Is it possible that God's plan for humanity was to bring His Kingdom to Earth and that maybe His kingdom won't come until such time as we are living the way He intended?
This may seem radical or a bit out there, but hear me out (read me out?)
Mike Lloyd, a leading theologian at St Paul's Theological College in London (based at HTB) has a theory which he can back up, that the reason for suffering in the world is not only due to the fact that freewill was given to humans, but also (and primarily) the fact that angels were given freewill.
His argument goes that: as angels are spiritual beings they can affect spiritual aspects of the world, inducing disease through their effect on bacteria and viruses etc. This is something that as humans we could not do (until recent technology, admittedly).
God then created humans, in order that He could love us and that we could love Him, and when we were first created we walked closely with God. A commandment was given in Genesis 1 v 28 that says: "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it."
This to me implies that maybe the earth was out of control and no longer the way God intended it to be. Lloyds theory (as I understand it) goes that as we were walking so close to God, we could carry out His work, i.e. we could heal the blind, raise the dead, heal the sick, etc...
The garden of Eden was therefore exactly that - a garden where God could say: "Look, here's how it should be, now go and make the rest of the world look like this!"
Unfortunately we chose not to obey and instead we joined the rebellion and our link to God and Heaven was cut off by our sin.
Many years later, God came to earth as man. As perfect man. Jesus came to show us how to live. Very few christians would dispute that fact. I believe Jesus was sent to show us how to live in more than just being good and caring for the poor. We should be raising the dead, healing the sick, etc.
Jesus' resurrection is the point at which God's Kingdom broke into the world (please see NT Wright's book - Surprised by Hope). Having showed us how we can live when we are no longer separated from God by sin he died to allow us to once again return to Him. He rose three days later and did not die again, showing that God's Kingdom is everlasting.
N T Wright states that the Bible points towards Earth being our final home at a time when Heaven and Earth are no longer separated but one. A time when God will walk among us and there will be no more suffering or death or sadness.
Is it possible then that maybe God's Kingdom will not come until such time as humanity as a whole is living in such a way that we are no longer rebelling and instead are all working for the Glory of God? Is it partly our responsibility to usher His Kingdom in?
As I said, it's just a theory, and (in the interest of brevity) I've not explained it as fully as maybe I could have, but it's an interesting point to ponder...
