Letters To My Children, On Apostolic Kingdom Theology

Letter One

“Letter of Introduction”

Mar David Ignatius: To my children, concerning the purpose for this and subsequent letters on the subject of Apostolic Kingdom Theology.

Dear Beloved Children,

Praise the Lord and God of us all, namely, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has placed in my heart to write a series of letters to all of you, for the purpose of sharing the biblical principles of Apostolic Kingdom Theology. I would like nothing better than to instruct you all in these principles face to face, but the present circumstances require the present means. I pray that all of you prove yourselves true Disciples of Christ, by searching the Scriptures to see if these things are true; and that you follow, as your example, the Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things taught them by the Apostle Paul were indeed true. (See the book of Acts chapter 17 and verses 10-11.)

As I move toward a new chapter of my life concerning the work of the Lord (I speak of the teaching and preaching of Apostolic Kingdom Theology) it is my deepest wish and profound prayer that you, my children both in flesh and spirit, will be willing,  and able, to labor with me in this most noble of causes.

As each of you know by now, a concept of the Kingdom of God has laid hold on me in a hard and fast manner, which is somewhat different from the view that is commonly held by most Pentecostal authorities. (Of course, I mention Pentecostal authorities, because, for the past several generations our family has been a very large part of that particular movement.) However, history testifies that the common view (in most Pentecostal and mainline Evangelical churches), now called Dispensationalism, is actually rather new, and therefore neo-orthodox, to say nothing of not being apostolic. The apostolic view of the Mystery of God (see Rev. 10:7), as it was believed by most Christians before the American Civil War, was the view of Kingdom Theology, as I have now come to embrace. It seems that the present view of Dispensationalism took root in American evangelicalism and spread throughout the world by means of Evangelical missionary activity. 

Before the American Civil War (1861-65) most Christian bodies viewed God’s plan for the ages (the Mystery of God, Rev 10:7) as that of Kingdom dominion: namely, the converting of the world to Christ Jesus! However, this particular war (which took the lives of more Americans than all other wars, even up to this present time) fought by our nation, where the Christian North and the Christian South killed one another in such wholesale manner, caused the religious teachers to rethink their position on the Kingdom of God. The world, to them, was not getting better, but worse. It appeared that the end was near, and Christ would surely return soon. About this time, an English minister by the name of  John Nelson Darby (Plymouth Brethren) first popularized the view now called Dispensationalism.

  Coming on the heels of the American Civil War was the Great War (1915-1917), or World War One, as it came to be called after the Second World War (1941-1945). These two great world conflicts seemed to give validity to Dispensationalism’s call for the imminent and physical return of Christ, and the appearing of the Antichrist. It was in the midst of all this that an American Bible expositor by the name of Cyrus I. Scofield wrote his famous study Bible which carries his name, to this very day. Mr. Scofield’s study Bible contains notes that are both Dispensational and Calvinistic.

 This particular study source was widely used by evangelical preachers  and  Bible  colleges throughout  the last  half of the twentieth century.  (My first serious Bible-study tool was a Scofield Study Bible, given to me by my pastor. I think the year was 1962.) Giving a visual concept to Dispensationalism was Clarence Larkin, of Philadelphia. Larkin was an Episcopalian mechanical engineer, turned Baptist minister, who employed his skill as a professional draftsman to give Dispensationalism a visual concept.  Adding to this has been the troubled events of the world for the last 150, or so, years that have been touted as the “signs of the times,” which presage the end of time. Though this may seem like sound reasoning at first thought, when one applies oneself to rightly dividing the Scripture, it seems far more likely that the shaking and trembling of the earth are not signs of the end, but instead, they should more correctly be understood as birth pangs of something new—namely, the consummation of the Kingdom of God.

In this consummation of God’s Kingdom, the earth will be united under the theocracy of the one true God of Heaven. All men will live in a community of peace and love as set forth by the New Testament. To arrive at that place, the Church should begin now to establish micro communities throughout the earth. These communities should be established on the principle of Christian order, under Christ as the one and only Principality.

When we think of the Kingdom in terms of Christian community, we only reach validity in such thought within the framework of Apostolic Kingdom Theology. What I intend by the term Kingdom Theology may or may not be what others have suggested. I have not studied other writers, nor have I followed after other Christian thinkers on this matter; therefore, I am in no position to speak on what others have, in the past, called Kingdom Theology.

Having said that, permit me to define my own terms and use them accordingly. What I, therefore, mean by Apostolic Kingdom Theology is that mission of the Church taught by the Lord’s apostles. Whose teachings declared that Christ’s purpose and will for His Church is to evangelize and establish His rule throughout the earth; to the point that “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and his Christ” (see Rev. 11:15). It is this exact view of the kingdom that was taught by Jesus in the parable of “The Leaven” recorded by Matthew, in 13:33 of his Gospel:

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

In this parable, according to Jesus, the “kingdom of heaven” (which He likened unto leaven) is “hidden” in the world (which Christ likened unto meal) until the whole world becomes the Kingdom of Heaven. It is only within this view that establishing Christian communities, in order to affect society, has justification. But more important than that: If the dominion of the Lord’s Kingdom is in fact the true teaching of Scripture, the Church of Jesus Christ has no choice but to work toward the establishing of that Kingdom in the earth. Thereby,  the Church fulfills the prayer Christ taught each of us to pray: 

“Your kingdom come. 

Your will be done 

On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:10).

It is to this purpose (i.e. the occupation of the earth by the Lord’s church) that I begin this series of letters. I do not yet know how many there will be, but I will attempt to be systematic, so that each letter will build upon the one preceding it. I humbly request that you all pray for me, that I may communicate faithfully onto paper what the Spirit has written on my heart.

Apostolically Speaking

☩ David Ignatius

This article is excerpted from the author's book entitled: "Letters To My Children,  On Apostolic Kingdom Theology"

http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Children-Apostolic-Kingdom-Theology/dp/1482716712/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450326419&sr=1-4&keywords=letters+to+my+children%2C+hayes