... In the last two installments, we called attention to Alva J. McClain's warning concerning the impact of how "kingdom now" negatively impacts the church's calling, purpose, and mission. It is interesting to observe similar warnings given nearly a century ago in the writings of Clarence Larkin: ..
... In the last installment, we called attention to Clarence Larkin's warning concerning the impact of how "kingdom now" negatively impacts the church's calling, purpose, and mission. Larkin noted at least five consequences that 'kingdom now" theology has upon Ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the church. Having already discussed the first two points, we had moved on to the third point. Third, because there are not presently and numerically enough Christians necessary to establish God's kingdom upon the earth, it becomes necessary for the church to find common ground with those who do not share its biblical convictions in order to build the political coalition needed to implement a "kingdom now" social agenda...
... In prior installments we began calling attention to the warnings from a commentator from the past, Clarence Larkin, who noted at least five consequences that "kingdom now" theology has upon Ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the church. The first of four of these five warnings have been discussed in prior installments. First, "kingdom now" theology causes the church to drift into a Social Gospel agenda favoring holistic redemption of societal structures in lieu of fulfilling the Great Commission. Second, viewing itself as the kingdom of God upon the earth causes the church to become at home in the world in contradistinction to the New Testament portrayal of the church as a mere pilgrim passing through both temporary and alien territory en-route to her ultimate eternal destination. Third, because there are not presently and numerically enough Christians necessary to establish God's kingdom upon the earth, it becomes necessary for the church to find common ground with those who do not share its biblical convictions in order to build the political coalition needed to implement a "kingdom now" social agenda. Fourth, Larkin observed that the discarding of the study of Bible prophecy naturally takes place when "kingdom now" theology gains a foothold in the church. Let's now move on and examine Larkin's fifth concern...
In this series, the biblical teaching on the kingdom has been surveyed to demonstrate that Scripture conveys that the kingdom is a future reality. Moreover, equating the church with the Messianic kingdom radically alters God's design for the church...
Many other topics would be more pleasant to write about rather than the last days apostasy of the church. It would be far easier to talk about the positive topic of God’s love rather than something as negative as apostasy. Yet, this subject must be broached since it is part of God’s message in the Bible. In fact, this series will contend that it is impossible to understand God’s plan for the end times without understanding what Scripture reveals about the last days apostasy of the church...