Kingdom Progress – Page 9 – Gregory Scott Blog

Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 13 (Volos)

Today we made our first stop in Greece. Volos, Greece. We didn’t stay there long but instead hopped on a bus early in the morning and headed 2 hours into the interior of Greece to a place called Meteora.

The Greek countryside, at least the part we saw, is abundantly populated with mountains separated by large flat plains, carved up into geometrically portioned plots that are cultivated with various crops. There is very little wasted land, though the people one would expect were necessary to work the land seemed scarce.

The absence of people living in the country surprised me because I thought, apparently wrongly, that a people with such a long and rich history of advanced civilization (3,000 years) would have densely populated the country by now. It was only later I learned the population of Greece is only about 11,000,000 and that one third live in Athens.

Meteora is a group of monasteries built precariously on the top of mountains. I don’t know whether to call them mountains or rocks because their odd shapes resemble large stone stakes driven into the ground. The monasteries are perched on top of them.

The pictures I took really do not do them justice; one can’t appreciate the height of the mountains or the precariousness of the structures on top of them. I’ve provided links to other photos that are actually better.

Photos inside the churches were not allowed, although some tourists took that more as a suggestion than a prohibition. I’d blame it on a language barrier except that a drawing of a camera with an X marked over it pretty much communicates the idea in any language.

In any event, I can only describe for you the ornate carvings and paintings that covered every square inch of the walls and ceilings. Of the churches we’ve seen on this trip, the paintings in these two basilicas (the basilicas at St. Stephen and St. Barbara) were unique in their emphasis on and graphic depiction of the fate of Christian martyrs.

The paintings portrayed torture, dismemberment and beheadings of Christians throughout history in a graphic, gory detail that leaves a clear imprint on one’s mind and imagination. I suspect this was the intent. I’ve always wondered why American clergy don’t remind their congregations more of the sacrifices of the martyrs. Their sacrifice has done more to advance the kingdom of God on earth than a multitude of sermons and teachings. GS

Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 10 (Odessa)

Port, Odessa, Ukraine — 2010 © Gregory Scott

Today was our second day in Odessa, but we stayed on board the ship. It was a time to read and relax and think and connect some of the dots before bidding farewell to the Ukraine.

The wife and I have had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe quite a bit over the last ten years, and one thing that impresses me wherever we go it is the reach and influence of the Roman Empire. We’ve seen the remains of Roman building and culture from Scotland to France to the banks of the Danube and as far away as Israel.

Along the northern coast of the Black Sea where we have been the last four days, the Greeks had settlements and left an imprint. The Romans assimilated Greek culture and added to it a practicality conducive to progress and prosperity. It has been said, “The Greeks had brains; the Romans had drains.”

The Romans had a unique approach to empire. Rather than conquer and destroy, they sought to assimilate. In the ancient world the most significant boast one could make was, “I am a Roman citizen.” The Apostle Paul claimed this privilege. (Acts 22:28).

The Romans thought their empire would last forever. In fact, Rome was referred to as “the Eternal City.” Romans thought they would never be conquered.

It is indeed an act of divine irony then that the Lord decided to plant the flag of the kingdom of God, a kingdom which will truly “never be destroyed” but will “endure forever” (Daniel 2:44), in the midst of the Roman Empire.

The kingdom of God did outlast the Roman Empire and continues to expand. If the physical evidence of the Roman Empire is its ruins, roads and aqueducts, then the physical evidence of the kingdom of God is its churches. And one sees churches just about everywhere one goes.

The reach of the kingdom of God is more extensive than the Romans could have ever imagined and the Kingdom will continue to expand, offering citizenship to those it touches, until it fills the earth. GS

Isaiah 11

lion and lamb — Photo courtesy ©iStockphoto.com/jgroup

Have you ever watched one of those nature documentaries where they show lions chasing down, killing and eating zebras or wildebeests or some other animal? The narrators talk about this savagery like it’s something beautiful and natural; they call it the “wonderful balance of nature” or some other euphemism designed to make us feel better about murder in the animal kingdom. I watch and think there is something very unnatural about animals killing and eating other animals.

The Book of Genesis provides support for my perception. God’s revelation of how things were in the beginning paints a picture of animals in perfect harmony with man and each other. It shows God assigning for both man and beast a diet of fruit and plants. (Genesis 1:29-30). All that changed when man rebelled against God, thereby introducing the curse and corrupting influence of sin into creation.

Isaiah 11 promises the reconciliation of nature in these particulars during the Kingdom Age:

“And the wolf will dwell with lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9).

Dogs and cats living together, children putting their hands in a viper’s den and playing next to a cobra yet “they will not hurt or destroy.” (Isaiah 11:8-9). This is a picture of the reconciliation of the animal kingdom with itself, man and its creator.

If animals aren’t eating one another, what will they eat? They will eat what they were intended to eat from the beginning (Genesis 1:29-30), e.g., “the lion will eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:7).

Don’t be fooled into thinking what is is what was intended or that what is is what will be. The transformational power of King Jesus and His Kingdom are game-changers. GS

Isaiah 9

I’m halfway to the finish line in my plan of reading the Bible through in a year chronologically, that is, reading the Bible in the historical order in which the events it records occurred. I highly recommend it. While it requires some skipping around, it brings a continuity to the historical sections and a relevance to the prophetic sections of the Bible you wont get from merely reading the Bible from cover to cover. You can download the daily reading plan here, and you can start any time.

I started on January 1, 2010 and, according to plan, I’m about halfway through the Bible, in Isaiah to be exact. Last week I read through Isaiah 9 and came across one of my favorite Kingdom scriptures in verses 6-7:

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders, and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this”

There are at least 4 conclusions one can glean about the kingdom of God from these two verses:

1. God’s kingdom is a government. God’s kingdom is not merely a realm or an experience but a government, and governments exist to manage, people, places and things, in other words, the earth.

2. The Kingdom will bring peace on earth. Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace, and as His kingdom spreads so does the peace that is characteristic of its King and kingdom. That peace is planted first in man’s heart, and like anything in man’s heart it is manifested in his word and deed. Bottom line: as the kingdom continues to advance on the earth, war will gradually become a thing of the past.

3. The kingdom of God will grow. “There will be no end to the increase of His government…from then on and forevermore.” “Then” refers to the birth of the child, i.e. the birth of Jesus, and from that time on the kingdom of God will continue to grow. This is good news. No cowering in the corner waiting for Jesus to return, but victorious expansion and progress as the earth is transformed into the place God intended from the beginning.

4. God’s enthusiasm for His kingdom guarantees its success on earth. His zeal ensures these things Kingdom promises will be accomplished (v.7).

This is all good news for citizens of the kingdom of God, which is why it’s one of my favorite passages in the Bible. GS

Isaiah 2

I was reading Isaiah chapter 2 earlier this week, a chapter that always excites me about the destiny of the kingdom of God. In the first three chapters of Isaiah, the Lord rebukes Israel for abandoning Him and forewarns them of the judgment He is about to bring on them from the Assyrians. But nestled in the beginning of chapter 2, seemingly out of place against the backdrop of rebuke and judgment, is a promise about the Kingdom Age:

“Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

Here’s three quick points from this passage as it relates to the kingdom of God:

1. As the kingdom of God advances on the earth, the Church will become preeminent in the earth. The Church–the body of true believers, not the institution–will be established as the “chief of the mountains” (v.2). There will still be opposition, but the Church will ascend to a position of clear preeminence.

2. As the kingdom of God advances on the earth, the world will look to Christians for leadership. Isaiah describes it as non-Christians persuading one another to “go up to the mountain of God” so they can learn His ways and be subjected to His earthly justice (vv.3-4). Earthly justice is a repeating theme and indicia of the kingdom of God, but I will save that topic for a future post.

3. As the kingdom advances, commerce will replace warfare. As the kingdom of God brings economic prosperity, the traditional reasons for war will lose their appeal. The tools of commerce will replace the tools of warfare, people will become more productive and less destructive (“they will hammer their swords into plowshares”), and as people prosper war will become a thing of the past. (v. 4).

There are good things ahead for the kingdom of God, it’s citizens and the world. GS