Here we would try to reconstruct Christianity with the understanding that Christianity is about a government and a kingdom. In previous post I explained that Christianity is this way today because we thought Christianity is about worshipping God. And the moment we realized that this is not what Christianity is about then Christianity will begin to take up a new shape. In this post we want to imagine this new shape that will take on when our focus is kingdom and government.
"“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means... after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron... During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold." (Daniel 2:31-36,39,40,44,45).
From this prophesy we understand that the Kingdom of God is supposed to conquer every other power and continue to expand until it fills the whole earth. Jesus told us that, "the Kingdom is already among you" (Luke 17:21). So it is not a futuristic thing that is yet to come. The Kingdom is already here. We cannot be saved without the Kingdom, for salvation is the translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God (Col 1:13). Christianity is life in the Kingdom.
"I will build My church (ecclesia), and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt 16;18-19).
The Christian meeting is an ecclesia — the governmental assembly of the kingdom. It is where the power of heaven is wield. Here in this meeting we decide what to bound and what to loose on earth. We also strategize on how to expand the coverage of the Kingdom and its power. This world is filled with the power of darkness and the Kingdom is supposed to conquer this power from one locality to another. We would achieve this by planting ecclesia in every locality in the world.
In the New Testament Bible we saw the Ecclesia in Corinth, the Ecclesia in Rome, the Ecclesia in Thessaloniaca, the Ecclesia in Ephesus, and so on. Each of these places are locality in the Greeko-roman world. The job of the Christian ecclesia is not to be doing worship services and religious ceremonies — capital no to that. Rather, there job is to conquer the power of darkness in the locality where they were planted, and enthrone Christ in the altar and throne of that locality.
"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." (Eph 6:10-11).
Once they have ascended into power (in oneness with Christ) in that locality, their job is to continue to legislate the Kingdom of God in that locality. They would set up a defense system that will enable the Kingdom of God to continue to stand in that locality. They will stand that ground they have taken for God, and they will spend the rest of their lives defending it until they die and pass the mantle to the next generation. This will continue until Jesus comes and vanquish the devil and his power forever. Why is this so? Because Jesus wants every generation of Christian to experience war and battle. He wants to have a warrior bride.
"That is why the Lord left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all. These are the nations that the Lord left in the land TO TEST those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle." (Jdg 2:23, 3:1&2).
Joshua is the Hebrew word for Jesus. Hence, Joshua in the Old Testament is a type and prefigure of Jesus. Everything in the Old Covenant is a prophesy of the New. All of that happened because God wanted to tell us (to preach the gospel) of what will happen in the New Testament. Jesus came, broke the power of the devil, but yet left the devil in this world and then he ascended to heaven. It doesn't make sense. Why leave the devil? Why not finish him at the spot. No, he wanted to give us a chance to experience battle, and this battle is meant to test our faith.
Individualy we fight the battles in our lives, but as an ecclesia in a locality, we fight the battles of that locality. We fight to ascend into power in that locality, and then we fight to defend and keep that power as we wait for the coming King. This is what Christianity is about. It is not about appeasing God, neither is it about living a good life on earth. It is about power, kingdom and war.
What Is Christianity (Part 1): From The First
What Is Christianity (Part 2): Kingdom, City and a Bride
What Is Christianity (Part 3): Man's Perception Of Religion
What Is Christianity (Part 4): The People Of Israel
What Is Christianity (Part 5): The Origin Of Worship Service
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