Changing the way you learn

the belief that entry into the Kingdom of God is not a future event, instead it transcends in time - it has already happened and is not temporal
1. Anyone who believes Christ will not die, instead they are already in the Kingdom of God
  1. "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" - John 5:24
  2. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and bought us into the kingdom of the Son, he loves" - Collosians 1:13
2. Greek Philosophy influence
RUDOLF BULTMANN
1. eschatological scriptures are metaphoric for the quality of life a person leads
  1. e.g. any reference to resurrection is really a call to start living the right life
2. If we live the right life, then we are living as God intends us to live - we live in his Kingdom under his rules
3. the literal interpretations of eschatological scriptures (physical resurrection, future judgement, the physical resurrection of Christ) are myths that need to be demythologised (strip aways imagery language) to understand the essential message
DUALISM - our soul doesnt die from the moment we believe in Christ (in death we only lose our outer shell) it automatically lives on in Christ
1. We die to our previous sinful self when we accept Christ's word - e.g. symbolism of life, truth, light,etc
2. We become alive in which we are living an authentic life rather than slaving away under false apprehensions that other things will make us happy (e.g. money, luxuries, popularities) - CHRISTIAN EXISTENTIALISM
Judgement is not a future event - it is immediate from the moment we hear Christ's word as it is the choice that we make whether to accept it, repent and believe or reject it and continue as before (BULTMANN)
LINKS TO AMILLENNIALISM AND PRETERISM
1. "realised millennialism" - symbolic interpretation, millenium will not last 1000 years, millenium began with Christ's birth and will end with Parousia, Christ in already reigning in heaven and the hearts of believers
CH DODD
1. all that has been prophesised about Christ has been achieved - nothing more we can do other than to accept or reject God
  1. "Then the kingdom of God is come unto you" - Matthew 12:28
2. i.e. there is a finality - the "zero hour" of the world is the "zero hour" for the individual - a call to believe
3. JURGEN MOLTMANN DISAGREED WITH THIS
  1. A spiritual kingdom was introduced by Christ in his first coming (his life), but a literal kingdom is still a future event
  2. Eschatological language indicates that Christ (King) was present but thr kingdom promises were not yet fulfilled
  3. Now the Church's responsbility to pave the way towards enabling a future, physical Kingdom of God - by living in the Kingdom now, the future based events will be brought into present
INAUGURATED ESCHATOLOGY
1. the belief that the end times were inaugurated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus - creates both the "already" and "not yet" aspects to the Kingdom of God
  1. Therefore, we are now living in the end times
  2. all promises if the kingdom can be fulfilled in the Church today
  3. the kingdom of God behan at Jesus' first coming and is here now, but it will not be fully consummated until the Second Coming
    1. I.E. ALREADY BUT NOT YET CONCEPT

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REALISED ESCHATOLOGY

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	Created by tillywhitmore almost 9 years ago