The Mission Of The Church In Light Of An Amillennial Perspective Of The Kingdom Of God In Luke 17:20-30 In Terms Of The MATRIX Model PDF

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to determine the mission of the church in light of an Amillennial perspective of the kingdom of God in Luke 17:20-30. A modified version of Smith’s basic model for research in systematic theology serves as the methodology of this study. Firstly, chapter 2 gains insight from an historical and theological overview of Amillennialism and missions by examining the works and arguments of key past and present theologians on the issues under investigation, from the early church fathers to contemporary theologians. Secondly, chapter 3 gains insight into the theology of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective by examining the works and arguments of key past and present Bible scholars on this topic. More specifically, it discusses six important themes relating to the kingdom of God. Thirdly, chapter 4 conducts a short exegetical study of Luke 17:20-30 to provide biblical evidence regarding the mission of the church in light of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective. More specifically, it provides a systematic and critical analysis of Luke 17:20-30 to discover the original meaning of the passage, especially as it relates to the topic under discussion. Fourthly, chapter 5 constructs and proposes the MATRIX model to describe the mission of the church in light of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective. This theory construction is preceded by a deduction phase, in which a mass of isolated data on the topic is reduced to a few themes. The MATRIX model consists of six themes and accounts for all the biblical evidence from the previous chapters, especially chapter 4, in a unified and integrated manner. Lastly, chapter 6 applies the MATRIX model to demonstrate the contemporary significance of the mission of the church in light of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective. More specifically, case studies of well-known pastors, missionaries and authors are used to illustrate the contemporary significance of each theme of the MATRIX model.

The main aim of this study is to determine the mission of the church in light of an Amillennial perspective of the kingdom of God in Luke 17:20-30. A modified version of Smith’s basic model for research in systematic theology serves as the methodology of this study. Firstly, chapter 2 gains insight from an historical and theological overview of Amillennialism and missions by examining the works and arguments of key past and present theologians on the issues under investigation, from the early church fathers to contemporary theologians. Secondly, chapter 3 gains insight into the theology of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective by examining the works and arguments of key past and present Bible scholars on this topic. More specifically, it discusses six important themes relating to the kingdom of God. Thirdly, chapter 4 conducts a short exegetical study of Luke 17:20-30 to provide biblical evidence regarding the mission of the church in light of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective. More specifically, it provides a systematic and critical analysis of Luke 17:20-30 to discover the original meaning of the passage, especially as it relates to the topic under discussion. Fourthly, chapter 5 constructs and proposes the MATRIX model to describe the mission of the church in light of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective. This theory construction is preceded by a deduction phase, in which a mass of isolated data on the topic is reduced to a few themes. The MATRIX model consists of six themes and accounts for all the biblical evidence from the previous chapters, especially chapter 4, in a unified and integrated manner. Lastly, chapter 6 applies the MATRIX model to demonstrate the contemporary significance of the mission of the church in light of the kingdom of God from an Amillennial perspective. More specifically, case studies of well-known pastors, missionaries and authors are used to illustrate the contemporary significance of each theme of the MATRIX model.