The coming of Christ brought the Kingdom of God into the world, and the place where the Kingdom of God is manifested is the Church. The Church is the one that introduces eternity into history and opens history to the perspective of eternity. The Church is the Body of Christ, which transcends space and time, uniting humanity into a community beyond time, a transcendent community where all things exist in the Holy Spirit. In the Church, time and the entire universe are restored. Everything that the Lord has bestowed upon the world can be found in the Church and is given to humanity for salvation and renewal.
The Kingdom of God: Present and Future
The Kingdom of God is not merely something expected in the future; it is visible as something present right now. Similarly, the resurrection and renewal in Christ are not just future events but are already offered in the present: “The hour is coming and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:25). The voice of Christ, which has already been heard, called people from death to life, and in the same way, it will call those in the graves and bestow life upon them. The hour that is coming, yet is already here, is the hour of Christ’s presence—it is Christ Himself. The eschaton, the last things, exist in the last Adam, in Christ. The things we hope for are already offered in His Person. The period of Christ’s presence and His Church is the period of the “last days” (see Acts 2:17; 2 Timothy 3:1; Hebrews 1:2), a period in which the Lord and His Kingdom are revealed in history, marking the beginning of eternal life that cannot be interrupted by death.
The Transfiguration and the Resurrection of Christ are already manifestations of the Kingdom of God in the world. The times after Christ’s coming are the last times. The manifestation of God’s glory in the Church through the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as well as the personal manifestations seen in the Saints of the Church, are eschatological events. The experiences of these events are experiences of the final revelation of God, which, because they occur in space and time where decay and death exist, belong to the partially knowable (see 1 Corinthians 13:9). Thus, the eschaton is simultaneously present yet awaited; it is an experience and an expectation.
The Church as a Communion of God and Humanity
The founding of the Church brought about a communion between God and man. The uncreated and eternal God was ontologically united with the created and mortal man. Eternal life was manifested in the temporal life. Thus, the created and mortal man, through grace, becomes uncreated, eternal, and enduring, or in other words, without beginning. This is because the grace that regenerates his existence is uncreated, eternal, and without beginning. There is nothing left that could hinder the union of the created and the uncreated, the temporal and the eternal, the present life and the one to come. The time for the fulfillment of these events is the “last time.” The day and hour are “last.” Nothing more is awaited—neither the Messiah nor the Comforter, nor even the Antichrist. All things are present—Christ, the Comforter, and the Antichrist. Christ is present with the Holy Spirit in the Church, and the Antichrist is also present as an evil spirit waging war against the Church.
The Presence of the Antichrist and the Eschaton
The presence of the Antichrist is an eschatological phenomenon, not so much in itself, but in relation to, or more precisely, in opposition to, the eschatological presence of Christ. All those things that contributed to the incarnation (i.e., His crucifixion and Resurrection) determine the last times, the last day, the last hour, which exist here and now.
Thus, the eschaton, the last things, is not confined only to the end of history but already exists in the life of the Church. The last times encompass the entire period after Christ’s coming. And Christ, who is the “Alpha and Omega”… “who is, was, and is to come” is the Lord, the beginning and the end of history. Whoever has Christ has life. The experience of this life already exists in the Church, and the renewal and deification of man in Christ, which is awaited in future times, is already being lived in this life: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
The Present Reality of the Kingdom of God
Although the world perceives it “as in a mirror, dimly,” the Kingdom of God remains truly present. The symbols through which it is offered to us are neither metaphors nor analogies but real symbols. The uncreated light of the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, Pentecost, and what the Saints of the Church behold, is the light of the Kingdom of God. It is a real symbol of its presence.
Source: Pemptousia.com
