When The Kings Come Marching

Salvation describes the deliverance by God for those who believe in him. It is the saving of the soul from sin (and its consequences) through Gods will and grace. Though it takes different forms in every religion, the principle is still the same, often emphasising the necessity of both good works, repentance, and asceticism, as well as divine intervention (in this case the action being the grace of God). If assuming that Christ is the full truth, then the only way to gain access to God after death is through the salvation given by the Christian God. Jesus himself has indicated that a person must hear the word, believe it, repent of past sins, and be willing to confess faith before others, be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins, and then continue to live a faithful life throughout this physical life if we are to go to heaven.

Working in this earth to build it up is essential to God’s kingdom. This is because God will transform this earth into his kingdom. In other words, what we do in this life has an everlasting impact not only in this earth, but also in the new creation. Our everyday activities are not just to make life a little more bearable until the day that we die and leave this earth - as most mistake. Instead, says Wright, this is what we would call “building for God’s kingdom”(pg. 193). God’s new creation is already present with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, therefore his followers have a new job to do. That job is actually working to build heaven on earth in a very real way. It is to work to make a physical manifestation of heaven on earth. The point of resurrection is that our current life is not worthless simply because our bodies will die, instead God has a great plan for it in the

‘The Kingdom of God’ is perceived in many different ways by a variety of people. It is commonly thought that it refers to a life after death namely ‘Heaven’ and Jesus seems to reinforce this by stating, "my kingdom is not of this

In Tweed’s definition of religious space, he argued that religious spaces were “differentiated” if it’s “imaginatively figured and/or sensually encountered locales that are deemed more or less ‘special,’ ‘singular,’ or ‘set apart’.” (Tweed 2011: 119) He further clarified the standard of spaces being “special” and “religious” as the extent they can appeal to “human and suprahuman forces to make homes and cross boundaries.” (Tweed 2006: 54) In addition, Tweed argued that “differentiated” spaces of religious are not static things, but “kinetic” processes. With the cultural and natural development, spaces would also change. Furthermore, Tweed claimed that spaces are also interrelated. According to Tweed, religious spaces are interrelated “with domestic spaces and childhood memories,” (Tweed, Space: 121) as well as the “converging cultural ‘streams’ – political, social, and economic.” (Tweed, Space: 121) In the Hebrew Bible, Jerusalem, the …… fit this characterization perfectly.

Through the use of hopeful repetition, Jonathon Edwards conveys to the readers optimistic thoughts the shows us how God upkeeps. . Edwards stresses the fact that God wants us to be on the right path of life “restrains” (3) from sending us into hell as in giving us a second chance. Edwards uses the word “restraint” to show how God is on our side and he expects great thing out of us, the loving side of God. Furthermore, Edwards uses the word “promise” (5) multiple times to show the readers that God is not just making a promise to let everyone into heaven. Trying to convey the theme of devoting oneself to Christ, Edwards uses the phrase “God made no promise to keep any natural man out of hell one moment” (5) as a reference that only true Christians will get into Heaven. This pressures the unconverted because it makes them think, “Should I convert so I can get into Heaven?” With this thought process in mind, Edwards also exclaims that God’s wrath is “eternal and everlasting” (10). This means that people cannot just call themselves Christians and get into Heaven. They have to show God that they

As humans, we are always imagining what our lives will be like when we die. While the depictions of what hell or heaven may be from the ancient times and now, what has stayed consist is the idea of an afterlife altogether.

There was no heaven and no hell; we just survived this period of time on earth. We died, we were buried, we rotted, and that was the end. This was my worldview. This was the lens through which I interpreted everything in life.

In the book When the Kings Come Marching In, theologian, Richard J. Mouw goes into depth about the “transformed City” that Isaiah envisions at the end of history (Isaiah 60). Our society believes that “Christ and Culture” are in conflict with one another, but Mouw disagrees with this statement and proposes that the problem is how humans have distorted culture. Mouw goes on and suggests that heaven is and will be a renewed creation that includes embodied existence on earth rather than a spiritual place where creation is apart from the soul. Mouw supports his argument throughout the book by explaining the creation of culture, Christ’s grace towards His creation, and offering a purpose to our existence.

The thought of a holy place where loyal and devout followers of Christ can finally be with their Lord is the main goal for Christianity. This location, known as “Heaven,” is said to be the home of angels and the King of Kings. Other terms for this include The Pearly Gates, Kingdom Come, Paradise, and the Promised Lands. Basically, Heaven is the ideal place for people of Christian faith to end up. However, Edwards strongly notes that it is most likely not going to be the final destination for most people, believers and nonbelievers alike. One can not talk about Heaven without also mentioning the concept of “Hell.” Hell is, in a basic sense, where the sinners go. To sin is to perform an action, either physical or mental, that disobeys God and his rules (referencing to the 10 Commandments). Edwards goes on to explain how, “Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards Hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf....(page 88)” This is the first form of persuasion that we see within this text--the art of coaxing everyone into believing no one will make it to Heaven because everyone is a

In The Return of the King written by J.R.R. Tolkein, he says “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” More so than some of the other quotes I’ve written about, this one strikes close to home for me, and relates to everything we’ve covered in these last few weeks of class. Grieving is only a natural process for everyone, and those at end of life, family or patient, also have to deal with this grief. However, having a plan for the end, a strong support system, and quality care before dying is crucial to coping with the loss soon to be had. It’s also important to consider the route that the patient chooses before death.

These ideals are very different from modern-day beliefs about death. Christian views about the afterlife include the two options for our souls after death: heaven- the happy, safe, and comfortable place where the good people go, and hell-the fiery, and dangerous place some go to if they made bad choices on Earth. Others believe in reincarnation, where a person’s soul lives on and takes the form of something else. Many people, no matter their religious stance, want to believe that there is something else after death, because it makes it easier when the time comes. It certainly eases some of the grief and anxiety that people face over death, and is far more comforting than the beliefs that ancient Mesopotamians held about death.

The Old Testament provides meaningful insight into the doctrine of the afterlife by declaring that all people regardless of being righteous or unrighteous goes to Sheol and remembered no more. The most striking account was of King Saul visit to the medium

In the very beginning of heaven and earth, there was nothing to be imagined. God created what we know was earth now, in 7 days. These majestic stories should not be understood as historical and scientific accounts of origins but as proclamations of basic theological truths about creation. “Creation” in Holy Scripture refers to and describes the relationship between God and all God’s wonderful works. Both in the Greek and the Christian creation story there is a God that rules us all, that we obey and take commands from. We are taught that there is an afterlife in both creation stories. After people died they would have somewhere to go beyond the stars God said. There will be life after earth life and it will be glorious. In the Greek creation story, they have

This is my longer analysis of the Kingdom of Heaven. Appreciate any feedback. [SPOILER WARNING]

Although the meaning of the Kingdom of God was never explicitly stated, it is insinuated that it is a multivalent symbol of salvation that leads to the fulfillment of human necessities and cravings. For humankind itself, an important gratification includes human creation and yearnings of liberation from oppression, food for the hungry, and an end to suffering. The Kingdom of God displays both prophetic eschatology and apocalyptic eschatology notions of salvation as the central symbol for Jesus. Primarily, the symbol alludes to the impending reign of God. Not only that, but it also “points to the end of time or to a “time beyond time” that envisions a “new heaven and a new earth”” (JKRG 4). In addition, Jesus see’s the Kingdom as a course of events in which God oversees as Lord of all things and as the action of God’s absolute salvation for all of creation. Being the symbol of God’s salvation, the Kingdom of God leads to the “renewal and