What does this mean to you? What will happen to the earth? What will "we" be doing in the New Kingdom? And, why do you believe this?

-- Jamey (jcreel@hcsmail.com), May 04, 1999

Answers

Response to What do Catholics belive wil happen when "God's Kingdom" is set up?

If we are to believe in the ressurection fully then perhaps the new kingdom is here already. Christ freed us from the law and is with us through the Holy Spirit.

Upon death we shall pass through the portal allowing us to fully experince the Father's love. What a treat to work towards.

Peace And Well Being.

A Little Brother In Christ,

Jean Bouchard

-- jean bouchard (jeanb@cwk.imag.net), May 11, 1999.

Response to What do Catholics belive wil happen when "God's Kingdom" is set up?

If the Kingdom is here, according to you, then it is a poor government.

-- Jamey (jcreel@hcsmail.com), May 12, 1999.

Response to What do Catholics belive wil happen when "God's Kingdom" is set up?

The Scriptures say that the Kingdom is like a mustard seed; starting small and growing to a large plant. Or like a bit of yeast that works its way slowly into the whole lump of dough. Also the book of Daniel speaks of the kingdom as a rock cut from the mountain that grows until it fills the earth. Our Lord said that the Kingdom is within you (or "among you" depending on your translation).

So biblically the establishing of the Kingdom is a gradual outworking of the work of God through His people, not a sudden, one-time event at the end of history. That is the Catholic view in very broad terms.

-- David Palm (djpalm64@yahoo.com), May 13, 1999.

Response to What do Catholics belive wil happen when "God's Kingdom" is set up?

DAvid Palm

You are so very correct in your thinking to this writer. I have always believed not in the revolution of Chrsit rather EVOLUTION of Christ which emulate.

Peace and Well Being,

Jean Bouchard

-- jean bouchard (jeanb@cwk.imag.net), May 13, 1999.

Response to What do Catholics belive wil happen when "God's Kingdom" is set up?

Jamey, let's not forget that, like in any other kingdom, in the Kingdom of God God's law will not just be in force, but everything and everyone will comply to it, including man, who is sofar the only excemption. Therefore, in the Kingdom of God man as a living species will be fully and harmoniously integrated into the whole of the ecosystem. Therefore the Earth will flourish. Having realized our full human potential at that point, we will do what needs to be done, as we will be one with everything, mentally no longer separated from the whole as individual human beings, as we will be one with God. Why do I know? Well, is all knowledge contained in books?

-- Luis Gasser (l_gasser@hotmail.com), June 11, 1999.

Response to What do Catholics belive wil happen when "God's Kingdom" is set up?

Jamey,

I think you want to understand what Catholicism teaches in regard to what the Witness' believe regarding an earthly paradise. As has been previously pointed out, the Church teaches that God's Kingdom starts here on earth and is finalized in Heaven. Heaven is not necessarily a place. Heaven is where God is. If God in all His Glory is here, then Heaven is here. If God in all His Glory is over there, then Heaven is over there. We believe that God's faithfull even from the Old Covenant that have gone before us are in Heaven (see 2Kings 2:1; Matt 8:11; Luke 13:28; and Heb 11:13-16).

Thus if God establishes a new earth and is present on it, it is Heaven. We believe more than 144,000 will enter the Kingdom. The Scriptures speak of a great multitude before the throne of God (Rev 7:9) in addition to the 144,000. By "before the throne" we understand in the direct physical presence of, since this word "before" (enopion) is used a number of times in Revelation with the meaning of physically present and not just in sight of (Rev 5:8, 7:11, 14:3). Most important is Revelation 14:3, since it says that the 144,000 are "before the throne" just like the great multitude in Revelation 7:9! In addition, the great multitude are "before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in HIS TEMPLE" (Rev 7:15). This makes it all to easy in that Revelation 11:19 refers to "THE TEMPLE OF GOD which is in HEAVEN." Likewise Revelation 14:17 says, "And another angel came out of the temple which is in HEAVEN." Then John explicitly reveals where the "great multitude" are: "After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a GREAT MULTITUDE IN HEAVEN. . ." (Rev 19:1).

Although Revelation does indicate some of the things we will be doing before God - worshipping, loving, living, rejoicing, singing, etc - I know that we can never full comprehend what awaits us (1Cor 2:9, 13:12)!

-- Jorge (jtrujillo7203@hotmail.com), June 21, 1999.