NOTE: If you have NOT read part one about Creation and Chaos, you may want to before reading on (trust me).

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt 4:17 NSV)

The Kingdom is at hand…

One of the single greatest events of the 20th century occurred on May 14, 1948, with the creation of the modern state of Israel – NOT because it signaled the coming Kingdom of God or (for my dispensationalist friends) the Apocalypse. When Israel became a State (and kicked the tails of the countries around it who immediately tried to induce a partial-birth abortion), it set in motion events which would bring thousands of Jewish and Christian scholars together in a study of first century Judaism. It is from this study, that we are gaining insights into scripture that have been missing for centuries.

Near vs. At Hand

One of these bits of insight involves the concept of the Kingdom of God. In Matthew, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom is at hand. This phrase comes as part of the literal translation of the early texts. Unfortunately, the NIV has deemed it necessary to interpret at hand to have the English meaning – near (becoming one of the very few times I would agree with the KJV over the NIV).

In the Hebrew mind of the first century, which was very experiential, the term at hand meant that it was something here, something now, something you can touch.

Take a deep breath now – I’ll wait for you…

When I first heard about this concept (and I was hit with it three times from three different sources in the same week), it took me a long while to wrap my mind around it. How can this be true, because there is no way we’re living in the Kingdom of God, right?

If you will remember the concept of creation and chaos from part one, God is still in the process of creation, which will not be complete until his return, and we, as beings made in His image, are purposed with the task of making His Kingdom better and better, and he has given us the keys to the kingdom in His Word.

If you follow the progression of history to the modern day, despite wars and oppression and atrocities (and much of that committed in the name of the Church), it should be obvious that the forces that rule the world have brought increasing peace and stability, and that Christian principles have been inacted into the moral fabric of society. There is a heckofa long way to go, mind you, but the general direction has been a positive one, with the grand experiment that is the United States of America as a primary (though still highly flawed) example.

The Kingdom of Heaven

So, if the Kingdom of God exists now, what does that mean for us?

First off, it’s time to re-read your Bibles and to take note of the failure of God’s people to see the Kingdom as a way of living and not a physical kingdom, though they did understand that the coming of the messiah would signal the coming of the Kingdom to earth.

Also, when you read the phrase Kingdom of Heaven, don’t assume this to mean the afterlife or a place called Heaven. Because the writers of the Bible were very careful about ever writing the name of God (even now, many Jewish writers will write G_d, instead), they often substituted euphamisms for Him. In general, where you see the term Kingdom of Heaven, you may assume it to be the same as the Kingdom of God – which we are currently living in!

Now, if you knew you were living in God’s Kingdom already, would that change the way you act and think? It does me.

The decisions each of us makes determines whether or not we are building the kingdom or tearing it down into chaos (whether in tiny steps on a slippery slope or right over a cliff).

So, how are we to make decisions? The key is through Yeshua’s yoke, and the practice of binding and loosing…