Three blog posts of interest...

First, a link to a great post regarding war and the Kingdom of God:

http://judahslion.blogspot.com/2013/06/some-men-will-make-money-while-some-men.html?spref=fb

Second, here's a post of interest found over at leadme.org written by Cal who often comments here as well. He's helping to untangle some Two Kingdom theology knots. The terms and the concept are not used in the same way by all and a little history lesson helps to understand it. I think he's largely correct and makes some some interesting points along the way.

In particular he caught my eye regarding the issue of proto-nationalism and why it arose in the West before it did in the East. I love that kind of stuff...it's really interesting in trying to probe the differences between the Latin and Orthodox worlds. Anyway it all ties in together. Make sure you also check out the sequel to this post...

http://leadme.org/why-constantine-two-cities-or-two-kingdoms-part-1/

Third, another blog-post of interest:

https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/the-church-will-prevail/

I left the following comment:



We see in Ezekiel 41 and following the ‘marking out’ of the Temple courts etc…. In chapter 44.9 we’re told ‘No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.’

In Revelation 11 we see a similar marking out or measuring. There are other places as well. It would seem this is an illustration used to demarcate the Holy Realm of the Lord…the Redemptive Realm of the Holy Spirit vis-a-vis the World.

It’s the same in Ezekiel 9 where God puts his mark on those who grieve over the idolatry and abominations…signifying they are the Spirit-born, the children of God.

God marks out his people and his area to signify its separation from the world and ultimately from His judicial wrath.

Satan also seeks to expand his realm, claim his territory… separate unto himself a people…anyone who is not the Lord’s.

For many years the Theonomists and others of the Dominionist stripe have made much out of the fact that city gates are defensive, ergo the Church is on the offense, taking over the dominion of Satan and conquering it. The gates won’t prevail etc….

I can agree in one sense. In terms of eschatology, the gates, the realm, the dominion of Satan has been defeated and we will see this reality when Christ returns.

Or it could mean simply that the realm…the demarcated claims of Satan will not overtake the Church and eliminate it. We will never fall on the wrong side (as it were) of the gates.

But I find no basis to believe that the Church will conquer the Earth on this side of the 2^nd Coming. Postmillennialists have often used the Matthew passage to suggest the world will become Christianized. This is not possible when the totality of the New Testament witness is taken in nor is it possible to read from the Old Testament when rightly interpreted in light of the New.