dominion?

Cultural Mandate? Christian Nation? Dominion?

Are these principles valid expressions of the Christian faith? Is 2 Chronicles 7:14 applicable to a nation other than Israel (as in the U.S.)? Is the Genesis 1 mandate untainted by the fall of humanity? Are we to partner with God to manifest His Kingdom physically? Though caring for widows and feeding the poor are necessary, are they part of a fuller Gospel?

All these statements reflect various forms of a dominion mindset which are finding favor in a growing number of Christian circles (including our own), yet they seem dangerously inconsistent with Christian truth, for, though proponents believe we are called to usher in God's kingdom using science, literature and art; they fail to remember the curses of Genesis 3. And, though there is a reconciliation of creation with God in scripture, the Gospel is clearly and primarily focused on the judicial act of justification for our sins in that

"He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col. 2:13-14 nkjv)."

Further, even though the Bible speaks of a "kingdom of priests," virtually every first century Jew would have read "And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4 nkjv) in a decidedly futurist mindset, for they had all been taught to expect a Messianic kingdom on earth beyond the present time.

What is our response? Rather than changing our views of the kingdom and exercising dominion, we should expectantly wait for the Lord and "comfort one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:18 nkjv)" since "now we do not yet see all things put under him (Heb. 2:8 nkjv)."