November 2021 Tabletalk – The Kingdom of God

I have been reading through my new issue of Tabletalk – November 2021 – and this month’s theme as you will see from the cover image is “The Kingdom of God.” I don’t always mention it, but I also use the daily devotionals in each issue. Currently, the studies are on 2 Corinthians, and in connection with the section in that epistle on giving to the poor, the studies this week are on Christian stewardship based on R.C. Sproul’s teaching.

But, back to the theme: as is his custom, editor Burk Parsons sets the tone in his introduction to this issue on God’s kingdom with a few powerful paragraphs in “What Is the Kingdom?” including this final one:

“When Jesus taught about the kingdom of God, He primarily taught about the nature of the kingdom so that His followers might understand that in His first coming He established and inaugurated God’s kingdom, that, through the Holy Spirit, He is now expanding and increasing God’s kingdom, and that one day He will return to judge all people. When He does return, He will bring the full and final consummation of God’s kingdom; establish the new heaven and new earth; conquer all His and our enemies; save all who are true Israel and united to Him by faith; dry every tear from our eyes; and fully and finally eradicate sin and death. All these Christ secured on the cross and manifested in His victorious resurrection.”

In reading through the featured articles in this issue (and there are eleven of them!), I very much enjoyed Michael P.V. Barrett’s this past Sunday before services. He treats “The Place of God’s Kingdom,” tying God’s rule in Christ to the land of Canaan, literally in the Old Testament and figuratively in the New Testament. He makes four (4) main points about that place of the kingdom: the land was promised; it was prosperous; it was populated; and it was a place of God’s presence. In this post, I quote from the section that treats that final point:

“Fourth, the land was a place of divine presence. In the Song of the Sea, Moses included in his praise a reference to the land into which God was going to bring His people: ‘You will bring them and you will plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the fixed place of your dwelling’ (Ex.15:17). In a special and spiritual sense, to be in the land was to be where the Lord is; it was to be in His presence. The Lord graciously assured Moses that His presence would go with him into the land, and He would give rest (Ex.33:14). The idea of ‘rest’ became synonymous with the land and God’s presence (Ps.132:13-14). Rest was where the Lord was; it marked His presence. In this sense, the land points to the final rest to be experienced by every believer in God’s heavenly kingdom, the place of His glorious presence and the believer’s eternal home (1 Peter 1:4). In another sense, it parallels the Sabbath rest enjoyed by the believer in the place of worship, where God meets with His people. The place of worship is a manifestation of the place of God’s kingdom.

“The promised land touches meaningfully on the theology of the kingdom. Both are real places. The land was symbolic of God’s presence among, protection of, and provision for His redeemed people. In the final sense, the land is typical (a picture prophecy) of God’s universal and eternal kingdom, the ultimate experience of the divine presence and consequent peace. The land speaks of both the ultimate destination of God’s people and the daily journey to that destination. Entrance into the land of rest is the final destination of believers. The kingdom is coming.”

Once again, you will find many edifying and encouraging articles in the new Tabletalk. Have you ever considered subscribing?