The kingdom of Jesus Christ was brought into existence in the First Century A. D.

My opponent says, “If you review the response you can easily see the highlighted questions answered.” Well, the very first highlighted question was: Question #1: WHAT time was fulfilled? I'll submit that Jesus hearkened right back to Daniel's prophecy in Dan 2 (and other prophesies) and emphatically stated, "The 'TIME' is 'fulfilled'." I again ask my opponent, “WHAT … time … was … fulfilled?” I would like to see a thorough answer to that. He says he’s answered it. I can only say that not only I, but two others, carefully read his reply, and none of us can see his answer. If anyone else can find it, kindly notify me in the comments section. ***** My opponent laments, “My opponent doesn't seem to acknowledge the reign of God in the beginning of time. I think we fail to realize he had a throne lucifer coveted.” My opponent thinks that the same kingdom has always been here. No, the kingdom of Jesus Christ was new, all new, n-e-w. Had my opponent been standing there with John or Jesus when they said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he could have corrected them by asserting that the kingdom has been here off and on since the days of Adam. “Which kingdom?” is plainly stated in the proposition, and I’m questioning if you even read it: “The kingdom of Jesus Christ was brought into existence ...” It does not good at all for you to backtrack now and say, “Well, a kingdom of sorts always existed because God always ruled.” That’s not going to work. Further, I even clarified it in the definition of terms: Kingdom: an organization, either temporal or spiritual, governed by a reigning monarch Of Jesus Christ: that is, inaugurated, belonging to, and ruled by Jesus Christ.” That is so evident that no one can miss it. ***** My opponent states, “As I stated before to my opponents affirmative there has always been a reign since the creation yet reigning the kingdom in the first century AD would mean there was NO kingdom prior to AD” Sir, the proposition does not merely say “kingdom”; it plainly says, “kingdom of Jesus Christ”. And I say without hesitation that the kingdom of Jesus Christ – the kingdom which the Messiah came to establish – could not have possibly existed prior to the coming of Christ. What you are doing is this: you are going from pre-creation to Adam, then from Adam to Moses, then from Moses to Christ, then from Christ to the present, and implying that they were all the kingdom of Jesus Christ or some form of it. That’s not true at all! ***** Awriternamedred: “The latter kingdom of heaven will not come into play until after the 1st resurrection has taken place.” “Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5: 28-29) There is only one literal, bodily resurrection and one final judgment. How did you come up with two out of John 5? There is an hour in which all shall hear his voice. It looks like you have come up with two different hours with a long span in-between, one for “they that have done good” and another at a different time for “they that have done evil.” It is going to take some theological juggling to get two hours out of John 5. ***** My opponent states, “It states in v. 50 (of 1 cor 15) that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom so if all men die we must be resurrected to receive it.” I Cor 15: 50 states, “...flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” I Cor 15: 50 is referring to heaven, and refers to that time period after the resurrection, after the last enemy is destroyed, Jesus Christ will have ceased His reign, and delivered up the kingdom to the Father. I already mentioned that I Cor 15 refers to a time when the kingdom merely changes residence and ownership. ***** Awriternamedred: “so if all men die we must be resurrected to receive it.” At the time we are resurrected, the last enemy will be destroyed, and Jesus Christ will cease His reign. Yet you are claiming that we enter the kingdom of Jesus Christ at the resurrection. Jesus ceases reigning about the time we all enter the kingdom? That alone hints that your guesses and speculations on Revelation are anachronistic. When Paul said, “I am in the kingdom” … when Paul told the Colossians, “You are in the kingdom” … when John said “I am in the kingdom” … they did not mean that they or their readers were in heaven. When Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand,” He did not mean heaven was at hand. Neither Jesus nor His disciples nor His apostles scurried about misleading people in that fashion. ***** My opponent says, “You see Christ reigns 1000 years with his true servants (Once again has not come to pass).” The passage says that the beheaded martyrs lived and reigned with Him a thousand years. Is that literal? You won’t take it literally yourself! You include many others in this supposed reign. Another thing: you have them reigning a thousand years – then ceasing to reign. To be consistent, you could at least have them also living a thousand years – then ceasing to live. ***** Awriternamedred: “This is the first resurrection” The first resurrection is the resurrection of a cause – the same type of resurrection as is found in Ezekiel 37, a portion of which is cited below: “Then He said unto me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried and our hope is lost. We are cut off from our parts.’ Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” Do you claim that is a literal resurrection? The 1st resurrection of the Apocalypse, therefore, is – or at least the possibility exists that it is - a resurrection of a righteous cause and a peculiar and special reign of the martyrs as their blood is vindicated as the persecuted, downtrodden church emerges victorious. ***** My opponent’s reasoning is this: “you need a celestial body to live with him in 1 cor 15:40 and you need to make the 1st resurrection so how would that work if he established the literal kingdom in the 1st century? It can't be logical.” See what you are doing? In case you do not realize it, you are going back and reinterpreting the whole of the New Testament based upon your own speculations regarding highly figurative language in Revelation – figurative language which depicts events that were to shortly come to pass back in the first century. ***** Questions for My Opponent 1. (a) Did John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the seventy commissioned by Jesus, and the twelve all proclaim that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand”? (b) If so, did they mislead all of their listeners? 2. Jesus said in Mark 9: 1, "... some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Some of those people to whom Jesus was speaking were to visualize the arrival of the promised kingdom before they died. If Jesus told the truth, where are these folks today? You said you had answered that, but no one can find the answer! Could you name these people and provide their addresses? 3. (a) Did Paul state that he and the Colossian Christians were in the kingdom in Col 1: 13? (b) Did John state that he was in the kingdom in Rev 1: 9? You said you had answered. No one, including me, can see your answer. I’m not asking if you believe it; I’m asking if they said it. 4. IF “yes” to the prior two questions, could you explain how Paul, John, the Colossians, and the first readers of Revelation were in the kingdom, yet you teach that it has not yet appeared – and explain it without depending entirely on your guesses on the meanings of highly figurative apocalyptic language in Revelation? 5. (a) Does John 5: 28-29 state that there will come an hour when all in their graves, both good and evil, will come forth? Is that what you believe, or do you have to concoct two different literal, bodily resurrections? (b) Is the day or hour spoken of in John 5 and I Cor 15 the same day, or are you having to divorce the two based upon your guesses on Revelation? 6. (a) Does Ezekiel 37 speak of a resurrection? (b) If so, is it an actual, literal, bodily resurrection? (c) Is it possible to have a resurrection of a cause? 7. Are constructing your entire position on the kingdom based upon your own guesses and speculations concerning the highly figurative Jewish apocalyptic literature of John’s vision, the Apocalypse? 8. (a) Based upon I Cor 15, is the hour in which all in their graves hear His voice and come forth synonymous with the destruction of the last enemy, death? (b) If so, will Jesus Christ reign up until that point – or begin His reign after that point? (c) If so, will Jesus Christ deliver up the kingdom at that point – or set it up on earth? Those questions are right to-the-point and aren’t copyrighted. You can copy and paste them and provide your answer, usually a yes or no, to each one of them under the appropriate question. Please do not ignore the bulk of them, then claim they are all answered as MadCornish and Dogknox do in the Forum Section. If you intend to successfully deny the affirmative, you cannot devote half of your reply and three-fourths of your theology to your guesses on Revelation. John said two thousand years ago that the time was at hand – way back then. You tell us that it wasn’t! John said, “The time is fulfilled” – now. You tell us, “No, it’s not quite fulfilled yet!” Then you start guessing on tribulations, beasts, stars, moons, thousand years, chains, pits, and dragons, and ask, “Has this happened?” or “Has that happened?” I can tell you right now that I believe that every bit of the Apocalypse has been fulfilled, with the exception of a possibly a few things in Rev 22. Thank you, and I await your reply and answers.