I recently had a conversation with someone on the topic of Kingdom Theology. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with this term/teaching but I am certain you have friends, family, or have seen a television preacher trying to live in this teaching. Quite frankly, Kingdom Theology is pervading our culture.
At first, this teaching sounds good and perhaps even Biblical, but it has problems that you need to know about.
The basic teaching of Kingdom Theology is that the Kingdom of God is now. You may sometimes hear this teaching called "Kingdom Now" or "Dominion Theology" as well. Kingdom Now followers also believe that the salvation of Christ also includes total and complete healing from all infirmities, and the return of man's rule and reign on the earth now as was in the days of Adam and Eve before the fall. Many actually believe that the death and resurrection of Christ actually restored the earth to its prefall state and Christians now simply need to rule and reign to see that effect. If that were not enough there are some problems with Kingdom Theology that contradict clear Biblical teachings and open the door to rank heresy.
The problem begins with a misapplication of Old Testament promises. Simply put, Kingdom Theology takes the promises from the Old Covenant and applies them to Christians today. The issue is that most of the promises in the Old Testament were for the nation of Israel only and would never apply to the heathen or gentile peoples. Many of these promises, or blessings and curses, were instituted to seperate Israel from the heathen that surrounded or even lived in their midst. God told Israel that if they lived according to His commands He would bless them and if they disobeyed His commands then He would curse them (Deut. 28). This was all part of God's plan to bring the Gospel to fruition. God was not "hoping" that Israel would keep these commands. In fact God told Moses of the future disobedience to come after Moses' own death (Deut. 31:16-18). I find it important at this point to remind you why God gave the law. In Galatians 3:19-25 God tells us that the law was given as a schoolmaster so that people would find their way to Christ. It is of uttermost importance to remember that the Bible is not just the Old Testament and the New Testament, rather, it is the complete revelation of God and we must read the whole Bible with our eyes on Christ. The whole Book points to Christ! It is only when we lose this perspective that we can get off-track in our theology and start thinking that Kingdom Theology even sounds reasonable. When both Testaments of Scripture are kept in focus with Christ in the center then we can easily discern the error of this dangerous Kingdom Now theology.
In their misinterpretation of Scripture the Kingdom Theology people apply all Old Testament blessings to the Christian today and they reject all of the curses. This is a convienient and necessary oversight for their viewpoint to stand. You will often hear Deut. 28:12-13 quoted as victory in Jesus, "The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:".
However, you will never hear them quote Deut. 28:15 which states that if one does "not hearken unto the voice of the Lord" and "observe to do all his commandments and his statutes" that "all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:". It is noteworthy to mention that the next fifty-two verses list the curses that God would bring upon the one(s) that would violate His commands, not the least of these curses being, "The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:" (Deut. 28:27-28). It is obvious to see why "Kingdom People" would want to forget about the curses and simply focus on the blessings! But the point is that most of the blessings of the Old Testament were for Israel and also had consequences if certain conditions were not met. This is the exact reason why one cannot "cherry pick" the Old Testament because it is theologically unsound and hints at the misunderstanding of the completed work of Christ (Matt. 5:17).
So how do they get so tangled up in their thinking?
Perhaps you are wondering just how someone could think that they can live without sickness and live in a world just like the one that Adam and Eve inhabited before the fall. Many people are lured into this teaching simply by the showmanship of the teachers that promote this thinking. They are eloquent speakers and put on a good show. Typically the shows are manipulative "feel-good" experiences, much like a rock concert. The attendees leave feeling like they got their money's worth and have been delivered a message that eleveates themselves and leaves them wanting more which clearly violates John 3:30.
This teaching leads to "charasmatic chaos". Kingdom teachers today promote total healing at the expense of sound Biblical teaching. They even go so far as to explain that if you are living with diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, etc, that you can be totally healed today, all you need is faith. When you do not receive your healing they simply tell you that you do not have enough faith. This is cruel and abhorrent teaching. We must remember the reason that we have sickness and disease today is a direct result of the fall of man. Sickness and disease fulfill the curse of God (Gen. 3:17-19, Deut. 28) and magnify the need for Jesus Christ, our Redeemer! (Gal. 3:13, 2 Cor. 5:21).
Much of the misunderstanding stems from the misapplication of Isaiah 62. Kingdom Theology takes this passage of Scripture and literally applies it to Christians today. This is the downfall of their belief and the beginning of their heresy.
This passage cannot be applied to Christians today because it is a prophetic passage for Israel in relation to the second coming of Christ. This prophecy must be seen in the light of the returned Messiah on His throne restoring His people (Israel) to Himself. A simple reading of the Old Testament reveals that Israel did not keep the commands of God and He did curse and disperse them throughout the world. Isaiah 62 is a prophetic passage in which Israel is restored and brought back into the presence of her bridegroom and Messiah, Jesus Christ, and cannot be applied to Christians today in a manner to promote living in a "Garden of Eden" today. This passage is celebrating the returned Messiah setting all things in order and bringing His Kingdom to earth after His second coming.
So what is the biggest problem with Kingdom Theology?
So here it is..... the biggest problem of Kingdom Theology. If we can live in the Kingdom now by ruling and reigning on the earth in victory devoid of all illness, then why do we need Jesus Christ to return at all? I am not certain that the Kingdom People have thought their belief out to this end. Have they looked around this earth? If this is the Kingdom Now as they teach, then who would want it? Personally, I need Jesus Christ to return. I need Him ruling and reigning from His throne restoring all things (2 Peter 3:13).
I see Kingdom Theology as another attack on the Deity of Christ. If you boil their teaching down they say you are a god and can command all things thereby diminishing the finished work of Jesus Christ (not to mention feeding man's number one sin - Pride). We must never forget that we need Jesus Christ. He is the only One that is worthy to "receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12). We need to submit to Him as Lord, God, Saviour, and King. Anything else is rebellion.
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