Eclipse of Kingdoms (Part 1) Introducing the Already / Not Yet

Solar eclipses have a way of capturing our imaginations. I remember a few summers ago when I bought my eclipse glasses and stood in my backyard, watching the sun slowly disappear.  It was slower than I expected. I vividly remember standing for a while looking up, then returning to work for a few minutes, then coming back out to see if it had changed.

An eclipse occurs when one celestial body blocks the light of another from reaching an observer  Two celestial bodies seemingly overlap and create something fascinating. 

The Bible is the story of a great eclipse.  The Kingdom of God is slowly overshadowing the kingdom of this world.  In my spiritual journey, understanding this overlap helps explain so much of the pain and frustration that we deal with in life.

Picture an eclipse, with the sun representing human life as we know it.  While there can be happiness and community, this life is overshadowed by death, disease, sin, and division.  We get cancer. Marriages break up.  Nations go to war.  We dehumanize each other.  This world is not the way it is supposed to be.

When Jesus was on earth, his main message was that "the kingdom of God is at hand." (See Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15 and many other places.)  This is like the moon beginning to eclipse the sun.  What Jesus introduced was a radical change in the cosmic system.  There was now an alternative to the repressive, depressing "normal life."

Jesus' life, death and resurrection introduced this eclipse.  When He returns, it will be fully realized, and the kingdom of this world will be completely overtaken by the kingdom of God.  In the meantime, we live in the half-light.  We live torn between the already and not yet. 

I’ve never done a series of posts in the Cascade Loop, but I’ve been looking forward to digging into this concept of the “Already / Not-Yet.” I plan to spend a few weeks on this topic and to answer any questions that arise.

So tune in over the next few weeks, and please let me know any questions you have.

With You;

Pastor Tim