Tag: Kingdom now

06/11/24

Kingdom Now: Jesus and the Kingdom

Photo by Pixabay: Baptism of Jesus

In the Introduction to When Heaven Invades Earth, Bill Johnson said he grew up hearing stories about the great moves of God. He is a fifth-generation pastor on his father’s side, and a fourth-generation pastor on his mother’s side. He said his grandparents sat under the ministry of “notable revivalists” like Smith Wigglesworth. His heart burned for the coming move of God, which he believed would surpass all previous moves of God and bring “more than one billion souls into the Kingdom.” But exactly what does Bill Johnson mean by the Kingdom?

Johnson said we were created in the image of God and placed into the Garden of Eden—”the Father’s ultimate expression of beauty and peace.” Outside of the Garden was a different story; it was without order and blessing and needed to be subdued. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden and commissioned by God to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it; to have dominion over all the earth, and all the creatures on the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). For Johnson, this was the original commission of mankind. He thought it was obvious why the world outside the Garden needed to be subdued—“it was under the influence of darkness.” Johnson said: “Satan had rebelled and been cast out of heaven, and with him a portion of the fallen angels took dominion of the earth” (p. 30).

In support of this Johnson cited Genesis 1:2, where it says: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” He assumed, without explanation, what is called the gap theory of creation, which was popularized by the Scofield Bible, first published in 1909. According to the Dictionary of Christianity and Science, the theory holds there was a “gap” between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. After the first creation in Genesis 1:1, Satan (who was the ruler of the pre-Adamic world) rebelled, which led to sin entering the creation and brought God’s judgement in the form of a flood (the water in Genesis 1:2) and a global ice age.

This resulted in the earth then being without form and void, tohu wabohu in Hebrew. “Genesis 1:2 thus describes the ruined condition of the earth, while Genesis 1:3-31 describes God’s re-creation.” This creation theory is fundamental to Johnson’s portrayal of the creation and mission of humankind: “created in His image, for intimacy, that the dominion might be expressed through love. It is from this revelation that we are to learn to walk as His ambassadors, thus defeating the ‘Prince of this world.’” According to Johnson, mankind lost the authority to rule when Adam ate the forbidden fruit “and mankind became the slave and possession of the Evil One.”

By redeeming man, Jesus retrieved what man had given to Satan. “The original plan was never aborted,” but was fully realized in the resurrection and ascension of Christ. We were born to rule over creation and darkness; “to plunder hell and establish the rule of Jesus wherever we go by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. Kingdom means King’s domain.” The world was infected by darkness in the form of disease, sickness, afflicting spirits, poverty, natural disasters, demonic influence, and more; and humankind is to take back that dominion.

Our rule is still over creation, but now it is focused on exposing and undoing the works of the devil. We are to give what we have received to reach that end. If I truly receive power from an encounter with the God of power, I am equipped to give it away. The invasion of God into impossible situations come through a people who have received power from on high and learn to release it into the circumstances of life. (pp. 32-33)

Supposedly, when Jesus the Messiah came and proclaimed his primary message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17), he brought his world with him. Johnson said Jesus came to offer the benefit of his world to anyone who would surrender to his rule. “The realm of God’s dominion, that realm of all sufficiency, is the realm called the Kingdom. The benefits of His rule were illustrated through his works of forgiveness, deliverance and healing.” As it says in the Lord’s Model Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Kingdom of God in the New Testament

The kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven is the central theme of Jesus’ preaching in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The terms are interchangeable. Matthew speaks of the ‘kingdom of heaven’ because he was writing to a Jewish audience, who tended to avoid direct reference to God. Even in modern Judaism, the name of G-d is handled with caution and respect. Mark and Luke speak of the ‘kingdom of God’ because it was more intelligible to non-Jews. Neither phrase is found in the Old Testament and only the ‘kingdom of God’ is found in the New Testament outside of the gospel of Matthew.

The universal church alone contains citizens of the kingdom of God. Herman Ridderbos said there is a connection between the kingdom of God and the church, but they weren’t identical. He suggested we think of the relationship between the church and the kingdom as two concentric circles, with the church as the smaller one and the kingdom of God as the larger, with Christ as the center of both. “The kingdom is the whole of God’s redeeming activity in Christ in this world; the church is the assembly of those who belong to Jesus Christ.” Ridderbos further said:

The church, as the organ of the kingdom, is called to confess Jesus as the Christ, to the missionary task of preaching the gospel in the world; she is also the community of those who wait for the coming of the kingdom in glory, the servants who have received their Lord’s talents in prospect of his return. The church receives her whole constitution from the kingdom, on all sides she is beset and directed by the revelation, the progress, the future coming of the kingdom of God, without at any time being the kingdom herself or even being identified with it.

For first-century Jews, the coming of the Messiah was to pave the way for the kingdom of God; he was “to restore his people’s fortunes and liberate them from the power of their enemies.” This was a misunderstanding of God’s redemptive purpose. It was a stumbling block to Jesus’ disciples (particularly Peter and Judas), to John the Baptist, Nicodemus and other Jews at the time of Jesus’ ministry. In the New Testament, John the Baptist announced the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matthew 3:2); and Jesus began his preaching with the same message (Matthew 4:17). But they both gave it a sense that was at odds with the legalistic and nationalistic concerns of their time.

In John’s preaching, the announcement of divine judgment was prominent. John said the axe was already laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that didn’t bear good fruit would be torn down and thrown into the fire. Yet John said he was not the promised Messiah, who would come after him. The Messiah would hold the winnowing fork in his hand, and would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire. Therefore, the people must repent and submit to baptism for the washing away of their sins, in order to escape the coming wrath. God’s coming as King was above all else to purify, sift and judge and no one could evade this judgment. According to Ridderbos:

In view of his coming [the Messiah] the people must repent and submit to baptism for the washing away of sins, so as to escape the coming wrath and participate in the salvation of the kingdom and the baptism with the Holy Spirit which will be poured out when it comes.

From the beginning of his ministry Jesus didn’t act like the Jews expected their Messiah would act. After a while, even John the Baptist began question whether Jesus was the Messiah. So, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the one who is to come. Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John what they have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have good news preached to them (Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22). These were all signs of the presence of the kingdom of God—of God’s rule being established.

This present aspect of the kingdom of God is seen more specifically when Jesus casts out demons. In Matthew 12, Jesus is accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. He replied if he casts out demons by Beelzebul, then by whom do their sons cast him out? “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). Miracles like these are visual enactments of the claim of God’s rule and authority has over all opposing powers; and where God’s rule is established, the kingdom has come. Ridderbos further said:

The kingdom of heaven breaks into the domain of the evil one. The power of Satan is broken. Jesus sees him fall like lightning from heaven. He possesses and bestows power to trample on the dominion of the enemy. Nothing can be impossible for those who go forth into the world, invested with Jesus’ power, as witnesses of the kingdom (Luke 10:18f.). The entirety of Jesus’ miraculous ministry is the proof of the coming of the kingdom.

But, at the same time the kingdom of God is in the here and now of the gospel, it is also future. Miracles and healings described above are a foretaste of what is to come. They are tokens of a future order of reality, not the present one.  In Matthew 8:29, where Jesus cast out the demons into a herd of pigs, the demons said, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” In the Olivet Discourse of Mark 13:21-23, Jesus told his disciples that before the end, they should be aware there will be false christs and false prophets performing signs and wonders to attempt to lead astray the elect.

There are both present and future aspects of the one kingdom of God, not two kingdoms. Richard Gaffin said this one kingdom comes in three successive stages: “a. the period of Jesus’ earthly ministry, b. the period from his exaltation to his return (the time of the church), and c. the period beyond his return.”  Origen said Jesus was therefore autobasileia, the kingdom in person. The person of Christ is essential to properly understand the kingdom of God. We have the privilege of living out and provisionally showing the reality of that kingdom as the church, the body of Christ, until the time of his return. Jesus has come; He is present; and He will come again. The miracles done by Jesus are intimately tied to his kingdom and his return.

Jesus is the Christ, the embodiment of the kingdom of God. Not only did he proclaim the kingdom he identified himself with it. He is Immanuel, God with us. When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, he said, “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21). The (future) kingdom is present in Jesus. So, when we pray, “thy kingdom come,” in the Lord’s Prayer, we are actually praying for Jesus to come. The age to come began with the resurrection; it was inaugurated while the present age continues. This is the basis of the already/not yet nature of the kingdom. Understanding that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Kingdom becomes a crucial point when examining misuses of the Kingdom of God. Paul said: “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” (1 Cor. 15:50)

Bill Johnson appears to separate what should not be separated: Jesus and the kingdom of God.

The discussion of the kingdom of God was based on articles by Herman Ridderbos (“Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven” in The New Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition) and Richard Gaffin (“Kingdom of God” in the New Dictionary of Theology).

04/9/24

Kingdom Now: Bringing Heaven to Earth

Photo by KNXRT on Unsplash

Do you attend a church that believes God always wants to heal, that the miraculous and supernatural should be a normal part of life and worship? Is your church structured to be led by the offices of apostles and prophets? Is it striving to establish the Kingdom of God on earth? If so, you are in one that is striving to follow Kingdom Now Theology.

These beliefs, God always want to heal, churches should be governed by apostles and prophets, and what I’ve called Kingdom Now theology are foundational to the NAR—the New Apostolic Reformation. C. Peter Wagner, a former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, is credited with coining the term, New Apostolic Reformation. In Apostles Today, he said it was a reformation, “because we are witnessing the most radical change in the way of ‘doing church’ since the Protestant Reformation. It is ‘apostolic’ because the recognition of the gift and office of apostle is the most radical of a whole list of changes from the old wineskin” (p. 9). Then in Dominion! Your Role In Bringing Heaven to Earth, Wagner said: “The practical theology that best builds a foundation under social transformation is dominion theology, sometimes called ‘kingdom now’” (p. 59).

This so-called movement, the New Apostolic Reformation, attempts to clothe itself in doctrinal and hermeneutical systems that sound like orthodox “Christianity,” but are actually heterodoxy and dangerously close to heresy. In turn, we will examine these beliefs particularly as they are taught by Bethel Church of Redding California and its apostle/prophet leadership pair, Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton. The research and work of Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett in Reckless Christianity, will guide our discussion here.

Johnson teaches that God’s goodness means it is always His will to heal a person; and this “truth” is now being restored to the church. It is the Christian’s assignment is to “bring heaven to earth.” He calls this the “cornerstone” of the church’s theology. In The Supernatural Power, Johnson said what is free to operate in heaven, should be free to operate here on this planet. And what is not free to operate there should not be free to operate here. “We are out to destroy the works of the devil.” Pivec and Geivett said:

In other words, there’s no sin, or sickness, or disease, or depression, or poverty in heaven. So, for heaven to come to earth means that none of those things should be found on earth either. And it isn’t merely that sin and suffering should not, ideally, exist in the world today. Rather, Christians have been tasked to make earth’s reality as unqualified reflection of heaven. As Johnson has said, ‘My assignment isn’t to go to heaven; my assignment is to bring heaven. . . . We’ve been given a mission and that mission is to pull on the reality of that world until it manifests in this one.’

In When Heaven Invades Earth, Johnson re-interprets the Lord’s Prayer (“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”) to mean if it exists in heaven, it is to be loosed on earth. He said this is the primary focus for all prayer. When the believer prays according to the revealed will of God, “faith is specific and focused. Faith grabs hold of that reality. Enduring faith doesn’t let go.” Supposedly this causes the circumstances here on earth to line up with heaven.

Conversely, if something does not exist in heaven, (death, sickness, poverty, addiction) it can be bound here through prayer, as we exercise the authority—the keys—given to us in Matthew 16:19. And yet his wife, Beni Johnson, died after a long battle with cancer. Despite the persistent exercise of that authority to release her healing.

Another one of the greater works that believers will bring back to earth is raising the dead. . .  except when they don’t. On December 14, 2019 a two-year-old girl named Olive stopped breathing and died in her sleep. Olive’s parents (her mother was a worship leader at Bethel), following the teaching of Bethel’s leaders, believed God would raise her from the dead. In Counterfeit Kingdom, Pivec and Geivett said: “Through social media, Bethel leaders urged Christians around the world to join the parents in ‘declaring’ a resurrection because they believed their spoken words, as children of God, had the power to bring Olive back.” After six days with no success, Bethel announced the family had begun to plan a memorial service.

Bill Johnson acknowledged that no one knows for sure how much of heaven God has purposed to become manifest here on earth—which would explain why his wife was not healed and why Olive was not raised from the dead. “But we do know through Church history that it’s more than we have now.” So, there is a Dead Raising Team that goes around to churches. Pivec and Geivett said this team has trained sixty other teams worldwide to go to the scenes of accidents, hospitals, and morgues to pray for resurrections. “They claim to have seen fifteen resurrections to date.” Even Kris Vallotton claimed there have been two “dead risings” reported by their online BSSM (Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry) school.

Bethel members also practice “grave soaking” or “grave sucking.” The purpose is to “soak” up a past miracle-worker’s anointing (i.e., Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman). See this Grave Soaking – AG3 Teaser on Facebook or this video by a BSSM graduate and Bethel pastor at Smith Wigglesworth’s grave in England. Bethel leaders have denied they taught or encouraged the practice. Yet, Reckless Christianity and other easily obtained evidence, such as Facebook posts, photos and videos exist. “From an outsider’s perspective, Bethel responses to the allegations look like a coverup.”

Greater Works Than These

Bill Johnson and the NAR believe that the greater works promised to the disciples in John 14:12 are miracles. He said he looked forward to the day when the Church stands up and says, “Don’t believe us unless we are doing the works that Jesus did!” He said Jesus’ statement of us doing greater works than He did has stirred the church to look for some abstract meaning to a very simple statement. Greater means greater; and the works are signs and wonders. He then went on to say this understanding, was supported by the Greek of the verse.

In When Heaven Invades Earth Johnson said, “The word greater [in John 14:12] is mizon in the Greek. It is found 45 times in the New Testament. It is always used to describe ‘quality,’ not ‘quantity.’” But he misspelled meizon, as mizon. He doesn’t say where he got his information, but it seems he used an Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon to identify meizon:

3187 μείζων [meizon /mide·zone/] adj comparative. Irregular comparative of 3173; 45 occurrences; AV translates as “greater” 34 times, “greatest” nine times, “elder” once, and “more” once. 1 greater, larger, elder, stronger.

The standard Greek lexicon, BDAG, gives the meaning for the word translated “greater” in John 14:12 as: pertaining to being above standard in intensity, great.

Here is a link to Bible Hub for 3187, meizon: https://biblehub.com/greek/3187.htm

In the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament discussion of μέγας (megas, great) in John 14:12, the author referred first to John 5:19-21. Jesus said he could not do His miracles independent of the Father. He does what he sees the Father doing; what the Father shows the Son. He said it showed the unity of purpose between the Father and the Son. “And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.”

The great works that His disciples will do, ones greater than the miracles done by Jesus, is ζωοποιεῖν, being made alive. “Going to the Father [in John 14:12] gives Him the possibility of greater efficacy exercised through the disciples.” In other words, the greater works is the salvation of all those who the Son will raise to life, just as the Father raised Him. This is a greater thing when compared to the miracles that Christ performed. D.A. Carson said the following in his commentary about John 14:12:

The ‘signs’ and ‘works’ Jesus performed during his ministry could not fully accomplish their true end until after Jesus had risen from the dead and been exalted. Only at that point could they be seen for what they were. By contrast, the works believers are given to do through the power of the eschatological Spirit, after Jesus’ glorification, will be set in the framework of Jesus’ death and triumph, and will therefore more immediately and truly reveal the Son. Thus greater things is constrained by salvation-historical realities. In consequence many more converts will be gathered into the messianic community, the nascent church, than were drawn in during Jesus’ ministry.

Bill Johnson, again, distorts the meaning of Scripture in an attempt to support his theology. Johnson and the NAR are systematically deconstructing the theology and structure of the modern church, claiming that the “authentic gospel” or the “gospel of the kingdom” is always associated with signs and wonders: heal the sick, raise the dead, preach the gospel. “God’s goodness” means it is always God’s will to heal a person; a “truth” now being restored to the church. This is a radical departure from Scripture and not just a logical extension of charismatic, continuist belief. NAR and Johnson/Bethel Church assert a theology of the supernatural—of bringing heaven to earth—that goes beyond what the church and Scripture can claim is our mission.

This article was heavily influenced by the research and thought of Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett and their books, Reckless Christianity, A New Apostolic Reformation? and Counterfeit Kingdom. Look for further articles on other aspects of “Kingdom Now” and “When Heaven Invades Earth” on this website.