A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

100

A B i b l i ca l Vi s i on, Par t I I : Mas ter i ng the New Tes tament Wi tnes s to Chr i s t

d. The appearance of the Messiah would be the evidence that the Day of the Lord had come, and that the Kingdom had arrived.

4. The Kingdom of God , when it finally arrived, would bring about dramatic change.

a. It would produce deliverance of the nation of Israel from political oppression and domination .

b. It would result in the refreshing and renewing of all nature back to its Eden-like glory and splendor .

c. It would establish peace and righteousness with justice among all the nations, with Israel at its head.

d. It would produce global spiritual transformation , with all nations changed to serve and worship the true God, YHWH.

e. It would be apocalyptic in its power: it would come suddenly, in the future, affecting all the world, both the material world and human affairs.

II. Jesus’ Appearance Is the Presence of the Kingdom of God in the Here and Now: He Who Opposes and Overcomes the Effects of the Curse and the Kingdom of the Devil What is the Gospel of the Kingdom? What means the announcement that the Kingdom of God has come near? It is this: that God is now acting among men to deliver them from bondage to Satan. It is the announcement that God, in the person of Christ, is doing something – if you please, is attacking the very kingdom of Satan himself. The exorcism of demons is proof that the Kingdom of God has come among men and is at work among them. The casting out of demons is itself a work for the Kingdom of God. ~ George Eldon Ladd. The Gospel of the Kingdom . p. 48.