Something that’s been popular to say online right now is, “Conservative Christians are purposefully trying to sabotage the government and make the world worse so they can bring about the Christian End times.” While not everyone’s motivations can be spoken for, it’s worth noting that many Christian Nationalists adhere to a very different view on the nature of Armageddon. Kingdom Now Theology is the Charismatic Branch of Dominionism, taking Dominion teachings and framing them as a mechanism by which the second coming of Christ is achieved.
“I believe our goal should be nothing short of sociologically verifiable transformation. By this I mean that an independent, outside, qualified observer using standard tools of social science or investigative reporting concludes that the social unit is now as different from what it used to be as a butterfly is from a caterpillar.” – C. Peter Wagner, Dominion!
In Summary Kingdom Now Theology is the belief that:
- Mankind lost control of the earth in the fall.
- Christ reclaimed this authority, beginning the work of transforming the earth in his image.
- This transforming work is continued by Christ’s Church
- The state of the world and society will improve as we remove evil and reshape the culture to be more christlike
- The second coming will only happen when the earth has been purified of all evil.
Invading Babylon
As said before, Kingdom Now Theology is built on the foundation of Dominion Theology. It similarly believes that earthly authority was stolen from mankind in the fall. It also puts an emphasis on social welfare. They teach that we are called to take up authority in social institutions so we can “transform” the culture and the nations. “The analogy of a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly also helps us come to realistic terms about how to measure social transformation.” This is a quote from missionary and Charismatic Preacher C. Peter Wagner from his book, Dominion! How Kingdom Action Can Change the World.
“I believe our goal should be nothing short of sociologically verifiable transformation. By this I mean that an independent, outside, qualified observer using standard tools of social science or investigative reporting concludes that the social unit is now as different from what it used to be as a butterfly is from a caterpillar.” – C. Peter Wagner, Dominion!
The Second Coming
Where the Kingdom now begins adding to Dominion Theology is in its understanding of the Christian end times. Whereas more traditional Christian Eschatology sees Christ returning to a world that has fallen to its own depravity and acts in full defiance of the Lord. Kingdom Now envisions a world where society continuously improves until we have created a world free of suffering and sin. Only then, when all evil has been purged from the earth, will Christ return to receive the earth like a gift from his church.
“Before Jesus returns, the Church will rise in glory, unity, and maturity. The Kingdom of God will grow and advance until it fills the earth” – Harold Eberle, Victorious Eschatology
“Acts 3:21 talks of Jesus being in heaven “until the time of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Restoration also means “transformation,” and this dates back to the beginning, when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. Even though Jesus came and changed history, He is waiting for us to do our part in bringing restoration to pass in real life.” – C. Peter Wagner, Dominion!
The Mission of The Church
Wagner claims that these ideas are not new but something the church believed up until the last century. As a knee-jerk reaction to the rise of liberalism, we rejected this “social gospel” in favor of a mandate that focused on evangelizing to and converting individuals.
“I learned that, as Christian ministers, our assignment was to change people. The assumption was that if we got enough individuals saved, the world might then change.” – C. Peter Wagner, Dominion!
While we are still called to evangelize individuals, Kingdom Now Theology believes that the primary mission of the Church is ultimately this social transformation. That we should prioritize the infiltration of social institutions and molding of culture above all else.
“It is our task to become spiritual and social activists until Satan’s dominion is ended.” – C. Peter Wagner, Dominion!
This criticism of the church is not unique to Wagner; many who adhere to the teachings of Kingdom Now, as well as Dominionism, believe the modern Church has become too distant and uninvolved in the world. They argue Christs Church has a responsibility to step up and engage with society, assuming its rightful position and leading humanity into an era of living for Christ.
“The mentality of the Pharisees places God at the center of everything, but He is worshiped as an impersonal and powerless deity. Their God dwells mostly in the realm of theory and reverence that is self-serving. But there is not much in the religious community (the church) that is actually from the Kingdom of God.” – Lance Wallnau, The Seven Mountains Mandate
Sources
Wagner, C. Peter. Dominion!: How Kingdom Action Can Change the World. Chosen Books, 2010.
Eberle, Harold R., and Martin Trench. Victorious Eschatology: A Partial Preterist View. Worldcast Publishing, 2022.
Wallnau, Lance. “The Seven Mountains Mandate.” In The Reformer’s Pledge, edited by Che Ahn et al., 177-194. Shippensburg: Destiny Image Publishers, 2010
