Gene L. Green
Image: Wheaton College

In what way is the kingdom of God manifested in the time between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ? This question has been a prime preoccupation in discussions concerning the kingdom or reign of God. In this investigation we shall take a first step towards an answer by examining the nature of the kingdom. Secondly, we will demonstrate the relationship between the kingdom of God and the Spirit of God in Biblical teaching.

A cursory reading of the Gospels will show that the central message of the preaching of Jesus was the advent of the kingdom of God. He begun His public ministry by proclaiming, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15)¹ This message, according to Mark, is the “gospel of God” (Mk. 1:14). Luke records that the teaching on the kingdom dominated Jesus’ instruction even in the gap between His resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:3).

While there is a consensus among Biblical scholars that this was the focus of Jesus’ teaching, there has been considerable debate concerning the nature of the kingdom. Some, such as Johannes Weiss and Albert Schweitzer² have said that Jesus’ teaching was totally concerned with a future, eschatological kingdom. The kingdom would come in the near future and would be a wholly supernatural event. This position has come to be known as “consistent eschatology.”

Between these two perspectives we find a number of scholars who have recognized that the kingdom has both a present and future aspect in Jesus’ preaching.⁴ God will exercise His reign in the future, but He has also already begun to do so in the ministry of Jesus. For example, Jesus taught His disciples to pray for the coming of the kingdom (Mt. 6:10), indicating that He understood the kingdom as a future reality. Jesus also spoke of a future time when He would drink the fruit of the vine with the disciples in His “Father’s kingdom” (Mt 26:29; see also Mk. 14:25; Lk. 22: l8, 28-30). The coming of the kingdom was to be an event preceded by the great tribulation (Lk. 21:31), and its advent would coincide with the coming of the Son of Man with power and glory (Lk. 21:27). All these passages indicate that the kingdom of God was, according to Jesus a future reality.

Messianic Foundations
Artwork by Steve Grier © 1997 RBC Ministries. Used by permission.

“… all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44 NAS)

These words of Jesus are both wonderful and mysterious. It is easy to see the messianic implications of a passage such as Psalms 22 or Isaiah 53, and the Savior’s great work in bringing those promises into reality.

Certainly even, we can comprehend passages of the Torah (the five books of Moses) which clearly refer to the Christ. No one can doubt the intent of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” Even the Jewish sages—who do not yet recognize Jesus as Redeemer–acknowledge that Moses was speaking of the coming king of Israel, the Messiah.

Yet, what about a complex book like Leviticus? Do these pages truly speak of the Savior of all mankind? In Luke 24:27 we are told, “And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, [Jesus] explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Our challenge in this document is to find Jesus, even in such a difficult and arduous book as Leviticus.

“Leviticus” in the Hebrew Bible is rendered Vayikra, which means, “and He called.” We leave Exodus with a Tabernacle emanating the awesome power of God with such intensity, that not even Moses could approach. Many rabbis teach that Vayikra began immediately where Exodus ends; that amidst the spectacular manifestation of His Shekinah glory—Vayikra, “and He called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.” (Leviticus 1:1)

Only three times in Scripture does God call out to Moses. He often spoke with His servant, but in forty years of leading Israel from Egypt to Israel, rarely did He call to him. In each case, the matter for which Moses was summoned was deeply significant. In the case of Leviticus 1:1, the Supreme Being wanted to detail the ritual and regulations of the sacrificial system. A seemingly crude and barbaric service of bloodletting by today’s sterile, steak-wrapped-in-cellophane FDA standards, but a magnificent picture of the coming work of the Messiah.

While we may not appreciate the concept of sacrifices, they were the means by which our Creator brought life and light into the world. They should never be confused with occult ritual which is at war with the Kingdom of Life. “What fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)

With that said, let’s move ahead in our examination to discover Jesus in the book of Leviticus. Chapters 1-5 reveal five different types of sacrifices and, therefore, five different characteristics of the sacrificial system. There is a great deal of documentation on how the offerings where to be made, what was acceptable and what was not. We want to focus on why.

John Pester, “Jesus Christ: Last Adam, Life-giving Spirit,” Affirmation and Critique, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Oct. 1998).

Affirmation and Critique is a quarterly which addresses theological subjects in a continuum. Through a variety of articles by numerous authors, the last seven issues have focused on the person and work of Christ in a weighty manner that is likely unattractive to the average pastor (or reader for that matter). However, distilling the core truths expressed into practical and palatable servings for sermon material should make wading into A&C a fruitful venture. Others, whom may routine such manner of publications will find it well researched, intellectually engaging, and spiritually energizing.

John Pester, in his article “Jesus Christ: Last Adam, Life-giving Spirit,” challenges the reader with this question: Do we as believers establish our faith upon a confession of Christ only, or upon a deeper understanding of the believer’s changed relation or position in Christ? If a believer’s foundation of faith rests, perhaps even somewhat superficially, on the context of Peter’s confession of Christ, as found in Matt. 16, is this the best foundation? Pester says that we must come to a deeper understanding of Christ as found in the Christology and Pneumatology of Paul. He presents I Cor. 15:45b as a fuller recognition of the “now” Christ, namely as the last Adam and life giving Spirit. In this article, Pester then takes at how the necessity of this deeper understanding is both expressed and implied in the Pauline letters.

Recognition of the last Adam is essential to the believer’s broader experience of Christ-crucified because, Pester says, we all have participation in Adam’s lineage and legacy of sin and death. Only by becoming partakers of the Last Adam are the extended effects of sin and death terminated. This is realized through the life-giving Spirit of Christ-resurrected. Herein lies the power for victorious living and effective work and witness. Or as I myself would express this—positional truth becoming experienced truth.

Pester also notes that the process of experience is reverse of the doctrinal sequence. One must first experience the life giving Spirit before there is a practical severing of our soulish connection to the fallen Adam. This, he observes, is the operation of the “law of the Spirit.”

Experience with his own life and with assisting others to live victoriously has convinced the reviewer, with some reservations, that the author makes a valid and compelling case. I believe this helps explain why so many believers live in the shadow of a historical conversion, being experientially bogged down at the cross, ignorant of the Spirit’s contemporary resurrection power as the catalyst for a vibrant and successful Christian walk.

Zeb Bradford Long and Douglas McMurray, Receiving the Power: Preparing the Way for The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1996), 251 pages.

The authors of the book The Collapse of the Brass Heaven have teamed up again to write about finding power to do what Jesus did. Coming from a Third Wave or what they call a neo-evangelical viewpoint, they introduce readers to the biblical concept of empowerment for ministry and offer practical explanation of how to receive this power from God.

This book appears to be written to those who have been somehow wounded or ostracized by Pentecostal and charismatic churches but who know there must be more of God’s power available to the believer than what they are presently experiencing. Nevertheless, even for Pentecostals and charismatics this is an excellent introduction to the thought of the Third Wave. This book also represents a revival of the theology and renewal experience of R. A. Torrey.

Although many outside of the charismatic movement see virtually no difference between the Third Wave and other charismatics, Brad Long and Doug McMurray make it clear what the basic difference is: initial evidence. They believe that this teaching that tongues (glossolalia) is the evidence of being “Spirit-filled” has prevented Pentecostals and charismatics from further reaching the world because of the division that they say this teaching brings. They state, “The present activity of the Holy Spirit around the world requires us to find some other way of interpreting twentieth-century outpourings than by means that exclude everyone but tongues-speakers” (p. 30).

Zeb Bradford Long

It is true that many among the Pentecostals teach that not only is tongues the normal initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit, they teach that it is the only evidence of being Spirit filled. However, it is a leap for the two authors to maintain that classical Pentecostals are trapped and are without a theological basis for initial evidence (see pp.136-137). The trap they claim that has been set is that if “you must speak in tongues to be Spirit-filled”, then logically, you must not be saved if you cannot speak in tongues.

What can be said about this? This review is not sufficient to answer the “initial evidence debate.” It is obvious that the simplistic explanations given of what charismatics and especially Pentecostals teach regarding this issue do not truly represent either of these “waves” as a whole. Disturbingly, the authors do not seems to be aware of anyone from the Pentecostal or charismatic movements that believes tongues to be, yes, the normal initial evidence but necessarily the only evidence of being Spirit filled.

Cover from the 2007 edition

Keith M. Bailey, Servants in Charge: A Training Manual for Elders and Deacons (Camphill, PA: Christian Publications, 1979), 186 pages.

One can find about as many a different ministry philosophies as there are church groups or denominations these days. Leadership styles and structures also seem to abound. Yet the Bible is quite clear on specific areas of church government. Servants in Charge will be a great help to the pastor and local church in developing a strong solid leadership base.

The book, which also contains a study guide, presents a thorough review of biblical qualifications, responsibilities, tasks and giftings required for those who may serve in the elder and deacon offices. Bailey does a good job in noting the spiritual qualities necessary in selecting individuals for a solid leadership team. Deacons are likewise as elders to be spiritual men, and not merely those who handle the material or financial end of the ministry. Elders, on the other hand may play a role in financial oversight as well. In other words while there are distinctive roles to each respective office there may be an overlapping of functions in the local church.

Often when problems arise in a local church there is one basic struggle that must be resolved: Just who is really running the show? Power struggles and leadership styles have ruined numerous churches and many times a pastor has sought to maintain “spiritual authority” by simply ignoring biblical church government or at best relegating the offices to a facade. In Bailey’s view the pastor is an elder but has a position of authority over the other elders of the church and also as executive director will lead the deacons. This establishes a chain of command and a leadership team at the same time. Biblical precedent and support for this position is solidly presented in the book. The tasks and responsibilities of the pastor-elder versus the lay elder are also documented.

Many will find Bailey’s view on the role of the deaconess, and his interpretation of scripture as it regards this subject, to be quite interesting. While he does make good points on the tasks of the deaconess, he maintains that there is a clear distinction between the deacon and the deaconess role. Although some may oppose his view of the deaconess altogether, others may see the distinctions as unwarranted.

As a pastor working with the everyday reality of these offices in the church I can heartily recommend the book as an excellent resource for those looking to find positive and effective advice in forming, developing, and reshaping their leadership team.

Reviewed by Ronald M. Messelink

Jon Ruthven, “What’s Right About the Faith Movement,” Ministries Today Volume 17, Number 1 (January-February 1999), pages 56-60.

One of the most respected scholars among charismatic circles has recently written briefly about what is perhaps the most controversial segment of the independent charismatic movement, the Word of Faith movement. His article appears in what is likely the most popular charismatic minister’s magazine, Ministries Today.

Jon M. Ruthven

Professor Ruthven gives a short background of what the Faith movement teaches and then challenges those outside this movement to hold their own traditional views in check before examining what the Faith movement does teach. He says that 1) Faith teaching has a better grasp of what the Bible says about the radical position the believer has in Christ than most of us do. The faith movement has a profound understanding of the majestic position of the believer before God. 2) The challenge to believe God to meet all our needs is heard clearly in Faith teaching. Aggressive, joyous faith is central to the Christian walk. 3) Faith teaching does much to establish or build faith. They accurately communicate that faith doesn’t just happen, it must be encouraged and built up. Ruthven says, “Faith teaching is right in that it has discerned what is perhaps the most important emphasis in the Bible: Faith is absolutely central to our relationship with God. Beyond that, faith teaching’s emphasis of developing and having faith is commendable” (p. 58, emphasis his).

Then, in a succinct way, Ruthven brings a greater Biblical balance to faith teaching by showing how easy it is to abuse the intent of Scripture by misapplying promises or statements not intended for our present circumstances. Latching on and holding God to do something He has not said He will do will only undermine true trust. Ruthven says, “This is the bottom line: If you want to build your faith, seek God in prayer to find out what God wants in that situation. When you receive the assurance of faith, and you have received it accurately, God will fulfill His Word” (p. 60).

Although in my opinion this article by Dr. Ruthven is especially gracious to the Faith movement, the response has not all been positive. One prominent leader (who is only mentioned favorably in the article) told Ruthven that he “obviously know[s] so little about” the Faith movement that he should not have written anything about it.¹ While Professor Ruthven does not claim to be an expert on the movement, what he says in this albeit brief article needs to be heeded. I pray that many will read his challenge and find a greater Biblical balance to their understanding of faith and learning to pursue and pray for God’s will.

Reviewed by Raul L. Mock

Endnotes

¹ Taken from an E-mail to the reviewer from Jon Ruthven, dated January 6, 1999.

This article has been republished online at numerous sites, including: http://hopefaithprayer.com/word-of-faith/whats-right-about-the-faith-movement (available as of August 12, 2014).

The second chapter of the Praying in the Spirit Series.

Robert W. Graves wrote Praying in the Spirit (Chosen Books) in 1987, when it received great reviews from a number of Pentecostal/charismatic scholars and leaders including John Sherrill, Dr. Vinson Synan, Dr. Gordon Fee, Dr. William Menzies, Dr. Howard Ervin, Dr. Walter Martin, and Dr. Stanley Horton. It is the great privilege of the Pneuma Review to republish it here.

Most evangelicals believe that one always remembers the day he or she became a Christian. I remember the day very well. I was alone in a half‑completed apartment building off Interstate 1‑75 in Atlanta, Georgia. I was taking a lunch break from my summer job as a heating/air conditioning installer. The days preceding this found me asking serious questions about God, myself, and reality. The Sunday before, I had attended a Baptist church and picked up several tracts. Then as I read those tracts the weight of my sins became unbearable and I felt that I must return to the God of my childhood, the God my mother had so often entreated on my behalf, the God of my grandparents, the God who would deliver me from alcoholism and later deliver my father from alcoholism and lung cancer.

It is true that a person who becomes a Christian after childhood seldom forgets the day of his salvation; I believe it is equally true that he seldom forgets the day that he first expresses himself to God in a language of the heart. I happened to be at my mother‑in‑law’s house, and I had been reading Robert C. Frost’s Aglow with the Spirit. For many weeks I had sought God for a mighty enduement of power so that I might serve Him with greater effectiveness. That day I had found quiet room in the back of the house and (though many people say this figuratively) I literally did not put Frost’s book down until I had read it through.

In the backyard, separated from the house, was an old unused garage. I took the book and walked to the garage for a private time of prayer. In that old, musty garage with windows too dirty to see through, I lifted hands and heart to God and asked Jesus to baptize me in the Holy Spirit. Within seconds syllables joined in a way I had never learned were rolling off my lips, and I knew a joy I hoped would never cease. Of all the objects in that old garage, I remember only one, a large worn‑out wooden airplane propeller. I remember it well because it became a symbol of what was happening to me‑I was soaring with God in heavenly places!

Part 1 of Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts

Part 2 of Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts

Richard M. Riss presents evidence for the operation of the gifts of the Spirit throughout the Church Age.

The North African Revival

We have seen that Augustine had adopted the view that miracles had ceased with the close of the apostolic age. In the last two or three years of his life, however, his opinion changed concerning the relative unimportance of contemporaneous miracles. This was precipitated by a revival in North Africa, where Augustine lived. Suddenly, miracles seemed to proliferate. Augustine quickly decided to publicize the miraculous healings in North Africa, and as bishop in Hippo, he examined and recorded each report that came to his attention. He gave verified reports of healings a maximum of publicity, and he insisted upon receiving a written report from every person who claimed to be healed. This report, or libellus, would then be read publicly in church, in the presence of the writer, and would later be stored in Augustine’s library. He attempted to persuade his colleagues to use the same system, but without great success. In the case of the healing of a noble lady in Carthage, Augustine was disappointed that she failed to use her rank and influence to publicize a miracle of healing that she had experienced. A renowned twentieth-century specialist in Augustine, Peter Brown, stated that Augustine attempted to bring together various incidents of miracles “until they formed a single corpus, as compact and compelling as the miracles that had assisted the growth of the Early Church.”⁴⁵ Some of the material that Augustine collected appears in the last book (Book 22) of his work, City of God, the eighth chapter of which contains a very lengthy description of miracles which he had either witnessed himself, or about which he had heard from those whom he considered to be reliable witnesses.⁴⁶

The account in City of God is too lengthy for detailed treatment here, but included in it are reports of healings of blindness, multiple rectal fistula, cancer of the breast, gout, paralysis, hernia of the scrotum, and other diseases. Augustine recounts other miracles in which farm animals were cured, demons were cast out of certain individuals, and the dead were raised. In one case, a poor man who lost his cloak prayed, and later found a huge fish squirming upon the beach. He sold it to a restaurant, where a gold ring was found in the gullet of the fish and given to him. In another case, a cart drawn by oxen ran over a child. After his mother prayed, the child not only returned to consciousness, but he showed no sign of the crushing he had suffered.

The Internet

You probably already know that the Internet has become a tremendous resource to many pastors, professors and Bible students. It can be a seamless tool for research of all kinds, from locating a Bible school to looking up ancient sources. In this issue, just a few of the countless internet resources that you can make use of are listed here. Check them out for yourself, and if you know of some that should appear here, write the Pneuma Review to tell us what they are.

Charismatic and Renewal Centers on the Web

The Catholic Charismatic Center on the World Wide Web

www.garg.com/ccc/[Inactive as of April 19, 2014]

Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America

The PCCNA seeks to “provide a framework for fellowship, dialogue, and cooperation between the various Pentecostal and charismatic denominations, churches, and ministries in North America that agree with the purposes and goals of the organization. Since these churches and fellowships share a common history of Holy Spirit renewal and an overriding goal of evangelizing the world, they wish to join in a common witness to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh in                      the last days.” One of the former chairpersons, Bishop Ithel C. Clemmons, has said that, “The responsibility for promoting racial healing rests with all Americans , but especially within the Christian Church. PCCNA has been established as a symbol of interracial, intercultural, intergender cooperation that by precept and example challenges good people to step forth and say “Enough!” to hate, bigotry and violence.”

www.pccna.org

Theological and Biblical Study Resources Online

Pentecostal-Charismatic Theological Inquiry International (PCTII). For Pentecostal/charismatic study, this is likely one of the most comprehensive sites on the Internet. It is an informal network of some 500 scholars spread over 6 different continents. Here you will find links to Bible schools (schools which are Pentecostal/charismatic and those which have faculty who have joined the PCTII network), Pentecostal/charismatic organizations, and numerous indexes to theological journals including a link to the Cyberjournal for Pentecostal/Charismatic Research. PCTII also has links to newsletters, other online publications, churches in the network, and academic societies. PCTII is found on the world wide web at:

www.pctii.org

One of the related links to the PCTII is the International Pentecostal Holiness Church Archives and Research Center. Here are a number of links to Pentecostal/charismatic research archives including such institutes as Holy Spirit Research Center at Oral Roberts University, Regent University Library, and the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center. These archives are located at:

http://www.pctii.org/arc/research.html

The Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) is a library of nearly 8,000 theological thesis/dissertation titles representing research from as many as 70 different institutions. TREN also makes available conference papers presented at annual meetings of several academic societies including the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Titles may be ordered online through their search and order system or by downloading the TREN Database.

www.tren.com

The Society for Pentecostal Studies home page has links and indexes to various Pentecostal and charismatic theological journals as well as an index of its own journals Paraclete (published between 1967 and 1995) and PNEUMA: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

http://sps-usa.org

The ECOLE Initiative. According to their “About” page, “The Early Church On-Line Encyclopedia (ECOLE) Initiative is a cooperative effort on the part of scholars across the internet to establish a hypertext encyclopedia of early Church history (to the Reformation) on the World-Wide Web.” This extensive encyclopedia is actually a hyper-linked index to multiple sites. The substance of this encyclopedia includes everything from articles to scanned original documents to artwork from church and museum archives. The Church history buff will be spending multiple eons making use of this incredible resource.

ecole.evansville.edu

The Praying in the Spirit Series by Robert W. Graves continues with The Focus of the Charismatic Experience: Tongues, the Holy Spirit, or Christ?

Baptism with the Spirit: Is it Normal to Receive at or after Conversion? by Michael D. Peters.

The fourth installment of an historical study of tongues and miracles in the church continues with Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts in the Second Through Nineteenth Centuries, Part 4: From the 13th to the 18th Centuries. By Richard M. Riss.