To Bring God's Kingdom on Earth

• A focus on the kingdom of God takes away from the person centred views of judgement and personal relationship with God
• When focusing on the kingdom of God, a more personal faith may be put second
• More holistic view that humans are part of creation and part of the plan to bring completion to God's work, as is done by bringing about God's kingdom on earth
• The idea of kingship has its roots in Jewish scripture
• Jews were expecting a:

  • King who would free them from Roman rule
  • earthly king
  • spiritual leader
• There will come a time when all the created order (on earth and heaven) will follow God's laws
• Some believe that Jesus will return to earth in glory at the end of time
• Death and sin will be eliminated when Jesus returns to earth
• Some believe they should dedicate their life's work to get the earth ready for Jesus
• Early Christians believed that Jesus would return to earth very quickly
• The idea of Jesus returning immanently has been lost
• Many believe that the coming of Jesus made it possible to imagine the kingdom of God on earth
• The first thing Jesus is recorded saying in Mark's gospel:

  "The time has come... The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"
• Jesus is "The inaugurator of the kingdom"
• There are so many beliefs, it is hard to determine which denomination's is favourable
• Only doing good to earn a reward or avoid punishment makes the idea of judgement tricky
• There is the possibility that some are only doing what is right for fear of judgment as opposed to doing it because it is the right thing to do