Restitutio

Last time we saw that some influential Christians rejected the biblical teaching on the kingdom because the idea of living on earth forever seemed crude to them.  This time, we look at how the ancients thought about bodies and bodily pleasures.  As it turns out, from (at least) Plato onward, many philosophers tended to embrace a very negative view of pleasure, arguing that the truly enlightened person should exercise abstinence and discipline as much as possible.  This idea flourished among the Stoics and Neo-Platonists and infiltrated Christianity from the second century onward.  Consequently, the biblical descriptions of feasting in the kingdom with the patriarchs in resurrected bodies seemed to demand reinterpretation.  Additionally kingdom deniers labelled kingdom advocates hedonists, as if their uncontrollable desire for pleasure motivated their belief in the kingdom.

This is lecture 12 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College.  To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade.

Notes:

ἡ ἡδονή (e edone): pleasure, enjoyment, delight

Our Plan

Quotes showing rejection of the kingdom on the charge of hedonism

Gaius (early second century)

“But Cerinthus also, by means of revelations which he pretends were written by a great apostle, brings before us marvelous things which he falsely claims were shown him by angels; and he says that after the resurrection the kingdom of Christ will be set up on earth, and that the flesh dwelling in Jerusalem will again be subject to desires and pleasures. And being an enemy of the Scriptures of God, he asserts, with the purpose of deceiving men, that there is to be a period of a thousand years5 for marriage festivals.” (H.E. 3.28.2)

Origen (early third century)

Certain persons, then, refusing the labour of thinking, and adopting a superficial view of the letter of the law, and yielding rather in some measure to the indulgence of their own desires and lusts, being disciples of the letter alone, are of opinion that the fulfilment of the promises of the future are to be looked for in bodily pleasure and luxury; and therefore they especially desire to have again, after the resurrection, such bodily structures as may never be without the power of eating, and drinking, and performing all the functions of flesh and blood (De Princip. 2.11.2)

“And even as those who because of the fact that they do not interpret the prophecies allegorically suppose (that) after the resurrection we will eat and drink bodily food and drink, since also the words of the prophetic writings embrace such as these, so also what has been written concerning marriages of both men and women, keeping to the literal and supposing (that) we will take part in intercourse then, on account of which it is not even possible to have time for prayer when being in (a state of) defilement and uncleanness partaking in sexual pleasures.” (Commentary on Matthew 17.35)

Dionysius (mid third century)

“For the doctrine which he [Cerinthus] taught was this: that the kingdom of Christ will be an earthly one. And as he was himself devoted to the pleasures

How should you steward your body?  Are all bodily pleasures inherently sinful?  In order to grapple with these questions, we take a tour through the bible from the Garden of Eden through to the time of Jesus to observe the balanced biblical perspective between asceticism (denying all pleasures) and hedonism (living for pleasure).  As it turns out, God designed us to experience pleasure, but within his boundaries.  We discuss several of these before considering how sometimes we may need to enter a period of abstinence to recenter ourselves.  Lastly, we look at how legalism can sneak in and wreak havok when we impose our own personal boundaries on other Christians.

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Now that you’ve seen the historical defenders of the kingdom faith, it’s time to turn our attention to those who fought against it.  Over the next three lectures you’ll learn the main reasons why Christianity rejected the kingdom message of the bible and replaced it with going to heaven or hell at death.  First up, we’ll take a tour of how the ancients thought about creation and the universe, giving special attention to how Plato and Philo influenced Christian thinking.

This is lecture 11 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College.  To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade.

Notes:

Kingdom Called Crude

Dionysius of Alexandria (d. 265)

“But since they bring forward a certain work of Nepos, on which they especially rely as irrefutably proving that the kingdom of Christ will be on earth…we should…examine and correct whatever appears to be unsoundly composed…But when a book is published which seems most convincing to some and do[es] not allow our simpler brethren to have high and noble thoughts, either regarding the glorious and truly divine coming of our Lord or our resurrection from the dead or our gathering together unto Him and being like to Him, but persuade them to hope for the small and mortal and such as are of the present in the Kingdom of God…then it is necessary that we, too, argue with our brother Nepos as if he were present.”  (Eusebius, History of the Church 7.24)

Origen of Alexandria (d. 253)

“Because of this it happens that certain of the simpler Christians, since they do not know how to distinguish and to keep separate what in the divine Scriptures must be allotted to the inner man and what to the outer man, misled by the similarities in the designations, have turned themselves to certain foolish stories and vain fictions, so that even after resurrection they believe that corporeal foods must be used and drink taken not only from that true Vine which lives forever, but also from vines and fruits of wood.” (Comm. of the Song of Songs, Prologue)

Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339)

“Among these he [Papias] says that there will be a period of about a thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, when the kingdom of Christ will be established on this earth in material form. I suppose that he got these ideas through a perverse reading of the accounts of the Apostles, not realizing that these were expressed by them mystically in figures.

Augustine of Hippo (d. 430)

“The same Evangelist John has spoken of these two resurrection in his book which is called the Apocalypse, but in such a way that some of us have not understood the first of the two, and thereby have turned it into some ridiculous fancies….Those who, because of this passage in this book, have suspected that the first resurrection is future and bodily…This opinion would be somewhat tolerable, if the delights of that Sabbath to be enjoyed by the saints were, through the presence of the Lord, of a spiritual kind. For we too were at one time of this opinion.” (City of God 20.7.1)

“If we were to tell those pagan philosophers that our bodies are going to be victorious on a new earth and not in heaven, we would be speaking boldly and rashly, yes, even against the faith. For we ought to believe

We’re beginning a new series on stewardship. To start with, we’ll discuss the biblical mindset towards stewarding the earth. Future episodes will address stewarding our bodies and finances.  In this show, we begin with creation theology and move to consider how God injected covenantal significance into how Israelites were to think about their land. Lastly, we look at how believing in the renewal of our earth in the age to come should affect us now.  We also overcome several typical Christian objections to creation care while trying to avoid any kind of legalism.

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Who has believed in the kingdom over the history of Christianity?  In this lecture, you’ll find out who defended the kingdom belief in the first four centuries, before it faded out of the mainstream and got replaced with going to heaven instead.  In order to put you in contact with the primary sources, we read through a bunch of quotes, so you can hear the unfiltered voices of these remarkable kingdom advocates.

This is lecture 10 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College.  To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade.

Notes:

1st Century

Author(s) of Didache (wrote/edited ad 60-150)

Didache 8.2  Nor should you pray like the hypocrites.  Instead, pray like this, just as the Lord commanded in his Gospel: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”

Didache 9.4 Just as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and then was gathered together and became one, so may your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom; for yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever.

Didache 10.5-6 5 Remember your church, Lord, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love; and from the four winds gather the church that has been sanctified into your kingdom, which you have prepared for it; for yours is the power and glory forever.  6 May grace come, and may this world pass away.  Hosanna to the God of David.  If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent.  Maranatha! Amen.

Didache 16.6-8 6 And then there will appear the signs of the truth: first the sign of an opening in heaven, then the sign of the sound of a trumpet, and third, the resurrection of the dead—7 but not of all; rather, as it has been said, “The Lord will come, and all his saints with him.”  8 Then the world will see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

Clement of Rome (wrote ad 80-100)

1 Cl. 42:3  3 Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand.

1 Cl. 50:3 3 All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away; but those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly, and shall be made manifest at the revelation of the kingdom of Christ.

Barnabas (wrote ad 70-132)

Epistle of Barnabas 1.7 For the Master has made known to us through the prophets things past and things present, and has given us a foretaste of things to come.

Epistle of Barnabas 6.13 Again, I will show thee how, in respect to us, He has accomplished a second fashioning in these last days. The Lord says, “Behold, I will make the last like the first.” In reference to this, then, the prophet proclaimed, “Enter ye into the land flowing with milk and honey, and have dominion over it.”

Epistle of Barnabas 10.11…Because the righteous person not only lives in this world but also looks forward to the holy age to come….

Epistle of Barnabas 15.4-5 Observe, children, what “he finished in six days” means.  It means this: that in six thousand years the Lord will bring everything to an end, for with him a day signifies a thousand years…”And he rested on the seventh day.”  This means: when his son comes, he will destroy the time of the lawless one and will judge the ungodly and will change the sun and the mo

Do you know what the Trinity is?  Could you explain it to someone else or is it just a confusing collection of impenetrable statements hidden under a cloud of fog?  In his recent book, Professor Dale Tuggy seeks to clarify everyone’s perceptions of the various Trinity theories so that we can have productive conversation on the subject.  He delves deep into the various key concepts like explaining various ways of thinking about persons and essence (ousia) to help you make sense of it all.  Whether you believe in the Trinity or not, this interview will help you understand how to have more focused and profitable conversation on this important doctrine.

Notes and Links:

Like all kingdoms, God’s kingdom is political in nature. As a result, the kingdom requires allegiance from its citizens. By examining Jewish messianism and Roman political sensibilities, you’ll come to better see how early Christians prioritized their allegiance to the age to come over their local and national allegiances.

This is lecture 9 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College.  To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade.

Notes:

two parts:

politics and religion were not separate realms in antiquity

Other leaders of messianic movements:

the Roman empire always perceives the leaders of Jewish messianic movements as threats and moves decisively to eliminate them

I bring up these leaders of messianic and quasi-messianic movements to contextualize Jesus

Messianic Secret

until…the Triumphal Entry

Riding the Donkey

By riding the donkey Jesus provocatively fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy.[1]

Are you interested in online ministry?  Would you like to reach more people?  Ryan Maher shares what he’s learned about combining his love for God and graphic design into his bible lock-screen app.  Once Instigram came out, he jumped on board and developed a following that numbers around a million people.  In this interview Maher talks about his journey of faith, how he’s found success in reaching people online, as well as some tips on how to be more effective on social media.

Notes and Links:

How does your belief in the God’s coming kingdom affect your life now? Now that we’ve looked at the kingdom as hope (what we look forward to) and gospel (what we preach to others), we’ll examine how God calls us to embody the kingdom now.  Taking our cue from Jesus’ kingdom-saturated ministry, we’ll see how he enacted the future in the present as a testimony and a taste of what’s to come.

This is lecture 8 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College.  To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade.

Notes:

three dimensions of the kingdom

Jesus was obsessed w/ the kingdom

J. Dan and Sharon Gill are part of a growing movement of bible students who have concluded that the Father of Jesus is the only true God.  They’re so passionate about this truth that in 2008, they launched their website, called Twenty-First Century Reformation (21stcr.org).  To date they’ve received over 700,000 views on YouT ube, not to mention visitors to the site.  In this interview you’ll here a bit about the Gill’s journey of faith from oneness to one, why they decided to launch 21st century reformation, how Sharon became “the most tech savvy grandma in America,” how they came up with the name, and their vision for the future.

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