The Kingdom of Heaven and the world to come

Christianity regards salvation as liberation from the bondage of sin and re-establishing a personal communion with God. Christians hold that Jesus is the source of salvation and faith in his saving power is of particular importance is it determines the ‘way, truth and life’ that leads those who believe Him into communion of God.

Taking of N.S. Fujita’s take on John’s Gospel as a record of God’s decisive act of salvation, having been actualized in the person and work of Jesus Christ, I would like us now turn to the wider scope of salvation that pertains to its ultimate fulfilment at the end of history and its cosmic scale as echoed in Scriptures which speaks of God being all in all, based on the writings of Monika Hellwig:

The Christian message, the good news of Jesus Christ, is certainly a message about past, present and future, but the focus is on the future. The Christian message of salvation is primarily concerned with the future because it is a message that things have to change. Not only the inner attitude of individuals but their behaviour, their relationships and their situation must change. Not only the affairs of individuals but those of the world and its structures and laws and distribution of goods must change. The message is that they must change, that they can change and that they will change because the transcendent God of creation wills it, because Jesus has already turned the tide of the destructive forces by his human response in the heart of the human situation and because the Holy Spirit of God which is the Spirit of Jesus working powerfully in this followers is drawing human freedom to its fulfillment in the willing response to the rule of God. 1

The Washigton Post’s Patricia Sullivan, described the Georgetown University based Catholic theologian, Dr. Monika Hellwig, as a former nun who attended the Second Vatican Council, was respected by laity, theologians and church leaders even when she publicly expressed differences of opinion with church hierarchy. 2

Notes:
1. Hellwig, Monika – Understanding Catholicism p. 171
2. Sullivan, Patricia - GU Theologian, Catholic Activist Monika Hellwig Dies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/05/AR2005100502300.html