What Kingdom?

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Matthew 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass...

Realized eschatology is the term that might be utilized to try to get a handle on what the families gathering in unity of HHC are having trouble with.

So the kingdom realized controversy is brought into question as to whether it is even a possibility. Brought into question by those new to the concept of what is this kingdom and what are the covenants performed within it. Never the less, even the non-eschatological ethical teaching of Jesus can presumably be oriented towards his message of the Kingdom. Because ha-satan, (the adversary), and his powers will be overthrown and the present world-order shattered, it is to be regarded almost with indifference, and ought not to be strengthened by opposition. Therefore, one should not resist evildoers; one should love one’s enemy and not provoke the an evil empire to attack. For when the kingdom of God is fully realized, all this will vanish.

So, with hearsay not available as evidence, we introduce the presumption of the kingdom realized real time;

The presumption; The kingdom realized real time, benchmarked on the paraphrase of 1 Cor.15:3-8, ... "I am convinced that there are reliable reports that the Crucified One "appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, he appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus." Then Jesus answered the high priest’s question about his Messiahship with the words, "From now on the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God," So our presumption stated, with King on throne the mind set, the presumption is subjected to scientific method by data that would negate the presumption. Neutral data and support data have weight but we already have the stand that the presumption has validity. Data will not allow for proof of any presumption and can only be used to disprove a temporary considered law. Temporary law, as there will always need to be re-evaluation of the presumption as we gather more data. So given all that HHC has pulled together in Law, both secular and ecclesiastical, we have evidence that Ruach HaKodesh, (Holy Spirit), has maintained an entrance to that kingdom. That evidence is made available to all who will search the HHC site.

Consider that which Jesus recognized and desired. It is fulfilled in the message of the kingdom. There God’s unconditional love, for all becomes visible, and the barriers between sinner and righteous are shattered. Human dignity becomes null and void, the last become first, and the first become last. The poor, the hungry, the meek, the mourners, and the persecuted inherit the kingdom of heaven.

In Jesus’ message of the kingdom, the strictly social factor does not, however, seem to be the decisive thing. His revolution has to do chiefly with the trans valuation of all the usual moral values, and hence his promise is specially for sinners. "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you" (Matt. 21:31-32). Jesus found resonance among the social outcasts and the despised, just as John the Baptist had done before him.

For Jesus and the rabbis, the kingdom of God is both present and future, but their perspectives are different. When Jesus was asked when the kingdom was to come, he said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:20-21). Elsewhere he said, "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Luke 11:20).

There are, therefore, according to Jesus,individuals who are already in the kingdom of heaven. This is not exactly the same sense in which the rabbis understood the kingdom. For them the kingdom had been always an unchanging reality, but for Jesus there was a specific point in time when the kingdom began breaking out upon earth. "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is breaking through, and those who break through, seize it" (Matt. 11:12). According to Luke 16:16, "every one forces his way in." Jesus’ words are based upon Micah 2:13.

This, then, is the "realized eschatology" of Jesus. He is the only Jew of ancient times known to us who preached not only that people were on the threshold of the end of time, but that the new age of salvation had already begun....for Jesus, the kingdom of heaven is not only the eschatological rule of God that has dawned already, but a divinely willed movement that spreads among people throughout the earth. The kingdom of heaven is not simply a matter of God’s kingship, but also the domain of his rule, an expanding realm embracing ever more and more people, a realm into which one may enter and find one’s inheritance, a realm where there are both great and small. That is why Jesus called the twelve to be fishers of men [Matt. 4:19] and to heal and preach everywhere. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 10:5-16). For this reason he demanded of some that they should leave everything behind and follow him. We do not mean to assert that Jesus wanted to found a church or even a single community, but that he wanted to start a movement. Stated in exaggerated ecclesiological terms, we might say that the eruption of the kingdom of heaven is a process in which ultimately the invisible Church becomes identical with the visible.

(Excerpts from Jesus, Chap. 11: Death, pp. 154—155 Prof. Flusser in collaboration with his student, Dr. R. Steven Notley and 2002 Jerusalem Perspective)

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By Brother Jeffrey Keith