A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Heather A. Kendall is the author of Crown Jesus, King of Glory, One Greater Than Moses, and the trilogy, A Tale of Two Kingdoms, God’s Unfolding Story of Salvation, and One Greater Than Satan. She has an Honors BA from York University, Toronto, Ontario, and she has been a ladies’ Bible study leader for almost fifty years. The Word Guild awarded her first place in the Books: Biblical Studies category for her Bible study, God’s Unfolding Story of Salvation, in 2013. Her husband is a retired librarian. They have three grown children and three grandsons.

Why study the big picture in the Bible?

In the course of my studies, I discovered that evangelicals hold to three different storylines of the Bible: covenant theology, new covenant theology, and dispensationalism. How can believers conceive of three different storylines for God’s way of dealing with humanity? I struggled with this question after I wrote my first book, A Tale of Two Kingdoms. To me, the answer lies in the fact that some people study topics first and then make God’s redemptive story fit the desired conclusion.

Now I am not denying the importance of studying topics or individual books. However, I believe that learning about the big picture in the Bible should come first after salvation. This means understanding that the Bible is Christ-centered from Genesis to Revelation. Both covenant theologians and dispensationalists appear to have based their storylines on the Old Testament alone.

The Reformers were covenant theologians. They lived in societies in which the union of church and state was the accepted norm. Therefore they gladly accepted the theocracy of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament as the proper model for the church. In so doing, they downplayed the teachings of the new covenant in the New Testament, which did away with this situation. Believers come from all the nations of the world and answer directly to God, not human government. Jesus died to redeem a people to God from all ages. His kingdom is spiritual, not earthly.

Likewise, dispensationalists concentrate their studies in the Old Testament. They read time and again how God promised to make the nation of Israel a political power head over the whole world. They acknowledge that Israel often lost that right because of disobedience. Nevertheless they insist God must keep his promise to restore the fortunes of Israel someday and make them a world power. Like the covenant theologians, dispensationalists downplay the teachings of the new covenant in the New Testament. Although they agree that the church is the fulfillment of the new covenant, they still insist Israel must have its political utopia. Therefore they also understand the new covenant for the Jews will be fulfilled in the future millennium.

Both groups do not grasp the simple storyline of the Bible. Tempted by Satan, Adam and Eve sinned. Ever since then, everyone is born in sin and guilty of sinning. God provided a solution through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Since the beginning of history, God has been working to redeem a people for his glory. When he has finished this sovereign work of grace, Jesus will return to gather believers to God. There is no chance for salvation after Jesus’ return. Then God will burn up this earth and create a new heaven and new earth for his people. Our spiritual salvation is much more important to God than temporal satisfaction in this sin-filled world.