Fiery Expectation

The dual focus of advent is shown this week. We see the telescoping of the expectation of the coming of the Messiah as we celebrate it on Christmas Day and the expectation of his return “in the clouds”.

Malachi gives us a picture of the coming Messiah that perhaps reflects John The Baptist’s understanding of what the messiah’s role would be.

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

He did in deed accomplish those things. We see in the ministry of Jesus a way that constantly challenged the religious authorities, but we have yet to see the offerings to the Lord being presented in righteousness by the house of Levi. Instead we see Malachi’s expectation fulfilled in the temples of our hearts, as the Shekinah—the cloud of God’s glory, again fills the temple of our hearts.

The fiery language of the prophets (Malachi and later John) gives a sense of imminent judgment. That sense is not reflected in Zachariah’s song.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."

Many have questioned whether John understood his mission in the way his father described it. They wonder if perhaps John later doubted that Jesus was the one precisely because he wasn’t winnowing the chaff to be burned. Perhaps, but his message is spot on.

The language John uses in Luke is particularly apocalyptic. Luke alone quotes the further context from Isaiah.

Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God's salvation.

God’s instruction to the one calling in the desert (Isaiah 40:2) is to speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Yet, in preparing the way some very chaotic things happen. We have a list of apocalyptic inversions, employed to show how God will bring order from chaos, and turn the world upside down to bring salvation: valleys filled in and mountains leveled, crooked roads straight and rough ways smoothed. And all mankind will see [a good thing] God’s Salvation.

Paul too points out the good thing in God’s salvation.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Just as in the Revelation reading a couple weeks back, Paul’s concern is that they endure to the end to see the beauty of Jesus face to face. He prays that their love may increase and that they could discern what is pure and blameless. The need only look to their Lord—the fullers soap, the smelting furnace.

Year C Advent 2 Malachi 3

Year C Advent 2 Malachi 3: "Malachi is a book suitable for reading during Advent, in that it describes a time of restless waiting in the history of the people of Judah. The exile was over, the second temple had been built and worship there restored, but all was not as it had been envisioned. There was as yet no sign of the glory of God returning to fill the temple.

We know little about the prophet Malachi, whose name means, ‘my messenger.’ Like the other prophets, he was given a word from the Lord to speak in a particular time. The priests had strayed from their faithful worship, and led the people astray (Mal. 1:6-8). People noted the inequities of life around them and asked, ‘Where is the God of justice?’ (Mal. 2:17)

The passage for this Sunday from chapter 3 comes in answer to that question, with the promise of a day when all will be set right. God promises a messenger of the covenant to prepare the Lord’s way, and to herald the coming of justice. The forerunner is seen in Rabbinic interpretations as an angel appointed to avenge the breaking of a covenant, or perhaps Elijah or the prophet Malachi himself. But this coming is not only good news. It implies purification and judgment will precede the Lord’s coming."

Synoptic study

If we assume Markan priority, then the uniqueness in Luke takes on added significance. First Luke leaves out the reference to the gathering of the Elect. This may be to place the warning at the end of the discourse, But watch at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. (vs. 36) The burning question is what are “all these things”. It is frustrating for me to understand these eschatologies outside of the dispensational construct I grew up with and have rejected. This could be taken as a support for a pre-trib rapture. But I think that the things referred to are not the supposed Great Tribulation, but the real possibility of falling away during the trials the Jews and the Church would face. Hooker takes a look at the Markan text in the same way:

At the end of the discourse, we have two parables and a number of sayings, which seem to have been linked together because of certain words and phrases that they have in common. The first is a parable about a sign – a natural enough pericope to have added here. Yet it fits badly into its context: these things in v. 29 cannot refer to the events in vv.26f., since they were themselves the climax to the period of waiting. The parable has been added here because it was thought to be on the same theme as the rest of the discourse, but in the setting of Jesus’ own lifetime it may well have had a different emphasis. Even in its present setting, Luke takes it to be a parable about the Kingdom of God, and he may well be right. If so, then perhaps the signs, which showed that the Kingdom was near were originally the activities of Jesus himself (cf. Luke 11.20; 12.54-6). Mark may perhaps have had another reason for adding the parable at this point. The parable is about a fig tree, and it was a fig tree that was cursed in chapter 11, when Jesus first pronounced judgment on the temple and on Israel. It is significant that now, when Jesus has spelt out the nature of Israel’s punishment and the final gathering of the elect, we have a story about another fig tree. The dormant tree, apparently dead, bursts into new life, and its young leaves are a promise of coming summer: hope and not destruction, is the final word….

…Many attempts have been made to understand the Greek for this generation in some other way, but they are all unconvincing. The reason for these attempts was the embarrassment caused by an apparently unfulfilled prediction in the mouth of Jesus. An alternative solution was to limit the application of the phrase ‘all these things’. Once it is recognized that the saying did not originally belong in its present context, the difficulties become rather different. If it is an authentic saying, to what did it originally refer? The similarity with Mark 9.1 suggests that it could have referred to the Kingdom of God. A comparison of that saying with the Matthaean parallel shows how easily a saying about the coming of the Kingdom could be reapplied to the coming of the Son of man. But perhaps it is a warning of unknown origin, couched in traditional apocalyptic language and used here by Mark because it seemed appropriate – at once ominous and vague. Used here, the saying provides an important clue to Mark’s purpose in this chapter. If all these things are to take place within this generation, then we understand why he ends the discourse with the warnings in vv.33-7. The fact that some Christians have been misled by false signs of the parousia does not mean that there is no need for continual vigilance: sooner or later the End will come, and Marks’s readers must therefore keep watch.

Enduring to the end

The hope we have as Christians is in deed great. This week we are faced again with the messiah coming again – with the hope of seeing his face, the trustworthiness of God’s saving arm, and the promise of trials to come.

Jeremiah prophesies that a branch with sprout from the line of David. We find ourselves in the expectation between the last two verses in the reading. We have seen “The Lord is Our Righteousness” bloom in human flesh, but yet we don’t see Jerusalem living in safety, nor did the disciples who followed him to the cross.

The psalmist sings of our expectation of the ability of God to make his promise sure. In spite of the fact we have yet to see the perfect rule of Christ, we still sing with the psalmist.

Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

Paul reveals his joy in the church of Thessalonica and desire to see him and compares it with the hope they have in seeing Christ return. He prays that they would be strong to endure to the end. There is much trouble coming their way, and God puts a premium on the faithful who overcome.

As a former dispensationalist, the Lukan text gives me pause. I believe that the blessed hope of the return of Christ is imminent, nothing has to happen to set the stage, it has been set from Pentecost. The signs of the times can confuse us. I grew up with the fear of movies like “A thief in the night.” My grandfather watched Jack Van Impe regularly and believed Edgar Whisenant’s “88 reasons why the Rapture will be in 1988.” I was afraid, of what should be our blessed hope, along with a surprising number of my generation who grew up with nuclear war as an expectation. This fear is fueled by “Left Behind” and war in the Middle East. Luke says we are not to faint from fear.

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly,”

As we face the text in Luke we must see it through the eyes of a disciple. Jesus isn’t trying to frighten or convert. He is giving them a base of understanding as the approach the cross, then the persecution of the early church. He is equipping them with the tools to overcome. He says this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. One commentator (Pentecostal no less) suggests that “generation” should be taken as a type of people (i.e. an evil generation, or righteous generation). In that, his people and those who will have nothing to do with him will be around to the end – just like the wheat and the tares. What was true for them is true for us. Every generation has had its reason to realize that the return of Christ is near, because it is. From Goth, to pope, to crusade, to Hitler, to Hussein, the stage has been set, the time ripe. Antichrists come and go, but Christ remains forever and one day we will see him face to face if we are strong in the day of temptation and trial.

“Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Revelation reading

An excerpt from Full Life Bible Commentary to the New Testament. Tim Jenny's comments on Revelation are some of my favorite.

Since God is eternal and unchanging (James 1 :16- 17), we should expect the same to be true of his Word (Matt. 5:18). His message to his church is faithful and dependable, not erratic or unstable. When we consider what this book said to its original audience, it steadies our interpretation, making it more balanced. Too often we twist Revelation, forcing it to answer questions about each new daily headline even if the book has nothing to say about it. We must learn to care more about what God wants to say than what we want to hear they are often very different! This attitude of submission pleases God and tunes our ears to his voice. 1.2.3. The Greeting (1:4c-5a). John's greeting begins with the traditional "grace and peace" familiar to any reader of the letters of Peter or Paul (e.g., 1 Cor. 1 :3.; 1 Thess. 1 : 1 ; 1 Peter 1 :2). Since the letters in the Bible are inspired by God, the greetings usually include the names of each member of the Godhead.

Their titles are modified in the light of the audience's plight. The title in Revelation emphasizes the Father's eternality, the Spirit's omnipresence, and the martyrdom of Jesus, the Son of God all of which foreshadow the main message of the book. The readers will have to remember them if they are to endure through the upcoming trials.

Revelation is from . . .

1.2.3.1. The Eternal God (1:4c). God the Father is the one "who is, and who was, and who is to come” (v.4; cf. v. 8). This is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. The order is not chronological, as one might expect (i.e., "was, is, and is to come"). It deliberately places the present before both the past and the future, emphasizing that God the Father is the God "who is." This title does two things. (1) It reminds us of God's covenant name in the O1d Testament.

He revealed himself there as Yahweh (or Jehovah). That name means "I AM” in Hebrew (Ex. 3: 14). (2) His title foreshadows the real impotence of the "beast" (Rev. 17), which these early Christians found so threatening. Revelation describes this beast as "once was, now is not, and will come” (17:8, 11 ). These Christians thereby recognized that this beast was not an eternal, unchanging God, nor would he ever be a match for Yahweh, the God "who is."

1.2.3.2. The Holy Spirit (1:4d). The Spirit is described as the "seven spirits" or, better, the "sevenfold Spirit” in front of God's throne. He is later described as "seven lamps” (4:5), This image surely comes from a Jewish menorah, a seven-pronged lampstand with seven flames.

Its position in front of the throne reminds one of the interior of the tabernacle or temple.

There the menorah burned continually in front of the ark of the covenant, God's throne in the O1d Testament (Ex. 25:37., 37:23). It reminded the Israelites that God never slept or took a day off. He was always "on duty" and able to defend his people (Ps. 121 ; cf. 1 Kings l8:27).

In the same way, the flame that appeared on each believer on that first Pentecost after the resurrection was a visible symbol of the Spirit's presence (Acts 2).

It is surely no coincidence that there are seven flames one for each of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation. The point is that the presence of the Spirit continues to burn among them (l Cor. 3:16., 6:19). God has not forgotten them, nor is he removed from their suffering. John's vision of Christ walking among the lampstands (Rev. 1:12-13) will reinforce this message.

1.2.3.3. Jesus Christ (1:5a). Jesus has the most unusual set of titles. We would have expected "Messiah" or "Son of God " but the titles listed here reminding us of his earthly life.

Jesus was "the faithful witness"; he testified about God faithfully, even to the point of giving up his life. He was "the firstborn from the dead"; God raised him on the third day. Thus he is now "the ruler of the kings of the earth" (v.5)., he reigns supreme in heaven.

If we want to appreciate these titles, we have to remember that the first followers of Jesus were called followers of "the Way" (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23;24:14,22;cf. John l4:4-6). The titles here describe "the Way" to eternal life in chronological order. First, we must live faithfully, testifying about God even if it means death. Then we will experience resurrection and glorification. This is the path all followers of Jesus must walk.

Unfortunately, many members of these early churches tried to take a shortcut. They wanted to skip the part about a life of faithful endurance, even death. and go immediately to the glorification stage. This change in their theology had been influenced by their booming economy: Asia Minor was experiencing unprecedented regional prosperity. They had been seduced by triumphalism (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8ff ). A theology somewhat akin to the con- temporary doctrine of "Kingdom Now" Some of them may even have believed they would never personally experience death (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18). Convinced that Jesus would return immediately and establish his kingdom, they were caught unaware when fierce persecution came from Rome.

The first step is the one those early believers did not want to take: death. “Faithful martyr” is a much better translation of the Greek phrase than “faithful witness," It not only means death to self ("self-denial"), but physical death for the sake of the gospel (“martyrdom"; see "Testify, Testimony, Witness" at 6:9). This translation also helps us to understand better why they would want to avoid death and go right to being "ruler[s] of the kings of the earth” (l:5). Martyrdom is usually painful. Who would not want to escape martyrdom if it could be avoided? Revelation is a call to Christian martyrdom.

With all its fantastic images, its most important message says exactly what Jesus did while he was still on earth: "Take up [your] cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24., cf. Luke 9:23 ). Paul had to remind the Philippians of this truth too, with an early hymn recorded for us in Philippians 2:6-1 1: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore , my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

The cross of Christ has continued to challenge Christians down through the ages, Contemporary American Christians often forget that suffering was the present reality for most Christians in the biblical times, just as it is today. We would do well to remember that it is our own experience that is atypical. Let us never be seduced by the wealth surrounding us or those who connive for power and glory. We must humble ourselves and be obedient to God. The first step of "the Way” of Christ is still humility and self-denial. It is often accompanied by suffering, sometimes even by martyrdom. Power and glory, being a “ruler of the kings of the earth," will come after our death and resurrection (Matt. 20:2l-23:2 Tim. 2:12) just as it did for Jesus.

The great devotional writers of recent times knew this and wove it into their allegories of Christian life. Reading their writings will help remind us of this great truth (see, e.g., Hannah Haurnard's Hinds' Feet in High Places, or John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress) It will also help us to develop a healthy theology, one immune from changes in our economy.

1.2.4. The Liturgical Prayer (1:5b-6). At this point in a normal letter. we would expect a prayer. Considering the persecution of the seven churches, they probably expected to find a prayer for deliverance, the defeat of the enemies of the church, and the immediate return of Jesus Christ. John asked for none of these, tacitly implying that everything was as it should be.

Instead of asking for an easier situation, John prays that God will be glorified through it. His prayer also encourages the churches to be obedient. He reminds them of the past: Jesus loved them so much he sacrificed his life for them. He also reminds them of the future: They will be an eternal kingdom and a priest- hood for God, if they obey. This ancient promise to Israel (Ex. 19:6) had been recently extended to include the church (1 Peter 2:5,9., cf. Rev. 5:10).

The prayer here is more formal, more liturgical, than that of the other letters in the New Testament. This fits with the descriptions of the solemn "high church" rituals that will appear later in the book. John ends the prayer with the traditional “Amen,” though here it may also be a wordplay on one of the titles of Jesus (see "The Amen" at 3:14).

1.2.5. The Liturgical Prophecy (1:7). In a usual letter of the New Testament, the body directly followed the prayer. Here John includes two more liturgical elements: a prophecy (v. 7) and an exhortation (v. 8). These may well have represented elements in the order of service of these seven ancient churches. They too set the atmosphere for the book's upcoming rituals.

The prophecy of Jesus' coming is a blend of two Old Testament prophecies. One concerns the Son of Man's coming with the clouds (Dan. 7: 13., cf. Matt. 26:64., Mark l3:26., Luke 21: 27.,

Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:17), the other predicts that people will mourn when they see the one they have pierced (Zech. 12:10., cf. John 19:34).

Revelation proclaims that Jesus is ("coming with the clouds" (v. 7). The association of God with clouds is ancient. A rainbow in the clouds is a reminder of the Noahic covenant (Gen. 9:13-16). God also displayed his presence among the Israelites in the desert by a cloud during the day (Ex. 13:21., see "The Shekinah Canopy" at 7:15). The Old Testament describes God as "rid[ing] on the clouds" (Ps. 68:4., cf. 104:3), clouds that are even more noticeable when he comes to judge on the Day of the Lord (Ezek. 30:3', Dan. 7: 13., Joel 2:2., Zeph. 1:15). Similarly, Jesus will return “with the clouds” on the Day of the Lord.

John's use of "with the clouds" rather than "in the clouds” is unusual (only the Hebrew text of Dan. 7:13 has this expression). The prophecy may refer to the thunderclouds that preceded the fall rains in Israel. The high priests prayed for those rains; as they did for the resurrection of the dead, at the daily dawn drink offerings each year during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7).

1.2.6. The Liturgical Exhortation (1:8).

The last liturgical element in the introduction is an exhortation. It emphasizes God's eternality, his presence, and his power. "Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, "Omega" the last. "The Alpha and the Omega” (1:8.,21:6.,22:13) is another way of saying that God is "the First and the Last” (l:l7-,22:13: cf. Isa. 44:6-,48:l2) or "the Beginning and the End" (Rev. 21:6.,22:13-, cf. Heb. 7:3'). Both of these latter phrases appear in the prophecies of Isaiah, where they describe God's uniqueness and his foreknowledge (see Isa. 44:6-8., 46:10): this is what the LORD says Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last', apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it, Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one " I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

The titles remind the reader of Revelation that God has had everything planned, down to the smallest detail, for a long, long time. The Alpha and the Omega here refer to the Father, not the Son, as one can see by comparing the phrase in verse 8, "who is, and who was, and who is to come" with its twin in verse 4. The two phrases balance and enclose this epistolary introduction.

Stewardship series evaluation

Year B – Proper 22-28

This was a challenging series for the disciple we were continually faced with giving up our whole lives to enter the kingdom of God. Yesterday having finished this series, I felt glad it was over. I felt like the Holy Spirit was putting his finger on people’s hearts. In response to the conviction and challenge they were feeling relationships became strained between some of the members and their pastor. That’s why the pulpit is nothing to covet. If you can do anything else do it. If you are obedient to God and faithfully preach his word, there will come a time when you are not popular. Yet I rejoice if that strain in relationship means they were beginning to get it.

This was a great series for discipleship, but I could have done a better job on stewardship what the readings didn’t lend themselves to (or I didn’t figure out well enough) was doing practical how-to sermons showing not only the importance of stewardship but how to make it part of our lives. Perhaps the fall of another year would have a better sense for that. I’ll have to take a look. Once every three years wouldn’t be bad – if its there.

The Kingdom of God

The following is an excerpt from The Dvine Conspiracy.

The Presence of God in Action
Such a response, along with many others familiar from the Gospels, illustrates how Jesus' hearers understood the invitation to base their own lives on the rule of God “at hand" Of course they had no general understanding of what was involved, but they knew Jesus meant that he was acting with God and God with him, that God's rule was effectively present through him.
The familiar stories, traditions, and rituals of Israel enabled them to know the practical significance of this. They were stories and traditions of individual human beings whose lives were interlaced with God's action. Abraham, David, Elijah were well known to all. And the routinely practiced rituals of Israel were often occasions when God acted. Everyone knew that whoever trustingly put themselves in his hands, as this poor scandalous woman did, were in fact in the hands of God. And God's deeds bore out his words.
When he announced that the “governance” or rule of God had become available to human beings, he was primarily referring to what he could do for people, God acting with him. But he was also offering to communicate this same “rule of God” to others who would receive and learn it from him. He was himself the evidence for the truth of his announcement about the availability of God's kingdom, or governance, to ordinary human existence.
This explains why, as everyone saw, he did not teach "in the manner of the scribes” but instead “as having authority in his own right” (Matt. 7 :29) . Scribes, expert scholars, teach by citing others.
But Jesus was, in effect, saying, “Just watch me and see that what I say is true. See for yourself that the rule of God has come among ordinary human beings.”
“Already during Jesus' earthly activity," Hans Kung has pointed out, “the decision for or against the rule of God hung together with the decision for or against himself (italics mine). The presence of Jesus upon earth, both before and after his death and resurrection, means that God's rule is here now “In this sense," Kung continues, “the immediate expectation . . . [of the kingdom] . . . has been fulfilled.”
God's Rule Extended Onward Through Us
From the very beginning of his work, those who relied on him had, at his touch, entered the rule, or governance,of God and were receiving its gracious sufficiency Jesus was not just acting for God but also with God - a little like the way, in a crude metaphor, I act with my power steering, or it with me, when I turn the wheel of my car.
And this “governance” is projected onward through those who receive him. When we receive God's gift of life by relying on Christ, we find that God comes to act with us as we rely on him in our actions. That explains why Jesus said that the least in the kingdom of the heavens are greater than John the Baptist-not, of course, greater in themselves, but as a greater power works along with them, The “greater” is not inherent, a matter of our own substance, but relational So, C. S. Lewis writes, our faith is not a matter of our hearing what Christ said long ago and “trying to carry it out." Rather, “The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself He is beginning, so to speak, to 'inject' His kind of life and thought. His Zoe [life], into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin."
Jesus' words and presence gave many of his hearers faith to see that when he acted God also acted, that the governance or “rule” of God came into play and thus was at hand They were aware of the invisible presence of God acting within the visible reality and action of Jesus, the carpenter rabbi.
Some years of reflection and further experience with Jesus and the kingdom enabled his people to describe him in lofty language as “the icon of the unseeable God” (Col. 1:15). Today we might say photo or snapshot instead of icon. He was the “exact picture” or “precise representation of God's substance” (Heb. 1: 3) . But that time was not yet. It was to still uncomprehending ears that Jesus said, “Those who have seen me have seen the Fathers."

Made to Rule

What a "Kingdom” Is
To gain deeper understanding of our eternal kind of life in God's present kingdom, we must be sure to understand what a kingdom is.
Every last one of us has a "kingdom" – or a. "queendom,” or a "government” – a realm that is uniquely our own, where our choice determines what happens. Here is a truth that reaches into the deepest part of what it is to be a person.
Some may think it should not be so. John Calvin remarked rather balefully, “Everyone flatters himself and carries a kingdom in his breast.” He understood this to mean that “there is nobody who does not imagine that he is really better than the others." Perhaps this is so for human beings as they are. All too easily, at least, we presume to rule others-in opinion and word, if not in deed.
But it is nevertheless true that we are made to “have dominion” within an appropriate domain of reality. This is the core of the likeness or image of God in us and is the basis of the destiny for which we were formed. We are, all of us, never-ceasing spiritual beings with a unique eternal calling to count for good in God's great universe.
Our “kingdom” is simply the range of our effective will. Whatever we genuinely have the say over is in our kingdom. And our having the say over something is precisely what places it within our kingdom.
In creating human beings God made them to rule, to reign, to have dominion in a limited sphere. Only so can they be persons.
Any being that say over nothing is no person. We only have to imagine what that would be like to see that this is so. Such “persons” would not even be able to command their own body or their own thoughts. They would be reduced to completely passive observers who count for nothing, who make no difference.
The sense of having some degree of control over things is now recognized as a vital factor in both mental and physical health and can make the difference between life and death in those who are seriously ill. Anyone who has raised a child, or has even supervised the work of others, knows how important it is to let them do it - what- ever “it” may be-and to do so as soon as that is practically feasible.
Obviously, having a place of rule goes to the very heart of who we are, of our integrity strength, and competence.
By contrast, attacks on our personhood always take the form of diminishing what we can do or have say over, sometimes up to the point of forcing us to submit to what we abhor, in the familiar human order, slaves are at the other end of the spectrum from kings.
Their bodies and lives are at the disposal of another. Prisoners are, in most cases, several degrees above slaves. And, as the twentieth century has taught us, thought control is worst of all. It is the most heinous form of soul destruction, in which even our own thoughts are not really ours. It reaches most deeply into our substance.