Get Your Pretense On!

Chapter 2: The Principle of Reversal and the Upside-Down Kingdom of God • 45

restores all things under God’s rule in a new heaven and earth. This represents the “Not Yet” side of the “Already/Not Yet” Kingdom.

This understanding of the Kingdom helps us make sense of the life and mission of Jesus during his incarnation , as well as the consummation of his work at the Second Coming . In the incarnation, his mission was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3.8), and his birth represents the invasion of God into Satan’s dominion (Luke 1.31-33). Jesus’s message was the Kingdom’s proclamation and inauguration (Mark 1.14-15), and his teaching outlined the ethics of the Kingdom (Matt. 5-7). His miracles were demonstrations of his kingly authority and power (Mark 2.8-12), and his exorcisms revealed his defeat of the power of the devil and his angels (Luke 11.14-20). His life and deeds reveal the glory of the Father and the majesty of the Kingdom (John 1.14-18). His death represents the sacrifice for sin and cosmic deliverance of the Kingdom’s victory over death and the curse (Col. 2.15; Heb. 10.10-14). His resurrection both verifies his messiahship, and guarantees the victory of his redemptive work (Rom. 1.1-4). His Great Commission is his exalted call for his people to proclaim his kingdom victory to all the world (Matt. 28.18-20), and his ascension represents his coronation as King and Lord over all (Eph. 1.15-23; Heb. 1.2-4). The coming of his Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the pledge and “down payment” ( arrabon ) of the full promise of the Kingdom (2 Cor. 1.20), and the formation of the church there represents the community and foretaste of the Kingdom’s life in this world (2 Cor. 5.18-21). His session in heaven as risen Lord represents his generalship of God’s church in the earth (1 Cor. 15.24-28), and his Second Coming will be the final consummation of the Kingdom (Rev. 19-22).

What do all these theological claims mean for you and me? These biblical affirmations prove that God almighty has determined