of God is now a present reality in our midst. I especially explore this under the aspect of the Advent-Christmas mystery (see contents page).

The books of John F. Walvoord and J. Dwight Pentecost (see bibliography) greatly expanded my understanding of the future aspect of the kingdom of God as our blessed hope, in particular their treatment of the millennium (Rev. 20:1-7). It is unusual for a Catholic to take up such matters, but I believe that a strong case can be made for a millennial hope such as was once the almost universal belief of the early Church fathers, as well as of St. John in the book of Revelation (Rev. 20:1-7).

Yet I believe that greater attention needs to be placed on the present fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven on earth that we are now enjoying in Jesus Christ through our faith in him. If too much attention is placed on the coming millennium, and all the relevant Old Testament scriptures are consistently interpreted only in terms of the millennium, that can evacuate the present kingdom of much of its power and glory. I have written this work in the conviction that the millennial hope of Dr. Walvoord and the Dispensationalists is correct and a much needed addition to our Christian eschatology, but I also want to stress the present fulfillment of these same Old Testament prophecies, as contemporary progressive Dispensationalists now seem to be doing. In that way, our grasp of Jesus’ doctrine of the kingdom of God will come alive for us, not only as a future hope that guides our present life, but also as a present reality in which we already live in a new sense of happiness and peace with God.

Hence, in the first part of this work I stress the present fulfillment in Christ of many of the same Old Testament prophecies that I will again reflect on in the second half of this work in terms of the Parousia and the thousand-year reign of righteousness that Jesus Christ will set up on earth at his second coming in power and glory on the clouds of heaven in great light with all his saints.

As to the structure of this work, part 1 deals with the present reality of Christ’s kingdom with us now. It reflects on the kingdom of God as an essentially future reality, pertaining properly to the end times, which has been dropped back into the midst of history by the coming of Jesus, the Messiah and only begotten Son of God, into the world. The event of his coming and ministry makes the future kingdom a present reality for those who believe in him. Since Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the future messianic age has already begun and is now present.

In the introduction, I deal with the basic principles involved with the kingdom of God as both a present and future mystery. In section A (The Presence of the Kingdom Now in the Advent-Christmas Mystery), I reflect on the scriptures involved in the Church’s Advent and Christmas seasons in terms of the presence of the kingdom of God with us now.

Part 2 of this work then focuses on the future aspect of the kingdom of God—namely questions concerning the millennium and our longing for the Parousia. The Advent mystery concerns both aspects of the kingdom—present and future—and so many chapters deal with this mystery in both parts of this book, depending on whether the emphasis is placed on its present or future aspect. In section B (The Coming Kingdom of Righteousness on Earth: Basic Principles), I deal with the basic issues involved with the millennium, Christ’s thousand-year reign of righteousness on earth following his Parousia. In section C (The Coming Kingdom of Righteousness on Earth: Further Reflections), I continue my reflections on the millennium, guided by many other relevant scriptures.

Then in section D (The Radiance of the Heavenly Jerusalem Shining through the Murk of this Present World in the Liturgies of Autumn), I focus on the Parousia, reflecting on the beautiful imagery of the Church’s autumn season when the new Jerusalem appears as a radiant light shining through the murk of this present world. Here I reflect on the Parousia in a more general way without specific reference to the millennium. Then section E (Longing for the Parousia in the Liturgies of Autumn and Advent) looks forward to the final harvest of the earth, the ingathering of its fruits, the final vintage, and the coming of the Lord in power and glory on the clouds of heaven with all his saints in great light. It is inspired by the last days of the liturgical year and by the early Advent liturgies when our attention is focused on the Lord’s coming in glory. I do not refer to the millennium in either of these two final sections.

These two final sections (D and E), without contradicting the millennial hope, are in line with the more familiar way most Christians today view eschatology. In fact, I think that these two sections would be equally relevant and meaningful to both premillennialists and amillennialists, that is, to those who believe in a coming millennium as well as to those who do not. They are general reflections on our future hope as Christians that I think all schools of thought would accept.

The basic premise of this work is that Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God and Messiah, brought a fundamentally future reality into the world with his incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection—namely the kingdom of God. It is now renewing and illuminating our present age from within. Hence the title of this book is The Future Kingdom of God: A Present Reality. But since we also live in hope for the return of Christ in glory, the kingdom of God is also Our Blessed Hope.

As in my two previous books, the way this book was written—edited from individual sermons and essays—entails a certain amount of repetition since I had to presume that many of my listeners/readers were hearing these things for the first time in any given sermon or essay. Yet I believe that there is also an advantage to this way of writing, for it keeps one focused on the central mystery that we are dealing with and continually tries to examine and meditate on it in ever-new ways.

Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

To read my current daily biblical sermons, visit me online at www.DailyBiblicalSermons.com where you may also subscribe to these sermons by e-mail.

Fr. Steven Scherrer

Ossining, New York

Introduction

The Present and Future Kingdom of God

The Future Kingdom of God as a Present Reality

The kingdom of God is nowhere explained in the New Testament, yet it seems to be everywhere understood. No explanation was ever needed, and so none was given. It was simply taken for granted that the term refers to the end-time hope of the Jews for a glorious kingdom that the Messiah would one day set up in Palestine, in which he would rule the world from Jerusalem. This kingdom would be characterized by righteousness, would destroy all other kingdoms, would extend over the entire earth, and would last forever (Dan. 2:35, 44). When it comes, the Jews would henceforth rule supreme on earth. It would come during the final days, at the end of the world, and in Jesus’ day the general belief was that its appearance was imminent. There was great expectation in the air at the time (Luke 3:15) caused especially by the striking appearance of John the Baptist in the desert of Judea, proclaiming, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 3:2). When priests and Levites were sent from Jerusalem to ask John who he was, he answered, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said (John 1:23).

Then when Jesus appeared, proclaiming, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15), a new era had begun. John had already been arrested—indicating that the time of immediate preparation was now over and the time of the kingdom of God had begun. This is the meaning of the phrase, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:15).

Jesus clarified this when he said, The law and the prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached (Luke 16:16). A clear differentiation of eras is made: the time of the law and the prophets on the one hand, and the time of the kingdom of God on the other hand. John was still part of the first age. After him comes the kingdom.

Jesus made it clear that John was before the coming of the kingdom when he said, Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matt. 11:11). So great, in fact, is the kingdom of God that even a child in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, who preached before the coming of the kingdom.

So here is the astonishing message of Jesus, something completely new—namely that he is the longed-for Messiah, none other than the Son of God himself, and that with his arrival, the kingdom of God has come into the world. In fact, we can trace the coming of the kingdom of God into the world to his birth in Bethlehem, for that is when the Son of God became incarnate in the world for its transformation. But it was only after the arrest of John the Baptist that Jesus made himself publicly known so that all could benefit from its arrival. Previous to this, only Jesus’ immediate family and the shepherds and Magi recognized him.

No one ever expected such a thing as this—the kingdom of God