Definition
Kingdom theology is the theological orientation that treats the Kingdom of God as the central theme of Scripture and the core object of eschatology. In the broad sense it encompasses all theology that regards God’s rule over creation, history, and human life as inseparably linked to soteriology and eschatology. In the narrower sense it refers to the 20th-century movement (related to Kingdom Now, dominionism, and Latter Rain) that views the Church as the instrument of Kingdom establishment on earth, before or at the return of Christ.
Usage in the Corpus
Witness Lee / Watchman Nee
Nee/Lee understand the Kingdom as the result of the congregation’s corporate appropriation of Christ: “The city is the center of God’s authority, God’s kingdom, and the temple is the center of God’s house, God’s dwelling place. The kingdom of God and the house of God are the result of the enjoyment of the land. When the people of God enjoy this land to a certain extent, something comes into existence — the authority of God and the presence of God, or in other words the kingdom of God and the house of God.” The Kingdom is not primarily a future political reality but the spiritual fruit of the collective Christ-experience of the church. [Nee/Lee, The All-inclusive Christ, Ch. 1]
George Warnock
Warnock treats the Kingdom as inherent — “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21) — while expecting an outward manifestation: “Of course it will be observed and made manifest in the earth in due course; and ‘of His Kingdom there shall be no end.‘” The Feast of Tabernacles is the eschatological fulfillment of Kingdom expectation. [Warnock, The Feast of Tabernacles, Ch. 14]
Stephen Jones
Jones grounds his kingdom theology in Jubilee legislation: the Kingdom is the restoration of all things (apokatastasis) based on Jubilee law. Christ reigns as the Joseph-type: his second coming secures the birthright (the Kingdom), after his first coming secured the throne right (the Messianic line). [Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 15]
Cees Noordzij
Noordzij places the revelation of the sons of God as the inauguration of the Kingdom age: “When they are revealed, a new age will dawn again: that of the kingdom of God.” [Noordzij, Moses and the Path to Sonship]