Dear Editor,
I was glad to read Al Gibbs’ article on the question of two kingdoms in the January issue of en, but with some caveats. The ‘transformation view’ may have been more clearly articulated by Kuyper, but Christians have surely always been believed in transformation. Christ announced His arrival by proclaiming good news to the poor and freedom for the oppressed, saying that this Scripture was fulfilled that day (Luke 4:18-21). The very word ‘gospel’ is to proclaim the arrival of a new king who is bringing in a new order.
Gibbs contrasts ‘everyday life’ with ‘eternal spiritual reality’ which clearly shows the influence of Plato. In His Sermon on the Mount, however, Jesus argues that ‘treasures in heaven’ are when heavenly values are lived in daily realities, where the poor, the hungry, the needy are cared for, enemies are loved, and people forgive each other. Jesus is our King, and we are to follow Him in how we live our lives today, so that ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.’ Far from creating a dualism between physical and spiritual, we are called to follow our King in our everyday lives to bring heaven to earth.
